Mike, Su, and Gigg Tour America

SU’s Final USA Days … in Endicott NY …

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One of the things we did was go to Corning, NY and visit

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 …

Days 77 to 89 –

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After almost 3 months … we headed back to Endicott, NY

Day 76 – The Southern most point in New Jersey, Cape May

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We saw Lucy, the Elephant, which was built to sell real estate … in Margate, NJ enroute to Cape May.

In Cape May, we saw a lot of very nice Victorian Architecture …

We visited a lighthouse built in 1859, and Su went up the 217 steps to the top

This is the lighthouse and a Martin house …

Here are some views from the lighthouse ..

Including a view of Mike from the top …

Day 75 – “On the boardwalk in Atlantic City…”

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For more than 100 years, Atlantic City has been one of the leading tourist attractions on the east coast. Now, it is known as the “Las Vegas of the East” … having many fine gambling casinos.

There is still a nice beach in AC …

The famous “rolling chairs” have been featured on the boardwalk since the late 1800s.

Su … with the boardwalk in the background, as seen from the beach …

I don’t think that many people pass this photo opportunity with taking a picture…

Su eating one of Nathan’s famous hot dogs. (actually … Nathan’s cost $3.75 and this one only costs 50 cents)

Flowers on the boardwalk …

Su was interested in this very large War Memorial Statue ..

Oh no … Su with two statues at Caesar’s Palace … (and what happened next cannot be shown)

The boardwalk … Glitz, Casinos and Honky Tonk

Su … the aspiring supermodel …

Honky Tonk souvenir stores like this one still exist on the boardwalk, along with the elegant casinos. This one has been here since at least 1940 and I used to go there every summer as a kid.

Many different things are sold on the boardwalk … from tiny to large ..

Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” museum…

Most of the glitz these days is from the casinos ..

For almost 3 months, Su (and Gigg) have always wondered what was inside of those big l-o-n-g limousines

Well … another of their wishes has been fulfilled …

Su .. sitting by some bubbling gold (water) at a very beautiful high end mall in the Caesar’s Palace Casino.

Day 74 – At last, we get to see the BIG APPLE

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A Thai Princess visits Times Square …

The Fashion District in NYC

Su with homo erectus

The Empire State Building … where we waited more then an hour to get in… and then decided to walk up the stairs from floor 80 to 86 to avoid waiting for the elevator…

By the 85th floor .. this didn’t seem like such a good decision …

Here are some views from the top of the Empire State Building …

And here is the Statue of Liberty as seen from the top of the Empire State Building…

And here is the actual top of the Empire State Building … from the 86th floor observation deck.

Our super Thai photographer in action…

And here are two photographers in action …

Bangkok has it’s tuk tuks (http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/tuktuk/ ) and NYC has it’s pedicabs

Su observed that this looks like parts of Bangkok …

We then went to Liberty Park …where we saw lots of Statues of Liberty…

The Statue of Liberty …

And Su as the Statue of Liberty

Then we took the subway to St Patrick’s Cathedral

Two photographers again ..

And our final stop was Rockefeller Center

And the home of the world famous “Rockettes” … Radio City Music Hall

Day 73 – A visit to Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Chocolate Town

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A morning encounter with Lucy

And Ricky

Note these are pa Marylou’s Siamese (aka Thai) cats who are named after these two …

We went to Hershey, PA, the home of the Hershey Chocolate Company. This is the gateway to the Hershey Complex …

A Hershey Tour bus …

Hershey’s Chocolate World …

Ask Su why I included this picture here ….

I guess this is the largest Thai Kiss in the world ..

Hey, how did Dad get in that poster?

This is the ride through the Hershey factory demonstration …

This evening we visited Mike’s cousins … Louise and Magdalene. This is Maggie, with Su, wearing a Thai ceremonial hat from the north called an “Akha”.

This Su with a chada, a traditional Thai dancing hat…

Louise, Su and Maggie …

Day 64 through Day 72 – Musikfest!

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Su volunteered to work with Mike at Musikfest, for 2 shifts each day, all 10 days, working from 9am until 5:30pm. This made her the volunteer who traveled the longest distance to be here … in the 23 years history or Musikfest. Su enjoyed working with Mike and Barb everyday … loved the opportunity to hear many different kinds of music, and she was able to met a lot of very nice people. There was a very nice article about Su in the newspaper which is still online and can be seen at this link.

Go to that website and page down until you see the title “One world, many volunteers” (or until you see the picture of Su).

Su is standing by a tree memorial with a plaque by Musikfest in honor of Mike’s mother, Ann.

Su learning the chicken dance (She also learned how to dance the polka)

Su with her first cotton candy …

Su with one of her favorite American foods … ribs ..

Su’s Musikfest volunteer job was “clean team” … and she always asked why is was called a team, when she was the only one doing the job. Well one day, she finally had a team, when Joe showed up to work.

Su on the job …

Su, talking to her mom in Surin, Thailand

Su got to met some of the performers, including the “bell ringer” ..

Su wanted to try climbing the wall at Musikfest … to see if she still had the “right stuff” …

Su with Gary, the Musikfest Director of Communications

Su, in a picturesque scene at Musikfest…

lung Kal and pa Pat came up from Florida to visit Musikfest … and Su.

Su was especially happy to see lung Kal…

Dad and Barb working at Musikfest …

Su, Chuck, and the Old Sun Inn, where George Washington once slept…

Maureen (in yellow) and her cousins …

Dad on the job …

Su with Runy, the leader of Runa Pacha (http://www.runapacha.com)

Runy was the only person in the USA to win a “hair contest” with Su …

Every morning on the way to work, Su said good morning to Keith Urban …

Su had a really great clean team on the final day of Musikfest

Su giving her clean team a motivational speech …

Mike, Su, Mike’s cousin June and her daughter Michelle.

Su says Good bye to pa Pat…

And Su finishes up Musikfest doing the polka with pa Pat…

Mike’s cousins … Terry and Rosie

Su and the mascot from the local newspaper …

Some really old weapons on display

Su and more new friends …

Su discussing a Thai instrument that is similar to the zither with a musician.

Su with a group of performers from Africa…

Su cleaning up the ticket booth …

I wonder what goes into the diary …

Abe, Tony, Barb, Su and Sam …

Barb and her two husbands (Mike and Marty) for 10 days each year …

Day 63 – The first day of Musikfest

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Su’s pin collection grows …

Su has a morning encounter with Tank, Sara’s German Shepherd puppy …

As we start out our day of preparation for Musikfest, Su meets Barb, Mike’s daily partner for the 10 days of Musikfest.

Musikfest is one of the largest “free” Music Festivals in the world, having over 600 free performances over a 10 day period, from noon to 11pm daily. (www.musikfest.org)

This a map of the Musikfest venues…

Day 62 – The day before Musikfest starts

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Su has some unusual breakfasts … saying that she doesn’t feel there are only certain appropriate breakfast foods. In this case, she had a little guacamole, some cake, and some nacho chips and salsa …

First, Chicago had its artistic cows, then, there were artistic guitars in Austin and in Bethlehem there are artistic mules…

Both the young and the old(er) seem to be very interested in studying Su’s technique as she carves her 6th and last watermelon in the USA.

The finished product …

Back to the pool … a SCUBA diver in the making …

The next series of 3 photos is entitled “Graceful Su” … (there won’t be any gold medals for diving … )

This evening, we got to see a new side of Pa Marylou … as Doctor Clueless …

Dr Clueless is also a photographer …

An honorary presentation from the Mayor of Bethlehem was made …

The clowns in this group (the Disciples of JOY) work as volunteers in the community - in hospitals, schools, etc.

In addition to being an artist … doing gold art, fruit carving, etc, she also can be a canvas…

Su and Pa Marylou

Su and Aleisha …

A clever little totem pole

The only professional clown in the volunteer group is “Andy the Clown” …

After the clowns were honored for the evening … Su realized she was hungry.. and it was getting late (1030pm) … and Su had not yet tasted on of Pete’s famous hot dogs … SO .. Lung Ted, Mike and Su went to Pete’s for a “snack” …

Su was able to try hot dogs with chili, sauerkraut, perogies, and French Fries …

If one painted faced beauty is good … two has to be better …

Su’s snack continues.. with desert … Yodels, Devil Dogs, TastyKake, Cheesecake, and of course, another chili hog dog…

Day 61 – The secrets of Lehigh

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Pa Marylou and Lung Ted took us to see a part of the Lehigh Campus that not many people know about. Pa Marylou and her daughter Sara discovered it on one of their periodic “adventure outings” a long time ago.

Exactly what this area is … is not known … but it does contain a lot of “artwork” …

This art deserves a close inspection…

Su with our hosts in Bethlehem, Lung Ted and Pa Marylou

There is some unusual art in the middle of the forest at Lehigh …

And then again … maybe this isn’t really “art”. We all had a sort of “Blair Witch Project” kind of feeling while we were there…

Day 60 – A visit to Lehigh University

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Today we visited the Lehigh University Campus where Dad (Mike) and daughter Sharon went to college.

While the Ivy League schools are known for their “Halls of Ivy” … Lehigh also has a lot of ivy clad buildings.

Hark! ! … a statue … and a young Thai woman … This formula always results in a photo (actually a series of photos, some of them not publishable). In this case, it is Su and Asa Packer, the founder of Lehigh.

Two great men … (well … one is a little greater then the other … )

It was a great day for Asa … because he got his eyebrows cleaned …

And Su presents … Lehigh’s Crest

Lehigh has its own version of Stonehenge

Su would make a good addition to this poster …

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men … the Shadows Do …

The little Thai Philosopher.. at her building

Day 59 – A hot day … a nice way to cool off

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Su was able to swim in Pa Marylou’s nephew’s pool. The water was a bit chilly … so I was surprised that “warm weather Su” went right into the pool with no hesitation. The timing of this picture captured a “water angel”.

Su had a nice time playing with the kids in the pool.

Aleisha teaches Su “the funny face.”

There were 5 dogs (3 of them visitors) at the house, and we thought it would be a good idea to get the dogs together and take a group picture of them. Well … every kid and adult at the house (about 9 or 10 people) spent the next 10 minutes trying to round up the dogs. While they are individually wonderful dogs … they … (similar to young children) had no intention of sitting and posing for a picture … all at the same time. There was a lot of coaxing, using food as a reward, strict alpha commands, physical brute strength and every other possible technique to try to get the dogs to sit together. Actually, the idea of them sitting together was deemed a failure in about 2 minutes, and the rest of the time was spent just trying to get them in the same general space. This is the closest we came to getting a “group doggie photo” …

In addition to water sports, Su also played a little ball with the guys …

Day 58 – Today we arrived in Bethlehem…but first … we had a surprise

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We had lunch at a Thai restaurant called Pakha … and the surprise was that Su thought this was the best Thai restaurant she had eaten at in the USA …and it was located in Dillsburg, PA … (on Route 15 near Harrisburg). Dillsburg also happens to be Bubba’s home town.

and in Bethlehem, Su got a first look at her home for the next two weeks …

Day 57 – Mike and Su drove to Frederick, Maryland

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We just ate up the miles and didn't take any photos.

Day 56 – Gigg to Thailand, Mike and Su to Nashville

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Gigg flew back home to Thailand from the DFW airport

Day 55 – Goodbye to Austin … and Dan

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Among this group of cold, metal old men, I was finally voted the most handsome

Su hitched a ride back to the car

This picture just looked like “3 beautiful people” to me …

This was our “farewell to Austin and to Dan” Thai dinner

Bye Dan (clutching IPOD Shuffle)

and so we left Austin and headed to Dallas, staying overnight at the airport.

Day 53, 54 – Dad busy, Gigg in Houston and Dan and Su on some hikes

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stalking a frog and a butterfly at the same time …

Gigg visited her friend Suzanne in Houston

Dan … with that movie star look (or so I am told … )

Day 52 – San Antonio – The Alamo and Riverwalk

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There is a theater on two sides of the El Paso river

The stage

The seats

A boat on the River Walk

There were two very happy young ladies when we had lunch here instead of at “Subway”

Some of the color of River Walk

River Walk is a very beautiful place

The Mercado is a popular shopping are in San Antonio

I think both gals could become “hooters” …

and tonight, Dan learned the secrets of a Thai beauty …

Day 51 – The Blanton Art Museum, downtown and the Texas Capitol

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Oh no Gigg … don’t do it …

Inspiration in the museum

No, not a snowstorm in July, this is Thai sun block …

Su loved Dan’s hammock

Chicago has cows, Austin has guitars

Fire when ready … (see http://www.capitalareastatues.com/angelina.html for the story of this famous Austin woman)

Capitol building of the state of Texas in Austin

Davy Crockett – he’s handsome … or so I am told –

GW Bush, USA president, was the governor of Texas – not so handsome … I am told

Some old guy … with a picture behind him on the wall …

The Texas House of representatives

The rules of the House

These door hinges weigh 4 lbs (almost 2 kg) and there are 3 of them on each of the 400+ doors in the capitol building

The Texas Senate

A performer

the camera person

another camera person

I am not sure what this performance was

yippie kai yo kai yaaa

back in the saddle again

two map makers

a security guard at the capitol building (a lot different then the security guards in Washington DC)

D4277 [photo missing]

If you go to the Texas Capitol, look for this guy’s picture … he’s handsome

The bulbs in the lights in the ceiling of the senate spell “T E X A S “

... admiring the capitol

Steve came to the rescue for a plumbing problem at Dan’s apartment – and he has a lot of interesting stories to tell

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We had a very nice Thai dinner tonight …

The girls chatted with the staff and the young man came to 6th street to see them that night … when they were out with Dan and Lee …

Dan and Lee took the gals out for a night on the town, visiting the pubs on 6th Street…

someplace on 6th street …

Dan gave the gals a ride up the steep hill to his apartment on the way home from 6th street ( youth, booze and adrenalin are wonderful things … )

3am … dancing, after a night on the town …

Day 50 – We visited the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Garden

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Some red dragonflies doing “something”

and a butterfly posing for Su

in the shade of the grapes

a man and his bee …

WOW … looks like a mean one (wonder if he would taste good…)

a man and his purse …

What do YOU see in these eyes ? ? ?

San Antonio Tower in the Ladybird Garden

A Thai Princess with escorts …
22DSS-60

Another Thai Princess with escorts …

Dan sets the tone at the wildflower gardens

Gigg attempting a railing walk …

We love you Ladybird

This evening, Dan’s friend Tiffany prepared a wonderful Vietnamese meal for us

Day 49 – We met some of Dan’s friends and had dinner

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We had a very nice dinner at Z'Tejas, a southwestern restaurant located just down the street from Dan's place.

Su, Bubba, Dan, Lorin, Lee and John

Days 47 and 48 – To Texas via Baton Rouge

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Good bye lung Kal and pa Pat …

It took us two days to drive from Orlando to Austin. My GPS directions were very simple. Get on Rt 10 and drive 600+ miles. I noted as we drove that most of the time our elevation was not higher then 20ft … (except when we went over a causeway that lifted us to 37 feet) … and a good deal of the time it was less then 10 feet. We stayed overnight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the capitol of the state.

We did a lot of driving … and I managed to stay awake … thanks to my ever alert watcher of the highways …

On Day 48 we arrived in Austin, and after a month and a half of anticipation … Su and Gigg finally got to meet “Dan” …

In the interest of full disclosure, the above encounter is a re enactment, done by the original participants.

Day 46 – Disney World Boardwalk and “Cowboy Town”

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We went to Disney World’s Boardwalk hotel and also a replication of the famous Atlantic City New Jersey Boardwalk, which is more then 4 miles long and now a gambling center. (We will visit Atlantic City later in the great adventure).

and the Beach Club Hotel where the greeter enjoyed meeting the girls …

and finally, we visited the mecca for all tourists … Old Town, lovingly known in Thailand as “Cowboy Town”.

And we saw Mom’s old 57 Chevy …

At the end of the day, little Miss Muay Thai just didn’t have arms long enough to do any damage to lung Kal.

And so, this was how our last full day in Florida ended …. With a lot of giggling and about 20 attempts to get this picture with a timer …

Day 45 - Mall Day

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Today was a lazy day and all we did was visit the Great Florida Mall, the Millenia Mall, a giant Sporting Goods store and had dinner at the Sweet Tomato.

Day 43 – A Day to Remember … 14+ hours at Disney World

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It was a long day … but everyone held up well … and all agreed it was one of the highlights of the great adventure.

We started out at Animal Kingdom

strolling through the Asian section

We encountered this Anandpur bus

After seeing the “Lion King” and a quick tour of the Animal Kingdom

We went to the Magic Kingdom …

starting out on Main St USA with a view of the Cinderella Castle

Pa Pat created a very detailed plan that enabled us to see as much of Disney as possible in 1 day…

Here are the girls with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse …

Next, we went to EPCOT (Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow)

We saw the “Living Seas Pavilion” … where Nemo resides …

and we went on the Nemo ride …

Then Pa Pat had a nice surprise planned and arranged a private session with Mickey and Pluto …

after looking a few other things in Future World, including tomato Mickey Mouse

we went over to the World Showcase …

where we visited all of the countries …

The United Kingdom …

France…

Morocco

Japan…

America…

Italy…

Germany…

Mexico…

Canada

One of the photographic works of art was spoiled by an intruder …

When it got dark we went back to the Magic Kingdom to see the night parade and the fireworks …

And to finish up the night at Disney World, we rode on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and saw the “real” pirates …

Having ridden on the monorail and the “people mover” we went back to the parking lot to leave on a Ferry Boat … and we had to very tired but happy little Thai Princesses, collapsed on the deck of the boat.…

and so ended our exciting day at Disney World …

Day 44 – A cruise on a gambling ship out of Port Canaveral

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On Sunday, July 15th, 2007, we drove to Port Canaveral on the East Coast of Florida, saw many of the super large cruise ships, and we went on a cruise aboard the Sterling Cruise Line Ambassador II.

Gigg had worked on a gambling cruise ship in the past, so it was nothing new for her, and her “game machine” was her favorite companion … cheaper … and while there was no chance of a big jackpot, there was zero chance of a loss.

This was the day after our physically challenging day at Disney World, so the usual perky, happy, smiling models … were not initially available …

As the day progressed, everyone got happier and we began to enjoy the cruise …

In this picture, I was attempting to get a picture of the ship, but before I could get into a good position … the gentleman you see walking briskly toward us in the right side of the picture … politely advised us that we were in a restricted area and had to leave ... so this was the best picture of the ship I could get …

If you want to see the ship you can go to www.sterlingcasinolines.com and click on “ship facts”.

We didn’t do a lot of actual gambling … and “pa Pat” was the big loser of $10.00, and everyone else also lost … except Su, who had a gain of 400% of her betting money. (and she was also smart enough to cash in her winnings on the 5 cent slots, and keep the entire $4.00.)

While Gigg had been on many cruises, this cruise was the first time Su had been on a ship, so she has had two firsts on this trip … first plane ride and first cruise …

In the evening, since it was Mike’s birthday, Su wanted to help celebrate with some Margaritas. She assisted in their preparation …

And enjoyed the actual consumption …

….and believe it or not, she was able to continue to speak English after drinking 2.5 drinks…

Jessica and her boyfriend stopped over later in the evening and they all had a good time chatting.

Day 42 – Universal CityWalk, Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island

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We visited Universal’s CityWalk …

and did a little surfing …

paid homage to NASCAR …

visited the Universal Hard Rock Café…

and even took a moment to pay tribute to Bob Marley…

and of course we had to see Margaritaville…

We stopped by the beautiful Royal Pacific Resort Hotel

Then we made our way to Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island…

By this time, Su was already getting a bit tired of walking …so she used an express mode of transportation…

Some of the many things we saw and did were:

the girls had an opportunity to try out a Harley Davidson …

Photographer at work, with the world’s largest Disney Store in the background…

We walked through the Rainforest Café …

sat with the famous Irish poet, Patrick Cavanaugh… (the Thai gals have an affinity for hard, metal men)

Both girls had a chance to prepare for their weddings …

And Su even practiced her “I do’s” …

Of course we have a picture of “3 princesses” …

There are a lot of nightclubs and bars on Pleasure Island …

…but it was a bit too early for them to be in full operation … and we were all getting tired from a long day of walking.

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Day 41 – a neighborhood gathering to greet the guests from Thailand

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The day was spent relaxing and getting ready for the party “pa Pat” and “lung Kal” arranged for the neighbors to meet Su and Gigg. Su spent a lot of time preparing the centerpiece …

and Gigg worked with Pat to prepare all the veggies and fruits …

The girls got all dressed up in their “party dresses” for the occasion …

This was a small part of the group that attended the party …

And, at last, the girls were able to spend some time with another young person, Jessica …

The party was a lot of fun and the girls enjoyed meeting everyone …

Day 40 - Orlando, FL

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On Day 40 we visited the major Disney Hotels… and the “princess wedding chapel”

The Animal Kingdom Lodge was the favorite, with it’s African décor and animals roaming the grounds.

We also visited the Polynesian (South Pacific décor)…

the Grand Floridian (Victorian décor)

and we had an opportunity to visit the Disney Bridal Chapel …

where Su practiced her “I do” …

and the girls planned their weddings …

and they picked a cake that costs $11,000 (375,000 baht) and feeds 700 people…

The pumpkin coach, 6 white ponies and 3 footmen cost $2700…

and here Gigg is trying to avoid being bitten by one of the ponies …

and so the day ended … with all of the planning for the weddings being done … and the only thing that remained was to find some guys to marry who were rich enough to pay for it all. That will be the focus of the trip to Texas.

Day 39 - A whale of a time

2007-07-16T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Sea World, saw a lot of water mammals and fish and saw all of the exciting shows, including Shamu, the killer whale.

and we were able to pet the sting rays …

and pet the dolphins …

we saw the dolphin show

the sea lion show …

Visited the Anheiser Busch pavilion for free beer..

and we saw the star of Sea World … Shamu.

and we met up with Kal and finished our day at Sea World

Day 38 - Clermont, FL

2007-07-16T23:01:00.000-05:00

On Day 38 we drove to Clermont, Florida where we met “pa Pat” and “lung Kal”.

We had a very nice “welcome dinner” …

and once again Su picked up her carving knife and tried some miniature carvings…

Day 37 - Lake Hartwell

2007-07-16T22:57:00.001-05:00

The highlight of Day 37 (Sunday, July 8th 2007) was a boat ride on Lake Hartwell.

Coty loves the boat ride …

and Foxy doesn’t seem to mind it either when she is in loving hands …

Foxy and Coty are really cute doggies …

That evening we met some neighbors, originally from Tennessee, who stopped by to visit

We said our goodbyes the next morning …

And left some dear old friends, Bonnie and Dick, as we continued our great adventure…

Day 36 - Anderson, SC

2007-07-16T22:54:00.000-05:00

On Day 36 we drove to Anderson, South Carolina and were greeted by Captain Dick, Bonnie, Coty and Foxy.

Bonnie and Coty are missing from this picture

Su worked on another of her creations …

For dinner we had some “southern cooking”, including BBQ pulled pork…

Day 35 - A girl's best friend

2007-07-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

On Day 35, our last day in DC, we went back to the Museum of Natural History to see the Hope and Tiffany Diamonds. I anticipated a quick stop, a few pictures. Little did I realize that geology was a favorite university subject for one of the gals (Su), so we took a lot of pictures of all forms of crystals, rocks, etc., in addition to the Hope (45 carats) and Tiffany (128 carats) diamonds.

The Hope Diamond:

After we covered the development of all minerals from the “big bang” to their eventual final form, we went to see the Castle building, which was the original Smithsonian Building started by the donation of James Smithson.

Su studies the one of the oldest known statues of Buddha from Thailand

We then went to the Hirshorn Art and Statue Garden building

Here, within these hallowed walls we contemplated the true meaning of art and tried to determine what is the truly perfect tush … [edit - if this ever becomes a book, this will have to be the cover. - Lee]

We moved on to the Treasury Building…

And next we saw the White House…

and we came across some other interesting buildings

We had dinner at “the best Thai restaurant in the DC area” and went home to prepare to leave Washington

Day 34 Redux

2007-07-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

The evening of Day 34, our day of rest, we visited Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, and had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant,

Day 34 was a day of rest…

2007-07-08T23:50:00.000-05:00

We did absolutely nothing … as it rained much of the day … so laundry and eating was our biggest accomplishment. No pictures today.

Day 33 - July 4th, Happy 231st Birthday America

2007-07-08T23:26:00.000-05:00

We saw the parade…

4-72

“up to you hansum man”

and after the parade we went to the Museum of Natural History. The security on the 4th was extensive. Bags were being checked going anyplace into the mall …and then another check going from the mall to any building. Of course the checks consisted of a little stir with a wooden stick while chatting with a co-worker … but I guess it had some impact (like slowing down the crowds). Some of the checkpoints had metal detectors … but most didn’t. I guess someone thought that the “bad guys” would always meander through the checkpoints with metal detectors to make it more of a challenge.

I had to include a picture of my buddy Homo Erectus …since the girls keep referring to my hairy arms as an indication that I never passed level 12 and the girls keep saying they are actually one level past level 15 (Homo Sapiens) … and are standing at level 16 (which they claim is Homo Sapiens Sapiens … and they are the forerunners of this level … just because they happen to have smooth arms).

Day 32 - The National Museum of Art

2007-07-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

Trying to duplicate a pose …

and one of hundreds of self portraits …

After the Art Museum, we wandered through the Castle Garden …

Day 31 - The National Zoo

2007-07-08T23:01:00.001-05:00

Homo erectus had a contest with homo erectus

of course … we take pictures of all animals who happen to be passing through the zoo …

and since the zoo is a little hilly… I found the girls doing a lot of “resting”...

Day 30 - The Air and Space Museum and the Indian Museum

2007-07-08T22:56:00.001-05:00

Day 29 - The National Arboretum

2007-07-08T22:44:00.001-05:00

I should mention that we have been eating in almost every evening … having wonderful Thai dinners like this:

and sometimes, what appears to be dinner (corn on the cob and a spicy Thai stir fry) is actually “breakfast”.

or this version of breakfast

Su forced me to post this one. She said everyone would get it

Day 28 - Nation's memorials

2007-07-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

Reflecting - on the reflecting pool

The Lincoln Memorial … named after the famous rich person’s automobile … ;-)

Reflecting – in the reflecting pool

The Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument from the WW II memorial

We forgot who he was … but he signed the Declaration of Independence

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

And still managed to get a peek at some 2 steppers …. Dancing to a group of Cajun fiddlers from Virginia at the Folklife Festival.

You can’t have Thai gals walk by a dancer on a poster without “striking a pose”.

and we still managed to get to the Friday night Jazz Festival

Day 27 - -Travel to the Nation’s Capitol … for the 4th of July

2007-07-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

On Day 27 we arrived in Washington, DC.

We met Rhonda at the grocery store, and also got to meet Bruzer. We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner, and had a pleasant evening, which included Rhonda giving us a short tour of DC. We said our “goodbyes” to Rhonda, and we were on our own.

Days 24, 25, 26 – Return to Endicott – meet some friends, play with Patrick, and a Wilderness Camp visit

2007-07-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

We had a nice 6 hour drive back to Endicott where we spent most of the next few days “playing with Patrick”. This was Gigg’s last time in Endicott, so in addition to meeting our friends, Gigg also said her “goodbyes” to Mom, Sharon, Terry and Patrick.

It was a quick hello and goodbye to Mitzi and Don:

and bye bye to mom, Sharon and Patrick …

and even Mark Ruffalo stopped by to bid his farewells …

The highlight of this visit to Endicott was a day at the “Wilderness Way School and Camp” (http://www.wildernesswayschool.com/ ). The girls were greeted by a 1.5 year old puppy, Maca … who had a 100 meter running start. This is what happens when large puppy meets petite Thai girl … with a head of steam.

and in “cool down” mode …

Mike, the Chief Instructor and founder of the Wilderness Way School had some interesting and educational projects planned for the girls. First, he demonstrated making fire with a wood set and bow.

and then the attentive and capable students each were able to make a fire themselves …

They then learned the ancient art of finger weaving:

Then, Bill, the big fishermen took over and showed the girls the fundamentals of fishing. Within a few minutes both girls were making excellent casts with spinning gear (that they had never before even seen).

They caught some small fish …

and some big fish …

Gigg even got to the point where she was holding the fish herself

Bill helped Su display one of her larger catches.

and this picture, taken seconds after the previous one, is a good demonstration that fish do have teeth … (as Bill grimaces in pain)

Of course, as with all fishermen … there is always the tale of the “one that got away”..

The guys discuss the “correct fishing techniques”

While the girls continue to pull them in … sometimes... two at a time...

I was trying to fish … but fishing skills were being severely impacted because every time I made a cast, on of the girls caught a fish … and this meant I had to throw down my rod and take some pictures. All I could manage was one fish –

and I cannot tell a lie. I had to borrow this fish for the photo opportunity. (I guess I should have borrowed a bigger one)

Terry’s parents joined us for dinner on the girls last night in Endicott, and we were once again treated to a very nice Thai meal.

Day 23 – A ferry boat ride to Martha’s Vineyard

2007-07-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

We were fortunate enough to have Courtney, one of Peg’s good friends, as a tour guide for Martha’s Vineyard.

We drove around the entire island, giving the girls a chance to see some of the $25 million dollar homes on the vineyard. We stopped at some scenic spots –

We had an opportunity to meet up with my nephew Sean and his wife Dardy and got to meet their new son Quinlin.

Peg, Dardy, “Dad” , Sean and Quinlin keeping up with the group

After an enjoyable day on the island (thanks to Courtney), we boarded the ferry at Oak’s Bluff and headed back for Falmouth.

That night Jim’s parents joined us for a great dinner and after dinner we had a very special treat. The “real” Piano Man … Bob Ledwell … sat down and entertained us with a seemingly endless medley of “oldies but goodies” … really old oldies.

Rose and the girls enjoyed the music …

and Mike and Peg managed to “cut a rug” to one of the old polkas …

Our trip to the Cape ended on this very happy note, and the next morning we headed back to Endicott, NY.

Day 22 – A Busy day, Falmouth to Provincetown and Wellfleet

2007-07-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

You can CLick this map for a bigger version.

We drove all the way up to the end of Cape Cod to Provincetown
There was a Portuguese Festival (the blessing of the boats) in Provincetown this weekend, so we had the opportunity to see some Portuguese dancing.

The girls sat and stared at the ocean for a long time. I wonder if they were thinking of their homeland (or the handsome guys who periodically walked by).

We roamed all over town, seeing all of the usual tourist attractions, including the “Pilgrim Monument”.

We also saw Falmouth Harbor and the Falmouth Lighthouse, one of the “symbols” of Cape Cod.

It has become common to find the gals in the kitchen cooking some very nice Thai meals.

with results like this:

Day 21 – South to Falmouth and Wood’s Hole on Cape Cod in Massachusetts

2007-07-01T14:28:00.000-05:00

We arrived at Cape Cod about 1030am and Jim took us on a tour of WHOI (Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institute) and surrounding area.

The WHOI Exhibition Center had a full size mock up of “Alvin” , the WHOLI deep diving 3 person submarine. This gave us the opportunity to see how Jim felt for 8 hours on a recent opportunity he had to do some experiments on the ocean floor in Alvin.

After our tour, the girls wanted to hit the beach to check out some of the local guys. Well … about 2 minutes after this picture was taken, it started to rain … ending all hope of finding “Mr. Right”.

That night after an enjoyable dinner at a Thai restaurant, we stopped at a festival being held in Falmouth, and spent a little time listening to some big band sounds. The rain turned things a little chilly 53F (11C) so it was not a pleasant experience for our girls from sunny, warm Thailand (or me … for that matter).

Day 20 – Halibut Point State Park – North Shore – Massachusetts

2007-07-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Tiring of “museums”, we changed our plan and headed for the North Shore and a picnic on the rocks. Upon arrival at the park, Barbara was pleasantly surprised to encounter “Bernie”.

Su found a discarded lobster trap float.

Most of the time Su and Gigg are willing and in fact eager “models” … but not always …

Barb joined Su and Gigg in exploring the tidal pools

We managed to not fall in the water, although we did get a bit wet as some waves jumped up at us during the incoming tide.

A pleasant rocky beach scene …

And to finish up our trip to the North Shore, we stopped at Bearskin Neck in Rockport to see “Motif #1” … the most painted scene in the world.

Day 19 – Elmbank Gardens and “The Wellesley Dump”

2007-06-27T21:22:00.001-05:00

It was a rainy morning so we didn’t do a lot of outside activity until the afternoon. We had the opportunity to accompany Barb to the Wellesley Dump, to assist in her trash disposal and recycling activities. The Wellesely Dump is probably the most elite dump in the world. You can drop unneeded items there … and you can also pick up and take anything you want … free of charge. People have been known to “throw away” electronic equipment, unopened, in the original carton.

The rain stopped, the day turned beautiful, and we were able to enjoy the Elm Bank Gardens.

Now, I will just stop talking and let you enjoy these very nice gardens, enhanced by the presence of two beautiful Thai young ladies.

This looks like a flower but is actually a small pine cone … (or did it actually look like a pine cone but was actually a flower) .Oh well … mai pen rai

The life of a photographer can be hard work…

and sometimes a tired model has to be moved to a new position …

The Charles River touches Elm Bank Park

and this is a favorite area for dog walkers. We encountered a friendly gentleman and his greyhound.

Day 18 – Boston - a visit to the King of Thailand‘s birthplace

2007-06-24T16:06:00.000-05:00

We first went to the Mt Auburn Hospital in Cambridge where the King of Thailand was born on December 5th, 1927.

There is a plaque on the 5th floor of the current birthing section of the hospital, commemorating that the King was born at this hospital.

Then we went to visit the actual birthplace of the King, the Parsons Building, which is now an administrative and office area.

We were able to take a picture in the approximate spot that the King was actually born.

We then said good bye to Vanessa, who guided us on our tour of the hospital and we walked to the King of Thailand Square.

The King’s plague is very close to Harvard Square.

The yellow shirt I am wearing is worn by many Thai’s every Monday in Thailand, to show respect for the King. You’ll note that the crest on my shirt matches the crest on the plaque.

Well, the visit to the King’s monument and birthplace was certainly the highlight of the day. We took the MTA from Harvard Square to Park Street station, and we walked around the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. (This is the “NYC Central Park of Boston).

While at the common … we saw all types of people ..,. including some of Boston’s finest.

We encountered this gentleman. Now, the girls like the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, and you’ll note that this gentlemen had some “pirate guns” stuck in his belt, was wearing what could have been a pirates hat, has a long “pirate stick” in his hand, and when he talked he had deep raspy pirate sounding voice. So … I asked Su if she wanted to get her picture taken with the pirate … and the gentlemen said … with some degree of indignation … “Please sir, I am a patriot”.

and here was another “patriot” …

In Chicago we had a picture of Nathan Hale, and here in the Boston Public Garden is Edward Everett Hale, grand nephew of Nathan Hale and author of “The Man Without a Country”. (who said Blog’s aren’t educational)

Of course we do not discriminate against any type of statue, giving equal coverage to all religions and ethnic groups.

As we walked from the parks to Quincy Market, some of the previous nights “educational discussions” paid off, because the girls had heard enough about Paul Revere to make him worthy of a photo stop. We also take some pictures just to capture some random young man who happens to be walking by … and then he is analyzed to determine whether he is worthy of be added to the list of handsome guys. (this one didn’t make the final list)

Before we left the area Su had a discussion with Red Auerbach.

Then we went to Liberty Square ... where there is a monument to the Hungarian Revolution.

That evening we had dinner at Mom’s brother’s house, and met his family and Betty’s sister Barb. She has become a “bookmaker” and made some nice little books for Su and Gigg.

This was the first real chance to meet some “younger people”. The enjoyed chatting with Joe’s daughters - Kristen and Kelly.

It would not be appropriate to try to explain what was happening in this photo:

Day 17 – Endicott, NY to New England

2007-06-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

Boston … “the cradle of democracy”

The 5 hour trip was uneventful - beautiful weather, a few “when are we going to eat” inquiries but much of the time, I was the only one awake.

We arrived at Bernie and Barbara’s home in the middle of the afternoon and then took a short ride to Babson College to see what used to be “the worlds largest rotating globe” (currently the second largest to “Eartha”. It is a bit different then it originally was, but it was still fun to see and for the girls to find Thailand on the map.

Then we visited Wellesley College (Ms Hillary Clinton graduated from there) and walked around some nature tails.

Happy nature walkers at Wellesley College

Day 16 – Father’s Day – June 17th

2007-06-18T18:14:00.000-05:00

We had a very lazy day today, reading, relaxing, and of course “playing with Patrick” … but the highlight of the day was our Father’s Day lunch at a Chinese Buffet , with Angie, Pom Pom Jack (Patrick’s version of “grandpa”), Sharon, Terry, Betty, Su, Gigg and Patrick. We spent the evening gathering our things for the next part of our trip … to Boston and Cape Cod.

Day 15 – A Day in Ithaca

2007-06-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

Sharon and Terry took the girls to Ithaca to see the Commons (downtown shopping area), the gorges (Ithaca is gorges, get it?) Cornell University (25,000 students) and their previous house. The girls also ate at a very nice Thai restaurant and Su had the best som tom that she has had in the USA.

Mark Ruffalo was there acting all "L.A." by talking on his cell phone.

They did a lot of walking and returned from that day trip very tired. I asked them if they wanted to go for a walk and they were too tired to consider that. I rephrased the question, and asked them if they wanted to walk over to our neighbors house to see his wet garden with a pool and Koi fish (big goldfish), and when Gigg heard our neighbor had a young, single son, she was the first one out of the door, leading the way to the “fish”.

Su has never really cooked very much … in fact … not at all. She tried cooking once on a camping trip in Thailand with some friends and she did make herself a little stir fry here one night … but tonight …she cut up all of the veggies we had, used all of our Asian sauces (Oyster, Soy and Fish), added shrimp and called upon some vague recollections she had of her mother in Surin cooking something like this, to add a few other ingredients, and she prepared a very nice meal for all 7 people this evening (and nobody died). Actually, it was a very good meal and Su can now officially call herself a “cook”.

Day 14 – The Highlights of Endicott

2007-06-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

Today we showed the girls the highlights of Endicott … a carousel, the buildings that housed the once mighty IBM and the arch, erected by the workers of Endicott Johnson. Then we went to Pat Mitchell’s for some homemade ice cream. That’s about it for the highlights of Endicott. “Playing with Patrick” was the key activity for the entire stay in Endicott, and that included reading him bedtime stories.

Su couldn’t keep her hands off of one of the melons before we ate it.

In the evening we took the girls to the Cidermill Playhouse to see “The King and I”. They enjoyed the musical play, although I’m sure the producers and director of the play didn’t think there would be two young gals from Bangkok sitting in the audience criticizing the dress, the mannerisms, and the general authenticity. One of the gals mentioned that they could have done some research to get some of the clothing details right, etc. This play did give the girls a chance to get all decked out in the “nice dresses”. They had asked me what type of clothing to bring … and I said “jeans and shorts” …and you could bring a dress … but the only reason you would get to wear it would be if we were invited to a wedding. Well … since there will be no wedding this summer, this was a perfect opportunity for them, and it made us feel like it was prom night … and we were taking pictures of our two beautiful daughters … headed out for their big evening on the town.

Day 13 – The IBM retirees’ monthly luncheon

2007-06-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

This morning the girls accompanied Patrick to a park where he went to play with one of his little friends. We then went to the "old IBM retired person's monthly lunch" at a Chinese Buffet.

The girls loved the food, and were able to taste a lot of different dishes. They actually enjoyed being with the old folks and especially liked the Bill and the Wolfman. We'll be seeing the Wolfman and Fisherman Bill the last week of June to learn some survival skills and have a little fun at the "wilderness camp". After we got back from lunch, Gigg became mom's gardening assistant and Patrick became Gigg's gardening assistant... and they worked on cleaning up some of the flower gardens.

Here is a photo of Sharon and Mark.

Day 12 – Patrick and his two new buddies

2007-06-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

The day started with the girls and Patrick bonding and spending the day together. Patrick finally found someone who wanted to "play" as much as he did. He giggled and laughed all day.

Mom looked up a recipe for Thai stir fry ... and the girls helped her slice, cut, scrape and prepare all the veggies.

The meal was a success, and then Sharon, the girls and I went to Pat Mitchell’s, our most famous local home made ice creamer vendor. After ice cream ... Sharon and I showed the girls all that there is too see in Endicott ... the carousel and the EJ Workers Arch. We also stopped by the baseball fields, the volleyball fields, the soccer fields, and didn’t find any cute guys, although we did observe that one of the guys playing sports that night owned a Lincoln.

Day 11 - The Grand Canyon of the East and Endicott

2007-06-17T22:29:00.001-05:00

We drove from Buffalo to Endicott today. (You can click the map below for a bigger version.)

Today we visited Lechtworth State Park and saw the grand canyon of the east.

I pointed out a circling hawk and the girls commented that they could see a lot of those at home in Thailand. We soon got into the swing of things and took a lot more pics of some very nice views.

We also had an invigorating jaunt up and down the 157 steps to the lower falls viewing area.

We arrived at my home in Endicott at about 8pm, and from that point on it was all Su, Gigg and Patrick. Patrick may have given and gotten more kisses in the next hour or so then he has had in the last 6 months. Some have speculated that guys wearing Texas Longhorn t-shirts get lots of kisses, and this seems to be true.

They also finally got to meet mom

Sharon

and Terry.

Gigg immediately observed that Terry looked exactly like a movie star (and with the help of the internet we determined that to be Mark Ruffalo).

Further coincidences reveal themselves, and it becomes confusing to determine where Mark Ruffalo stops and where Terry begins. For instance, Terry is currently finishing up his law degree at the University of Buffalo. Hmmmm, could that rhyming be coincidence? And Mark Ruffalo is often intoxicated by midday on his favorite adult beverage - Guinness. Terry's last name? McGuinness! Even more interesting is that they each get five o'clock shadow at about 10am. Here is a photo of Terry just before lunch one day. Oh wait, maybe this is Mark Ruffalo? Who can tell?!

You can see more photos of this handsome hunk and try to figure out which are Terry and which are Mark by clicking here.

Day 10 - "Slowly he turned ..." - Niagara Falls

2007-06-17T22:18:00.000-05:00

Today was a great weather day and we went to the American falls. We are probably the only people who spent the first two hours at Niagara Falls State Park, and still had not seen the falls. There are lots of trees and statues and flowers and gardens and insects and clover (the gals seem to have taken a liking to clover) and of course all of these had to be photographed.

So .., there was no rush, and we eventually got to see the falls from every vantage point and we have a lot of pictures of the falls of course.

Somehow, some random pictures of some "handsome guys" seem to have gotten mysteriously in our cameras.

Before going to the falls we had a buffet lunch at a Thai restaurant, and the girls enjoyed the food, but also enjoyed chatting with the owner.

After the falls we went out for dinner to the famous original home of”Buffalo Chicken Wings" ... the Anchor Bar. We got the hottest (but not the "suicidal level") and they really liked them. We ended up ordering the double order (20), knowing we would have some to take home. The girls ate Buffalo Wings for breakfast the next day (they don't have any predisposition as to what food can be eaten for various meals.)

Day 9 – “Go East young Thais, Go East”

2007-06-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today, we drove probably the longest single leg we will drive on our trip, leaving Chicago at about 830am and arriving in Buffalo at about 830pm. You can click on the map below to get a bigger version.

I guess all that has to be said is ... we arrived alive, happy and none he worse for wear. At times our trip had some overtones of “National Lampoons Vacation" ... with a number of inquiries of “when are we going to stop to eat"... but other then that ... it was an uneventful journey.

Here we've arrived safe and sound at Sharon and Terry's place in Buffalo.

Day 8 - “The best plan is no plan” (an old Thai philosophy)

2007-06-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

Actually, this is only Su’s philosophy … and Mike and I tried to convince her it is not a good one … and in fact, all of the things she did in preparation to come to the USA were indeed planned.

After a week of planned activities, we had a “day off”. We just sat around the house, chatting, looking at Mike and Brenda’s pictures, and started to get our stuff together for the first real leg of our journey.

Day 7 - Chicago Blues Festival

2007-06-17T21:27:00.001-05:00

Nice weather and we got a chance to see a bit of the Blues Festival, but more importantly ... we able to get a feeling of the atmosphere, the hoop la, the vendors, etc. I assumed that since we were not taking pictures of animals, or flowers, or paintings, that we would end up with fewer photos today. Well ... I was mistaken ... because it seems that when the aforementioned elements are not in place ... the Thai gals can always find a subject to photograph ... in this case... "views". How many views can there be? Well... if you stand in any position and turn around slowly, you will see about 360 views. We visited Buckingham Fountain and have pictures of about 236 of the possible 360 positions from which you can photograph the fountain.

We tried to get a picture with Brenda's building (the big red building) and Mike's building (the Aon building) in the same frame, and to do this, you have to retreat about 180 yards, which ended me up in a bunch of trees, dodging branches and leaves.

After a photo session with the fountain and may have taken longer then a Cindy Crawford photo session, we walked along the lakeshore trail, right next to the "bowts" and the yacht clubs (which, when explained, also became a key point of interest).

We made our way aside of the Chicago River, out to the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Ave, walked north to the Water Tower mall.

Yes... there are of course flowers on Michigan Ave, and they "have" to be photographed, but another things that attracts the gals attention ... are "statues". Since they are not familiar with most of our history or culture or "famous people" ... any (and EVERY) statue will do. We have pictures of the girls with a statue of some famous Chicago radio broadcaster (who I never heard of ... but he will be well known in

Thailand

) ...

and another with a statue of Nathan Hale (who was extra special because they thought he was handsome).

1st week Summary... I believe we now have 2 happy gals, who are pretty well adapted to the time change, who seem to be enjoying themselves, who have great senses of humor and are a lot of fun to be with.

We also have slightly over 1000 pictures (3.1GB). My 80GB laptop drive is overflowing and my 80 GB external backup drive is overflowing. When I traveled in Asia, was able to use my camera taking a few hundred pictures, for 2 weeks without recharging the battery. With zooming, and viewing and macros, Su (who is using my camera) runs down the battery by noon on some days. Even after we cut back on the zooming and viewing and macros, we still run the battery down by 1 or 2 pm. I have resolved these two problems ... (I think)... by ordering a 16 GB flash drive... and I will also have 2 batteries.

Well ... I things have been hectic, and I have not had time to keep up with my blog... so I am going to continue now with days 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12

Day 6 - Chicago Botanical Garden

2007-06-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

This was another beautiful weather day, and the girls really (jing jing) enjoyed seeing all of the vast display of flowers and vegetation, and of course, we managed to take some pictures, approaching it as if we were cataloging the various species of flowers.

A good photographer will contort himself to get the perfect shot.

Day 5 - Lincoln Park Zoo

2007-06-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

A very nice day, beautiful weather, and an enjoyable visit to the zoo. Oh ... yes ... we did manage to take some pictures ... not only of bears and lions, etc., but also of spiders, toads, dragon flies that happened to be passing through the zoo, and just about every flower in the zoo.

Interlude - Jet Lag Lag

2007-06-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

As of Friday, June 8th, 2007, the girls have been in the USA for 1 week. We are just about over jet lag ... and in fact, Su slept pretty late today ... getting up at about 730am or so. Gigg still is getting up early, and went to bed tonight at about 10:00 (which means she will be up early again tomorrow.) We still have a little work to do ... but we should be on normal schedules by the time we leave Buffalo.

On Wednesday (day 5) we had a relapse on jet lag ... because I felt sympathy for the gals ... and let them take very long naps the previous day ....much too long... which put them in a mode of waking up too early ... getting tired in the middle of the day, etc ... a never ending cycle if it is not disciplined. So .. we had a "come to Jesus" meeting the other day and I explained to the girls how important it was for them to break their biological sleep cycles and covert to our time. I also told them I would be very tough and mean (jai raai) and would not let them take long naps (like 4 hours). Gigg immediately vowed she would not take any more naps, because she doesn’t take any at home. Su was not prepared to commit to that, but she has not taken a nap since our discussion.

Gigg ... has become a real domesticated person, and seems to be very happy cleaning up the table and the dishes, emptying the trash, and to stay awake the other day, she took a wet mop and cleaned and rearranged and neatened up the back porch. She then went to a local park to write in her diary. Mike and Brenda were pleasantly surprised when they came home and saw their porch. At one point in thinking about this journey, I had thought that perhaps I would end up doing the laundry for all of us. After brief instructional washing machine demonstration, Gigg asked if she could do my laundry....and she is also doing the ironing. Su also is very diligent about cleaning up the table, doing dishes, etc.

We are trying to learn at least one new English word each day ... and are also focusing on pronunciation of words that are already in their vocabulary. Gigg, who speaks English the most fluently of the two gals, asks me why I can't understand her and she has to repeat things. Most of the time, I have this problem when words come "out of the blue" and there is no context to give me a clue, The problem usually is an emphasis on the wrong syllable of the words, and that sounds like an easy thing to change ... and it is ... when you only have to change the emphasis from one syllable to another. It becomes more complex when you have to change the way a word is said ... and the sounds required are not part of the normal Thai language. We have had some interesting sessions, usually while we are driving resulting in a lot of repetitions. One word that was hard to get right was boat. In the years of their formative education in English, the language is taught by a Thai teacher, so the Thai English accent is built into their speaking.

Trying to come up with a way to get people to say a word "correctly" can be challenging. The approach to "bowt" (boat)... was to try to get them to say "bowt”... but this only happened after many repetitions of”booooooowwwwt ..... T"

The fact that the girls have a great sense of humor makes our days much more enjoyable. We joke and kid about a lot of things, and there have been days when I have told Gigg there are two flights a day to BKK and have threatened to take her directly to the airport. The gals have a very strong interest in "white guys”....and in addition to finding one for themselves ... they also have requests from many of their friends (like 10 for Gigg and 6 for Su) to find them a "white guy" also. So... Su and Gigg have a big challenge. We joke a lot about their quest for a "white guy".

Su is very noble with her requirements for a "white guy". All they have to do is be sincere and love her (forever)... and one other minor thing is ... they have to be handsome. Gigg on the other hand has a different approach to finding her "white guy". Gigg has been asking about the price of automobiles since she got here. Her purpose is to determine the value of the various automobiles (she knows more cars by name and model on sight ... then I do), and now she has expanded her list of expensive cars by adding the Lincoln. (Based on her seeing a large limo with tinted windows that could contain rich guys). It seems that while looks, age and other qualities are a consideration ... another consideration is "economic value". When Gigg saw the marinas ... and understood that it not only costs a lot of money to buy a boat ... but also a lot to "park it and store it”.... she added a new question to her set of "casual white guy interview questions” ... and that was "do you have a boat?" ... but when I told her that some people might not understand what she was saying, we got into the "boooowwwwt" practice sessions. Today we added a fine tuning question, "Is your boat at the pier?" (since these rental prices are much higher). Gigg has also been inquiring about the earning potentials of various occupations. "Do Doctors earn a lot of money?" When we added lawyers in a category almost equal to doctors, Terry became a person of great interest ... since in his current educational quest and especially in his summer internship ... he probably has access to a lot of "available young lawyers". (In fact, there is a current plan that Sharon and Terry will take them out bar hopping on Friday night ... to meet up with some lawyers. Now ... so far, the girls have been "all talk" (to me, not the white guys) ...so we will see what happens with their Friday encounter.

But I digress ... let me get back to the daily activities ...

Days 3 and 4 - Art, Melons, and More.

2007-06-08T10:57:00.000-05:00

The girls continue to improve on their sleep conversion ... with Su adapting a little faster than
Gigg. I am guessing that in the next day or two they will both be perfectly
adapted. Actually ,,,, for all practical purposes ... Gigg is adapted ... because
the fact that she still gets up at 430 or 530 am ... doesnt impact us at all...
since she is ready to go for all of our activities and stays up until at least
10 or 1030pm.

Yesterday, was a very rainy and cool day, so we went to the Museum of Science
and Industry.

Tuesday it was a very cool and windy day and we
went to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cultural Center... and
saw the silver bean, the park gardens, and we saw Yoyo Ma doing a live
rehearsal for an evening concert at the Millennium Park Pavilion. After
Su and Gigg each taking over 200 pics during the first 2 days, I
assumed that we would not take too many pictures at the two Museums.
Well ... at the end of 4 days ... we have about 900 pictures ....and if
the MOSAI or the Art Museum ever have a fire, they can contact us and we
can provide a backup of their collections ... ;-) .

We also wrapped up our day by visiting the only of 7 world wide Bahai
Temples in North America. As we arrived, we saw about 9 monks in bright
orange colored robes and I asked the girls if they could be Thai. They
said no, but then reconsidered as they heard them talking in Thai. There
were also some other Thai's in the temple visitor center ... so it
seemed to be "Thai day in Willamette".

The girls continue to enjoy their stay... and Su has not only carved an
apple

but also carved a watermelon and then served the watermelon in it
.. in the manner it was served to royalty in the days of old. (the
inside was scooped out and served in the ornate shell container.)

Here is my son Mike. Trust me on this one, don't get
in between him and an ornately carved piece of fruit.

We are also making some progress in adapting to and finding some
acceptable types of food in the USA. Su tried a package of frozen
spaghetti and meatballs... and really liked it ... and for lunch today
we had Subway Sandwiches (Su had a "spicy italian" and Gigg had
"tuna"). Tonight Mike made us a very nice dinner of tenderloin steak
(grilled), grilled veggies (no tomatoes) and little baked "finger
potatoes".

Tomorrow and Friday we plan to go to the Zoo and the Botanical Garden
... so we can document in pictures every flower and plant known to
mankind ... ;-).

Mike

The eagle has landed.

2007-06-08T09:57:00.000-05:00

Greetings all, the special cargo from Thailand arrived on schedule at 330pm on June 1, but there was a 1.5 hour wait in a long line for immigration.

They were real troopers, and after changing time zones by 12 hours, they
gallantly struggled to stay awake until perhaps 1030 or 11pm. Of
course, as could be expected, they woke up at about 430 or 5am.

Saturday, we went to an Art Festival ... and after that they were
allowed a 25 minute nap and then we went out to a statue park, and it
was a lot of fun, and a lot of walking ... which helped keep them AWAKE.
Then we went to a mall ... where the girls bought a ton of beauty
lotions and creams and potents (they don't seem to have them in
Thailand). Then, we had another little bribery of some ice cream and
after that they were able to join Mike and Brenda and I outside from
about 8pm until 1130 and had a very nice discussion ... and some snacks.
The highlight of the evening was a National Geographic's moment as we
watched a 17 year locust come out of it's shell and prepare for his
short little life. Su made very careful observations ... although she
was careful not to help him so he wouldn't end up weakened. (BTW if any
of you are into magic creams and lotions, Victorias Secret seem to have
a very good sale on the stuff).

On Sunday, Su slept until 7 or 730am and said she hadnt slept so well
for 10 days. Gigg woke up at 530am ... but it was a step in the right
direction. We went to a conservatory and saw a lot of beautiful flowers

.. and then to another festival, the Hyde Park 57th St Art Festival.
After that, we decided to try Mexican food, which the girls are not too
familiar with. We ordered enough of a variety that Su was able to try
the enchilada, tamale, burrito, taco seafood soup and rice and beans.
All got a rating of "aroi" (delicious), except the enchilda .. which got
an "it was ok". Unfortunately, we didnt learn until after we ordered a
burrito for Gigg, that not only does she have an aversion to tomatoes ..
but they tend to make her sick. Of course, since many Mexican foods have
tomatoes associated with them, this stop was not a great success. I
believe we will not try anything Mexican again until we get to Austin
and try some of the great seafood dishes I have had there .. sans the
tomatoes. (I still have to discuss tomatoes with Gigg a bit more to
determine if tomato sauce is also on the avoidance list.

So .. tomorrow ... I am not yet sure what we will be doing ... we will
play it by ear and see how it goes in the morning. We could end up at
the Zoo ... since that will be not as demanding as some other venues.

Gigg and Su have blended right in and are participating in conversions
with us and now, we know all about their backgrounds and lives. I told
them that this is the first of 8 or 10 times that they are going to be
meeting knew people who will want to have some of the same discussions
with them.

OK .. they are here ..,. enjoying themselves so far .. and we are
enjoying them. As soon as we completely overcome the jet lag and they
adapt their bodies and minds to our time, things will be much better for
them. I know that sleepy feeling you get at 3pm after a long plane trip
to an Asian time zone.

Mike

PS .. coincidentally (or perhaps because the people could tell they were
Thai) ... two different artists starting conversing with the girls and
telling them that they had Thai wives themselves. We met one of the
wives, and Su perhaps will send an email to the other one .. who wasn't
around to met at the time.