Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Commercial Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html
Yes, we finally did take the risk, regardless the weather forecast for rain.
Trusting that indeed those thunderstorms would happen in the afternoon.
We had to drive by car some 2.5 hours before starting our bike ride at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain.
Here I am standing in front of Robin Lake.
Just click this short 43 seconds video below to see our actual bike route of 1 hour and 26 minutes for the 17.3 km or 10.7 miles.
This was the weather forecast at 6:00 AM that morning.
We figured that in the mornings the weather would be good to bike and it was!
On the short video above from Relive, you could see that we entered Pine Mountain via GA Highway190 and we had some great views of Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park.
So we stopped for some photos from the F.D. Roosevelt State Park area.
While biking I took this photo from the tall trees along Mountain Creek Lake.
Here husband Pieter is alongside Mountain Creek Lake.
The red line is what we biked and you can read the different Lake names...
There are a total of 14 lakes at Callaway Gardens and we biked along 10 of them on this trip!
It was a wonderful day and it felt great for having completed this ride of 17.33 km or 10.8 miles.
The hills we biked were rolling with an altitude from about 240 m till 280 m.
From here we went to the Hyatt Place in Columbus-North where we stayed 2 nights.
When we did add the latest patio, we had to cut down an older Hibiscus tree. Yes, it was more than a shrub after all those years.
You can see how thick its stem was from link below this post, about our Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc & Our Life in Italy.
This is the double blooming Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc.
We're so happy for having now more of this one!
Let me show you how husband Pieter managed to do this...
Starting out with a cheap plastic container from Walmart - drilling drainage holes in it.
A bag of Quikrete Play Sand from Home Depot...
On August 5 of last year, Pieter did mix in just a bit of potting soil and here are the six starters he cut off.
Covered up with white plastic bag for humidity, creating a kind of greenhouse for high humidity and waiting.
On September 3, they got transferred to individual pots. The smallest one still got a 'greenhouse' treatment but using a cut off plastic bottle for a cover. Important is that light can penetrate.
Very healthy looking growth already of this Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc on September 3!
This Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc is smaller but looking also very happy and healthy!
This is on August 12 of 2018.
It will take years for them to have some shape and for growing into a nice shrub and eventually a little tree!
It took us about six years to grow a Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc before, the only one surviving from several and we gifted it to a dear friend who's Mom used to have one. Just a sentimental memory of her dear Mom and we were thrilled to hand that to her.
We will wait another 5 years for having our 2 young ones blooming and being pretty again!
Below is a good video about taking cuttings and growing your own shrubs:
Our final stop before going home (back to our hotel...) on that very long but oh so wonderful day!
Now on to Brindavan Gardens Mysore with its former Palace converted into a Luxury Heritage Hotel. Brindavan Gardens are modeled after the design of the Shalimar Gardens of Kashmir (State in the North where husband Pieter visited in 1981) in the Mughal style. There are numerous terraces, parterres, fountains, running and cascading water channels, water chutes, lush green lawns, flower beds, shrubs and trees. It sure is world famous for its ethereal beauty, grandeur and illumination/musical fountain.
See more from the short video that I placed below...
Here we are at yet another dreamlike Palace with a huge 60 acre (24.3 hectare) garden! The Palace you see behind my husband Pieter, is now a Luxury Heritage Hotel...
Sudha, Sarath and Pieter enjoying the view of these majestic Brindavan Gardens.
It all looks like a dream...
There is a huge dam at the very end... with a big lake.
The Krishna Raja Sagara a gravity dam on the Kaveri river, just click pink hyperlink for more.
This is the view, straight ahead from the terrace. So many heavenly impressions for that entire day...
Such a happy time together in paradise for one day...
Sudha told me that numerous movies have been made here!
Sudha and Sarath happy and for us they were the best guides we ever could wish for!
Sarath was also the one that traveled with Pieter to Madras (Chennai) on his ADVENTUROUS trip, see post below.
We are sitting here now below the terrace from where we overlooked part of Brindavan Gardens.
A happy husband Pieter!
What a WONDERFUL DAY HAD.
For getting a far better idea about these spectacular Brindavan Gardens near Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, watch the short video below.
We start our long journey back by 18:30 = 12 hours on the road already!
Driving in the dark rather soon and we had to stop several times throughout the Mudamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, for giving yield to the Muntjac deer; we spotted some 20. Full moon so that was a bonus. We all 4 had dinner together, at our Savoy hotel, but we were more tired and sleepy than hungry, after such a long day that started very early. But how very special, thanks to such warm and kind people that offered this to us! On Monday, next day, back to work as usual.
On Friday, we left for Coimbatore again, by car and a flight to Madras via Bangalore.
We dined with the export manager and his wife and stayed at a very posh Sheraton hotel.
Saturday, we went shopping in Madras with the export manager's wife.
After a full lunch we were dropped off at the airport, via a ride along the beach. Flight to Delhi and we again met with our contact person from Pond's India and he dropped us off at the beautiful Taj Palace hotel.
Too bad that we're only feeling like going to bed, we have to rise again at 4:30 and fly from Delhi to Singapore in some 6 hours and on to Jakarta in about 1.5 hour on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for our job there for the coming years...
