Long(er) weekend in Logan, Utah !

I always hate the comment "Oh, you are so lucky." partially because I put in a lot of effort in things that otherwise might seem to be just fate... frankly speaking nothing, and i mean nothing works for me if there is no sweat !

However at times after I have started traveling out of the country, I do feel that Uncle God has been kind enough to me and given me some luck to cruise on ! One such thing is having a home outside home !!!

When I was in London, my homes were at Abhishek's place or Bharti's hostel... where I could just go anytime and be ! Abhishek even gave me the key to his house and was kind enough never to disturb me if I had reached home early and was sleeping... or when I was busy taking pictures inside the room and he was locked out !!! Bharti knew that I eat packed food, and was more than keen to cook for me, irrespective of the time I landed !

Luck it is to have people like this in your life... I must have done some efforts I am sure, but not that I remember in this life time to earn them !!!

So back to why I started this post... I went home in the US as well a few weeks back when I landed in the Salt Lake City and was driven to Logan... A small town of Mormons and Aggies located in a valley and home to the Utah State University where Tanu is doing her Ph.D.

Both of us know each other for about 3 years now, and have been talking off and on over various mediums, with the first phone conversation happening in July this year when I arrived in the US... Before I was coming here, she wanted to know if I would come to Utah for a trip... I said of course, and she said, ya right !!! and later when we made the plan, the "ya right" changed to "I don't Believe it" and it still says that way :)

I had an amazing 3 day vacation in Logan a few weeks back, thanks to Tanu who managed to take some time off from the research and made sure I was comfortable... and I was surprised to see her apartment too... She had shifted just a couple of weeks back in that house, and it was perfect !!! I guess the vibes of where you are and who you are with play a very very important role in how comfortable you feel. And I was feeling at home.. I don't think there is any other word to describe that place !!!

Rest let me leave to the pictures below and talk in between !!!




Still taken at the Gardner's Market... My first experience of a local market in the US and I must say I loved it... Thanks Tanu for that impromptu plan ! Or you had thought of it already?

It was a nice bright day with the sun playing hide and seek with clouds while I was sitting on the cool grass and watching people roam around the market...

There were some kids who were having a competition of sorts with their handmade boats... this young man was trying to make sure that his boat does not capsize and finishes the race...


We were back in a couple of hours from the market and decided to move out again in the evening... seen above is a flower against the setting sun...
We did not have much time before the sunset, and we tried to reach a view point but could not... We then went to a place where we just parked the car, switched on the music and sat without talking to each other much... I think we must have spent some couple of hours there before we decided to get back home... my favorite and requested Aalu Gobhi was waiting after all :)

The next day we decided to go out for a drive... and here is Tanu modeling away to glory... nice car too eh!

I was pretty happy too with how relaxing the last two days had been... Seen above is me trying to step on a few clouds :)

This is Bear Lake in the Garden City... some 50 odd miles away from Logan...
I have always liked tread marked in sand... could not resist taking this picture either...

We were back in Logan in good time (another driving experience that I managed) and took a few pictures of the sunflowers before we settled down to see the setting sun !

While I was busy figuring out how to take pictures of flowers like above, Tanu was busy climbing up a huge Ford truck parked nearby (seen below)... One crazy girl she is...

And the sun on my final evening in Logan finally set... and gave me a good view too... Thank you uncle God for the instructions you gave to Sun Unkil...

This was a small half court at one of the houses... what temptation it was to play !!! but no basketball :/

So we were back to the apartment... What you are going to see next is kinda eeeky... so enjoy !!!

This is the RAT that was kepy on my shoulder to freak me out by my dear friend Tanu before she clicked a picture of me trying to remove him from there.... ugh !!!

And she is a Frog Queen or should I say the princess... She keeps kissing frogs and because most of them don't turn into princes, she brings them home and they stay happily after... So here are the lucky kissed Princes of Tanu's world...

This was was the most real one... ugh !!! I did try touching it, but the feeling was too slimy...

Oh, and another one of the Princes...


And here is the Frog Princess herself !!! hidden behind her loved ones...


And she seems to be better than average painter too.. seen below are three of her water colors !!! lovely stuff...


Go to a Bengali's place and not find Ma... impossible I guess !!! Aro? Do you have one? Anyway... here is another picture...

On our drive back to the Salt Lake Airport, we found this cloud maker truck !!! See how the clouds are coming out of its back container...


And so my trip finished.... I have skipped the following parts from the travellogue above...

1. The smallest ever plane that I have sat in...
2. No food and half a glass of soft drink served on a 3 hour flight...
3. Tanu trying to but not being able to find me at the airport while I knew where she was :D it was super funn !!!
3a. Getting lost in Salt Lake City
4. The lovely food at her place
5. How I irritated her to the core when she was cooking food one of the two evenings and how much we both loved it :D
6. One of the cutest ever girls I met, Amrita, at Tanu's place... she was a real darling !
7. The Frog curtain in the bathroom...
8. Dabur Lal Toothpaste ( loooooooooved it)
9. Tweaking Tanu's car deck to deliver the right kind of bass and treble !!! Now the music sounds much better...
10. and loads of moments and go down as wonderful memories !!!

Oh, and I am on Tanu's Blog too... Model and all ;) check THIS out !