Have Brothers, Will Travel http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com Sun, 23 Oct 2016 12:56:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.24 Adventure to Oswego http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/adventure-to-oswego/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/adventure-to-oswego/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2016 12:56:37 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=428 Read More...

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I awoke to a buzzing alarm in a warm bed. Wait scratch that. I wish I had awoke to a warm bed and a buzzing alarm, but I over slept and woke up twenty minutes before departure. There was a list of things to grab on the way out the door, it consisted of, a thermos, a winter jacket, and a pillow. I sprinted up the stairs and grabbed all the stuff on the list and jumped in the car and we drove to the ferry.

When we got to Kingston Marina we put our boat in the water and packed all the extra stuff in. My brothers and my father got on the boat, hugged our mother, and began motoring off into the lake. Mom took photos of us as we passed the ferry dock.

When we turned the VHF radio on there was a strong winds warning for winds gusting up to 70 mph so instead of puttering off to Oswego we decided to duck into Cape Vincent, only 13 miles away. As the sun set the skies began to let loose. At first only light rains but as soon as we pulled into dock it began to storm. Lighting was striking all over at Wolfe island. The wind was picking up. As I stepped off the dock to tie the boat up with Fitz, the wind was blowing so hard that it nearly knocked me off my feet. We decided to stay in Cape Vincent for the night.

When we woke the next morning we walked down to the library and I began to catch up on my school.

The next morning we began puttering off to Oswego. We attached Phil up to the tiller (our automatic steering device). Nothing eventful happened on the passage other than spotting one freighter that was empty. When we arrived in Oswego we tied up to the marina and went out for a nice Mexican dinner. It was delicious.

The next morning we cleaned up the cabin of the boat and did some shopping. After dad and Fitz returned we started up river we had to do four locks. A lock is like a stair case for boats, the lock master waits for the boat to drive into the lock and then closes off both ends of the lock. Then the Lock master begins the pumping process which lets water into the lock until you are at the higher water line. the Lock master will open one end of the lock and let you out of the lock. Today we have gone up a total of 50 feet. We are now in Fulton for the night.

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Reaching for new Horizons http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/reaching-for-new-horizons/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/reaching-for-new-horizons/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2016 07:09:07 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=415 Read More...

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“Any man who goes to sea claiming to have no fear is either a liar or a damn fool”. 

I read this in a book once and it stuck with me, being a sailor. Since then I have never once claimed to be fearless in the face of the ocean, knowing deep down that I am, in fact, afraid of it. The raw power that it holds in its depths could destroy me without even realizing it had done so. The ocean is full of beauty and wonder but it must also be respected. A shark which may be swimming beside you as gently as the Angelfish in the coral below could become a raging torrent of hungry teeth; a small cloud on the horizon may build into a gale that knocks your boat out of the sea and onto the rocks; an out of place wave may be marking a shoal waiting to rip the bottom of your boat off and drop you to the seabed below. These are some of the thoughts running through my head as my father, brothers, and I prepare for a many month long trip down to the Bahamas.

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I lost sight of myself for a while in the process of dating a girl and didn’t know what to do with my life. I was jumping from wanting to go with my siblings on this trip to wanting to go to school, to not doing anything but pursue the relationship. About two or three months ago I realized that even though I might be in a relationship with someone who does not share even close to the same career interests as I do that I need to go and purse my own dreams instead of following hers. So I hopped on the TearAway adventure. In about a weeks time (as long things go to plan) we will be turning the key in our diesel engine and guiding our bow towards the Erie Canal, and from there to the Hudson, and finally into the great blue that I consider more home than solid land.

I have crossed the Atlantic ocean once before, and loved it. The long nights at the bow of the vessel Argo, watching the stars trace their paths across the sky. The warm days spent catching fish, taking classes, and everyday work that is necessary to keep the vessel running smoothly. The feeling as you look toward land at the edge of the horizon, marking the end of your long voyage, and knowing you just long for it to continue on and the tranquility to never end. We won’t be having any long passages such as that on this trip.

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With just over five thousand nautical miles under my belt I am by far the most experienced sailor on the boat, but this trip will be different as each trip away from port is. It will teach me things I haven’t even thought about yet, it will grow me in ways I can’t even imagine, and we will be guiding the vessel to places not yet seen by my eyes, which means that I am as new to this as my father, and brothers, are really.

As we get the boat ready I am working on making lists of what needs to be put on the boat and where, making safety checklists, conjuring a ditch bag, and making a watch chart. Other tasks will be added to that as we get closer and closer to getting TearAway underway. Our engine is almost operational again and we are all in high, if a bit frantic, spirits.

In some ways I shall miss this island and the security I feel of being able to go to my home whenever I need to. Having friends within a half hour. Knowing people on the streets and the community of it all. I will miss my work at the boat club and teaching what I love. I will miss learning, with my friend Josh, random things like windsurfing. I will miss the familiarity of it all. But at the same time I have been itching since I returned from Argo in December to get away and be out of my comfort zone and to be near the ocean again; to be seeing something new each day and to be learning how to do things with new people. I will miss this, but I will love the serenity of it all.

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So as we get ready to say goodbye to the people here we know and love we also prepare to embrace a lifestyle which most of us have not yet experienced and which none of us can predict.

Let’s hope the wind and seas stay at our back.

 

Photos by: Matt Hardy, Sophia Haram, Katie Combaluzier.

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Next Up: The Bahamas http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/next-up-the-bahamas/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/next-up-the-bahamas/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2016 14:29:04 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=398 Read More...

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Hello! I know it has been a while since the last blog post, give or take a few years, but I have come back from the land of no writing. You may be wondering why am I just now suddenly beginning to write again. Well, we are going on an amazing sailing trip down to the Bahamas and back.

But before I get to that, I will briefly catch you up on the past year or so. The last trip we took was a three week trip back to Guatemala to teach a few girls how to travel independently. That was the last trip that we took in a year. We also moved into a new house on Wolfe Island where we hope to build a permanent home. We rented a cottage and moved into it and the first winter we were here we went on the biggest ski hill on this side of Canada. We also had our Australian friends over for the whole winter. Out of all the places you could have gone to why Canada? In the winter?

When I found out that dad wanted to sail down to the Bahamas from Ontario, I thought it was a bit nuts. I mean, we had barely any experience on a big sailboat. But then he started to tell us about all the cool things along the way. After that I did some reading on the Bahamas and the sail down, and it looked really cool. So, I agreed to go with and we bought a beautiful boat named TearAway. We get to go through amazing locks, sail down the historic Erie Canal, and on the Atlantic ocean. I, for one, am very excited. The odds of swimming and snorkeling are high and I have heard that the Bahamas has some great diving areas, so that’s another reason I want to go. We leave in 11 days on a full moon if all goes well, the boat passes inspection, and the engine exhaust actually works.

TearAway in our bay

TearAway in our bay

So fingers crossed that all goes well. In the mean time, my job is to gather boat recipes that involve two pans at most. I also have to figure out where all the food is to be stored for passages.

Anchored at Amherst Island

Anchored at Amherst Island

The last passage Gabe, Dad, and I went on was from Toronto to the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River. The pass is 150 miles and was supposed to take two days but it took three because all hell broke loose. We got caught in a storm, our navigation lights went out, and we hit a few rocks. All else said, it was a nice sail, good cruising during the day and the one night with the storm was troublesome. But what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger! I am very excited about the trip!

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Shot to the heart… and the head… and the butt: in which I play paintball http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/shot-to-the-heart-and-the-head-and-the-butt-in-which-i-play-paintball/ Mon, 28 Apr 2014 14:03:27 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=391 Read More...

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OSG Paintball

For Gabe’s birthday we went to a place called OSG paintball with about fifteen teenagers who all knew how to shoot a gun, except me. When we arrived we got a gun and a mask each and then we went through the safety rules. As soon as the referee was done with the safety rules we went out on the field. Then he said, “Three, two, one, go, go, go!”  There were popping sounds all around me. Me and my buddy peeked around the corner and three paint balls whizzed by my head.

We ducked down behind a bunker. I said to him, “Cover me!” I bolted out and to another barrier. Then I saw the person who was shooting at us and it was my brother Elisha. I capped a few shots off and then I heard a loud shout, “Hit!” Elisha put his gun in the air and walked out of the field. I did a fist pump and yelled, “Oh yeah!” What I didn’t notice was that I was in the wide open. A searing pain exploded in my butt and I yelled out and walked out of the field holding my left cheek. As I was limping out of the course jokingly shouting, “Something jumped up and bit me in the bum!”

The next course we went to was called urban town. It had three cars to hide behind. When it was go time I ran into a building and tried to shoot mom but instead she shot me in the heart. I called, “Out!” and walked out of the course. I jokingly said, “Nice shot!” to my mom. Thankfully, my best friend Jordan avenged me and shot mom in the thigh.

The next course we went to was called castle. We tried to take the castle over so we went grunt rushing onto the walls of the castle and and began firing into the keep.  My friend Betsy and i got behind cover. When we tried to go somewhere else they would shoot at us. I just bolted out of the cover and looked up to see a blue paint ball flying at me and then, BAM! I got hit right in the face! I yelled, “Hit!” but not for the last time. It turns out it was a blind firing person (your not supposed to blind fire in paint ball) who had shot me. He kept firing so I got one in the back and one in the head before I yelled out again, running as fast as IU could to get out of the fire fight.

The next round was the same field only we were defending the castle. The guy yelled, “Three, two, one, go, go, go!”  I ran up to the bell which the other team had to ring. Then I ran to the front of the castle and began popping people off. I hit Rachel and missed Hannah. Then I got pinned by Dad and Jeremiah whom I couldn’t shoot. I went down the stairs and I looked up towards the bell, I saw mom running towards it I was slamming every piece of paint out of the gun at her. When I heard the ding, ding, ding, ding, I knew she had won the game and I had failed to shoot her.

Ez weltThen next course was called sherwood forest. The guy, again, yelled, “Three, two, one, go, go, go!” Our team ran up to the fortress, which was our weakness. We began firing when I moved into position I was pinned there. I had shooters on all sides and then Kari came to a log barrier and I shot her in the head. Elisha a sneaked up behind me and shot me in the back. It turned out I was the soul survivor of the whole team. Elisha was supposed to say, “Surrender,” but he shot me instead.

The last corse and was capture the flag. What made this game different was that we got unlimited lives by going back to base and touching it. We ran for high ground and the fire fight began. I shot Dad, then Jerry, and then Mom. They captured the flag. Hannah shot me in the face and three times and in the pinky finger three times in the same spot. The other team won.

When the fighting was over we went back, returned our guns, and ate lunch. I got the worst welt of the day, the guy said so. After we had a picnic at OSG we loaded up and went to the Wood’s place for dinner. I asked if i could sleep over and mom said I could. So I did.

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Medical testing http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/medical-testing/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/medical-testing/#comments Sat, 22 Jun 2013 04:05:14 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=364 Read More...

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Medicine is a very helpful thing. In the medieval days it was passed down mother or father to child and master to apprentice, now there are whole schools dedicated to the cause of teaching this skill. The other day I went and got a stitch for an ugly cut I gave myself while carving something for my Grandpa. As we were driving to the health center my mom remarked to me, “Son, you seem to be bent on testing the healthcare in all the places we go.” I laughed tightly at this, trying to hold in a scream, and thought to myself, “Not everywhere.”

In America I have gone to the hospital for many things. Drinking a coffee cup full of medicine, which nearly stopped my heart, falling off ripsticks, twice, once on the arm and another time one the head. I think I lost a few brain cells. I did get a concussion. In Asia I went insane. We called it the Chicken Apocalypse because our only theory is that I didn’t clean my hands well enough after cleaning a chicken of its guts.

That afternoon I had spent time cleaning a chicken of its bowels. A few years before, I had spent time on a chicken farm with some friends. We, being Jonathan and I, gutted quite a few chickens. I don’t think we did as many as fast as we had hoped and my grandpa told me later that it brought to mind a saying, “One boy does work fast because he wants to get back to something he finds fun. With two boys it takes twice as much time to do one thing. With three boys you get nothing done.” Thankfully the other boy who was near my age was a little queasy about doing it, so we did end up getting something done.

Back to the story, I took the time to gut a chicken. That night we enjoyed some very tasty roasted chicken. That night we also watched a usually pleasant young man turn into a crazy killing machine. Almost. I was found twice wandering aimlessly around the house without focusing on the things in front of me. I threw up three times and bashed my head on the wall four. I remember this slightly. Everything is blurry of that time but I remember sitting on the bathroom floor and thinking, “Why is mom in my face and moving her mouth like a fish out of water?” In truth, she was yelling at me. I would go up to a wall and bash my head on it because if felt strange. I didn’t feel any pain when I pinched myself or smashed my head, just a tingling sensation.

Mom and Dad decided it was time to take me to the hospital. Dad had checked the beer supply and wine and all the other alcohol in the house and had found none out of place; so they knew it wasn’t that. As they were dragging me out of the house to the car, which was not ours, our neighbor had decided she would drive us to the hospital because there was no way I could ride a moped to the other side of the island, sound rushed back into my head. Dad was talking with Mom urgently and whenever I would make a noise they would say stuff like, “Shh Baby, it will be ok, were going to the hospital.” I knew right away that I didn’t want anything to do with needles, or doctors prodding me, or asking questions and so, in my delirious state, I attacked them. For a moment it I felt like I was winning, and then all strength left me and I sat down on the bed and started to weep. Did I mention that I had been having nightmares as well that night? I found that out later though.

The hour or so drive felt like seconds. Lights were all around me suddenly and I was walking. A man talked to me and I looked at him for a second and said, “What?” He smiled and said again, “Blureditdifdbg.” “What?” was my response again. His face changed from pleasant to concerned and said the same thing again. This time I was not even able to hear what he said because I was still puzzling over which muscles had to move to make the eyebrows come together like his did. Then a girl came into sight and she and the guy took my hands and arms and lead me down a corridor.

Everywhere I looked there were people lying on beds of white. Strange things would pop out at me, the way the man was breathing, the way the foot of the little girl sitting on the edge of the bed looked. Then I was one of the people on a bed and they had pulled the curtain all around me. A moment later and Dad came in. I saw him through a haze and blinked. Still, he was in a haze. It wasn’t fair, I could not see long distances anyway and now my short distance eyesight was not working. I felt tears run down my face and then a sharp prick. Looking at my arm I saw someone pushing a needle into my arm. All my reflexes said, “Pull away!” But my brain said, “If you do they will do it again and you might break the needle inside your arm and then they will have to cut on you to get it out” Dad reached out what I found out the next day to be his hand, but it looked like a snake and I jerked away from it.  .” I was delirious.

The next few hours passed so fast I don’t remember them really. The next thing I knew clearly was I was lying on my back looking up into a face. It rolled in and out of focus for a moment before turning into Dad. It was night and he had checked on me and woken me. We went back to sleep and around ten hours later we were taking a drive home that took two hours, not five minutes.

Bangkok Hospital, on Phuket, was probably the best hospital we had ever been to in the history of our lives. It was clean, the people there were nice and helpful, if not fast, and all in all it is a good hospital to go to. We never found out what happened to me, but we have decided it was the chicken.

About the concussion, I remember nothing. One minute we were watching a movie, the next I was looking at the roof of a camper. Dad says I got stuck in a loop. It went like this, I would say, “Dad, where are we going?” And he would say, “To the hospital” and I would say, “But why?” And he would say, “Because you may be really hurt.” A minute would pass and I would say, “Dad, where are we going?” I can’t tell you anything about the time there because I do not remember myself.

The latest hospital run is probably the stupidest. One day I was out working on a spoon for my grandpa. I stupidly held it in the wrong position and it sheathed itself in my hand. It bled, I nearly fainted, and we got a stitch in it. Not much of a story. It is a little strange, I can see other people’s blood and not think any different about it, but if I see any of my own in any great quantity then I feel like fainting.

So, if ever you are in Phuket Thailand I would suggest taking a trip to the emergency room just for the fun of being in one of the best hospitals in the world!

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Grenade!!! http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/351/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/351/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:38:53 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=351 Read More...

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            “Grenade!!!” The call sounded from the other side of the beach. I heard a stick whistle when it flipped through the air, catching the wind in a little hole in its side and creating a small noise. Then, with a puff of fine, multi-colored sand, a stick dropped to the ground within seven feet of me. I leapt to my feet, forsaking my safe haven of sticks and sand, and took a flying leap through the air towards the object of death. In the back of my head a voice whispered , “Five, four, three,” but I had already landed on the object and had it in my hand and it was swinging through the air again. A sound smashed against my ears and my mind processed it into Elisha’s voice, “BANG!!! DEAD!!!” I dropped to the ground with the stick still in my hands.  I lay on the ground counting to twenty, ten because of the bullet Elisha shot at me and ten for the grenade. Then, all of the sudden I leapt to my feet and pushed off the ground. I landed on the ground, in the little safe haven of sticks and sand, in a spray of damp dirt. I heard a bang from the mouth of Ezra and leaped to my feet, lifting the stick gun in my hand I shot and yelled, “BANG!!! You’re dead!” He pretended to fall over backward dead. I ducked down again as Elisha jumped to his feet with gun in hand. I picked up a stick from a pile to my left and held it ready, as soon as Elisha was down behind his base again I brought my arm back and stood up and threw it with as much strength as I could. It landed right in their base and I yelled, “Flash bomb!!” They both ducked beneath their arms but they were to late. They both closed their eyes and started to count to five. I lunged forward and to the side, and ran with all my speed. Five seconds passed and they opened their eyes and looked for me at my base. By then I was already at their sides only twenty feet away. I heard Ezra say, “I think he is behind his base and getting ready to throw a grenade. Get ready.” Then I said, “Hands up you two hooligans!” they jumped and brought their guns up to train on my head, but they were already dead. I rushed back to my safe haven and leapt in again. Just then Hannah’s voice rang down from up on the hill. We all looked and she said, “Time to go. Come on.” We got up and, while Elisha and Ezra decided weather or not to bring guns with them, I ran up the hill and after Hannah.

Half an hour later I had my earphones in and we were speeding down the road while Josh Garrels calmed my racing pulse. I looked out the window and watched as tree after tree wiped bye. When we were near the coast I saw lots of trees that had bent inland from all the wind that had blown on them. Sparrow’s swooped and dove in their endless dance. Blue flowers framed by green were brought into my vision and were swept away again. The water sparkled and gleamed as we drove along its side. So far New Zealand has been the best place on this trip even better than Asia.

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Pitcher Plants http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/pitcher-plants/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/pitcher-plants/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:49:34 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=336 Read More...

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Pitcher plants have two names. The most commonly known is pitcher plant. It is also called monkey cup. I think this is a funny name. The pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant that is a member of the monotypic family. There are roughly 117 species of pitcher plants. These plants are most commonly found in Southern China, Indo-China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. A few species occur in madagascar (2 species), the Seychelles (1), Australia (3), New Caledonia (1), India (1), and Sri Lanka (1).

 

 

The highest diversity of pitcher plants occurs in Borneo and Sumatra. The name monkey cup is given because monkeys have been seen drinking the water from these plants.

 

 

In borneo, there are three species of Nepenthes ( which is a kind of pitcher plant ) of these 15 are found in Sabah. A pitcher plant has a sallow root system and a climbing, this is usually one cm or less in diameter. At the tendril forms the pitcher, this is part of the leaf. The pitcher starts as a small bud then grows to a tube-shaped trap. The pitcher plant gets a syrupy fluid which drowns the prey. At the lower part of the plant are glands which take the nutrients out of the prey. The upper part of the trap is slippery so prey prey can not escape. Pitcher plants are very colorful, this and lots of different smells attract prey. The lid in many species keeps the rain from messing up the fluid in the pitcher.

 

 

Pitcher plants make two kinds of pitchers. The big ones that sit on the ground. And the small ones that hang in the air. These will attract different kinds of prey. Pray is usually bugs. But the big pitcher plants get vertebrates like rats and lizards sometimes.

 

 

I got interested in these plants in Sandakan Malaysia when when we went to a rainforest park. Earlier that day mom said, “Ok I need you to right a essay on a plant or an animal.” When we got to the rainforest park I saw the pitcher plants and decided that was what I would write about.

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Proboscis and Silver Leaf Monkeys http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/proboscis-and-silver-leaf-monkeys/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/proboscis-and-silver-leaf-monkeys/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:00:22 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=327 Read More...

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Today we drove to a proboscis monkey sanctuary. When we arrived we saw pig tailed macaque monkeys crossing the street. At the feeding platform we saw a swamp snake. The lady said it was not poisonous.

The word proboscis means nose, so we saw the nose monkeys. Some fought over the food and even a squirrel joined in on eating the salty bread, but this bread does not have sugar. If it did and they ate it they would die.

When we went to the second feeding platform we saw silver leaf monkeys. We could feed those by hand! One even jumped on my shoulder and played on my head. Soon he lost interest in my head and took the bean for payment and leapt off of my head. There was a baby that, if you fed it, would hold your hand, as in your finger.

Silver leaf monkeys are rare to see. They don’t show themselves in the grey trees, they blend in to the dark.

One monkey pinched me so hard I almost cried out, “Ouch! Ouch!” But I didn’t.

 

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Meeting Orang Utan Apes In A Sanctuary http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/meeting-orang-utan-apes-in-a-sanctuary/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/meeting-orang-utan-apes-in-a-sanctuary/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:42:48 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=323 Read More...

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Today we are driving to an orang utan sanctuary. While we are driving mom tells us some facts and I also researched it for an essay I’m writing for school. There are about twenty thousand orang utan in the world.They only live on two islands, Sumatra and Borneo. We have gone to one other sanctuary on Borneo.

When we arrive we only have five minutes to get to the feeding platform. When we get there we see some big orang utan apes (did you know that orang utans are Asia’s only giant ape?) They are feeding on bananas, young leaves and nuts. It is fun to watch them eat their breakfast. They were obviously interested in us too.

Some of them would fight over the food until the dominate male came. He did not have face pads yet. Those develop when they are twenty or so. The dominate male would fight and always win the food. There were two apes wrestling on the platform. It was fun.

When we hopped back into the car we drove to a national park. There we went on a canopy walk. We got to see pitcher plants and a flying squirrel fly off of a tree.

I hope you enjoyed the story!

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Sunday Beach Day On Nai Yang Beach http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/sunday-beach-day-on-nai-yang-beach/ http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/sunday-beach-day-on-nai-yang-beach/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2012 06:55:20 +0000 http://www.havebrotherswilltravel.com/?p=309 Read More...

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We all woke up with dull heavy heads at eight in the morning. Or at least Mom and I did. It was Sunday so it was a day off of school thank goodness. Most Sundays we would already be up and getting ready to go to the beach, which is now very nice and clear because monsoon is over. But today we played some games for a while and talked about what we would do. Mom said she would go down to the beach to get a massage and that anyone who wanted to come could. At first it was just me who was going to go with mom, but soon everyone decided to go down. We geared up and left the house by ten thirty.

It was a beautiful day. The sun beat down on our backs and a slight wind whipped around our faces. A dead snake lay on the side of the road where it had gotten hit by a car. Dogs barked and ran around us as we walked by their property and we walked slightly faster then before.

“It’s so dead when it’s not market day.” Elisha comments on the market square.

Ten minutes later we left the streets and entered a restaurant called Mamamia. A Thai lady approached us and asked if we wished to sit outside or in. We chose to sit outside. We exited the musty indoors of the restaurant and breathed in the warm, tropical air of the ocean and looked out over the deep blue ocean. The waves were a quite big this time. Almost big enough to body surf on. We only had a second to register before we were pushed into plastic chairs. A waitress came around and placed menus in our hands.

Usually the waiters only give you two minutes and then come to ask what you want. So I scanned the menu as fast as possible and finally chose one that looked good. It was Pad Thai Chicken. I would order it again if we went but it was not my favorite thing in the world.

After lunch mom left us and went to get her massage and us kids and dad started down the beach. We were at the place where we learned how to kite surf when we heard whooping and yelling. Suddenly Elisha takes off and I look where he is going and see some friends of ours on the beach. Their kids, ages five and six, are running towards us.

In moments my brothers had put their stuff on a chair and were building sand castles on the beach. Hannah and I waded into the clear, wavy water to join the adults. The water was cool as it swirled around my feet. Waves crashed against us and I almost fell over.

Once we had gotten out to the adults we started to talk about this and that and for a while we just floated there. Without notice a ball comes flying into our midst and sprays us all with water. Elisha, who was a little ways away, burst into laughter that only he can bring. A clear, ringing laugh that brings joy to every person that hears it. We tossed the ball back and forth (making sure to splash Elisha with it) until it started raining. Then we threw it onto the shore so that the little boys could play with it.

The rain only lasted ten minutes or so and then it was all sunny again. My mom had come back from the massage place and had walked down the crowded beach. A few minutes later my father followed. The rest of my family and friends had waded out of the beautiful water and were basking in the sun while the dogs barked and the car horns blared in the distance.

I got up and went up the beach to sit on a beach chair. I lost since of time for a while as I thought about this and that. But then Ezra asked me to go home with him. I said no but Hannah said she would. She had school. I could see my dad and mom making there way towards us. Hannah packed up and left with Ezra. I could see that everyone else were getting ready to go so I just got my stuff ready and waited for mom and dad. When they got to me dad told me he was going home to but mom was going to stay. So I left with dad.

With the ocean air blowing in my hair and with the sun beating down on me and with my head finally clear and light I walked hand in hand with dad down the road and back to my house that I share with the best family a boy my age could hope for. 

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