I was so happy in the above photo because during our week in Phuket we dealt with a lot of weather like the below photo.  Those spots of water are not on the lens of my camera - the rain drops for really that big!  The good thing is it did not rain at night there and we were able to take a trip into the city of Phuket which I will write about later and I thought was extremely beautiful and interesting!

I am writing this post in honor of all mothers and especially those that are often overlooked on Mother's Day each year.  If you have pets you are a mother they could not survive without you!  I also wanted to share the love shown by some of the animal mothers' for their babies that I've seen around the world. The top photo is of an elephant mother with her baby that I saw in Tanzania at the Serengeti National Park.

My husband and I have also taken in several stray pregnant cats.  We found homes for all of the babies and mothers including the seven orange ones in the second photo down.  We actually kept the mothers - Princess (the black cat) and Peaches (orange cat) for ourselves. 

More elephants in the Serengeti:

A pride of lions in the Serengeti:

Monkeys in Bali:

Foster cats:





Sled dog I saw in Alaska with her four day old pups:
I hope all of you have a wonderful day regardless whether you are a mother or not.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Take care my friends!

~Michelle

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."
John Burroughs

Me on James Bond Island:

Practicing Yoga on Phi Phi island with a beautiful 15 year old girl I met from Singapore - what a good sport to work with someone old enough to be her mother ;) This is where Leonardo DiCaprio filmed "The Beach" in 1995:

Me swimming/snorkeling in the "easter egg dye blue" water that felt like bath water:

Me with Doreen at Kohpanyee village:

Kohpanyee fishing village has a population of 1,685 and is growing!

Here is their children's school:
Their floating football field:

The kids love school...maybe it's their view?

I will leave you with me trying to be a Bond girl - hehe

I will try to post more on Thailand and Phuket in particular sooner rather than later.  Take care my friends and enjoy the rest of your summer!

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."
George Washington Carver

I will never forget the turquise blue water and flying into Phuket:

I adored my villa and my welcome "towel animals"


The pool was beautiful during the day and on fire at night!

The waves right in front of my villa were HUGE.  It's hard to see from the photos, but I never saw anyone go too far out because the waves were so strong!


Although I'm a vegetarian, I don't usually eat much fruit.  I did in Phuket though...but probably not served in the most healthy way :)

I was a little sad to leave Phuket but knew I was flying into Hanoi, Vietnam to see Ha Long Bay which I will write about next time.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Have a great week, take care and stay safe my friends.

Michelle

"Live with intention.  Walk to the edge.  Listen hard.  Practice wellness.  Play with abandon.  Laugh.  Choose with no regret. Continue to learn.  Appreciate your friends.  Do what you love.  Live as if this is all there is." Mary Anne Radmacher

I do live on the water in Florida that is not on an island, BUT it seems like I always end up visiting them.  In no way am I complaining or saying that is a bad thing.  There is really only one drawback and that is the cost of my flight is generally a little more since there is usually an extra connection from the mainland.  For example, when I traveled to Phuket, I had to stop in Bangkok first.  We own some timeshares and the island destinations tend to be available very frequently and I'm guessing the flight cost is part of the reason why.  I'm not saying the price is always higher, but it seems to often be the case. When I travel I do a lot of walking and hiking, generally 5-10 miles a day.  It's nothing for me to spend 8 hours out just wandering around exploring. people watching, and taking photos.  Here is a list of some of the islands I've traveled to and some photos of them:  I will add more photos of these islands in my next post

Bermuda

Puerto Rico

Big Island

Maui

Kauai

Phuket

Bali

Malta/Gozo

Phi Phi Island (where Leonardo Dicaprio filmed "The Beach")

James Bond Island

Ha Long Bay (one of the natural wonders of the world)

The following two photos were taken on James Bond Island - a very small island in Thailand at the tip of Southeast Asia:

Next two photos are in Maui, Hawaii.  The first picture was taken in the southern part of the island and the second one was taken on the northern part of the island

The next two photos were taken in Bali, Indonesia

 The following two photos were taken on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The first one was taken at Black Sands Beach and the bottom one was taken at Green Sands Beach  (I was there for a yoga training)

The final two photos were taken in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.  It is one of the natural wonders of the world and the 3 day cruise I went on was one of the best travel experiences I've had!  The second photo is of me jumping off the third floor of our small cruise ship into 60 foot deep jellyfish infested water.  The water was warm at least :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by and please leave me a comment if you wish or have any questions.  E-mail addresses are not published.  Have a wonderful weekend my friends :-)