Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/me0oqfv59SE

sponsored by AMAZING
the resort we eded up staying at, not the one we originally booked on agoda (booking.com) was pretty nice. after several days of no hot water and sometimes no hot water at all it was nice to take a Nice Hot Shower and sleep in a bed with a thicker comforter than normal.

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/bw6cL3FNXPk

sponsored by AMAZING
Gracie and I stayed the night at the Other hotel in Jamindan on January 1st. So, on Jan 2, we got up, had some coffee and were getting ready to take our bus to Roxas so I thought I’d check in an share a little bit about how the temperature of the Philippines REALLY makes me happy! 🙂

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/gGWq1NE0_Rg

sponsored by AMAZING
This video is about an afternoon on Gracie’s Parent’s farm. The rain was pretty constant the whole time we were there, the “energetic rain” was sporadic but it was Warm and the graciousness of the Ocate’s exceeded my expectations. They spoke almost no english and i speak No Tagalog 🙁 BUT with some smiles and “thumbs up” and hugs we were able to communicate rather well. It was and will be probably one of the best New Year’s Eve celebrations of my lifetime. Family is such a gift. I am grateful Every Single Day for the Mum and Dad I’ve been blessed with and I know that Gracie feels the same way about her parents.
I know there are all these tips and rules and websites and courses and experts and text books and videos and blah blah blah about “how to pick a “good” woman. Well, in my experience, if you find one that has a healthy relationship with her Mum and Dad, that’s a Thumbs UP in my check list. Watching Gracie with her Mum and Dad I knew that I have been lucky enough to find a woman who has a soul dedicated to being a good person. She learned respect by watching her Father. She teaches respect by earning it. Its a blessed life when you can sit back and KNOW that you are safe and happy and lucky! regardless of the excess or lack of material items.
Happiness is a family of Filipinos… Indeed!

Thanks for watching a little bit of our day on the farm.
Live the Dream!

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/JNC0jZry1bQ

sponsored by AMAZING
Taking a bit of a stroll through the local neighborhood where Gracie lives in Kalibo.
Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for watching!
Live the Dream!
~mikes & Gracie

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/tdcPeOh8rO8

sponsored by AMAZING
After leaving Phuket (HKT) and our great AirBnB on Coconut ISland, Gracie and I head from there, through Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL), and land in Kalibo, Philippines (KLO).
Kalibo International Airport was the main airport for people vacationing on the island of Boracay. From here, many people would take a bus or van or taxi up to Caticlan port where you take the little 20 person ferries over the Boracay.
NOW-a-days most people will land at the Caticlan Airport (MPH).
from Wikipedia: Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, also known as Caticlan Airport and recently, Boracay Airport by its developer Transaire, is an airport serving the general area of the municipality of Malay, located in the province of Aklan in the Philippines.
However, the majority of the traffic in and out of the Boracay Airport is simply that; the Airport for Boracay.
So, Kalibo, while still used by tourists and locals as a town with an airport to get you close to Boracay is much more of a Filipino town. There really are no “tourist”-type shops or things to do. Pretty much all of the things that are in Kalibo are designed to support the daily lives of the people living in Kalibo. There are very few tourists. There are very few foreigners (Gringos, Farrang, what have you…)
So, once we landed it was off to the market so we can get some (drum roll please) Chicken and Rice. HA! Welcome tot the Philippines!!!

Gracie has a 2 bedroom apartment there that we pay ~$900 a year for. It’s comfortable albeit a bit “third world” there is A/C and electric and water and Internet. In the past year, she probably spend about 75% of her time there. This coming year she will spend probabaly 40% of her time there as we plan on being in the US thru September.
So, this, and the next few videos are a little bit of a look into the daily life in Kalibo.
Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for watching!

Live the Dream!
~mikes & Gracie :–)

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/DTvHi3q77Cg

sponsored by AMAZING
After a WONDERFULLY relaxing time at our AirBnB on Coconut Island, Team Macky is off to the Philippines for our next adventure.

Here’s the link to sign up for AirBnB:
http://www.airbnb.com/c/mikes107

And Here is the link to Stacey’s place on Coconut Island.:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5041577

Thanks for joining us!!!

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/zfOGayGurhE

sponsored by AMAZING
This was truly one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in my life. These animals are absolutely magnificent. Tiger Kingdom in Phuket, Thailand is a really AWESOME place.
http://www.tigerkingdom.com/phuket-3/

Most of the animals have been born there and are VERY Comfortable with people. For the most part, they eat chicken twice a day… not people 😉

The location is pretty close the the “center” of Phuket so it was only about 30-40 minutes from the pier on the east side of the island of Phuket and it is only about 30 minutes from Patong beach which, as most people know, is on the west side of the island and arguably the Most touristy spot in Phuket.
The local neighborhood also allowed us the opportunity to stop and get some street food afterward. I nice contrast in price as opposed on the touristy prices of Tiger Kingdom.
Is it “overpriced”??
No, not really.
When I think about it, I would much rather pay “extra” and have no distracting thoughts about these beautiful animals being even the slightest bit mis-treated.
I can almost guarantee you that these animals are Living The Dream!

All the areas are very clean as are the tigers. The trainers are truly like brothers with these animals – growing up with them every day.

While some of you might think this video is a bit long, I wanted to include as much of the footage that I took so you can get the best idea of what you really get for your money.
Meaning: you will spend maybe an extra 5-10 minutes over the length of this video being with these tigers.

Also, it is VERY SAFE – I have already had folks asking me, “Were you scared?” Honestly, I never felt afraid. I think Gracie was a bit fearful at first but warmed up. I can understand why some might be a bit on edge. These animals weight about 300 pounds (~150 Kg) and basically ALL muscle.

I hope you enjoy this.
One final thing I will say. No matter HOW good the quality of the video or the photos you might see, there is Nothing like being there and touching the Tigers’ fur and feeling their huge paws.

I *highly* recommend it!!

Live the Dream!
~mikes

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/DrNhzLU8BDQ

sponsored by AMAZING
While our time on Coconut Island has been quite relaxing there was road construction happening just outside our porch. While this was not a deal-breaker by any means it did signal us to head over to “the mainland” of Phuket from our little bungalow in the jungle to go see some tiger and ride and elephant.

I feel so blessed to be able to engage in these things are sharing them with Gracie is a real honor. She’s such a wonderful woman with a great soul and warm heart.
I also like to give her a hard time for being afraid of tigers… I mean, c’mon – what’s the worth thing that could happen??/
.. well, stay tuned! A full video of tigers tigers and more tigers is coming soon

Thanks for watching.
Live the Dream!

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/2swOQ-0MCN4

sponsored by AMAZING
Gracie and I decide to take AMTRAK from San Diego’s Old Town station to Anaheim, then the bus to Disneyland. The cool thing about the Old Town Trolley/Rail stop is the free parking. I realized the last time I took AMTRAK that the silly lot next to the Santa Fe station downtown is about $20 per day for parking… Actually, its probably more, i honestly cannot remember. BUT, the cool thing about Old Town is that there is a TON of parking. AND, if for whatever reason, the lots around there were full, I could park up at USD, walk down to the MTS station at Linda Vista and take the San Diego trolley one stop and BLAM: Old Town Success!
If it were a weekday, I could also take one of USD’s shuttle busses from campus right to the Old Town station. SUPER convenient.

Gracie and I came home to the US for exactly 2 weeks. We returned to LAX on a Friday evening, then drove our rental car from LAX to Las Vegas. We had about 3 days in Vegas of which about 36 hours I was focused on attending meetings as it relates to the CONVERGED User Group http://www.conver.ge/ that I am honored to be on the board of and serve as President.
If you have follow some of my life, my posts on social media, or know me then you know i CANNOT STAND Las Vegas.
Going to Vegas is under the classification of “necessary evil”. Almost all the conferences and conventions I attend are either always in Vegas or end up in Vegas. in 2018 every single one will be there: so, March, April, May, June, September, December. UGH!!!

Luckily, the majority of our time back in the states was spend in San Diego/Coronado… This was Gracie’s second time in Coronado. We never seem to get to do everything we’d like and I sadly, wish I had more time to show her around all the *cool* places in San Diego. BUT, when I am in San Diego, I am basically working. I have a WONDERFUL job that stimulates my mind while at the same time allows me quite a few freedoms, not the least of which is traveling… A LOT.

Check out the latest video: https://youtu.be/mbxbmExOdYo

sponsored by AMAZING
Gracie and I go for a walk around the beaches near our little cottage. Coconut Island is a great place to relax and enjoy the beauty of Thailand.
thanks for watching.