The little photographer at work …
A beautiful gown, made of glass …
We saw an amazing special exhibit
The many flowers made of glass looked very realistic
More flowers of glass
And some flowers with glass insects also …
Su tried her hand at some pencil art …
There are some beautiful glass works of art in this museum:
Some more nice art work …
We thought Gigg would like this “pink” vase …
Here is a very interesting glass chess set …
We saw a live demo of glass making, from this:
To this:
To this:
I wonder what Su is thinking about this glass slipper. She already has plans for the Cinderella Coach at EPCOT.
Some more artwork …. Or a snack !!!
This one looks like a space creature:
This is the reaction I got when I asked .. “Do you want to stay at the museum longer and walk some more?”
Su got a little frisky on the way back to the car, and tried to jump up and grab this tree branch:
Ling Noi demonstrates her natural skills …
Back at the Chinese buffet with the crab legs…
Patrick teaches Su his orange eating technique…
And she is a quick learner …
Su plays with Patrick and his “guys” as Dan watches via videocam…
Terry gave Su a tour of the local back roads…
Opps… or was this really Mark Ruffalo? ? ?
Su has some more play time with Patrick …
Su joins mommy in reading Patrick some “Good Night” stories …
Su and Mike of the Wilderness School …
We had a chance to watch a flintknapping class taught by an expert, Craig Ratzat…
See this link for an explanation of flintknapping …
and here are some examples of Craig’s work products…
There are samples Craig had with him at the class …
Su got to keep the rough cut knife blade that Craig made during the class …
Craig made the blade in Su’s left hand by “hitting” a rock like the one in her right hand, breaking off pieces in a very controlled way … until he had made the blade.
Mike teaches Su how to process a deerskin to make soft buckskin clothing…
Mike shows us how to make some traps to catch animals using only materials found in the forest …
A survival hut, made from forest materials, to provide protection to for 40 degrees below freezing…
Su … with the staff of the “Thai Garden Restaurant” in Endicott, NY
Su never got to ride a horse in Texas, so on the last day in Endicott, her wish was granted…
And it was also Patrick’s first horse ride …
Su also made an acquaintance with a stable buddy of the miniature horse she rode…
Thanks to our neighbors and old friends, Dottie and Jerry, for making that final wish come true…
Su does some “rough play” with Patrick
I couldn’t determine who was winning this battle …
And then Patrick asked Su to read him some of his books .. .
Later … another wish was granted … spaghetti and meatballs at a real Italian restaurant…
After almost 3 months, it was time for Su to start her goodbyes…
Mom makes a pinky promise to Su … to visit her in Thailand …
A sad time … farewell to mom …
And good bye to Sharon …
So long and best wishes to the baby girl …
Goodbye to Dad … almost the final time
The last time we were together …
A final hug for Patrick
Su’s last USA meal …
An old Carousel at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, NY
Note that the shirt actually says “Cene Autry” , not Gene Autry …
A goodbye call from Mike’s sister, pa Pat …
Last time with Dad … as we listen to music from Su’s “happiness refill machine” at the Syracuse, NY airport
Goodbye Su, have a nice trip …
Su heads for home, and her new job … a 2 hour flight from Syracuse to Chicago, a 1 hour layover, a 13 hour flight to Japan, a 4 hour layover, a 6 hour flight to Bangkok, a few days in Bangkok, an 8 to12 hour bus ride to Surin to visit her family for about a week, another 12 hour bus trip to Bangkok, a few more days in Bangkok, a 13 or 14 hour bus trip toward Samui Island and finally, a 45 minute to 1 hour ferry ride to her new home on Samui Island. (put “Samui Island” in Google Earth, and then zoom out to get a feel for where this is … ).
So … my great adventure ends on August 29th as Su heads for home. The 3 months I spent with Su and Gigg was one of the best experiences of my life, and one I will never forget. We took over 11000 pictures (more then 16 GB), drove more then 11,000 miles and were warmly welcomed every place we visited. Thanks to all of the people who hosted us. Your friendliness made the girls quickly feel that the USA was indeed another place where they “could feel at home”.
As a postscript…
Gigg returned to Sila Evason Hideaway & Spar on Samui Island to continue working and is still in touch with many of the people she met here in the USA.
Link to Gigg’s resort.
Su started working at Dara Samui Beach Resort & Spa Villa on Samui Island (where Gigg also works) on Sept 15th, and is very happy in her new job and is in the process of learning about the new place she lives, meeting new people, getting to know her roommates, etc. She will soon be settled in and be able to get to a more normal routine of showing up on IM .. or sending email, etc.
Link to Su’s resort.
I want to give a special thanks to my technical blog support … who helped me ( i.e. …did most of the actual blog setup) put this blog in place. You can tell … he has the face of a genius …
