"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Wow!  Thoreau nailed it!

Ren Man has fished for most of his life,

but catching fish was only one of the benefits to be reaped

 from our first annual family fishing trip.

The planning began with 'the foodie' designing the shirt...

and properly coordinating with appropriate camouflage pants

 for a family photo op.

Soon, we were in the air to San Jose,

followed by a drive across crocodile laden rivers,

through the rolling hills of Costa Rica...

to our condo in Jaco.
(Tip #1 If fishing in Los Suenos, stay in Jaco. It is close by and has much more character.
Unless you like a low key marina scene.)

Our departure on the first day...

(don't be alarmed...auto-pilot in control)

very early... 

with Fishing Costa Rica Experts...

and our team of experts...
(Tip #2 Ask for Firefly and its captain)

was filled with wildlife surprises.

Our escorts out to sea...

were spinner dolphins...

delighting us with their gymnastic routines...

and underwater flirting.

Meanwhile, like shy wallflowers 
compared to the dolphin...
the turtles...

and pilot whales meandered about at a distance.

All unexpected side shows to the real show about to unfold.

After a lot of this...

thankfully...

after listening to a few bits of wisdom...

 moments later this happened.

And after all the excitement...

this happened.
freshest.ceviche.ever.

While my mouth was salivating...

at the thought of the ceviche marinating nearby...

the action required all hands on deck!

Ren Man had to work it...

to real in...

his addition...

to our tuna count.

They shamed me into putting my camera down and try my hand at fishing
 so I caught a dorado (mahi mahi) because it matched my outfit.

During the slow times...
'Movie man' had some fun with his drone
 and captured this view from above.

Even though Ren Man says it is unlucky
 to sit in 'the chair' when you are not fishing...

I did it anyway on the way back in...
since we already caught some fish.

We also caught a bit of the sunset from the bar at Los Suenos marina
while our fish was being iced and packed.
(Tip #3  Have your fish frozen and packed in ice chests.  
The airport is well accustomed to wrapping your goodies for the flight home)

Needless to say...

fresh tuna was prepared by the chef at the beach cafe next door...

and placed before us on our table..

We came home with so much tuna,
our next dinner party had a bag of frozen tuna steaks
 as a most unusual party favor.

Although, Ren Man did hope to catch fish...
being with our grown children and making memories
was definitely the best part of this adventure.
2nd Annual Lago Vista Fishing Club trip is in the works.

"...and all at once, summer collapsed into fall." ~ Oscar Wilde

This post is two seasons late!

 Pardon my beautiful pink spring flowers

 as we prepare for the oranges and yellows of fall.

Many moons ago,

my dad was stationed in Tokyo 

during the U.S. occupation of Japan,

until being sent to fight in the Korean War.

As a tween and teenager,

his fondness for Japan was made embarrassingly clear 

everytime he would answer the phone with 'moshi moshi'.

My friends in small town Texas were unimpressed. Ha!

Anywho...

when choosing the itinerary for my parents and 'the foodie' 

to visit this side of the world,

a stopover in Tokyo made perfect sense...

especially since their visit coincided with the last few weeks of March.

Even the birds perched patiently...

 waiting for those cheerful pink buds to appear.

Fortunately,

there was one overachiever...

to provide the perfect backdrop for our generational photos.

When the guide heard my dad practicing his Japanese 

and mentioning areas of Tokyo he remembered...

she thoughfully catered our tour

Shibuya Flower Project

to offer him a glimpse of Tokyo today... 

and how it has held on to its past...

 amidst inevitable change.

Hamarikyu Gardens offers a stroll 

through an old duck hunting ground...

and is home to this 300 year old pine tree.

 As the others meandered about...

'the foodie' and I savored a casual DIY tea ceremony...

 in a teahouse used to entertain senior samurai 

and imperial family members in the past.

A few months earlier,

when Ren Man and I explored Tokyo on foot,

we were able to walk around... 

one of Tokyo's largest graveyards...

so big in fact, it has its own police station.

Most days, a stroll through the twenty five acre garden like property 

offers complete solitude,

with the exception of two days of the year 

when family members spend the day cleaning around the family gravesite.

Spring, and the fast approaching, Autumn equinox.

Being familiar with Spring cleaning 

 any connection with equinox never occurred to me.

Meanwhile...

next stop...

Kyoto.