3-28 January 2011 - California

Impulsively, I decided to go to California to support a friend who was having her first baby, with no family nearby.  I have been feeling like her mother since her mother died.  It was also wonderful to spend time with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson whom I miss greatly.

When I returned to India, I was able to afford badly needed cataract surgery in both eyes, then had to wait for appropriate glasses which I bought on April 16th.  That's why it has taken me so long to post these last few posts.  I simply could not see my computer well enough to post anything.  And now, so much time has gone by, I'm having trouble remembering some of the things that went on when I was in California.  So, I'm only posting about the things for which I have photos.

On 8 January, my daughter's family took Dexter to the Bladium Sports & Fitness Club in Alameda where he takes his soccer classes.  I think Saturday is kids' day at Bladium.  Bear in mind, that Dexter was four.  Bladium is located on the recently abandoned Alameda Naval Air Station and is housed in one of the fighter jet hangars.  It is HUGE!  This picture is of one of the old naval ships docked nearby.

Bladium Sports & Fitness Club

Front desk

Hockey

Basketball

Dexter's soccer class

After soccer, we went to lunch with one of the other families then went for ice cream where the following sign was posted.  It just struck me so funny since there are so many kids in there.

Suzie and I met my sister-in-law Sharon for lunch (Sharon, Suzie, Carolyn)

Here's the beautiful mama, Manohara, I came to help with her baby.  I wasn't able to give her as much support as she needed unfortunately, but we were able to spend quite a bit of time together, going to doctor appts and to the L&D dept at the hospital.

That's my sister, Joan, in front of the Berkeley Art Museum where we were able to get in free.  We had a magical day.

Manohara (in the front) generously brought me to this restaurant twice (Himalayan Flavours), a great place, in Berkeley.  I was thrilled to see an old friend, Priyanka, and meet a new friend, ________.

Here's tired Manohara not long  before the baby came.

Kalpana, Manohara's husband's niece and an angel, who stayed with Manohara during this difficult time.  I liked her very much.

Todd, Carolyn, Sharon, Dexter, Suzie, Ramon
My brother, Todd, and his wife Sharon met us for Japanese food.  It was really wonderful.

Then, just as Suzie and I were departing for Big Sur, Manohara had her baby, Drishya.  She's a beauty!  (And I wasn't there!!)

The only pictures I got of Suzie and my Big Sur trip was this shot of a sea lion at Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel.

On her birthday, Suzie had lunch with her old friend, Jenny. 

Jenny's baby, Oli (?)  What a cutie, and what a handful.

PS - Manohara took care of Drishya alone until the baby was six weeks old.  Then she bravely flew to Nepal with Drishya to be with Drishya's father.  They made the trip beautifully!  (I was worried.)

Here is Drishya with her grandma in Nepal.  Grandma is giving her an oil bath.  They both look pretty happy.

23-26 December 2010 - Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Mumbai

Ellora caves

Ellora (Marathi: वेरूळ) is an archaeological site, 30 km (19 mi) from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta (Kannada: ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕೂಟ) rulers. Well-known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site.^[1] Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut templesand monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.  from  Wikipedia

Cave 32

 This was the first cave/temple we entered.  It is so fabulous, and carved out of one huge rock, I wept.

Another cave

Cave 33

Cave 29

On the way back to Aurangabad, we stopped at a handloom factory, where I got shawls and scarves to take back to California.

 Somewhere en route back to Mumbai, we stopped (did not go in) at this palace.

Bibi-Ka-Maqbara

We stayed at Krishna's brother's in Aurangabad.  His son, Rahul, pictured here between Vijaya and Krishna, arranged this 'country' dinner for us.  It was really enjoyable.

Here we are with Shanti, Krishna's brother and our gracious host in Aurangabad

We ate a grain that was roasted in this fire

Rahul's son, Mohan, with Vijaya

Krishna, Ashok (another brother), and Rahul's wife Meetha

Shaking the green berries off the branches

Yumm!

This is another party there - a group of women having a time away

A men's group nearby

Our group