Travel Asia

Posted on July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 by admin

Thai Cookbook

By patrice / May 7, 2021

Ryan - too big to email so here is a link to it - you can download Cookbook

Where have we been?

By patrice / July 4, 2019

It always amazes me to see where we have been on a map! 15 years of travel - we have...

Vietnam 2018

By patrice / December 11, 2018

Two days in October with amazing friends! The joys of traveling with people you know - amazing!

Asia 2018 – join us?

By patrice / February 23, 2018

We have put together a small group on Norwegian Cruise Line, on the Jewel to see Asia this Fall! Maybe...

Let me help you plan your next adventure

By patrice / February 23, 2018

So last year I became a travel agent, it made sense to us as I am always planning things for...

In Memory of Vickie ~ always loved for ever missed

By patrice / November 25, 2015

taken too soon from us - Danny - We launched this lantern tonight thinking of Vickie. It was something that...

5 glorious nights in Bali – the Villa

By patrice / November 11, 2015

Dad’s Piece of Paradise

By patrice / May 7, 2015

and of course the water park Water Park dad will forever be missed and loved

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Casa – the finish line is here

Posted on July 6, 2014July 21, 2017 by admin

: living room – fireplace

: pump, water softner, generator houses

: northern lights – thanks Maya! foyer many entry

: outdoor kitchen granite

: counter beside the indoor patio

: tiles set and finished – indoor patio

: living room, wine bottle window reflected in the front door

: indoor patio has been seale

: powder room ready for a mirror

: bathroom social – guest bath ready for mirror also

: island butcher block top

: kitchen floor not yet installed

: another view of the indoor patio

: master closet, Patrice’s craft space

: dish hutch in the kitchen

Cinco de Mayo – bet you didn’t know this…

Posted on May 5, 2014April 25, 2015 by admin

Some people think Cinco de Mayo is to celebrate Mexico’s Independence day. But that isn’t correct. Mexico’s Independence day is September 16th.

Cinco de Mayo is the date also known as the Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, national holiday in Mexico in honor of the military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III. On May 5, 1862, a poorly equipped Mexican Army defeated the French troops, about 1,000 French troops were killed. Although the fighting continued and the french were not driven out for another five years, the victory at Puebla became a symbol of Mexican resistance to foreign domination. The city, which was later renamed to Puebla de Zaragoza, and the battlefield itself is maintained as a park.

Now for the part I bet you didn’t know…

Cinco de Mayo is an important date in Ecuador also. In a small city in the province of Manabi named Chone marked the start of Ecuador’s “Liberal Revolution of 1895”. There was the Battle of the Yellows on May 1, 1895, that led to the Chone Liberal Proclamation which was conducted May 5, 1895.

So now you know…the rest of the story…don’t you feel enlighten 🙂

Casa 4.11.14

Posted on April 11, 2014July 21, 2017 by admin

: This was interesting, at least to us…This is part of the indoor patio and we were amazed at how this curve looked formed. But then the secret was revealed, or I should say we figured it out…See the boards tacked into that post? there is a wire attached to a piece of rebar that Patrice is holding, and it matches perfectly that curve. Simple tools = beautiful work.

: Ok, ok… I am giving into the demands to see a closer look at the Dreamworks logo by our front door. You can see where the lights are going in, those little black holes, and how much that side is raised.

: This is further proof of me giving in and showing more detail of the Dreamworks logo – yet an even closer lookat the detail. Ok now everyone has to wait until the weekend for further details

: From our rental…Oh what is that appearing on one of the Dome’s? Could it be the Mosaics?

: Oh yes it is the Mosaics being applied – very nice.

: A bit more details appearing but mostly on the inside…Lets take a closer look…

: On the front porch looking through the front door and you can see the tunnel at the far end leading to the Master bedroom. That sliver on the left is of course the Dreamworks logo we showed earlier this week. —

: Stepping into the front door and looking slightly to the right you see the hallway to the guest wing and the left side of the picture shows the living area and a bit of the outdoor kitchen and a bit of the tunnel to the master.

: From the kitchen looking towards the front door across the indoor patio.

: The outdoor kitchen is taking shape. The bread oven is being made and it looks like supports for the counter are being made also. On the ceiling you can see a bit of the sanded and finished beams that they are working on.

: My office and they are starting finishing in there too

: Master bay window has made great progress this week and details are showing up.

: This is looking from the Master closet into the Master bathroom. Straight ahead is our shower cave. It does have a whole in the roof to let the sky light light in though – it is about 8 feet tall.

: Looking from where the bathtub will be towards where the sink area is with the skylight showing through. On the right you can see some of the shower cave.

: Standing at the entrance to the guest wing looking at the front door. You see the reflection of our wine bottle window. On the left is the Dreamworks logo and on the right is the hallway leading to the Pantry and kitchen.

: Our electrical panel is in place.

: Looking from the doorway of the Outdoor Kitchen towards the kitchen area. On the left you see part of the indoor patio; straight ahead is the breakfast room. Those ornacina’s you see on the right are just inside the door going to the backyard.

: Just a view of Imabura it usually doesn’t have a cloud resting on it. A very nice day…back to the house…

: Not much new on the outside, but you can see that it looks like they completed one of the Domes in blue Mosaics.

: Outdoor kitchen is coming along. Bread oven is making progress too. Logs are finished and the slats for the glass cover are in place also.

: Another view of the outdoor kitchen looking into the house and out the back door. Past the swings that are still hanging in the house.

: Kitchen – sanding is almost complete on the logs.

: Back of the house. Nice detail on those windows. From left to right, Bodega door, Master closet window, windows in back of master toilet and window by master bathtub

: Looks like the last details in the Master bathroom are in place. Patrice’s Tiara is still growing…See there over the shower… You can get an idea of how much light comes down from the skylight by how much you see the ladder in the shower.

: Just wanted to show the high tech clamps. See those bend pieces of re-bar holding the wood that is forming the bottom of the window.

: Hard to see but the roof over the outdoor kitchen is all stained and detailed out. The bay window in the Master Bedroom on the right is close to being complete and ready for glass.

: Dome all covered and sealed now. This is from our rental house

: Outdoor kitchen, the work continues. Starting to look like a kitchen now.

: One of the ladders, made on site of course, I guess they couldn’t find any straight pieces of wood.

: Cover for the patio is all ready for the glass it looks like

: Surprise! We have a counter on the kitchen side of the outdoor patio. I think we will have the carpenter that is doing the kitchen cabinets and island come back and remeasure.

: Detail on the cover over the outside kitchen patio.

: Wires are appearing everywhere, even on the Dreamworks logo.

: A look from the outside through the master bath window at the shower caver, just a different angle.

: Surprise! Two small windows appeared this week in the bodega.

: Bay window detail on the master bedroom.

: Close up of the mosaics on the Dome.

: Looks like something is happening on the side of the new counter attached to the indoor patio, and…all the bases for the beams in the patio that were square have now been chiseled down and made round as you can see

: Patrice’s office beams has been stained looks good too.

: Outdoor kitchen has work continuing…

: The tub in the Master bath is being built now

: Our second window is in now too. It is over where the toilet is.

: Not much new on the outside…except…look at the next picture….

: The second Dome over the breakfast room is now finished in Blue Mosaic as the other one!

: Looking from the Kitchen, on the far left is the new counter on the indoor patio wall, hallway to pantry and laundry room, center is the area the dish hutch is going, then the entry to the breakfast room.

: Glass is being placed on the outdoor kitchen roof.

: Dave’s office beams and ceiling have been finished now.

: Glass awaiting to be put on the patio, outdoor kitchen, roof

: Blue bottle window from the outside.

: Looks like they have finished working on the bay window, at least on the outside.

: Last few pictures for this month before we start another Album. This is looking through the shower area in the guest wing. There are 3 windows in the shower and they will have glass blocks. You can see they are putting the blocks in place.

: This is the sink area in the quest bath. That area above the sink goes all the way to the skylight on the roof.

: The swings have been taken down. Looks like our swinging days are over.

: Just a close up of the Dome over the the breakfast room.

: the famous corner – Dave has taken a photo from this spot every week – we have a movie (posting soon)

: A closer look under the Dreamsworks logo – it looks like a pot

: Wait it is a pot…

: This is made from the shattered pieces we and the workers found on our property. This will have a light coming from the bottom and showing light from the top.

: Side view so you can see how big of a bulge it has, Can you imagine what the light will be like shining up from the bottom at night?

: The shower windows being finished.

: A look from the Toilet area looking at the shower.

: A look at what the cover over the outdoor kitchen will look like. This area is finished.

: Baby Dome… Notice they put the chimney to the living room fireplace up and it is a baby dome… either that or the domes we have are a male and a female and they are propagating…either that or something else….

: It doesn’t show well but they have done some finishing work on the Pot, filled in the cracks

: Fireplace in the living room is taking place nicely.

: Parts of the house are primed now – this is the hallway to my office.

: Flooring is starting. This is my office.

: A little more finishing although it is hard to see.

: Wait a row of steps has appeared on the outdoor kitchen Patio. Look close and the baby dome for the chimney is getting some finishing done as well.

: Looks like we are getting some recessed lighting on a couple of the beams now.

: A closer look under the Dreamsworks logo – it looks like a pot

The Boomerang Hat

Posted on February 25, 2013April 25, 2015 by admin

You thought by the title that this was going to be a post about an Aussie Hat now didn’t you. Well, it is about a hat for sure and Australia is where it happened but it is about a Panama hat I picked up in Ecuador at the market in Otavalo. As you most likely know, Panama Hats are really made in Ecuador. I won’t go into why Panama Hats are all made in Ecuador, although I could, you can look it up yourself.

Since we were going to be traveling in very hot places I thought it would be best to have a light weight hat for that reason and so I bought one at the market for that purpose. They are great hats made of straw that you can fold up and put them into your pocket if need be. What they aren’t good for is high winds. You see, because they are light it doesn’t take much before they take off in the wind in ways that would make you think they must have been a kite or a balloon in another life. Meanwhile, back at the story…
The hat had been worthwhile in the Desserts of Peru, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Australia so far and when we got to Kangaroo Island and didn’t really have much planned I thought I would wear my Panama Hat as it looked like it would be a hot sunny day. So that is what I did.

As luck would have it, (because everyone said it couldn’t be done), we found a tour guide and put together a private tour for the day. But that is another story; this one is about my hat.
One of the stops was Seal Bay, and what a place that is. You walk literally out on the beach where there are seals EVERYWHERE. Well it was very windy day, especially on the beach, so I rolled up my hat and put it in my pocket so I wouldn’t lose it, and started taking pictures and that was all I did. I haven’t counted them yet but I am sure I took about 3 jillion, (yes that is a word), on the beach. As a side note; did you know all seals are cute and the smaller they are the cuter they are. And the other guy that was on the tour didn’t say a thing, nor did I, but all we heard from the women was; that one is cute; look at that cute one over there; he is so cute; and so on. After a while we started heading back to the van, of course taking pictures as we walked and I realized my hat was gone!

My faithful Panama had from Ecuador had vanished somewhere on the beach. Guess what… It is the same color as the sand too. I shrugged it off and thought, oh well, I am just going to have to get along without it.

When we got back to the entrance of the park our guide Robin, had me write my name and cabin number down and leave it with the people there. I thought oh sure like this is going to work, but I did it and we continued on with our day. What a day it was too. This is an amazing island and we think one that ranks right up there with Easter Island. But we will save that for a story about the Island.

At the end of the day we got on the tender and headed back to the ship and went to our room. We set up the laptop and poured a glass of wine (Australian of course) and sat down to watch the slide show of our pictures from the day. We stopped the slide show when we heard a knock at the door.
When I opened the door there was a lady standing there with a bag and she said she had something for me. She pulled my hat out of the bag and asked it was mine. I looked at it and smiled and said yes it is. As it turned out, her and her husband were asked at Seal Bay when they left if they were from the Ship and when they said yes they were asked if they would take my hat back to the ship and they agreed. As it turns out, they were in the cabin right next to ours. We had not met them yet as they just got aboard in Sydney a few days prior to our arrival on Kangaroo Island.

We continued talking and found out they did not get to the Remarkable Rocks and we said we were just looking at our pictures if they would care to come in and see what they looked like. They did and we talked some more. Turns out they live in Australia and are taking the segment from Sydney to Hong Kong. They seem like some great people.
Here is a picture of what it looks like after its windy day on Seal Beach.

There are several important lessons to be learned here and I will summarize them in case they didn’t jump out at you. After all I do realize that everyone isn’t as highly trained as I am in various forms of analytics.

Panama hats introduce you to new people.
Panama hats are capable of handling very strong winds and keep their form. In this case the winds on the beach were easily 50 mph, or for those in Canada that is 80 kilometers.
Panama hats bond with their owner, similar to the way some breeds of dogs do, and once bonded with the owner they find ways of sticking with their owner. Just a thought, but perhaps if everyone had a Panama hat there wouldn’t be any missing kids or people as all you would have to do is follow the hat to find them.
Panama hats are capable of learning, as demonstrated in this story by this hat learning the capabilities of a Boomerang to get back to the owner.

So now you know the story of the Boomerang Hat and perhaps a better understanding of just a few of the virtues of Panama hats…

I am Dave or you can call me by the name the Australians gave me… Wallaby Jim and I approve this story mate.

Kangaroo Island Australia – Tour

Posted on February 21, 2013July 28, 2017 by admin

We talked and ask why in the world were tours on Kangaroo Island so bloody expensive and really never got a good explanation. It was really hard to find a tour on the island and most the ship offered were full already. While touring in other parts of Australia we always asked if anyone had a connection for us to take a tour when we arrived at the island, but alas little was found.

While in Adelaide our guide made several calls and located a possibility that was really expensive and we had to commit to like 12 people, and that we could not do. The guide kept working on it but everything was so expensive and required us to commit more than we could. You see when you are a small group touring you can’t find anyone nor do you have the ability to connect with friends to commit a small fortune. So we ended up arriving at with no tour lined up.

Another issue we had with the expense was that we couldn’t really find out much about the island and what it had to offer. There was Seal Bay, but we have seen seals all over the world; from Antarctica to Alaska and to Greenland and the Canadian Maritimes too. So we thought big deal another place to see more seals. Then there were the beaches. Ok what in the world could be so great about these beaches? Then you could see Kangaroos – oh boy – we have been seeing ‘roos for the past several ports. We even saw them at the zoo in Sydney. And there was the rocks that had the name of “Remarkable Rocks”. Another yawn here as why would we want to drive over 2 hours each way to see rocks? So with that line of thinking is what we thought when hearing the prices of tours. The ship tour was something like $550 per person.

Fleur, our tour guide in Adelaide, showed us pictures of these “remarkable rocks” and we thought WOW they look like they would be great to see. Since we had not lined up a tour we thought we should take an early tender and see what we could do on shore.

So the quest began – 5:15am wake up (yes we are on vacation) and on one of the first tenders off the ship. Sadly when we got the Information booth we are told – no unless you have something booked you will not get to see the ‘rocks’ they are too far away. We reserved ourselves to riding the ‘free shuttles’ to see the two closer small towns. We watched the local ferry unload and load then wandered back to the information booth. Pierre the man we first talked to noticed us and advised us that there might be a chance as a driver had a cancellation.

Still we were not holding our breath as the driver was gone and would be returning. Long story short he was right there was a driver, we pulled two additional people together and headed out at 8:15 for what turned out to be the most fabulous day of our trip!!! Robyn was an amazing guide, the sites as you can see are over the top – we would rank Kangaroo Island on par with Easter Island – just plain beautiful and amazing. (lunch with a bottle of wine wasn’t bad either).