Costa Rica or ?

“Hubby and I celebrate our tenth anniversary this September and he has left it up to me to plan a trip. He is open to Costa Rica and I hear it is fairly affordable now...This may seem crazy BUT...while I have always wanted to visit Costa Rica, I am leaning towards staying closer to home. We have lived in Illinois for a few years and I have never seen much of the "scenic wonders" of the Southern part of the state...(Remember? I was locked in a little box!!!) He is not much of one to rough it unless it includes big game hunting. He likes to have a shower, and isn't really into walking long distances (unless tracking).

Does anyone have any ideas about nice secluded honeymoon type cabins or retreats in southern Illinois, northwest part of Kentucky or Missouri? It would be nice if there are trails for easy day hikes and some fishing. A romantic hideaway is what I am looking for. I like to hear it from "real people" who can give me an honest opinion from their first hand experience!”

“I just took in part of ole SE Ioway a couple years back. Had never been there and it was nice to see, so rest assured you can have a nice time that way.

While these aren't hiking locations, two places I enjoyed that you also might were Nauvoo, Ill, and Hannibal, Mo. Lots of history both places. Hannibal has that "touristy" old-time look and feel.. PLUS, a few caves.

Like you, I've wondered about hiking southern Illinois, also. If you do, please share details.”

“Let's see....

Costa Rica?...Illinois?
Costa Rica?...Illinois?

WHAT ARE YOU, NUTS?”

“Illinois?
Esta muher es muy loca.”

“Hey, if you go to Costa Rica?, could you pick up a couple pounds of, errrrrr.... powder sugar for me. Meet my freind Julio in the ally behind the saloon, he'll give you the "product". Tell him Tarpy sent ya.”

“Muktuk, Belize looks like a good place to go (south america). There is definitely hiking, and fishing there along with great snorkeling. I haven't been there, but have looked over information on it.

Illinois, don't know nothin about it.”

“MukTuk, I did a search for "Illinois Cabins" & came up with some stuff. One place that looked good was www.dnr.state.il.us/Lodges/index.html#Carlyle

Check out White Pine & Giant City Lodge on that site. It looks like it would suit both you & hubby.”

“I found these places when I was looking for a "villa" in Costa Rica. Rolex
and I probably aren't going to go for a couple more years. I've contacted
the owner and the agent of the first link and they both seemed like very nice
men, of course it was by e-mail, so I don't know how you would know if they
were crooks or not. I had a travel agent look into both of these and he
said they were legitimate. My friend had his honeymoon at a resort by the
Manuel Antonio National Park (where these houses are) in October last year
and said it was wonderful. They rafted and hiked and did all sorts of
nature stuff! He really liked seeing all of the animals in the jungle also.

I have no idea what I am doing with the links, so bear with me and try to
reproduce them yourself if I didn't do it right.


http://vrbo.com/vrbo/7217.htm

http://www.lunatica.com/”

“Yuck - Sorry about that formatting!”

“Hey, I went down to Ste. Genevieve county, MO with my hubby and just came back today. He had to testify in the preliminary hearings as a key witness in a case where a kid with 2 previous DUI's went down the wrong way on I-55 and killed a woman.

Not a good reason to be down there, but the scenery is real nice. I was hoping to check out Cahokia mounds while down there, but didn't have the chance.

As far as our anniversary...maaaybe I will still check into Costa Rica! Illinois will always be here and it may not be as easy to talk him into taking time off for Costa Rica again any time soon without a real good reason.

Yes, Arclite and Solitary Hiker I AM nuts! (at times)

Solitary Hiker, Puedo hablar Spanglish tambien!

Buddha Bear? Are you sure you're not BODA Bear?

Lipstick Hiker, I ALMOST went to Belize this summer. The nice thing about it is they speak English there. I am a certified diver, but barely so. It would be neat to take a refresher course and get down there to dive!

Swiss Miss--Thanks for taking the time to look up the sites. I will look at them more later. :o)”

“Oh! Lizs! I wouldn't want you to think I was ignoring you. I still may go down there on my own without hubby. He asked me what I wanted to do on my birthday (in 2 weeks) I told him go CAMPING! He responded that there is NO WAY he is camping in the Midwest heat and humidity in the middle of summer!
Aaaarg! According to one sign at a bank down that way today it was 108 degrees. It was pretty HOT and STICKY! but I don't care.”

“I wonder what the temps maybe in Costa Rica come September.

Ya 'll could join the ECTer's at Rendezvous '01 at the Red River Gorge.

Isn't there a nice train ride thru Canada? Or maybe a bus tour thru thier section Rockies.

1st 2 weeks of Sept. in AK. are moose and caribou season. Treat yourselves with Inner Passage boat cruise to AK. capped with filmed hunt.

But when I think about it Costa Rica and the surrounding areas with all the archeaological remains to see, I would lean towards heading south of the border. As much as I would like to have a + 60" rack on the wall or tour the Canadian Rockies, I would rather walk the steps of Tikals pyramids.”

“MukTuk, make sure to ask your travel agency about the weather, i.e., when the rainy season is.”

“Briar Rabbit! You should see our living room. We have a caribou head mount(with felt), A Dahl Sheep with a full curl, an 8 pt. whitetail deer, a black bear rug, another caribou rack (without felt), moose antlers, five or so whitetail racks downstairs, and 2 or 3 caribou capes on the walls. (I apologize to the vegans here if you are offended, but we do eat everything hubby hunts, if that helps).

I am interested in the archaeological sites. That's one reason I want to see Cahokia Mounds while I am still living here.

LH, you reminded me of Belize. I was thinking of going there with a group, but I think that might be a good place to take hubby, too. Thanks for the tip, too. I will def. check into the weather whereever we go in September.”

“Haven't been to Costa Rica since 1985, when I spent a month there out of my 7-month stay south of the border. (Back then, the Costa Rican border guards were telling me they expected an invasion from Nicaragua any day...and the Nicaraguan border guards were expecting an invasion from Costa Rica.) If it hasn't changed completely, though, it's an incredible place, with volcanoes, jungle, secluded beaches, and excellent coffee. I would recommend Cahuita on the east coast (white sand beaches & jungle), Manuel Antonio on the west coast, Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula, and Irazu and Poas (both volcanoes) as day trips from San Jose.

Umm...I assume you were joking about Illinois. ;-)”

“Wellll...actually not really. We have been so busy that staying closer to home was beginning to sound good. I really do think we need to get away though. Hubby can't even relax at home. He runs his business out of the house and he always seems to be behind the curve, so as long as he is home, he feels like he should be catching up. After taking this into consideration though, I think I will check into going somewhere in Central America.”