Posts filed under 'Travel'
Here are some snaps from the Labor day long weekend trip (Sep 1st - Sep 3rd). We had been to a place called Zwolle. Well, it sounds like a African name, but its a very small place in Louisiana. To be more precise, we went to the Toledo Bend lake area and stayed at one of the resorts (Wildwood Resorts) on the banks of the lake.
This place is on the border of Texas and Louisiana. Actually, the Toledo Bend lake is formed due to a Dam which is built across the Sabine River. This river kind of forms the border between Texas and Louisiana! The lake itself is pretty big, and I read on one of the websites that its the largest man made lake in the South (of USA).
Here are some snaps……..
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
Wildwood Fishing Area
Wooden Fishing Pier
Ramp at North Toledo bend State park
North Toledo Bend State Park
Speed Boating at the Lake
We also visited a few near by towns. Spent almost half a day at the Historic town of Natchitoches.
Natchitoches - Visitor Info Center
There is a nice little “Cane River Lake” at Natchitoches. We took a 45 minute boat ride on the same. Got to see some really beautiful houses and landscaping !. Check out the pictures below…
Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Some more snaps from the Toledo Bend Lake…
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
Fishing Pier at Wildwood - Toledo Bend
Canoeing at Toledo Bend
Our Electric Boat
Nature @ Toledo Bend
Ducks at Toledo Bend
Toledo Bend Lake
Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
Woods at Wildwood Resort - Toledo Bend
All in all, a good 3-day fun filled trip! :)
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September 11th, 2007 at 05:58pm
Its long weekend here in the US (Memorial Weekend) and… we are off to NYC tomorrow (24-May) on a 5 day trip. We plan to also visit the great Niagara Falls. Two days for the Niagara Falls trip and 3 days in NYC, NY!.
Will post pics once I am back.
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May 24th, 2007 at 12:10am
This is Part 2 of a three part series of our trip to Las Vegas. Links to Part 1 and 3 can be found here :
As planned on Day 2 of our trip, we headed to the Grand Canyon. For the uninitiated, Grand Canyon is a natural wonder located in Arizona.
Grand Canyon is around 5 hrs drive from Las Vegas, NV. So, we started early in the morning at around 5.30 AM. We decided to go to the south rim of the grand canyon since the north rim was closed and we could not find much information on the west rim (nor we had time to be adventurous)
Lake Mead from a Distance - Click to Zoom
The drive was pretty cool. Its flat land. Desert. The roads are straight and you can see miles of straight road ahead of you! … it was a great experience to drive ! :). We reached Grand Canyon at around 10.30 AM.
Here are some snaps ….
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Cliff at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
At the Grand Canyon South rim, there are buses which take you to different View points along the Rim of the canyon. And they are free (i.e, the cost is included in your entrance fee to the National Park)
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Pathway to one of the view points at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
You can see the Colorado River (which carved the Grand Canyon!!) in the snaps below…
Colorado River at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Colorado River at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Colorado River at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon and Colorado River - Click to Zoom
More snaps…
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Desert View - you can see the desert at the distance…
Desert View at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
River Again - Zoomed in …
Colorado River at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Cliff at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
A Guy sitting on the Rim at Grand Canyon….
A Guy sitting on the Rim at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
A couple enjoying the (cold) sunset at Grand Canyon…
A Couple enjoying the Sunset at Grand Canyon - Click to Zoom
Well, by 5 PM, it was pretty dark, and all of a sudden, it became very cold!
We started to head back to Vegas at around 6 PM. We reached back our Hotel at Las Vegas by around 10 PM.
More on Vegas trip in the next post….
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May 6th, 2007 at 11:45am
This post was long due! Memories from our Las Vegas Trip! When I look back at it, its almost 6 months now since we had been to Las Vegas!!! Wow. Time runs so fast!
Anyways, Since I had lots of photos to post, I have split this one big post into three posts.
Well, it was a 5 day trip and it was fun. Here is the photo essay!
Las Vegas is the land of casinos. Don’t be surprised to find slot machines when you come right out of the Terminal Gates at the airport! You can find slot machines every - from Gas Stations (aka Petrol Pumps!!) to Superstores! More about Las Vegas in part 3 of this post.
Welcome to Las Vegas…
Welcome to Las Vega - Click to Zoom
We landed in Vegas in the afternoon, and immediately we were on our way to Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam is around 30 mins drive from Las Vegas. Hoover Dam is considered to be one of the greatest engineering works in history and is a must see!.
Here are some snaps…
Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
We could go under ground !! (i.e, base of the dam where the generators are located) - Check out the massive generators!
Power Generators at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
This is one of the massive water intake pipes. It can house an entire school bus within it! Everything about this dam is BIG!
Water Intake Pipes at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
The power stations as seen from the top of the dam…
Power Station at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
Power Station at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
This is the Visitor center which was built recently…
Visitor Center at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
View from the dam…
View from the Dam - Click to Zoom
These are the water intake towers ….
Water Intake Towers at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
Water Intake Towers at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
And the dam…
Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
There are two spillways at the Hoover Dam. This one is on the Arizona side of the Dam. The spillways at the Hoover dam are Massive, and they have been used only once when there was major flood.
Spillway at Hoover Dam - Click to Zoom
Since this was in late November, it was pretty dark by 5 PM… and we could not spend much time. We started back to Las Vegas and headed back to our Hotel (Monte Carlo).
Check out the Wikipedia entry on Hoover Dam.
More on Vegas trip in the next post….
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May 3rd, 2007 at 10:28pm
Will be traveling to Las Vegas later today on a 4 day vacation. Its been quite some time since me and Chitra had a nice break from work, … and thanksgiving is the best time to have one ! (ideally.. not! - but given our work/situation!)
So, we start on the 21-Nov, and return back to Houston on the 25-Nov. Also plan to drive to Grand Canyon on one of the day.
Photos and updates once I get back!
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November 21st, 2006 at 12:37am
This post has been long due. Wanted to post this a week back, but work is kind of hectic. So, could not post it. Anyways, to cut the story short, me and Chitra had been to San Antonio during the Oct 28/29 weekend.
San Antonio is the 7th biggest city in USA and has got a historic touch to it. Its around 3 hrs drive from Houston. The main attraction of the city is the “River Walk” area. Its a small river which flows right thought the heart of the city. There is a walkway around this river, and the walkway has all kinds of shops and restaurants on it. Nice place to spend a day! One more attraction is the Sea World water park. We spend our first day at the Sea World water park.
Here is a photo essay of the trip!
We started our trip with Sea World…
Sea World Entrance - Click to Zoom
Sea World Entrance - Click to Zoom
At Sea World, you can feed the dolphins!… but only during the feeding time. But we did manage to get pretty close to these wonderful creatures…
Sea World Dolphin - Click to Zoom
Next, we went to the Sea Lion Show. It was just Amazing. You need to see the show to believe what these wonderful creatures are capable of! The show was really funny and cute!
Sea World - Sea Lion Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Sea Lion Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World Sea Lion Show - Uncle Max - Click to Zoom
Next was the Shamu Show - Shamu is a huge whale and this show too was great. Below are some pics of the show…
Sea World - Shamu Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Shamu Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Shamu Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Shamu Show - Click to Zoom
Lady Selling some soft drinks - Click to Zoom
We saw one more show called “Viva”… it was the one with white whales and dolphins and some synchronized dancing!. Was good…
Sea World - White Whale - Click to Zoom
The last show that we saw was Water Ski Show. Saw some amazing stunts…
Sea World - Water Ski Show - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Water Ski Show - Click to Zoom
Then we spend some time on different rides… and this was the first one… the Roller coaster… was pretty exciting..
Sea World - Roller coaster - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Roller coaster - Click to Zoom
Sea World - Roller coaster - Click to Zoom
After Sea world, we checked into our hotel, and spent our evening at the River walk area… which was fully lit-up at night … Here are some snaps… of the same….
San Antonio - River Walk - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - River Center Mall - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - River Walk - Click to Zoom
The next day, again we went to the River Walk area, and took a boat ride…
San Antonio - River Walk - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - River Walk - Click to Zoom
There are Restaurants, and shops all along the River walk area… Nice place to shop and hang out…
San Antonio - River Walk - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Restaurant on the River Walk - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - River Walk boat ride - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - River Walk - Theater - Click to Zoom
And here are some pictures of the buildings in the downtown area…
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
This was shot from the boat ride…
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
Doesn’t this building look like a flat wall ?
San Antonio - Downtown Area - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Downtown Area - RiverCenter Mall - Click to Zoom
The famous Alamo - This monument has its own place in the History of Texas …
San Antonio - The Alamo - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - The Alamo - Click to Zoom
Our last visit was to the Tower of the Americas. Its a 750 Foot tall tower, with a revolving restaurant at the top!. You get to see an amazing 360 degree view of the entire San Antonio Area!
San Antonio - Tower of the Americas - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Tower of the Americas - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - From Tower of the Americas - Click to Zoom
San Antonio - Downtown area from Tower of the Americas - Click to Zoom
Hope you enjoyed the Virtual Tour of San Antonio! :)
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November 8th, 2006 at 11:43am
Time flies by! And already, the long awaited 4 day weekend is all over, and I have worked for 2 days after the weekend!.
Well, as mentioned in the previous post, here are some snaps of the Natural Tunnel State park. We visited this place on one of the days during the 4 day weekend. This place is actually in the state of Virginia and is around 20 miles from Kingsport.
The main attraction of this place is a 865 feet Natural Tunnel under a huge mountain. There are lot of trails too in the state park.
Here are the snaps:
Natural Tunnel State Park Visitor Center - Click to Zoom
We had to kind of trek to reach the Tunnel site….
On the way to the Tunnel - Click to Zoom
Pathway - Click to Zoom
The train track that goes through the Tunnel…
The rail track - Click to Zoom
A Wooden Bridge - Click to Zoom
The Natural Tunnel - Click to Zoom
Forest! - Click to Zoom
This shot is from one of the Overview points - actually right about the tunnel…
One of the overview points - Click to Zoom
On Monday (July 3rd) we went on a drive to the Smoky Mountains area. The entire area is quite scenic .. very beautiful.!!…… But it was a short trip and we spent quit a lot of time in traffice in the pegion forge area, which is in the foothills of smokies. I would definitely like to go to the smokies in the future .. stay at some cabin, go on treks etc!…
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July 7th, 2006 at 12:22am
Yes.. I am alive :) long time since i posted. Will post some updates soon. Actually kind of busy (and lazy too!). … Weekdays were kind of pretty hectic. And then now we have a long weekend. Thanks to July 4th, US independence day. So 4 day holiday!. … and that’s were I kind of got into the lazy mode. Kind of relaxing after some hectic work days!
We had been to a nearby state park called the Natural Tunnel State park on Saturday, and today (i.e, Monday) we had been to the Smoky Mountains .. So, updates/photos coming soon! Stay tuned………!
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July 4th, 2006 at 01:23am
This post was long due. Finally found some time over the weekend to post this. Time flies by and its already a week now since this trip. The trip it self was fun.
Our Group: We were a group of 10. 3 Couples and 4 bachelors.
Travel time: appx 7.5 hrs drive - one way
Distance: appx 440 miles- one way
Vehicles: Chevrolet Uplander & Ford Taurus. The Uplander is sort of a mini van accommodating around 7 people. We couples were on the Uplander and the bachelors were on the other car - Ford Taurus.
We planned to start at around 2 PM on Friday, but somehow as usual we started at around 4 PM. :) The drive was pretty cool. Took some breaks on the way and we reached our destination at around 11.30 PM at night. Since it was a long weekend, we could not get any hotel rooms in Virginia Beach itself at a reasonable price. So, we had booked our rooms in hotels at Norfolk which is around 15 miles from Virginia beach. We stayed at the Hilton Norfolk Airport hotel.
Since we were all hungry, we decided to go out to some place to eat. IHOP was the restaurant of choice, but it was crowded. Finally we had to be happy with Wendy’s drive-in since most of the other restaurants had closed by then.
Day 1 - Saturday. Beach day. We were at the beach by around 11 AM I guess, and the beach was pretty crowded. Here are some snaps of the beach:
VA Beach - Click to Zoom
All along the shoreline there are hotels. Unfortunately we could not get accommodation in one of these hotels. But the rooms have a fantastic view of the sea!
VA Beach - Hotels on the Beach - Click to Zoom
VA Beach - Shoreline -Click to Zoom
Now this is what is called “Sun bath”…
VA Beach - Sun Bath - Click to Zoom
Hmmm…. Nice shot… What say ?
VA Beach - Hmm… Shhhhh!- Click to Zoom
There are lot of amusement rides on the beach - Jet skiing, Para-sailing and the boat ride shown below :
VA Beach - Pirates Boat Ride - Click to Zoom
At around 3 PM in the afternoon, we decided to go for Para-sailing. I was kind of determined to parasail when we first thought about this trip :)… …….. Para-sailing was fun. You must try it at least once in your life time. Here our snap - Me & Chitra
VA Beach - Para-sailing - That’s Me & Chitra - Click to Zoom
Towards the end of the ride, if you request, the operators will give you a dip in ocean. We had a nice dip. :) the water was ice cold, and we got half wet. But we got dried pretty soon since it was sunny. For me, Parasailing was the best part of the entire trip!
After Para-sailing, we spent some more time on the beach, and all of were pretty tired.
We then started back to our hotel & freshened up. We had decided to have food at an near by Indian restaurant called Dawat (also known as Nawab). The Non Veg food was kind of OK, but the Veg food sucked big time. Definitely not a place to go again :)…
Day 2: Sunday. Busch Gardens Amusement Park.
We started at around 10 AM to Busch Gardens Amusement Park. Its located at Williams burg, which is around 1 hr drive from Norfolk.
We had to drive via the Hampton Roads. Its land, then bridge over the ocean followed by a Tunnel under the ocean, bridge again, and then Land. Very beautiful.
Here is a Bridge over the ocean…
Bridge over the ocean - Click to Zoom
And then the Tunnel…
Tunnel under the ocean - Click to Zoom
This is how it looks on Google Earth - Satellite Image….
Google Earth View of bridge and the tunnel - Click to Zoom
As soon as we approached the exit to the Busch Gardens, we were kind of stuck in the traffic. There was a Major crowd…Looked like all roads led to the Busch Gardens….
Traffic to Busch Gardens - Click to Zoom
Finally reached…
Busch Gardens Entrance - Click to Zoom
Even though there was major crowd, the Amusement park was well planned to manage such crowds. There was ample parking space, and we did not have major problem parking our vehicles. There were trams to ferry people from the parking lots to the Amusement Park.
The Busch Garden Amusement park at Williams burg is based on “European” theme. The park is divided into different areas named after different European countries. And each of the country has its own set of Rides, Games and Shows.
Here is one of the theatres where shows are held….
One of the theatres in Busch Gardens - Click to Zoom
Busch Garden - Click to Zoom
Since it was very crowded, there was a wait time of around 20 mins to 45 mins on many of the popular rides. We did manage to sit on some of the rides. Here is one of the rides that we enjoyed… called the Dark Kastle. Its a 3D ride. Thrilling…
Dark Kastle - 3D Ride - Click to Zoom
Then we saw one of the shows called Oktoberfest … A dance performance…
OktoberFest Show - Click to Zoom
This was one of the rides.. where the water splashes…
One of the rides - Click to Zoom
The Amusement park is very big, and one would need at least two days to see the entire park and sit on all the rides. Unfortunately we did not have so much of time with us :(. But we did have fun all the time we spent there.
We started back to Norfolk at around 10 PM and reached Norfolk at around 11 PM. Finally found IHOP not so crowded. Had a heavy dinner at IHOP and crashed to bed.
Day 3: Return. Back to Kingsport. Started our journey back home at around 10 AM after having our breakfast at a local fast food joint. We reached Kingsport at around 6 PM in the evening.
All in all, a great memorable trip!
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June 5th, 2006 at 01:37am
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