Friday, November 5, 2010

Extra shots - no comment required....







Incredible Thailand

The accommodations in Phuket where beautiful. My sister-in-law took care of everything and found the most incredible place for our group to spend the four days.

Our kids don't appreciate the beauty, the cost, the food, .... everything. I guess we were the same at the local amusement park (Idora Park).

Our hillside house had an infinity pool with views that spanned 120 degrees of the sea.
We joked with the kids, "what is over the edge?" and they looked at us like we were crazy. Forget life before the internet, they don't know life before the infinity pool.
Sunsets were incredible - even if the kids didn't want to put on a tie and jacket for a photo. Wow.
The dining room opened up on three sides with views to the sea - but I think the kids only focused on the mac-n-cheese and Doritos. The added participant was our host Lily. She ensured our visit was wonderful.
There were beers at this stop - not weissebeir but beer.
Wow. Incredible.

Beach

Our weather was not perfect - we were able to have plenty of "rain swimming".
Upon arrival, the kids jumped right in since rain doesn't influence prime swimming time. Notice the rain cloud in the background.
My personal favorite (carbon dating me) was Dan teaching the kids to, "...take the Nestea Plunge..."
If you remember the commercial, you drink a sip of the iced tea and fall (refreshed) into water. The kids loved it!
It also works in both the ocean/sea and into the safe portion of the pool. Dan is clearly one of the "teaching" uncles.
Thank you Beth and Dan.

Never forget...

By far the most memorable time in the incredible vacation was the elephant ride. We traveled to a stop that gives visitors a chance to ride elephants just as the Thai royalty rode them for the past 200 years.

These elephants seemed to be effected by time however - they tapped the "tip" jar after we took photos. Hmmm.....

We all jumped on board and went for a short walk. The kids were much less impressed than the adults. Dan seemed to laugh quite a bit. Beth tried to capture the event and make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. I was trying to lean in toward the enter of the beast so the chair would not fall over on my side. (I'm guessing the fall would hurt and the company was not overly insured.)
Daphne needed a brown paper bag to control her breathing. After the half way point, they let the kids "drive" the elephants by climbing down on the elephants. Ryan, David, and Keelin jumped at the chance. It was great.

Daph, Brian and I chose to let the professionals guide us home. Dan captured this picture of us competing with the buses and motorbikes on the final stretch of road.

Everyone had fun and will never forget the trip.
This is one of only a few pictures where my son Brian is upstaged by anyone else in the shot showing their excitement.

PS. No beer in the whole event. Shocking but true.