Catfishing with Naomi

Hey Everyone, our friend Chad made up this video footage of some Mekong Catfishing in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He did a great job putting it together, music and all. Let's see what you think.

Got It!

O.K. I finally figured it out. I am now in the process of downloading all of our pictures, well maybe only 220+ pictures, from our Thailand trip. Robbie and I picked out some of the more attractive shots for your viewing pleasure. I am also going to be adding other albums to the blog in time. And if your lucky, I'll even get them all labeled as well. To find the albums, just scroll down towards the bottom of the page, on the right hand side, and you should see the words "Photo Albums." Right underneath are the albums, fill free to click away. You even have the option to save the photos on your computer if you like. I only ask that you respect the copyright laws, and don't use these photos as blackmail in the future. After all we can't be responsible for our actions as young newlyweds. =)



Robbie and I have settled back into life since our trip. Most of you are aware that right after our return flight into Seattle we flew down to spend time with my father who had terminal lung cancer. Robbie eventually had to get back up to Juneau for work, and I stayed a few more days. It's interesting how when someone you know and love is dying, that the reflection one has about the importance of family is hightened. I flew back to Juneau on a Saturday, and a few days later my father passed away. I feel so lucky to of had the opportunity to say good-bye to my dad, and often remind myself that not everyone is given that chance. So I leave you with this thought, "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."



I can't wait to blog you again soon in the near future. The photo attached is of my father Sy, and his sidekick Bear.

The Honeymoon's Over

Well we have arrived back into the good old USA. As I type this entry we are waiting in the lobby of a hotel in Seattle, waiting to check in for the night. Our flights from Bangkok and Taipei were uneventful, just how I like them. A little turbulence once we got over by the Aleutians. Man do I hate to fly. However it was well worth it, and I wouldn't trade the adventure for the world. We fly back to Juneau tomorrow, and start work back up on Thursday, I think. I have to get my watch back in order. We haven't slept and I'm trying to hold out until this evening, to help get a hold on the time change. I promise by the end of the week there will be more photos added to the blog. I know everyone can't wait to see my Mekong Catfish. Well as there is only one computer in the lobby, I should share. Thanks for checking in, and humoring me with the blog. Just because we are home, doesn't mean the blogs will end. I still plan on using this as a great tool to share with you, our family and friends, with any exciting news and photos.

Hugs and Kisses

Nearing The End

So we get on a train today and head back to the City of Angels (at least that's what the locals call Bangkok). However, I would have named it something different. We now have nothing exciting planned as we leave in a couple of days. Chiang Mai has been great but for some reason I felt it necessary last night to try all of the foods that I hadn't tried yet. Some of the stuff was great and other stuff was not so good. A word of advice if you ever visit here - stay away from the vegetable jello. So the next update will be from Alaska with a bunch of pictures added. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this wonderful experience. We had a great time!

Elephant Trek and Whitewater Rafting

So we missed telling you all about going to the Mesa elephant camp. It was a hoot. The elephants played soccer, painted pictures and put on a pretty good show. We got a tuk tuk for the day and the poor lady drove us everywhere and waited for us while we screwed around. It worked out pretty good for us and if you like the smell of two-stroke engines, you to would love a tuk tuk. One elephant was pregnant and it appeared that she had swallowed a mini-cooper. She was 20 months pregnant and apparently had two to go. Lets just say she was big.

We were able to check out an orchid garden and a butterfly farm as well. We also went to a silk factory, a furniture shop and a lacquer shop. The furniture shop was crazy and they had beautiful stuff. They say that shipping anywhere in the world and insurance was covered yet the prices seemed to cheap to believe them. Nonetheless we didn't buy anything but would have loved to.

The big thing in Chiang Mai is to go on an elephant trek. Typical treks last a few days and you stay overnight in a hill tribe village. We got an inside scoop from a kid that did a three day trek and said you could do it all in a day so that's what we did. We had a great day that started off at another orchid garden and butterfly farm. We thought we had signed up for the wrong venue especially after hiking to another waterfall but finally ended up at a river that had some pretty good whitewater sections. We were on the water for 1 hour then got on a bamboo raft for another half hour.

We then went on a 1 hr elephant ride. Our elephant was a 22 year old gal whose name was Metzke. I thought the guy called her whiskey at first and I liked that name better so that's what I called her. It was pretty cool as we crossed a river, went up hills and they let us sit on its head. Luckily we do a lot of bull riding on Friday nights at Henry's and we were able to stay on. It was neat and now Naomi wants an elephant of her own.

The elephant trek was then followed up by a trek to the Karen long neck hill tribe where we got to see the natives with the gold coils around their necks. It was neat but it really wasn't their village, more like a market in the jungle. There were a lot of farang staying there and they didn't have a lot to do but drink beer. So I think we made the right choice with the day trip as we had an excellent time.

Tomorrow we're sleeping in.