Wedding bells. . .

Nope, no renewal of the vows down here. . . However, we had our first wedding at Tree Houses last week. . . A great couple from Dallas came down to get hitched in Costa Rica. . . Not an uncommon happening, but most folks choose to get married on the beach (like Hawaii) instead of the jungle. . . The bride first e-mailed me about three months ago, asking if they could get hitched here. . . We get plenty of honeymooners, but this was the first wedding here. . . They wanted to scout out the hotel grounds for the wedding site, and not surprisingly, they chose the waterfall and pools to seal their nuptials. . . They told their families that they were getting hitched in Costa Rica a couple of weeks before they came down (enough time to ensure that they wouldn't be able to get passports) and are planning on telling other folks about their Costa Rican vacation with wedding pictures from here.

They had everything all set up by the time they arrived: the officiant and the photographer. . . Lucy, myself and the officiant's wife and kids were the only witnesses. They got married on the walkway by the first pool, where the waterfall first splashes down. . . It was a very nice ceremony, and the officiant was quite the character, flailing his arms and offering to stand in the pools and look up at them to conduct the ceremony.

After the wedding, they opted to drive up to La Fortuna for some hiking and time in the hot springs. . . Unfortunately, when they returned to the hotel at 11:30 at night, the power had gone out and the gate wouldn't open as it's run by electricity. . . I walked up to the gate with a flashlight to walk them in. . . Ten minutes later, there's a knock on the door, and the groom was there. . . They had locked their keys in their car and their camera was in plain sight. . . This is a pretty safe area, but better to be safe and not offer up the temptation. . . We were up on the road until 2:30 a.m. trying to jimmy open the locks with a coat hanger. . . None of us has a career in car boosting.

Finally, I drove the Galloper up to the gate, and the newlyweds spent their first night as man and wife. . . sleeping in a Hyundai SUV until the sun came up and they felt OK enough to leave the car alone. . . They were great folks and had us take their picture in front of Tree House No. 4 (the Galloper). . .