some rides bumpy. some rides smooth.

Okay I really think this is my last vacation post. 

Our elephant ride was a hoot.  Elephants are not comfortable rides, but they sure are interesting.  Bumpy, wiggly, jolting.  I cannot imagine riding one all day, or even all morning.  But I LOVED riding one with my kiddos.

Sweet Lydia looked up at me and said, "I bet this is John Paul's first elephant ride."   Me too, Lydia, me too.  

Getting on an elephant is easier than it looks, at least at this elephant camp.  Climb steps to a tall platform, wait for your elephant to "pull up" and step right on to her back.

The people we were with made the trip that much more fun.

And the river crossing at the end of the ride was certainly a highlight.

 

And so was feeding the baby elephant ....

So the elephant ride?  Bumpy.  Kayak rides?  Smooth.  Can you believe this is the ocean?!?!?  (Gulf of Thailand, technically)

Matt outdid himself toting different pairs of kids out to Monkey Island, down to the boat harbor, etc.

All our big kids loved the kayak.  We'll definitely do this again.  John Paul loves the idea of the kayak, but not the concept of sitting, and it's difficult to kayak if you don't sit well.  And Luke was too small for any of the life jackets.... I've got a good mental picture of Luke crawling off the end of a kayak though, so it's just as well. 

Give us a few more years and our whole family will be kayak-ready :)

We'll do another elephant ride too!