Greetings From Orange County...

... in Coorg, India, where the Perlman's are enjoying yet another family adventure.

We left during the pre-dawn hours for the train station Monday morning to catch the Shatabdi Express from Chennai to Mysore, and were booked in the air conditioned first class train that left at 6 am. Upon arrival at the station, we hired a porter to schlep our bags and help us negotiate through the throngs of travelers to miraculously find our train. Once we found a majority of our seats, we had to kindly request to swap seats with other passengers in order to be together ... as of course, the travel agent was unable to reserve five seats together.

The ride down to Mysore on the express train took seven hours, which included a fifteen minute stop in Bangalore. This portion of the travel was relatively painless ... as the seats were comfortable, they served food and drinks, and the bathrooms were somewhat usable (that is, after I discovered that there was a western toilet).

We were met at the Mysore train station with a car and driver dispatched from our resort in Coorg. We crammed into his Toyota Qualis and continued on for two more hours down the windiest and most dangerous road I've ever been on, frequently facing head on passing traffic, reckless driving, grazing animals, and speed bumps coming out of nowhere. To top it off, the last 50 km consisted of a single-lane broken pavement, insanely curvy ride through the woods. Thank goodness the kids and I were asleep for most of the trip as it was TOTALLY vomit worthy (... and I'm already worried about the ride home...)

However, once we arrived at the resort, and the girls and my nausea dissipated, we were checked into our quaint little two-room cottage overlooking the rice paddies and coffee fields. It is utterly serene. The Orange County Resort sits on 350 acres and is one of the oldest Coffee Plantations and first trial plantation of rubber by the British in India. The resort was built in 16th century Tudor style complete with thatched roofs, chimneys, wooden beams, and cobble stone pathways. It also comes with its own set of insects... including big hairy eight legged ones with bodies and legs the size of Riley's hand. Thankfully the resort keeps "The Boys" on hand to take care of these creepy crawlies when you hysterically call the front desk to reports their whereabouts on the wall of your bedroom.

We spent our first afternoon lounging around the pool, and yesterday relaxing, swimming, leisurely walking around the expansive property, and taking a coracle ride down the river cauvery.

I have tons of photos, and lots more stories, though my laptop refuses to connect to the internet, and Grady is melting down as I sit here typing in the front lobby. Once we get home late tomorrow night, I'll write about today's travels to the Dubare Elephant Camp and Tibetan Monk Monastery in Bailakuppe. Until then... send us your insect free thoughts.