One of Heather's friends that moved to Australia is back in town this week-end so we met her and another friend at the Shangra La Hotel for "tea" this afternoon. A beautiful lobby with this gorgeous bouquet of Birds of Paradise - at least 4 feet tall. The tea sandwiches, scones and desserts were delicious and we even got to see a Chinese wedding in the garden. Heather is meeting more of them for dinner tonight. Kyle is going to a shrimp boil at the International School. The girls and I are going to enjoy a bubble bath, pedicures and a sleep-over in my room!
Kyle flew to India on Tuesday night on business – will return on Saturday evening. Heather, the girls & I flew to Langkawi on Thursday morning and will return on Sunday afternoon. A 4 day “ladies holiday” at the beach!
Langkawi is beautiful vacation destination on the northwest coast of Malaysia with mountains, rainforests and gorgeous beaches. turquoise water and sand like the Caribbean. The temperature is in the 80’s and less humid than KL with a nice breeze from the sea. We are staying at the Andaman Resort on the Andaman Sea which flows into the Indian Ocean. It is a perfect beach for the kids because there are small waves, lots of shells, shallow water, and nice sand. It’s perfect for the adults because the shade trees are very close to the water – we can relax in our recliners while the girls play. Samantha has had fun with her goggles – watching the tiny fish. Of course they have beautiful pools and a water slide. The slide “dumps” the kids in about 3-4 feet of water and they can easily swim to the ladder to go up and down again! They never tire of it! I pretended that I was scared to slide down and Emily said “it OK Tima, I be right by you! It’s terrible how content I can be in a lounge chair! Especially, when Roger is back in the states working!!
We took a boat tour of the Mangrove Forest yesterday. We were afraid the girls would be bored but they were so good and really enjoyed it. The mangrove trees have adapted to live in the coastal area in salt water and where the tides leave them swamped sometimes and dry at other times. They are surrounded by rainforest and rivers and all sorts of wildlife live there. We saw many different birds; one clawed crabs; a fish that walks on ground when the tide is out; a viper snake in a tree and a large monitor lizard and of course, monkeys. We also visited a fish farm where we fed the groupers and stingrays and then we walked through a bat cave! Our guide, Wendy, had a flashlight so we could see all the bats hanging from the ceiling. To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that excited about the bat cave but the girls were so I had to act brave! On the way back, the boat went into the Andaman Sea and along the coastline – so beautiful, a great place for one of our houseboat trips! The boat went very fast and Emily giggled and laughed and loved it! This morning Emily woke up and before the rest of us were quite awake she said “ shhh… the bats are sleeping, look, I shine flashlight so you can see them!” I’m sure she absorbed more than we imagined!
Heather & I were disappointed that our room does not have a balcony. We thought we could put the girls to bed and then relax with our wine but…..the monkeys are all around here. They are not domestic but people do not frighten them and they can be aggressive if you have food or drink. The girls were scared the first day because one was sitting on the window sill peeking in! This morning they saw one sitting in the tree eating an apple! The sign on our door says to leave the doors locked because they will come in your room and raid the fruit bowls!
This morning Samantha told Emily if she was really good she would give her “the prettiest seashell” she found! Such a sweet big sister! We were eating lunch and Samantha was upset about something – Emily pipes up and says “I eating good – I no have attude!” (Because, Heather tells them not to give her attitude!”)
Heather had a facial this afternoon while Emily napped and Samantha & I did an activity book. Off to dinner in town at the “Bon Ton” tonight! Such a hectic schedule!
Louie took us on a helicopter tour of the Irish countryside today – the highlight of our trip! Omega has a Bell, Long Ranger – seats six – and it is the very best way to deal with Dublin traffic! Louie, our “tour guide,” took us on a route along the coastline, over the countryside and several ancient castles, followed the Boyne River and circled the Killeen Golf Club where the Solheim Golf Tournament was taking place. It was a lovely, clear morning and what a treat!
We ate lunch at a “carvery” – it’s a pub where they have a buffet and carve beef and turkey. It was like Thanksgiving dinner! Yummmm!
Roger and Judy drove the car to the golf tournament and Marilou and I took a taxi back to Dublin and, you guessed it, went shopping again!
We went to the “Temple Bar” area of Dublin for dinner – like 6th Street in Austin, the Riverwalk in San Antonio, or the French Quarter in New Orleans – shops, restaurants, pubs and street entertainers! A crazy place on Friday nights!
We changed our plans and stayed two nights at Cape Disappointment State Park just over the Oregon/Washington border along the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. We haven’t seen an ocean since our cruise! We thought it was a Lewis and Clark camp we hadn’t heard about but it was named by a British explorer who floated up the Columbia River, He determined it was not the Columbia and was “disappointed.” If he had tasted the water and found it fresh, not salty, he may have changed his mind!
The park is really nice with hikes to two lighthouses and the ocean beach. There is also a big Coast Guard Station there – the Columbia is a major shipping channel. It is a dangerous area for ships because of the weather and storms along with the tides change the sand bars in the river. There have been many shipwrecks along the coastline. We saw many fisherman in boats in the mouth of the river and along the jetty trying to catch salmon and crabs. We also saw remnants of World War II gun placements/concrete bunkers along the bluffs above the ocean – then called Fort Canby – protecting the mouth of the river. A Japanese submarine a actually fired at the US coastline just south of there in Oregon!
Roger toured one more Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center – I stayed home and read my good book!
Thinking of all the poor people along the eastern coastline along “Irene’s” path. So glad we came west and not east this summer!
August 22, 2011 our 42nd wedding anniversary – how have that many years gone by when we haven’t aged a bit?! We celebrated on Saturday with our boat ride and dinner so today was a quiet travel day – we are headed to the Columbia River Gorge.
Roger went to see the Dworshak Dam near Orofino, Idaho yesterday– you know how he loves the engineering details of dams! I stayed home – the last thing I wanted to do was get in the car and ride again!
We are overnighting in Wilderness Gateway National Forest Campground ($4.00/night!) on our way to Kooskia, Idaho. Roger has found the most beautiful places to stay on this trip – we are camped right on the Lochsa River and can hear it as it meanders over rocks and through the woods.
We stopped at “Travelers Rest” - now a state park – this morning. It is the area along the LoLo Creek where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805 and in 1806 before and after they went over the Rocky Mountains at LoLo Pass. There was a volunteer there, from the local Lewis and Clark group, who gave us a guided tour and explained how the archeologists discovered that this was actually the place where they camped.
You will be surprised at how they figured it out! Historians and archeologists studied Lewis and Clark’s journals and had narrowed the location down but needed “proof” of the exact camp area. Since they were truly a military unit, the camps were always laid out according to military protocol. So, they could figure out where the campfires and latrines should be. They knew from the journals that many of the men were sick and Lewis often treated them with a powerful laxative that contained mercury – fondly, nicknamed “thunderclappers!” The archeologists found large amounts of mercury in a latrine area convincing everyone that they had found the correct camp site!
We then drove through Clearwater National Forest and the Bitterroot/Rocky Mountains. Our next stop was the LoLo Pass Visitor Center – a beautiful log cabin type building. They have audio tapes you can check out, like a library book, listen about Lewis and Clark’s adventures, and then return to one of several different places in Idaho. As we left there, there was a sign that said “Winding, steep road – next 99 miles” – and they were not exaggerating! We traveled through 85 miles of the most gorgeous wilderness we have ever seen – around every curve there was another panoramic view of the mountains and alpine forest – all the way following a clear bubbling river right next to the road! The Lochsa River is a premier white water rafting/kayaking river in the spring. I can’t even imagine how it roars through the gorge then! No way to capture it all with a camera!
Emily called last night and when I answered said “Tima, can you get on SKYPE? Call me on SKYPE!” Such a cute little voice! She wanted to tell us all about a dinosaur birthday party she went to; show us her apron she made at school when they made cupcakes; and tell us how she can swim without her floaties! Such a cutie! Samantha is in school so we will have to wait until the week-end to talk with her – the time difference makes it difficult when she goes to bed and school early.
