Bugs Bunny Lantern Festival

Well, the title of this post isn't totally accurate ... but it is the year of the rabbit. Pictures and lanterns of this four-legged, carrot-munching, fluffy-tailed friend can be seen all over our city. The Lantern Festival is 15 days after the lunar new year so the lanterns around the city are in full glow.




These are pictures of our city's center. The buildings aren't lit up for the Lantern Festival ... they're like that 365 days of the year.



My favorite - a dragon has taken up residence in the middle of the street.

Starfish & Coffee

Our lodging was alongside a very small road that had a bunch of different small restaurants. At dinner, we could simply walk to one within minutes. Our favorite was Starfish & Coffee - a very chic atmosphere overlooking the water with excellent Thai food.





We went here for our final dinner of our vacation. Prior to dinner, we had a short, family photo session.

Butterflies

During our vacation, this was one of the most pleasant surprises for me. Outside our room, there was a shrub that was blooming which attracted various butterflies that would hang from the small flowers. And other parts of the garden area had a host of different butterflies. I could have spent the whole day just walking around and taking photographs of them. I took a ton of pictures; here are some favorites.








During a mid-morning snack, this little one came for a bite. I guess it likes pineapple, too.

Inside & Outside

While on vacation, Lia was constantly reading. She loves books. We had gotten an electronic book for our family (but mostly for her). Glad we did - without it we would've had to pack a whole suitcase just for her books.


One day, we rented a car to explore the area. We found some nice lookout points and a waterfall.



The girl's first watercraft experience. They liked it ... a lot! (Note to grandparents - the bay was really calm and I didn't go too fast for them. Not to worry.)

Garden

The place we stayed had some really nice garden areas. Seeing all the green was immensely refreshing. I know of at least one family member who will appreciate these pictures. (Here you go, Mom. :)

This is the path back to our room.


This is one of the more open grass/garden areas.






I like the little ant in this picture. See it?


I'm glad this grasshopper stayed put for the picture.


I'll have to ask my friend, Phil, in Muncie what kind of bird this is.

Animal Camp

We caught a sunny morning as we went to an animal camp. We all had a great time riding elephants.



We fed some younger elephants, too.



Another major highlight for the girls was when they held a baby leopard. The baby bottle makes it perfectly safe. (!)


We also saw a few shows. I hope this guy gets paid well. I can't help but notice his nervous grin.

Beach

We enjoyed the beach - swimming and collecting shells. Here are some scenes ...

Breakfast

Where we had breakfast each morning looked over the beach and water.