Summer 2009

We spent seven weeks in the States this summer, and I felt like I barely even glanced at my computer. It was fantastic in pretty much every possible way. Family, friends, and muenster cheese: what more could anyone want? To wrap up the summer, I put together this post. It's long, but keep in mind, this is a whole summer's worth of posts all wrapped up in one... so really this is pretty amazingly short. Here goes:


Pittsburgh
Although I cannot claim to love Pittsburgh quite as much as my brother does, I will say that the city has really grown on me over the years. Every time I go back, there is more and more to do. It's especially great for kids, with lots of museums and kid-centric activities, and the people are genuine and friendly. Plus, it's actually affordable. Here are a few things we did while we were there.

:: Kaya got a bike! ::

:: At the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. Look at that hair! ::



:: Going down the Log Jammer at Kennywood. Kaya loved this ride and made Uncle Sinan go on it twice with him. ::


Omaha
Kaya loves Omaha. He told me the other day that if Grandma and Grandpa sell their house, we should buy it and live on the lake forever. These photos pretty much sum up the time we spent there, and why he loves it:

:: The water trampoline ::

:: Tubing: in which Kaya and Daddy sit on an inflatable tube, pulled by a motorboat. I kind of can't believe I let him do this. ::

:: Fishing! Yes, that is a live fish; yes, it survived, if just barely; and yes, Kaya did want to eat it. Again, I can't believe I let him do this.::

:: Kaya and his cousins. Five children under five, spending the summer together on the lake? Yes, Kaya was happy. ::


Portland, OR
I went to Portland to visit my good friend Erica, whom I've known for 10 years now. The best part of the trip was, of course, spending some quality time with her and meeting her now-husband, Nick, but Portland made quite an impression as well.

:: On the flight in, I looked out my window, and this is what I saw. A mountain! With snow on top! In July! For someone from the East Coast, this is pretty darn amazing. I am told that this was probably Mount Hood. ::

:: Rickshaws, driven by hippies. Love it. I don't know which I would rather do: transport this guy and his rickshaw to Dhaka, or bring our rickshaw and rickshawallah to see him in Portland. Either way, this rickshaw looks way more comfortable than ours, despite being a bit bland (no decorative golden garlands and plastic birds??). ::

:: So much natural beauty, so close to the city. ::


Vancouver
In Vancouver, we visited our friends Robert and Liz, who were fantastic hosts and even took days off work to show us around.

:: Vancouver is another impressively beautiful city in an impressively beautiful location ::

:: One of my favorite places from the entire summer was, I think, Granville Island, where our friend Liz generously spent about five hours walking around with me. If you ever need to talk to a local person who has been to every single store on the island, that person is now Liz. ::

:: The beach and Stanley Park, where tourists -- clearly unaware that raccoons are rabid pests who should not be approached, let alone fed and coddled -- have created a population of raccoons who are friendly and diurnal. ::

We also went to Washington, DC and Chapel Hill, NC, and spent time with good friends in both places, but somehow forgot to take any photos. I guess we'll just have to go back next year.

And finally, one more image from the summer, and part of what made the summer even more memorable and wonderful: