Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
People joke about leaving the country all the time. Former District 9 Councilman Mark Clayton is actually doing it.
This spring, the Claytons are moving to Costa Rica for an extended family vacation. They’ll travel around the country exploring its people and culture.
“You only live life once,” Clayton said. “We want to try something different and just travel with our kids.”
It’s an opportunity for his fourth-grade daughter and sixth-grade son to practice their Spanish. Both have been in the dual-language program at Alex Sanger Preparatory School since kindergarten and are bilingual.
“Now they’ve got a chance to test it out,” Clayton said.
Like most good ideas, the idea for the trip started with a glass of wine.
Clayton said he’s not sure how long his family will be gone. It’s not a permanent move, but they could be traveling several months to a year.
“We’re just hitting the snooze button and taking a break until we have to come back to the real world,” Clayton said. “We’re never going to have family together like we do right now, so let’s take a sabbatical. If we don’t do it now, we won’t ever do it.”
