The Commute

I had been thinking, a while back, about taking some photos on the way down to the girls' school each morning. But they were on vacation at the time, so I figured I'd wait until it was a daily trip again.

In the meantime, Poppies in Provence had the same idea and not only posted her view on the walk (she walks) into town, but invited others to take part.

Then Juliloquy posted a two-part series on her walk to work (what is it with all these walkers??), making me wish once again that I had gone ahead and done it when it occurred to me.

But if I had, I wouldn't have a quick 'n easy post for you tonight, and I'm glad I do because I've been busy all day, won't be here tomorrow night, and may not get anything posted on Saturday either.

You see, five of us are getting together for a pot-luck, sleepover quilt-in at my friend's house, and Alex will be out of town by the time I get back, so I may be a tad busy on Saturday evening.

So I guess it all worked out in the end, with the not posting pictures until now. (Plus, by waiting until Lisa was here, I got much better photos than I would have if I had tried to snap them while driving.)

Here's how my mornings go:

Wake between 6:15 and 6:30. Send Robin into bed with Alex and go downstairs with Julia. Make coffee & breakfast, call girls and consume breakfast. Send girls upstairs to get ready for school. Dress for the gym. Make lunches & snacks.

Herd girls into car, tie Scruffy up, back out, untie Scruffy. Head out to the end of our street and turn onto the main road down the mountain for the 8-minute drive to school.

If it's a clear day (and it so often is), try to remember to notice, appreciate and comment on this:


At the foot of our downhill drive, we find the small town of San Rafael. As in most Costa Rican towns, the church is a prominent part of the landscape. Although you wouldn't notice it by driving or walking around it, this church is actually built on higher ground than the rest of the town, and can be seen from many points around the Central Valley.

If you spot the church from, say, San José, Alajuela or an airplane, you'll know you're looking toward my house as well.


After dropping the girls off at school, I head out the other side of San Rafael and down to the gym, just three or four minutes away. Lisa dubbed this particular spot "Piney Palmey."



Here's the top of my last downhill stretch:


And the view just around the corner from that. Now we can see the city of Heredia (that large white building is a school). I don't actually have to go into town, though, as the gym is just at the bottom of this hill.


(I see we were extra lucky, in this photo, to have captured one of the many Costa Rican drivers to whom traffic laws such as double yellow lines do not apply.)

And that's my morning commute. Anyone else care to play?