A Day at Namtok Haew Sai

This week, I'm going to back track to our Nam Nao trip to tell you about my favorite day. You've read the story about our waterfall hike day (Bees!). We so enjoyed our short time at Haew Sai Waterfall at the end of the trek, we decided to plan a day to just play. We dressed in grubby clothes, packed a picnic lunch, applied sunscreen, and climbed into the van for the short drive.

The day was relaxing. We did not encounter any exciting animals nor enjoy an thralling adventure. It was a time of pleasure in God's creation - a natural swimming pool with a cascade of water splashing down. The water was cool enough to be refreshing but certainly not cold. Downstream from the waterfall the creek shallowed out into a perfect place for the children to splash.


Since we live in the city without a yard, the chances for Calla to get dirty outside are few. A sandy beach sloped down to the edge of the pool, so she could sit and splash.  It was truly a pleasure to let her play in the muddy sand and water. She dug in the dirt, splashed herself and anyone near her, and crawled in the sand. She had so much fun, she didn't want to take a nap.

Grandpa took each of the kids across the pool to shower in the waterfall. I played in the falls with Grandpa, too, jumping and splashing. Eris managed to build on her scattered sessions of waterpark "swimming lessons" with Mommy and finally learned to swim with Grandpa. Meriel had a short lesson, as well.

Even though, she can't swim yet, we discovered Meriel can make quite a splash and keep part of her head above water. We had warned her to stay in the shallow part of the creek and pointed out a deep area. She forgot and tried to make a short cut across to a rock. Next thing we knew, Meriel's hair was just clearing the water while she frantically splashed. It didn't take Daddy but a moment to rush to her and pick her up.


I had some "child-free" time to swim in the deep water. Floating on my back, looking up at the beautiful foliage, bright blue sky, and stream of falling water, I felt peaceful and thankful. I wished we had a place nearby like this, but mostly I chose to be grateful for the time I did get to spend there.

Jaz the Caterpillar

A little more than three weeks ago, I noticed a large caterpillar on my jasmine plant. I have a few plants on my balcony, and it really brightens up my day to see them the several times a day I go up there to take care of laundry. For a couple days, I carefully watched the caterpillar and began to get concerned that he would kill my small jasmine with his voracious appetite. I decided to put him a in a jar, so I could pick leaves from various parts of the plant and see if he would eat anything else. Well, once I set a "home" up for him inside the house, I realized I was committed to keeping and raising him.

The first thing to do was see if he would eat anything besides jasmine leaves. I researched what kind of caterpillar he was - finally figuring out he was a 'death's head hawk moth caterpillar.' Turns out there are three species, two are found in the Asia and the other Europe. I was able to find the most information on the European kind, but this turned out to be not very helpful. Apparently, European caterpillars will eat lettuce and cabbage - not so my Asian caterpillar. I did find that he would eat the leaves of another one of my plants, but it was also quite small. With such a voracious appetite, I wasn't sure either of my plants would be able to survive, but I couldn't just leave him to die now! I carefully fed him leaves of both plants and began considering trying to find another jasmine plant or even surreptitiously sneaking a few leaves from neighbor's plants along the street.

On the first day of school, I decided to officiously declare the caterpillar a part of school. We had already been taking care of him together - picking and feeding him leaves, watching him eat, cleaning up the frass (caterpillar poop). We felt he must have a name. After various suggestions, mostly regarding his appearance, I hit upon Jaz for the jasmine plant on which he was found. All the children thought this was perfect. So Jaz became part of our school. I did remind the children that when he turned into a moth, we would let him go!

On the morning of the second day of school, I noticed that Jaz had turned an odd orangish color and was trying to bury himself in the shallow dirt of his enclosure. That was the sign he was ready to pupate. Hooray, my plants were saved! I quickly got a more suitable container with a more dirt so he could bury himself properly. I called the kids, and we all watched him quickly push under the dirt. He was fast! I told the kids we needed to leave the container alone for a few days, as Jaz would be really vulnerable.

After three or four days, I carefully brushed away the dirt above the place where Jaz was buried. He had made himself a little hollow of hardened dirt. I gently broke a small hole in the case, so we could peer in at the cocoon. Jaz surprised me by squirming a bit. From then, it was a waiting game. From what I had read, I expected it to be about 3 weeks until he emerged. I also knew that the cocoon would become black before the exciting event.

I carefully removed the dirt covering to get a good look.

Two weeks after he had buried himself, I noticed that the cocoon seemed to be becoming darker. In fact, in just a few hours it noticeably darkened further. Even though it was early, I decided to place netting over the container to be ready for the "hatching." We all hoped to be able to see the actual event, but in the case it was at night, we didn't want Jaz flying around loose in the house.

Here the dirt case is replaced.

The next morning, Calla woke me early. The first thing I did was check on Jaz. Things appeared to be unchanged. I did my normal morning routine, then settled on the couch to check on the world via Facebook. A moment later, I noticed some fluttering out of the corner of my eye. I looked more closely and saw a moth fluttering around the house! This couldn't just be coincidence. I ran over to the container on the dining room table. The netting looked mostly in place, but a bit of it had been slightly pushed up. The cocoon was still mostly concealed by the little dirt cave Jaz had created, and the part I could see seem whole. I carefully removed the netting and the dirt covering. Sure enough, the hidden part of the cocoon was slit open!


I had really expected the disturbance in the container to be obvious if Jaz had emerged. And I did not expect that he would so actively try to push his way out. I thought he would calmly sit and dry his wings for the 6 hours required. But no, it seems he had been very secretive in his activities. Either he had hatched very shortly after I had gone to bed, or he hadn't waited the full time for his wings to harden. Now I had to find him before he got lost in the house and died or made his way out without the kids ever getting to see him in his moth form!

I spent nearly an hour going from room to room, searching without success. Hollis, then Simeon, the Meriel awoke. I delivered the news to each. Hollis stared wide-eyed and serious. Simeon wailed, "I didn't get to see him and now he's gone!" Meriel calmly noted, "If I couldn't see him hatch, I at least wanted to see him as a moth." Not knowing what else to do other than wait to see if Jaz would appear on his own, I began to get ready for breakfast. I stepped into the "dressing room," a small windowless room in the middle of the house where we keep our clothes, to get shorts for Calla. I switched on the light and happened to look directly above the door, and there was Jaz! I don't know if I had somehow missed him earlier or if he had moved, but I was certainly relieved. I excitedly called the children. I woke up Eris to come see. We looked, exclaimed, and took pictures. His size of 2 1/2 inches made me suspect he was the smaller of the two Asian species (Acherontia styx). (I am uncertain as to whether he was actually male, but it seemed easier to pick a pronoun rather than to say "it.")

 So we all got to see Jaz as a moth. Even though we didn't get to see his emergence, his escape made the event quite exciting. When Philip awoke, we quickly alert him to Jaz's whereabouts so his wing wouldn't get clipped by a shutting door. Philip helped on get him into a jar to take him outside. Jaz flapped and buzzed rather alarmingly in the large jar, but we got him up onto the balcony onto the trunk of a potted tree. Each time we checked on him throughout the day, he appeared not to have stirred. We hoped him wasn't injured. I saw him at about 6:30 shortly before it began to get dark. When I went up again about an hour later, he was gone.

So our science experiment from munching caterpillar to buried cocoon to moth flying away in the night was a success! I'm think the children will remember this experience for the rest of their lives; I know I will.

Loneliness

I like to write about our interesting travels, day to day life, and some of my struggles. Sometimes, it is hard to be transparent with my difficulties, but I want to share the "real me." Ever since we've moved to Thailand, loneliness has been a challenge for me. I am not some one who needs to be around a lot of people most of the time. Neither do I require very much alone time (Thankfully, since I get virtually none.) What I do desire is one or two friends, companions with whom to live and discuss life. From childhood through medical residency, each place I've lived and stage of life has brought new friends - really family that have support and encouraged me. People I could cry with, pray with; those who would help me in any way and I could help them.

Here in Thailand, I've not developed anything I would consider a true friendship. It takes time and shared experiences. Bangkok traffic is such that it take so long to get anywhere, so people don't get together outside of weekends unless they live quite near one another. Culturally, Thai people don't generally invite people to their homes. The people who come to Tawipon Church (our home) to minister with us are loving, kind, and could be friends if I could ever get my Thai up to scratch. For me friendship involves being able to communicate desires, fears, daily life joys and trials. I am simply unable to do that in Thai. I go months without a face-to-face conversation with a native English speaker outside of my family.

So what about my family? Philip? Yes, he is a good friend, but he is also a man. He has not clue what it is like to be a woman, a mother. He is willing to listen but cannot share in the same way a girl friend can. Eris? Well, she is a friend, too, but she is ten. She can understand things that Philip cannot, because she spends much of the day with me. She can commiserate with Calla figuring out how to climb up on everything; she help me to cook and clean. But she is my daughter; I am teaching her, discipling her. I am the one she comes to for help and encouragement. It is not time for her to reciprocate.

What about Skype? That is probably what keeps me sane. I can talk with my parents, and especially my sister-friends. When the internet connection is good and my children cooperate, it's great! We can really share our hearts and prayers, struggles and joys. But we can't hug one another. We can't exchange baby-sitting for date nights. But it's enough to satisfy some of my longings.

The last time I read "Little House on the Prairie" series to my children, I really noticed the isolation of the family. As a child, I used to think why Ma was so set on living near a town. Now I understand. I am with Ma, now; I want to join in times of singing and spelling bees and Christmas dinners. I can imagine not seeing anyone but my family for weeks at a time living in the big woods; then leaving family to travel to a place where I wouldn't see anyone but my family for months. So yes, I am thankful to have what I do have.

I've just started reading A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God." In it, he talks about how we as humans have the innate ability to know God - that have a friendship with God. We can and need to pursue this. This is what Christianity, our very lives are all about. In the midst of my loneliness, I don't always turn to Jesus, but I am learning to. I don't think it's wrong for me to desire human friendship; God designed us for that. But when I don't have it, I can use this time to develop an intimacy with the one who "sticks closer than a brother." Maybe I'll even write Psalm or two as I shepherd my little flock in the concrete wilderness.

Bees! (Grandpa's Perspective)

Wasps at Nam Nao National Park - August 2017
Introduction:  I am Grandpa.  I was once Daddy, and before that I was Uncle William, then William, then Bill, and way before that I was Billy.  Identity can be confusing, because inside I am just the same old me.  When I am with my Daughter's Family I am Grandpa, Daddy, and William - depending on who is addressing me and my role at the time.  In this story, I will be addressed as Grandpa, which means everyone is who they are from the perspective of the Grandchildren.  So, here I am, Grandpa telling his story about "Wasps at Nam Nao National Park".

We had driven the five, or so, hours up North from Ayutthaya (sp?) to Nam Nao National Park.  Grandpa (65yrs), Grandma (60yrs), Daddy (37yrs), Mommy (34yrs), Eris (10yrs), Meriel (8yrs), Hollis (6yrs), Simeon (4yrs), and CallaOlivia (8 months) all looked forward to the 6 night stay in a jungle cabin.  We had stayed 3 nights in a jungle cabin before at Kao Yai, but this time we really wanted Mommy to get out of the city noises and replace them with the peace that comes with the sounds of the jungle.  

This day we were on one of Daddy's long walks.  Daddy usually chooses a goal and we go for it, and nothing can stop us, except wasps and leeches (another story).  Daddy had decided on two walks, and it Grandpa's duty to follow-up in the rear so tigers and elephants don't eat the Grandchildren.  I do not allow Grandchildren to walk behind me because that is how the wild animals pick off the young and weak - of which I am neither.  I am at my peak in my fierceness, evidenced by how few tigers and elephants show up on my walks.

So, Daddy says we are going to do two walks, the loooooong one first and the short one second.  Of course I had my compass and flashlight in my backpack, along with Pepsi and water, bug repellent, sunscreen, flipflops, extra shorts, longsleeved shirt, extra cellphone batteries, and plenty of double A batteries for my flashlight, just in case we got lost.  I never was a boy scout, but I am prepared.
And here we are on the long walk through the Jungles of Nam Nao where, as usual, the trail comes to a fork.  When we get to these forks, we have a system.  Daddy goes one way and Grandpa goes the other way and then we (hopefully) come back and tell the other what we have found - like if the trail keeps going, or it is an animal trail where tigers and elephants are waiting, or if we indeed have found the correct human trail.  I knew if we stayed on the ridge we could turn around and find our way home.  In this case Daddy goes left and Grandpa goes right, staying on the top of the ridge.  And this time, Daddy had taken (almost) 4 year old Simeon with him, and I/Grandpa had gone ahead with the ones who usually lag behind with me and Grandma, Meriel and Hollis (who I dropped off with Grandma).  10 year old Eris usually takes care of whoever needs her, so in this case she had been with Grandma and Hollis (6yrs), while Meriel (8yrs) was with me.  Mommy had CallaOlivia (Baby-in-Arms) and she always keeps up with Daddy, but in this case she and Grandma and Hollis were waiting at the Fork in the Trail.  Grandma, never wanting to waste time, decided to make an big arrow out of logs to point the way back home.  Now, if she had asked me (which she usually doesn't), I would have told her that this was not necessary because the trail is obvious since we are following the ridge.  But, Grandma made her Log Arrow as Grandpa, Meriel and Eris blazed the trail ahead.  I hear Daddy’s call to me that I am on the right trail as the other one was obviously an animal trail.

 "Whew", I was thinking, "this is indeed a long trail, I wonder when we will turn around?" 
 Now Meriel and Eris were walking behind Grandpa and we were way ahead of the "slowpokes" :)  and we were making really good time.  Of course I was looking out in the distance through the jungle, trying to see tigers and elephants, and I have to admit, while we didn't see any, we certainly smelled some big wild ox and even saw their fresh footprints.  And then we would also see occasional footprints of the deer as well - but no elephants.  I honestly did not expect to see any tigers, but the Visitor Center did have impressions of Tiger Footprints, and a clear plastic box of Tiger Poo, so one never knows.  So I was seriously looking for elephants, wild ox, and maybe even a silly monkey (we knew how to deal with monkey attacks by throwing one peanut-butter and jelly sandwich to the pack of them and letting the fight over it as we ran away).

So, here we are, just happily minding our own business, with me up front and Meriel right behind, and she and Eris just chattering away, when all of a sudden, there was screaming behind me!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I turned to see Eris running back on the trail and Meriel running towards me.  I turned from Billy the explorer to the fierce Grandpa in action.  Somehow I threw off my pack, ripping out the longsleeved shirt, throwing off my hat, and was beating the wasps off of Meriel with my shirt.  Yes, my Granddaughter was being attacked by wild beasts!!!  And I was attacking them ferociously. 
At this time we were about 30 feet from the hive and the wasps were just swarming all around us, but somehow we were making real headway as we moved even further from the nest and the wasps were not resisting being knocked away.  I felt a sting in my right shoulder and awaited more when all of a sudden they were gone and I had a crying little girl who I examined carefully and found free of wasps.  Daddy then came and swept her into his arms and took her back to the main group.  Hmmmm …  Well, I was wondering what would turn us around from that loooooong walk.

I carefully recovered my backpack which was close to the swarming nest, but they didn’t seem interested in chasing or stinging me, but they were still swarming all around me.  I couldn’t find my hat and I determined that I was not going to leave without it.  Meriel’s camera was right in the middle of the swarming nest and so I started looking for a long bamboo stalk to pick it up by its strap.  Daddy showed up then and told me that he had grabbed my hat when he picked up Meriel.  It was obvious that everyone was doing OK in Mommy and Grandma’s arms, so the two of us found a long bamboo stalk and recovered her camera.  We amazingly didn’t get stung and the wasps were not at all interested in the camera.  We took a good look at the swarming nest and saw that it was about a foot off the ground on a small cutoff stub of a tree on the edge of the trail.  A human trailmaker had obviously cut the small tree off and unfortunately for everyone, including the poor wasps, the wasps decided it was a great place for a nest.  I kinda wanted to get out my camera and get a good picture, but I kinda did not want to get stung anymore, so we just took a good look and left the wasps alone.
So now Daddy and Grandpa had returned to the Group for our hike back, but we found the Group in disarray because Eris and Hollis had ran off back down the trail.  Grandma had called after them to stop, but the wild animal instinct in them was so great that they had just run and run and run.  So Daddy ran after them, frantically calling their names, “Eris !!!  Hollis !!!!  Eris !!! Hollis !!!”  Grandpa was calculating how long it would take to get a search party out.  I remembered all of the Search and Rescue gear at the Ranger Station, and saw all of the soldiers there in their gear for the Celebration of the Queen of Thailand Birthday, so I knew that, if we didn’t find them soon, the soldiers would be swarming the jungle in no time.  Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy (with CallaOlivia), Meriel, and Simeon were walking back when we came to Grandma’s “Arrow in the Trail”.  Mommy remarked how bad Eris’ sense of direction was, but that she was glad that she was with Hollis because 6 year old Hollis has an excellent sense of directions.  Grandma remarked that hopefully they had remembered her arrow and followed it.  

Mommy couldn’t just abandon her children to the fates, so she and CallaOlivia took off, leaving Grandma, Grandpa, Meriel, and Simeon following behind, as we heard the distancing cries,  “Eris !!! Hollis !!! Eris !!! Hollis !!!”  We listened carefully for the girls answer back, but heard only forlorn silence.  We had hoped the girls’ wild instincts had not sent them running down some animal trail off into the jungle, but hoped and prayed that they had found and stayed on the main trail.  We also kept, in our hearts, that they would wait, about a kilometer away, at the top of the Falls for us.  Somewhere along the long trek we heard the girls voices joined with their parents and relief flooded Grandma and Grandpa.  

We found Daddy and Mommy (and CallaOlivia) sitting with Eris and Hollis on the top of the Waterfalls.  Eris’ swollen foot was soaking in the cool water.  She had been stung once.  Turns out that she had run away from the wasps and told Daddy, “BEES!!!!” and Daddy had told her to “RUN !!!”, so Eris ran, grabbing Hollis along the way, and ran down the jungle mountain.  Grandma had called out after her, but Eris held true to Daddy’s imperative, “RUN !!!”  When Eris came to Grandma’s Arrow, she followed it faithfully.  Grandpa just chuckled when he heard this as Grandma beamed proudly.  So we gathered ourselves and we prayed together thanking the Lord for safely bringing us back together and then we walked down to the place which indicated, “Short Walk and Loooooong Walk” and we took the short walk to the base of the falls and we all went a splashing in the beautiful tropical falls pouring itself into the refreshing pool.   We found some Thai young people there as well and they played in the water and gave us their beautiful smiles as well.

Did I mention that I had put my swimsuit into my backpack?  Well, Mommy gave me permission and I changed into it and jumped into the water and even splashed a Thai boy with my cupped hands.  Grandpa also decided to tell them, warn them, about the wasp nest and what had happened to Meriel.  So Grandpa skillfully re-enacted the whole scene to them as his family just laughed and shook their heads.  Grandpa was very sure that they understood his sign language, especially the part with the wasp wings buzzing around.  I mean, doesn’t everyone understand flapping hands held about shoulder height as the wings of insects?  Grandpa could hardly wait to tell them, at the Ranger Station, about the wasp nest.

Bees! (Eris's Perspective)

Nam Nao National Park is situated five hours away (by car) from the town of Pratunam Pra-in in Ayutthaya province, Thailand. Our family planned to visit the park while my mother’s parents were visiting. We all eagerly awaited the six nights in a ‘jungle cabin’, though we were not looking forward to the long drive there.

                Everything worked out as planned, and we arrived at Nam Nao safely.

We had many adventures during our week-long visit, but the third day brought an especially exciting one…

                We had chosen that particular day to go on a hike to Sai Thong and Hao Sai Waterfalls. We walked along happily. When the path forked, we went to the left towards Sai Thong Waterfall. After we came back from Sai Thong, we would take the right to Hao Sai.

                Not long after, the path split again. We paused to figure out which way to go. Mommy passed a bottle of water around, while Daddy explored the path to the left, and Grandpa tramped down the path to the right.

                It didn’t take them long to decide which was the correct path: the one on the right.

                We continued along the trail, Grandpa in the lead with me close behind and Meriel taking up the space between the two of us. They rest of the group lingered behind.

                We walked along leisurely, enjoying ourselves despite the heat of the day. We stopped occasionally to take pictures of a brightly colored flower, or large rock.

                I was relaxing, never suspecting that something exciting would happen, when, all of the sudden, Meriel screamed!

                I felt something sting my foot and saw bees swarming all around her. I didn’t get more than a glance; I just ran back to where the other adults were lingering.

                “BEES!” I screamed as soon as I came close to them.

                Daddy threw off his backpack. “Run!” he shouted.

                Hysteria gripped me, and I RAN!

                I paused momentarily to tell Mommy, and Grandma, “BEES!” point at my sting, and grab Hollis’s hand.

                “Daddy says run!” I cried. And she ran! I was close behind.

                After a few minutes, she dropped behind to let me take the lead.

                “Are you okay?” I asked, certain she must be tiring.

                “I’m fine,” Hollis assured me.

                I was dizzy with fear, though now I realize that the bees wouldn’t have followed me farther than a hundred meters. I had had a terror of bees since I was five years old. I had been walking along the sidewalk behind my mother, and accidentally disturbed a bees nest. I remembered my mother saying, “Come on; they won’t hurt you.” And I remember the next moment, three bees were attacking me.

                Perhaps some of my fear of bees also came from the memory of the night that my sister found a dead wasp in her bed. She had whimpered, “My arm hurts,” and I had gone out of our room to inform my parents. I don’t remember, now, but I’m sure I was shocked when we discovered it was a wasp in Meriel’s bed!

                Or maybe it’s just how I am: afraid of bees.

                Somewhere along the path, we stopped.

                “Which way now?” I asked Hollis, hoping she would have some idea.

                “I don’t know,” said Hollis with wide, frightened eyes.

                I went over to the wooden picnic table that decorated the clearing, and stood up on one of the logs surrounding it, to escape from bugs (though they might have been able to follow me up), and to catch my breath while I looked around in order to figure out which way to go.

                Not seeing a clear trail leading from the clearing, I got down from the stump and wandered down to the end of the expanse. That was when I saw the bamboo sticks in the shape of an arrow, pointing down a… clear trail! I had forgotten about the marker that Grandma had made on our way!

                “Hollis!” I called. “I found the trail!”

                The little girl had followed me slowly, and now she ran the last few feet to where I stood.

                “Hollis, see!” I cried, “Grandma’s arrow!” 

                Hollis didn’t say “Oh!” out loud, but the look in her eyes said it.

                Without another word, we continued running along the trail.

                We ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.                                                                        

                Normally I would have had a terrible stitch in my side before we had gone even a quarter of the way, but my fear of the bees had created an adrenaline rush, and so, after the whole kilometer that Hollis and I ran, I wasn’t even panting.

                We were on the lookout for a big tree that we had seen on the way up the mountain, but either we missed it, or it was farther down the trail. We stopped finally at the top of a waterfall (a noticeable landmark that we had crossed (it was mostly rock with only a small stream of water) on our way along the trail). I looked at the place we had crossed the stream before.  A small ledge jutted out over the foot-wide stream of water.

                I picked up Hollis and tried to swing her over. If I hadn’t been thinking of the precarious drop from the top of the falls, I could have done it easily, but I was thinking about that. My foot slipped. Just one inch, but it was enough to make me drag Hollis back to the other side.

                “No,” I said, my voice loud, and firm, “I can’t take you across. It’s too dangerous. I shouldn’t have even tried.”

                My heart was pounding violently. I thought of what could have happened if we had slipped all the way down the falls. I looked at Hollis.

                “Why don’t you stay here? I’m going to the other side of the stream to the place where we dipped our feet in before. Cold water is good for stings.”

                Hollis nodded. Her eyes were still wide with fright. She sat in a little, huddled heap as I stepped across the stream.

                I removed the sandal off my left foot and swung my foot in the cold water. It felt so nice… so comfortable, on my hot, stinging skin. I half-relaxed, giving myself time to calm down. I was still too worked-up, though, to think about how my parents, and grandparents, must be worried.

                I thought of what an exciting story I could write about this adventure. I could tell my friends, “Something happened to me while I was at Nam Nao that I would have thought would have been something you’d just read in a storybook…”

                After several minutes, I thought I heard someone calling.

                I cupped my hands around my mouth, and shouted as loud as I could, “AT THE WATERFALL!”

                I heard the sound again. Taking a deep breath I yelled. “WE’RE FINE, AND AT THE WATERFALL!” 

                Hollis looked up from where she sat. “Do you want me to go?”

                I shook my head. Of course I didn’t want her to go find them, alone!

                A few moments of silence.

                “AT THE WATERFALL!” I screamed again.

                The next moment I saw my father emerge from the forest.

                “DADDY!”

                He rushed towards me. After crossing the stream, and helping Hollis across, he came and sat by me.

                I leaned against him, blinking back tears.

                A few more minutes, and Mommy joined us, carrying my baby sister, Calla, in her baby-carrier. She smiled when she saw us.

                “I was so worried,” her voice cracked. She hugged me. And Hollis.

                It wasn’t long before the grandparents, Meriel, and Simeon joined us.

                Meriel was covered in stings. Nine bees had successfully stuck their stingers into her.

                We all sat there, talking, and resting.

                I told how we had come here and about trying to get Hollis over the stream.

                Then we all told about our experiences with bees.

                “Well, Meriel,” Daddy laughed, “The one good thing about this adventure is that you’ve a good bee story now!”

                When we had all calmed down, we went back and followed the trail down to Hao Sai Waterfall. No one really wanted to finish the walk to Sai Thong Waterfall.

                I looked up at the magnificent waterfall and shivered to think of what would have happened if Hollis and I had slipped down it. I shook those thoughts from my head, in order to enjoy my time at the waterfall.

                There were some Thai young adults playing in the pools at the bottom of the waterfall. (It was the same waterfall that Hollis and I had rested at the top of.) Grandpa went over to them and tried to act out the whole bee story to warn them. He says he’s certain they understood, but the rest of us were, and are, pretty doubtful!