Costa Rica

Stefanie Warren In the fall of 2004, facing graduation and the beginning of my "adult career," travel seemed important. Two and a half years of law school in Atlanta resulted in plenty of Delta frequent-flier miles. I also had promised to visit a good friend from Thacher (my high school) in Costa Rica, who was serving in the Peace Corps with her husband. I knew the surf in Costa Rica was awesome, the water warm and that another Thacher friend had a place to stay in Mal Pais on the Nicoya Peninsula.

Courtney Conlogue went back-to-back on her board. The incoming Sage Hill School senior won the International Surfing Assn. women’s title and helped the USA Surf Team beat France to claim the ISA World Championship in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica Saturday. Team USA won the gold medal for the first time in 13 years. Ironically, the last time Team USA finished first at an ISA world event was in Huntington Beach, where Conlogue claimed the U.S. Open of Surfing women’s title on July 25. In the women’s final in Costa Rica, Conlogue finished with 15.20 points on two scoring waves.

Charles Wesley Amburgey and Jamie Alexis Freeman are excited to announce their engagement to be married on August 11, 2012 Jamie is the daughter of Troy and Debbie Freeman of Westlake Village. Charlie is the son of Ron and Kathryn Amburgey of Costa Mesa The ceremony will be in Agoura Hills at Paramount Ranch State Park, under an old oak tree adjacent to the western town movie set. The bride and groom both graduated from Chapman University, with a Doctorate degree in physical therapy.

Charlotte W. Alexander, a short-story writer, poet, book-lover, leader of book discussion groups, gardener, hostess and cook, and unabashed activist for liberal causes died in Newport Beach on Thursday, March 8, 2012. She was 75. The cause of death was heart failure. Charlie, as she was known, is survived by her husband Richard, sons Ethan of San Francisco and Matthew of Costa Rica, sister Pricilla Phillips of Barnstable, Massachusetts and brother Irwin Gordon of Naples, Florida. Memorial contributions may be made to the Newport Beach Public Library where Charlie founded, then led a vibrant monthly book discussion group for more than 10 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. DeMaio of Costa Mesa are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Deenean Lisa DeMaio of Costa Mesa to James L. Vogel of Aliso Viejo. The bride-to-be graduated from Costa Mesa High School and Cal State Long Beach. She is an educator in the Tustin Unified School District. The groom-to-be is the son of Betty Fenick of Clarksburg, N.J., and Walt Vogel of Hamilton, N.J. He has earned his associate's degree and is pursuing a bachelor's degree in administration of justice.

ON VACATION runs periodically in the Daily Pilot. It may take up to several months for submitted pictures to run. Photos of Southern California vacations within 100 miles of Costa Mesa/Newport Beach (except Catalina) are not eligible. To submit a photo, please send it to On Vacation, 330 West Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Jeanne Conwell of Corona del Mar and her friends traveled to Marlin Bay Resort on Beqa Island in Fiji in November. Bob and Emilie Barnes of Newport Beach and their family visited Hawaii over Christmas and New Year's.

Lt. John Kidwell, Special to the Pilot Editor's Note: During a 35-day journey from New Orleans to Newport Beach via the Panama Canal, Lt. John Kidwell, commander of the new Coast Guard cutter Narwhal, has offered to keep the Newport-Mesa community updated on the crew's journey through a series of e-mail reports and photos from a dozen ports of call. The following is his sixth report as he takes our readers aboard the ship: On the morning of Aug. 5, we cast off lines from British Grand Cayman and headed south to Panama.

Cassidy Lundy, 17, spent her summer vacation in a rural Costa Rican village, where she lived with an unfamiliar family who spoke a foreign language, traveling with no one she knew. It was the trip of a lifetime. "Honestly, I've completely changed as a person because of this trip," the Corona del Mar High School senior said. "The trip was really about breaking out of my comfort zone on so many different levels. " Cassidy spent two weeks in San Salvador with Walking Tree Travel, a Colorado-based high school exchange program that focuses on community involvement and creating global citizens through service projects and living with host families.

Danette Goulet NEWPORT BEACH -- It's a different kind of surfing and a different kind of contest. One where surfers can only score if they leave the water. This year the fourth stop on the Vans Surfing Magazine Airshow Series, sponsored by Body Glove is at 54th Street in Newport Beach. But if you look up expecting to see planes, you'll miss the air show. "In the airshow we only judge ATL, which means 'above the lip.' It's unique and totally different," said Darren Brilhart, director of the series.

ON VACATION runs periodically in the Daily Pilot. It may take up to several months for submitted pictures to run. Photos of Southern California vacations within 100 miles of Costa Mesa/Newport Beach (except Catalina) are not eligible. To submit a photo, please send it to On Vacation, 330 West Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627. HORIZONTAL Tennyson Oyler of Lido Isle vacationed with the locals of Bahia da Salvador on his way through Brazil. Don Spitz, Judi Jacobs, Av Kone, Eve Kornyei, Stan Hanson and Dick Kone visited a rainforest in Costa Rica.

As Newport Beach science teacher Jean-Paul Rimlinger put it, trapping voles and mice in Nova Scotia isn't typical professional development. Nevertheless, that's where he was for a week at the end of March, helping a group of scientists track mammal populations in a square mile of Canadian forest. Each day, he braved freezing temperatures to observe locations like a beaver lodge that were completely still one moment and active the next. "Boom, a beaver popped its head out, looked around, assessed the situation and went about its business," he said.

Cassidy Lundy, 17, spent her summer vacation in a rural Costa Rican village, where she lived with an unfamiliar family who spoke a foreign language, traveling with no one she knew. It was the trip of a lifetime. "Honestly, I've completely changed as a person because of this trip," the Corona del Mar High School senior said. "The trip was really about breaking out of my comfort zone on so many different levels. " Cassidy spent two weeks in San Salvador with Walking Tree Travel, a Colorado-based high school exchange program that focuses on community involvement and creating global citizens through service projects and living with host families.

Charles Wesley Amburgey and Jamie Alexis Freeman are excited to announce their engagement to be married on August 11, 2012 Jamie is the daughter of Troy and Debbie Freeman of Westlake Village. Charlie is the son of Ron and Kathryn Amburgey of Costa Mesa The ceremony will be in Agoura Hills at Paramount Ranch State Park, under an old oak tree adjacent to the western town movie set. The bride and groom both graduated from Chapman University, with a Doctorate degree in physical therapy.

Charlotte W. Alexander, a short-story writer, poet, book-lover, leader of book discussion groups, gardener, hostess and cook, and unabashed activist for liberal causes died in Newport Beach on Thursday, March 8, 2012. She was 75. The cause of death was heart failure. Charlie, as she was known, is survived by her husband Richard, sons Ethan of San Francisco and Matthew of Costa Rica, sister Pricilla Phillips of Barnstable, Massachusetts and brother Irwin Gordon of Naples, Florida. Memorial contributions may be made to the Newport Beach Public Library where Charlie founded, then led a vibrant monthly book discussion group for more than 10 years.

Editor’s note: The following is the second of two parts on Chuck Cassity’s predictions for 2010. Here are my New Year’s predictions: 8. The partnership of Orange County and Costa Mesa will submit a competitive bid to buy the Orange County Fairgrounds. Unfortunately, before the bid can be opened Sacramento will have closed. 9. A Force 5 hurricane will strike the Southeastern Seaboard in August. Congress will convene a committee to assess blame.

Between graduating from college in 1966 and entering law school in 1968, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica. Many times since my return, people have told me that they always had wanted to be in the Peace Corps. My response almost always has been, well it was a great experience, and it’s not too late for you to do it now. But invariable the people then come up with some sort of explanation as to why they can’t do it, at least not now. Well, in 2011, the Peace Corps will be celebrating its 50th birthday, and it is continuing to do good work.

Kaleigh Gilchrist’s choice for her specialty sport will be a tough one. The Newport Harbor High senior is a standout water polo player and she’s also regarded as one of the top surfers in the nation. She actually showed that she could very well be one of the top surfers in the world with her performance on Sunday. Gilchrist won the girls’ under-18 division at the USA Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, beating surfing phenom Courtney Conlogue, a senior at Sage Hill School.

Courtney Conlogue, an incoming senior at Sage Hill School, won the Assn. of Surfing Professionals Grade-4 Supergirl Pro Junior event in Oceanside Sunday. Conlogue recorded a 7.40 out of a possible 10 points during a single-wave score in the final, helping her edge out Malia Manuel of Hawaii, 12.90 to 12.40. Conlogue won $5,000 for her efforts. The prize is the largest in the history of ASP North America. Conlogue has been excelling. She won the women’s title at the International Surfing Assn.

Courtney Conlogue went back-to-back on her board. The incoming Sage Hill School senior won the International Surfing Assn. women’s title and helped the USA Surf Team beat France to claim the ISA World Championship in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica Saturday. Team USA won the gold medal for the first time in 13 years. Ironically, the last time Team USA finished first at an ISA world event was in Huntington Beach, where Conlogue claimed the U.S. Open of Surfing women’s title on July 25. In the women’s final in Costa Rica, Conlogue finished with 15.20 points on two scoring waves.

Patrick Hendry has a goal for the next six months: to learn about sustainable development all around the world. And the Newport Beach resident isn’t looking to do it through the Internet. Hendry, the principal of the recently formed Hendry Development Companies in Balboa, plans to board a plane today for Costa Rica and not return home for half a year. In the meantime, he intends to pass through South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and even a corner of the Middle East to see what developers are doing to reduce their carbon footprints.