Prashant Ivaturi

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

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

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...

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 typical...

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:  Science and Natural History Museum - Great for kids in school - they can learn so much here!  Central Park - Huuuge park - Could not cover all of it.  Statue of Liberty - Ferry ride was good. Take the elevator to go to the pedestal.  Manhattan - Lower, Middle and Upper - there are umpteen places to see Rockefeller Center Plaza - Be...