Jen in Thailand

Well, since this will be another adventure with outcomes optimistically promising, I thought I would blog about Dave and I bringing Ping, our little Thai pup home from Thailand to live happily ever after with us and our little pack of animals. After our beloved Ava passed away this past January, Dave and Sea-B and I were all just so sad. She was such a light in our lives and we still miss her every day. Not that Eros didn't miss her presence, he put out a search party for at least a week after she was gone. He would march around the yard, sniffing and looking, come back inside and an hour later, go look again. Then after she didn't turn up, he called off the search and went back to his normal routine. Sea-B ... read more

We both awoke with stomach distress... And we are going to the Phi Phi islands sweet Jesus let's hope it doesn't turn into the Poo Poo islands! We slammed xbreakfast and Imodium and Dramamine and cautiously head to the pier. We hop on the boat and I scan for a bathroom.... I can't confirm. Worry worry ,worry. What will they do with us if we have an attack of diarrhea? Make us dive off the boat? Possible scenarios go through my head, none good. I am happy to report that all medications did the trick and we were good to go... Or not go as the case may be. We drove across the water for about an hour until we reached a snorkeling site. We all jumped out, about 13 people, the water clear, warm, beautiful ... read more

Waiting for our ride to the airport, we saw our friends who were in the jungle! They said they did get lost and hiked and hiked up steep trails (um with elephants) and finally arrived at elephant heaven. Acres and acres of beautiful mountains and valleys of lush vegetation, perfect for elephant retirement. They said totally worth it. I was so glad to hear about their trip. As we prepared to leave,I can't help be so happy and proud that Dave took a week out of his vacation to take his gypsy wife half way around the world to scoop elephant poop, and prepare meals and work in the oppressive sun and go help out the Thai kids at the school along side me.aling with enjoying a vegetarian diet for the week (difficult for my carnivore ... read more

Friday Such an awesome day! We sat early morning having cold coffee and watching the elephants start there day. Usually they move very slowly (except the baby) not in a. Rush, enjoying their retirement .. This morniNg was different! We heard a angered trumpeting across the field and saw a big mad lady running fast toward a bunch of water buffalo that had obviously offended. The eles chased the buffalo, the mahouts chased the eles, the dogs followed along thrilled with the excitement! All settled down in a matter of minutes but it was quite thrilling to watch! We signed up to go teach the children at the local school English in the morning. I had taken pictures of the kids two years ago when I was here and wavered on wether to bring copies of ... read more

Wednesday morning walking down to the main building where coffee and breakfast await, accompanied by the cutest of Thai dogs that take it apon themselves to escort you everywhere with a wagging tail and big Thai dog smile. There are hundreds of butterflies dancing in and around the trees making it a magical walk down the dirt road. One of those moments I will tell you, I really tried to put it in the permanent memory bank for later use while standing in line at the dmv . Our job this morning is to prepare the food for the elephants. It is a good job today! Hanging in the kitchen, out of the oppressive heat, washing watermelon and squash and chopping them up for the elephant. The old ladies with no teeth eat rice and banana ... read more