The Pickrens do Bali!

I cut a deal with my beloved family when I decided to leave, more or less indefinitely, for Asia. The deal was that wherever I was over Christmas, they'd come visit. And the poor souls had to deliver and come see me in Bali.  When I say I was excited about them coming I don't mean your usual, everyday excited. I'm talking about the kind of excited that makes you miss sleep, unable to talk about anything else and tricks you into getting dates wrong so that your brain believes they're arriving 2 days before they actually are... Without a doubt the worst part of being away from home is being away from my parents and my sisters. I've missed them terribly so this reunion meant quite a lot to all of us. 


After surviving the hellish ordeal of flying stand-by, the evils of Air Asia (and lost luggage), and the #1 boat company on my shit list (Oceanstar), we were all finally reunited together on Gili Meno. We enjoyed the next few days hanging out on the beautiful beach, reading, snorkeling, and catching up. From Gili Meno we headed back to Bali and settled into a cute bungalow in Ubud.  We went to markets, explored the town, shopped, went on a wonderful bike tour (highly recommended but with a word of caution- only do the "uphill addition" at the end if you are really up for it. we learned our lesson:)), saw a traditional Balinese dance performance, and ate like kings.  I apologize for the quick recap of the trip but to be honest, what we did doesn't really matter. Of course I hope my family enjoyed the trip I planned out for them and I hope they love Bali as much as I do. But as cheesy as it sounds they could have come to visit me in a box and I would've been happy. 


Below is a random sample of some pictures of their trip. They were only here a short while before heading back before New Years to their respective lives in the US. It went by so fast and I wish they were still here!

 

mom and dad getting serious on a traditional long boat, Gili Meno

dad with his girls in front of our bamboo bungalow on Gili Meno

Merry Christmas!

hardcore. long boat ride back to Gili Trawangan

bike tour through the rice paddy fields outside Ubud

we love bikes! especially mom :) 

one of the beautiful fields we walked through

to learn how the farmers harvest rice

dinner after a traditional Balinese dance show

sistas

If you're not the corny type than I suggest you stop reading at this point and move along. We're not all saps, I understand. But what needs to be said has to be said: I love my family. Absolutley adore them. It actually hurts sometimes when I think about how much I love them. While I know I'll never fully fathom how lucky I am, I think I've always known how blessed I am to have the parents and sisters that I do.  Even with the accidental arguements, political differences and that fact that I'll most likely always be 11 in their eyes, they are everything to me.  Being gone helps to give me a nice perspective on exactly how fortuante I am to have them in my life. I do not know what I would do or who I would be without my folks' and sisters' love and support.  I'm so grateful for them taking the time off from their busy lives (coordinating 5 individual schedules is not easy!) and flying around the world so that we could be together.  I hope they know how much I love, admire and appreciate them. While its difficult to not be at home with them, I take them with me everywhere I go and look forward to the next time we'll all be together again. To the Pickrens, from far and wide, I LOVE YOU!