MAYFAIR ‑ Condolences to the Page family on the recent passing of Roy, a Mayfair school bus driver for many years. He was predeceased by his wife Betty Ann a decade ago. Although he had left Mayfair many years ago, local residents would see him once a year when he drove a chartered bus from North Battleford filled with ticket holders coming to The Old Mills Players Sunday afternoon performances before COVID hit.
Congratulations to Adam Pollard and Chandra Medel of Mayfair on the birth of a baby girl March 14, named Blakely. She is their third child, a sister to two brothers, ages three and five. Proud grandparents are Darrell and Bev Pollard.
Some highlights of the Costa Rica holiday enjoyed by David and I, other than to be with our son Curtis as a personal guide, included six different stays on the beaches and in the tropical rain forest during our 18-day vacation. We were introduced to many of his friends, who are from many other countries but have chosen to be full-time residents of this beautiful country.
Curtis and I went paragliding off a mountain top that included a guide attached to the sightseer. It was exciting to hover over the lush trees on the mountainside and the ocean before safely landing on the beach. Curtis's guide miscalculated the landing and part of the parachute apparatus got caught on a tall palm tree on the beach. The two guides were pondering over this situation and were glad when my son said he knew someone in that village and ran to get a machete to help get the unit out without damaging any gear.
Ocean and beach life is packed with surfers of all ages carrying their surf boards everywhere we went. Many craft vendors on the beaches offered stunning jewelry, woodwork, painted art and other items. Slathering on the much-needed sunscreen was very important with temperatures 30C and higher and no humidity.
In the rainforest at night many animals and large insects appear which are very noisy, especially the howler monkeys. At times it was difficult to fall asleep. I don't know what sound was noisier, the waves crashing onto the shore when accommodation was beachfront or the bellowing sounds from the night animals when in the rainforest.
A full day at Baldi Hotsprings was totally amazing. There were approximately 40 fun splash stations with temperatures up to 140 C. I chose the cooler ones.
My son owns an SUV so travelling wasn't a problem, but he seems to be always in a big rush to get from point A to point B. Many readers have travelled to this country so I'll name the places we stayed at: Southern tip of Puenta Banca, Osa Peninsula, Porta Jimenez, Dominical and Santa Theresa where we said goodbye to Curtis for a solo adventure with absolutely no problems. The day before departing we stayed in a gorgeous gated suburb near the capital San Jose.
My first piano teacher, 90-year-old Junice Headley, passed away last week in North Battleford. I took lessons with her for five years then two other instructors until I was 18 years old. My deepest sympathy to her children Barry, Laura, Linda and Tim. whom I remember so well as youngsters.
Will be seeing everyone in a couple of weeks after I depart from a sunny, warm, busy winter. It might not be splashing in the mud weather yet but hopefully close to it.
