V idya and I along with our families travelled together a lot. She is single and her mom-in-law and dad visited her every two years or so. Her mil was in her 70s, a strong women with a never-say-die spirit , who has stared every hardship life has thrown in her way and stayed positive and full of energy. Her dad, well, an almost ninety yeat old man who you would die to hangout with and make friends of, full of verve and energy. Our children being the same age group , made it an icing on the cake. Except, the older 2 boys couldn’t stand each other, being the same sharp, driven , mulish selves ...the younger 2, my girl and her boy were the sweet kind go-betweens who evened out the differences. Vidya and I, soul-sisters though we were, are as diffrent as chalk and cheese. She is all tomboyish , outdoorsy, up for all adventure sports and activities, a rock-climbing’ water-skiing’ sky-diving overachiever and me, a docile, fashion-conscious, bookish, shopping-loving, foodie. Then, there’s my husband in the midst of all this chaos, the fun-loving, soul of a party and king of roadtrips. This whole combo made for some exciting, never-a-dull-moment adventures that bonded us thankfully rather than tear us apart! I got to get off by butt and trek to the top of Vernal falls, experience the high of the half-dome, sail in the crystal waters of Lake Tahoe while still indulging in my food and shopping adventures at San Fransico! This trip also inspired my rising junior to get to Stanford which he did and V’s older one got to Yale on the East coast true to their much-different personalities. The experience travelled with the older aunty and uncle is what I would treasure the most!