Pre-India Adventures

Well, it looks like our adventures are beginning before we even leave for India. While we were coming back to Syracuse from Chicago, we found ourselves in a semi-surreal, semi-Indian situation...

I guess it all started when we went to check into a hotel outside of Cleveland. All the hotel rooms in Cleveland seemed to be booked due to the convergence of four events in the Cleveland area--the Kenny Chesney concert, a baseball game, an arts and craft show and an agility dogshow. We eventually got a room at a Red Roof Inn that was a little ummm...sketchy. But we made it through the night and we were on our way home (which we were VERY excited about) when we got a flat tire. Ian was a champ and got the donut on, but alas, it was Sunday and it took us a while to find an open tire store. We found one in Mentor, and we were on our way home...FINALLY.

However, 12 miles before we got to Syracuse, the car died. Dead. Now, we had known that our charging system might be a little compromised (another long story) but we were not prepared for the catastrophic failure of the car at 10 pm.

So, there we were...on the side of the road outside of Elbridge...so close to home but so far away. After trying to find the number of a towing service, we finally decided to get towed back to Auburn and spend the night there. I cursed the fact that I had let my AAA lapse.

The tow truck finally came, and a heavy set, rough looking tow-truck guy descended from the cab. He asked where we wanted to get towed to, and we admitted to him that we didn't have a garage in mind, but would like something close to a hotel. He said, "Well if money isn't an issue, my boss owns a hotel." How convenient, I thought, for a towning company to also own a hotel. How very...Indian. But, I thought, in India it wouldn't be "my boss who owns a hotel" but rather "I have a brother-cousin who owns a hotel."

After a very colorful ride back to Auburn (it was only 10 miles but it seemed like a hundred), we arrived at the motel (the Midas place was right across the street from the motel). Lo and behold! The hotel/towing/cab company (the driver acutally mentioned that there was a fourth business run from the same office, but we couldn't figure out what it was) was run by an Indian family!!! (Gujarati we think, but maybe Bengali). I thought Ian and I were going to die laughing right there! :) The hotel was straight out of India, though it was lacking a bucket to shower with.

We are still trying to get the car fixed, but I don't think it will be an experience that Ian and I will soon forget.

Packing up the apartment

Ian and I are packing up the apartment, and trying to figure out what to pack and what to take with us. We are going to try to distribute our stuff between my parents and his. This means a cross country drive to drop stuff off, but it also means that we'll get to see his family before we take off. I will try to post pictures from the road...