in costa rica we dont go to the beach

i've been in costa rica for over a year now and there is something that i've come to realize

when paris and his friends say they want to go to the beach .. they really don't. they want to go to a pool, near the beach. every time we have thought of staying the night at the beach, one of the requirements has been: it must have a pool.

i thought to myself, yeah i like pools .. but what about the beach? and now i know. in their minds pool trumps beach.  maybe it is because not all of the beaches here have long stretches of soft sand but instead a ton of rocks and sticks. or maybe because there is constantly the threat of people stealing your belongings. either way .. we spent the majority of our weekend at the pool!

those pictures were taken in the ten minutes we went exploring when we first arrived, and the other ten minutes we spent watching the sunset. i almost had to drag everyone out of the car saying .. aren't we going to get out and enjoy for a little while??? and once we were out, i think it did them some good :)

summer blue

1., 2., 3., 4.

i have named that pretty blue shade summer blue because it reminds me of summer. well, it really reminds me of the ocean, and that reminds me of summer.

but this summer blue doesn't remind me of just any ocean, it reminds of when my family and i would back up our ol' volvo station wagon and drive hours down to the outer banks, north carolina. we would go for a week every summer until my brother went away to college.

i always like to think about the similarities and differences of the united states and costa rica.

here in costa rica, its like a tropical paradise. some of the beaches make me think i am in pirates of the caribbean. there are monkeys everywhere and i've even seen pairs of bright red parrots flying in-sync together. tropical paradise.

there in the outer banks, the beach seems a little bit more relaxed. a little less fancy. instead of parrots, i've seen dolphins. and there are definitely way more seashells in the sand and kites flying around.

even though the beaches seem really different to me, this color makes me think of both of them.

do any colors make you think of certain places?