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2005-2008

When I returned to Thailand from my last big journey, Nee was at the airport waiting for me.  We returned Udon Thani and I took up my teaching job at Rajabhat University in Udon Thani.  My friend Clem had accepted a job at Thammasat University in Bangkok so I took over his apartment and we set up housekeeping.  Nee opened a beauty shop and her son Top lived with us. 

In November of 2005 we were married in a village ceremony in Ban Yang Um (Nee's village).  And I happily settled into domesticity.  After a while, we decided to buy property in Udon and build a house.  Click here for details

In March of 2007 we went to America.  Nee was very excited.  We arrived in LA and spent a few days with my friend Avram.  We went to Disneyland and the beach in Santa Monica.  We visited the La Brea Tar Pits and went to a game show taping.  We visited my Aunt and Uncle.

Then we hit the road in a rental car.  We headed for Las Vegas and there we were married for official purposes.  This avoided the hassle of registering our marriage in Thailand which can be bureaucratically difficult.   After Vegas we saw Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon and lots of nothing.  Nee was amazed at the open spaces with so few people.

In Dallas we visited my dad and Joy.  My cousins Ruth and Aynn and my Aunt Jean flew in to visit.  I showed Nee around Dallas and we visited my oldest friends David and Carol.  Then we stopped off for a night with my cousin John in Little Rock and spent another night with my niece Alli and her husband Dave.

After a few days of luxury accommodations with my sister and John we turned west.  Driving through a spring blizzard we stopped in Limon, Colorado for the night.  The next day we visited Buffalo Bill's grave and then stayed the night in Glenwood Springs.  We enjoyed our swim in the large thermal pool and had a great dinner.

West by way of Idaho we headed for Corvallis.  I visited friends and family.  I spent one day with my son Brentley and a day with my daughter Heather.  My ex-wife Diana had graciously agreed to store my stuff and since we were building a home in Udon, I decided to ship the goods to Udon.  We stayed at Diana's house while I sorted and packed my stuff.  This would prove to be a big mistake.  Nee became very upset during our visit.  Apparently, in Thailand, it is very unusual for divorced people to be on good terms. 

After leaving Oregon we travelled south along the Pacific Coast Highway.  We took the usual souvenir photos at the Golden Gate.  And, after a few days with Avram we returned to Udon.

About two months after we returned, Nee left me.  She said she was jealous of my first wife.  I kept hoping she would return but after several months I gave up and made plans to hit the road again.  At the end of the school term in March, I sold most of my stuff, put a dab in storage, dusted off my back pack and bought my airline tickets.

Who knows what adventures await me.

Ireland is green for a reason

24-31AUG2004 I arrived late in the evening in Belfast and of course it was drizzling.  After checking four places for acccomodation I was parked on the sidewalk studing the map alternatives.  An old gentleman who was a retired seaman, struck up a conversation and ended up by inviting me to sleep on the sofa in his flat in the retirement village.  I enjoyed Roy's sea stories and promised to send him a Texas pin for his collection.  

Belfast was a great party city with crowds reveling in the streets.  The political murals painted on the walls were good art and made some very strong points.  I liked the one about Bush.

The next night, with yet another storm approaching, I overpaid ($35) for a B&B.  But, what luxury.  A canopied bed, my own shower and TV and a huge Irish breakfast at a table set with all the nappery one could think of.  By now I was out of Northern Ireland and into the Republic of Ireland.  The biggest difference visible was that prices were in Euros not pounds.

I headed south with a wet, uncomfortable night on an uneven, lumpy tent site somewhere near Galway.  The next night I stayed in a hostel where I negotiated a price for pitching my tent in a garage.  Why?  Because it was raining.  

My step-brother John married Bernadette and I had promised to vist the family on my way through Cork.  I tracked them down by going to the pub in Drimoleague and getting directions.  I arrived while most of the family was at a wedding and Anya invited me in for a cup of coffee.  It was good to chat with the family and they let me pitch my tent on a soft stretch of green grass next to the house.  They offered me a bed inside but, with my snoring, I thought it best to be 20 meters away.  I caught up  on my washing and my journal.

The house was beautiful.  Noel is a furniture maker and the interior of the house is beautiful.  The house used to be a school house.  In fact, Anne and Bernadette attended the school when they were young.  

Best of all, Noel, who is also a motorcycle enthusiast mapped out a route for me called the Ring of Beara.  Mile for mile this is probably the best ride I've had on the trip.  

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