One month, five of us

Late June

01Dallas

Texas

A few days after I landed we went to Topgolf, which none of us had any business being good at.

One of Radhika's first swings. It did not travel far, which is why she calls it at the end: "we'll stop here."

Topgolf

Topgolf final scoreboard showing Srihari first with 328 points — 328. Second place managed 156. I have decided not to say anything further about this.

The Boardwalk, Plano

Srivats and Radhika going on ahead to find us seats.

The seats they found. Worth walking ahead for.

By the water

Back at the house

Radhika and me on the karaoke machine. Srivats and Radhika keep that house properly stocked: board games, a little air hockey table you can see at the end, and enough else that we never ran out of things to do.

July 11 to 12

02New Jersey

Two days east

Two days with my cousin, her husband, and her parents. Getting there took a detour through two states nobody had booked.

Out and about

Basement rules

Doubles against my uncle and his kids, who had flown in from Phoenix with the rest of us.

Rondo with Javier

Javier knew the game. One touch with his nose, then back off, like someone had taught him rondo properly. I shook my leg to sell a fake and he bought it, which is the laughing you can hear behind me. Watch the look he gives Srivats near the end for passing to me.

Dinner, then Pictionary

Pictionary after dinner, which is where the competitive spirit actually turned up.

July 18 to 19

03Broken Bow

Oklahoma

Four hours north of Dallas, a cabin in the pines, and one Saturday night nobody has agreed to stop bringing up.

Deer standing on the grass in front of the cabins — We pulled in and the lawn already had residents.

The drive up, and the welcome party

Shooting the drive up.

The cabin

Saturday night

Cornhole, for anyone who has never met it: you lob a bean bag underarm at a slanted wooden board with a hole near the top. Through the hole is three points, landing on the board and staying put is one. Three minutes of us on the deck mostly managing neither.

I shot this one. The first few seconds are completely out of focus, which tells you roughly where I was at by that point in the night.

A photo of people dancing. The camera was not the blurry part.

Sunday, on the lake

Two people in a tandem kayak with both paddles raised at the same angle — Paddles in sync. This lasted about four seconds.

And the drive back

Radhika at the wheel for about forty-five minutes of the way home.

July 25

04Dallas

One more time

Back on the living room floor for one last game before the airport.

Something missing?

There are gaps in here, and photos on your phones I have never seen. Send them over and they go straight in.

31days
3states
1dog named Javier
328at Topgolf

Thank you!!

For the airport runs, and for somehow rearranging a one-bedroom flat so the three of us fit without it ever feeling tight.

For driving all the way up to Broken Bow so the five of us could be in one place for a weekend.

For the singing and the cornhole, and for pulling me into both when I would happily have watched.

Come stay with us next.

Amma · Appa · Srivats · Radhika · Srihari

Totally not designed by AI.