Texas New Year - Caribbean Cruise - 2017

During our holiday visit in Pearland, we spent one  night in Austin.  From there, we headed to Waco so Jen and Tien could visit the Magnolia Market. This market and the famous Fixer Upper TV show on HGTV put Waco, Texas a trendy city to visit. For us, it's a fun place to see before ringing in the new year.

New Year in Austin

At Magnolia Market in Waco

In March, we met up with Andrew's family and Michelle in New Orleans for a family Spring Break's Caribbean cruise. Seven days of  warm sunshine and relaxation!  Ports of call included: Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye, and Costa Maya. Carter and Sawyer loved cruising.  They became experts at the ice cream machine.  We all enjoyed the good food and ship's activities.

The local chocolate factory in Cozumel.

At the chocolate factory

Ready for the beach.

Beach time.

Beach time.

Tien and Michelle enjoying an adult beverage.

Sawyer and his favorite beverage

Fresh coconuts.

Ready for dinner.

Sawyer in the "Kids Club" show at the end of the cruise.

We spent the month of May traveling to Los Angeles and Kansas City for two special and beautiful weddings. Emily's wedding was in Moorpark, CA on Mother's Day, May 14. Congratulations to Emily and Cody!.  Phuong's wedding was in Ft. Leavenworth, KS on Phuong's Ba Ngoai (Grandma's) birthday: May 20. Congratulations to the newlywed couple!. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our two family reunions on this occasion.

Back home in June, we were busy getting our house ready to put on the market. We had lived in North Carolina for twenty-one years.  We moved to Texas in 2017.

Leaving Raleigh

Our empty house.

Hoi An, Vietnam - 2016

We enjoyed Hoi An very much last time we were in Vietnam, and looked forward to come back to this ancient city. As it worked out, Hoi An was our last stop this time. We saved the best for last!  Our plan was to spend some time at the beach and visiting Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our first day, we rode bikes to Cua Dai Beach, a little over a mile from our hotel. In 2008, Cua Dai Beach had a wide white sandy beach. Because of the serious erosion, this white sandy beach was gone. Instead, large sandbags were placed around.  We went a bit further and glad to find a beautiful beach, An Bang to enjoy a few beach days.

Cua Dai Beach

Cua Dai Beach

An Bang Beach.  

Our borrowed bikes.

An Bang Beach

Traditional basket boats for rent.

Lunch at the beach.

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As nice as An Bang beach is, nothing beats our own beach at Surf City, NC!

The Ancient Town of Hoi An did not allow cars.  It was strictly for walking and bicycles.  Hoi An is known for its lanterns.

Entrance to Hoi An Ancient Town.

Hoi An main street

Along the riverfront at night.

Lanterns for sale.

Japanese Bridge built in the 16th century.  The only known Japanese covered bridge with a Buddhist Temple attached to one side. 

Traditional xich lo drivers at work.

The lanterns look beautiful at night.

We stayed at the same hotel eight years ago, Aurora Riverside Hotel.  It was just as nice this time around.  The location, breakfast, and views were all we could ask for.

View of the reviver from our hotel.

The view from our back window.

Rice paddy view from our back window.

We had a great time in Vietnam. There have been lots of changes in big cities in eight years.  But Hoi An remains much of the same. We will be back!

Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park, Vietnam - 2016

Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003. The park is south of Ha Noi and borders Laos. It has about 885 sq km of hundreds of cave systems. Only three caves are opened to the public with limited access.  Phong Nha Cave has been open to the public for several years.  Paradise Cave opened in 2006 and Son Dong Cave in 2014.

We flew to Dong Hoi and stayed at a hotel there. From Dong Hoi, we booked a private tour to visit two caves: Phong Nha and Paradise.  The park is about 60 km northwest Dong Hoi and takes one and half hour to get to Paradise Cave. Paradise Cave extends for over 30 km and is the world's longest dry cave. Only the first kilometer is open to the general public.  The next seven kilometers are open to experienced cave spelunkers.

In the cave, every time we turned around, there was another beautiful site.

Entrance to Paradise Cave.

Going down into the cave.

Tien's favorite, 'The Christmas Tree".

In the afternoon, we visited Phong Nha Cave by boat.

The boats lined up to go to Phong Nha Cave.

Cave entrance.

Inside the cave

It was a treat to see these two amazing caves.

The following morning we went by mini-van to Da Nang and then on to Hoi An by bus.