Summer's Storm of activities.

Today and tomorrow are it.  The last days.  Then summer.  Kiddo is wrapping her head around this concept.  So, even Dada gets good summer notes.  I found this under my door this morning as I got out of the shower.  Kiddo and Beer were starting the day and I guess summer love notes are part of that.  She’s so sweet.

Last night, it threatened rain all night, but it never came…. At least, not before I went to bed.  But, in getting the house ready for my bedtime, I made a friend.  See, at the end of the night, if it’s cooled and it’s not too hot and muggy, I’ll turn off the AC and open the house.  Seems that Kiddo’s bean plant is loving the air.  I’ll get pics soon, but this little bad boy is thriving right now.  I’ve got to put something together so it can climb and grow.  Kiddo is loving it and talks to the plant every day.  Regardless, open house and let some fresh air in.  Last night, however, we had a balcony visitor.  This lil guy wasn’t very talkative.  I named him Jerome.  I did get info that he’s a Jungle Jumper.  So, Jerome the jungle jumper.  HAHA. I left him be and he was gone in the morning.  So, I don’t know if he’s just hiding or if he moved on to other pastures.  Just a small sample of the coolness that we experience here.

With summer, though, comes some activities and excitement.  Firstly, we are going to look around and see if we can’t find a new place.  J gets a stipend for housing, so we are going to explore that as an option.  Who knows what or where or when, but we will start looking next week.  I’m sure that will be a busy time.  On top of that, we have to explore traveling options to and fro a new place.  We can walk to BASIS now.  We can walk to the market and Tops and the mall.  What if we move and the nearest market is a KM away.  That could be a brutal walk in the heat.  

Besides that, travel options are legion here.  Firstly there is Grab and Bolt for cars, like Uber and Lyft in the States and Europe.  Will we be on or near a Tuk route?  Buses and Cabs, could we learn to navigate and negotiate that?  I’ve got a cert of residency.  I could, theoretically, get a Drivers Lic in Thailand and get a small car or scooter.  E-Bikes and scooters, if we are 1-3km from where we are now, that might be an option to get an E-Bike or something like that.  In LA, I used a Lime Scooter.  I think it is a good way to get short distances, but that might not work with the roads and traffic here, but it also might just be the best solution.  Lastly, there are the bikes and scooters for hire.  You can walk up to certain areas where guys with motorbikes and scooters are waiting.  You tell them where you are going and jump on the back and go.  I’ve done this once with Tony and it was quick…. And a bit harrowing.  With Kiddo, this would be a non-starter, I’d think.  So, there are those considerations to take in as well.  

Other than that, we have a ton to explore.  We’ve seen about 1% of BKK and we would like to see and explore more.  Since we have some time this summer, we can explore together.  No solid plans other than explore.  Pick something for a day and go to do it.  Museums, parks, malls, animal cafes, and maybe a long weekend Glamping Trip.  We are still talking about a lot of things, but it’ll get sorted.  Plus, we’ve got two more years, if not more, so it’s not like we’ve only got 6 weeks and need to cram it all in.  

We’re just going to explore and discover.  Have some fun, even if it’s just a short little trip to a park or something we wanted to see.  Because, why not!  Beer is staying on for the summer and into next year as well.  Over the summer, it gives J and I a chance to do things like see condos, have adult lunches, J can plan and set up her classroom without having to negotiate with me on schedule or plans.  Kiddo gets Beer and playing and exploring and fun and keeps up her Thai as she readies herself for school next year.  And then, next year, Beer will stay on to pick up Kiddo after school and get her home.  Snack her.  Help with homework or studies.  Keep up with Thai and answer Kiddo questions about Thai culture and how some of the kids in her class are acting; as we both think Beer would have a better grasp of that and will be able to talk with Kiddo and help her navigate some of those cultural and linguistic differences.

A lot of people we have meet and know here are leaving for the summer to go back to the States.  30-35 hours of travel time, each way, and then passport control and entry on both sides of that… Ugggg.  No thank you.  I did that a year ago.  I want the year off from needing to do it again.  We wish them well and safe travels.  Smooth travels as well.

Let’s go, Kiddo… Summer approaches and I think you are more than ready for the fun.