The trip to Hailey had a lot to offer. The visit to Wood River School was fulfilling experience. School students involved in filming, news-production, architecture, sculpture, hoteliering was very impressive. So were the facilities that the school had to offer. We had the usual tourist attractions too –the trip to Hemingway’s memorial (which goes without saying, we will have one blog fully dedicated to this!), and the site of the Dalai Lama’s address.
Despite the endless bustle of activity, we managed to squeeze in time to seed some potentially lasting friendships. Leo and Greg supplied the endless bouts of jokes and witty repartees. Patricia eagerness to help (which I really appreciate) knew no bounds as she really went out of her way to assist us and (quite generously) extended her network to us, arranging meetings and site visits. We had some wonderful camaraderie with Shelly, Marguerite and Kelly. Of course I have to mention the finger licking good food prepared by Shelley & Ken [Kunwal Singh Sanga is his birth name, which I suspect has been legally abbreviated during his 25 years of stay in the USA]. I am indebted to each activity and person that made the Hailey trip probably the best – as yet [each place has always come up with yet another rabbit to usurp the best stay tag!!].
Talking of rabbits, I need to talk about my morning walks at Hailey. The early morning walks with Marcia remained the highlight of this trip. The crisp morning air at 6 am, with the sun light filtering out to showcase a great day ahead laced affectionately with pearls of wisdom and dollops of smile from Marcia added to the freshness that one felt. Thanks to the compulsive walker in Marcia, I was able to get some semblance of exercise (which was one dimension that conveniently slid under the carpet during the other site visits).
The Stavroses - Marcia and Leo – hosted me during this trip. They have [and I might be mixing up the numbers here] 4 children, 7 grandchildren and (double-digit aged) great grandchildren. They are not only the personification of warmth, and the epitome of sincerity in words [which is characteristic of the American personality] but also a nice combination of child-like fun and innocence. Leo served in the US Navy during World War II. Post service, he became an avid hiker, and has scaled many peaks all over the world including Mount Kilimanjaro. He has an incredible repartee, been with Rotary before I was born and is considered an institution in Rotary circles. Marcia is a talented writer and has organized exciting writer conferences [and other events] in the Valley area. During the three days I stayed with them, we were able to share a bond worth a few years. Amazing what morning walks and war stories can do.
Marcia wakes up at 4 in the morning to get started on work and then dutifully trudges out to embrace the sun every morning at 6 o’clock. My biological clock ticked nicely in sync with Marcia’s, so I was happy to join her in the morning to enjoy the canvas of nature.
Day one was the hike up the Carbonate mountains. As we walked up the less steep slopes, we saw the ‘sun kissing the snow peaks’ [an expression flicked from Leo as told by Marcia] giving a pinkish glisten that is worth more than a thousand kisses. The tickle that shiny, pinkish tinge gave me was spiritual heaven. The walk and the cautious steps back to ground level gave me sprite and set the tone for the stay in Hailey.
Day two, we caught the sun filtering out as we started from home. So we were tempted to walk straight into the sun. We walked away from the Carbonate, and with our arms wide open we walked along the canyon to embrace the sun as it dazzled itself up from among the snowy mountains – as majestic as the snowcapped mountains themselves. We came back home thrilled, and I also managed to eke out a promise from Marcia that she would pull out a new rabbit the next day.
And Democrat mountains were the rabbit. A lovely walk along more mountains presented many photo opportunities for me. The walk was quick, so we forgot the distance – until we reached the mass of water and stood still for a few minutes to enjoy the white snowy reflections of the mountains in the water. We also encountered lots of bikers [with cycles towed in the back of their vehicles] – which implied the party season is already underway in Hailey and enthusiasts are probably biking from wee hours or maybe all through the night in the Democrats mountain trails.
Marcia has a way to walk. She walks to embrace the nature. She stops by to look at the rising sun, the green fields or the pathway below – to check where she came from. The writer that she is, she smells the world around her. No tunnel visioned, blinkered walkers taking their morning medicine. She is the one who loves to dance with morning vibrations of nature to create magic potion for the day. Viva! Marcia!!.
May 16, 2011
Boise
Despite the endless bustle of activity, we managed to squeeze in time to seed some potentially lasting friendships. Leo and Greg supplied the endless bouts of jokes and witty repartees. Patricia eagerness to help (which I really appreciate) knew no bounds as she really went out of her way to assist us and (quite generously) extended her network to us, arranging meetings and site visits. We had some wonderful camaraderie with Shelly, Marguerite and Kelly. Of course I have to mention the finger licking good food prepared by Shelley & Ken [Kunwal Singh Sanga is his birth name, which I suspect has been legally abbreviated during his 25 years of stay in the USA]. I am indebted to each activity and person that made the Hailey trip probably the best – as yet [each place has always come up with yet another rabbit to usurp the best stay tag!!].
Talking of rabbits, I need to talk about my morning walks at Hailey. The early morning walks with Marcia remained the highlight of this trip. The crisp morning air at 6 am, with the sun light filtering out to showcase a great day ahead laced affectionately with pearls of wisdom and dollops of smile from Marcia added to the freshness that one felt. Thanks to the compulsive walker in Marcia, I was able to get some semblance of exercise (which was one dimension that conveniently slid under the carpet during the other site visits).
The Stavroses - Marcia and Leo – hosted me during this trip. They have [and I might be mixing up the numbers here] 4 children, 7 grandchildren and (double-digit aged) great grandchildren. They are not only the personification of warmth, and the epitome of sincerity in words [which is characteristic of the American personality] but also a nice combination of child-like fun and innocence. Leo served in the US Navy during World War II. Post service, he became an avid hiker, and has scaled many peaks all over the world including Mount Kilimanjaro. He has an incredible repartee, been with Rotary before I was born and is considered an institution in Rotary circles. Marcia is a talented writer and has organized exciting writer conferences [and other events] in the Valley area. During the three days I stayed with them, we were able to share a bond worth a few years. Amazing what morning walks and war stories can do.
Marcia wakes up at 4 in the morning to get started on work and then dutifully trudges out to embrace the sun every morning at 6 o’clock. My biological clock ticked nicely in sync with Marcia’s, so I was happy to join her in the morning to enjoy the canvas of nature.
Day one was the hike up the Carbonate mountains. As we walked up the less steep slopes, we saw the ‘sun kissing the snow peaks’ [an expression flicked from Leo as told by Marcia] giving a pinkish glisten that is worth more than a thousand kisses. The tickle that shiny, pinkish tinge gave me was spiritual heaven. The walk and the cautious steps back to ground level gave me sprite and set the tone for the stay in Hailey.
Day two, we caught the sun filtering out as we started from home. So we were tempted to walk straight into the sun. We walked away from the Carbonate, and with our arms wide open we walked along the canyon to embrace the sun as it dazzled itself up from among the snowy mountains – as majestic as the snowcapped mountains themselves. We came back home thrilled, and I also managed to eke out a promise from Marcia that she would pull out a new rabbit the next day.
And Democrat mountains were the rabbit. A lovely walk along more mountains presented many photo opportunities for me. The walk was quick, so we forgot the distance – until we reached the mass of water and stood still for a few minutes to enjoy the white snowy reflections of the mountains in the water. We also encountered lots of bikers [with cycles towed in the back of their vehicles] – which implied the party season is already underway in Hailey and enthusiasts are probably biking from wee hours or maybe all through the night in the Democrats mountain trails.
Marcia has a way to walk. She walks to embrace the nature. She stops by to look at the rising sun, the green fields or the pathway below – to check where she came from. The writer that she is, she smells the world around her. No tunnel visioned, blinkered walkers taking their morning medicine. She is the one who loves to dance with morning vibrations of nature to create magic potion for the day. Viva! Marcia!!.
May 16, 2011
Boise
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