Another look at the waterfall. . .

This is more from a lower-level view of the first pool at the waterfall.

As the three of you know that read this blog regularly, there are three pools at the waterfall.

We drain and clean the pools every 10 to 12 days (the pools are man-made; the waterfall is natural) so they are perfect for jumping into (no diving, they're only 2 or 3 feet deep) and cooling off after the 3-kilometer hike to get there.

Now, this is cool. . .

This is from the photographers who came to stay with us in October and took some amazing pictures of the grounds and tree houses; David and Ally McKay.

With their lenses and computers, they create some amazing images and this is of the waterfall at the end of our trail.

To get to the waterfall, it's about a 3-kilometer hike and there are three pools at the falls where you can jump in and relax in the cool water after the 30-minute hike (faster if you're younger and more energetic).

There is a picnic table and restroom down at the waterfall, so folks can make an afternoon of it.

If you have the capability, click on the picture and see it in full-size.

Mas frutas. . .

And lest you think Patricia, Darleen and Sedie fall into a funk in serving breakfast, here is another version of the fruit that is served with breakfast.

Geez, maybe I need to petition Brooke Johnson for a gig at the Food Network?

Anyway, it looks great and it takes them just a few minutes to get everything all set up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since all three of the readers are from the States, hope you all have a great day today!

We are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday, as we have four checkouts and four checkins tomorrow, so there won't be much time to relax and enjoy the turkey and fixins.

We do have a turkey, a Butterball, in fact. However, this comes at a premium, since the turkeys are imported to Costa Rica. We ended up with about a 15-pound bird, one of the smaller ones at Maxi Bodega and it came to nearly 25,000 colones. . . That would be close to $50.00 for those not up to speed on the exchange rate.

We're going to have our neighbor, Carlos, over for dinner on Sunday afternoon for some food and fellowship and hopefully a good time will be had by all.

Food time. . . again. . .

And after you polish off the fresh fruit, there is the main course for breakfast. We change things up here, so folks don't have to eat the same thing every day. This is one of our favorites: spinach and potato quiche.

Real men may not each quiche, but if you try this, you may very well change your mind. Light and flaky crust, with a solid and hearty filling.

Yes, I sound like a schill for the Food Network or something funky like that, but it is really good stuff. Patricia, one of the ladies who works here at Tree Houses and is a culinary wizard, came up with the recipe and it is outstanding.

Revolt at Tree Houses. . .

OK, not really, but kind of close. The other day, we received an e-mail request from a person who wanted to stay with us for a couple of nights. Unfortunately, we were all booked for that time period in December.

We sent back a reply telling them that there was no room at the inn, and the response came back thanking us for letting them know, and did we have any recommendations.

On the tagline on the reply, was an e-mail signature and it said: Brooke Johnson, President, Food Network.

Now, for those of you who know Lucy, you understand that she loves the Food Network and everything about it.

There was a quick debate (tears were shed, agony and misery) about booting other folks out, but after cooler heads prevailed (thanks to Mr. ESPN, SkySports, etc.) the realization set in, that Lucy was just plain out of luck.

Perhaps next time; and maybe there could be an Iron Chef Tree Houses version in the future?

Food time. . .

A full breakfast is included here at Tree Houses, and it always includes fresh fruit, juice and all the coffee you can guzzle. Here's a picture of the fruit that is served here, and it comes fresh pretty much year-round.

This is some pineapple with banana, mango, sour orange and other good stuff.

The upside to a cold. . .

At least that's how I'm thinking of it. After an excellent visit in Wisconsin with the folks and my brother, I picked up a cold that knocked me out for about a week. The usual regimen was followed: injection, some over-the-counter medicines that you need a prescription for back home, rest, fluid, etc.

It was finally beaten into submission and the other day I was feeling much better.

Now, there is no scientific basis for my little theory, but when I was down and out, I didn't get a single mosquito bite. Not one. The morning I woke up and was feeling in fine fettle, I went outside for a morning walk and came back chewed up silly.

Maybe the rotten buggers don't like the cold bug? Anyone have a thought?

Coffee + safe

does not equal a good thing, as some guests recently discovered. There are security safes, like the one pictured, in all of the tree houses. They are large enough for passports, wallets, small cameras, etc.

However, they are not built to withstand dumping coffee on top of them (go figure). After an evening of dinner and libations at one of the local restaurants, a couple decided to have some coffee. How, exactly, the coffee got on and into the safe isn't exactly clear.

There are combinations to all of the safes (though that doesn't stop some folks from trying to program their own and locking themselves out) and they are battery operated.

Apparently, the coffee got the batteries wet and the connections, so they couldn't open it up. We have keys for all of the safes, so we can use those to open everything up. That's what we did, and the couple retrieved their passports and wallets before heading on to their next destination.

Congo porch

Here is the porch of the Congo tree house. The picture was taken before we put up the table with benches, so there's more seating room out there now. The railings were done entirely from fallen trees, and had to be skinned, sanded and varnished before they were cut up and put around the outside of the house.

Outside in daylight. . .

Here's the Congo tree house in the daylight, so you can get a more direct view instead of the artsy approach of the night shot. There is a wrap-around porch and plenty of room on the front. There is a table with benches and a rocking chair for folks to sit out front and watch the wildlife from up high.

Yes, there are bathrooms

In the tree houses. That's maybe the top question I get asked. Sometimes folks wait until they arrive before they ask about that, and I typically tell them that the bathrooms are 1.5 miles down the trail through the jungle.

Sometimes they are not amused, but I am always amused by their reactions.

There is a sink, toilet and shower in each of the tree houses. The showers have two large screens on either side, so it's nearly like showering outdoors.

Inside the Congo tree house

Here's a shot of the inside, with the two queen beds and the single bunk above.

Yep, the bunk looks like it's two single beds, but trust us, it's a queen-size on the bottom.

The new tree houses are very private and farther back on the property and are really nice.

Casa del Congo

Here is a picture taken by David and Ally McKay, professional photographers from Sacramento. They took some shots of the tree houses while they were here and provided us with some shots that will soon be on the Web site.

This is one of the new tree houses from the outside, the Monkey tree house.

It's cold in Wisconsin. . .

But is it that cold? According to Lucy, it is. So, when we stepped off the plane the other day in Madison, Wis., we were greeted by my folks -- and a fur coat for Lucy.

Yes, it's real fur. And it's a rental. Lucy, who has never been one to weather the colder climes well, is now wrapped in a warm and fuzzy coat for the duration of our time here in Wisconsin, just a couple hundred miles south of the "Frozen Tundra" of Green Bay and the mighty Packers.

OK, it's not politically correct, but everyone is happy and warm.

Vacation feeding. . .

OK, we're here in the land of Wisconsin: Mucho cheese, beef, beer and chips. Basically a lot of the good stuff that will send you to the hospital in your later years.

Today, while trolling up and down the aisles searching for things that we can't find back home in Costa Rica, we came across a gem that seemed too good to be true: Dutch Crunch Hot Buffalo Wings with Bleu Cheese potato chips.

We figured that we would buy a bag to see what it was like, and it more than lived up to its promise. These are some outstanding, artery-clogging chips that are definitely worth picking up at some point if you happen to stumble across them.

Outta here!

For the next 8 to 10 days or so. We're driving down to the San Jose Airport before flying out on Nov. 1 for a week in Wisconsin to see the folks. As a bonus, my brother is flying out from California, so we'll have an early Thanksgiving.

The one hitch: After being in Hawaii for nearly nine years and down here for going on two years, we don't have diddly for cold-weather gear. Could be a little frigid for us (especially Lucy) while back in the Midwest for a week.

We'll be back on November 10 or so, and will put up some pics of the new tree houses and the area taken by some real pros so everyone can get a good look at stuff.