We found the cutest place....and a bit of Monkey business!

 

 

Today our mission was to find a place to rent and I can happily say this evening..

Mission Accomplished!

Harish showed up some places, but none of them felt quite right. He was so sweet and efficient and he even let me work at his Fruit/Vegetable stand with him for a bit!!

It was Incredibly wonderful seeing Harish again!
Before we went to see him we stopped by Ganesh and Anus first, and look who greeted us and look what he had in his mouth (he must know I used to be a Dog Walker) either that or Ganesh told him!!

 This is one of the street dogs that Anu and Ganesh have let live with them. Sweetest Girl ever!!!

We bumped into Shiva on the street and mentioned that we were looking for a place to rent and he found us two that would suit us. We went to look and fell in love with the second place and rented it for 7 months..

 Maggi and her son Apoo..Shivas doggies~~~~

 

and Just This Moment we heard some commotion outside our room and look who's back at the Green Hotel!!!
If you look really closely you will see that they have a little tiny newborn baby with them.

We Did It!! Were Here!!! Mysore, India...

Against so many odds...
we have Finally Arrived in Mysore, India!!!

I honestly still can't even believe it...
but yes, the Third time Was the Charm!

The flight was 21 hours total and the sleeping was minimal, but the pilot was the Best I have ever experienced in my 6 trips to India. Completely smooth and practically Zero turbulence.
My kinda flight, no doubt!


With a 2 hour layover in Germany that Flew by...

I agree....!! (but prefer Chai!!)
Our driver Ganesh was waiting for us outside the terminal and his smile almost made me cry...

We arrived at The Green Hotel my all time most favorite place to stay upon arrival...

 

we got the Bollywood Room this time...

 

We of course had breakfast..and the waiters all came out with smiles because they love seeing us return~ they even remembered what we order every time!!
It was funny because he said to Ray "Cheese Omelet  and Banana Pancakes Sir"?

I had to laugh!!
I got my usual...

Today was Election Day here in Mysore. Things were business as usual, other that a few places that were closed. We walked over to Anu and Ganesh's home and it was SO GOOD seeing them and hugging them so tight!!!! They both look Amazing of course and so did Buggy and Bharat~~they are taking off to Europe for a 2 week trip tomorrow. A Well deserved break! But as in Anu and Ganesh fashion, they were there for Ray and I with all the help and guidance we needed and of course a nice steaming hot cup of Chai brought out by Anu!
(she knows me sooo well!!)

We them went for a walk and stopped by to see Meena, and tomorrow we are on our search for a place to rent...

 

 

 

tomorrow is another exciting and Hot day~~~and were Loving it!!

One more day

Today we left the apartment we had rented until we left for India.

Not really hard saying "so long" there...especially since it never felt the same once Bindi left.

We are onto our India adventure tomorrow at 2:45.

from SFO to Frankfurt, Germany and then onwards to Bangalore, India.

Today it was Incredibly warm for San Francisco. Everyone was talking about the heat..but for Ray and I it was just a "warm up" (pardon the pun) for the weather we face ahead in India. It has been in the high 90's.

Riding the Bart is Always an adventure and Ray and I Always make new friends!
Funny how so many people sit with their headphones in and type away on their phones...and there's Ray and I looking around like two people that have just been born...
wanting to meet people~
Crazy, but it never fails that we come into contact with some special soul..
and today was no different!

Meet Alix from Trinidad. An Artist and an Industrial Designer who rides the Bart and his Bike instead of owning a car. LOVE IT!!
He gave us some of his artwork and told us the meaning behind it. So deep and made complete sense when we really looked at it a second time.
I love hearing peoples stories and his was just so great!

Then onward we rode to the Mission, because we just couldn't leave the city without eating at one of our favorite places. Owned by the people who opened  Cafe Gratitude

Our All time Favorite Gracias Madre and of course I get the same thing every time!
SOOO Good!!!

Plus they have the coolest staff with the Greatest Haircuts!

 So Cheers to a Safe Journey and a wonderful flight~~

May we be safe. May we be protected. May we be filled with Happiness for this little journey ahead...Namaste~~~~

6 months

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
―    A.A. Milne


Life just never, Ever ceases to amaze me.

One day you are making plans for an Amazing adventure that you had dreamed about for years, and the next day you want nothing more than to cancel those plans and erase those dreams.

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it"

Yes.
I have been wishing for this trip/life in India for 8 years.
I could see it in my minds eye...I could feel it all. I was SOOO excited when I knew it was happening.
But then the email came..
the email that changed Everything.

Hello Tracy,

Kindly find attached the new Circular from Government of India. As per the new circular, I am sorry to inform you that we can’t clear the pet at Indian customs currently. we have applied a request to the Indian Customs in this regard.

We request you not to bring in your pet at this stage. We shall keep you updated soon.

Thanks & Regards

Aboobacker | Manager - Operations (Imports & Pet Relocations)

 

 

I thought I was going to pass out.

I could not even Breathe

 

But it was the cold hard fact. This new rule that India implemented out of nowhere, for no reason.

 

You must have lived in India consecutively for TWO YEARS in order to bring a pet into the country of India.

 

 

I had to accept the fact that Bindi was NOT coming with us after all and that is when Everything about India changed for me. I didn't want to go. I only wanted my precious Bindi with us, Here.

I went into panic mode.

Then I went to Facebook and posted my plea for help.

We were leaving in a week, and Bindi couldn't come with and I needed HELP.

 

Two of my Dearest friends stepped up and offered to take her.

I consider those two women Angels in Disguise as I do believe that Angels walk the earth unbeknownst to us.

 

Katherine "Kat", whom I have already told you about in an earlier blog post. My soul friend whom I met maybe a month ago on Instagram. Well, we thought we met because we were supposed to work together on the Malas for Operation Shanti. Yes, we were. But there was a MUCH BIGGER reason behind our meeting as we were soon to discover.

 

Kat and her adorable husband Jeffrey decided that they were going to take care of Bindi for us.

Kat flew up to the Bay area and picked Bindi up and took her home on the airplane to her home in Southern California where Bindi is currently residing until we return in late November to scoop her up and bring her home.

Bindi has been the "only child" now for years and Kat and her husband have a wonderful dog family of 5 along with 2 cats and Bindi has learned to (is learning) to adjust and be a good girl with her new family while were away.

 

I can't even begin to express the amount of Gratitude and Love that I have for Kat and Jeffrey...they  ARE not of this earth. They are extremely special souls that came into my life Just when I needed them and they both know that I would do ANYTHING for them.

ANYTHING.

 

They are loving Bindi just like we do and did and they will continue to love her until I come back..and then I Know they will love her after she is gone.

You just don't meet people like this everyday.

You. Just. Don't.

 

But Thank God I did and Bindi is with them.

I will go to India with Bindi in my Heart and then I will come back and hold her so tight she will feel like I never left her side.