Posts Tagged: North-America

Once the capital of Russian Alaska, Sitka is now a gorgeous town nestled among the islands of the Inside Passage. Surrounded by green hills, then larger mountains and icecaps to the east, and the ocean and smaller islands to the west, Sitka is usually listed among the prettiest towns in Alaska, and often among the prettiest in America. I was supposed to visit on my last trip to Alaska, but bad weather delayed our flights, and we had to skip the town altogether.

A red-eye from Los Angeles brought us to San Jose, Costa Rica early on a Friday morning. A driver picked us up at the airport and took us west toward the Pacific Coast. We stopped at a restaurant for gallo pinto, a traditional Costa Rican breakfast of eggs, rice, black beans, and tortillas. Then we pushed on to Crocodile Bridge, spanning the River Tarcoles at a popular hangout for crocodiles. We also stopped at an overlook above Playa Hermosa where saw several scarlet macaws alighting in the trees.

I spent the summer of 2011 working for the U.S. National Park Service in Yosemite. It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I was doing legal work—public land use and government contracts. My job was usually a 9-5 day during the week, but my schedule was flexible and the days were long, so I had plenty of time to explore the park. The Park Service set me up a two-bedroom house in the employee village below Yosemite Falls.