When will I change?

OK, I should probably finish writing about our trip soon :D. Anyway…

I’ve become a lazy slob off late. I make these grand plans to exercise from “tomorrow”, but that tomorrow never seems to come. And if it ever does, then it only lasts that day. So I end up working out 1-2 days a week, at most, and that totally sucks considering how much free time I have right now. So I decided to blog about my workouts to keep myself accountable. Nothing much, maybe just a line or two everyday.

Its nearly 8PM today and I just had dinner, so I promise to workout from “tomorrow”…cross my heart :D.

Trip of a 1000 wows – Day 2&3, Arches NP

After visiting Lily Lake at RMNP, we started our journey to Arches NP at around noon. We went a little off route as our GPS ran out of battery and failed to charge for some reason, coupled with my poor navigation skills :). The plan was to reach Arches by 6PM, hike the Delicate Arch trail and watch the sunset from there. Despite our off route adventure, heavy rain on our way (It felt like rain was following us wherever we went) and a quick lunch stop, we made it to the park by 6:15PM. The parking lot to the trail is 12 miles from the park entrance and by the time we parked our car it was 6:45PM. K wasn’t too keen on watching the sunset, but I was determined. I didn’t pay much attention to the map at the beginning of  Delicate Arch trail, otherwise I would’ve changed my mind :). The trail is 1.6 miles (one way) and moderately strenuous. It wasn’t difficult, but it felt very very long and was steep in some places. We (I) huffed and puffed my way up and the sun just started to set by the time we reached the arch. The orange glow of the sun against a blue sky with pink and purple hues was a beautiful sight indeed. The Arch itself was very impressive. It didn’t look as big from afar, but when you stand right underneath it, you understand its magnificence. We sat there for a long time, and thought if we stay a little longer, we could see the moon as well. If you decide to do that, one piece of advise – PLAN AHEAD AND CARRY A TORCH :). We didn’t have anything except a water bottle and our camera. It got really dark and was hard to see.

We stayed at the Days Inn in Moab, 4 miles from the park. The rooms were newly renovated and really clean. It was my first time seeing wood floors in a hotel room. A good affordable place to stay if you are in the area.

View of sunset on our way to the Arch.

Delicate Arch

The Moon making its way out of the clouds

Verdict: A must see. Our long drive and  walk were worth it.

Vinayaka Chavithi/Ganesh Chaturhi wishes!

I would like to wish everybody a very happy Vinayaka Chavithi!

Vinayaka Chavithi (VC) is one of my favorite festivals. Its pretty high up in the ladder along with Diwali, followed very closely by Sankranthi. So every year, no matter how busy I am, we celebrate it in our own little way. Its not special just because of new clothes or all the yummy food, but even as kids (my brother and I) the excitement of selecting the idol, planning and decorating the palavelli, deciding which books to put at the puja, which book should be on top of the pile made us feel very involved and look forward to the festival every year. Since I got married and came to the US, I had to add one more thing to the list – Cooking! The first couple of years were a flop as far as cooking went :(. However after many years of failure and torturing my poor husband and eliminating all memories of how yummy VC food tastes from his brain, I am proud to say I make kickass poornalu and garelu now :).

This year is special in one more way in that it is our first VC in our new home and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of time to cook and make all the preparations. Every year I use a Ganesha idol I have at home and just immerse it in water after the puja and put it back on the shelf. This year I wanted to make my own idol and I am so glad I tried.

Trip of 1000 WOWs – Day 1&2, Rocky Mountain NP

This year was our 7th anniversary and I wanted to do something special. A dinner and a movie were not going to cut it :). Well we did go to Bourne Legacy and ate out twice that day :), but I also wanted us to go on a vacation. So a couple of months before that, I started looking for places to visit. There was Yellowstone National Park, Florida, drive from Oregon to SFO…….. We finally narrowed it down to flying to SFO and then driving around to Yosemite National park, Lake Tahoe and Monterrey.  I even started looking for hotels and making a spreadsheet for the whole vacation. I don’t exactly remember when we flipped the idea, but we changed our whole plan and finally ended up going on a road trip covering six National Parks (NP). I will give a brief overview of our trip and some highlights from each park.

Itinerary:

Fly from Milwaukee, WI to Denver, CO -> Denver, CO to Rocky Mountain NP, CO -> Rocky Mountain NP to Arches NP, UT -> Arches NP to Capitol Reef NP, UT -> Capitol Reef NP to Bryce Canyon NP, UT-> Bryce Canyon NP – Zion NP, UT -> Zion NP to Death Vally NP, CA-> Death Valley NP to Las Vegas, NV ->Fly from  Las Vegas to Milwaukee, WI.

Our Road Trip

And this is what we did it in :).

This thing survived: 8 days, 1800 miles (2500 km), 5 states, 6 national parks, highway, unpaved roads, off-road, 15% gradient roads, 45F to 120F and 2 fat people 🙂

Day 1: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).

We took the 6 AM flight from Milwaukee to Denver, rented a car, picked up some water bottles and an ice chest, grabbed breakfast and drove straight to RMNP. The weather was beautiful and the drive was fun, full of hilly roads and spectacular terrain. It was very different from the  plains of the Midwest. It was around 11AM by the time we reached the park. We drove directly to out first stop at Alluvial Fan. By the time we reached there, it became cloudy and a little chilly. Alluvial Fan is a short hike form the parking lot and well worth the trip. We hiked for a while, up the boulders and across the water till it started to drizzle. I would advise against walking across the water as the rocks are very slippery in some places, unless you are good at balancing yourself or don’t mind getting wet :).

Alluvial Fan

Our plan was to drive from Alluvial Fan to the Alpine Visitor Center via Fall River Road (unpaved and steep). We drove till the entrance of  Fall River Road and noticed that even AWD cars were pulling back (I guess due to the rain that picked up speed by then), so we turned around and got back on Trail Ridge Road (TRR).  We stopped at several places along the way including, Forest Canyon Overlook, Rainbow Curve, Many Parks Curve, Alpine Visitor Center and Milner Pass. It started to rain heavily so we waited and ran out to see the view when we got the chance. We even got hit by hail at Forest Canyon Overlook and I had a headache for an hour after that, because of brain freeze :). I guess our trip would have been beautiful on a sunny day, but the dark cloudy and rainy day gave the park a different dimension.

View of rain on another peak

We spent time at different places in the park and drove to Bear Lake at around 3:15PM. We saw Elks and Bighorn Sheep along the way. Due to construction, the road to Bear Lake was closed to private vehicles from 9AM-4PM, but was accessible by the park shuttle. We reached there by 3:45PM and decided it was a good time to take a break and have some snacks. By the, the weather also cleared up and the sun was out.  We took the loop around Bear Lake, which was a nice and easy stroll. The reflection of the trees in the lake was absolutely beautiful.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake

It was around 5:30PM, that we decided to drive to our motel. We stayed in the loft at Glacier Lodge Resort in Estes Park, CO. It was a very small room on the second floor and was comfortable for a one night stay. After dinner, we spent the evening watching the Republic Convention :).

Day 2: RMNP

After a big breakfast at the Egg and I in Estes Park (highly recommend it), where I had the Parisian Eggs Benedict :), we set off to Lily Lake. It was a nice sunny day and the reflections in the lake were very beautiful. We hiked for a while on the Lily Ridge Trail, which was fun and perfect for a lazy morning walk. The whole place kept reminding me of Devil’s Lake State Park, at home in WI. After spending some time soaking in the views and fresh air, we set off on our long drive to Arches National Park, UT.

Lily Lake

Verdict: Even though the weather was temperamental, I was happy that we visited every place on our list. I was skeptical about Bear Lake, due the timings and rain, but am so glad that we got a chance to visit both lakes.

Winter

I have to admit, this year’s winter was not that brutal. It was neither too cold (only had 15F weather for 3 weeks :)), nor were we buried in a pile of snow. However, because we now own a home AKA, cleaning the driveway and paying for our heat, we felt it more than we did before :). Now that winter is officially over, here are some of the pictures we took.

2 years huh!

I can’t believe I haven’t written anything in 2 years, to the day. I actually had to struggle to remember the password and ultimately ended up resetting it.  I can tell you I’m out of hibernation after the very long and cold winter and would like to come here more often. So, what have I been up to? We moved way out into the countryside, far away from modern civilization 🙂 and bought a house. Yesterday was the first day, I sat on the deck and read a book, while soaking up the warm sun. It was great!

I also started reading a book, “The discovery of India” by J.Nehru. So far, I think its beautifully written. I will have a review once I’m done reading. Right now I’m on oage 41/600+ pages :).

I just wanted to touch base and I will be back with more substantial posts soon. Have a good one!

 

 

Me = Vegetarian

Vegetarian? Vegan? Lacto-vegetarian? Lacto-ovovegetarian? Pescatarian? What the hell!!! I didn’t know there are so many options to being a vegetarian. It was an unknown territory till I suddenly decided that I want to QUIT eating meat. You may ask what’s the big deal? It is a big deal when you give something up you’ve enjoyed for 25 years, give or take a few :). What? Why? How? I know your probably about to burst with all these questions.

I came across a documentary that changed my whole life in 1hr 20min. After watching 2 movies back to back, I was browsing through some documentaries that K had, and found one on shark-finning. I know very well what shark-finning is about, but watching it, took it to a whole different level. It was horrible to see people catch sharks, cut off their fins and throw them back into the sea to let them die. I don’t blame the fishermen, but I do blame the people who demand to have shark fin soup on their table. It is cruel, brutal, barbaric and inhumane. Its not just about sharks, but every animal that we kill to eat. I agree that I am no saint, and that every animal I have ever eaten probably went through the same rigor before it ended up on my plate.  Maybe I was too  immature and selfish to see how much bloodshed there is just to keep my belly happy. I don’t know what it was about that documentary, but it struck a chord.  Why do we think we are so superior to everything around us that we can do whatever we want? What gives us that right? How would you feel if you were gagged, tied up and thrown in the ocean? These were some of the thoughts that went through my head. I am not doing this to change the world or stop globabl warming or because it is the “in” thing. Its simple – I don’t want to be a cruel and brutal barbarian anymore.

It is actually not as hard as it is chalked out to be. I may have grabbed a fried shrimp or small piece of chicken from Ks plate in a moment of weakness, but for the most part it’s going really well. Now if I think of it, its amazing to see the turn of events in 24 hrs- from having a large juicy spicy cajun burger with bottomless fries (can you believe unlimited fries?) at Red Robin for lunch to becoming a vegetarian for dinner.

This video is not the documentary I talked about, but gives a good idea too.

I am back! I know..I know..it has been ages since my last post. I started a few posts in between but never got around to actually publishing them. So where do I start? After Las Vegas, I started graduate school in August and went to India in Dec. So, 2009 was a year I probably wouldn’t have missed. Nothing to blow my trumpet about. Anyway, I will be back more often from now on.

July 4th Weekend – Las Vegas

It’s been 2 weeks since we got back from Vegas. It was everything I thought it would be and more. You have to admire the the work that went into making those hotels and casinos magnificent. It felt like going to Egypt (Luxor), Venice (The Venetian), Rome (Caesar’s Palace), New Yorn (NYNY) and Paris (Paris Paris) all in a single day. I couldn’t stop admiring how beautifully they were all decorated. The Mirage, Mandalay Bay ( loved the interiors), Belaggio, MGM, Rio were all very nice too.

The highlights of my trip were definitely the fountains at The Bellagio, rides on The Stratosphere, Fremont Street Experience and Hoover Dam. The 10 min fountain shows were breathtaking. The Stratosphere was an entirely different story. We saw a show on Discovery Travel many years ago, where they showed us the top 10 scariest rides in the country and we thought we should try this one for sure. Of course, they have rides everywhere but what made this stand out was the fact that they were 1100 ft up in the air, literally hanging off the side of the hotel tower..what a view! It was a beautiful sunny day and since we went there before lunch, they wasn’t a long wait. I won’t describe the rides now, I’ll just post a photo so you get the idea.

Fremont Street is downtown Vegas, a few miles away from the Strip. They have a light show all evening with live bands and artists. It was very nice. I’m no engineer and I might not appreciate bridges and dams as much but Hoover Dam was very impressive. The size of it and the fact that it was constructed so well in 1930’s just made it even more impressive. If you ever go there, be prepared for a long walk at 105F .

Overall, the trip was fun, new place, bling bling every where and great food. Food..try the buffet at Rio,..great food and an amazing dessert section.

It’s a nice place to visit once..maybe twice but if you look beyond the facade, it was tacky and had no speacial character to it.

The rides are on top of this buiding.

Sin City baby!!!

That’s right, we are going to Las Vegas today. I’m so excited, more so after watching “Hangover”. Not that I’m going to get drunk and gamble all 3 days, but it’ll be a nice change to see lots of bling after all our camping trips. More on that after I return.

The last 3-4 weeks have been fun. K’s sis and family were here and it was a great trip. It was nice to be with family and playing “attha” to a super excited adorable 5 year old.  We went camping (again), to Chicago, lots of shopping at outlet malls and of course ate a lot 😛 . Alright got to go and pack now. Have a good weekend!!!!