successful 1st day

After our breakfast and hotel pool session, we ventured out into town on foot with a few destinations in mind - a scooter rental shop and second-hand shop / cafe.  We were successful on both fronts with some good scooter options to consider, a nice lunch of fried mushroom balls and a smoothie bowl, and a kids chapter book that only cost 20THB (60cents US).  

Along the way, we also found a few super markets to check out where we got some juice and snacks for our room, a vegan restaurant where we tried some vegan nuggets and a jackfruit curry, and a pharmacy for some nail clippers to trim a tiny monster's talons.  We also found a 25m pool that was only an 8 minute walk from our hotel where Todd and I got a decent swim in.

The real highlight of day, however, was the massage that followed our swim.  We found a small and quiet hole-in-the-wall spa where the manager called in backup to accommodate the 3 of us.  Since this was Gordy's first professional massage, we decided to error on the side of caution and went for a 30 minute back, neck and shoulder massage while Todd splurged for the 60 minute oil option.  Gordy and I were setup side-by-side in a small room on tables where we could face each other.  For most of the massage, his eyes were closed and he had a small smile stretched across his face.  His masseuse was fantastic and was mostly gentle while giving a small amount of solid pressure which Gordy later describe as "she went after it!".  We kept all of our clothes on and the massage mostly consisted of pressure and stretching - we were thrilled.  

At the end of the massage, we were given cups of hot tea and a few small cookies (Gordy got extra cookies because his masseuse loved him) to enjoy while we waited for Todd and the endorphins coursed through our bodies.  Gordy proclaimed that it was the best massage of his life and he's already asking to do 60 minutes next time and wants the full body option.

We finished off the night with another venture into town for a vegetarian Thai dinner that included butterfly pea noodle pad thai, tempe red curry, and crispy banana flower salad.  

Then, we showered and were all asleep by 7:30pm.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are planning / hoping for somewhat of a repeat today!