Apollo 13

 We have a teenager in the house...again. What a year it has been. One year ago Apollo turned 12 at the beginning of the pandemic. We celebrated. Just the four of us, under lockdown. Apollo hasn't been to school in a year...over a year actually. All the usual interactions with friends has been minimal and sparse. The boys and Melanie, went a couple months without being in a car or going to a store. We spent a lot of time together as a family. Now, as I look back, we  (the four of us) have spent much more time together in the past 13 months, than the previous two years combined.  All day every day with very few breaks, especially for Melanie. While we are excited for the boys to be back in school at the start of the next school year, I know that I will look back and miss this gift of family time. Social distancing brought us closer together, however, I do not look forward to the pubescent distancing and independence that occurs in the coming teenage years.

We have watched Apollo begin his transformation into a man this past year; His voice changing,  Growing in height. Muscles growing. He is getting so strong. I have loved riding bikes with him, especially since Christmas. He has gotten strong enough to keep up with me on the bike and follows me on almost any terrain when mountain biking. 

I've lost a boy to the relentless progression of time, but gain a young man. A young man full of potential and promise. It is bittersweet knowing that we have fewer years in front of us than behind, before he fledges the nest. Too few for my liking if I'm honest. But then again, we are only just entering the teenage years.

Apollo is creative. He has began using a 3d printer to make things. He is exploring drawing and digital art. He is creative in his ideas and writing. A collaborator and comedian in his demeaner. And a fierce protector of all of Gods creatures. 

Apollo, you make make my life more interesting. The world could use a lot more people like you in it. I am proud to be your father and fortunate to call you my own. I am proud of you and everything that you do. 

Happy 13th Birthday! ~ Love you forever~ Dad

Orion turns 9

No one likes a party more than Orion. It doesn't matter whose party it is. He prefers that it be his own party and he be the one lathered with gifts, but he will settle for someone else having a party, as long as he gets the invite. Orion approaches life that way; a series of parties or more often, a lack of. Everything is either great (a party) or terrible (no party). There is no in between, no gray area, no compromises. There are days until. Painful days. He counts the days until Christmas, Easter, his birthday, and vacations. The excitement builds as the day gets closer. The night before is restless, then party day is the best day ever. Followed by the worst day ever.

  I love this about Orion. He has passion. He is easily excited...and disappointed, but it is his excitement over the smallest thing that is so endearing. 

  This was a big year for Orion in so many ways. He has lost teeth, experienced the loss of a pet dog, got two new puppies, took a road trip to Oregon to see his aunts, cousins, and grandma, grew leaps and bounds, survived another fire evacuation in the rv, was baptized by his brother Ian, found himself in the middle of a pandemic, experienced home-schooling/ distance learning, managed to make it to Montana for his brother Aden's wedding (during a pandemic), and did I mention how much he has grown? Somehow, Orion surpassed his yiayia in height at 8-years-old. A benchmark that he is immensely proud of. 

  

  This was also the year of the middle finger. With our free range parenting style, we have chose to let him go through this phase, knowing that it will pass in time. From it, he is learning when it is appropriate to be unruly and when it is not. He knows that people find it offensive and refrains from sharing his favorite talent in public...unless he thinks he is being sneaky. Point a camera at him, and the finger comes out. Even at his brother wedding. 

At his core, this mischievous kid has a heart of gold. He genuinely cares for his friends and family. He is a conversationalist like his mom. (editorial: Conversationalist in our house really means; debater, arguer, contrarian: just like his mom. We encourage him to question everything...and he does. Obviously we need to review the commandment with him where it says, "Thou shalt honor they mother and father") .

      Orion is our pickiest kid. Most foods are "disgusting" especially fish (except for ceviche), and chicken (unless its nuggets). Peaches are currently his favorite fruit. followed by watermelon, grapes and any berry that he is not required to pick. 

Orion knows more types of cars and trucks than I do. He points them out on the road and not only tells me the make but the model of the car. Fast cars and big trucks that is. He could care less about family cars. He is also insanely inventive. Actually, he is more of an idea guy. He has solutions to every dilemma, and explains in detail how his inventions should look and how they will work. 

We are so blessed to have Orion as our son. He is creative, bright, sweet, and fun. He laughs heartily, plays hard, and loves unconditionally. 

Happy 9th Birthday Orion!! I love you! ~ Dad

Apollo turns 12

"It's true! The world is flat!" Apollo exclaims smugly, in response to me randomly stating that "The world is flat you know." His face lights up in anticipation like a kid that just found a twenty dollar bill in the street.

Slapping his hands to his forehead and dragging them with exaggerated effort down his face in despair, Orion yells out, "NOOOOOOO!! Why did you have to say that Dada?"
simultaneously, Melanie will look over at me in disgust and ask, "Really? why...why?" and shake her head.

 The chaos that I just unleashed on my family with that one simple phrase, could happen on any given day, on any random road trip, and will undoubtedly lead to a 20 to 30 minute debate between Apollo and Orion on whether or not the earth is indeed flat.

To be clear, Apollo does NOT believe the world is flat at all. He does, however, believe in sarcasm, absurdity, mayhem and pestering his little brother. Orion on the other hand, is more like his mom, and even though he knows that Apollo is yanking his chain, he cannot help but argue every point and counterpoint that Apollo makes on the subject. And let me just say, Apollo can make a very compelling case for the earth being flat.

 Why do I do this you ask? In part, for my own sadistic entertainment. I enjoy listening to the banter. I enjoy the argument that Apollo lays out. I enjoy Orion thinking about and articulating his rebuttals. Yes, Orion is often distressed and almost yelling while Apollo is grinning and sagely making his case...until Melanie intervenes to make them stop. In the end, Melanie is usually irritated with all of us, Orion is angry, and Apollo is quite pleased with himself. As for me, beyond the entertainment value, 30 minutes just passed away where no one asked me "How much longer?" or complained that, "I'm hungry," or, "I have to go to the bathroom."

This is Apollo. He is clever, bright, sarcastic and quick witted. He is easy going for the most part and adapts to new situations readily.
Apollo is spending his twelfth birthday in a pandemic "say-at-home", shelter-in-place", "quarantine", or any number of phrases to describe the state wide and county lockdown. He going on week six of no school, social distancing, and being stuck with only his family 24/7. For the most part, we are all getting along, rather well I might add, all things considered. Melanie complains that Apollo talks too much and does not know when to quit being sarcastic or pestering his brother, but really, these are just gold plated problems as they say.

I cant believe this kid is on the edge of manhood. It has certainly been quite a ride. Normal for him is fire evacuations and living in the RV with our zoo, almost annually, smoke or fire related school closures, and a third of his sixth grade school year being canceled for a pandemic... and being isolated at home...with his family...in what promises to be the never ending summer.

 Kids tend to go with the flow and adapt. I wonder how Apollo will view these events as an adult. As with most things that come his way, he seems rather unaffected. While as adults, we are losing our minds. I think about how my parents grew up and the challenges that they were faced with.My grandparents as well. Then I realize that it is our generation that had it easy. Our generation was the anomaly. A few decades of normalcy, as we have come to know it. It's just life and it is different for everyone and every generation. I don't believe that our boys will look back on this year, 2020, as the crisis that we, as adults, will. Its just another chapter in all of our books.Some will see it as a profound plot twist while others will see it as more of a side note. My bet is on the later for our boys.






Apollo continues to awe us with his love for and abilities with animals. They are drawn to him, and he to them. He finds no end to the fascination and entertainment they provide him. They seek his attention because they feel a connection. There is always at least one dog and/or a cat in his bed at night. Melanie calls the dogs "traitors" when they abandon her to sleep with Apollo. The birds appreciate his affinity for them and call to him when they see or hear him. We never need to ask him to interact with any of them. He almost always has a bird or two on him when at home.





Apollo has been reading nonstop. Reading is one thing that we never have to ask him to do. To the contrary, at times we have to tell him to stop reading and go to sleep. I wish I had his passion for reading. I do love a good story and audio books for me, replace my lack of ability to sit and read for more than a few minutes. I introduced Apollo to a series that I really enjoyed; Riyria Revelations and Riyria Chronicles. While probably above the  reading Lexile of most kids his age, I knew he would find the books and characters interesting and hoped that he would be sucked in to them. I was not surprised when he became obsessed. He has powered through almost all of the books in the past few months. They are lengthy and wordy but it has not deterred him in the least.




Apollo has been dabbling in electronics and robotics this past year, including flying drones. He is good with his hands and creating with them. He still loves origami and will randomly fold up an animal or complex paper airplane. 

He has a good eye for photography and won some 1st place awards and Best-Of-Show for his age group at the county fair last summer.

Apollo has also done some great video editing and time-lapse films that were rather good.

With all of his creativity, one of his best talents can also be viewed as a curse of sorts; Apollo has a knack for mimicry. He excels at picking up on peoples mannerisms, speech patterns and voice inflections. While we try to guide him and encourage him to stop short of bullying, he is quite adept at these skills and does them on a subconscious level.










Apollo is a very funny person. One of my favorite things about him is that he can make us laugh, all of us, and without any thought or effort. When he wants to, he can get Orion laughing harder and longer than anyone can.

 I laugh at Apollo all the time because I can relate to his twisted sense of humor. He got it from me after all. While Melanie is not as entertained by him as I am, my favorite thing is that he makes Melanie laugh, all the time.  Its not that Melanie doesn't have a sense of humor, because she does, she just doesn't find most men (or maybe just this man), or her children as funny as she does her friends, so the fact that he gets her laughing at all, is a testament to how genuinely funny he is...even if he is trying to convince her that the world is flat.


~Apollo
Stay true to who you are. Make people laugh. Love unconditionally. Work hard. Always be proud of what you stand for.  ~I love you, and I am honored to be your father~ Happy 12th birthday!! ~ Dad

And then it happened.

It felt like a Saturday morning, but it was a weekday. Probably closer to noon. I passed through the first big intersection. The traffic was all wrong. Nothing I could put my finger on. Just the wrong cars, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The air seemed cleaner some how, like it does after a spring rain, It had been raining, but that wasn't it. Maybe it was the quietness, the stillness, or just that eerie feeling when you know something was about to happen but the anticipation is much worse than the end effect  could be. Or could it?


And then it happened: Pandemic. The world shut down.

March started like any other March. I tend to ignore the media most of the time. I despise the over-glorification of the mundane,  the political rhetoric, the hatred. I haven't seen real journalism in years. It doesn't exist anymore. With that said, it was impossible not to hear about a new virus erupting in China. The city of Wuhan being shut down. A city of 11 million people completely shut down and cut off from the world... to contain a virus. While shocking to hear this, after passing through Wuhan Tianhe International Airport just one year earlier...twice, I completely understand how seriously they take these outbreaks. Novela Corona Virus was already on my radar by this time, but the closure of Wuhan was the first time that I took note of it.

  I was at a corporate training event on March 11th when the news announced the cancellation of the remainder of the NBA season. My flight down to Southern California the day before was only about 55% full due to concerns over the new virus. Things were already beginning to unravel globally. We had seen some business events cancel a week earlier locally. More followed suite. Then the NBA canceled. It escalated from there...quickly. Travel bans began to be implemented and more sports organizations followed the NBA by canceling the remainder of their seasons respectively.

The boys made it through the week to Friday the 13th, without their school shutting down, although we had anticipated it. It was the start of spring break. The next day, the school district announced that class was suspended through April 3rd.

  March 16th, the city of San Francisco issued a stay-at-home order essentially shutting the city down. That was followed by a six county (Bay Area) Shelter-in-place order. Sonoma County followed suite the next day, inadvertently extending the school shut down until April 7th. A week later, the school district extended the order through May 1st. The week after that, the rest of the school year was canceled and learning would move to an online format.

Melanie was laid off of both her jobs and became a home-school teacher overnight. Apollo and Orion had a hard time understanding why their friends could no longer come over for a play date. For the most part, Melanie and the boy's  have not been out of our neighborhood in nearly four weeks now. We are all still adjusting.

You find out quickly in these crisis, all the things in life that we take for granted. The everyday things, first world conveniences really, even the ability to go where you want, when you want, with whom you want. But its the social isolation that gets to most of us. The communal things that we all do together if even to be surrounded by strangers or acquaintances: the gym, church, movies, events. Its the interaction with others, that primal need to interact, I think we miss the most. And then we are suddenly thrust into a position to be surrounded 24/7 by the people that we love AND fight with the most. Its a cruel paradox.

 Fortunately, beyond the love I have for my family, I actually really like them all as well. Don't get me wrong , its not all sunshine and daisies around here. We make each other crazy at times, need a break from each other at other times, but for how isolated we have been from outside contact, interactions, and daily life, we are managing to get along quite well.

Am I scared of catching this virus? I guess I am, but maybe in a way that differs from most. My lungs have some issues that put me at a higher risk for it becoming life threatening. That doesn't scare me. What scares me is this; I am not done raising my boys. I would not want them to have to go through losing a parent and then coping with the massive changes that would inevitably follow.  I worry about the impending economic struggles that will follow this pandemic more than fighting the virus. All we can do is be safe and diligent and live day to day.

 COVID-19 has really changed the world more in a few short months than I ever thought was possible.

On a positive note, there have been many benefits to the shelter-in-place/stay-at-home orders. Families are being forced to spend time together, learning to get along with one another, preparing meals together, eating together, interacting as teacher and students.
The air has not been this clean in years. Not just here, but many places around the world. Oil is at its lowest usage in decades. The planet is probably breathing a sigh of relief.

 I have been able to get in some extra rides in between rainy days and work duties. The skies have been amazing to say the least. But it was unsettling the first ride after the initial shelter-in-place order was issued. Everything did seem off... because it was. As I passed through areas that I used to frequent, it was like reminiscing as you walked an abandoned town that you once lived in: "There is the club I used to work out at. That used to be a movie theater where I would to take my family. This is the school that my kids went to." All sit abandoned, their parking lots empty. Even the wildlife seems a bit confused by the lack of people and traffic.

Then, the town falls behind me, as I peddle on. The road stretches out before me, the clouds add depth and contrast to a deep blue sky. I inhale my medicine, feel the wind on my face, and distance myself socially from my family...for a little while.

End of the Decade

                              ~2019~



As 2019 comes to a close and I reflect back on the decade, it has been one hell of a ride with lots of ups and downs. It has been 10 and a half years since we left Oregon and landed in Santa Rosa. Orion was born here in Santa Rosa just two years later and this summer we celebrated his 8th birthday. He has known no other home.











While Apollo was barely 15 months old when we arrived here, he retains a few memories of Oregon. Leaving was bitter sweet and there are still a few people, a few places, and a few memories that I will forever hold in my heart from those days in Central Oregon. While Santa Rosa still does not quite feel like home to me, there is much to love about this place. We have built a lifetime of memories here with the boys. We have made some good friends. We have discovered new activities that we love and have had many adventures while living here this past decade.

 





I am looking forward to a new year and the start of a new decade. While 2020 is just a number value, it feels like a whole new start. It feels like it holds promise for so much more opportunity and adventure and much change. I hope when the next decade ends, we are someplace new and can look back in fondness at the 2020's.







 This is the final day of 2019. Our big family trip was to Phuket Thailand this year. Apollo and Melanie visited Aden in Montana in April to meet Aden's prospective bride. I was able to go to Alaska and Canada for fishing/business trips. Melanie and the boys went to Oregon to see Melanie's three sisters and her mother while I was traveling. We fit in a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure for Orion's birthday.



We spent a few nights living in the RV again with all of our pets due to a wildfire evacuation again. And I somehow managed to fit in 75 nights in hotels for business travel. Melanie worked three different jobs throughout the summer months. We have been busy to say the least. We shared many laughs and shed a few tears this year. We lost our beloved dog Remi and gained two new puppies; Ace and Zohra.




  Apollo started 6th grade and Orion started 3rd. Both boys excel in Math and science and are overall good students except when it comes to keeping up on homework assignments.
  Orion still lives his life for Christmas. He has been streaming Pentatonix Christmas station every night since Thanksgiving and refuses to stop until January 1st.







Apollo is honing his skills for mimicry and has his mom and I down to a "T".
Orion does awesome front flips from the diving board at the Wikiup Swim and Tennis club.
Apollo likes building electronics and is quite adept with a soldering gun. He is beginning to dabble in Arduino robotics and lasers.



Orion likes to take electronic apart to see how they work. Old computers, DVD players, tablets and phones are not safe if they stop working.
 Both boys have become great swimmers, and  even though they aren't thrilled to be on swim team, they do very well. Both boys have an eye for photography. Apollo won best of show for his age group at the fair. Both boys had 1st and 2nd place ribbons for all the photos they entered.

   Overall, 2019 was a great year. I am blessed to have the family that I have and the adventures that we shared together.


                                               Goodbye 2019~Hello 2020

Sometimes you gotta say Phuket

Thailand. I have started this post at least a dozen times in the past eight months. I needed some distance to sort out my thoughts and feelings about Thailand and now need to finish before the new year begins. While I can say we loved Thailand, or at least Phuket, I was a bit discouraged by all the trash. I can't fault Thailand as much as I fault people and consumerism (all around the world) in general. We are no better here in the USA, we just have infrastructure in place to deal with it better. I guess in some ways, that makes us worse. I have had to stop several times while writing this post as I did not want it to end up being a rant on environmental issues. I could not separate it out completely because I still feel I need to say something about it, as it did impact our trip. Trust me when I say that this is the condensed version of my original rantings on the subject.

 The Thailand I had hoped for and the Thailand I experienced, were as different as any American reality show is from real life in the US. I cant say that I was disappointed, but if I could do it over again with the knowledge that I have now, I would have taken a different approach. That said, I am in no hurry to return to Thailand. Not because I didn't enjoy our trip there, but it was hard to enjoy myself completely, when nearly everywhere was so littered with trash. I don't mean this to sound judgmental, it just makes me sad to see the country's beauty marred by litter, especially when it affects the wildlife and there are many other places that I would like to visit before returning.



  We pack a lot into a short amount of time on our trips to experience as much as we can in the time that we have.
My feelings on Thailand are a bit mixed. The people are kind, the food is amazing, the culture is interesting, and some of the sights are stunning. On the opposite side of the spectrum; excessive trash, over crowding of tourist sites, over commercialization of tours and sites, plastic, and did I say excessive trash? We saw such a small portion Thailand on our week that we spent in Phuket and I am sure that once you leave the tourist areas, it is quite a lovely country, but the amount of trash that littered the ground, the flora and fauna, and sadly, even the ocean, was really disheartening. I guess I had higher expectations for Thailand.

And then there is the domestication of animals, mostly elephants, but also tigers.





It is easy for us as Americans to condemn the Thai people for using elephants for shows to make a profit. It wasn't long ago in this country that circuses had elephants as part of their shows. That ended only a few years ago here. As a kid and young adult, I remember the ring masters smacking the legs and back of the elephants or snapping a whip behind them and lions, to get them to move or respond in the desired manner. In Phuket, we did not observe any physical abuse of the elephants, however, it begs the question, how are they so well trained.








We visited the Phuket FantaSea show on our last night in Phuket. It was not on our original wish list but we were given two free passes, so we decided to go and see what all the hype was about. The show was well done, but again, I have some ethical questions about the training of the animals.

Knowing what we know now, we would have skipped this show and especially the riding of the elephants. They are beautiful, majestic creatures and it breaks my heart to think this may stress them out in any way. Still, the boys will not soon forget the experience.

 I know that I can no more expect to go to a Native American reservation and see people living in tepee's, hunting buffalo with bows, and living off the land, than I could expect to see native Thai people living in grass huts, fishing with spears, and climbing trees to pick coconuts. However, I had hoped to experience a simpler culture.

I realize that much of the areas that we visited, exists solely for tourism, and because of that, you find all the things that come with a thriving metropolis, without the sustainability and oversight of an infrastructure that can support it. For my taste, I like the small villages in any culture and would have liked to experience that in some form in Thailand.


I know this would have required more research and planning and my part, plus time, and several extra vaccines. I would have liked to find locals to take us on a boat to the places the tour boats don't go. I would have liked to find a rain forest to hike through, and a deserted beach, unspoiled by visitors.


  Food and culture are deeply intertwined in Thailand, and we did get to experience a small amount if it. Yes, the food was outstanding and that alone would be enough for many people who visit Thailand.  If Apollo and Orion were a little older, I think some small huts in a rainforest near a snorkel friendly beach would have been the perfect Thailand vacation. All four us love exploring and hunting for bugs, fish and birds.

  I cannot say enough good things about the Marriott Phuket Beach Club where we stayed during our trip. The facilities and grounds were pristine. The employees and Thai people are friendly and always offer a warm smile.






There were great restaurants, a gym with a spa, stores, kids clubs, multiple swimming pools, beach massage facilities (which we took advantage of daily), and our villa was beautiful.










If our intent was to stay in one place to soak up some Thai sun while being pampered, this place certainly fit the bill perfectly. But, we came to experience Thailand, so this served as our home base with daily trips away from this small piece of paradise.

We rented a car in Thailand. Driving in Phuket is an experience in itself. So many vehicles...especially motorcycles, often with 3 or 4 passengers, all going in different directions with an anarchist approach to traffic laws. The car did offer us the freedom to come and go as we pleased and on our own schedule. After a few days, I started to feel a bit more comfortable navigating the city.

  Jumping right in to our trip, we found our way to Monkey hill on the first day and took a long hike up the hill to meet the monkeys.

We were cautious but we did purchase bananas and peanuts to feed the monkeys, ironically from a vendor/home right in front of a sign telling you not to feed the aggressive animals.

We spent an hour interacting with these beautiful creatures and by the end of the trip, both boys admitted that this was one of their favorite part of the trip.

We laughed, we were fascinated, we were intrigued, and we laughed some more. I think we could have gone here daily and not been bored. The boys were disappointed that we did not find our way back to Monkey hill before we left.

 For one of our guided adventures, we took a day "snorkeling" trip to the PhiPhi islands... which turned out to be nothing more than a tourist boat excursion, on a tight schedule, that just happened to stop at a couple places (for a short time) where you could snorkel if you wanted. (Man, I missed Fiji with my brother and his family this day.)








The water was beautiful but the sites were too touristy for my taste, and every spot was overly crowded with boats and people all jockeying for a spot. Did I mention that this was the shoulder season, weeks removed from the peak of tourism? I couldn't imagine being here in December.





As we always do, we made the best of the situation and really enjoyed ourselves.

Night markets in Thailand are a
whole different adventure in themselves. While the biggest ones (and tourist oriented) take place on the weekend nights, we found some during the week that were quite impressive.



















The markets were packed with natives and very few tourists. The food booths were a thing of beauty. There were so many different types of food all ornately displayed. There were even vendors dedicated to the culinary delicacy of insects.





Grubs, worms, crickets, ants, and water beetles were relished by the locals. The grubs unexpectedly tasted a bit like bacon. Melanie was the bravest of us all and ate more than Apollo and I combined. Orion wasn't having any of it.

We could have tried ten different foods every night in Thailand at one of these markets and we still would not have made a dent in the variety of options that they had to offer.

The boys really enjoyed shopping in the night market and we all had some good laughs at the knock -offs of name brand merchandise.

 Apollo and Orion found some bags and souvenirs, did some haggling, and got to experience something very different than what they are used to back home in the states.  The prices for items at the night markets were very reasonable since they were geared towards the locals and hot the tourists. Denim jeans started at about $3, while used shoes seemed to be a hot item especially brand named shoes.





At first, the night markets seemed like such an oddity. But once you realize that the days are hot and humid, it make sense that the markets take place at night, out of the heat of the sun. The markets are a place for friends to meet, do some shopping, and families to have dinner. I was surprised by how many people were there. It seemed more like a fair than a market with the amount of people in attendance. The people watching was great, but we stood out like a sore thumb and the locals were watching us as much as we watched them.

On our last day in Phuket, we went searching for a little lesser known beach off the beaten path.

It was marked by a small sign that could be easily missed if I hadn't been better prepared.  The hike to the beach was through a beautiful jungle and we had to kind of guess at which way to go.

Sadly, this beautiful beach, Banana Beach, was overrun with trash. I know that my pictures do not reflect what I am describing, as I made a conscious effort to avoid taking pictures showing the trash. In hindsight, I would have taken a lot of pictures to document this but at the time, I wanted to focus on the positive as much as possible.

While not may tourist were at this beach with us, most all of them were walking the beach picking up trash or pulling trash from the water.

Melanie, Apollo, and I all snorkeled at this beach, and you could hardly swim a body length without running into plastic bags, cups, styrofoam, and other pieces of trash floating in the water.

The bags often contained trapped fish. While very sad, it was also a great learning experience for all of us... especially the boys. They were able to see first hand the effects of single use plastic bags on such a delicate environment.

Still, we had a blast at this beach in between pulling trash from the water.

















Thailand exceeded my expectations in the food department. First and foremost, the fruit was AMAZING!!

Both price and variety. Apollo could live on dragon fruit alone, while Melanie and I couldn't get enough of the passion fruit.

Orion's addiction was pineapple and bananas which never taste quite as sweet on the mainland as they do in the tropics.

Through in some papaya, mangos, and fresh coconut milk, and we were all pretty happy.





















That said, our favorite restaurant that we found was a literally a tarpaulin and bamboo shack. It was situated in the trees off the beach, and in between resorts on a little traveled set of roads used more by residents than tourists.

We found this spot quite by accident while ridding loaner bikes from the resort. We initially thought it was a shanty town of homes the first time we went by. 

When we circled back to the resort, we noticed a sign and menu out front. We came back that same day to sample the fairs after seeing the live seafood bins out front. We had some of the best seafood here. The food was so fresh and so good that we came back the following day. The prices were very reasonable and the food was unbelievably delicious.





We also ate at a fancy restaurant at the resort and while the food was unreal tasting, and the presentation was impeccable, the price was what you would expect to pay at a fancy restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What was most noteworthy about this trip in regards to Apollo and Orion, was their comfort level in the water. Both boys had been on swim team for about nine months when we went to Thailand. Because of this, they were not afraid to venture out in the ocean with snorkeling gear on. It made it a bit nerve racking for Melanie and I as we had to chase after them and bring them closer in. Even when the sea was a little rough, the didn't hesitate to get in the water. Apollo even navigated a plethora of jellyfish at Banana beach only managing to get stung a couple times.

The boys are becoming more aware of the differences in cultures and learning to respect those differences.  They are concerned for the the wildlife and environment wherever we go and I love seeing them pick up trash when they see it on the ground. Apollo now chooses to not use straws when offered to him with a drink. We want the boys to embrace the world, love to travel, love people, and not be afraid to try new things. With that, I think we are doing a fairly good job.

In summary, I would say to anyone that has ever considered traveling to Thailand; Go!! Do not be discouraged by what I pointed out in regards to trash and litter. Just know what to expect. Get your travel vaccines, eat from the street vendors, visit the night markets, and try the grubs.