Autumnal Equinox: Stonehenge #TuesdayTravels

Tuesday Travel button

Tomorrow morning, thousands of people will converge on Stonehenge to view the sunrise on the Autumnal Equinox, hence today’s Tuesday Travels. Some of tomorrow’s visitors will be modern pagans, perhaps dressed in Druid costumes, while others are tourists. I’m sure it will be a wonderful day for all.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge (Art Explosion)

My friend Linda Prine and I decided Stonehenge was on the top of our “must see” list when we were in London back in early July. We were unable to get on one of the private access tours that let you walk among the stones, either early in the morning or in the evening, after closing. So we opted for a regular half-day tour which ended up being a bit longer than planned. (Traffic was awful in both directions.) Since I only had my disposable camera, I have once again resorted to stock images.

Stonehenge closeup

Via Art Explosion

We drove through rain to get there, but it quit shortly after we arrived, though the weather was chilly and windy still. We were happy to have brought our rain jackets.

The stones are amazing, stuck up in the middle of a plain, for what purpose, no one knows. We may never solve the mysteries of Stonehenge. What purpose did it serve? How on earth did the builders move those huge stones without modern equipment?

Stonehenge

Via Art Explosion

We had worried that the fence to keep visitors at a distance would be obnoxious and block any attempts at taking photos, but we were pleased to see that there’s a path around the stones with a low slung wire to trip anyone who strays off the path.

That’s just as well. Linda is a big Outlander fan, and I know she would have tried to go back in time, leaving me to explain to her husband how I managed to lose her at Stonehenge. But we encountered no paranormal activity at the site that morning. Not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. Maybe someone will have better luck tomorrow at the Equinox.

Welcome, Autumn! Can we please have some cooler weather now?

Linda

Book Reviews: Treasure Hunt Mysteries by Gigi Pandian

I’ve been on a mystery-reading kick, so I’ll continue my fall reviews with the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries by Gigi Pandian.

Artiface book coverArtifact (A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Book 1)
by Gigi Pandian
Henery Press, 2013

Jaya Jones is a petite, half-Indian history professor in San Francisco who plays tabla drums twice a week at a tandoori restaurant with her best friend, Sanjay, a magician who calls himself the Hindi Houdini. With characters like that, I was sucked in from the beginning. Jaya rushes through life in stiletto heels or platform soles (what can’t people understand about being short) and can take care of herself, thanks to her dad’s insistence on taking her to martial arts classes.

Those skills come in handy when she receives an antique ruby bracelet and a cryptic note from a former lover whose death was recently reported. She takes the bracelet to Lane Peters, a graduate assistant with expertise in Indian jewelry. Soon she and Lane are off to an archaeological dig in Scotland to figure out where the artifact came from and who killed her former lover. But nothing is quite what it seems…

A fun read with colorful and interesting characters.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge

Pirate Vishnu (A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Book 2)
by Gigi Pandian
Henery Press, 2014

Back in San Francisco, Jaya is focused on her career and done with treasure hunting, or so she thinks until a man named Stephen Healy comes to her with a treasure map of the Bay Area supposedly drawn by her great uncle Anand Paravar. The next day, Stephen Healy is murdered, and Jaya is drawn into the mystery. Her sort of boyfriend Lane tries to talk her out of it, but Uncle Anand was a hero in her family who died heroically during the 1906 earthquake, and she owes it to his memory. But again, nothing is what it seems.

The chapters alternate between Jaya’s hunt in the 21st century and Anand’s story, back in the early 1900s, so the readers know some things Jaya doesn’t. I enjoyed the book, though the resolution was a bit of a let down. Still, another fun read from Gigi Pandian.