Two summers ago, my family took a trip to Liberia, Costa Rica. It was supposed to be a bonding experience, something we could fondly look back on after my siblings and I went off to college and our parents went back to their office jobs.

If you were to ask my dad what his favorite part of our trip was, he would probably say spending time with the family. My brother would say it was renting ATVs or going zip-lining. Mine? I’d have to go with the endless hours of reading I enjoyed as we drove our rental van around the country, stopping at murky beaches and tropical fruit stands.

Apparently our rental van was not designed for off-road adventures. Continue reading →