One of the incredible pleasures of living in the Arizona desert.
Tucson, Arizona
Today is my 41st Birthday, and to make a simple note of it, we took a day trip south towards Tucson, Arizona. There is no better time to visit the wild desert than now, in springtime, and so our first stop was the Saguaro National Park. Flowers and cactus were blooming white, hot pink, and yellow.
The Sonora Desert Museum was stop number two, where we were treated to the sight of this Barn Owl, a Harris Hawk, and some confined wildlife. The Tucson Botanical Garden was almost our last stop; a birthday cake awaited me at the Silva’s home, and then it was back into the car for the drive home.
Phoenix Mountain Hike
I probably had a nap to tend to or some other lame excuse, but for whatever reason, I did not opt to hike up Lookout Mountain with our gang.
Our gang is known as The Crazy Guju’s and Bad Ddhoriyo’s; you’ll find our tag “cGbD” all over north Phoenix. Lookout Mountain is our turf and so we have to send a patrol up here to make sure no Tamil’s or Telugu’s try to muscle in.
Jay will be standing guard here overnight.
After the gang was done up at Lookout Mountain, I joined them for a trip out to the Superstition Mountains in Mesa for a look around.
Phoenix, Arizona
The weather combined with a relatively clean and safe environment, are the primary reasons for living here. The dearth of culture and diversity in the city are the biggest detractors. Oh well, you can’t have everything.
Renaissance Festival
Year in and year out, we keep going to the Renaissance Festival east of Mesa in Arizona. Some faces even become familiar; vendors surely do as we have our favorites we never miss, such as the Bungled Jungle. A favorite of Caroline’s for wooden hair accessories is Morgan’s Mane, and both of us love the Broom Company for handmade unique brooms that, sadly for them, last forever.
For entertainment, you’ll find us either watching the Wylde Men, The Tortuga Twins, or the Ded Bob Show. So it’s the same old stuff year after year, but it’s still a great time for us.
Engagement
Sonal and her sister Anju arrive for the engagement of Kushbu and Saurin.
Truth be told, it was late 2023 when I discovered that this blog post only had one brief paragraph at the bottom of these eight photos. You wouldn’t fault me for not being able to pull much from the back of my head where some dusty memories might remain from 19 years ago, but I’m having difficulty finding even some cobwebs leading me to them.
Mom, Dad, and sister with Saurin and Kushbu to the left.
The ceremony is underway, with about 80 guests in attendance.
And with the placement of a ring on Kushbu’s finger, the couple is engaged.
Writing this and looking at these nearly 20-year-old photos, a long time has passed since last we saw Kushbu and Saurin who has been her husband for many years.
The youngest girl up front is Kushbu Patel, daughter of Sonal, who I don’t believe had started high school yet, but today, she’s married and has a couple of children.
After having the opportunity last year to attend a wedding and reception, this year we were invited to two engagements. These Indian events are extravaganzas with lots of beautiful clothes, great food, dancing, and singing.