After a lot of thinking and looking for deals, Bhasker finally booked the tickets. I was super kicked about it...not for long. I checked the date we were leaving, September 11 2008. No I cannot travel on that day. No way!!! I tried convincing Bhasker to change it but everything was planned. On 11th, I sat at the airport, a nervous wreck, not able to eat anything and just waiting to get done with the journey. I do not know how I sat through 4 hours. When we landed in Chicago, I was really happy. At the airport, I ate my first meal. I also saw the actress, Marcia Cross, who plays Bree Van De Kamp (now Hodge) in Desparate Housewives.

Our flight to Philli got delayed. We had already boarded and since I was getting bored I picked up the newspaper and that's probably the biggest mistake I made. It was filled with news about 9/11 and there was an account of the incident by the air traffic controller working on that day. That's it. I started getting restless. We were soon shifted to another plane and got going. The journey of 2 hours seemed much longer than the 4 hour leg. When the pilot was hovering above Phili, I looked out and it was beautiful. Soon we landed and I thanked God (don't laugh. Its really scary). Bhasker's cousin, Karthik came to pick us up. Karthik's wife had made awesome Shahi Paneer. I ate to my heart's content. Partly out of relief and partly because I was hungry.

We planned to spend the next day at the mall as it was raining. I had lottsa fun!!! Shopping is always fun :) We had amazing lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We had planned to go to Downtown Phili but since it was raining we just went back home. The next day the four of us had Bagels for breakfast (we had amazing Bagel Sandwiches in Einstein Bakery and then at the Chicago Airport. Now I love Bagel Sandwiches and eat them almost every weekend), and then headed to New York City.

We took the Path that takes us to where the twin towers stood before, where consturction is going on now. We went around to see Ground Zero and people had placed lots of flowers to pay their respects to the people and fire-fighters who had died. We walked around for sometime.



Construction going on where the WTC once stood



Karthik, Anjali, Bachu and me in NYC

Soon we were hungry and went looking for the Katti Roll Company. We had to walk a lot to get there. The rolls were tasty but nothing extraordinary. After lunch, we went to Central Park. In the middle of the City, sits one of the most beautiful parks. Unbelievable!!! We spent sometime there. While we sat there, a group of students came by to sing and dance for some money. They needed the money not to pay tuition fees, not for food but to make a trip to Hawaii. Later when we were walking around, we saw more students running around like this.



On the way to the Katti Roll Company



College kids running around in Central Park, collecting money for a trip to Hawaii

We left Central Park and while we were walking towards Times Square, we spotted a Street Market. We decided to take that street to Times Square. Anjali and I bought Pashmina shawls. Bhasker and I bought some T-shirts. We ate so much. We had Corn and Smoothies and Falafal wraps and Lemonade. It was good fun!!! Finally we got to Times Square. We walked around for sometime. It was so nice!!! Colourful hoardings, people walking in and out of shops, nice restaurants...I just felt like staying there...Just then it started pouring. I love it when it rains. I stood there getting wet while the others took cover in a nearby shop. It was getting late and Karthik had to drive back so we took a taxi and left. We spent sometime near the Path station, getting pictures of the Skyline and left. We stopped for some Indo-Chinese dinner at New Jersey, on the way back home.



Anjali and I



The four of us :)



On the way to Times Square, near the Saturday Street Market



The Saturday Street Market



Times Square



NYC Skyline



On Sunday, the four of us planned to visit the Amish County. We drove down to the place, only to find out that the Amish people mostly go to church and stay at home on Sundays. Shops were closed. We did get to see a few of them dining outside their homes, wearing those long flowing gowns and suits. We also saw a few coming back from church. So we decided to go to Downtown Phili. We got to see the steps Rocky runs up (I know it sounds cliche, but we ran up those stairs too...Hehe), we got to see Liberty Bell, spent sometime walking around and then, decided to go to this wonderful Burmese restaurant in Downtown Phili called Rangoon. The food was just out of this world.



Downtown Philadelphia

We got home that night and booked a car for the next day. Bhasker and I were going to drive down to Washington DC. The next day we got to DC by noon. After lunch we headed to the White House. We got a few pictures and then made our way to the Washington Monument. When we got there we were told that to go to the top, they issue ony limited number of tickets a day and we were too late. So from there we walked across to the War Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. The walk from the War Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial was quite pretty. There was a lake in between the pathways, with ducks swimming in it. The pathways were lined with trees on either side. If we looked back, we could see the Washington Monument and from time to time we would catch a plane flying right above it.



The White House



A Sniper looking out from one of the terraces in the White House



Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial is extremely pretty. Its a huge monument made of marble and right in between the monument, sitting on a big chair is a huge sculpture of Abraham Lincoln. All around, there are famous speeches inscribed on the walls of the monument. Above some of them, murals. We stayed there for sometime and even went to the small musuem. The museum is the work of school kids.



The Lincoln Memorial

We wanted to go to the Jefferson Memorial. So we walked along the river. It was early evening and the sky was a bright orange and blue. It was a long walk and we weren't anywhere close to the Jefferson Memorial. So we asked the locals who told us that the Roosevelt Memorial is closer. So we went there instead and I am glad we did.



The Jefferson Memorial



On the way to the Roosevelt Memorial

The Roosevelt Memorial consists of four outdoor rooms with sculptures of Roosevelt, one with him sitting in a wheelchair, one where he is sitting with his dog sitting close to him etc. Inscribed on the walls are excerpts from his speeches. In all the rooms, there are beautiful waterfalls. Since it is an outdoor memorial, it is better to visit it during the day.



The Roosevelt Memorial

By the time we were done, it was time to leave as we had to drive all the way back to Phili and drive back to Washington the next day. We didn't plan it properly or we could have stayed in Washington.

The next day we went to some of the museums. We went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Art Museum. The National History Museum was closed due to renovations and we did not have time to go to The Natural History Museum. We then went to Capitol Hill. We sat there for sometime. After that we went to the downtown and spent some time there. We got out early so that we could get some sleep before the long drive the next day.



Capitol Hill

The next day, after a visit to Budget (they gave us a car with no cruise control so we got it exchanged for the Cobalt Sport :D), the two of us left for Niagara Falls. It was a long drive and we got there early in the evening. We got a room on the 7th floor with a spectacular view of the falls (Holiday Inn, in case your wondering). We left our stuff and went out to see the falls.



The Canadian Side of the Niagara Falls, taken from the US side

We walked along the Niagara river and we could see the buildings on the Canadian side too. We got to the falls just in time to see the colourful lighting. The falls went from red to green to blue to purple etc and then it was lit with all the colours at once. It was awesome!!! We stood there till the lighting went off, trying to get some snaps and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and then danced our way back to the hotel, I mean literally :D.



The Niagara Falls at night

The next day morning we lined up for the Maid of the Mist ride. The ride started near the Rainbow Bridge. We got got to see the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, where we did feel the mist on our faces, but little did we know what was in store at the Horseshoe Falls. As we got close to the falls, we could hear the mighty roar and before we knew it, we were completely drenched. (The thin polythene raincoats provided little or no protection, exactly what I wanted). We could also hear the strained engines of the boat, we it was streered away from the falls. On experience I will never forget.



Cave of the Winds. You can walk upto one of the smaller falls here and stand really close to it.



On the way to the Falls



I was completely drenched. Bhasker didn't go too close to the falls. He was afraid his camera will get wet o_O

After this we made our way to the Cave of the Winds. We got another ploythene rancoat. I didn't know what to expect as I walked in. We took the elevator 175 feet deep into the Niagara Gorge and walked through a tunnel. When we got out of the tunnel, we got a brilliant view of the falls and the boats which look so tiny in comparison. We walked down a bit and I was thrilled when I saw it. There were stairways going up and down and real close to the Bridalveil falls. The stairs first took us down and when we looked up we could see the falls looming above. As we walked along, we could feel the spray of waterfall, on our face. When we got to the Hurricane deck, we were really close to the falls. I held on to the railings and went as close as I could. The force there was so great, I could barely breathe but I enjoyed standing there so much that I kept going back. I even forced Bhasker to go close (he was carrying his camera bag and was scared that it would get wet). We got to see so many rainbows. I enjoyed this more than the Maid of the Mist.

After this we went back to the hotel, had lunch and left the place. We got to New Jersey late that night. We stayed at the Marriott in New Jersey for two days and commuted to New York City from there.

We got up early the next day and left for the City. We started with Empire State Building because we didn't want to get there late and stand in the queue for the rest of the day. The view from the top was nice. We spent sometime there and then we just walked around the city for sometime. We had lunch and then went to Broadway to see if we could catch a play. We went to the theatre where Wicked was playing and tried out luck with the lottery (tickets were sold out). We didn't get so lucky. So we went to Greenwich Village, walked around for sometime and then went to Chinese Mirch, an Indo-Chinese place for dinner. Loved the food. We walked to Times Square after that, spent sometime there and then headed back to the hotel.



One of the views from the Empire State Building



Times Square

The next day, my co-sister Priya was landing in New York to attend a conference. So we got up and drove down to NY. We stopped at a bakery to buy cake and some chocolates as it was her birthday and we wanted to surprise her. We met her at the hotel and after cutting the cake, we made our way to the Statue of Liberty, stopping on the way at the Fossil store and for lunch. We took the boat ride to Statue of Liberty. The statue was nice, and so was the view from the island. We walked around and then took the boat back. From there we went to Times Square. Anjali and Karthik came down and it was like a family get-together. We walked around in Times Square and had dinner. It was good fun!!! Soon it was time to say bye to Priya and head back to Phili with Karthik and Anjali. When we got home, Anjali gifted me a really cute pair of ear studs :).



At the Statue of Liberty



After a nice dinner with Priya

We had lottsa fun!!! We had a nice stay at Anjali's and Karthik's place and enjoyed their company and we got to meet Priya too!!! :)

This was my third time to Yosemite. Each time, we went in a different season and this time we went there in May. Its the time of year when most of the snow melts away and the falls are in full force, the time where there is still some snow in places where the sun's rays cannot penetrate through the dense forests, the time of year when tourists flock there and lots of people come to do rock climbing and hiking.

Observe closely and you can see a rock climber

Tent Cabins at Curry Village were all booked and so we took a tent at the House Keeping Camp. It had walls on three sides, a canvas roof and just a canvas screen for a door and this is a season where bears are active. And on the first night there was a scrapping noise near one of the bear lockers and I totally freaked out and to add to it my mom-in-law was snoring away and to me it sounded like a bear. I got so scared!!! It wasn't a bear though. It was just people from the neighbouring tent putting back the remaining food after dinner.

This time we went to all the major falls there. We went to the Bridalveil falls. It was so pretty, the mist added to the beauty and the wind added to the fun sending showers in all directions and we got completely wet. We also went to the Yosemite falls and it was beautiful too, especially if you stand at the bridge near the lower falls (but my favourite is the Bridalveil falls) We skipped Vernal because we hiked to it the first time we went to Yosemite and also because Bhasker's mom cannot come along. We also went to the famous mirror lake. Its kinda dry now and they are draining the water out to clean the lake. The trail to the lake was beautiful all the way and there was still some water left at the lake, which mirrored the huge granite mountain in front of it. We also went to the Glacier Point and to  the Mariposa Grove.

A Mountain Chickadee (I thought its a sparrow until Yathin corrected me) was building its nest

The sky was quite a treat to the eyes. Clear ink-blue, star-filled skies and huge pine trees seemed like they were reaching out for the stars. I just wished that the tents didn't have the canvas roof, just so I could lie on my back and gape at them until I fell asleep.

Before we know it 3 days just went by and it was time to head back to Sunnyvale. We stopped again at the Bridalveil Falls and got one more cool shower before we headed back to the Bay Area.

I really wanted to go to India in February and Bhasker agreed. It all happened so fast but the week before I left was the longest week of my life. I was going with Bhasker's friends, Raghav and Rohini. Was a long flight, SF to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Bangalore with a 10 hour stop-over in Bangkok. We went to see the place, Bangkok is a small well-organised city with a beautiful airport. The weather is like Chennai. We took a boat ride there to see the temples and then went to the market to do some shopping. We were so tired when we came back to the airport, that we were sitting and sleeping.

We slept through the flight from Bangkok to Bangalore. When we got up we were at Home. I was excited, the excitement you feel when you go home after a long time, the excitement of seeing your family and I just could not wait to see mine. The luggage tested my patience a lot. It took a long time before I got my suitcases and finally got out. Was so nice to see the smiling faces of my parents and my little sister. I went two weeks ahead of Bhasker so that I get to spend a month with my parents.

The next day we went to my Aunt's place. A surprise visit from me. My aunt's family was just inquiring about me when I walked in. Perfect timing!!! They were so taken aback that they could not speak.  Their expressions were priceless.

We went around Bangalore almost everyday. Home food and all the pampering was just great. I had a list of things I wanted to eat before I came back to the US and wanted to shop a lot since I had shed a few kilos. So we combined my shopping with Things we had to do for my Parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary. I had lottsa Paani Puri, , troubled my Dad and got tea from his office (I love his office tea), fought with my sister for the computer, met Sudha and Divya. Man it was nice to be back home!!!

Time went by quickly and soon Bhasker was in Bangalore. Then it turned out to be quite hectic, running around for Anniversary arrangements, talking to the MC we had organised for the party, booking the hall, inviting friends and family etc etc.

17th came by too fast. Anna came to Bangalore the previous day. We had a small Puja at home. There were a few hiccups with the food and catering, which got me all tensed and worked up. I was really scared about the evening. Wanted my parents to have something they will remember, pleasant memories I mean.

In the evening, we went ahead to make sure the hall was set up the way we wanted it and arrange the projector and stuff. The MC came on time. (Now that was one more thing that was bugging me. My mother's friend gave us his contact info and apparently he does shows in Central but I have never seen him in action and the crowd that evening consisted of different age groups and I didn't know if he could get them all to play games but there was nothing much I could do then so I went about arranging things and getting the hall setup.)

My parents came in at 6:30 pm and slowly the crowd started drifting in. Soon Asif, the MC started conducting small games. The response initially frightened me and just when I thought the whole thing is gonna be a mess, people started responding to him and started playing the tongue twister games. He then moved on to other games and people volunteered and I relaxed a bit. The games were good fun and the people sitting and watching were having as much fun as the ones who were playing. He made my parents play a game as well. My dad was blindfolded and there was a pot kept somewhere in the hall which will be shown to my mother. My mother has to give my dad directions and he has to go and break the pot while we try and confuse him. Was quite funny to watch them play though dad didn't take a long time to find the pot.

We went to this place called California Pizza Kitchen last weekend, for dinner. Its near University Avenue. The food was yummy and I loved it. Bhasker had pizza with toppings like Brinjal, Mini Broccoli, Corn, Cheese etc (was lip-smackingly yummy) and I had Thai style Pasta.

When I was sitting and watching TV after cooking on one of the weekdays last week, I heard a scraping sound on my mesh door and guess who I saw!!! He lives in the tree right in front of my patio.

                           Curiously cute squirrel...hehe!!

This evening Bhasker and I went to Starbucks and spent some time there playing games and reading. Then we went to Santana Row for a nice dinner at Pizza Antica. Bhasker had a Personal Pizza and I had a Handmade Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi with Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato Cream (the snaps were taken from a mobile camera and don't do justice to how yum the food looked, let alone how it tasted). Yummm!!! Awesomeness!!!

We were reminiscing about 2007. Was an exciting year indeed. The Big Move from Bangalore to Sunnyvale was the highlight this year. Lottsa traveling and loads of fun!!! Rishikesh (for river rafting), Delhi, SF, Davenport (for strawberry picking), Santa Cruz, Monterey, Yosemite (went there twice, once for our First Anniversary), Half Moon Bay, San Diego, Big Sur, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe were some of the places we went to this year.

Rishikesh, March 2007

Pier 39, May 2007

Strawberry picking at Davenport, May 2007

Monterey, June 2007

Yosemite, July 2007



San Diego, September 2007



Big Sur, October 2007



Lake Tahoe, December 2007

This was how Tahoe looked when we drove to it in the morning. There had been a snow-storm two days before we went there and the fresh snow looked so beautiful that I wanted to get off and walk on it. We freshened up, rented skis and boots and drove down to Sierra. We parked and put on our ski boots. Man did they weigh a ton each!!! I walked like a penguin because lifting each leg was an ordeal. We finally reached the slopes and they looked beautiful. There were two kinds of slopes. One was the Advanced Slope for people who could ski and snow board well. That slope looked really scary and I could see tiny specs (people) on the slope moving really fast. The Beginners Slope looked relatively easy to me at that time only until I put on my skis.

All set to ski

All of us just before skiing

The classes were proving to be fun because the instructors knew what they were doing and in no time I could put on my own skis and walk with them. The group I was in had lottsa Indians and I made friends instantly and the guys in the group kept helping me get rid of snow from my boots. I thought I made good progress.....till it was time for me to come down from a small slope. My instructor Mike told us how to form a wedge and come down slowly. When it was my turn, I did everything I was told except for coming down the slope. Mike told me not to lean back when coming down the slope because I would lose my balance and fall but the speed at which I came down frightened me and I would lean back and THUD!!! I would fall.

Coming down the slope can be fun

My instructor Mike and me

I fell so many times

Finally I came down without falling

Bhasker is good at this

Everytime I came down, I fell but I was determined not to give up. I fell in all the weird angles possible and also hurt my knee but that did not stop me from having fun and I finally learned to form a wedge and come down without falling. Time just flew and we had to get out of the ski resort. It was very difficult to walk back to the car, more so now because we were tired after skiing, ah no actually after falling. once the ski boots were off my shins hurt like crazy and by the time we went to the motel, my whole body was hurting. I just fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow but I couldn't sleep for long as we had to go to the casinos.

At the motel

We went to two casinos that evening, Harveys and Harrahs. Well we would've stopped with one casino if Rohini had not been chased out. They suspected that she was under age to be there and her work permit was not accepted as an ID proof. So we were asked to leave and so we went to Harrahs and here we played on the slot machines and also played Poker. Bhasker and I made $2.50 after putting in $1 but we played with the $2.50 and lost it too but it was fun and we sat there for quite sometime.

At the casino

At about 12:30 and after almost 2 to 3 hours in the casino, we called it a day and went to the room and slept. We slept like logs that night and I woke up at 10 the next morning.

That day was allocated to playing and driving up to a view point to see the Lake Tahoe. So after breakfast and a refreshing cup of coffee we went to Lake Tahoe. We walked right down to the lake. It was slippery so I slid all the way down. Soon our snow fights started and Bhasker, Raghav, Rohini and I were laughing (except at the time when Bhasker put snow on my camera) and running around, trying to make snowballs and aiming at the nearest target. We soon got tired and went to help Sudhir and Rashmi with the snowman.

A really cute Husky

The snow ball fights

Steamed veggies with cheese and brown rice and soup of the day, Rice Bowl and Cappuccino

At the view point

It was time to head back after that as it was getting dark. We soon drove down and in no time we were out of the magical place and back to the freeway but the beauty of the place will be etched in my mind and we will go back there next year.

The weekend started early...8 in the morning is early by my standards. After a long chat session with my parents, I started off with baking a cake for my friend Rohini. Bhasker was reading out the recipe. I thought I started with Chocolate Cake and ended up with Vanilla Cake instead and was very disappointed about it. It was too late now because the barter was all ready to be put in the oven and there was no way to mix cocoa in it. "Well Vanilla Cake it is", so I thought and sat down to watch TV while I waited for half hour to pass.

We removed the cake after half an hour and I was so tempted to taste it. It looked yum but there was no way of making sure of that. Both of us were thinking up ways to steal a piece and then just put away the cake and had lunch instead.

After running a few errands it was time to get ready for the Yahoo! Year End Party. The plan was to take the cake along and give it to her at 12 but Raghav told us that they may be leaving the party early. So we decided we will give it to her that evening itself in advance.  I don't know if we surprised her but we made her cut the cake and finally got to taste it and Man!!! It was yum if I should day so myself. The best part about it, Rohini does not like Chocolate Cake. :)

We headed back after that to get ready for the party. When we reached the venue, the way the hall was done up took me by surprise. It was really nice!!! The theme for the party was fire and ice. The whole place was done up in red and white colours and there were dancers near each food stall. There was a small ice skating rink at a corner. Tables were set up in one corner and the rest of the hall was taken up by Poker, Craps, Roulette and Black Jack tables. We were given chips worth 500 each when we entered. In the adjoining hall, there were some Live Bands playing. There were Bars near the food stalls and a room where people could smoke Hookah. We had dinner and sat to play Poker. Initially Bhasker and I lost money big time but as the game progressed we did well, really well!!! We got a triplet once, a straight once. It was fun and we made quite a bit and then exchanged them for raffle tickets. Now this is where we really need luck and we aren't always that lucky. We got 6 raffle tickets but didn't win anything. We then had some desserts. Sudhir and I had a tequila shot and then we went to the other hall to see what was happening there. The music was way too loud but we tried some Darts, played Foosball and after some more Poker games, we decided to leave.

We reached home at 2, tired and sleepy. The next day again we had to get up early as we had to take Tushar to SF and show him around the place. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge and Pier 39. We had awesome Crepes for lunch and went around to see other places. The highlight of the day was the awesome Cable Car ride from Lombard to Market Street. (The last time I went on it I couldn't quite enjoy it because I had a terrible cold and kept coughing throughout the ride.). This was followed by nice dinner and then we came home and crashed.

It was a tiring weekend but it was good fun too!!!

We went to Yosemite again during the long Thanksgiving weekend…only this time it was with friends and during a different season. We stood in front of Best Buy for almost 7 hours, covered in layers of sweaters and jackets as it was extremely cold, for a laptop which we did not get but I kinda enjoyed the experience. After just 5 hours of sleep we left for Yosemite. We reached in the night. Extremely tired, we ate dinner, took a small walk and went to see the skating rink and sat in front of the fire for sometime, after which we went to the tent cabins to get a good nights sleep, only that we could not sleep. It was freezing cold and the tent cabins were not heated and to add to that the blankets were damp. We kept giggling and making fun of the state we were in but we had a tough time sleeping and I think I slept for a total of 2 hours. So the next day we decided to go and ask for an upgrade to a heated tent cabin and luckily there were two of them available. So after moving the luggage we set out to see Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass.

The drive and the views we got were breath taking. If tall trees swaying to the wind were what greeted us for some parts of the journey, then for some it was half frozen lakes and at others it was frozen streams or ice covered rocks. The constant change of scenery made me enjoy every bit of the drive. We stopped at turnouts to get some nice snaps. There were ice formations on the rocks. The greens of the trees and plants, the greys of the rocks and the whites of the ice formation were a beautiful combination. We walked to the meadows. It was winter and there was nothing there except for spring grass. In summers they are supposedly covered with flowers and in peak winters, snow. We just missed the snow by a month. We then drove to Tioga Pass and further down to a lake. The lake was frozen on top and so we walked on the slippery surface and goofed around for sometime and had fun throwing ice at each other. We then drove to the Sierra Nevada and got an awesome view of a canyon and the highest motorable road in California. A family had gotten their dog there and I made a new friend. For the first time I saw a husky and he was a really handsome guy.

We turned and drove back because it started getting dark. We had an early dinner of awesome home made pizzas and then got ourselves some souvenirs. That night the moon looked awesome. It was a full moon with a circle of white around it which looked like a halo. I haven’t quite seen anything like that in my life before and I loved it. That night all of us slept well because we had heated tent cabins and the exhaustion of two sleepless nights got the better of us.

After breakfast the next morning, we went to see the Ahawanee Hotel and were spellbound by the interiors of the place and its location. We then drove to Glacier Point where we got the most wonderful view of the whole valley below. We also got a nice view of Half Dome from there. After that came the Mariposa Grove. This place has about 500 Giant Sequoia Trees. On the way to the grove we just got a feel of what to expect. Huge trees easily spanning 30-40 floors of a building and I literally had to strain my neck to get a view of the whole tree. On reaching the place we had to walk for about a mile into the grove. The sad bit was that some of them were burned down and the others charred in what looks like a forest fire that took place recently but that did not affect the beauty of the huge trees and the peace and quiet of the place nor did it affect the fresh air. It was something quite different from other trees I have seen before and I loved every minute I spent there though I was reluctant to walk that one mile initially.

It was then time to drive back to Sunnyvale. We had loads of fun on the way back. Making fun of Bhasker’s singing, we reached home, tired, hungry and sleepy but content in a way that we saw some of the most beautiful places in the last 2 days!!!

When we go to a place that serves chaat here and ask for Paani Puri, you get Panni, Puri, Potato and Channa all separately. Thats the most annoying way to eat Paani Puri. Two weeks ago Balu told us about a place in Fremont which serves Paani Puri just the way the street vendors in India do and all of us were listening to him, mouth watering as we imagined yum Paani Puri. So that evening all of us set out to this place. Its called Chatpata Corner. When we reached, the place was closed and there was a note saying that they may be closed for 15 days due to family emergency. I can't describe how disappointed I was. We went and ate in a nice Thai restaurant that day but the description given to me kept echoing in my ears and I had to eat that chaat somehow. So a week later I tried calling them and no answer and I tried many times after that and no response. I gave up finally and just then...Bhasker found out that there is a branch of theirs in Fremont inside a Bazaar. I nearly jumped on hearing this. I called them last Friday and found out that they were open and that evening we set out to eat chaat. It was in a corner of the bazaar and there was a long queue. After a long wait, it was our turn to have Paani Puri.

The Paani Puri was absolute bliss...It tasted like Delhi ka Paani Puri and it was simply awesome. One was not enough and we asked for more and Bhasker and I shared it. It was the most amazing Paani Puri in a long time. We also had Tikki and Masala Puri and it was yummy!!! For people interested in going to this place, its in Fremont on Mowry Avenue inside Dana Bazar. Happy chaatting!!!

Diwali is usually all about shopping, lights, food, sharing, fun and crackers...This time we had it all except for the crackers...

Shopping
On a Sunday before Diwali we went and got ourselves some clothes and stuff that we needed. My parents had sent us nice tops for me and T-shirts for Bhasker

Lights
We went to Lowes two days before and got some nice lights that we put up on the patio. It was kinda difficult to put them up since we forgot to buy rope to tie around the lights but Bhasker had a brilliant idea. He took the garbage bag neckties and used them to put up the lights. Its holding on pretty well I must say.

Food
I am still learning and experimenting with food. This time I looked up for recipes online and found this one on Badam Halwa. We went and got all the ingredients and the halwa came out pretty well. I also tried making Baby Corn Manchurian. It came out well though it wasn't as crisp as the ones made in restaurants.

Sharing
I sent some sweets with Bhasker for his team and it seems they all loved the sweet. :-)

Food
We went to the Livermore Temple in the evening. It is a beautiful temple and we sat there for sometime. After coming out we realised that they will serve some prasadam in sometime and so we waited. It was so worth it. We had the most awesome food. There was Pongal, Puliodare, Kesari and Curd rice. Man we ate a lot!!!

Fun
After coming back, Rohini made some good coffee and then we went to Ajay and Sumanth's place for a game of Poker and we had loads of fun especially with Ajay getting all animated about his bad luck.

So it was a really nice Diwali altogether. We were supposed to go out on a nice, romantic dinner, me and Bhasker and he has promised to take me this weekend since we didn't go yesterday. So today I have the movie Om Shanti Om to look forward to and tomorrow a nice dinner at a nice place. The weekend already looks nice to me...

Just felt another small one about 5 minutes ago when I was sitting on my bed and we ran out. The neighbour said she hadn't felt anything but just when I came back in, thinking my imagination was running wild, my friend pinged me and asked if I felt it too...this is freaking me out. The details are in the link below...

There was an earthquake at about 8:05 PM. We were in the kitchen about to make rotis and the whole kitchen started shaking and Bhasker stood there rooted, asking me what was happening and I had to yell to make him run out and I ran out too...Neighbours had already come out by then, This was a major one with a 5.6 on a richter scale and the epicenter was 9 miles away, Alum Rock. Was very scary. The phone lines were jammed after this. Some of our friends didn't even feel it though and the others who did started pinging us on messenger. Hope it doesn't happen again!!!

It was an amazing drive which took us along beaches and the beautiful blue Pacific. It was a bright and sunny day, with clear blue skies and deep blue waters and from a distance the ocean just looked like a continuation of the sky. We stopped at places to get snaps...We saw some beautiful houses built on rocks with private drives and we stopped at a restaurant just to walk on the huge rock a few feet above the ocean, which gave us an awesome view of the place.

From there we went to the National Reserve and on the way we saw a whole bunch of cyclists...They were racing for a cause, the distance for this race was not 10 miles, not 20 but 600 miles starting from San Francisco to San Diego over 7 days...Man some enthusiasm!!! We reached the reserve had lunch and set off on a 1.7 mile walk to the bluff. The bluff trail was along the ocean and we walked there drinking in the beauty of the hazy ocean and returned. On the way back, the sun shone so brilliantly that the water looked frozen in some parts of the ocean while the rest of the ocean looked calm...and this view looked brilliant from the road. We stopped at Bixby Bridge because Raghav was very particular about taking  snap of him on the bridge. The bridge is a huge one and a very old one, built in 1932. We got some snaps and then sat on the rocks looking down at the ocean waves lapping against the shore. By then some guys came there on their Harley Davidson and were clicking snaps. I wanted to ride the bike and asked them and they let me ride it...Man was amazing!!!

We had fun and now it was time to go home...We were so tired that we slept on the way back home except Raghav who had to drive...It was one fun trip and and it ended with Pani Puri for dinner so I couldn't have asked for more!!! ;)

Last Saturday we were supposed to go on a trek to Point Reyes. We played cards as usual on Friday and the next morning I wasn't up for it and we dropped out. I met Farida, my school friend that day after 7 years...Ya long time...She came home with her husband and then we went out for lunch. It was for a short time, couple of hours but I kinda enjoyed it.

On Sunday, we went on an amazing drive to Napa. When we reached Napa the whether was just right. Cloudy and foggy, beautiful whether for a drive and for some wine tasting. Ya I tasted almost 11 varieties of wine and to my surprise Bhasker tasted it too. We went to this famous vineyard called the V.Sattui. We had the Chardonnay, Johannisberg, Gamay, Muscat to name a few. We also bought a bottle of the Muscat. Its a desert wine. We had lunch and headed back because it was really hot by then.

We got back home and set off again, this time in a group to BOWL!!! Yes I love bowling and even though I was tired we went for it (Bhasker hates bowling but surprisingly he was ready to go too)...We played 3 games in two hours. My first game was a disaster. I came fifth and lost to Bhasker. Raghav and Sumanth were tied at the first place, Ajay second, Bhasker third and Rohini fifth. The next game favoured me a bit. Ajay put up an amazing score of 145, I came second just missing the 100, Bhasker third, Raghav fourth, Rohini fifth and Sumanth six. In the third game I played well but towards the end got beaten by Sumanth just by one point and felt terrible, not because I lost but because I lost by a point. That game Raghav came first, Sumanth second, me third, Ajay fourth, Bhasker fifth and Rohini sixth. Bhasker you are still two down to me in our personal score and guys I am all set to beat you'll the next time...

I love the rains especially after a dry summer. The first showers soothe the sun-scorched earth as they gently touch it and the smell that it invokes is simply amazing.

Rains bring back a lot of memories from my childhood and school days like purposely leaving behind the raincoat while going to school in spite of multiple reminders from my parents to take it or coming home and asking mom to make some pakoras which we can have with a hot cup of tea or walking home slowly from the bus stop to my house just so that i can play in the rain a bit longer or standing beneath a plant and shaking it so that the rain drops that have collected on the leaves fall on me.

Rain brings with it a lot of happiness. Dry leaves spread out and turn green in celebration, farmers are happy about the crops, kids totally enjoy getting wet, peacocks spread out their beautiful wings and dance in happiness, the parched earth turns a lovely brown, Everyone is happy when it rains.

It rained in the Bay Area yesterday and I am happy about it because the first rain promised many more in the months to come, promised to turn the yellow hills around this place into a brilliant green. I lay in bed listening to the pitter patter of the rain drops and felt like the rains were saying something about more colour and happiness  and I smiled to myself before I gradually drifted off to sleep...Pitter Patter Pitter Patter Pitter Patter

My Latest sketch of Lord Krishna

"Look into the ocean and you will see what you wanna be."

It was a long weekend because of Labor Day. We planned to go see some place for the weekend. After a lot of debate, San Diego was finally agreed upon. Seeing a new place is something I always look forward to and this time was no exception. I was literally counting days to this weekend. Of course some things had to be done at the last minute like booking a car but at 5 in the evening on Friday, 6 of us, Raghav, Rohini, Sumanth, Sudhir, Bhasker and I, set out in two cars.

San Diego is 500 miles from Sunnyvale. We did good time with two breaks and we were there at 3 in the morning.That just gave us 5 hours to catch up on our sleep before we set out to see the place .The motel room was a small but comfortable one and all of us fell asleep the moment our heads hit the pillow.