Where We're Going and Why

Here are some maps from our itinerary on our trip. It's kind of exciting when you actually see where these places are.

We start in Bangalore and will be staying in this house, which is pretty and quirky all at the same time.

After Bangalore, we will visit The Man's parents in their new hometown of Coimbatore. (Here follow a slew of shamelessly borrowed pictures from Flickr or Google.)

Coimbatore--not a very exciting photo. (Courtesy of Flickr.)

Next we will head to Trivandrum, I think. It goes by another name, not sure about the name but here is one picture. This is one place I'm really excited to see. It's in the state of Kerala, where The Man's parents are from originally.


We'll head back to Bangalore then go to Agra by train. Agra is where the Taj Mahal is. I see pictures like the one below and I just want to pinch myself in amazement. I cannot believe I'll finally see something so majestic and so out of reach in my own mind. It's just bewildering.


After Agra, we will head back to Bangalore and then over the Arabian Sea to Muscat, Oman and then Dubai, UAE. (United Arab Emirates)


Dubai is in UAE and that borders Saudi Arabia and Oman. Oman borders UAE, Yemen, along with Saudi Arabia with the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman on other borders.

Here is a random picture of Muscat, Oman, where we will be staying:

One view of Dubai.


After leaving Dubai and Oman, we head back to Bangalore then back to the US.
What an exciting few weeks we'll have!
I plan on using this blog to keep my family and friends up-to-date on everything.

Please keep us in your prayers for a safe journey, wonderful times with family whom I've never met, and continue to pray none of us get ill and that the trip runs smoothly.

India News and Just Stuff

Well, the time is nearing. We're going to India soon and I want to make sure I will use this blog space for our travel log, a way to connect with family and friends.

In preparation for our trip, I'm ordering The Man's parents some photo books. I'm also getting my parents one, too. I need to get the kids malaria medication as well as any immunizations ASAP. (Mental note: Do this sometime this week!!)

The Princess needs special stuff because of the heart condition. Not that she needs special medications, but our local travel clinic won't see her and dispense the meds. Her pediatrician needs to do that, so it's kind of a hassle. The Rock Star is getting excited about the trip, I think. He won't say anything, but he is.

As far as homeschooling, I love the AP US History program I had The Rock Star doing, but it's just not for his learning style. He's not doing well with an online learning medium, so I plan on purchasing a homeschool curriculum for history. I do have him reading the book Lies My Teachers Told Me by James W. Loewen. He seems to understand it, but we have to go over things a bit closely for comprehension.

He's also reading Lord of the Flies (remember reading that in school??). He seems to like it somewhat. I have to give credit to Literature teachers everywhere. Learning and actually teaching allegorical concepts and things like that is tough stuff!!

The Princess continues to battle homeschooling with me. I may put her in school next year because she really doesn't enjoy it at all. She seems to at times, then she pouts and wants to quit. I gave her math paper to do last week and in huge letters she wrote the word "NO" on the bottom. That was all she did! So, I've got my hands full with that child. I know she's still fairly young, so I'm not too depressed about it yet, but if it continues, we may have to send her to school next year, which is fine.

We've had my aunt staying with us for the past 3 weeks, and have had company from Georgia come into town. We've kept busy and love having them all. I will miss having my aunt around to bug and the kids will miss her a lot, too. I know they will.