Thanksgiving at the Beach

We just got back from an amazing beach vacation in Goa, India which was a perfect ending to a wonderful Thanksgiving week.  We have a lot be thankful for!

For the first full day of our trip, we spent some time at our hotel, Beleza by the Beach, enjoying the beach, body surfing in the waves, sea shell hunting, and then at the pool.  This was actually Thanksgiving, so we went out for a nice dinner at Martin's Corner - a really fun restaurant with great ambiance and food.  Justin and I even had lobster and king prawns for dinner, and we all picked out our own decedent dessert!  It was a fantastic Thanksgiving meal.

The next day, we book a few tours.  First, we took a crazy jeep ride to a trail that led us to a waterfall.  The water was too cold to go swimming, but we went in a little bit for some pictures.  Taelyn was most excited about the huge boulders and trees around to climb, and Kaelia especially liked the monkeys that came by.  We even got to feed them!  After the waterfall, we went on a spice tour to learn about various Indian spices that are locally grown, followed by a nice lunch.  To top off the day, we had an "elephant shower" where we sat on an elephant's back in a river, and the elephant splashed us with water from its trunk.  Taelyn and Justin went together and absolutely loved the experience.  Kaelia went with me and quickly asked to get off because there was so much water dumped on us at a time.  It was quite an experience!

For the rest of the vacation, we spent more time at the beach and pool and enjoyed other restaurants and fantastic seafood.  It was an awesome trip with some great quality family time.

A scrapbooking design by Smilebox

Turkey Time

This year was the biggest celebration we have probably ever had for Thanksgiving, and much of the week was turkey, turkey, turkey!  First, we had a huge Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday with most of the teachers and their families at the school.  People brought their own side dishes or desserts, and our school catering team cooked turkeys imported from the US.  We have never seen so many people and food come together for this holiday.  Tables were decorated by 2nd grade students from class that day, crafts were spread throughout the center floor for kids to work on, and rows and rows of tables were set up for people to sit together and feast.  The evening was filled with great company and delicious food.

The next day, the running club got together to run the Turkey Trot.  This is not like the local 5k races scattered throughout the US on Thanksgiving.  Instead, we ran a route that was in the shape of a turkey!  It was the most unique run Justin and I have gone on and a great way to continue to think turkey.

This is our running route, shaped like a turkey.












Here is the whole group on the Turkey Trot.






That night, our family took a flight to Goa, India for a relaxing trip to the beach.

Delhi Half-Marathon

For the first time since before Taelyn was born, Justin and I got to run a race together in the Delhi Half-Marathon.  Another teacher at the school joined us, and the three of us teamed to see how fast we could run despite our sporadic training.  Since Diwali, the air pollution has not been great, and we do our best to still train, be it through the gym where there is filtered air or outside with face masks on.  Safety first is the motto around here!

Needless to say, we also ran with our masks on during the race - a concept that hasn't quite caught on among the locals but is getting more and more press now.  I even made the Hindu Times newspaper in an article to spread awareness about how people are choosing to wear masks because the air quality is poor.

In the end, we were happy with our times, though nothing special.  I did, however, come in 4th place for my age group, just two minutes away from winning prize money.  Maybe next year!

Beautiful Nepal

For the Diwali long weekend, we traveled to Nepal for a beautiful, relaxing getaway where we spent most of the time staring at the mountain.  We first flew into Kathmandu, spent one night, and got up early the next day to take a flight of Everest.  The mountains were amazing, and when we came upon Everest, we got to take pictures from the cockpit.  Justin was in awe.  Even Taelyn was excited and insisted on taking lots of her own pictures and videos.

Taelyn's Video from the Cockpit

After the flight, we did some shopping downtown for a few hours and then headed up the mountains to a town called Nagarkot, just over an hour away.  Here we were directly in the Himalayan foothills with spectacular views of the great peaks from our balcony and from the hotel restaurant.  Every night and every morning, people gather on the rooftop to watch the sun set and rise over the mountains.

In Nagarkot, we went for a family hike each morning on a winding forest trail and enjoyed the fall season - especially since we don't usually get to experience fall in warmer climates.  The girls did great on their hikes; Kaelia especially loves going on hikes with her family!

One of the highlights of the trip was the evening of Diwali.  We decided to stop in a very local restaurant - a two room hut with a bedroom on one side, and the kitchen and tables on the other side for the restaurant.  Justin and I sat down for a terrible tasting beer while the girls interacted with the two little boys that lived there and their chicken.  Eventually, other local children came by with a guitar and performed songs outside of the restaurant as a part of the Diwali celebrations.  It is a tradition in Nagarkot that groups of children go around from door to door singing, and they usually make some tips along the way.  We all got into the festive spirit and danced along with the children.  Once they left, the owner of the restaurant put on more music so the dancing could continue.  It was a unique and culture experience that we are so glad we got to be a part of.

The weekend was a perfect combination of rest, relaxation, and outdoor enjoyment.  We will definitely come back to Nepal again!

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