The roof, the roof, the roof is

on top! For the other devotees of 1980s music, you can add your own words, but we are keeping this as a family blog for now.

Palomino and the boys aren't wasting much time and this is the most dangerous part of the tree house build.

They don't wear safety lines, they just walk around (socks only, they don't like shoes) from beam to beam and put up the ceiling.

We always ask, and they always chuckle, when we bring up the issue of a safety line.

If you frame it. . .

They will come (apologies to the Iowa cornfields). Here you can see the shell waiting for walls and a roof.

The scrawny tree on the left (with just a few green shoots showing) is known as a sloth tree. The sloths, the rumor has it, particularly favor this tree as it has a narcotic effect on them (like koalas and eucalyptus).

The branches are hollow and from personal experience, we know they are loaded with fire ants. The sloths love the trees and guests love the sloths.

Rough plumbing

You can even see one of the pipes for water already put in.

Another look

At the lookout with tarp over it to keep it somewhat dry. Actually had some rain in April which is pretty rare.

Looking out

From the inside looking out. The front is where the black tarp is at.

Framed

Here is part of the framing going up for the new tree house. This is the fourth tree house that Palomino and the boys have done, and they know what to do.

There are no elevators

In the tree houses, so you have to head up the steps. Here they are for the new tree house.

View from up high. . .

Here is the view from the new tree house. This will be in the back corner, where the shower will be. The shower is open quite a bit, so there will be a great view while folks are soaping up.

It isn't always pretty

Putting up a new tree house. There has to be a septic dug out and made ready for guests.

Here's lumber from the mill. . .

This came in two truckloads and was taken off by hand, not a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday To You - Mark!!!

He's a sneaky one, this birthday boy....

It's tradition here in Costa Rica to get egged on your birthday.....and the staff here really love when it's someone's birthday as they get into the idea of breaking as many eggs on someone's head as possible...it's come to be tree house tradition here to try and egg and outdo the other person each year...Mark holds to title of "King of Egging" as he got one of our staff REALLY good earlier this year....

So, this year Mark was prepared to get egged, but not get yolked up....so he came to his pre-birthday celebration in full on gear.....as much as he tried to stay free of eggs, he did end up taking his helmet off and get egged a few times...but, it's all in good fun..

It's nice to have a good birthday meal (chicharonnes, arroz con pollo, yucca, salad, fries & of course birthday cake), but it's hard to find someone to sit next to you because they don't want to fall into your egging and get all yoked up...

Happy Birthday Mark!!!!  We love you!!!!

Wood and lumber. . .

Some of the wood is from fallen trees, while other we have brought in. These are some of the fallen trees that will be used for the railings around the new tree house. At right, Miguel is stripping the bark off of them, and on the left is the finished product.

They need time to dry before being put up and varnished.

Have a floor!

Here is the lookout for the new tree house. Palomino and the boys are moving right along with the construction.

Happy Birthday to Patricia Maxine!

Otherwise known as mom. Another year and still feisty and sweet (sounds impossible, but it's true). Here's a blast from way in the past and see who can figure out which one is mom.

Going up II. . .

Here's Palomino doing some welding. When the guys are welding up top, there's no safety lines, they just take off their shoes and hop from beam to beam and weld away.

Going up. . .

Indeed, they aren't wasting much time. Most of the support system is up. It was about a week between the past pictures and these.

We do lag a bit in the breaking news department here. No more daily deadlines.

More of the new. . .

The earth is solid in this part of the country and it's not exactly a walk in the park to dig the holes for the supports for the tree houses.

It is hard and dirty work, though Palomino and his crew have done three already and know the process.

Long rumored, and now confirmed!

This is it. The new tree house, now being built. This will give us seven tree houses here at the hotel.

This one will be the same as the Yiguirro and it should be done by the middle of May.

Family and food. . .

It doesn't get much better than this. Great food at Italianissimo (in Ciudad Quesada) and great family (right from the head of the table: Tippy, Chris, Kali, Jake, editorial, art dept.).

Tippy is a long-time lurker and deathly afraid of snakes, though she conquered her fear to come down to visit us in March and we were very happy to see the family down this way.

Also from Nikko

The old saying: Hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil has been around for a long, long time in Japan.

What's a trip to Japan

Without a visit to a sushi joint? There were a lot of plates stacked up next to us after lunch here in Tokyo.

No parking issues here. . .

 With a double-decker system, there's likely to be space for your bike here in Tokyo.

The best restaurant in Japan

Hippari-Dako in Nikko, run by Miki-san. My mother while I was living in Japan, as I was able to visit up in Nikko about once a month to get out of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

More of Nikko

Here is the Toshugu Shrine and temples in Nikko. Yes, that is snow on the ground and the art department was well prepared for the cold.