Annual Beach Clean Up, 2011

 Another successful and very fun "Annual Beach Clean Up."

After the boats were loaded up with garbage, we headed to the island for a BBQ!

As we were arriving, we spotted a momma Humpback Whale and her calf.

Then I ran out of battery in my camera,

imagine that!

Unfortunately, I missed out on a bunch of great pictures the rest of the day, but I will be sure to remember it as being a great time!

Dad's Visit!

So, between company and hospital stays I've gotten behind on some posts!

It's been over a month since he left,
but it was great seeing my dad!

We did a little kayaking...

Lots of card and game playing, thanks to the weather!

Fishing...

Exploring...

We set out to find where this river meets the ocean,

Billy wants to try it in the kayaks some time.

(San Lorenzo)

Views along the way:

San Lorenzo Beach

(A very bad compilation, but it will have to do for now!)

Yes, your seeing correctly.

Most of the cliff has eroded under this palm.

But Dylan had to have that coconut!

(I don't think he'd have been doing this if he knew how bad a concussion was...I hope!)

Here's Dad, and I know what he's thinking...

(But it's ok Dad, we made it there and back and you didn't have to muddy up your shoes, AND we didn't even run out of gas;)

Some partying:

Oh, and look, the sun is shining...finally.

Of course it is, Dad's leaving today!



MRI Pictures

Below are 2 of the many MRI scans we received.

The areas circled show the blood on his brain, after 10 days.

The neurologist said that it will take several months for the collection of blood to go away.

The biggest concern now is secondary injury.

He was sent home with an anti inflammatory and orders to rest.

NO physical activity.

(DYLAN?? I might have to sit on him to keep him down!)

In case your wondering, here's a break down of the 10 day stay in Hospital Chiriqui:

Neurologist: $1,500.00 ($150.00 per day!??)

CT Scan: $275.00

MRI: $650.00

Hospital Stay, incl. ER visit: $920.00

Plus: $50.00 charge to call the Neurologist

Total:$3395.00

I know that in the states, you can hardly even walk in the ER for this price,

however the charge for the specialist took us by surprise.

He received wonderful care.

After a week of hospitalization in the states for his appendectomy,

I can truly say from experience that I preferred the care he received here.

The nurses couldn't have been nicer to him, you could tell most of them truly cared.

What a difference!

Final Update on Dylan

HE'S HOME!!

YAY!

Obviously the MRI results came back fine, the Dr wanted him to be on meds for a couple days after the results came in, but he's a free man now!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for him!!

MRI Postponed

Dylans MRI was postponed today to the point that the Doc will not be able to read the results until 1st thing tomorrow morning.

As much as we were looking forward to good news, he seems to be improving more each day. 

Dylan Update

Hi all.

Just wanted to to give an update on Dylan.

He seems to be doing much better today.

The doctor informed us that they will perform the MRI tomorrow at noon.

I'm thinking the doc will get the results pretty quickly.

If all is well, he may go home on Tuesday.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, keep 'em coming!

Pray for my son please

Dylan could really use some prayers from anyone who has some to spare.

The CT scan showed 2 pockets of blood on the front of his brain, but no current bleeding.
Monday or Tuesday they will be doing an MRI to check that he is healing properly.

I have the computer at the hospital now, so feel free to Skype us.

Kayak Adventure

Pepe La Pew & I set off on a (6 mile, 6 hour) kayak adventure!

We put in at Playa Hermosa

("Beautiful Beach")

This was our route:

(I've coordinated a few spots on the map with pictures taken below)

  

 My goal was to do some beach combing

and check out access to Playa Grande.

The first beach we stopped at had massive amounts of BROKEN conch shells:(

(Spot A)

On a cliff above the broken shells were a variety of orchids that we don't have on the property...

and still don't because I couldn't reach them!!

Spot B:

Playa Grande at last, and disappointed again!

(Spot C)

Playa Grande is a known surf beach in the area,

so I went knowing the waves would be big.

However I was hoping there would be some little spot I could sneak in,

on a kayak...with a dog!

Unfortunately, avoiding rocks looked to be an issue and I really didn't think Pepe was in the mood for surfing the kayak ashore!

Sorry little buddy, next time your staying home!

Next on my bucket list was to touch ground at this rock:

(Spot D)

But, because the swell was so big that day

I'd have probably kicked the bucket trying!

After that, I decided to head back into the protected waters of the bay as I was starting to feel a bit sea sick!

(Spot E)

 An entire skeletal structure of a Howler Monkey on a beach.

(Spot F)

This is a video of a troop of Howler Monkeys being quite vocal on Playa Gavilla.

It will open in another window via YouTube.

I thought I share the video since I didn't get any great pictures.

(Yes, that's Pepe you can hear whining, wishing I'd let him off the leash!)

We intended on visiting my friend Kendall, but she wasn't home!

(Spot G)

All in all, it was a fun trip and I'm looking forward to doing again soon!

Next time I hope to have a dolly to help get the kayak up to the truck.

Because the tide was out when I came back, I had to drag it for what seemed to be a 1/2 mile!

My Latest Painted Gourd

It actually looks better in person,

I couldn't get a pic without the glare :(

Fishing Trip: Isla Secas

Billy & Dylan's most recent fishing trip:

After a nice quiet day when I hear, "MOM, get the camera..."

I know they had a good day!

All the smiles are a good sign too!

Dylan's lunch the next day!

(He's quite the cook!)

13th Anniversary!!

To celebrate our 13th anniversary we went out to dinner.

Before we left I wanted to get a picture of Billy & I.

I had the boys pose for me so I could adjust the camera settings......

Then Dylan took the pic.

Actually he took a bunch, but most of them were too blurry.

This is what I ended up with:

 

We had a great evening.

We took the boat out to the island and had dinner at Hotel Boca Brava.

It was dark when we left...

Nighttime boat rides are so beautiful!

(Hey babe, thanks for the great ride, last night and for the last 13+ years!)

Andrea's Visit!

So, I'm finally posting pictures of Andrea's visit!!

Here we are at Las Lajas Beach.

We went out to the islands a couple times...

Did some snorkeling...

Saw some Humpback whales...

they're here having babies!!

 

Dylan and I got in with our snorkel gear to try and see them,

but they wouldn't cooperate!

(Some day I will accomplish this!)

We also did some knee-boarding!

After several tries Andrea was going to give up...

 But, she did it!!

That's my girl!!

 Yes, it's a knee-board...

but Dylan just had to try standing on it:

(Our house in the background)

Well, like I said it went by so fast!

We didn't think she was going to make it down this year,

so it was quite a treat having her!

Look here...even the kids got along!!