Mapping It Out

Costa Rica (the red country on the map below) is about the size of West Virginia and is positioned between Nicaragua and Panama, with much of the country having coastlines along the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Numerous volcanoes, rain forests, cloud forests, and coffee/spice farms populate the terrain. 

There are two main airports to fly into in Costa Rica: Liberia and San Jose. Both offer a wealth of activities and sights to see within a couple of hours. We ultimately chose to fly into San Jose (#1 on the map below), because that's where a personal contact lives that is going to assist us with renting a vehicle. Once we figured out which airport, it was then easier to put together our itinerary.

We are spending the first few days of the adventure by being tourists with the whole McD clan. My siblings and parents will be joining us in Houston for our connecting flight into San Jose!

We've got a couple days in Alajuela to explore Poas Volcano (2) and a waterfall. Then we will head to La Fortuna for a few days to check out Arenal Volcano (3) and so many other fun things in that area.

Then we hope to settle in a little bit into our work/school routine at our main base in Bejuco (4). Bejuco is right on the beach, nestled between the popular destinations of Jaco and Manuel Antonio. 

Because this is a longer trip, we had to structure in time to work and school. We are hoping to stick to a schedule of doing that 8am-1pm each weekday. That will hopefully leave further adventures for the late afternoons and weekends.

Our bags are mostly packed and we are getting some final trip prep items checked off the list!

Adventure is out there. And it's also right here.

We've read the books, jumped on several consulting calls with locals, watched other people's YouTube v-logs, and followed the gobs of posts within Costa Rica social media posts. It's been a year and a half of planning and thinking through all the details to make this month-long experiment a success.

Here we are days out from our departure. We should be all set then, right?

Eeeeee.
Eeee.
No.

Excitement has turned to fear and questions.
So many questions...

Will our kids get homesick? They like their home and routine; will they like this adventure?

Will our kiddo on the Spectrum be ok with the two plane rides down and the two back? Will we escape public meltdowns? Will the people sitting behind us be understanding? Will she ok be in the tiny bathroom on the plane?

Will we be able to fit everything in our luggage for a month? Will our first flight leave on time so that we don't miss our connecting flight? Will all of our bags arrive? Will they all fit into our rental van? 

Will we all make the month without getting sick? Are we just asking to get covid? Will the travel exhaustion lower the seizure-threshold of our oldest? What if she has a seizure? What if it's a bad seizure? 

Will our fair skins be ok for that long in the sun, that close to the equator?

What if somebody steals Lainey's iPad that she uses to communicate with us? Can we get a replacement iPad shipped to us quickly?

What if it's foggy on the days that we are supposed to visit the volcanos? What if we don't see any sloths? What if a monkey steals our flip flops? What if a scorpion finds it way into our beds?

What if I can't get up on the surfboard and look like a fool? Will our wi-fi be sufficient to work and school remotely? What if everything costs more than what we are thinking? What if all my employees quit?

Is this REALLY a good idea?

Slowly thinking through logistics is what got me to eventually realize that we could still adventure, even with three kiddos and one of them having some extra challenges.

At some point though, the logistics and planning can get in the way of the adventure and WHO you're adventuring with. One of my favorite Pixar movies is Up. I cry every time during the opening scene of Ellie and Carl falling in love and growing old together. Though timid at first, they follow the motto of one of their heroes: "Adventure is out there!" They live life and pursue adventures as they come. After Ellie dies, Carl reflects: "You will always be my greatest adventure."

So, yes, this adventure may all be a disastrous experiment (though I suspect and hope it won't be). Our plans may alter. We may miss things due to weather, sickness, or things outside of our control. Fears of logistical failures still very much exist. 

The whole point of this adventure, though, isn't where we are going or what we are doing.

It's who we are doing it with.

It's for Sara.
Lainey.
Owen.
Chloe.
Me.

(And the very special added bonus of sharing parts of our adventure alongside Mom and Dad McD, Samuel, Tim, Mary, Mom and Dad Spit, Scotty, Jeffie, and Lincoln.)

Adventure is out there.
And it's also right here.

Airport Security 'FastPass' - TSA PreCheck

I hate standing in lines. Hate it. My kids usually end up uttering some sort of complaint when we are standing in line for something too. I try and say something dad-like, "Hey, this is a really fun thing. Don't let a poor attitude about waiting ruin the fun thing."

But the truth is, I'm right there with my kids and often find myself thinking:

"What's holding this line up?"

"Surely, there's a more efficient way to get us through here than what we are doing."

"Come on already."

While I hate having my time wasted, having a kiddo on the autism spectrum amplifies my need to find ways to not stand in lines. Fun experiences can quickly morph into sweaty wrangling if lines are too long. I'll spend hours ahead of a trip researching how to stand in line less, and there are usually a few hacks we adopt. 

Because of their security lines, airports have long been a barrier for my family when traveling. What used to be a fun beginning of an adventure has turned into a major stressor. On a recent trip, we were able to make use of a special-needs stroller, and all of a sudden airports and their security lines became accessible for us.

I'm thus a little embarrassed that it took me this long to realize the line-skipping techniques at the airport. For $16/year, you can dodge the airport security lines and jump into the TSA PreCheck line. It's $78 per person, but it's good for five years, AND all kids under 12 can skip the lines with you. When I realized that my credit card then also reimbursed this fee, I felt silly for not jumping on this sooner.

In addition to having a shorter line, you also don't have to take your laptops out of your bag or take off your belt and shoes. 

It's a quick two-step process. Sign-up online and then register for a five-minute fingerprinting.

Do yourself a favor if you haven't done this already. Wait in line less and sign up for TSA PreCheck here: tsa.gov/precheck