Of all three mornings in Arenal this one was the most beautiful. The sky was absolutely crystal clear and not only could we see the volcano top but we could see all the details on the sides themselves. We took our time enjoying the views before packing up and heading to check out. You know it must be Costa Rica when you can say you had 9 hrs of sleep enjoying a beautiful sunrise, leisurely packed and checked out all before 6:45. The early sunsets and sunrises take a bit of adjustment but are great for young families who are pretty much on that schedule anyway.

We paid our final bill (although this is more of a higher end rustic option it is quite the value based on US terms) and got our son's hat back from the owner. Huge kudos to him for calling the farm and retrieving the beloved Jackson Hat that had been left in their truck. They didn't have to do that.

We went over to the barn and each kid milked the cow again. This was turning out to be a new favorite activity. The chickens were even louder than the other day and I noticed quite a few eggs laying in the nests. My son was motioned into the pen and helped collect the morning eggs.

A few notes about the animals and barn. We aren't necessarily country folks but have visited quite a few farms all around. This barn had to be the cleanest one wed ever seen. I'd venture to say these animals get excellent care. They looked extremely healthy, clean and happy.

After the barn we headed to breakfast for the last time. Today was a typical breakfast. Even that was delicious. The French pressed coffee was brought straight to the table today (I had to talk him into getting coffee on day 2 and he had thanked me repeatedly) and the rice and beans had some sort of special umph, The breakfast waitress whom I can't for the life of me remember her name seemed truly sad to see us go. She couldn't understand a word from the kids and would kiss them instead. I would translate and when we went to leave she walked out front and waved us off.

LAST THOUGHTS ON LEAVES AND LIZARDS
This trip to Arenal was night and day compared to the last one when we stayed at Arenal Paraiso right in the thick of things. Many things played into that but we loved Leaves and Lizards.

The service by the restaurant staff and Hazel (before she left) was great. They were patient with our kids and brought our daughter her special big chair every night. We were quite nervous because we were always there with just one other couple. Not ideal when you have two energetic preschoolers.

Halfway through our trip the owner, or the man I presumed was the owner, arrived. He never introduced himself. He was pleasant but Josh and I didn't get the warm feeling do many people had mentioned in reviews. He would ask the other couple about their day but never asked us. It was a tad odd but we figured that perhaps our kids were annoying?

If we were to come back we would take advantage more of the grounds and resort itself. They have horseback riding to their own private waterfall. We weren't sure if our kids were too young. Since no one mentioned it we didn't sign up. They also have hiking trails and a morning hike with Oscar three days a week. Again no one talked to us about them so we figured they might be too much for us. Perhaps asking those questions ahead of time via email when English is easier would be good.

We stayed in the Toucan cabin which was actually our second choice. I had originally requested the Hobbit cabin based on reviews. Although, I didn't go into the Hobbit house, I went down to it to see the location and view. I'm glad we ended up in the cabin we did. The Toucan is more remote and has an unmatched view of the volcano. It is a bit of a walk to the front and restaurant which means we chose to drive when it rained hard. The Hobbit was right under/next to the restaurant. With our noisy kids it was best not to be so close to others I'm guessing. It looked like they had a good view and the house inside the hill was cool but I liked our location in the jungle.

HANGING BRIDGES
When we were planning our time in the Arenal area one of the things we had asked the resort to book was a guide for the Hanging Bridges. For some reason that was the one thing they didn't. It was fine, we decided to do it on our own without a guide.

By the time we finished breakfast and got to Hanging Bridges (45 min drive) it. Was almost 9. They open at 7:30. If this was a major item on our list or we had a guide is want to be here at 7:30 when it was cooler and less people. Our kids are noisy so at times I felt like we had to quiet them for others spotting animals.

The park is basically a well maintained hiking trail through high rain forest right by the tip of Lake Arenal. It uses a series of different types of bridges. Some long and high hanging bridges to make the loop. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with mobility issues. I thought it was great for families and kids between 4-10. There were a few bridges that freaked me out and made me cling on to the kids for dear life. I envisioned a small child tripping and sliding through the narrow opening at the bottom. Are those normal thoughts of parents?

The kids would have been happy it were just about the bridges. We had a map and they treated it like a treasure hunt to find the next one. We were however in the midst of a heavily populated ecosystem. As we were hiking tips from the refuge were ringing in my ear "if you see 10 wild boat you are ok. Once you see 20, climb a tree. There are herds of boar by the Hanging Bridges." Or "Don't worry if you get bit by a venomous snake. We have the antidote to all but one. What is important to make sure you know what snake it is."

I read in one of the tips that going to do the bridges without a guide was like walking with your eyes shut. I would agree. What we did see it was because we kept stumbling across other groups and a female guide who had a super crazy binocular scope. Yesterday our kids were being horrible with a capital H (we had to stop the car on the side of the road to remove one after blood was drawn in the back seat - don't let our cute pics fool you). I don't know that our 3 and 5 year old would have tolerated much longer than what we did. Maybe it would have engaged them more?

We ended up seeing a Blue Jeans frog right by the trail, a huge frog that jumped in front of me and almost tripped me, a yellow and blue parrot (I didn't really see it but nodded my head with the rest of the group) a viper snake which thankfully was a good distance away, a howler monkey and a sloth eating up in a tree. Thank you to that kind guide who insisted we look at him through the binoculars. If I had seen her in the parking lot I would have tipped her but my child was already melting down by then. For $46 total it was a great morning. Children under 12 are free, great views, good workout, family friendly.

ON TO LA CAROLINA LODGE
We had planned to hit the free hot springs across from Tabacon after the Hanging Bridges to make up for the night before. It was clear our children were in no condition to be in public so we decided to drive and find lunch along the way. Using the same handy map from L&L and combining it with the directions from La Carolina Lodge we made our way out if town and towards the paved road. We somehow missed both restaurants and soon found ourselves on gravel/rock roads again. It was only 1.5 hr drive from there so we figured we would just stop when we got to a little town.

Lesson: when you are hungry, stop when you see food.

We came up on Katira, the town we planned to have lunch in. As we entered the town we suddenly got into the middle of a traffic jam. Odd. We noticed an abundance of men riding horseback in the streets. That wasn't odd but what was was the fact that all the horses were decorated. Within minutes we were snack in the middle of the town's annual festival. My biggest regret this trip is not somehow forcing my kids to behave long enough so that we could have gone and participated. Those people probably would have thought we were crazy but so what. I'm sure there was food, and a good horse show, there. The kids rides looked shady. As we drove through town we saw every local person from miles walking that way and every restaurant subsequently closed.

Next town - 5 km. We got to the next "town" and discovered it was one store that had a sign with the name of our lodge pointing down a gravel road. Uh oh. We got to the final town square and realized it was only houses. No lunch for us.

These roads to the lodge are obviously rarely travelled by visitors. It's 20 km drive down a road needing 4x4 to get there. The local frames stop and stare at us as we drive by. The cows aren't even behind fences in many circumstances. A couple times Josh was worried one would ram the car. The land around La Carolina is lush farm land with small rivers. As we got close it started coming back to me.

We pulled into the lodge's road and I could feel my body start to relax. In the last 10 years we have stayed in many places around the world. This is the only one I have returned to. I was worried that the improvements to the property over the last 6 years would ruin everything that was special about it. We got out of the car and as a group of women started shooting Spanish my way at a rate I couldn't possibly comprehend. I knew it would be the same oasis.

I think everyone has their own definition of a happy place. My physical place is very clearly along a bubbling stream or noisy river. Here I get that combined with the best service I received in any establishment (will politely provide anything needed but stay out of our hair), top notch home cooked meals and the opportunity to meet like-minded people.

Before leaving for the trip a co-worker inquired about where we were going. I joked that I would have no service here (we have no phone or wi-fi at all) along with the fact that it is candlelight only at night. He responded that his wife would never allow those kind of vacations.i didn't say it but I remember thinking that so many people miss out on really living if they can't appreciate this.

Back to our arrival. We showed the kids the river and then went up to the cabin. It was perfect. Almost like a treehouse set up on the banks of the river. It is simple and rustic with all the details you need. The high front porch overlooks the horse barn and wood chopping area. The horses were just coming in so the kids planted themselves on the stairs to gaze. The back porch was furnished with a huge hammock beside the rushing river and the rest of the patio was filled with a large wooden table and stools. There were two bedrooms inside and each of the kids got their own bed. The shower was huge and fed by a gravity rain water cistern system.

The entire cabin was filled with massive windows that opened up for breezes and access to the river sounds along with candles that would be lit every night while we were at dinner.

As I was studying our home for the next 3 nights I was jolted back to reality by the strong thunder and the realization that there were about 30 stone stairs to climb with all our suitcases. We made it just in time.

While Josh and our son ventured into the nearby "town" to get beer, my daughter and I decided to test the hot tub. There was a steady rain but the hot portion was under a roof. Now this is no normal hot yin and one thing that made me fall in love with La Carolina so much. The attention to detail and ability to use nature intelligently. is remarkable. The water is fed from the river. Wood is burned in a fireplace adjacent to it and the container dividing the water and fire then heats. That in turn warms the water. The result is a warm water oasis against the small rapids of the river right behind you. They've also created a small cold water pool and an area to get into the river a little further down.

We must have spent an hour in there with our daughter practicing ballerina moves and pretending she was a mermaid. Once the boys returned the kids took turns holding their breath under water which was a first.

Josh shared with me that his trip to town had resulted in him buying 4 of the 6 beers the store had. He tried to ask about wine but that got him nowhere. Not knowing how to keep our beers cold he bought those and returned.

We still had time to kill before dinner so the four of us played a few riveting rounds of Memory and Go Fish. It was amazing to see the vast difference in behavior after we separated the kids for a short time. Josh and I noted how crazy it is that we have to travel this far to learn simple parenting lessons.

Waiting until 6:30 for dinner felt like an eternity. By 6 we figured we would head down and sit by the fireplace and wait. When we got there we saw another family with the same idea. Turned out they were from Boone and staying in a house down the street but came here to eat. Small world. They had just finished a two week stay in Samara (our next stop). They gave us a few recommendations (there kids were about the same age and a little younger).

Thankfully they told us dinner was ready early and we sat down to the most relaxing meal of the trip. The tables here are hightop and the kids are out in chairs with railings all around them, they can't get out. The kids were starving do they ate everything. The meat was almost like barbecue ribs without the bones, Our daughter demanded about seven helpings. Our son even exclaimed that the salad was delicious. Something about home cooked food that had been fully cultivated on the land you are staying. Almost all of their food is grown or raised organically. It was delicious.

We scarfed down our desserts and asked the kids if they wanted to sit by the fire for a few minutes. Our daughter put her head in her hands and mumbled "no, I just want to go to bed".

We've started a new habit (on this trip) of telling stories. Rightly or wrongly we purposely brought no books or kids toys. A set of cards and their phones for the significant travel times. (I even regret that one) It has caused us as a family to be more creative. One of those is more storytelling. Everyone partakes and I love it.

This day was going to be about favorites. Although Josh and I had been to Arenal before (La Fortuna) we had planned almost all new experiences for our trip here this time. Today would be the exception. We filled today with a few favorites from our first trip and added some new favorites.

Today I did better and slept until 5. The night had been filled with more hard storms and as I woke I saw the storm had passed. Our cabin had a full wall of glass facing the volcano. Until now we had only seen glimpse of it. I had seen a peek of the top for about a minute and never the full thing. Even when it was sunny there seems to always be a layer of clouds up top. To get a clear view of the volcano AND the eruption is special. Our first trip we got it the full time and we had no clue how rare that was. As the sun rose the clouds lifted and I got to watch from the comfort of my bed as the rest of the family kept sleeping. It was quite the unveil.

As we got ready for the day, my son asked "is that the volcano?". He was the only one who had noticed that it had completely been exposed. Minutes later we were treated to an eruption before the clouds swallowed up the view again.

Breakfast was just as good as yesterday. The kids were excited that the tortillas were replaced with French toast. We gobbled it down before getting directions to our morning destination Proyecto Asis.

When I was planning this trip I read about Proyecto Asis several places. People seemed to rave about it. They are an animal refuge that you can tour. For those really interested you can spend a half day there and volunteer with them too. It sounded like people really enjoyed the volunteering and it was a worthwhile organization.

We got there 2 minutes late and they were starting so we hustled. Our resort had been dead on with directions and times this whole trip. I had read that a lot of people have gotten lost here but we had no problems with our map.

Our group was us another family with two I kids a few years older and a couple in their twenties. We were a "small" group. We met our guide Carlos and were reminded not to hug any animals.

The next two hours were filled with up close and personal meetings and stories about Costa Rica's most abundant animals - boar, monkeys, ocelot, parrots , toucans, boa constrictors and macaws. It was fascinating to learn that most parrots were sold to Mexico illegally from Central America so they could be sold "legally" to the rest of the World. The birds want to exist in pairs which is another reason they don't make good pets. You can only tell their sex my blood samples. At the refuge all the parrots pair off. It was obvious why one was "set free" by its owners. It had decided that it would mimic the sound of the crying baby at its home. Seven times a day, it was crazy.

We learned a lot about monkey behavior and how to (or not interact) with each type. We also heard that Justin Bieber was loathed for his ignorant idea at owning a white-faced monkey that has caused many local Costa Ricans too think it's okay to bring one in as a pet.

They had a baby howler monkey which was very unusual. First one in two years. He was a highlight for everyone in the group. One of the toddler spider monkeys likes to play and be tickled. We were told it was ok to play but to keep our heads back. All the monkeys like hair. My daughter couldn't help herself and had to get a closer look. Before I knew it the monkey had let go of Josh and had her hair. One bun in each hand. Screaming ensued. We got the monkey off her hair without a problem. She wasn't in any danger. He wanted to play but she listened and stayed back from the cages from there on out.

After the two hour tour was done we officially transitioned into the volunteer portion. Our entire group remained for it. We had about 15 minutes for a bathroom break and to grab some lemonade and fresh fruit. Just enough down time before we were put to work. The kids were given a pile of bananas to peel. The adults were given an assortment of fruits to slice. Everything was broken up into baskets and each kid was assigned something to be in charge of. Even our three year old was given a bucket of bird seed and corn mix to carry.

We then proceeded around the refuge revisiting all the animals and feeding them.
I think the kids enjoyed the monkeys the most but I thought the birds were pretty spectacular. Having a toucan eat straight out of your hand or walking into a cage with 40 parrots rushing at my food-filled hands was pretty crazy. The macaws were gorgeous up close, too.

At noon our visit came to an end and we said our goodbyes. We agreed it was one of the best tours we had ever been on and made sure to support the property. They invited us to come back for a few days sometime where we could work with the animals and work on our Spanish while staying there. We might have to take them up on that offer.

We had an hour before we were to be at our afternoon activity so we headed into La Fortuna for lunch. Both the kids wee asleep in minutes. We found one of the restaurants Josh remembered eating at before, Lava Lounge, I have no recollection of this place but it is actually named on the map from Leaves and Lizsrds. Other places in town had been labeled with "not good". I took this as an indirect recommendation.

Since the kids were still asleep I stayed in the car with the kids while Josh grabbed a table and ordered. Naps didn't last long in a 90 degree car. I didn't think keeping our diesel machine running next to an open air restaurant was a good idea. My meal was good. Josh said it was more commercial than he remembered. We brought home leftovers in case we needed a backup plan for dinner...

That morning we had talked to the owner at the resort about the weather and the weather forecast for the day. We were told to expect storm around 3:30 or 4 and then they'd be done around 5:30. We had reservations at our favorite family owned hot springs from 1-5. Our other option was 5-9 but that seemed too late. The weather looked fine so we headed Ecotermales. As we got closer the clouds started in. We got to the parking and we were the ONLY ones. Not a good sign since it was 1:30. We talked to the guy at the front and he said they expected the storm to hold off for an hour and a half to two hours. That would put is closer to 3:30 and may be all the kids could take. We decided to do that and just have dinner whenever the storm started. We still dreamed about this dinner after 9 years.

5 minutes later we were all changed and dipping into the coolest hot pool. Our own paradise hot spring pools all to ourselves. Pretty magical. For about two minutes. And the skies opened. My son ran for the nearby shelter. My daughter and I splashed around. Enjoying the ice cold rain drops mixing with the hot water. This has to be a bucket list item I didn't know to add.

Quickly my fairytale was interrupted by thunder and gathered the family. We decided to wait it out under the shelter. Thirty minutes went by and Josh and I realized this might not pass anytime soon. Our parenting gymnastics could only keep them occupied for so long. As the thunders became louder Josh went to speak to the front desk and was offered a full refund. It was really nice but they probably shouldn't have told us 2 hrs when it was 2 minutes. We should have had more common sense too. Oh well. It was another adventure.

As we headed back to the resort the thunders had turned into strong lighting bolts across the entire area. We made the right choice. We have to make a hard decision tomorrow as to whether to keep our original plan or try again earlier in the day.

It was pouring again when we got back. We had missed the cutoff for telling them our dinner selections but Josh caught the staff in the kitchen and was able to get them before they started pulling their cooking list. We got back to the cabin and decided to just rest and enjoy the storm through the open windows. The bunkbeds were transformed into a fort that became a game of Animal. I only caught pieces of it but the kids were acting our different animals in the wild and from the refuge that morning. We got some time to just chill. As Josh said. How can you come to a rainforest and not enjoy the rain? True.

The biggest lessons we learned this day: Probably not to over plan a day during rainy season. It's going to rain. Enjoy it.
Part of the fun is the unexpected. Go with it. Especially with kids - they have no idea.

When I think of vacation I think of splashing in cow manure, being urinated on by farm animals, doing manual labor, being surrounded by no English speakers and racing a heavy rainstorm through the rainforest before the river crossing becomes impassable. Don't you?

Ok. Maybe that wasn't exactly what I had in my mind when I chose to sign us up for a Farm Day with a local family, but we loved it. We wanted to immerse the kids in the real Costa Rica and local culture. That's exactly what this day was.

4am I was wide awake all of a sudden. No matter how hard I tried to sleep, going to bed at 8:30, combined with a very early sunrise and a body that thought it was two hours later were fighting against me. By 5 the rest of the family had joined me. Getting to 7am (when everything came alive) without waking up everyone at the resort became our new goal.

My daughter was rewarded for her good behavior (it's relative) by getting to go see the animals at the barn. We were taken first to pet the horses, then around to see the chickens and pigs. Have you heard how loud a lot of chickens are when they are ready for breakfast? After we convinced her she couldn't go into the pen with the pigs we took her around to the cows who were about to be milked. We met Nicholas and he proved to be one of the most patient men. He made room for her on his stool and helped her milk the cow until she got tired. She was mesmerized by the experience. Nicholas showed me pics of his two children and i translated all of her cow questions.

After the barn we headed up to the restaurant to get a head start on breakfast. They had our same table at the front set up for us and we had fresh mango juice and a platter of watermelon, pineapple and mango before we could even sit. I wasn't expecting a big meal since breakfast was included but we wee told today they were cooking eggs, sausage and tortillas. We could have out eggs scrambled or fried. We chose one of each. The boys showed up minutes later and put in their orders. I must say I don't remember the last time I had a breakfast this good. I'm not even a breakfast person. The eggs very incredible. I'm sure they were provably collected that morning. The pork was from the farm (sorry to my daughter...) and the tortillas were just yum. 10 out of 10

After breakfast it was time to head out for our day at a nearby farm. We got directions and hit the road. We got to go the opposite way as how we came to the resort and both Josh and I noted how glad we were to come during rainy season. Our trip in 2005 was almost this same week and was super lush. In 2008 we came in March and it was really dusty. It's obvious how the rain and greenness completely change this country. We much prefer the daily rain.

Our directions were good but we beat our hosts to the farm entrance so we missed it once. We got situated and followed to kids on an ATV through over a 100 acres of farm to a house. There we briefly met the mother of the family and then were motioned to follow several of the kids. Not a single person spoke English.

We started by going into the chicken area and one of the boys climbed a structure to collect eggs. My son (several years younger) immediately followed suit. In what seemed like an instant he had grabbed an egg broken it, fallen through the rungs of the ladder and then full out broken part of the whole structure apart. This was all in the first 10 minutes.

Josh is now looking at me like "where in the world have you taken us?) I just smile and we trudge along. Next stop was to go in with the cows. I thought we were going to do something with the cows but we actually were climbing into the hay loft so the kids could show chicken eggs that had hatched, I was starting to realize this was show and tell. Around this time, my sweet sweet daughter chose to jump in a wet pile of cow diarrhea that sprayed all over her and I. Lovely. Just smile.

A couple phone calls were made and a tractor showed up. My son wanted to immediate climb in the back. I held him back as it was filled with. You guessed it. Manure. Right then the girl running the show, said car. Yep! We jumped in their truck and took off, somewhere.

I wish I had photographed Josh at this moment. I should give him credit. Ten years ago going to a country that doesn't speak English was out of his comfort zone. I don't know many people that would just go spend the day with strangers in their home.

We showed up at a field and there were several men working. Josh quickly figured out that they were clearing a hill to plant with grass for the cows. Three men were planting while two more were working a machine to dig the land. That's interesting. I wonder how long we are staying here? We kept standing and watching and then the boss came over. Eric. It was obvious he was the owner of the farm and he confirmed what they were doing. Without any other explanation he was back in the backhoe. I wonder why we are watching this?

All of a sudden the men who were planting appear with a pile of grass and start handing us piles. They show us how to drop it, stomp it and cover it up. An hour later, in 90 degree heat our son is the only one who actually planted. Our daughter stopped after one and became a diva. Josh sat with her and I took pictures of our son. The whole morning he couldn't get the concept of "they don't speak English". He would just blabber away and these kids would stare at me pleadingly. During the planting with the men he started communicating somehow. It was great to watch that unfolding and see how determined of a worker he could be,

I finally thought I was going to pass out from heat stroke and gathered the family to go up to the nearby cow barn. The men understood that and took us into it. I looked down and was alarmed. Is that, blood? Oh my gosh it is! They led us back behind a gate and I quickly knew why. A calf had just been born there 4 hours prior. Other than that horse in Belize I had never seen such a big newborn before! We got to see them raising the calf to stand and taking her to be with her mom. It was pretty cool.

By now we were hot, sweaty and smelly. Was it lunchtime yet? Nope time to go fishing! My son proceeded to tell Eric, who was now acting as guide, how his daddy killed a fish last time we did this. The kids were told that they were catching their lunch, given a fishing line with a hook and a ball of fish food on it and taken to the pond to go at it. Despite our valiant attempt, we didn't catch any fish. Josh and I are questioning whether it's possible. We were asked if we were hungry and the idea of soap caused me to respond ecstatically.

We returned to their house where Eric's wife, kids and several nieces and nephews joined us. We had about half an hour until it would be ready. Two of the younger kids, Santiago and Erica asked the kids to play a tag game with them. Blanking on the name now but I played it all the time growing up. They couldn't figure out how to explain the game with the language barrier so they grabbed my kids by the shirts and started running, that worked. Probably one of the coolest parts of the day was watching the kids play. They had no idea how to talk to each other but they had a blast. One would count in Spanish, then one in English. They'd look to me or Eric to translate.

Lunch was family style with both our families. Simple but I'm sure fresh and from the farm. Fried fish. Rice, beans, tortillas and pico de gallo - so good but my son wouldn't eat it because Santiago doesn't like it....Papaya for dessert.

After lunch was siesta time. Good luck with our kids! All the kids ended up playing a few games. First a board game and then matching with cards. After a bit they were told it was time to milk the cows and we headed back to the barn.

After this morning I was expecting a pail and a stool. I forgot they had 70 dairy cows and that wasn't logical. We walked into a full in lecheria. It was quite the system. We helped with half of the cows is guess. It was a mad rush to fill up each of their food bowls. Lock them in and get them hooked up to the milking hoses. The kids helped with the hoses and somehow my daughter got peed on on the process. She was such a trooper and still wanted her turn next round.

I thought we were done after milking. Nope. Now we make cheese. How us that possible in an afternoon. Oh it is. We gathered a bucket of milk and headed back to the house. Josh was instructed to wash his arms and to stick them in the bucket with the milk and some sort of liquid. No clue. A few swirls and then we were told wait 20 minutes. Ok sure.

The kids were happy playing so we hung out on the patio with Eric. A storm was starting to come in and the temp was falling nicely. Eric and I got talking in Spanish for a long time and I was surprised at how quickly it came back. He said it was really impressive which made me feel good and more comfortable to keep practicing. I don't remember what we were saying but I started my famous laugh. All of a sudden I heard it. There parrot was imitating me! She was laughing like me. That of course had me in hysterics. I pulled out my phone to record her and shut up. Of course.

20 minutes up. Josh now had to "very slowly" hand mix the milk mixture. Yummy.... When he was done with that 5 minutes Eric instructed him how to press and strain the cheese. This was quite the manual process but we ended up with a huge block of cheese. After the salt was added it was covered and we were told another 20 minutes.

The storm was really coming in now. It was starting to rain. I think the 20 min wait turned into 10. We had chunks of cheese handed to us. We said our goodbyes and Eric then says "The river rises fast. Go! Go now! Fast!" What?!?!

Thankfully we got out of their in time but he was right. The road roads turn slick fast and we had a crossing that would probably be impassable soon. What he didn't warn us of were the numerous cow rope fences tied across the road I would have to jump out and untie in the torrential downpour.

We made it home. Just in time for a hot shower and nap before dinner. Except... The power appears to be out and the hot water is electric. Cold showers. We still were clean and ended up at dinner dry for another great meal. Kids were snoring by 6:50 and Josh and I struggled to stay awake until 8. Let's hope my internal clock turns off.