May 3, 2026

MASON'S ELEPHANT SANTUARY was a little slice of Heaven! in crazy, congested Bali! I really wanted to treat the Spa Manager Stacy and our Entertainment Manager Kelly, to a fun, non-stressful event that they could truly enjoy! Stacy had never seen elephants before and her squeal of delight, when we first laid eyes on them was pure joy!

We walked right into the male ( with long tusk) getting frisky with the female, in the swimming hole. Note, the female then mounted him!   Then they both cooled off, for awhile, before exiting the pool for some food. Then we move over to feeding them and the trainers had them posing for photos with us all.

After feeding the elephants we cleaned up a bit and went to watch a 20 minute documentary about the history and mission of the Santurary. We heard all about the Australian founder, who married a local Balinese woman, and started the whole mission over 25 years ago and who now continues to run the Foundation with their 2 sons. We no sooner walked out of the movie tent and who do we walk straight into ? the Mason Family ! They were celebrating the wedding of the son. We chatted with them for a bit and then got the below photo with them. So impressive what they have created and sustained over all these years!

Next we were off to jumbo wash an elephant, a first for all of us! This beauty lady is 45 years old.

Pattaya, Thailand - My healthcare

By Pat Patrick • October 23, 2026
This Blog is more than a journal of my travels around the world, it's a major memory tool for me in documenting all the events along the way. You often ask me how we take care of medical things, as we travel non stop and today is a perfect example. A fellow resident had posted on one of our WhatsApp groups ( this is the main way we all- residents, crew and stateside support all communicate ) that she had an excellent contact for anyone looking to get medical appointments in the Pattaya / Bangkok area.

Off the Coast of PATTAYA, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
Off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand a talented and dedicated group of residents, the Odyssey Troubadours , performed A Night of Broadway for the enjoyment of all the other residents and senior staff on board. The group of 20 performed, 15 Broadway songs that had some special Odyssey edits, personalizing them to our journey. We loved it ! Such a clever, talented and fun loving group. I was upfront and focused on getting candid pictures of the talented cast.

NONG NOOCH TROPICAL GARDENS, Pattaya, Thailand

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
We were up for breakfast at 7 and then hired a private small tram to take us around the gardens, for an overview, because it came with a guide. Problem was, guide barely spoke English, so we had a hard time figuring out the history of this crazy place. Even with translate app his answers were questionable. Did it start as gardens? What's with all the statues? Is there a master plan? It seems to be growing with no real connections, that we could make out. Web & Chat GPT seem vague on details too! We had fun with it, finding more and more absurd things, until the heat won out!