Posts filed under 'Travel'
Yes, over a month since I posted. Has been crazy lately. The US economy is totally down & its my first recession after entering my professional career.
Well the tech slowdown in 2001 too effected me any many in my age group and it was pretty bad. Almost our entire class lost an year due to the 2001 slowdown.
This time around the situation is quite bad compared to the previous slowdown, and USA is officially in recession. The major difference this time is that its not just the IT industry thats hit, but almost all sectors are hit badly. Specially the housing & the financial market here in the US. And in today’s world, everything is interconnected. So, people from all walks of life are impacted one way or the other.
On the work side, many projects are being axes or postponed, budgets are being slashed and people are more and more cautious when it comes to spending money. For now, I have enough work lined up for the coming months. Must see how it turns out.
In other news, Amogh, my son turned One on feb 8th. Time fly’s by so fast!
Like mentioned in my previous post, both Amogh and Chitra are back in India. … and I could not miss Amogh’s 1st birthday. So, I flew all the way back to India for a week! :) and it was worth it! The special thing about the trip was, it was a surprise trip!. Only Chitra knew that I would be flying. So, it was fun to see the reaction of every one who saw me there on his birthday!
….even for Amogh, the day I landed, it took a while for him to realize that it was his father who had suddenly disappeared from the scene sometime back. And then, after a few minutes, he knew it was his dad :) … and clearly seemed to be very happy that day.
The Trip was quite hectic — 30 hrs of travel one way — 1 week in Mangalore & again 30 hrs of travel back to Houston!. So for around 2 to 3 weeks, my biological clock was totally out of sync due to jet lag/timezone changes! But it was worth it.
Its a pleasure to see Amogh these days. He now walks and virtually runs all around very comfortably. …and has now started to climb the stairs. He blabbers in his own baby language! ….. and has become very naughty! :)
If all goes well, Chitra & Amogh should be here soon — may be in a week or two. Waiting for thier arrival !
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March 1st, 2009 at 08:56pm
It has been pretty hectic. The much anticipated vacation came and went past soo soon. Landed back in Houston on 3rd June. Well, must say the 1 month vacation was really hectic. Sooo many things to do, places to visit, and soo little time! Well, that’s how it is I guess!
Things done/Places visited in one month:
- Around 4 trips to Karkala – Visited Karkala Sri Venkataramana Temple, Tellar Devaki Krishna Temple and other deities, visited relatives – √
- Attended Karkala Rathosava (Carfestival, Teru) – √
- Two trips to Puttur – visited relatives, temples – √
- Trip to Manipal – Visited Relatives, MIT, and Manipal — back to Mangalore via Udupi – √
- Visit to Gurpur Satyadevata temple – √
- Visit to Chennai – For visa stamping (via Bangalore). The trip was uneventful. Amogh was pretty quite on all the flights. – √
- Bharat Mall – √
- Around 4+ visits to Infosys Managlore (Mangala) – √
- Upgraded home computer (in mangalore) with more RAM and networking support – √
- Setup a wireless network at my home – √
- Attended Swami Ramdev’s Yoga classes in Mangalore – √
- Pabbas – Chocolate Dad, Tiramisu, Parafait – √
- Cherry Square – Some like it hot – √
- Chefs, Prax – √
- Family Photos by Professional Photographer – √
- Most of Mangalore City, Kadri Temple, Venkataramana Temple – √
- Visited/met lot of relatives – √
Now that its all over, I am back to work. …….. and I am missing Chitra and Amogh. Both of them are back in Mangalore and will join me in sometime. I don’t know how Amogh would react once he is back here in US!…since he likes to have lot of people around. I have posted some of Amogh’s pics on my Orkut Profile! Check out if you are on my orkut friend list.
Well, on work front, I would be joining a new Project here at BP. So, kind of excited about it.
That’s pretty much it for now!
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June 18th, 2008 at 04:52pm
Well, its been a long time since I wrote here. Its the first post of 2008!!! Hope all of you had a great new year.
Well, all is good at our end. Baby is due pretty soon, and both me and Chitra are geared up for the big event! The official due date is 21-Feb-2008, but anything + or – 2 weeks is considered as a ‘term’ baby.
It has been kind of hectic the past month or so… shopping for baby stuff, childbirth classes, baby shower(s) :) …. and so on. Well, the child-birth classes were pretty informative and helpful. Things like these are unheard of in India. In a way its good, and in some ways, its bad – as-in they give too much of information! Well, shopping for baby stuff is another story …. All in all, its been hectic and fun so far :)
Life would go for a spin for sure, pretty soon – for the good!!
Well, I also realized that I am not really finding time to play with the Wii that I bought a few months back.
So, decided to put it up for sale on eBay. Its a amazing game system, but I don’t really see myself sitting and playing given where I am in my life! :). So, if you are interested, bid for it! BTW, its still hard to find Wii’s here in the US! This thing still has very high demand!
Also, up for grabs on eBay is my Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Lens! I would be upgrading to a new lens pretty soon (Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM)
On the work front, I am still working for the same project that I was in. The work load is decent. Not too bad.
Well, the next couple of months would be exciting! :) More updates as and when I get time!
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January 28th, 2008 at 05:34pm
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
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