Leslie Coffelt, my Grandfather's cousin, in an exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum

The description above his picture reads:
On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. During an exchange of gunfire, Officer Leslie Coffelt of the White House Secret Service police was killed. Because of his actions, and those of the other agents involved, the attack on Truman failed. Courtesy of Department of the Treasury, United States Secret Service.


His picture and the information about his heroic act are part of the exhibit The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Our family's TV at the Smithsonian American History Museum

My family had this exact model of TV when I was growing up. Now it is in an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Candyland board game now a museum artifact

Candyland board game...now a museum artifact at the American History Museum.

You know you are getting old when things from your childhood are appearing as artifacts in museums.

In the picture, my nephew is laughing at my stunned surprise.

Space 1999 and Star Wars lunch boxes museum display

Space 1999 and Star Wars lunch boxes in a display about the history of lunch boxes in the new cafeteria at the Smithsonian American History Museum.

You know you are getting old when things from your childhood are artifacts in a museum.

These lunch boxes are part of the Taking America to Lunch exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

New eye-level location of the Wright Brothers' plane at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Ed Keller Space Shuttle Flight Director for pretend

A cool Mission Control simulator at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Refocus area

On the wall of a school where my nephew had a basketball game.

Spider in the jungle on the way down from seeing Arenal Volcano

Arron's hand is behind the spider for scale.

Arenal volcano at dusk

After climbing a nearby ridge, we got a closer view of Arenal Volcano at dusk. We could see lava rocks tumbling down the side of the volcano as they were exjected from the magma in the crater.

Fruity drink in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano during the day

Tipical food

What kind of food? Tipical food.

Please aim properly into the toilet thanks

Rum and Cokes...these are the Cokes

I love rum and Coke, especially when the Coke is bottled in a glass bottle. These were the empty bottles of Coke from our late night at the Chinese restaurant in San Jose, Costa Rica. We took some plastic bottles of Coke to go for the rum we had at Arron's apartment.

My face and arms are extremely sunburned, again.

Billy wins!

I made a small wager using Costa Rica's small denomination but huge coins with Billy over a US college basketball game that was being broadcast in Costa Rica. Billy won.

Toilet donation

Gassy sodas

This is a rough English translation of the Spanish words for carbonated sodas.

Shrimps emphasized and shrimps with garlic

I didn't try the shrimps, but they sound good.

Fished whole emphasized and fished entirely with garlic

It was good fish.

Happy New Year 2010

This is what Costa Rica means to Arron.