Author: Caroline

Tokyo!!!!

Posted on by Caroline
I am vibrating with excitement. It’s been 991 days since we were last in Japan (not counting layovers). One of our major goals when we moved out to Guam was to travel to Japan as often as we could and that just hasn’t been possible. Up until today. The borders opened to tourists last night at 12:01, and now this morning we’re at the gate, waiting to board our flight to Tokyo. We’ll only be there a few days, and it’s forecast to be rainy, rainy, rainy. But we’ve got umbrellas and rain jackets and a raft of enthusiasm. We’re planning to visit Disney Sea tomorrow. We’ve heard it’s a phenomenal park. On Thursday we’ll explore the city, visit a...Read More

Leaving Thailand

Posted on by Caroline
Here we are, sitting in the Phuket Airport, waiting for our flight to Bangkok. We’ve fallen in love with Thailand - the people are incredibly kind, the service is attentive, the food is fresh and flavorful, the fruit is sweet, the landscape is stunning…. we’re already looking forward to our next trip to Thailand. When I started this blog, I imagined writing the kinds of posts that I wrote when I was traveling in my 20s and 30s - longer, thoughtful posts that gave me a chance to share my reflections about the culture, history and architecture of wherever I happened to pass through. But I’m slowly realizing that kind of travel belongs to a different phase of my life....Read More

Phang Nga Bay

Posted on by Caroline
We took a little mini-trip within our trip. We chartered a sailboat for a two-day exploration of Phang Nga Bay, and some of the treasures there. Our captain was amazing - attentive and thoughtful, and willing to work with us to find the best opportunities. It’s jellyfish season here, so we couldn't spend much time actually in the water, which made it all the more enjoyable to spend the time on the water. The highlights of the trip were the island resort on Ko Yao, watching the kids kayak in Ko Hong, the floating village of Koh Panyee - especially the school, and the fresh, delectable seafood and fruit….

Out Sailing…

Posted on by Caroline
We have found a boat that will take us around some of the local islands and sights. We’re on our way this morning, we’ll stay for the night at an island resort, and then we’ll come back here to resume Tim’s Deep Week tomorrow night. Which all means that we’ll be offline for a few days! See you soon!

Exploring Phuket

Posted on by Caroline
Ahhh…. Now, what a lovely day it’s been! My original plan for the day included an early start with a GrabCar (the Thai equivalent of Uber) into Phuket City so that the kids and I could get a glimpse of the Sunday Walking Market and be back in time to meet a local guide for the afternoon. But as I was trying to figure out where to go so I could book the car, I happened across the critical information that the market doesn’t open until 4 PM. And I felt immediate relief - I knew that it was too much to squeeze into a day, and it would probably stress me out. (I don’t know how to explain why...Read More

Quieter Day

Posted on by Caroline
Yesterday the kids and I had a quieter day, exploring the Boat Lagoon Resort while Tim started his classes. I let the kids sleep in a bit (it had been a late night and a full day the day before) and then we had a late breakfast. We checked out the resort bicycles and tooled around the lagoon. The kids and I had sooo much fun on the bicycles! There weren’t any bikes that were small enough for Duke, so he mostly rode behind me on my bike. There’s a grocery store here that it is probably used mostly for provisioning the yachts that are here. To our Guam eyes, it was a lovely grocery store, with all kinds of...Read More

Travel Day

Posted on by Caroline
Oh. My. It’s been a full day. Security check points-ticket counters-more security check points-immigration-health checks-even more security checkpoints-more health checks. Tim got a tip that we should print out all the paperwork and have it in hand, and that was an incredibly valuable tip. But it also meant that at every check point along the way we were juggling passports, immigration forms, boarding passes, COVID test results and insurance forms. For all four of us. In a foreign language. We’re sitting on the airplane, about to fly from Bangkok to Phuket. One more gauntlet of paperwork before we can rent a car and make our way to our hotel for the night. The kids have been (mostly) patient, and (almost)...Read More

To Thailand!

Posted on by Caroline
Like a lot of people, we’ve been dreaming of travel. After all, a large part of the reason we moved out to Guam was so that we could explore Asia. After navigating stacks and stacks of paperwork and entry requirements and covid tests (thank you, Tim, for tilting at the bureaucratic windmills!), we got on a fight last night and arrived in Manila. We are now mid-way through what you could call an extended lay-over or a very brief visit to Manila, and in a few hours we’ll board a flight to Bangkok and then on to Phuket. Tim has a week-long free-diving conference there and the kids and I are going to explore the beaches and temples and foods...Read More

New Years Day 2022

Posted on by Caroline
Our favorite way to celebrate New Year’s Day is by getting outside for a nature walk. On New Year’s Day in 2020, we had just arrived in Guam. Still wildly jet-lagged and muddled, we decided to head down to Umatac Bay for a walk along the beach. Everything felt foreign, exciting, and breathtakingly beautiful. It felt like a sneak-peak into the mysterious new life we’d leapt into. As the devastating 2020 turned to the inexorable 2021, by New Years Day we were still in Denver for an extended visit with my parents. We drove to the foothills of the Rockies for a snowy and cold New Year’s Day hike in a park charmingly named the Lair of the Bear (thankfully...Read More

Catching up

Posted on by Caroline
We're back in Denver for a few days on what is, essentially, an extended layover. I've fallen very far behind on the places we've visited since we left Mykonos. It felt like we got on an out-of-control escalator after we left Mykonos, and I never found the time to get caught up. Our initial vision for our month was to find a place in Europe and use it as a base. We imagined going out on day trips and coming back to the local bakery and markets to pick up groceries for dinner. We imagined an immersive, slow-paced month. We would get to really know whatever village we landed in and truly experience local life. But then we started adding...Read More