Danang and Hoi An, Vietnam - October Break

There are many places in this world that I have wanted to go, but when Chris suggested Viet Nam, I  must admit, initially, it wasn’t top on my “bucket list.”  However, after several weeks of acclimating to our new China life, laying on any beach was enticing to all of us.    

The resort was absolutely beautiful and there were many comforts of home…  Jordan wasted no time using her skills that her Uncle Bill showed her at the beach this summer and spent the entire day surfing her heart out.  Needless to say, we recently had a family night watching Soul Surfer and while the shark scene was not the most enticing part of the movie, Jordan is already asking when she will get to catch her next wave.

We managed to go on a few excursions as a family.  We definitely did not “blend in” with the light hair on the kids.   The weather was a bit turbulent a couple of days  because of a lingering Tropical Storm nearby so Chris came up with several family excursions.  The rest of us were happy hanging in the pool and relaxing.  We have had so much to adjust to already, it was nice to just decompress a bit.  Chris decided he wanted to rent a jeep and tour around the villages.   He showed me the place online to do this and it looked fine to me so off we went to sign up.  Well, the advertisement clearly was at least 10 years old and when we got there the kids were eerily quiet and holding hands.  I was right along with them.  Chris looked over at us with a smile as I saw the sign above my head that said, “The best burgers in town.”   Lets just say there was no grill and no burgers to be found.  Heck there wasn’t even a table or a chair to sit on.  We kept our brave faces on as a pack of stray dogs were circling as Chris jubilantly  says, “Isn't this GREAT!”  

We ventured South to a small village called 

Hoi An

On the drive down you could really capture the country side.  There were a ton of rice fields being worked and road side cattle being herded along the way.

Our taxi dropped us off in at this beautiful shop...

Watching them fish was a treat… they use a version of this in Shanghai.  

   This was such a special place with little quaint shops outdoor restaurants.   The people are always smiling… It was here that we were able to buy some fun jewelry and have some clothing made.    Chris had a beautiful suit made and the girls and I had matching wool coats made.  These coats have since come in handy as the weather turned cool here quick.   These are the first coats we have bought  since living in the sunshine state.  

Ayden was more then happy to spend the day swimming… it doesn’t take much to entertain her. 

Garrett loved his freedom in the resort and really enjoyed the beach front park. 

One of the highlights of the trip with the jet skiing.  From these pictures it is hard to know which ones are the kids… 

       

It still surprises me that we are able to travel to such remote places in the world.  It was nice having our feet in the sand again and when we closed our eyes, it was as if we were 

back on the beaches of Florida.