The Winchester Mystery House

          My next post comes in the spirit of Halloween. With Halloween, a time for scares and horror stories, at our doorstep,  I've decided to tell you about the Winchester Mystery House. This spooky house has been claimed to be home to many disturbing spirits and ghosts. The Winchester Mansion has a long, haunting background. The family that made the Winchester rifle made millions off of the gun that was labeled as "the gun that won the West". This money however, came with only misery and pain for the family. Sarah Winchester experienced two devastating losses, the first being the death of her infant son, and the second being the early death of her husband due to Tuberculosis. Sarah Winchester was told that the spirits of all the men killed in war by the Winchester rifle were behind those two deaths. She was also told that she would be next, that is, unless she could appease the spirits by moving out west and building a huge house for them. It was said that she must never stop construction though, or else the spirits would again resume their quest for revenge against Mrs. Winchester. Also, Mrs. Winchester believed that if she never ceased construction of the mansion, she would be rewarded with eternal life.

          Mrs. Winchester used her $20,000,000 to buy property in Santa Clara Valley and began constructing a mansion to appease the spirits. The mansion had many features to it which seemed to support the idea of Mrs. Winchester trying to appease the spirits. It was said that spirits didn't like to have shadows cast around them as they could cast none themselves, so Mrs. Winchester had an innumerable amount of lights installed in her house. She also furnished every room with the finest furniture available at that time, some furniture cost more than most houses at that time. According to legend, Mrs. Winchester went to a special room in the middle of her house to communicate with the spirits. Also, it was said that every night you could hear a bell ring at 12am and 2am, the supposed arrival and departure times of spirits. Mrs. Winchester passed away in her bed and after 38 years of constant construction of the house, the workers stopped building the house. Was the house haunted? Where the spirits Mrs. Winchester was plagued by real? Go see the Winchester Mansion and find out yourself.

          This is my second article and I know I said I would write every Tuesday and Saturday, but this week was very hectic for me so I'm sorry for that but I will start writing articles every Tuesday and Saturday from now on. Again, I want to say thank you for reading this and I would really appreciate any comments, questions, or ideas for my next article. Finally, I want to give a special thank you to Ariana for helping me want to write this article.

Best Tropical Getaways During the Winter

          Hi! So this is my first post on my new blog and I wanted to say thanks for checking it out. Now, It's winter and many people hate the cold and the snow that comes along with it. I have decided to pick the three most amazing places that are tropical and lush when the US is cold and barren. These are not in any particular order but they are my three personal favorite places for a warm winter getaway that you have to go visit in your lifetime. 

1) Kauai, Hawaii

           Kauai, Hawaii is, in my opinion, the second best island only because of the amount of tourists it gets every year (I don't like people very much so I go for the very remote areas[except you cause you're reading this, you're awesome and I would go to Kauai with you anytime]) . It's a beautiful island with amazing screensaver-worthy views and there's an endless amount of things to do there. For the more laid back, trying to relax type, there's many beautiful attractions such as the Na Pali coast, where you can lounge around lazily observing the wildlife and bask in the sun, and if you want, they have crystal clear, clam water perfect for snorkeling. Also, Poipu beach park is a very stress-free relaxing environment great for the family to just lay out on the beach and play in the warm tropical water. Personally, I would recommend the Pali Ke Kua beach to just relax because it is much more serene than Poipu beach because it usually has less people. For the more light exercise vacationer, there are still a ton of amazing things to do and see. The best, most fun thing you can do while in Kauai is go to the Princeville Ranch. It has everything for you there, you can go horseback riding, zip-lining, see some amazing sights, and even go swimming under waterfalls! There are also numerous trails to hike and see Kauai in all it's beauty (Check out Kalalau lookout) as well as many surf schools and beautiful golf courses (Princeville Makai golf course). For the more extreme, the best and most rewarding experience you can have in Kauai is skydiving over it. It's the most amazing experience you will ever have, not just on Kauai, but in your lifetime. Doing it over Kauai just adds to that experience, you will have an amazing view while you are screaming at the top of your lungs hurtling towards the ground at speeds until recently you thought impossible. But seriously, It's a very enjoyable experience, so much so that I can't possibly try to explain it anymore. There are also numerous places to go surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling, free diving, cliff diving(I don't approve of this), and many other activities. While Kauai is an excellent destination for those trying to get away from the cold in the US it's a wonderful place to visit any time of year.

2) Cancun, Mexico

          Like Kauai, this is a great tropical retreat, however, Cancun is a more well known for being relaxing, pampering, and laid-back. That doesn't mean that there aren't fun and exciting things to do there though. Since I started by saying how relaxing and laid-back Cancun is, I'll start with some of their most famous spas. Their most luxurious spa is the Spa at The Royal Sands, and when I say luxurious I mean there is nothing this facility doesn't have! It has a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, beautiful ocean views, massage room, gym, and many other fantastic amenities. The staff is informative, helpful, and polite all the time. The second one, while not as high profile as the Royal Sands spa,  is much more interesting as it employs fish to eat the dead skin on your body. This is not a very expensive treatment, I believe it's only around $10 per person for 15 minutes. It is truly a spectacle, watching someone get into a tank filled with a school of tiny fish, then watching in amazement as they swarm the persons body while the person starts to laugh. These amazing creatures are called Garra Rufa fish and they suck away the dead skin cells from your body. Now, into the more historical/religious stuff, the Coba Ruins are a must see (as well as the El Rey ruins and the El Meco ruins[is it "the El Meco ruins" or just "El Meco ruins"?hmm]). These are the ruins from a large Mayan city and they're huge, but only about 30% have actually been excavated, the rest still lies buried. This next attraction is, in my opinion, the coolest in all of Cancun and it's called Jetpack Adventures. Like the name implies, you are hooked up to a water-powered jetpack and allowed to fly freely for about 30 minutes. It's over water though and the maximum height is 10 meters so there are safety precautions. Its truly amazing to experience flying with seemingly nothing helping you. Finally, the beaches of Cancun, Mexico. There are many beaches in Cancun, but the most popular public beach is the Playa Delfines. The water here is warm and clear and absolutely stunning alongside a white sandy beach. However, as it is public it does get very crowded at times. The last exciting thing to check out in Cancun is the underwater museum. You have to scuba dive, free dive, snorkel, or get a boat to be able to see it, but it's well worth it and a beautiful sight.

3) Costa Rica

          Costa Rica is another wonderful tropical retreat, consisting of lush forests, sparkling beaches, and rugged mountains, this is a great place for an adventure seeking person. Instead of listing a specific area I listed Costa Rica as a whole country and that's because the whole country is amazing and I can't pick out one single place. Just last year I traveled to Costa Rica during the Spring, and I drove all over the country (well the bus driver did). I went through almost the whole country seeing many amazing sights, such as the Poas Volcano, Teatro Nacional, Parque Nacional, and Manuel Antonio park. Now, you're probably thinking, "What about the beaches?". Well, while Costa Rica has many beautiful public beaches, I think the beaches in all of the parks are the best. Most cost a small fee to get into, but it's easily worth every penny. You get unlimited access to the whole park for the whole day, this means you can see all of their animals and hiking trails, and beaches for as long as you want. The best part about Costa Rica is that even with its pristine beaches, it still have many other fun things to do. For example, Monteverde is home to quite possibly the best zipline business in the world. They have a ton of different ziplines over the lush forests of Monteverde as well as two extreme ziplines. One is called the Superman and the other is called the Tarzan Swing. On The Superman, you are harnessed in the back then you jump off a cliff and free fall for about 5 seconds before the zipline holds your weight and you start zipping headfirst high over the forest. On the Tarzan Swing, you basically do just that, you swing like Tarzan from a tree. You get hooked up to a long rope attached to a tree and you jump off a high platform, again you free fall for a couple of seconds before the zipline catches you, but then you start to swing back and forth high over the treetops. While the ziplines are cool, there are also a bunch of other amazing animals in Costa Rica. My favorites are the monkeys (especially the Capuchin). Back to the parks, the best park in Costa Rica is the Manuel Antonio Park. It only costs $15 per person at the best time of the season (prices vary) and for that you get unlimited access to the park. However, it is limited to the first 600 or so people then the park closes so it's best to get there around 8 in the morning. This park is full of wildlife, scarlet macaws (rare anywhere in Costa Rica, including Manuel Antonio), white-faced Capuchin monkeys, sloths, giant lizards, hermit crabs, and many other animals. Every day around the afternoon, the white-faced Capuchins come down to the beach within reaching  distance to try and steal food from unaware tourists. Manuel Park is also home to a couple pristine, beautiful beaches, but unlike the public beaches they're never crowded. If you're feeling really adventurous you can go to Manuel Antonio beach and try a little topless bathing or even fully nude. So whatever you're looking for in a tropical vacation one of these three places is guaranteed to have it. 

          Well, that ends my first blog post and I just want to say thank you for taking time to read my article and feel free to post any comments, questions, or what you want me to blog about next, all are appreciated.