May 26, 2024
Catching up with the Nestor's!
Got to spend a nice afternoon and evening catching up with fellow Yank, Elizabeth Nestor and her husband Kevin who moved back to his hometown of Mayo Abbey, after 20+ years in the states. I worked with Elizabeth on and off, over the last 30 years, in Philadelphia. We stay in touch thru a group text, Heard Immunity
with about 10 others, all with the common denominator of Turner Construction. Elizabeth and Kevin have been married 20 years, and I found out that Kevin knew my relations the Keane's, back when we first met. In fact, his cousins live right next door to them and his brother does business with them regularly! Such a small world! Kevin & Elizabeth moved to Mayo Abbey right before Covid and have been busy renovating their home and settling in. It was great to catch up, share the gossip on all those we know in common and give them the details of my ship and the upcoming adventure. I hope they can truly join me for some segment in the future!
Just the other day a friend asked me if I got enough down time while living this lifestyle. My answer was "you have to make it !" In the beginning, it was go, go, go, every port. We had lots of FOMO ( fear of missing out ) and we tried to cram in as much as possible at every port. Sea days, were our only down time and there were never enough. It was a tad exhausting. Now two years into this life, I can say there are some ports that just don't call me and I opt to get other things done. Kuantan, Malaysia was one of the Ports. I never got off the ship, either day we were here. I intended to this morning, but we had storms with loud thunder late into the night and then was awoken by a crew alarm around 6:45am. My energy was low, there were shuttle issues, town was an hour ride away and there is alot of air pollution, ( due to neighboring Indonesia burning organic materials, in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season ). So I bagged my plans and continued working on my never ending TO DO LIST!
During our two years of sailing we have had several Shipmates come and go for a variety of reasons. Their health, has sadly been the reason for many departures. Cindy Harvey , would have loved to have lived out her days here on the Odyssey and even bought a second cabin and had an adjoining door added, to have a care provider, stay with her full time. However, Cindy's limited mobility, pain and confinement got to be too much - so she left us a few months ago. She went to an assisted living facility, on the coast of Oregon, to be near her family. Tragically she fell, was trying to recover, slipped into a coma and sadly passed away this week.
The Sanctuary of Truth Museum is the world's largest hand carved wooden castle, located on the coast of Pattaya, Chonburi Province, Thailand . Conceived in 1981 by Thai visionary Khun Lek Viriyaphun the structure is built entirely from 4 types of wood - Teak, Mai Daeng, Mai Takien & Mai Panchaat and put together using Thai nailless wood joinery - mainly dovetails, carrying poles and tongue & groove. We started the tour in the workshop where the artisan, mainly woman, were hard at work. Since conception, the Museum has been an active construction site, thus we all wore hardhats! The artisans continue handcarving sculptures and columns, daily and will most likely continue for years to come.