North

for a girl in a princess stage, it is hard to beat Rajasthan

We are all on the same road

present and the past

color in the clothes. color in the food

why didn't we stop to get that unbrella?

lost in a story playing out in my head

perspective

you've seen it before, but you still feel it when you go. Uncommon feeling for something made by man

a stage like this really helps with those 'exploring' games

It was fast. It wasn't restful. We moved too quick to think. What will the girls remember. I'm holding on to the elephant exerience. A few pictures on the blog and a lot of pictures in my mind.

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Regal Rajastan was fun with it's palaces, forts, and handicrafts. Someone looking at all of our pictures may notice that Sela is wearing a certain lovely necklace at every opportunity. Whatever Dan and I may think of princess stories and princess garb (we have been suspecting something is in the day care water), it turned out to be very fortuitous that Sela is so "in tune" with royalty as we explored the ancient palaces of the Maharaja and the Maharani. Otherwise, she may have been just as indifferent as Skye who prefered to point out every bird in the sky, but less pleasant about it. It was also handy to have Sela around to discover and show us through all the secret passageways - lost without her. She thought that most women we saw were princesses with their beauty and colorful fabrics, so the stories must have really come to life for her.

We rode camels right on the busy street. There was a calm looking palace floating inthe middle of a lake on the left, gas stations and shops on the right, and multiple boys around our feet telling us all the things that they were doing for us that deserved our money. Despite the unmagical setting, we had a great time. Camels, like elephants, are really cool, big animals with neat feet. The swaying ride down to the ground as the camels got to their knees for our dismount was also fun, and I didn't drop the baby.

I have been trying for years to use the wooden block fabric stamps that Dan has been collecting for me. We were able to watch some men using the prints to make elaborate fabrics. I still don't know if I will be able to replicate any results, but I have some new ideas about uses for the spinach and beets in the fridge.

We started to wind down our portion of Indian Grande Adventure by traveling to the Taj Mahal. There are some places that you can see hundreds of photos of, but when you see it in person, it still takes your breath away. The Taj Mahal is one of those places.

We ended back where we started, in the land of Bollywood and in the comforts of Dave's hospitality. Touring Dave's work place ranked right up on the list with the Taj Mahal for Sela (don't know if the chocolate had anything to do with it). It was indeed a Grande Adventure. I count us very lucky to have had the experience and to have been able to do it with my parents and Dave. We will add a little more cardamom to our tea, honk our horns a little more, stand a little closer to the people in front of us in the line at the grocery store, and throw on an extra colorful scarf as we head out the door.

Kerala

Looking for Jesus

where breakfast comes from

Tea plantation

Sela - "I want to be held by the princess"

a dream come true. Skye has already completed her bucket list.

Traffic jam...but what a cool traffic jam

a quiet getaway in India?

We traveled south to the tropical land that Columbus was looking for - full of spices. Even Sela appreciated the potential of the spice trade as she carried around one cardamom pod in her little palm and in various pockets for two days. It was a very sad day when little cardamom jumped ship. She replaced him fairly quickly with a nutmeg 'fruit'?. We traveled around, with trusty Samir, to new places every day, with which the girls did fairly well, considering. We were safe on the winding road, of course, as we were protected by a talisman at the front of the car that had Ganesh, the Muslim Kaaba, and Christ's crucifiction. If in doubt, best be protected by it all - who needs seat belts? The scenery was beautiful and fairly laid back (if we don't count the Santa on speed), from the strangely manicured tea plantations, the spice farms with black pepper trees and vanilla vines, and the calm backwaters. The people we met were friendly. The highlight for the girls was the elephant ride. With Sela's mortal fear of animals such as dogs, squirrels, and banana stealing monkeys, the jury was out on how it would go, but she let us know, with no uncertainty, that she was going to ride in the very front. I think that seeing an elephant pretty much just blew Skye's mind. She was practically hoarse from trumpeting by the end and collapsed in exhaustion just after the experience. We had to alleviate her fears of having her birthday right after Christmas - Happy 1st birthday, little one. I think it made up for the not-so-tasty Plum Yum birthday cake. Riding the elephant was pretty cool, I have to admit. Unfortunately, we did not pack appropriately for the cold, winter 75 - 80 degree weather. Apparently, judging by those around us, the baby should have been dressed in her snow suit and we should have all brought our ski masks, gloves, and ear muffs.

Mumbai and Ajanta/Ellora Caves

Gateway of India

Little refreshment road side stop for some Thumbs Up Cola

Ellora bus ride. The people crowded out the bus monkeys.

Ajanta "caves"

Blondie and the continual paparazzi - she can pout like the best of them

We started our Indian adventure with my parents, uncle, our children and ourselves piled into an Inova, unencumbered by seatbelts and carseats, free to move about the car as we were free to move and honk about Mumbai traffic, unencumbered by lane markers and the sense of "space entitlement" that we usually impose on ourselves and those driving by. Through the trip, the girls would press their faces to the glass (or jump on the seats) as we would pass rickshaws, colorfully painted lorries, motorbikes with entire families perched on top, elephants, horses, camels, pigs, and the colorful scenes of India. Even the thumb sucker didn't get dissentery, so we must have done something wrong, like avoid too much street food, but overall, I think we will have to call the adventure a success thanks to Dan's planning, some good fortune, and dodging most of the bad luck. Even if Sela and Skye won't remember this when they are old and in elementary school, Sela may never where muted tones again after staring in amazement at all the "bootiful dresses" of all the Indian "princesses" and Skye has toned the biceps in her right arm after raising a salute to everything that even resembled an elephant with an accompanying "Uuunggh" trumpeting sound. My parents have added a few Hindu dieties to their list, Dave has seemingly added a new foreign antigen to his lungs, and Dan and I have always wanted to dance by a bamboo bonfire while burning sparklers with an energetic Santa and a good bass beat thumping in our ears for Christmas. Something for everyone in this diverse country. So, here's to rice and sweet lime soda......

Thanksgiving

The crew

The prep

The feast

The burn off

The workers

The tree

Well, doesn't that look fun

The cousins

The face

We had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with family that traveled from afar to enjoy New York in it's finest brown tones. River was so entranced, he didn't want to miss a minute, even curious about what we had to offer at various hours of the night. The cousins got along smashingly, without too much smashing. The adults mostly did as well. In the end, I would call the whole event a success. I mean, how else would we have gotten a group shot with almost everyone smiling?

Kansas