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We decided to head out of town the first chance we had with our new-to-us rented truck, so the day that it was delivered we took off for the town of Lonavala south of Bombay. Susan got very excited by all the pottery we saw buzzing up and down the road, but we decided to wait until we were on our way back home (when we actually did stop and buy 7 blue and white vases of different sizes). My regret was in not getting the elephant banks, as they were pretty cool and I have not seen them again yet.
Heading through the countryside (finally!) we passed an incredibly green landscape, fueled by the ongoing monsoons. Breck and Alea played a bit at the gas station field while mom and dad watched the cows graze behind them
When we finally made it into town, we got held up in a pretty typical Indian traffic jam. As the cows literally have free passage anywhere they want, it was not unusual for us to have at least a slow down because of them on every trip through the town. The place that we stopped for lunch was right on the main drag, and we were the center of attention for the local pink parasol and sliding whistle salesmen. Apparently this is quite a popular destination for Mumbaikers (that is the official term) on the weekend.

We went out to explore the Karla caves and a nearby waterfall for the afternoon, and checked into our hotel before going to a fellow teacher's family's "weekend cottage" for a social evening. Our place was right in the middle of the town, around the corner from the local shrine, and with a nice little playgroud/hangout area for us to enjoy. The next morning, we sampled an Indian continental breakfast that was full of foods we didn't recognize, names we couldn't pronounce, and tastes that were unexpected. Some of the fruit was very tasty, but the kids didn't seem to groove too much on the hot spices that were in the doughnuts!!

After cleaning up and a quick stop at one of the many, many, many chikki shops in town (chikki is a local sweet that Susan can't get enough of!), we were off to the Bhaja caves and then back home.

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From Lonavala:
Karla caves
Waterfalls
Bhaja caves (and waterfall on the way)

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