Christmas in Seattle with Movie Nighters

Okay! Let me explain the title! We are a group of 4 (sometimes 5). Myself , my sis, and 2 buddies- J and L. And sometimes my hubby joins us, on days his work permits him too. Poor him. He didn't have as much as vacation as the rest of us! We 4 call ourselves the "Movie Nighters". Guess that's self explanatory! 

So yes, my sis, J and L reached the airport 24th night, also my hubby. He was back from an official trip the same night. So they all came home together. I was waiting at home with dinner and desserts ready! Controlling myself from eating the dessert- jamuns!

Of the whole planning, the only thing we booked and confirmed for to stay the next day at a cabin in Redwood National Park, CA. And my hubby was reluctant of driving that long and asking us to cancel it. Hmmm... I had to pull up all the crazy and somewhat okay reasons to stick onto the plan as planned! 

25th December- 

Morning we started as planned- Straight to California. All 5 of us can drive- but my hubby did the most part, a little bit me and L. Alternatively getting tired to drive. We reached late night! 

Pluses till here: 

1. Though dark, the moon's light was so beautiful- huge and super bright! Like a torch light over us! (No exaggeration guys!)
2. Pacific Ocean Coast was WOW! High tides! These moments surely can't click pictures of. I can still hear the gushes and sounds of the waves.
3. The drive though the forest was good too. 

Minuses till here:

1. Too long to drive in a day- All tired to drive
2. Wrong season - not great weather either
3. Should have taken more stops/ sightseeing on the way- not just for food/ gas

 26th December-
Morning starting from the cabin.

We saw these drive through tree on the net. Drove straight there. It's a drive-thru Tree! A bark so huge that actually you can drive through it. There's a road going through the tree. And a small loop! We were scared at first, we our car could really get through that space?! Drove through really slowly- we made it. Then we drove through a second time. This time to click good pictures. 

The tree stands this tall!

Driving out of the forest- Stopped by the Pacific Ocean! 

Night stayed at Eugene, OR. Around an hour away from Portland. 

27th December- 

I just wish it didn't pour all day! Yes, Whole day of rain! We drove straight back home! 

NO way- a great plan! We dream't we could come another day to Portland! That's still a dream! 

28th December- 

My hubby went for work, before we all woke up. L said we shall take the day slowly. So I said the Falls is the closest. Just 30 mins away! Had breakfast and got ready. Started to the Falls! Quite a good day! 

Got back to the city, had lunch, got some groceries, L cooked yummy pepper chicken fry for us! Then we dropped him to meet his friends (on a condition to bring back ideas on places to visit and things to do around in this season!). Ha ha! L got a long list! 

29th December - 

We didn't want to wait and pile up all Seattle for the New Year weekend! So this day we went to Seattle downtown! Took the monorail and walked to Public Pike Market. Had hot apple cider juice!

Then walked to the water front - took a ride on the ferry wheel (Giant wheel). Then we took the link train to went to Chinatown- Nothing much there, Then stopped at University street station, and back the Seattle center and drove back! 

30th December - 

Booked for Zip-lining! Planned for Bungee Jumping and many others (Didn't even think of Zip-lines)

Expect the Unexpected! We did zip-lining! 

31st December -

Movie Nighter's Chapter continues! Evening had dinner at Anjapar! And Cheers to 2016! 

1st January- 

Movie Nighter's Continuation! With addition of J's Salmon bake special! 

2nd January-

From the last trip to Seattle downtown, we just left behind the Space Needle for our 5th member! 

They have special packages fr 2 trips- Day and Night views! We thought we could bypass that, and make it on a single trip to the deck! Starting up by 430, right when the sun started to sink in! LOL!

We reached there at 415. But surprise you need to book for your slot! It was only available from 630. Every 30 mins a slot! So we booked for 630. Now we had 2 hours to while away... My hubby said coffee shop... and I decided to walk a mile to the south union lake. Yes it was cold! But we had nothing else do to better. So all walked to and fro the lake.. On the way back, stopped at Starbucks! And then reached the Space Deck! 

3rd January- 

Time to depart. Monday was back! Vacation was all over! 

This is the reality! But wanna know the plan? 

http://alegra2013.blogspot.com/2015/12/planning-trip-is-super-exciting.html

Enjoy reading! :P 

New York City - 3 visits

This was my first time to NYC.

July 4th - US Independence day
Flew to New York, Stayed at a friend's place. It was a rainy day. So just chilled back at home.

July 5th - Started as early as we could, Caught the train at 1130 am. Reached the Grand Central Station. Walked the streets of downtown.. Went for the water taxi tour- statue of liberty, battery park, walls street - financial district. Stopped for lunch at Ruchi - Indian Restaurant. Got tired early evening, so left back home (Friend's place). On the way back, stopped by Peachwave - Frozen yogurt place.

July 6th - This day we planned to start late, so the sun doesn't drink us up and we save energy to see Times Square in the night. As planned we reached NYC at 130 pm. Headed to downtown. Put all the luggage in the hotel. Had some street food. Then went to Madame Tussards Museum - A wax museum. We saw a 4D movie - shark. The walked a really long way looking for Saravana Bhanvan.

July 7th - Back home- Chicago

• My in-laws were with us. And Balu's friends a couple. Since parents were along, we had some constrains in roaming around. They got tired easily. 

The second trip was for Balu's birthday.

Then again we spent only one day travelling to the city. But we covered all that we missed on the previous visit. This one was April 12th 2015.

We went around Empire state building, Hotel Saravana Bhanvan and the ferry ride (Water Taxi).

• Got cheated buying tickets for the islands, instead got tickets for the same ferry ride we previously visited. 

The third visit was one day at Downtown and the other to Niagara Falls.

Again July 3rd 2015 was in New York. This time another friend and his family were with us.

July 4th - This time had tickets booked to Ellis Island and Liberty Island.
Drove all night to reach a motel at Niagara

July 5th - Went for Maid of the Mist ferry. And then I walked across to Canada.

July 6th - Flew back to Chicago.

• Quite well planned trip - All tickets purchased online. Plans made and executed as planned. 
• And Niagara falls was beautiful experience

Seattle- Better than the rest of USA

I have lived in a couple of states in USA! And traveled to many others. A total of 22 states so far!

Seattle is a lot different! So far always I have been telling people, you visit one place in USA, and they are pretty much the same everywhere- roads, Walmart, other chains of groceries and restaurants, houses and downtown! Wanna know how Seattle stands apart?

1. Evergreen... They hardly use Plastic bags. It's brown paper bags or cloth bags everywhere! :D Rarely you can spot a plastic bag, and then again they are very minimally used! Unlike some places where literally every item uses a plastic bag each! LOL.

2. Surprise... There have umbrella's around a strip mall. Yes! It is said to rain a lot here. Haven't experienced it much yet though.  

3. I love this one... There are open roofs on the top of apartments in downtown! Beautiful view from there! Would surely be awesome during summers! 

4. Funny... A place called International District or Chinatown... has street names written in Chinese! Would never expect that :O 

5. Interesting... In Shops like Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, where the shop were in multiple floors, with escalators, there were a escalator path for the carts too... May be this is in other states- But I am seeing it for the first time in four years! :P

6. OMG... Nobody was out on Thanksgiving eve for Black Friday shopping... Roads empty... shops too... hardly any deals.. All my expectations on the floor! :P 

7. A well built city... With Tunnels, Bridges, Wider roads, multiple HOV lanes, HOV lanes even on ramps! But still traffic is a nightmare! :/

Today's my 24th day in Seattle! :D So it's just the beginning! :D 

Wandering in Seattle

Friday

As we drove our final stretch to Seattle, Balu got a call that he had to go to Phoenix for his orientation at Amazon. A very last moment information. If we knew earlier, we could have planned differently.

Night we reached the hotel, then walked down to find dinner. The first thing I noticed was a big pink elephant board rotating saying Super Car Wash. I recollect seeing it in a TV show on travel. While Balu wondered why would a car wash be required in a place where it rains all the time?! :D

The second thing I noticed was the Seattle Space Needle- Sparkling with lights in the night sky! 

Then we headed into a Thai cuisine restaurant- Golden Shanghai. 

Saturday 

We started looking out for apartments around downtown's of Seattle and Bellevue. It literally rained the whole day. The traffic was so much on a freaking weekend. And as always parking was difficult. All the apartments had monthly charges for parking cars. That was when I felt having a car in downtown was like a sin! :/

Sunday 

Afternoon Balu left to the airport to fly to Phoenix. Then I walked down the hotel. I walked towards the Space Needle. At the Seattle center was a park, a museum, a cafe, a gift store and much more. I randomly walked into a building- there was a food court and also Surprise- DIWALI celebrations! 

Beside that building was the Monorail station. Took the ticket and then the train. Its a point to point rail. No stops in between. Last stop- West Lake Mall. From there, walked around and then to Pike Market. The most crowded place. A lot of small shops and cafes. Queues for many shops. All over the platforms. A farmers market of food, flowers and gifts. The beautiful lake view. 

When I entered the pike street, the first interesting thing I saw was a cheese shop making their own cheese right there. The shop was fully crowded in and out. People watching the making of cheese through the glass of the shop. And free samples were given in and outside, despite the crowd and queue through the shop. 

As I walked back to the West Lake mall, where the monorail station is, I thought about the number of Starbucks around Seattle. There is freaking so many Starbucks here. Not kidding at all. Almost every street has one. Walk a couple of blocks, look around and you can spot one. 

Monday 

I walked to the South Lake Union Park. There was so many boats and ships in the lake. Many on sale too. As a walked towards the park, I noticed rail tracks. Then after a while of  roaming around, I noticed a bus stop. I walked over- looked at the map and was figuring out how to take a ticket. Right then a train came over. A sign board at the stop said the next train would be 18 mins. I didn't wanna wait. So hopped in. The last stop was at the West lake. Got down and then took the ticket! LOL! I traveled without a ticket! :P 

The previous day, I saw there were tunnel trains and buses below the monorail. So this day, I headed to discover the routes of them. Checked the map over there and bought my tickets. Caught the Link train and hop on and off at different stations- International District/ Chinatown, Pioneer Square Park, University Street, Safeco field. Safeco field stadium- I caught the train in the other direction and ended up there. Ha ha. 

Tuesday 

Seattle was all done. Of course I didn't visit the main places to see like Space Needle- its an observatory tower, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Art museum, and anything that requires a ticket. Basically waiting for Balu to join me. Also kept reminding myself that I am not a tourist and have time to see places- may be would even wait for friends and family to stop by.

All I had left was bus to explore, So switched two buses to reach Bellevue. Went to the downtown park and Bellevue square mall. On the return got confused with the directions and battery running low. But finally figured them out and got back quiet late. 

Wednesday

Again to West Lake Mall by the Monorail. Then walked around the downtown- entered Barnes & Noble store. Shopped a while. After the bill counter, realized it was a part of another mall- Pacific Mall. Big and Beautiful. Spent the day and got back earlier than usual. 

Thursday

Stayed back in the hotel. A day off from wandering Seattle. Balu was back by evening. And then here I am recollecting my thoughts as I write this blog. :) 

Road Trip- Chicago to Seattle- Nov 3 to 6

I love quoting numbers! So here it goes...

1st Long Road Trip
2 Drivers/ Travelers
3 Time Zones
4 Days on Road
8 States of America
30 Hour Total Distance
80 MPH Max Speed
i-90 W Highway
970 Pictures/Videos
2000 Miles

Everyday we woke up by 7 am. Hit the road by/ before 8:30 am. Took breaks for Gas, Lunch and Starbucks. Ended each day by 4:30 pm. Enjoyed the day light and clicked pictures on the drive.

We played music, audios of TV shows and radio shows. The car was packed full of stuff as we moved from Chicago, IL to Seattle, WA.

Early November gave us scenic views of Fall and Winter. We saw fog, clouds, rain, snow and sunshine! From plains to mountains- beautiful scenarios!

Day 1: We drove across 3 states- IL, WI and MN. And finally stayed the night at SD! 4 states in a day! 

Day 2: From Sioux Falls, SD to Sheridan, WY. 

Plains are boring... Once we entered Wyoming.. Then came to magnificent mountains! Love them. 

Day 3: From Sheridan, WY to Missoula, MT. 

The most beautiful stretch! Filled with snow covered Christmas Trees! Millions of Pine Trees everywhere. 

Day 4: Missoula, MT to Seattle, WA

More better pictures to come soon- Seattle WA. 

Sorry about picture quality guys... phone cam bad plus car windshield not great! 

Note: Human eye is 576 Mega pixels! Un-beatable right?! 

Loved the long drive! Experience it when you get a chance! :D 

CABIN IN THE WOODS

2015. Adventurous/ Comedy Film. 3 days

Director/ Screenplay       Annamalai

Story Writer/ Blogger    Akilya

Cinematographer            Balasubramanyam

Photographers                  Bangari

                                         Mythili

Choreographer                 Bhanu P

Child Artist                    Monica

Comedy Duo                     Raghu

                                        Bhanu S

Female Lead Role            Shravanthi

Production Company         Last Minute Planners

Distributor                       Facebook/ Google Blog

Release date                5/26/15

Running time                72 hours

Location                        Letchworth State Park, NY, USA

Starring                 Shravanthi

Bangari

Annamalai

Bhanu S

Bhanu P

Raghu

Mythili

Balasubramanyam

Monica

Akilya

Last minute planners didn't really plan last minute this time. A location was decided that met distance of all our friends in NY/ NJ- who still had to drive 5 hours… Pretty lazy guys and there was one more lazier one… who drove from the neighboring country… CANADA… just 3 hours away… He is the one most frequent traveler across the border, who is here for our heroine. The NY/NJ guys, one guy from each state… new to each other but close to one other common friend. And then the majority of the gang … 5 folks from Chicago, who had the longest distance to travel and still managed to start their journey the latest on Friday night for an exciting long weekend- Memorial Day weekend. And that’s not all. I and my sister were the last ones to hop onto the journey… and the most excited ones, who were picked up on the way from Chicago to NY- Buffalo via our little town- WARSAW, IN. We packed mid night dinner- Tamarind rice and curd rice into individual zip locks too for the travel and not to waste time halting in between.

Everyone but us reached well early ‘late night’. We 7 with the longest drive of 10 hours from Chicago and 7 hours from our little town. We drove all night to reach really early the next morning 6 am. Quite before reaching… we started looking for breakfast/ lunch or whateva you’d call it… probably brunch… And oh ya, guys prepared an entire long list of groceries required… quiet impressive to our production company’s name… The guys who came late the previous night… our lazy ones went right to bed and claimed they didn't find a grocery store LOL… we were surprised to find no eggs anywhere… We finally reached the cabin in the woods. Besides a lake… A beautiful location to get away … A big house… 3 bed rooms… A big backyard, with a deck… and BBQ station… A game room in the basement … An awesome climate… WOW… What more would one ask for.

So Saturday morning we all settled in the cabin… hungry…. So we gobbled up the packed curd rice… and then banged the beds… quick to turn our sleepy eyes to shut down. Then by mid-day… got up asking what’s next… We filled our hungry tummies again with Tomato dhal over rice... And got ready to step out… we headed to the state park… to the upper falls…. And then the middle falls… Lower falls… was a bit longer walk… so we went back to the car and drove down to lower falls…. And of course what’s a trip without photos… we clicked trucks of pictures… and still hardly anyone tired… ha-ha…

Within the park, there are three large waterfalls on the Genesee River and as many as fifty waterfalls found on tributaries that flow into it; the deep gorge formed by the river, with rock walls rising up to 550 feet (170 m) in places and which narrow to 400 feet (120 m) across above the middle of the three falls, prompted the area's reputation as the "Grand Canyon of the East"

Then our heroine’s bestie sprang out asking for a hike… From here we parted in 2 groups… Anna, Bhanu 1 & 2, Raghu, Mythili, Monica and I went for a three quarters small hike…. And the remaining- Shravz, Bangi, Balu left to relax watching a hot air balloon show. We split with 2 cars… so not depending on each other… They 3 left home early… while we were enjoying our nature’s trail…. The freshness of the woods… the river flowing beside… then came a beautiful bridge… and our photographer caught a pic of a crocodile looking beaver… LOL…. That was a magnificent trail… the mountains… J then came a hill… our duo comedians were suddenly screaming from the top… WOOW…. N then enthusiastic Mythili pulled Monica and started climbing up… Mid way they started blinking up and down… Anna went to rescue… LOL… And there was all the monkeys up there…

Then we returned back from the trail… checked on if the hot air balloon show was still on and if our guys were just in case still there. Nope they weren’t, neither was there any show… So headed back to the cabin... on the way… got some firewoods for camp fire… Then got home… prepared dinner… chicken grilled… got the camp fire set up… All of us sat around and here enters our cinematographer… with his entertainment and all of enjoyed chat chatting and having dinner… Later in the night…. We put on some music and there entered our choreographer… with his awesome dance steps… Ha-ha... Monica was literally ROFLing…. He outstood even our duo comedians that night.

Sunday early to rise… we had booked for water rafting… All hyped up… and we were running late… Anna called up confirming his appointment… we rushed to the park… and got our instructions and lifejacket all buckled up- Anna, Bhanu 1, Monica, Mythili and I. Behind us the rest started a bit later and caught us in time… Bangi, our photographer… Clicked our memories… as we walked down to the river…. With our paddles… then took our positions on to the boat… There were a lot of others and colorful boats around us and instructors following and leading the troop. We enjoyed the whole 5 miles of rafting down the river… understanding the currents and flow… and pulling ourselves outta the rocks that we got caught up on several times… It was a life time experience….

“Sometimes the best moments are when you don’t click pictures.”

Tired back from rafting headed home… Got some more chicken marinated ready to be grilled by our head chef, also Bangi… Then he had to leave back to CANADA…L

Monday morning… it was the end of our vacation… cleaned up the cabin and packed our bags… got ready… and Balu and Bhanu 2 left… and all of us… played games a while…  slept most of the travel… We stopped for lunch and evening break in between…. And finally we reached home 9:30 pm… and the Chicago folks reached by mid night.

 Yet another unforgettable trip it was. J J

Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

Utah is a terrain of mountains and canyons. Simply Rocks! If your travelling on the west of the States, and/or a lover of nature, an outdoor person, this is for you. Hiking, mountaineering, rocks, photos, trails, rare flora and fauna!

At the least, 2 and a half days would do, to cover both these national parks and around. We started one early morning to the Bryce Canyon. Began at the visitors center with a short movie about the place and the museum there. These canyons are natural rock formations made of limestone and small traces of metals giving them those mild shades of colors. Basically white with titches of light red orange. Beautiful shades, shapes and sizes. We drove to heights and various elevations. Took trails and viewed the most fabulous canyon formations called Hoodoos.

When in the park region it's always good to have plenty of waters and snacks along with you, especially when your walking on long trails under the sun, during the peak of the day. Ofcourse also carry your enormous energy and enthusiasm. Collect a map from the visitors center, plan your day with the help of the guides there, depending on your time and capability, as I have mentioned in my previous blogs.

So this what we do- drive through the scenic road, the complete stretch, stop at every overlook point, select a few best and easy to moderate trails to hike. Navajo Loop and the Sunrise point trails were the most popular among several others such as the under rim trail, the peek-a-boo loop, the upper inspirational point, rim trail, bryce point, rainbow point, ponderosa point, natural bridge. We walked and viewed the hoodoos really close by. Other points gave different views of them from several angles and elevations.

Chipmunks (squirrels), deers, ravens also hiked with us.

That night stayed in between the two parks and early the next day, we headed to Zion National Park. Shuttles ran through the park, making it easier to travel from point to point. Lots of wonderful viewpoint were there. I don't remember going for any trail here. Then on the way out, there was Red Canyon, may be not that popular, yet there was a beautiful place called Mossy Cave there. It was a short and easy trail. That was day 2.

Then the next day... stopped by a state park.. Kodachrome Basin State Park.. Don't expect too much there.. not as great as a National Park.. Afternoon, we drove back home... We normally avoid driving too late.. So I would say this was an ideal plan.. and an awesome trip. :)