July 2008
90 posts
Home, Sweet Home
The team is home, safe, resting, and preparing for what may come out of this trip. Thank you all for following us, and supporting us while we were in India. Stay tuned for more about what comes next by joining the community at hopetakesflight.com
//hopetakesflight.com”>http://hopetakesflight.com
hopetakesflight checked in @ Charlotte, NC, USA →
hopetakesflight checked in @ Charlotte, NC, USA
about to connect to our flight home.
hopetakesflight checked in @ John F Kennedy Int'l... →
hopetakesflight checked in @ John F Kennedy Int’l Airport
we ran out of minutes on our India Cellphone, and Levi wasn’t feeling well at all, so we couldn’t update until now. in London, waiting.
hopetakesflight checked in @ London Heathrow... →
hopetakesflight checked in @ London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow
Waiting for our car to arrive. We are driving straight to the airport.
Today we are going to visit a government home for children, hosted by Freedom Firm.
Debbie, from Freedom Firm is awesome. We had a several hour chat with her about the trip, our families, kids, rain, coffee… just hung out.
Took us a while to find a place that had a table, but we finally sat down at a coffee shop.
About to go out to eat with our contact from Freedom Firm.
Getting some shopping done before we meet with Freedom Firm.
Eating a small lunch at Mahesh here in Pune.
hopetakesflight posted a photo @ Pune,... →
our view from the hotel here in Pune, India.
hopetakesflight checked in @ Pune, Maharashtra, IN →
hopetakesflight checked in @ Pune, Maharashtra, IN
hopetakesflight posted a photo @ Mumbai,... →
Marine Drive, in Mumbai, in the rain.
hopetakesflight posted a photo @ Mumbai,... →
Some kids jumping into the water right by the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Found the Y, but there was a conference going on and they gave our room away. Looking for a hotel.
Found a hotel. It’s expensive, but It’s our last night. And guess what? Wifi in the hotel. go figure.
Arrived in Pune. Looking for the YMCA.
This country is so gorgeous. Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, the mountains are breathtaking.
Going through the mountains in west India.
On our way to Pune. This cab is really nice, and actually pretty cheap.
We leave for Pune at 8am tomorrow. 2 hour drive, then we meet with Freedom Firm in the evening.
We just took a walk along marine drive, had some coffee at Coffee Day, now going back to the Y.
hopetakesflight posted a photo @ Mumbai,... →
a much-needed escape to the western world.
hopetakesflight posted a photo @ Mumbai,... →
happening right now. taking care of business, talking to our contacts in Pune, and trying to get transportation down there tomorrow.
Still no power, still no internet. We are relocating and looking for food. We found a sweet grocery store though.
Finally! Online for the first time in 4 days. Joel and Levi are online, planning for Pune, Monique and Elizabeth are shopping with a friend.
Found wifi, but the power is out. The clerk is still trying to sell us the prepaid card, but we explained that you still need power.
hopetakesflight checked in @ Mumbai, Maharashtra,... →
hopetakesflight checked in @ Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Today will be our day to rest, see this city, and contact some people we want to meet in Pune. But first, breakfast.
Got a cab. 30 min to the YMCA where we are staying tonight.
We got to the Y. These rooms are awesome. Way better than any hotel we’ve stayed in so far. Hopefully we can keep them tomorrow.
Just landed in Mumbai. Trying to get a cab.
The HTF team just had a little chat, and it looks like we are going to try to take a train to Pune on Sunday.
We got to the airport super early. We have about two hours to kill, and nothing to do.
//twitter.com/hopetakesflight”>@hopetakesflight safe journies. Rachael & I (friends of Elizabeth) have been praying for you guys. Say hi to Elizabeth for us!
In this weather, and with traffic, it will take about an hour to get to the airport.
Packing, unpacking, sorting, re-packing.
Eating lunch with our good friend Sherry, while looking at goods from the vocational school.
Visiting a vocational school today, our last day in Kolkata. Joel is bringing his guitar.
We fly to Mumbai tomorrow evening. packing our bags tonight so we can check out by noon.
It’s pouring rain right now. The girls are at the hotel, dry. The boys, not so much. In a cab, soaked.
Our good friend Vanessa is being our tour guide today. We just went shopping and now to lunch.
We just met with the people from Sari Bari. Amazing hand-stitched bags and blankets.