SAN JOSE: Day 1

RELAX, FRIENDS...I do not plan a posting  for each day.

Overnighting at IAH turned out to be something of a bummer due to that Texans just looove their air-conditioning.  I did not actually shiver but I found it difficult to doze.  All the nice lay about places were taken by...yes: lay abouts!  How nice it might have been had I the foresight to pack a light jacket.  However, I managed to read most of the latest Jack Reacher book.

San Jose (henceforth SJ) is set in hilly surroundings.  The pilot of the UA 737-800 executed the approach with commendable elan, air brakes out and rapid descent, managing to cope with an impressive cross wind just before touch down.  'Good job' said I as I stepped off.

At almost 4000 feet elevation but just under 10 deg North, the weather is very like Corning and we can expect thunder storms tomorrow.  The days are longer just now up near the Canadian border while here we have the relatively brief twilight of the tropics.  Really very pleasant, all in all.

My accommodations are very acceptable.  Casa 69 is not too far from downtown.  I ventured out and had Pizza at the eponymous Hut just up the road and found the ambiance much more 'up scale' than any I have encountered in the US, more stylish than many a restaurant I have visited. 

 Just hereabouts the environ is a mixture of the run down, gentrification, and modernity.  For example the side streets are somewhat cobbledied with pot holes matching those one might encounter around Corning, whereas the street up the hill has about five inches of new blacktop.  Of course, the city is hilly but with some very nice parks.

In the line waiting to pass Customs, I asked someone who seemed to know CR well why it is that Costa Ricans live so long, are so healthy, and so happy.  The reply?  'Because they grow all their own food on small farms.'

Well, it is off to bed for weary Roberto.  Tomorrow, three dental appointments.  The CR Dental Team will send a car around to pick me up...don't get service like that in Corning!