We're getting really excited about our upcoming trip to India, Nepal and Dubai. What seemed like a long way away is suddenly next week. During our stay on AMI this time we've dedicated a fair amount of time getting ready for the trip. This isn't like most of our adventures and has required a little more prep work. We've got an electricity converter to convert the current down from the 220 that India and Nepal use so we don't fry the iphones or the laptop. There's earplugs for the noise, face masks, buffs and vapo-rub for the potential of unpleasant odors and plenty of medicines for upset stomachs commonly referred to as "Delhi Belly". Hopefully there will be enough room in the suitcase for a few clothes! Now you may still be wondering "exactly why are they doing this"? That thought has crossed our minds a few times but yet there is so much interest and intrigue that we are fired up and ready to go.
Last week we had a chance to visit by phone with some friends from Texas who just returned from India and they loved it. Their itinerary included several of the cities we will be visiting and we are actually staying at some of the same hotels. Thanks Max and Betty! We appreciate the information you shared and the reassurance you provided.
It hasn't been all work. Of course there have been the fantastic sunsets and walks along beach and the highly intense daily games of rummy. Not to brag, but I did go on a four game rummy winning streak a few days ago. Sadly I don't think I've won a game since then. We had a four day visit from our best Texas friends, Rob and Pam. It was nice to catch up with them since it had been a while.
As I have mentioned previously Beth has numerous relatives that live in this area. Many of them are from the town of Palmetto which is just a few miles swim across the bay. I've never actually swam over there. Manatee Avenue seems to work well and my clothes stay dry. Last Friday night I got to enjoy going to the Palmetto High School football game. It was a rivalry game against Braden River. Both teams are pretty good so a shot at the district title and playoff positions were at stake. It turned out to be a very good game although Palmetto was a little behind when the clock expired. One of the cool things about the game was that I actually got to do something I had never done before. I went to the game with Kenny, a family member and Rook Tournament Director Extraordinaire. He is a part of the broadcast team that carries the games on the YouTube Channel. They were short a camera man and so I jumped in and manned "camera three" for the evening. I'm not sure how good a job I did. I've had no calls with offers from ESPN, Fox Sports or any of the other networks but I had a blast. Given a choice between a good high school game or an NFL I'd lean towards the high school game every time. Not as much traffic to deal with, cheaper concessions, fewer drunks and everyone stands for the National Anthem (so far).
