Bahrain

Hi.  Remember me?  I used to be a regular blogger here.  Sorry about the lack of blogging lately.  I just have writer's block and think I would lose readers if I started blogging about our week filing taxes.  Good thing we made a fun trip to Bahrain this weekend with friends.

We took a quick 40 minute plane ride to the nearby island of Bahrain.

source

Traveling with this crazy bunch really made the trip!  As you can see, we were very serious the entire time.

So the adventure consisted of exploring forts and the Pearl Trail:

Eating yummy food:

Visiting the Mosque:

And lots of full belly laughter!

Thinking about one very special bride celebrating this weekend.  Sending lots of love to Minnesota.  Happy birthday Grandpa Roy!

Basically Celebs

We are really popular these days and have been surrounded by famous people.

Last weekend we got to attend a tennis tournament and watch Venus Williams kick booty.  Cell phone photos for the win, because who would read a blog without pictures?

Then we enjoyed an Ed Sheeran concert.  I am definitely a fan now after seeing him perform in person.  He kept the crowd entertained for two hours just him, his guitar, and some sweet playback features he was operating with his feet.  

photo source

I think Doha might be a big deal now.  At least people started noticing it on the map.

Temples of Chiang Mai

Thailand is not lacking in beautiful Buddhist temples.  We were in awe of all their temples, old and new.

  

Thailand

Since we don't sit still for too long, we went to Thailand!

source

Our first stop was to the island of Koh Chang for some relaxation.

source

 

Then we headed north to Chiang Mai which was a good mix of city and nature.

The city was bustling.  

We had fun exploring markets and eating street food.

Chiang Mai is surrounded by national parks.  We appreciated the outdoors by going on a hike to find a tribal village which provides produce for the citye. 


 And of course we desert dwellers were ecstatic about finding waterfalls during the hike.

Apparently Thailand doesn't just let people wearing fishing shirts tromp around the jungle, so meet our guide.  He didn't know much English, but we pointed out the snakes so I was happy.

We really enjoyed the food in Thailand (shocking!) so we attended a cooking class to recreate dishes in our own kitchen.

Are you still reading? This is a really long post, so I will end here and return later with temple photos.

January Wrap-Up

The month of January kept us busy and finished with a bang celebrating Jonathon's birthday.  So what has been keeping us so busy?

Just the normal activities like hanging out with a co-workers pet lion cub.

Work brought Jonathon's Dad back to the area so we all got to attend the European Open. The top photo is Ernie Els.

I made a work trip to Oman and got invited to a Bedouin family's home for dinner.  We sat on the floor and I learned to eat with only my right hand: