3.5 days away in Rayong June 3, 2024 A non-stop long weekend of splashes, slides, swings, swims, shells, waves, and more - all at our favorite Rayong Marriott! View fullsize We're off to Rayong! View fullsize Lucy can't bear to face it, so she's burying her head in a bucket. View fullsize When we reach the hotel, Aa Top and Aa Nan are there waiting for us. View fullsize First order of business: lunch! View fullsize It's a special place, with this special offroader... View fullsize ... and water buffalo! View fullsize View fullsize Lucy was intimidated by them. View fullsize Freshly laid chicken eggs, by the farm's chickens. View fullsize Looking for the chickens. View fullsize Quick self-guided tour while waiting for lunch. View fullsize Found the chickens! View fullsize Arlo's inspecting this giant flowering cactus. View fullsize The whole lunch gang. View fullsize The entrance to the dining area. View fullsize Bon appetit! View fullsize View fullsize More exploring after lunch. View fullsize View fullsize Dad's showing Arlo how rice grows. So don't waste a single grain! View fullsize View fullsize Smile. View fullsize Stopping to feed the water buffalo on the way out. View fullsize They're very tame, and very solid. View fullsize But they're not as chompy as the goats back at the farm in Bangkok. View fullsize View fullsize Huge creatures: Arlo for scale. View fullsize Back at the hotel, our room is ready and someone is excited! View fullsize Great view; quality upgrade! View fullsize Taking in the sights. View fullsize Saying bye-bye to Yaa, Aa Top, and Aa Nan before they head back to Trat. View fullsize Big hugs. View fullsize Bye bye, Yaa. Thank you for coming to Bangkok to help! View fullsize This little lady is on a mission. To swim! View fullsize View fullsize We tried the kids pool, thinking it would be (more) shaded than the others... View fullsize ... it was shaded, but it also got the blustering sea breeze that was present the whole weekend! View fullsize Nevertheless, Arlo asked to have the water turned on in the splash zone. View fullsize And Lucy bravely ran through the rings. View fullsize View fullsize Sheltering under a giant mushroom. View fullsize View fullsize Queen of the pool. View fullsize Lucy also discovered that you really fly down the slide when wet! View fullsize View fullsize Back in the room for some quiet time. View fullsize Snack time! View fullsize View fullsize A late-afternoon stroll toward the beach; but stopping to see our fishy friends. View fullsize Lucy's inspecting the boats. Which one to take out? View fullsize Well, we've pretty much got this beach to ourselves! View fullsize It was so windy that we need rocks to hold the blanket down. View fullsize The sand play lasted for *about* 43 seconds.... View fullsize ... and then they were off! View fullsize Trying our darndest for some cute beach photos. View fullsize View fullsize Behind-the-scenes. View fullsize Interest quickly turned to shells. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize And studying the waves. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize The waves were much bigger, and the wind much stronger, than at Christmas! View fullsize View fullsize Run! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Another cute, but tricky one. View fullsize More behind-the-scenes. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Had we known this was going to be a wave-jumping session, we would've worn swimmers! View fullsize Wet, tired, but happy. View fullsize The same dinner as always, but inside tonight, because rain is coming. View fullsize Lucy enjoyed the mac & cheese. View fullsize Fun in the tub, and then zonk - to bed for everyone! View fullsize Early to breakfast the next morning: we were practically door-busters! View fullsize This went exactly as anticipated. View fullsize The wind is still strong! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize The entrance to the Spa -- which we've never really noticed before -- is quite picturesque. View fullsize Turns out it's millipede season in Rayong! View fullsize They were all over! View fullsize View fullsize I spy with my little eye... two monkeys! View fullsize Time for our morning swim! View fullsize View fullsize We had the water slides (and the pool) to ourselves this morning. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Making use of the Go Pro. View fullsize View fullsize Three thumbs up for the weekend so far! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Taking a swim to the far end of the pool. It looks more blustery than it really was... View fullsize ... although it was raining on-and-off. View fullsize Here we are! View fullsize View fullsize The goggle gang. View fullsize A few minutes of sand play, and then the skies really opened up, sending us running for the hills. View fullsize Lunch at our favorite restaurant... View fullsize ... and then an afternoon stroll at the Rayong Botanical Garden. View fullsize "Botanical Garden" is a bit of a misnomer. View fullsize The highlight is the endless water filled with blooming lotus plants. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize There was a very shaded walk through rainforest... View fullsize View fullsize ... that emerged in even more unique vegetation, and a very unique bridge! View fullsize A sign of the times. View fullsize The bridge! View fullsize View fullsize The many kayakers *just* had enough clearance to pass under it. View fullsize Not for the faint of heart. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Heading back the way we came. View fullsize Lucy really enjoyed watching these fish! View fullsize Popping into the kids club. View fullsize Big kiss for giant bear. View fullsize We still had the place largely to ourselves; the weekend crowds were only starting to arrive. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Arlo's really into coloring now. View fullsize Chatting with another stair-climbing millipede while waiting for the golf cart to come. View fullsize Whee! View fullsize Late afternoon beach again: this time, we've learned from our mistake yesterday. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize The waves are still good and strong, as is the wind! View fullsize Who knew wave jumping could be this much fun. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Stopping to play in the "muddy" sand. View fullsize View fullsize And time to dry off via giant swing! View fullsize Getting some sand time in where it's a little more sheltered. View fullsize View fullsize The crowds have arrived! View fullsize This little burrito is ready to head up! View fullsize Dinner is the same ol' menu, but served in the bar tonight (because the restaurant is hosting the Saturday evening "International Seafood Buffet". View fullsize Another morning, another breakfast. Getting a little better at this. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Ready with his sunscreen! View fullsize We came to try the "other" pool (the 50m pool right on the ocean) but it was too chilly! View fullsize So we'll take some selfies instead. View fullsize Lucy and Dad retired to the Kids Club long ago... View fullsize ... and Arlo soon followed. View fullsize But oh my! The crowds have caught up with us! Look at the shoes outside the Kids Club! View fullsize One of what seemed to be only two bunnies there right now. View fullsize A first swing on the swings. This time, even Arlo enjoyed it! View fullsize Arriving at Wassana Fishing Village, where we had lunch over Christmas, too. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize We had our own (hot) little gazebo over the water. View fullsize One kind table across the water from us invited Lucy to feed the fish with them. View fullsize Continuing along to another off-beat attraction. View fullsize But first! We parked next to this truck, and it was impossible to say no after Lucy saw that larger-than-life cone. View fullsize We're here to visit the HTMS Prasae, a ship that the Royal Thai Navy built during WWII. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Visitors can climb aboard the ship. View fullsize Lucy enjoyed turning all these "steering wheels"... View fullsize ... while Arlo was much more interested in the "cannons". View fullsize View fullsize A boat on a boat!? View fullsize Spot Lucy, Arlo and Dad! View fullsize Spot Lucy and Dad! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize The area was undergoing massive construction & renovation. Normally, this is a green park! View fullsize Well, that was a fine sojourn off the beaten path. View fullsize Back at the hotel, it's time for more water slides! View fullsize Arlo is fully confident to ride on his own now. View fullsize Lucy still requires, and welcomes, some assistance. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Warming up on the sunny sand. View fullsize The sun has finally come out for our last day here! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Arlo was really interested in the tall shadows. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Dramatic lighting! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Someone has also mastered building with sand. View fullsize Third night's a charm: dinner outside, where we usually sit. View fullsize It's a nightly hair wash here, with all the chlorine, salt and sand! View fullsize Arlo-rex. View fullsize Bedtime stories are fun when everyone's heading to bed at once. View fullsize Well, I suppose this was inevitable. View fullsize Tough to beat this view from bed! View fullsize View fullsize No trip to Rayong is complete without some table tennis. View fullsize Lucy can't believe it! View fullsize View fullsize Running to show off the long fuzzy cat-tail-like flower he found. View fullsize Getting in some last slides. View fullsize View fullsize And finally getting some time with the new basketball rig. View fullsize View fullsize She shoots, she scores! View fullsize Toodling around on the noodles. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize And coming to swim with the fish. View fullsize View fullsize Oh my goodness, Arlo found a genuine four-leaf clover! View fullsize Spot Arlo! View fullsize Our little book worm. View fullsize Getting in some final swings. View fullsize In synchrony. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize And offset. View fullsize Both of these Cirque du Soleil acrobats only wanted to be pushed higher and higher. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Bidding our final farewells to Rayong. View fullsize And the requisite photo-sitting-on-an-ice-cream-cone-chair at the PTT on the way home. View fullsize It's been a great trip! See you next time!
