Monterrey Bay Aquarium & 17-mile drive

We have been meaning to make a trip somewhere in the Monterrey Bay area from quite sometime. As Ami was coming over to the Bay area I thought it would be perfect to make this long-awaited trip. There are quite a few places to visit but finally we narrowed it down to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium & the 17-mile scenic drive.

We started over with visiting the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. The Aquarium is located right besides the Pacific ocean.
The major attraction were the variety of fishes & the Aquatic plants.










The one thing that fascinated me the most
were the brilliant colors that made this fishes & aquatic plants even more magnificent & awe-inspiring. Amazing work by Mother Nature!! I have always believed that there is a different world deep inside the water and a visit to the aquarium made my belief even more stronger.

Later we went for the 17-mile scenic drive. This long stretch along the Pacific ocean is mainly famous for the beautiful scenic surrounding, the Pebble beach, pretty houses, its world - renowned golf courses and the Monterrey cypress trees. There are a few spots along the drive like the Lone cypress, Ghost tree, Seal rock, Bird rock and the Restless sea that gives even more reasons to go for the drive at least once.

It was a cool one day getaway!!

Las Vegas baby! - Our first wedding anniversary

The Las Vegas trip started with a little dampener as my flight from SD to Vegas got delayed by almost 3 hours. But never mind as the trip in itself was super fun!!

We kicked off the trip with visiting Hoover Dam situated on the border of states Arizona & Nevada. The driving to the dam is pretty impressive surrounded by the gorgeous rocky Canyon mountains.

Frankly speaking for me Vegas was always a land of just Casinos...yeah a narrow view indeed :-). Because I was pleasantly surprised by the potpourri of entertainment that this place has to offer. We decided to start off by going to Stratosphere & enjoy a couple of rides. The best part is that they are on the 108th floor of the building which gives us a spectacular view of the shimmering Vegas strip & the valley in general.

Later we went roaming around the Vegas strip. This is the most happening stretch that is home to some of the world's largest & swankiest hotels & casinos. We visited some of the hotels like Bellagio, Paris, The Venetian,Wynn each of which is distinct in its own way with splendid decor & structures. We also had a delectable buffet at the Wynn.

The next day we visited the Hotel - Caesar's palace which is also on The Strip. I liked it the most. Its indeed a palatial structure. Superb interiors...every minute details from the ceiling to the floor have been taken care of. Huge stone statues are placed that add to the grandness of this hotel. Then there are lots of high end stores collectively called the Forum shops. We managed to catch the Fountain show that uses the lifelike animatronic figures.

We also saw the most talked about & very popular Bellagio fountain show. Its undeniably an exquisite piece of work. We spent the evening watching the show KA Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand hotel. The show is an eclectic blend of fascinating special effects, stupendous acrobats and dramatic landscape put in sync with a canorous concoction of music. Its a unique experience!!





We ended our trip with a nice cozy dinner at a Chinese place - The Grand Wok. Come to think of it we did not gamble much..probably threw away some money in a couple of games...thats it :-)...Yet managed to have an awesome time.

San Diego

When I planned my visit to San Diego, the one thing that had to be made sure is that it was not just a place to visit & come back. Its a place where I am to meet two of my oldest friends!!

Ami came to pick me at the airport...and from then she went on a chattering spree:).

In the evening we drove around Torry Pines. This drive is along the Pacific ocean surrounded by the beautiful Torry Pine trees. This place is also very famous for Gliding. Infact it is also called the Glider's port. We spent sometime sitting on the cliff watching the sun set only to rise in the other side of the world.

Hetal & Mukund joined in from there & we went to the SeaPort village. SeaPort village is a posh sea- facing shopping complex. Actually its a nice hang-out spot. They gifted me a nice cute hat from there...:)... Later we went to the DJ nite at Pacific beach - Mission Bay. The DJ played Bollywood numbers and we danced our way to glory!!

The next day we drove over Coronado bridge to the Coronado Island. This Bridge links San Diego & Coronado. The drive over the bridge offers an impressive view of the harbor area and to add to that the curves along the bridge are pretty interesting. Coronado offers an excellent view of the San Diego downtown. We had a yummy lunch at an Italian place in the downtown.
We spent sometime around the island and also drove in and around. Coronado is a plush community consisting of beautiful mansion-like houses and tiny old-style coffee shops. Later in the evening we went to the Coronado beach and one cannot help but admire the majestic Hotel Del Mar. We clicked some pictures, had some coffee, watched a beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean and off we went to catch the movie 'Dostana'.

On one of the weekdays I went to Pt Loma with Ami's friend. Pt Loma is situated up on the hill which is why it offers an all-embracing view of San Diego harbor, Pacific bay and the Coronado islands. It is also popular for its very charming Lighthouse. I managed to catch one more sunset!!

It was Ami's last day at work so she came in early and we went to La Jolla cove beach. This is a great place to simply relax, enjoy the soothing ocean breeze, watching the seals from a walkway across the ocean and not to forget the interesting cliffs that sets this beach apart. Later we took a stroll around the La jolla downtown, perhaps one of the ritziest shopping stops. We synced up with Hetal & Mukund, had dinner and drove around Old town, San Diego downtown and Coronado bridge. Like any other downtown, San Diego Downtown is full of life but the distinguishing element is the Gaslamp quarter.

In a nutshell, it was all fun right from the sigth-seeing to spending quality time with friends. I am glad I made the trip!!

Lake Tahoe

Last weekend we were off to lake Tahoe. As the name suggest its main claim to fame is the Lake surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains.This is a popular destination for skiing in the winters & water-sports during summer.

Known for the fresh & crystal clear water its also the largest Alpine lake in US. Whenever I thought about a 'lake' it was something moderately larger than a pond but Lake Tahoe it proved me so pathetically wrong. Its indeed a Gigantic pond.Very beautiful & pristine!

We had already planned to do a couple of water sports like Jetskiing & para-sailing. This would be my very first experience and I was soo excited about it.

Jetskiing was quite a thrill esp in the choppy waters.
But nothing compared to para-sailing.To begin with,in a minute we are 1200 ft above the ground and then up there hanging with absolutely breathtaking views in sight for almost about 10 minutes. Wow it is a incredibly awesome feeling! I was so not wanting to come down :(...

Lake Tahoe falls between the states of California & Nevada so just 10 minutes of drive and we are in Nevada state - Land of Casinos.

In the evening we went to a Casino hotel called Harrah's. We had a buffet dinner and had thought of spending a few hours in the casino but unfortunately could not spend much time as I did not have proper Identificaion documents :((...


The next day we went for the cable car ride which takes us approximately 9000 ft above the ground. The panoramic view we get from the top is definitely worth the ride.

lake Tahoe is an amazing work of Mother nature with the lake and the beautiful mountains of Sierra standing tall in the background.





It was a great weekend!

Yosemite National Park

A couple of years ago a friend of mine had sent me pictures of Yosemite...saw them,admired them & forgot about them...I recently visited Yosemite myself with Pranav and a bunch of friends.I got to mention that I was captivated by the natural beauty and the sheer vastness of this national park...

We started off with a hike from Happy Isles to Vernal falls and then finally to Nevada falls...there are a couple of routes to reach Nevada falls...we chose the one going alongside the Mist trail... Walking along the mist trail is awesome! It was approximately a 8 mile round trip...the hike was lot of fun but at the end of the day I was pretty much exhausted.

The next day we drove to Glacier point...this is the place which gives us a classic view of Yosemite falls, Vernal falls, Nevada falls, Half Dome, El Capitan and of the valley in general...The Half Dome especially looks absolutely stunning!!

I am already looking forward to the next trip that will happen next year for sure.

New York City & Niagara falls

New York city:

The Big Apple as it is popularly known is indeed a city that has myriad facets to it that only a good ol new yorker can understand.

So my description of this wondrous city would purely be from the perspective of a tourist.

We landed in New York past midnight and our hotel was right in the middle of Times Square...I think thats a perfect time to be at Times Square...

Wow!!what a place it is...full of dazzling lights...all the buildings in the area have humongous Billboards and Neon sign boards displaying advertisements... it felt great to see so many people walking down the streets,cars honking,people partying,taking pictures and basically just having fun!
Also the largest toy store in US-Toys R Us,Nasdaq, MTV's main office,Planet Hollywood and a lot other big names are located here...

I truly feel that New York is a place that cannot be captured in pictures...if you want to experience and explore this city walking on its streets is perhaps the best thing to do...m glad we did just that...

Weather was perfect the next day...we started off with Financial district followed by Ground Zero then the China Town, Little Italy, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller center and the Central Park.

The Financial district is home to the New York Stock exchange and its where the famous Wall Street is located.There are umpteen number of fancy skyscrapers...i mean you just got to raise your head every now and then to see how tall these structures are...



One of the aspects that struck me the most in any part of this city are the hawkers selling fruit juices. shakes, kebabs, hot dogs etc etc...infact in china town you can see people selling vegetables, fruits, clothes, decorative items and the likes right on the streets...Also,there are small shops and outlets unlike only the Big stores in other parts of US...all these creates a hustle and bustle that is such a significant part of the city...i cant help but compare it to Bombay...:)

On our way we even had a chance to see Sandra Bullock shooting for a movie titled 'The Proposal'...thats the first time i saw a Hollywood star...

We spent the second day visiting the major attractions - Empire state building,Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, Madame Tussuad's. We also went for a 2 hour cruise called 'The harbor Lights'.

The weather was torturous throughout the day...91 degrees...So the cruise in the evening down the Hudson river to the East river was quite refreshing...we got to see the city's famous landmarks right from the Manhattan skyline,statue of liberty, the trio - Brooklyn bridge, Manhattan bridge, Williamsburg Bridge (BMW),NY harbor...

I am particularly in awe of the Manhattan Skyline...its superb...From a distance it seems as if somebody has played a game of Lego or probably used a deck of cards to arrange these tall buildings...

Although we did not do any major shopping...New York is a fun place to shop b'coz you get all cool latest stuff at affordable prices in places like Manhattan mall and branded expensive stuff from places like Macy's.Macy's has the biggest store in NY - a 8-floor building...
We also passed by a street called the Canal street which is so similar to our very own Fashion street or Linking Road...

I loved every second I spent in New York!!

Niagara Falls:
During the weekend we went to the Niagara Falls...
Though the drive from New jersey to Buffalo,NY was a bit too long...but it was a very scenic drive!

When I first saw the Niagara falls...the one word that came to my mind is "Grand"...The sheer magnitude of the falls is absolutely over-whelming...

We went for the two rides - "Maid of the Mist" and "Cave of the winds"...
Maid of the mist is a boat ride that takes you till the Horseshoe falls...Cave of the winds trip will take you closer to the Bridal veil falls which is at the American side.

Both of them are simply mind-blowing...It was exhilarating when the waters of Niagara came right on my face...Extraordinaire!!

To sum it all...we had a blast...a perfect birthday gift from my dear husband!!