How did I get to Costa Rica? 

by Molly

Well, my life story was fairly average.  I was born and raised in southern Minnesota, started my career out of college with a nursing degree, and then found my real passion was real estate.  Raising my children while working in real estate was such a blessing for the flexibility it offered.  During those 27+ years of real estate, I attended different conventions and conferences, and it was at one of those real estate conventions, I met a fellow colleague in Seattle.  Over the years we stayed in touch sporadically, and only saw each other at an occasional event.  Now fast forward to 2022, it had been 5 years since we last saw each other, and the only communication was a couple of birthday text messages over the years.  He had owned a place in Playas Del Coco for a few years, so I finally booked a flight to experience a Costa Rica vacation for the first time.  I was so excited to see this beautiful country and spend time getting to know all the awesome sights and people.  Now in hindsight, that little vacation to Costa Rica has since changed my life forever!  That friend and colleague is now my best friend and life partner as we are engaged to be married June 2023.  

Never could I have imagined my life path would change so drastically.  I’m now living the Pura Vida life here in Costa Rica.  I brought my passion for real estate with me and so it was a natural transition to join Tres Amigos Realty Group and help others find their little piece of paradise.  I absolutely love what I do!  

One of my other great passions in life is cooking a great meal for friends and family.  I love all types and styles of cooking.  My grandfather once told me, “Moll Doll”, find something you love to do, and then figure out a way to get paid for it!  So, I took that to heart and in 2017 I opened a new business sharing my passion in the kitchen with others.  I had so much fun teaching people to cook from the simple to the more challenging dishes.  The business grew and it was very successful.  Maybe someday, I will get that business up in running in Costa Rica.  But in the meantime, if you have any culinary questions while we are finding you your Costa Rican Kitchen, fire away!!  

Hola, amigos,

I’m Ron Morrell.  My Story has had plenty of loops and rolls over the years but I can honestly say that I’ve found the last place I want to call home.  I started out in a rather small town in Michigan but made sure I had a way out as soon as I was educated enough to find my way around the world.  Part two of my schooling was at the United States Air Force Academy which put me on a track that can never be repeated.

My days after the Academy turned into spending time strapped into a single-seat attack aircraft named the “Warthog”.  I did my best to be the best and trained to make my jet an extension of myself and my team.  Those days were exhilarating, tense, exciting and sometimes completely beyond my earlier comprehension.  But alas, being a fighter pilot becomes a young man’s game and I had to figure out how to grow up and create a long-term career.  The decision time finally came, and I found the call of a civilian flying career becoming pretty loud.  

I opted to take my first job offer post fighter days and then had to figure out how to use “Northwest” as part of my radios calls for the next 20 years. The 90’s and early 2000’s were pretty good times as an airline pilot and a huge learning experience.  I was able to experience flying all over the world and even was based for almost two full years on the island of Guam.  The days of small town Michigan faded and the lure of other parts of the world became commonplace.  Then came the uncertainty of the days and airlines were declaring bankruptcy left and right.  I turned some of my attention to another old passion of mine; architecture and home design.  I did the training and learned the language of real estate followed by becoming a broker and owning a small real estate office in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.  I spent over five years attending real estate seminars and conventions, learning all I could about my own area as well as many areas of interest around the world that held my interest.  During one of those real estate gatherings, I met a very dedicated and interesting broker that I would get to know better over the years.  More about that later!

Sometime during the “bust” years for real estate, I found my mid-life crisis creeping up on me and decided to re-ignite my flying passion.  Spending hours and hours flying straight and level is not exactly a “flying passion” for a former attack pilot!  I found out that there are affordable former military aircraft on the market that can easily recreate the thrill of former days.  I started out with a foreign aircraft and became an active member of formation flying groups and airshow flying became a time consuming part of my life.  I put the real estate business into the hands of a good friend and even batter broker and pushed on with the rest of my two-part flying career. I eventually upgraded to my “Silver Beast”, a 1949 North American T-28 Trojan.  What a great way to connect with aviation enthusiasts.  I flew this airplane to as many places and airshows as my fuel budget would allow.  I was able to tale the Beast to the grandaddy of aviation in Oshkosh Wisconsin to visit one it’s former owners, the founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association as well as taking it to its first assigned military base during the Enid Oklahoma 75th Anniversary celebration and fly it in their airshow.

Again, change happens.  During my time in real estate, I did much research and exploring for my eventual landing spot. I found it in 2010 during a visit to the National Association of Realtors conference.  I met Michael Simons, the owner of Tres Amigos Realty Group, in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.  I visited, started requesting airline trips to Liberia, and visited more.  The place grew on me and I just couldn’t resist buying a condo when the right deal presented itself.  After about 8 years, I set my sights on finding the perfect location for something slightly bigger than a condo and I built my forever home in El Coco. There is no need to describe the friendly people and atmosphere to anyone that has spent any time here.