Happy Halloween!

Yep, it's early, but that's because we're out of here and won't be back until around that time and may not post again until then or early November.

We're headed to the land of cheeseheads to visit family and relax before things really ramp up here at the hotel.

Yes, Mini-B is going with us. She is getting to be a well-traveled pooch. The little one will be kenneled as she's a handful and she needs to be spayed and get her puppy hernia issues taken care of.

Just in case you're wondering. . .

We have had some other brushes with fame, though not of the big-time variety.

In the past:

**A soccer player in the UK on a team that plays just below the Premier League division and had his own fan site.

** A fellow that is the executive producer of the Broadway show "Jersey Boys" and sets up all of the off-Broadway events for the production.

**A fellow that is an actor in New York (mostly on and off Broadway) though he has been in several episodes of Law & Order--we actually spotted him on one episode not too long after he left here. He was a crusty dude who was interviewed by Briscoe and Green that didn't know much, early in the show. ("Every actor in NYC has been in Law & Order; it's not a big deal," he told us).

There likely have been others, though either we don't remember, or they didn't tell us. Once, the president of the Food Network wanted to come and stay, but we were unfortunately already booked. The art department was crushed.

A brush with fame, kinda, sorta. . .

Had some great folks from Australia down here recently and really enjoyed getting to know them and talk to them.

One of the fellows hung around at breakfast later than the others one morning and we were chatting about what he did back in Australia and various things.

He said that he had just finished a television show that took three months and he was now on holiday and looking to get as far away from Australia as possible.

Not wanting to pry, the editorial department didn't probe further at the time.

Later though, a Web search turned up that he was the very first bachelor for Australia on the TV show "The Bachelor."

Guess the show finally filtered down under.

After reading some articles that the press have written about the fellow (the show is about halfway through its run and it seems that after the filming is done, everyone goes into hiding to not give away the ending so they can claim their rewards afterward) he can't be blamed for heading halfway around the world with his friends to escape the madness.

With monkeys on a tree house

Comes some challenges. First of all, the monkeys love to leave not-so-small deposits of their presence on the deck of the tree house.

The guests the other night were a little worried, asking if the monkeys would attack them. No, they are not chimps and they won't go all nuts on you. We even put in a call to the rescue center up the road and they said they have never heard of a howler monkey attacking a person like that.

There is a baby in the family, so common sense dictates don't approach the baby, even though it doesn't come onto the tree house; just the alpha male.

The other morning, the male was outside of the tree house on the railing and was leaning across the railing and putting his hands on the glass, peeking in. This was about a foot above the bed where the guests were at. Possibly a Peeping Tom of the simian world.

Best guest comment--ever

The other day, we had some fellows check into the Frog tree house. Their friend (another dude and his buddy) made the reservation.

About 5 minutes after they all checked in, these two strapping lads from Texas came up to our house/office and wanted to know if they could be moved.

The conversation went like this:

DUDE 1: Do you have a tree house with more than one bed?

DUDE 2: Mm-mm!

ME: There are two single beds in the loft of our your tree house, just climb up the ladder.

DUDE 1: (audible sigh) Great! I just want to go back to Texas the same man as I left.

DUDE 2: Mm-mm!

For the record, all of the tree houses have at least three beds in them.

We have a winner!

Kind of. . . sort of. . . maybe. . . aw, crud, we're keeping her.

The art department couldn't bear to part with the little critter after she was rescued off of a busy road (think the 1980s game Frogger and that was the art department and the pooch last week).

This will bring us up to three pooches (all girls) here at the hotel.

We have dubbed the newest one Akila. She was just a belch over 1 kilogram when she came to us, and since she's a girl, here in Costa Rica, you drop the "O" and make the last vowel an "A". We just tossed the other "A" on the front for grins and giggles (though Akeelah and the Bee was a great movie with Laurence Fishbourne--shameless plug and endorsements welcome).

So, for the legions of you that put in a claim on her, she is here now and you can visit her, and us, whenever you head down this way.

People often ask. . .

How can you tell the difference between a male monkey and a mama monkey? .

Well, with this picture, it's pretty obvious to tell which is which.

Another monkey on a tree house!

Can't tell you how jazzed we were down here to see the critters on a tree house porch. That hasn't happened since we've been here for nearly five years.

While the alpha male (pictured) did leave a bit of a marking on the porch, it was really great to see them up and close.

Another poochie shot. . .

OK, so she has a bit of doberman in her. And give her a break, this was the first real meal that she had had in her 6 weeks or so before the art department plucked her from the road.

You can count the ribs if you can zoom in close enough, and she plays very nicely with Bejuca and Mini-B.

At first, it was a massive sniff-in between the three of them (the little one being the sniff-ee) and they're all in a nice routine now.

She's just waiting for the right folk (hint, hint, Tokyo, Waianaie, Kalihi--ditch the cats--Hawaii Kai, Lewiston, Madison, D.C.) to step on up!

Here she is again. . .

For you lucky winner from Japan, Honolulu, Idaho, Wisconsin or D.C. (we did not forget about the Magnuson family, the kid need a pooch!).

She's a smart little thing and while still a bit shy, she knows when it's time to be fed.

As of now, she's a lap dog, though since she's 3 pounds, who knows what will happen in a few months?

Either way, she's a sweetheart and is looking for a good home (Hawaii Kai is also nice this time of year!)

Monkey on a tree house!

This is one of the tree houses here, and that's a monkey hanging out on the porch.

We're not going to tell you which tree house is is, we're just going to tease you with it.

There was a bit of a morning surprise on the veranda from the bugger, but the folks didn't care as the critter was hanging out right outside of their door when they came out to get their coffee, which is delivered hot and fresh to the tree house every morning.

Muchas gracias, Mrs. Eidson

Eight years ago today, Lucy gave into poor judgment (fortunately) and said "I do."

It was in Walnut Creek, Calif., and several of the loyal readers actually made the journey to celebrate the big day with us, and we are very grateful.

We've been lucky enough to celebrate our past few anniversaries down this way in the jungle and will do so again today. We may catch a break with no one checking in or out tomorrow.