Tickets to Paradise

We are 18 minutes into a day we have been waiting for all year.  The 16th of May has finally come - and we leave later today for the hills.  For Mussoorie.  For Shanti Kunj.  For what is at very least a small taste of what the Paradise of Eternity has to include.

A quick dekko through my files found these 4 gems from our time at Shanti Kunj in 2008!  We expect to see more of the same this year too!

The view out the living room window at Shanti Kunj.  Everything in perfect silence.  Other than the coffee bubbling in the perculator of course and Mum making happy bustling sounds in the kitchen (assisted by a grand-kid or two or three).

 A view of the sky from the Terrace of Shanti Kunj.  A place of wonderful meals - and jaw dropping sights - like when a Lammergeier flies below us with his huge wingspan...

Looking out from the Dining room - with the friendly toaster ready to eject the next batch of hot toast - only to have the buttered slices rapidly disappear down ravenous throats.

Mum's love for beauty in small spaces and large.  The whole house is crammed with love - and with artifacts which show the love that Mum and Dad have for each other, for us rarely-visiting-Thane-Eichers, and for each person who walks through the door at Shanti Kunj.

At 2.30 PM we leave by taxi from Thane - and are whisked to Mumbai domestic airport for our 5.45 PM flight.  Then a 2 hour flight to New Delhi on Spice (thank you Lord that we did not buy striking Kingfisher or Air India).  Upon arrival (hopefully on time) we then have 3 hours to get to the New Delhi Station and into the AC special which drops us off at Dehra Dun at 5.30 AM.   A quick taxi ride up the hill (complete we expect with at least 1 vomit stop for the kids) and then by 7.30 we should be in the crisp coolness of oak covered leaves, walking down with our freshly hugged Oma and Opa - pinching ourselves to see if this is a dream or reality at last.

On the schedule - meeting a select group of my Woodstock School classmates - we are celebrating 25 years since we graduated on June 25th 1987...  Then camping next week with Stefan, Neeru, Ashish, Anjali and Amira... And lots of reading, sleeping, talking, recording Oma and Opa's stories, sleeping, eating, praying, talking more, puzzles, talking, reading, eating... you get the drift.

Before all of this kicks off - a few hours at Jeevan Sahara Kendra.  Sheba will see patients till 1 PM.  I will bang away at letters and things like that - till we realise that we just cannot do any more work - and we will leave it all behind and head for the hills.  Adios Amigos!