Also that time of year. . .

When the number of guests starts to slow down. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate into a lot of down time here at the hotel.

This year, like in the past, we pick a tree house, close it down for a few days and clean, sand and varnish the entire building inside and out.

The Frog tree houses is finished and is looking brand new and shiny.

The Sloth is next on the list, and it's going to be closed for nearly two weeks. We're going to take out the Pergo flooring in there, then sand, fill, stain and varnish the flooring underneath to give it a cleaner look. Also, the sliding glass doors that surround two sides are coming out, to be replaced by large windows.

The doors are a great idea in theory, but are a real hassle. The tree that goes through the house is constantly moving, growing, etc., and as a result the tree house itself is constantly moving. The doors get off track, refuse to close and they're just not worth the hassle. The view will still be the same when the windows are put in, it just will make routine maintenance much easier.

That was a long explanation to basically say the blogging will be irregular for the next couple of weeks as more time will be devoted to making sure that we can finish the Sloth up in time for when the next guests are scheduled to check in. No room at the inn if it's not finished.

Happy Birthday!

To Herb Eidson, the coolest and best dad anyone could ever ask for.

Modesty (and threats) prevent us from revealing the age here, but feel free to guess in the comments section and post any wishes you may have.

I love you dad!

That time of year. . .

When the mamones, or lychee, are ripe and are falling off the trees. Here in Costa Rica, the fruit is a bit more on the spiky side on the outside than in Asia. It still tastes great with just a hint of tartness.

Of course, moderation is recommended when eating the little things, as too much can lead to a bit of balky belly.

That didn't stop some guests who just couldn't get enough. Doesn't slow us down much, either, as we'll eat them by the bagful.

Inspection of lines. . .

The inspector from Coopalesca came out and gave everything the official Okely-Dokely after Miguel had put up the posts and the other box and the wiring. He said it was a great job and was impressed with the work.

The inspector then put in the work order to have some fellows come out to install the meter.

They showed up to put in the meter late in the afternoon a couple of days later, and we were finally ready to complete the final steps.

However, these yahoos said that there was more work that needed to be done, so they packed it in and didn't do anything. Miguel needs to do some more welding and change one of the cables out.

Then, we'll have the inspector come out again and then the meter guys and then the dude to hook everything up to the new transformer.

That, of course, will happen when pigs fly and the folks get on the same page.

The over/under is set for Christmas when this will actually be finished.

Hometown visitors. . .

For the first time in 2.5 years here at the hotel, we had someone from a hometown. It wasn't mine, it was Lucy's hometown of Visalia, Calif.

A great group of folks came down (nine in total) and stayed for a few nights.

Some of them had grown up in Visalia, like Lucy, and others had moved there. With so many of them running around, it was hard to keep track of all, and on the day they left, we found out that one had worked with Lucy's sister, Dolores, for a spell and dubbed her "One of my favorite people of all time."

Now, if someone from Longview, Wash., would get their rears down this way, then all would be complete.

Did we say one step closer?

Silly us. Of course, that turned out not to be the case.

We're still waiting.

The electric company did come out with a new meter. The fellow that showed up, however, told us that we needed an additional box, that Coopalesca doesn't provide.

We needed a box with a lever to turn things off, and more cables to hook everything together.

Naturally, none of this wisdom was imparted during the entire six-month process of getting everything out.

Miguel hot-footed it down to the local hardware store, where the box we needed wasn't in stock. Off to another hardware store, where we got the box. Then a day or so of welding on Miguel's part to put the box up and then hook everything up.

Now, it's up to the Coopalesca folks to come back out again and give the final OK and hook up the meter.

Would like to say we'll be fully connected by the end of the week, but then again, we thought we would be wired by the end of July.

Pooch break. . .

This has nothing at all to do with the hotel here, but it's a great shot of what the Eidson family likes to call "Big Weeb" and "Little Weeb."

Not to give anything away, but "Big Weeb" has been to Costa Rica three times, while "Little Weeb" has stayed behind.