Daddy's Christmas Angel

Monday, January 23, 2017

Journey to Costa Rica

"Last Evening in Costa Rica" ©Olen Sikes
Last summer, when I went to pick up my painting and piece of sculpture from the Chesapeake Bay Pen Women show at the Bay School in Mathews, several women urged me to support the Bay School endeavors by purchasing a raffle ticket. The Bay School Community Arts Center has been a wonderful facility for area artists, providing classes, a gallery for display, and much more, so, of course, I wanted to buy a ticket.

Although I didn't have a pocketbook with me at the time, I remembered the emergency money stashed away with my cell phone. I found a $20 bill there and purchased the ticket, expecting only to make a donation and nothing more. I forgot about it, so you can imagine my surprise when Pam Doss, executive director, called at the end of September with the news that I had won the trip to Costa Rica.

The prize was round trip airfare for two, along with a stay at one of two Marriotts located there. After researching both resorts, we chose Los Suenos Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort at Herradura, partly because it was available in January when Virginia is often cold and dreary.

I was especially excited because the only "Passenger to Paradise" book I have ever written without visiting the location is Jungle Jeopardy which features part of its setting in Costa Rica. Now that I have been there, I can feel most confident about the details I researched.

The Los Suenos Marriott Resort is lovely, situated next to a luxury marina that was hosting a three-leg fishing tournament which appeared to be quite an important event. I know nothing about fishing nor related tournaments, so I could only observe the setting up efforts and imagine what would take place later.

The resort pools were magical. The buffet breakfast (included in our package) each day was outstanding. We were happy to enjoy many of the features at the resort, including a zumba class and Spanish lessons.

I'm happy I found that hidden $20 bill and that Olen and I enjoyed the luxury of Los Suenos Resort. Thank you, Bay School, for a magical and memorable trip to Costa Rica.

7 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That was great luck! I wouldn't have thought more about the ticket either. What an awesome prize.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

It was, Alex! Thanks for visiting.

Birgit said...

Hey...that is great news that you won this trip and could take it when all is dreary around here. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and am looking forward to your creativity from visiting this country.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Oh wow! What a time to win big. What a treat.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Monti - how amazing and how lucky you had your secret stash of cash! I bet it was so memorable ... cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

I'm glad you and Olen had such a wonderful time! I can't wait to see what this sparks in your artwork and feature it in the gallery here. Thank you for your support of the Bay School.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Birgit, January is the longest and dreariest month of the year. Even with the lovely trip, it's still January! Thank you for commenting.

Diane, it was. Thanks!

Hilary, it's always a good idea to have a secret stash! Thanks for visiting.

Pam, that would be a good idea to create art about the trip. Thank you!