5. Play a team sport other than volleyball

This goal was another "easy" one.  All I had to do was pick a sport, find a team and participate.  Luckily for me, when I started my new job, I was invited to join a softball team that was starting up.  I've played softball before, the most competitive time was my senior year of high school...but I figured it's just like riding a bike, right?!  Well, almost...it was a lot of fun but I did eat some dirt tonight when my upper body decided it wanted to go faster than my legs could take me.  :D  I totally wiped out and have a few gravel burns to show for it, however I'm glad I was wearing pants and I did hit the ball for good measure!  All I really have now is a bruised ego, haha!  I am looking forward to being a "Honeybadger that doesn't care" and having a fun season of softball with some really cool co-workers and friends! 

Here is a picture of most of our team:

 

43. Hike to a Waterfall

While in Costa Rica, I hiked down to the La Fortuna Waterfall.  This is the first time I've ever hiked down to reach a waterfall, usually you have to hike up the mountain to get there.  This waterfall was different from the others I've been to...it was a tropical waterfall and  was one long stream of water.  It was beautiful and I found peace in the moments that I got to enjoy it. 

16. Visit 2 Foreign Countries - Country #2: Costa Rica

My goal of traveling to 2 foreign countries has officially been accomplished with a lovely visit to Costa Rica!  Last year our friends, Ben and Megan, invited us to their destination wedding in Puerto Viejo, CR.  We decided to make a vacation of it while we were there and started our trip with 5 days in the middle of CR.  We rented a car from "the airport" so that we could travel at our own pace around the country and headed towards Arenal/La Fortuna.  On the way, we stopped for coffee at a roadside cafe, popped into a local artisan's shop of hand-painted pottery and ate gallo pinto for the first time...also known as comidas tipicas...translated it means Typical Food.  I think that's funny and I'm not even sure why! 

Me drinking a latte and Brian eating gallo pinto and fried plantains. 

Once we got to Arenal, we had to find a hotel, so we cruised around for a bit until we finally found a cute little cabana to call our own for the night.  The best part was that it was at the base of the Arenal Volcano.  The worst part is we found out the hot water didn't work the next day!  I guess it didn't really matter as we went to the Baldi Hot Springs that night and then ended up falling asleep early since it had been a long travel day.  

 Here we are at the base of Arenal Volcano. 

The next day we woke up to some heavy rains and lucky for us, we had our raincoats as we were off to La Fortuna waterfall!   This waterfall was different from any that I've hiked to before as you actually hiked down to it instead of up.  It was beautiful and just as majestic as any waterfall I've seen before.  The lagoons at the bottom were a nice bonus, though it was a bit too cold for me to jump in!  From there we had a nice lunch and walked around town, stopping to have beers and ceviche.  We were also on a mission to find some Denver friends that just so happened to be in Arenal at the same time.  It was mission accomplished when we met them at their hotel room, had drinks and then later went to dinner with them.  It was a great night spent with great people!  Brian was especially excited about this meet up as he got to play frisbee at the base of the volcano. 

The next morning, we woke up and decided before we left Arenal, we would kayak the lake.  First of all, it was super cheap to do and secondly, it was a beautiful blue sky day!  We had the best view of the volcano this day and we were able to enjoy some moments of peace in the lagoons across the lake where the wildlife was abundant. 

Brian and I kayaking Lake Arenal with Arenal Volcano in the background

After we were done kayaking, we jumped in the car where we made a pit stop at joint called Maverick's for the best burgers in CR and then we continued on to Miramar.  In Miramar, we had reservations to take a  45 minute horseback ride to the top of a zipline tour.  We did 25 ziplines over 9 different portions of a waterfall.  It was awesome and so much fun!  After the 9th zipline, there was  lagoon that we all got to swim in and get refreshed.  That's where a kind lady took this cute picture of me and Brian.

Isn't it cute?  :) 

We took the rest of the day to relax and enjoy each other's company.  The next morning, we were right back at it with the high ropes course.  This was way more challenging than I thought it would be and thankfully, it wasn't as scary thanks to secure safety harnesses!  Let's just say, the ropes course was the best ab workout I've had in a long time - my abs were sore for 3 days after we did it!  The tarzan swing was the funnest part for sure and we got lucky as we were the only ones on the course so they let us do the swing 3 times! 

As soon as we were done with the high ropes course, we jumped in our car and took off to Puerto Viejo, where we would finally get to see our friends!  Once in Puerto Viejo, the party started and the picture taking was not as plentiful.  Mostly because we didn't do much but drink, surf, lounge on the beach and hang out with our friends. 

Our last day on the beach - bittersweet as always!

As I mentioned before, we were actually there for our friends' wedding and we were lucky enough to be able to help them out whenever and however they needed it.  I got to do my favorite thing and boss people around as the unofficial "wedding coordinator" but mostly it was fun spending time with the bride right before her big moment. It was so wonderful to see two of my favorite people get married and to be able to share those special moments with the man I love and some of my other favorite people in this world.  Our trip to Costa Rica was truly something I will never forget and I can't wait to do it again!  Best wishes to the newlyweds and on to the next adventure! 

Photo courtesy of DavidLynn Photography