Well surprise managed to figure out how to download the pictures of where i am staying, isn't my bedroom cute!!!!! Cannot do justice the canyon and waterfall will try and capture it tomorrow when the mist comes in. Enjoy Costa Rica!!!!!!

Hello from Cuidad Colon a beautiful small town that is about 45 minutes away from the capital city San Jose, the home I am staying in is incredible, very nicely furnished and the grounds are incredible and the canyon and waterfall that I look out from the gazebo is breath taking!!!!!! Ebverything is so fresh and green because of all the rain. I knew this was the rainy season and if the last two days are any sort of pattern it is sunny and warm around 80 degrees in the mornings till about 2pm when the clouds come in and the rain begins, very heavy and sometimes thunder and lightening, not much you can do about it except take in stride. My friend who owns the house has been showing me around the town and surrounding areas and it is very peaceful and simple. I don't see the abject poverty that I know from my travels to Mexico, nor the shacks nor the kids running barefoot in the streets, I am sure it exists somewhere. This is going to be a very interesting time I shall plan outings in the mornings and arrange to be home before the rain starts, I am going to take the time to relax, read, practice my Spanish, get things organized for my trip south next month and of course watch the baseball playoffs!!!! The only minor negative is that I cannot seem to get my computer to hook up to the Internet here so I am using my friends computer and I don't know if I can get my camera connected and post pictures. So it may mean that the blog will be photo less until I go some where else where I can download pictures. I am going to try from here but if not it will be all writing , then a multitude of pictures. Trust me the photo of the canyon and the waterfall are worth waiting for!!!! Have a great day and to my friends keep those e mail coming..

Welcome to my first post from Costa Rica, it is pretty amazing in just about 24 hours I have travelled over 3500 miles and settled in a hotel room in a small town in Central America. I arrived here at 10.30pm so didn’t really get any sense of how anything is except of course the hustle, bustle, music and smiling faces.
The journey here was a good one with only one glitch, not counting the 360 pound gentleman that stood on my bare foot as he was heading down the aisle of the plane to the wash room, I don’t think I need surgery!!!!!
The ferry leaving Nanaimo was on time and I had the two cutest taxi drivers ever (thanks). I had made a sign for the ferry to see if anyone was going to the airport who would give me a ride, but I think there was maybe 10 people on the ferry, but I did see another lady as a foot passenger and I asked her if she was heading to the airport and she was so we shared a cab, which put us at the airport at 1.30am. We sat and talked for over one hour and without giving out her personal information, the story she told just made me realize how important health is and of course doing the things you want to do in your life whilst you can.
I tried to sleep at the airport but just finished up walking all around the concourse inside and out until my 6.30am flight to Seattle. Had 2 hours to wait in Seattle before leaving for Dallas and there another 2 hours to wait, but that turned into 4 hours as the plane had some mechanical problems ( 3 of the engines fell off) just kidding, so instead of arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica at 8.30 it was 10.30pm. So I have been up over 24 hours but feel pretty good and I am going to shower and then bed. I booked a hotel off the internet for my first night’s stay at the suggestion of my friend and like anything else it is always up for debate what will happen, they did send me an e mail in reply telling me that I had a room booked and if I forwarded my flight arrival information Johnnie would be waiting for me at the arrival gate. My take on this was to be prepared to find my own way to the hotel especially with the two-hour delay. Anyway as I exit the terminal, with scores of taxi drivers vying for my patronage…. there is Johnnie with a sign with my name on it!!!! You just have got to believe!!!!! He drove me to the hotel, can’t see much outside but the room is huge two floors, 3 beds, kitchen, balcony and very clean. So it looks like I have got off to a great start.
Tomorrow the lady whose house I am taking care of is coming to pick me up and show me around and so the adventure continues and I am looking forward to the next few weeks…..LesDay 2 The hotel has internet but the server is down so now it is Saturday morning and I had a really good sleep and woke up to sunshine, birds chirping and to find that the hotel backs onto a golf course and my balcony is about 15 feet from a fairway. This is the rainy season here and hence everything is so lush and green. I went and paid my bill 40 dollars for this huge room, staff are very friendly as I try to communicate in my pigeon Spanish. I have always thought that I must have some gypsy blood in me because it seems all my life I move around and I seem to adapt quite well. My friend is to pick me up soon, so another day begins, hopefully I can post this later on today; wish you all a great weekend..

In stead of "explaining" the country I think it is in my best interests to "explore" the country.....

COSTA RICA HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM JUST GETTING READY TO LEAVE THIS LOVELY TOWN FOR THE NEXT PART OF MY JOURNEY .........I leave on the last ferry for Vancouver and fly out at 6.30am tomorrow morning. I go first to Seattle, then Dallas and then San Jose, Costa Rica arriving at 8.30pm tomorrow night. I am house sitting for three weeks then i have a week to explain the country by bus on my own. So the next post on my blog should be from sunny and warm Costa Rica, best wishes to you all, Les

The technical glitch was overcome!!! A few more of the happy gathering!!!!!

Just a few shots of a little get together this morning at a local restaurant, I have some other pictures sent to me but at the moment having technical problems getting them down loaded. It was nice to be able to see and say good bye for the winter to some of my friends. I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving day tomorrow...

Good morning on this start of a Thanksgiving weekend and the sun is bright and blue skies above. I was just trying to figure some things on my camera hence the beautiful flower. I also just had the decals put on Ramona and I think you have to agree the writing and the flags look really good. If you double click on the images they come full screen. My last weekend here and I find it hard to believe how fast the summer went by. Being as turkey is my favourite meal my only goal this weekend is to eat as many turkey dinners as I can!!!!! have a great, happy and safe weekend...

On this nasty, rainy, cold and windy day I just wanted to remind myself and of course you my faithful readers why I am going south in less than 10 days!!!!!!! Have a great sunday....

Picked up some friends from the airport this afternoon and just snapped a couple of pictures of the Nanaimo River, sorry I posted one twice.

Well it finally happened..after 14 years living in this town and all those years dedicated and committed to the recreational and outdoor activities, to participate in the growth and developement of the youth soccer referee program. To assist in the continued success of the downtown core. To the priceless and devoted times I let those lovely old ladies in the Granary restaurant oggle my dashing legs, especially walking slowly past the tables of those special ladies who were near sighted. Nanaimo City council finally decided to honour my efforts with the opening of the Pearson Park, situated close to the Pearson Bridge in downtown Nanaimo. What a fine looking park with beautiful flowers and palm trees close by. You should all be so lucky and honoured to be reading the blog of some one so famous.

Of course none of the above is true but it sounded like fun.....Just wanted to take a picture of the little park that I happen to have the same last name....back to reality...

TO START YOUR WEEKEND OFF ON A GOOD NOTE!!!!! An elderly man in Louisiana had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back. It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple and peach trees.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and looks it over. He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny- dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man frowned, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked."

Holding the bucket up he said, "I'm here to feed the alligator."

Some old men can still think fast.

Great news.....I heard from Eileen and she is now at her daughter's home, the surgery went really well and she is doing as well as can expected and she did sound to be in great spirits, isn't that just the best news today!!!!!
BUT
I also have some other good news, through a house sitters website that I belong to on friday evening an advert appeared wanting a house sitter for a home in Costa Rica....well to make a long story short I applied, along with many others, but I was selected and I have booked my ticket and I leave for Costa Rica on the 12th October returning 11th November. This is just a fantastic opportunity for me to visit another country that was on my list of places to go, to be able stay in a lovely home, do some sight seeing and learn about the culture and customs of the "ticos" local name for the inhabitants of Costa Rica. This is no way interferes with my plans just that when I come back on the 11th November will spend a couple of days getting Ramona packed and leave for my journey south. Enjoy the first day of fall tomorrow and wish you all a great weekend...

Quite a few times on my blog I have referred to my Dad, our relationship and the kind of special man today is the day for MOTHERS!!!
My Mum passed away on Valentine’s Day, 1995, she went to bed after coming back from a 7 week holiday in Portugal with my Dad and in the morning she was gone. Even with my compassion and caring I know I would have found it so difficult to see either one of my parents suffer with illness and infirmity. My mum was the greatest lady I have ever met!!!! She was an absolute adoring wife and mother and her compassion and loving and caring attitude cannot be beaten. I have never known her to say an angry word, her smile was priceless and she was just the best Mum. On those odd occasions (OK on lots of occasions) when I mis-behaved all it took was a look and that dreaded word, ‘LESLIE” from my Mum to make me whimper, she knew I couldn’t stand being called that.!!!!!!! Well I feel especially blessed and proud to have an opportunity in later life to have been around another special woman and one who I sometimes call “Mum”. Eileen is the lady in the photo at Ken’s Birthday party last month, with the sunglasses and the BIG plate of food. She is also a special lady and is the partner of Roy, who you have read about, who is now coming up to almost two years in the Care facility here in town. Through out all the days with Roy and her own bad health Eileen has remained brave, strong, caring and kind. Today Eileen is in Williams Lake, staying with her family, as she has to have a very serious cancer operation tomorrow. I am staying in her lovely town home and wishing her love and great caring tomorrow. One of the few things that make me so cross is the attitude of some children who are not respectful and caring of their mother’s. Please keep Eileen in your thoughts today and the next few days and if you are blessed to have your Mother with you, give her a hug, tell her you love her and enjoy her, blessings…Les

MOTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a busy few days I have had, the Senior Games finished today and I ended up officiating at 7 of the soccer games. I think the whole games were a great boost for the city and I tip my hat to all the volunteers, the events that I saw were so well handled and staffed, now if they could only issue us soccer refs with ear plugs!!!!!!!!What a bunch of whining old men they were!!!!! Today was a reality check for me and a good day. After doing the two games I was scheduled to ref a mens game on a local First Nations Stadium in Ladysmith. the first two photos are of their club house and fields. It is a huge complex and very well maintained on the reserve. As expected all the fans were First Nations and the men were very competative and played hard but I want to tell you what happened during the game, but first you need a little bit of a reffing lesson. The majority of games that I referee I have two assistants, they are the people with a flag at either side of the field that run up and down the line and help me with seeing if the ball is in or out, help judging off sides and general a second and third pair of eyes for me. These assistants are qualified and usually very competent. In this game this afternoon, the league they play in does not supply these assistants, so the protocol and instructions I give are to two volunteers, one from each team, to help run the line, because they are not qualified they are instructed to only indicate ball in and out of play and nothing else, especially not to signal for off sides. Well the First Nations team had a gentleman doing this on his side of the field and the game was tough and hard but not dirty. Anyway this gentleman doing the line was always raising his flag for off side and I asked him twice only to flag for ball and in and out of play. The next time the ball went down his side up went his flag again. When the ball was out of play I just shouted out to him again only to signal the ball out when the coach of that team, the First Nations team just cracked me and every else up when he shouted to me "You should let him signal off side after all he is an honest Injun!!!" Every one laughed and it was a great and funny comment which only a member of their band could make.
Sorry this was sooooo longgggg, have a great weekend.

I really like this song by Tim McGraw titled "Live like you were dying" it is a great song and the words I think could be a mantra for how we all could live our lives!!!!

He said I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me
and a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days looking at the X rays
talking about the options and talking about sweet time
asked him when it sank in that this might really be the real end
man what do you do
and he says
I went sky diving
I went Rocky mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
and I loved deeper
and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I've beed denying
and he said someday I hoipe you get the chance
to live like you were dying

He said I was finally the husband
that most the time I wasn't
and I became a friend a friend would like to have
and all the sudden going fishing
wasn't such an inposition
and I went three times that year I lost my Dad
well I finally read the good book
and I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
if I could do it all again
and then
like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
to think about what you do with it
what could you do with it
what would I do with it......enjoy the song

What a great warm and sunny day for all the people taking part in the various games today. I was officiating at two games this morning, it is a while since I have done a senior mens game and after all the verbal abuse I now remember why, when will they ever learn to use thier skills and not their mouths!!! Took a few shots of one of the games this afternoon. Tonight is poker night so I suppose another lost 20 dollars!!!!! Enjoy...

So did you spot my deliberate mistake??? Of course I did already post that last picture...this was just a test....sorry, hope you all enjoy the next few days especially here where the sun will shine...Les

Forgot to post this picture of one of the stands that were full of happy, smiling grey haired people (just like me!!!!)

I went to the open ceremonies of the BC Senior games, being hosted here in Nanaimo this week. It was a very well organized event with over 3000 participants and hundreds of volunteers. These are some of the photos, the gentleman at the podium is a famous old NHL hockey player, Howie Meeker, who lives on the island. It was quite uplifting to see these hundreds of seniors some of them quite old and wobbly having the time of their lives. I imagine they will be extremely competitive and I will find out over the next three days as I am reffing some of the soccer games. The evening was warm and sunny and a nice evening.