Mary and Gena Visit

During spring break, Nick's mom (Mary) and her friend (Gena) visited. During their stay, we visited two oceans in one day, we hiked through Pipeline Road, and we went scuba diving and snorkeling in Coiba. 

Mary and Gena at Ocean 1 (Pacific)

Mary and Gena at Ocean 2 (Caribbean)

Carolyn with a fallen sloth (who shook off his fall and eventually crawled away)

Monkeys were hanging right in front of us on Pipeline Road.

Amador Causeway

The Amador Causeway is a land bridge created with earth extracted during the building of the Canal. Now, it is a very pleasant place to walk, ride a bike, eat, and even see sloths and iguanas. 

Surfing at Rio Mar

On many weekends, we take a short, day trip or overnight trip to the beach. The beach shown below is called Rio Mar and is a well known surfing spot. Though a bit out of our league, Austin and I gave surfing a try, although the "waves surfed us" (quote from Austin).

Some of my students participate in a Near Space program, and they were sending a weather balloon up, thousands of feet into the atmosphere. Luckily, the launch site was right close to the beach, so I stopped by to watch the launch.

Carolyn, Ashley, and Austin (and the surfboards)

Students at the launch