March 2, 2026
I read The Hobbit series back when I was a teen and always loved the idea of circular doors, leading into precious little homes, set into the hillside. I think I've seen bits and pieces of the movies, but wouldn't call myself a true fan. Bosco, however was very excited to see this magical land. He has seen all the movies, The Hobbit and Lord of Rings and is a big fan. Knowing how popular this excursion was, I made reservations months ago.
The ride from Tauranga to Hobbiton takes a little over an hour. Once there you drive in through the existing sheep and beef farm to a section carved out for the tourist. It was a beautiful day, perfect for a stroll thru the Shire! Our guide Andrew was very entertaining.
There are 44 doored entries in the Shire, but only two of them actually lead into actually homes. These tow were built for the tourist and were never used in the movies. The detail and creativity is so impressive, there are a lot of artifacts from the movies, used as props in the houses. They encourage you to feel at home and touch and feel the items, as much as you like.
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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.