June 3, 2024
Cork catch up!
So I have been chilly in Cork at my friend Edel's house, while we wait on the update of the Ship Inspections by the DNV ( DNV is somewhat like European Coast Guard). Sunday, after Mass, we went to Edel's nephew Brian's house to visit with his family. Lori, his wife and their first born Mia, came to OCNJ, along with Edel, her 2 kids and her brother Colm, for a 2 week vacation about 6 years ago. It was great to catch up with them and reunite with Colm (granddad), Lori and Mia again and to meet Brian and new additions Ava and Jax. All the kids were in great form, full of laughs and smiles! Below is their whole family at Jax's christening - he is now 6 months old. I forgot to get a picture when we were there, so Lori kindly sent me these. Mia is so grown up now at 8 and a lucky duck because her granddad scored them a lottery place for Taylor Swift tickets, for Dublin shows, and she and Lori are going to Sunday June 30th show!
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.
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!
I went on a 24 hour adventure with these fun shipmates into Pattaya, Thailand to explore Nong Nooch Wonder World. Noted on the web as one of the top 10 Botanical Gardens in the World, it is certainly the largest in S. Asia at over 500 to 600 acres. Since the place is so massive; open from 8am to 6pm; the heat is so oppressive and we are at a tender port, we decided to spend the night, so we could be there at the opening, the next day and make a fun night before too!