rrose070

We left you in Washington D.C. where we had been staying in the D.C. suburb of Bethesda, Maryland while we toured D.C. We left our bike parked in our hotel garage while we used the very efficient D.C. subway system to tour the capital city. Back in the saddle, we head north into Pennsylvania to take a look at Gettysburg. Our traveling weather was wonderful and we camped for two nights at Codorous State Park which is just a handful of miles east of Gettysburg. No mosquitoes! Not one! We cooked stew over our campfire, played cards and slept in our snug little tent which withstood the overnight squall that soaked our campsite. We spent a day touring the town of Gettysburg and the surrounding battlefields. Civil war history everywhere in and around this beautiful Pennsylvania ... read more

We just missed Forrest’s home in Greenbow, Alabama but like the fictional Gump we have been roving, often aimlessly from coast to coast. Unlike Forrest, we’re not tired yet. OK, some days are a little bit tiring. Our New Orleans adventure continued with us sampling more food including Muffaletta’s, Grits, Gumbo, Oysters and Jumbalaya. We don’t quite understand grits. We took in the abundant New Orleans nightlife on and around Frenchman Street and the French Quarter with our friend Karen acting as nightlife guide. Jazz, R&B, Blues, Rock… this city has it all in spades. We were up late for several nights. We spent the next few days and nights riding about New Orleans, touring the Lafayette Cemetery #1 with its spooky and beautiful above-ground crypts, some dating back to the late 1700’s. We toured the ... read more

Dan and Rebecca packed up from their Lake Havasu campsite and headed north to Las Vegas through 180 miles of very hot desert scrubland. Rebecca found a shockingly inexpensive, super nice room ($22 per night) at Sam’s Town hotel and casino where we enjoyed a couple nights of frittering some cash away in local pubs, eating in buffets and some really excellent people watching. After two nights in the city of sin we hightailed it to Hoover dam for a look-see at one of the largest public works projects in the U.S. Dan was so excited to see the dam that he left his “Man Bag” with the camera, GPS, iPod, etc. hanging on the tail bag of the bike. This is not a good place to hang a shoulder bag chock full of expensive electronics. ... read more

Well, Paradise was...Paradise, as expected.... OK, this blog is LOOONG overdue. Blame internet problems... We were welcomed warmly back to our sweetest dreamscape, the Mae Nam Resort, on the island of Koh Samui. This place is one of our treasured gems, which we discovered on our very first trip here, and it's never come close to being beat for value, charm and magic. We spent the first 3 days "soaking it in" - for me, that means a frequently repeated mantra, "notice. feel. smell. taste. see. remember!" Chilled mango sliced up fresh from a beach-strolling vendor. Green curry fish, prepared by the longtime staff. Greeting "Grandma" and "Grandpa" - and being remembered! Secretly seeing Grandpa making his morning offerings and prayers at their spirit house. The Soi dog - and the boy who adores him. Hours ... read more

So, here’s the latest blog I’ve been promising! Our work in the village of Kew Sua has been progressing very well; these extremely bright kids have been learning the English alphabet, phonics, counting, parts of the body, commands, directions, greetings and so on. Their first language is their native Karen hilltribe tongue, their second language is Thai and the English we are teaching them is their third language. Last week, in another amazing coincidence, Josie, another teacher from the Seattle area visited Kew Sua with a promise to return in February and continue our work after we leave. This brings the number of “farangs” in the tiny hill tribe village of Kew Sua up to four, all from Washington state! Dan stayed in Chiang Mai to get some work done, so it was just us girls ... read more