Thailand

Wow!  Are we really going there?  I guess so! The flight is booked and the timeshare scheduled.  So how in the world did we decide to go to Thailand.  Well, it started with the link you see over there called "Retire Early Lifestyle".  (And yes, it is relevant to younger families, not just empty nest people, so you should read it)  Apparently, there are a lot of people that retire in Thailand and they swear by how nice it is.  Well, I don't have any desire to retire there, but a trip?

So, I am buried in school.  The semester ends August 6th and I have two weeks before the next one starts.  We need to "get out of Dodge".  We have a timeshare we have been paying for and haven't used.  Is there someplace we could go - use the Frequent Flyer miles to get there?  Derrick starts looking through what we can trade our Aruba week for and Thailand pops up.  Thailand?? Cool!  Can we make it work with the flight?  Can I get my passport renewed fast enough?  Scraped all the FF points together and got a ticket, bought another one and - Bingo! - we are heading out August 7th for 2 weeks.  Here is a picture of the place we are staying (its an architects drawing - not a real pic -but it is a real place)

So, the blog and FB will be a big part of the sharing.  As we get older, we are more interested in experiences than things - so sharing what we learn and what we see (we think) is more valuable to our children and grandchildren than "stuff".  I am excited to experience this new culture - maybe even ride an elephant!

Why be normal?

Sometimes I have to wonder, what in the world is wrong with us?  Why can't we just settle down and be regular grandparents and plan a quiet retirement?  But, noooo!  We have to be completely crazy and reinvent ourselves every so often.  So what is happening right now?

Well, first, yours truly has gone back to school.  Studying anatomy and chemistry at the moment toward the prerequisites needed to get into nursing school -- see, a hundred years ago, I was an LPN.  So, in November (after a monumental scare with Kara's Baby Jack (see Our Half Dozen), it felt like it was time.  I will save the rest of the story for another time.

And then there is the hankering to travel...years ago, Derrick's father gave he and his brother, Gregg each a carving that he felt represented their personalities.  Derrick's was a trapper in a canoe.  His dad felt (and rightly so) that Derrick is a traveler and adventurer at heart.

In the years we have been married (34 this past June) we have traveled to Scotland, Hawaii (3 times now), a couple of Caribbean cruises and quite a few places around the country.  But NOTHING we have done will compare to what is coming up August 7th.

I will be posting pictures and explanations in the next couple of days.  So ciao for now and happy adventuring to you.