Happy Last Day of Pride!

Made it to the Hamptons and they couldn't wait to jump in. 

Apparently, ferry rides are nap-inducing

Just got off the ferry and are on the North Fork on our way to the Hamptons on South Fork. 

On our way!

To the Hamptons!

We took a ferry with the Porsche from New London, CT to Long Island in NY.

Butterfly Habitat, May 2018

For Max's birthday, Ninang(Elyse) gave him a butterfly kit. It came with 10 caterpillars that we watched grow. The started out as teeny tiny catterpillars (you can see how small they are in the cups in the first two photos of the album, link is below), and grew so much bigger! Then they formed chrysalises. What was freaky about the chrsyalises is that, when they were still soft, they would start wiggling violently if they were disturbed (check out the video of this in the album)! This is a defense mechanism to keep from being eaten. The chrysalises hardened, and then emerged nine beautiful Painted Lady butterflies! Yesterday morning we tried to set them free, but it was a bit cold and they wouldn't leave, even with some gentle habitat shaking and nudging. So this morning we tried again and we managed to set them free. And by set them free, I mean we evicted them! We opened up the habitat and they just sat there and wouldn't budge again, so Adrian had to go in with a twig and physically take them out. There is a video near the end of the album of the "setting free" process. The kids had a fantastic time having the butterflies sit on their fingers and putting them on a tree in our driveway. Thanks for the interactive science birthday present, Ninang!

Click here to see more photos and videos of the butterfly habitat!

Thailand #7: Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand

Our second day in Hua Hin was spent at the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (click that link to find out more). We learned that riding elephants (a big part of the tourist industry in Thailand) is basically abuse. The foundation rescues elephants and other animals from the tourist industry and other misguided ventures and cares for them in this sanctuary that they've been building. Of all of the animals we encountered, the most endearing was Pai Lin, an elephant that spent her life being ridden by tourists. She was enjoying a well-deserved retirement at the foundation. We even got to go with her on one of her two daily walks, fed her fruit, and even gave her a bath! We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the foundation. The day ended with a swim and a fantastic dinner back at the resort.

Click here to see the photos and videos from the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand day trip, including videos of our walk and bath with Pai Lin!.

If you want to see Jose's photos from the trip, click here.
And if you want to see an album of some of the videos that my mom took on the trip, click here.

Thailand #6: Hua Hin Centara

We took a break from the urbanity of Bangkok and headed to the beach town of Hua Hin. On the way out of Bangkok I took a few photos of the super-cool-looking MahaNakhon (click that link to find out more) building. It looks like it's either coming together or coming apart in bricks or pixels. Tita Cita and Tito Ivo found us an amazing resort, The Centara. When we checked in they gave us a refreshing welcome drink. It was in an elephant glass and it was blue! We had fun exploring the resort that first afternoon and enjoyed cocktails in The Club with Su, Tita Cita's friend, who owns a condo in Hua Hin. After cocktails, Su took us to a fantastic outdoor seafood restaurant. After dinner we checked out an outdoor market.

Click here to see the photos and videos from our first day at Hua Hin Centara.

If you want to see Jose's photos from the trip, click here.
And if you want to see an album of some of the videos that my mom took on the trip, click here.