10th Wedding Anniversary - Part 2 - Washington D.C.

As part of our 10th wedding anniversary celebrations, we planned a trip to Washington D.C. and New York. I covered the experience of New York in part 1 of the blog. This is Part 2 - where I will briefly summarize the Washington D.C. trip.

After a busy tour of New York. we took the Amtrak to Baltimore (that's where our cousins live). We rested at night at our cousin's place in Ellicott City. The next morning, we drove to Washington DC

Route map

Lake Tahoe Trip - June 17, 2017

For the weekend of June 17 & 18, we decided to go to Lake Tahoe. On our way, we stayed at a friend's place in Folsom. 

More to come... watch this space! 

Dublin to Lake Tahoe and back

Hot Air Balloon Fest - Sonoma County - June 11

In Windsor, CA, 91 miles from Dublin, CA, there is a tradition of showcasing hot air balloons each year. As hot air balloons need the ambient temperature to be cooler than the air inside the balloon, the event is scheduled for early in the morning (before sunrise). The event was from 4 am to 10.30 am. We wanted to go there in 2016, but somehow it did not materialize. This year, we wanted to beat inertia and sleep, and wanted to make it. We thought we probably were few of those crazy people, only to be surprised by how many people actually showed up! 

The drive: On Sunday, June 11, 2017, we started from home around 2 am (kids slept early on Saturday, and woke up at 2 am, but Girija and I did not sleep) on Sunday, in order to be there at the park before the gates opened. Both Agastya and Raaga were active and chirpy all the way and did not sleep till 2am. After a nice drive of over 90 mins, we reached around 3.50 am. After waiting for 10 mins, we parked our car inside the Keiser Park. 

The place: Keiser Park, in Windsor is where the event was planned. The fields in the park were nicely set up for the event. The moon was still shining bright (as you can see in one of the pictures below) when we arrived, and the air was chilly. Temperatures were in the higher 40s (around 5-10 C). There were various food stalls, and 3 showpiece balloons were being setup. 

Dawn Patrol: The three showpiece balloons (Kiphaven, Sonoma Star and Dream catcher) were the first to be on display for Dawn Patrol. The pilots turned on the heat (through propane gas burners) and the balloons glowed in the dark and made for some nice coordinated displays. Once the event started, people could go near each of the balloons, and talk to the pilots, get some information. Kids could even go inside the balloon! 

Tethered Rides: Hot After the dawn patrol was over, the hot air balloon rides began. While we were looking forward to the hot air balloon ride, it turned out to be a damp squib, due to inclement weather. The high winds swayed the balloons and soon the rides were cancelled. Only a few balloons were stood up. 

The end: As we had stayed up all night, we began to feel sleepy and tired as the sun rose above us. Raaga fell asleep in her stroller around 7 am, but we battled on. After waiting for a little while to  see if tethered rides would be restarted, we decided to head back. We finally left the place around 8.30 am and came back home by 10 am. Once home, we hit the bed, and were off to sleep in a flash. Later in the day, when we checked back on FB, we saw that not too many tethered rides took place, and people were left disappointed. 

Tethered rides aside, the event was worth visiting at least once in a lifetime. The grandeur of the balloons, and the skills required to fly an object like this make you appreciate an event like this, and leaves us all with our own perspective to take back home.  

To learn more about the event, please visit the event website: 

Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic 2017

Dream Catcher

Sonoma Star

From Left:  Kiphaven, Sonoma Star and Dream catcher on display at 5 am at Dawn Patrol (Moon is visible in the background)

Raaga also woke up at 2am & stayed up till 7am

It was well worth it in the end! Sleepy, but smiling

Yosemite Valley Trip: June 03-04 2017

Yosemite Valley Trip - Weekend of June 03 and 04, 2017

Two days, 500 miles of driving - One weekend full of great memories!  

Story & Pictures - coming up soon... 

We saw ...

• Yosemite Falls (Upper & Lower)
• Tunnel View
• Half Dome
• Glacier Point
• Bridalveil Falls
• Sentinel Point
• El Capitan
• Nevada Falls
• Yosemite Valley Chapel

We went on the:

• Lower Yosemite Falls Trail
• Bridalveil Falls Trail
• Glacier Point Trail

We stayed at Sugar Pine Ranch, a beautiful ranch with lots of history. The ranch is 22 miles away from the Yosemite National Park. Its owners - Elaine & Craig Maxwell - are a very nice hospitable hosts, and take personal care of guests. There is an old world charm to the entire experience. 

Our cottage (Unit 8) room was nice and cozy, but the restroom was small. The cottage had a small deck with a picnic table and bench where a small healthy inter-continental breakfast was served. The breakfast typically comprised of a bakery item (muffin or scone) sourced from a local bakery, fruit (apple or banana), yogurt, and a drink (tea/ coffee for adults, apple juice for kids) served in a cute little basket and left on the picnic table outside in the morning. The ranch also had a swimming pool on top of the hill (a small hike from in between Cottage # 2 & 3). The views are gorgeous, and snow clad mountains were visible even now. At night, one could walk outside and see innumerous stars and their formations on a clear night. 

While the ranch changed hands multiple times since it was built in 1800s, one of its owners Mr. Osbourne famously said about this ranch - “where the traveler is a stranger but once.” . 

While traveling to Yosemite, everyone told us that we should pack as much food and water as possible as restaurants are far and few. We did the same as well, but at night, we ate pizzas mostly (as my son loves them). There are a few good places in Groveland, and we explored Pizza Factory, and Two guys Pizza - one on each of the nights we stayed. On our way back, we stopped at Dhaba - the Indian Cuisine in Tracy, CA and helped ourselves to sumptuous, spicy Indian fare.

Resources that we used to plan our trip:

1. Lonely Planet
2. Yosemite Hikes - 10 Best Easy Hikes
3. How to plan a trip to Yosemite - WikiHow
4. How to spend 3 days in Yosemite
5. Yosemite Map
6. Yosemite Valley Map - More maps are available at http://www.yosemite.com/maps/ 

10th Wedding Anniversary - Part 1 - New York

It was our 10th wedding anniversary last week. To celebrate it, we headed to New York and Washington D.C. on a week long trip. It was a busy trip (hardly a vacation), but worth it, as we had taken time off, after a long long time. Much needed break from work and all the humdrum of the routine that we have gotten used to. 

Girija - You're the best thing that happened to me. Thanks for being by my side all these years, and I look forward to this journey for several decades to come. Happy 10th anniversary! 

Professional photos courtesy: Logan Roquemore Photography

Places & experiences in NYC during this trip: 

1. Science and Natural History Museum - Great for kids in school - they can learn so much here! 
2. Central Park - Huuuge park - Could not cover all of it. 
3. Statue of Liberty - Ferry ride was good. Take the elevator to go to the pedestal. 
4. Manhattan - Lower, Middle and Upper - there are umpteen places to see
5. Rockefeller Center Plaza - Beautiful plaza to sit, relax, eat, and shop!
6. Top of the Rock - views from the top are breathtaking (and the glass installations at the top are a saviour on a cold, windy night!)
7. MoMA
8. Times Square - wow! amazing place to be 
9. Brooklyn Bridge & Manhattan Bridge (DUMBO) - that's where we did our photoshoot
10. Long Island City 
11. West 4th Street - Food joints & nightlife - lots of them! 
12. "Hop On Hop Off" open bus tour of downtown - This was the fastest way to cover the city! When you get on one of these, you realize how much there is to see and appreciate in NYC!!! 
13. Food Trucks - Love the food trucks in NYC! Great food, and these trucks are all over the city. 

And talking of people, it was great to meet some old friends on the trip, and to make some new ones.
It was great to meet Rajan & Ranajit - my old buddies from 2003 when I was at Infosys.
Del - Girija's old friend and ex-colleague from Bangalore
Sruthi, Keshav and their little kids - Shourya and Chikki (Nandini) - who were brilliant hosts during our stay.

All in all, a very memorable trip.

New York City - Check!

Walking on NY streets near Manhattan Bridge

Old rail tracks near Brooklyn Bridge Park

Our lovely family

The Manhattan Skyline in the bacground

In Central Park (PC: Kelly Kopp)

Food Trucks everywhere

NYC Bagels!!!

Magnolia Bakery - NYC Cheesecakes

Rockefeller Building

M&M World - A treat for kids in Times Square! 

NYC Skyline from across Brooklyn Bridge