Priti's visit to the USA

Priti came to visit for a month, and we went to a few places, namely Stanford University, San Francisco (boat ride and crooked st), half moon bay and pacifica. She also went to LA to visit Ankita.

While all this is routine, I must talk about something not so routine that happened. I like to call it The Prius incident, since such a thing could only happen in a keyless entry car like the Prius. We got stuck in traffic on our way to Half Moon Bay, and on the single lane, I felt like jogging since it was great weather and we were going downhill. So I got out of the car, and started running after telling Anu to swap seats with me (I was driving). After running about a quarter mile, I looked back and saw Priti waving from behind. I thought she was also jogging and continued running. Thats when a car came to my side and said that I had the keys in my pocket. So I had to run uphill for almost a quarter mile, which just killed me. Really funny.

Sea Kayaking in El Granada

Its been a while since I went sea kayaking. Last one was in Alaska. Thanks to the Blogger off-site, we went sea kayaking in El Granada, just shy of Half Moon Bay. We kayaked for a couple of hours followed by late lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. The guides were pretty good, and we stuck to the bay for the most part. My favorite was when we went out to sea and saw the Pacific Ocean in all its vastness. Had a good time.

Settling Ankita

We went to LA to receive my cousin who was coming from India to join USC. We drove to LA on Wed night, and the commute was really good with almost no traffic. We stayed in downtown LA at Wilshire Grand on the 14th floor. It was decently lavish and had good views of the city. I picked Ankita up on Thursday evening. To avoid the traffic, Anu guided me through little known alternate roads, thanks to her iPhone. I did not think we saved any time though. But as luck would have it, we arrived just on time, literally minutes in waiting time. The next few days, we helped her feel at home, got basic stuff.

We roamed in downtown LA, went to Venice beach. The water was surprisingly warm at 72 degrees. We had a good time on the beach.

I worked from the Santa Monica office for a couple of days, and the commute killed me. Santa Monica freeway is always crammed. We returned on Sunday night.

OMG!!!

Many ways to describe this post. Happy Birthday, Surprise, Domestic Espionage, I Am So Dumb but I will go with OMG! A week from my birthday, when Anu told me that a surprise is being arranged for me, I was wondering why she told me about my birthday surprise in advance. As per the plan, I was going to go to a "surprise" concert, followed by a "surprise" trip to Clear Lake. On the day itself, the surprise was elaborated saying we were going to rent an RV, so it would be really exciting.

But here is what was planned. A bunch of my friends were going to meet up at the California delta with a houseboat rented for the weekend. Up until I reached the marina, I was still thinking that maybe this is some exotic concert on a houseboat. Everything was perfectly executed including but not limited to misleading me, great food, music, and other logistics. Even friends who are not local knew this was going to happen. Revealing the surprise before hand was an excellent ploy to keep me from thinking anything else.

Needless to say, we had a ball. We drove the 12 person houseboat through the delta. The menu comprised of Pav Bhaji, Pani Puri, Idly-Vada, Palak Paneer and a bunch of snacks. The sunset was beautiful from the top of the houseboat. We huddled atop the houseboat in the night and stared at the sky and saw a bunch of shooting stars. The silence of the delta and soulful music added to perfect environment.

On Aug 4, we took out the boat into the water channel, anchored at a nice spot and went in the water. The water was really nice since the days are hot. Again we watched the sunset (this time while eating pani puri), listened to music, talked and slept. Some of the guys had to leave that day, so the second night there was only seven of us.

Aug 5, lather, rinse, repeat. We left the marina around 4 clock and came home. Kudos and thanks to all who came. This is the biggest surprise of my life. I am not sure I could pull this off!!

Rafting on Middle Fork American River

A couple of years back when I had gone to raft on South Fork American River, I had decided that Middle Fork must be more fun and adventurous. This time, Daivak and Palak accompanied us for the trip. Daivak took out his Honda CRV, which made the trip really comfortable.

We camped at the same place we had camped a couple of years ago. Last trip, rafting was the most salient feature of our trip. This time, there were two: Rafting and Food. Thats right.. our better halves made the most amazing food you could eat while camping or rafting, and then some more! The menu consisted of Muli Parathas, Pav Bhaji and White Dhokla, with my measly contribution of Corriander Chutney. But that did not mean we forgot the barbecuing part. On Saturday night, we had a candle light dinner with Pav Bhaji and barbecued veggies in Chat Masala. Note to self, potatoes work great for barbecues!!

On Sunday, we started off with a quick in car breakfast of sandwiches and chaat puri, thanks again to Anu and Palak. The first feeling I got on reaching the put-in place was that it was too hot. The second feeling when I entered the raft was that the water was too cold. Our guide Tyler appreciated the rapids well. Class 4 rapids were breathtaking with Tunnel Chute taking the cake. During lunch, we ate Muli parathas along with the sandwiches they provided. The experience wasn't new to me, having eaten the same on our trip to Alaska while hiking in snow. We reached the put-out point at around 4:30-5 and made the comfortable journey home in Daivak's car.

Seattle.. yet again.

I visited Seattle after 3 years to meet my NCSU roomies and school buddies. The group came around full circle with our better halves! I always like to goto Seattle for its scenic beauty. Anu likes cloudy skies(spoiled by the California sunshine I think) and I love the greenery.

The inbound flight was late. We spent a bunch of time playing UNO at the airport. We were flying in on a Thursday to make the most of the trip. Both Arpit and Vivek came to pick us up at the airport. The next day, I worked from the Seattle office and we met up for dinner in the evening at Inchin's bamboo garden. Its the best Indian Chinese I have experienced in the USA with all the dishes catering very well to the Indian palate. Kalmady joined us for dinner, coffee and the San Juan trip. Ravi met us for dinner too.

On Saturday, we went to San Juan Island from Anacortes by ferry. The whale watching trip was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it more for the rain and sea than watching the actual whales. The return was eventful. Arpit's car had a problem that it wouldnt open up. Meanwhile Anu and Shweta taught the owner of an Espresso coffee shop how to make Pav Bhaji. Finally AAA helped us out and we were on our way back.

We met a bunch of old friends from VJTI on Sunday, just reliving the nostalgic days. Quite a population of VJTI'ites, NCSU alumni and HMPS alumni is in Seattle. We stayed at Arpit's house which is really well decorated/furnished/painted.

Arpit, Komal, Vivek, Reshma and Kalmady were at the airport to say goodbye. Now thats what I call royal treatment.

Shasta Lake, Whiskeytown lake

We had not planned anything in advance for this Memorial Day, so we decided to drive up north to Shasta lake a couple of weeks before.

On the first day, we went to Shasta caverns, a very interesting first time experience, where you see formations formed by dripping water over a long period of time. Stalactite and Stalagmite are two examples of forms growing from the ceiling and from the floor respectively, and they meet after thousands of years. This tour also included a boat tour on the lake and a bus ride to reach the caverns. Next, we went to Shasta Dam where they gave us a tour, took us down into the dam. We were surrounded by more than 50 feet of concrete on three sides. The tour was very informative, and we saw the simple hydroelectric production theory in action out there. More interesting was how the dam was built. For example, they produced the concrete in an onsite location, then moved it using a pulley system to form concrete slabs, which in turn were used for construction. Also, they had to reroute the river in the meantime. The dam produces 1KWH in 2 cents. We pay around 15 cents for that when it comes to our house. In the evening, we went to the Sundial Bridge. Built by a Spanish architect a few years back, its a pedestrian bridge made of glass on the Sacramento river. Really beautiful, especially when its lit up in white light at night.

The second day was for activities. We went down to Whiskeytown lake and hung out at the beach. We were in the water for a long time, played a board game, and finally rented a powerboat which we drove like crazy on the lake. The boat touches 45 mph, and Anu probably made turns at that speed, throwing us off. Fun times.

Yosemite NP

I have been to Yosemite on Labor Day weekend in Sep. 2004, but I must say that Yosemite is much more beautiful in early spring, when the waterfalls are fuller. We did pretty much the same things we did before, but the water made all the difference. We went to Vernal Falls hike and to a bridge above gushing water about .5 miles from there on the way to Nevada Falls. In the spring, the Vernal falls hike will soak you wet due to the mist from the gushing water. We saw Yosemite falls, Bridal Veil falls both full with water. We also went to the tunnel lookout this time, it has a comparable view as the top of Glacier point, and I would suggest checking it out rather than drive up to Glacier point. We also took a trail to Mirror Lake, which is more like a marsh than a lake.

The India trip

I look forward to going to India on every trip. This time, the agenda of the trip unlike past trips was to stay home and spend time with family.

The only trip we made was to Nasik and Parner, to meet my in-laws' maternal and paternal sides. In Nasik, Anu's maternal grandma has a nice place just close to the river. It is one of the tallest buildings in Nasik and the view from the top terrace is quite beautiful. Parner is where her paternal grandfather lives. On the way back, we went to the Ganpati at Ranjangaon. It was a fun trip.

Another salient feature of the trip was that we worked from our respective offices. Google had a brand new building and the paint made me nauseous. The sales and marketing folks I met there were very nice, and are doing really interesting stuff. The catered food is awesome.

This time, I also did a fair bit of shopping. Chief amongst shopping was buying a tabla at Dadar. And as always, met friends, ate at my favorite joints and watched a bunch of desi television.

Premiere of Eklavya - 15 Feb 2007

There will be another entry for the India trip, but I think this one deserves its own entry. We got a chance to goto the premiere of Eklavya, one of the most awaited movies in 2007. It was supposed to be a star studded event, and that is exactly what it was.

The premiere was at IMAX Adlabs at Wadala. We were checked at three places for the passes and after giving away the car to the valet guy, we came out on the "red carpet", in time to see the entire starcast of Eklavya taking a group photo. Then, we saw Vidya Balan giving a long interview and we were behind watching the entire starcast talking to each other. Anu had the guts to ask Jackie for a snap, and he agreed and I was happy to take it. Then she took an autograph just for kicks from Boman Irani and my photograph with him. After that, Aishwarya Rai passed us by in a hurry, she was surrounded by her cavalcade, and quickly made her way into the screen. There were refreshments and drinks, which didn't interest me much.

The movie was good, short and had great editing. I must say I was impressed with the theater, sound, screen, all seemed better than good US multiplexes like AMC Mercado.

For the record, we saw the following celebs:
Amitabh Bachhan, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Boman Irani, Moushumi Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Aishwarya Rai, Zayed Khan, Jimmy Shergill, VV Chopra, Sunil Shetty, Amar Singh, Raveena Tandon, Bhagyashree, Aftab Shivdasani and a bunch of smaller stars (look at me talking!) whose names I dont remember.

Christmas Trip to Tahoe

We had a group of 10 ppl going to Tahoe for snowsports. We went to south lake tahoe and stayed in this nice 3 bedroom house we rented for 3 days. We went to Heavenly to ski for the first day, and 6 of us were taking lessons as they were first time skiers/snowboarders. Anu and I went skiing and joined the beginners around 2 pm. We took them to the mountain and gave them some tips. Everyone really enjoyed their first day.

Next day, we went to snowshoeing while some of the first timers went for the snowsports again. We went to Kirkwood for snoeshoeing, and I really liked the trail. We made golas out of Gatorade and well, snow and went up to neat creek.

The next day, we had lunch and came back to San Jose. Anu discovered the hot tub on the last day and we made the most of it!

Thanksgiving trip to Maui

Having loved our last trip to Oahu last thanksgiving, we went to Maui this thanksgiving, making good use of the Hawaiian Airlines vouchers we received last time.

We landed at the Kahului airport on Nov. 23. The flight got delayed so we landed at 4 rather than the 2:12 pm. We picked up our car and headed straight to our hotel in Kihei. Our hotel was one minute from Kamaole Beach Park 1 and had a nice ocean view. The waters at the beach are really calm and are best for the purposes of a novice swimmer like me.

On Nov. 24, I just chilled out in the water, and in the afternoon, we went to Kaanapali beach. The surf out there was really high, so we refrained from going into the water.

On Nov. 25, we went on Hana highway and it was really beautiful before it started getting dizzy to drive. Our Pontiac Vibe started showing "check engine light" so we exchanged it for a Chevy Impala, a much better car. It was a good decision to do that before the trip because Hana highway had a lot of turns. It had beautiful sights and we stopped over to drink sugarcane juice thrice. We had supper at the Garden of Eden, which has exotic flowers, peacocks, ducks and a beautiful vista of a waterfall.

On Nov. 26, we went for Paragliding with Proflyght paragliding. It was a lot of fun. You run from a cliff and then there is no ground and you are in the air with your instructor behind you. Next, we went to IAO state park near Kahului.

We went into the water every day, even on Nov. 27 when we left for San Jose. A great trip all in all!

4th July Weekend to Yellowstone NP

Anu, Me, Karan, Nimish, Vivek and Reshma decided to meet up for the 4th July weekend and goto Yellowstone NP.

We decided to stay at a different place every night to make sure that we cover both the loops, and our hope was to catch some animals (ppl were most excited about viewing a bear). We did see bear, deers and bison. We rented a minivan with DVD player, which turned out to be really handy.

We went on this wonderful trail and it started raining followed by hail towards the end of the trail. I havent seen icy rain/hail many times and I was really excited despite all the hurt due to the hailstones.

P.S. This post needs more flesh, and since I did not blog this trip right after we went, I have forgotten a lot of it.

Memorial Day weekend to Alaska

This has been the most adventurous trip of my life yet. This seemingly crazy idea of going Alaska was mooted by me, but it ended up being way more than expected.

Day 1: We went north of Anchorage to Matanuska Glacier. Hiked the glacier with normal shoes and came back to Anchorage. It was like walking on a huge ice landscape. We kept climbing until we reached a stage where we would just slip down trying to climb. Going up was much easier than coming down and at a point, the only was to come down given our shoes was to slide down (my ass and hands still hurt...)

Day 2: We headed south on Seward Highway to a hike of Exit Glacier. We were told we couldn't reach the top and we didn't. But we went far enough to see wonderful views of the glacier, and again reached a point where going up was very difficult and coming down was impossible short of sliding. I did try sliding down on one of the stretches with a gentler slope and realized that we made a good decision to stop where we did. The best part abt Alaska at this time was that the sun is out 19 hours. So we decided to do some sailing (kudos to Anu for finding the place). I had anticipated that I would be on a sailboat for the first time in my life, but I did not know that I would also drive the sailboat (yeah, we are talking tacks and jibes here!!!). The owner Greg was more than happy to let us go hands on on his sailboat, which had the head sail, the middle and the tail. Gaurav pulled up the sails and I did some steering (both with Greg's help of course). After a few tacks and a jibe, it was Gaurav's turn to steer. This was totally unexpected and hence quite wonderful.

Day 3: We went to Alyeska resort on the third day. We took the tram to the peak of the mountain, and boy, what a view. In the evening, we went to Anchorage to watch two movies. First one was the Alaska experience movie. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The shots taken by a helicopter in flight arount Mt McKinley and along the Alaska pipeline will make you giddy. Next, we saw the movie about Northern Lights, it was just a slide show. An absolute anticlimax compared to the earlier show.

Trip to India

This is going to be a long one. Most of the trips were to get blessings from various Gods after our marriage.

• Mahabaleshwar: The first stop after arriving in Mumbai was going to Mahabaleshwar to Alka's marriage.
  
• Tirupati: This is a wonderful trip going in and coming back by flight with Priti and Darshan.
  
• Rajasthan: Went to Ajmer, Kuchaman City, Jaipur (and Chokhi Dhani), Salemabad. Salemabad is where our Guruji lives, a nice place in the middle of the desert. We met relatives in Ajmer, Kuchaman City(my birthplace), and Kadel (my dad's birthplace).
  
• Tuljapur and Jejuri: To get blessing from the lords (the thing that I found unique was that turmeric powder is used for devotion to Tulja Bhavani and Khandoba). My in-laws have great devotion in these places, just as my family has in Salemabad. We took the famous Pune expressway, built to US standards.
  

Skiing at Squaw and Diamond Peak

Finally, I got to ski at Squaw (I like that alliteration). I have once missed the company ski trip, once gone in an injured state and this time, I finally got to doing something! Squaw is a huge resort and I could cover only 40-50% of the blue slopes. The view from the top of Emigrant is really breathtaking. It was icy prompting me to stop skiing at about 3:30 pm.

At night, my wife and friends came over to Squaw. Since it was my wife's birthday the next day, we cut a cake at midnight. then we left for Tahoe Biltmore Casino for the night. The next day, we got a late start to skiing at Diamond peak, but boy it was a really good day to ski after the clouds cleared up after 2 pm. I went up Crystal Express when the clouds were there and was hammered by the winds on the top and poor visibility. That accompanied by my okish skiing skills was a scary combination. But when I went after the clouds cleared up, it was really awesome. The winds were there, but the lake view and the snow was pretty good.

New years in Tahoe

We spent the new years in a cabin in Tahoe. Booked a cabin in south lake tahoe. We reached there just before a snowstorm on 30 Dec. Due to the snowstorm, all ski resorts were closed on 31 Dec. We were indoors all the time, playing poker. 31st nite, we went to harvey's but couldnt get dinner and ended up eating at Taj Mahal (much to many ppl's disappointment). The unique part was this: when we entered the casinos, it was all OK. While coming out, the entire street was blocked out. I went back into the street the wrong way and the cops stopped me. I told them I came in by mistake and they allowed me to leave, removing barriers in my path.

Played Dumb C in the night and went to sleep. Skiing was the prominent thing the next two days, first on Diamond Peak (cut short by power outage) and then on Heavenly. Anu was learning well and I took her on a blue slope on Heavenly; she did fine with a few tumbles.

Dec 10-11: Heavenly and Mt Rose

We went to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend to kick off the skiing season. Having twisted my knee almost a year back, I was skeptical about how well I would be able to ski. But I had to try it to find out!!

The first day, Dec. 10, I went to Heavenly. My wife dropped me and I went up the Gunbarrel Express to try the first green slopes. After making sure I could ski on the greens, I decided to go up Powderbowl (where I got injured a year ago) for the first blue of the season. I fell down the second time coming down and bruised my elbow. But that dint deter me from continuing for the day. The next milestone was going up the Sky Express to 10040 ft., the highest one could get on the mountain. Coming down the Skyline trail, I crossed the CA border over to NV on skis and the view was truly breathtaking. On one side, was a view of the lake and on the other side, an envelope of clouds which was even more breathtaking.. something I have only seen from a plane.

Next day, went upto Mt Rose to teach my wife some skiing. After spending 90 mins teaching her, I left her to take the beginner lesson, and went on to the Lakeview lift and came down Ramsey's and Kit Traverse a few times. My knees were beginning to hurt and only after coming down did I realize that it was the ridged socks which caused burning. We left at around 3 oclock and reached home, in time for dinner.

Hawaii in Thanksgiving' 05

Since this was our first trip, we decided to goto Honolulu, Oahu. We stayed minutes from Waikiki Beach. The first day, we just hit the beach and relaxed in the blue and warm waters.

The next day, we went to Kualoa Ranch where we took an ATV ride to where Jurassic Park was shot, followed by a bus tour with one of the owners of Kualoa Ranch. We also bought a pearl, obtained live from a fresh water oyster. Driving an ATV was great fun, especially because it was muddy.

Next day morning, we went parasailing. We were cautioned that the waters were pretty rough that day and were given the option to cancel or re-schedule. But my wife and I decided that it would be a greater adventure. The warning proved to be true to its word and the waters were indeed choppy. The boat was bobbling in the water with the water splashing into the boat. We could see the color difference of the water.. greenish blue when shallow and dark blue when deep, boy, that was a sight to see. It was fun to parasail above the bay near Ala Moana blvd. The view was breathtaking, especially with airplanes flying just above the parasail.

In the afternoon, we hiked Diamond Head Crater near Waikiki. Was a short hike to the top. The top gave a great view of Waikiki, and the plateau behind.

Everyday, we used to go in the waters after each activity. I taught Anu how to float in the sea.

We also shopped a lot.. buying clothes to fit the look and feel of Hawaii. The icing on the cake was a voucher of $400 while coming back from Hawaiian Air, setting us up for a future trip.

Ice hockey at San Jose

We went for the company offsite to Logitech Ice. It was not only my first time ice hockeying, but also my first time skating. We wore the entire gear, and got a lesson. That was followed by a game between San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, we lost convincingly to the Canucks, but it was one game to watch.

Sep 29 - Oct 2 - Las Vegas and Grand Canyon West

As a part of the ongoing trip, I took my parents to Las Vegas and grand canyon west. Went to all big casinos; my parents were amazed to see the beauty of the interiors and wondered how man could make them. Wynn, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus (where we stayed), NY-NY, Venetian, Bellagio.. covered all of them.

The ranch on the pebbly road to Grand Canyon West has probably the best spring water you can drink. Great hospitality too...there was this typical western guitar playing man, who said that Baldev was his old time pal and he knew a lot about Indians. This is in the middle of nowhere (I'd be less surprised if he said he knew native Indians). We did not get a chance to gamble.. and in retrospect I dont regret it, coz I dont remember winning at gambling!!

LA, Hollywood, Santa Barbara

Took my parents to LA, Hollywood and Santa Barbara on Labor Day Weekend of 2005. Among the attractions covered were Universal Studios, Hollywood and Beverly Hills tour, LA downtown, Malibu Temple and Santa Barbara's sea lion cruise. Good times.

Rafting on South Fork American River.

We went to the South Fork American River on July 31. We camped the day before, since it was really dark and we could see a dense starry sky. Recommendation for the future to others (and myself) - south fork is doable in half a day (the first half hardly has rapids). Maybe we will do the middle fork this time.

Trip to LA and San Diego

Friends met up and made a trip to LA-SD. We went to San Diego zoo and beach. We also went to Universal Studios, City Walk, and Santa Monica beach. We ate at Monsoon in San Diego which has very spicy food.

Trip to Washington DC

We went for Kamla's wedding on the Memorial Day Weekend of 2005. Anu and I stayed in Days Inn. We went to Georgetown in the night and ate at an Ethiopian restaurant. Ate sumptuous food in Memsaab and attended the wedding in Murugan temple (day started at 4 a.m.). Not to mention drove the Sebring convertible for the first time.

Trip to Washington DC and Raleigh

Reached Raleigh on 23rd March for company business, met old friends as well as my thesis professor. Was back to NCSU after 18 months, good to be back.

Next I flew to Washington DC to meet Anu. First lets talk abt the good things abt the capital of USA. Really great monuments, the mere volume of it amazes me. We took a tour called DC ducks which shows u the main monuments followed by a 30 minute water run.

Many bad things about DC, haphazardly designed airports, streets are wild to a new comer... Indian food is outright bad compared to the bay area.

Trip to India - 07 Feb to 26 Feb

Got married.. nuff said.

Ski trip - Jan 20-21

Went to squaw on ski trip Jan 20-21.. had sprained my leg so could not do much.. except go upto high camp and enjoy the breathtaking views.

Muir Woods - Dec 31

Muir Woods is just north San Francisco. We took the 2 mile trail... nice place. Also stopped by Golden Gate. We spent the new year bowling, but that was preceded by great food at Suraj Indian Cuisine. The mango ice-cream was memorable.

Lake Tahoe - Dec 18

Dec 18 Dec 19 - Sierra. First tryst with blue slopes. Probably need to take a lesson before appreciating the blue slopes.

Lake Tahoe - Dec 11 2004

Went to Sierra in South lake tahoe with Karan and Amit. Covered almost all the green slopes there, including Sugar N Spice, a 2.5 mile stretch.. felt really tired at the end of that!! This place really has all the green slopes one could wish for!

Heavenly - Nov. 2004

Left for tahoe on 25th Nov. reached at around Evening. Went to Harrahs to play Roulette for some time. Went to heavenly the next day.. took a level 3 skiing class, where we were taught bicycle peddling, right posture (hips inline with rest of body and legs against the shins of the boot!) and how to get ski's in parallel. To take a left turn, press right leg firmly agains the shin more than the left leg and try to get the other ski in parallel. Practiced for the rest of the time. Got stuck in the snow storm the next day... had to go back for lunch and chains. The snow was crazy. It took us 8 hrs to get back to the bay area.

Austin - Oct. 15-16

Awesome trip.. followed by viral cold. Went to seaworld, riverwalk and did some tubing behind a power boat in Lake Travis. Then fell ill... for a week

Yosemite NP - Sep. 4, 2004

Went to Vernal falls. Glacier point with Anu. Very beautiful place.. must go.

Aug 2004 trip to NY

The most recent one was trip to NY. Went to lake george with anu for camping, rafting on Secadanga river, horse riding and jetskiing in lake george. Also ended up at Lake Daggett, a private lake. Went to Gotham's comedy club in downtown NY to see Jim David, Lenny Marcus and Vic Henley perform. Went to statue of liberty top pedestal was open and Edison, NJ with dinesh

San francisco

Many times, seen Golden gate, pier 29, 1015 club, hard rock cafe, angel island

July 4, 2004 trip to Lake Tahoe

Camping, parasailing and jetskiing at kings beach
Also went to SF for fireworks.. got disappointed.
Ate at Hard Rock Cafe.

Offsite at Santacruz - June 2003

Boardwalk tickets - Summer 2004. Google sponsored trips.

June 2004 trip to Napa, Leggett

Wine tasting at Robert Mondavi in Napa, drive thru' tree at Leggett, with Dinesh and his parents. I am not much of a drinker, hence following wines were tasted and not admired: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and another one.. I forget the name.

Seattle, Mt Rainier- May 2004

We went to Mt Rainier, and ate at a nice cabin just below base camp. Its pretty beautiful out there. We also went to the Kirkland waterfront, and its pretty neat too. I just love the greenery in Seattle (reminds me of North Carolina), which is not to be found here. That said, I hate the speed limits, and the need to follow them :). I did not experience any rain, so I can't complain about that.

May 2004 trip to Monterey

Carmel beach, 17 mile dr, monterey, played golf

Berry Creek Falls - Mar 2004

Trekking with Vivek V, Amit A.
Wonderful waterfall

Santacruz - March 2004

With anu
Went to mystery spot and Santacruz beach and boardwalk.

Skiing lake tahoe- Mar 2004

with Nimish Shah at the Donner Ski Ranch
Also went to Reno in the night... was not impressed after vegas.

Pune - Feb 2004

To meet Prakash Jijaji.

Dec 2003 - Las Vegas, Death Valley

Vesit Group and Stefan

In DV, saw Zabriskie Pt, Some place below sea level, Artist's Dr, Sand dunes

Vegas, Venetian, Ceaser's Palace, Aladdin, NY-NY. Missed out on Paris.

Myrtle beach - Aug 2003

Myrtle beach, SC is a really nice place to go. The water is awesome, and more importantly not cold. There were nice waves, we were in the water for a fair amount of time.

It was Piyush's birthday and mine back to back on that weekend. We ate at Hard rock cafe, which had a nice theme and average food*.

On the way back, we stopped over at Wilmington and took a tour of a battleship.

* I find most non-Indian food crappy, so I am praising by saying that the food was average.

Niagara falls - Summer 2003

Went to Syracuse to meet Karan, and Niagara falls, US side with Anu. Went through Philadelphia, pretty beautiful (delwater gap).

Rock climbing trip - July 2003

I think it was Table rock or Marion, NC. Five rocks.. successfully climbed one had trouble with the rest. Didnt learn belaying though. Learnt basic figure 8 knots.

Gatlinburg - July 4, 2003 trip

Gatlinburg, WW rafting on Nantahala river. I went for the double-duck with Kalmady on the Nantahala.

Blue ridge parkway

With Arpit, Kamla, Mihir and gang
Drove in the clouds, literally...

Chicago

conference. With Sarah Doster, Dr Williams

Sat in a stretched Limo.. saw Sears Towers, Water front, blues bar, and signs in IMAX

Sea kayaking Mar 2003.

With Outdoor adventures
Bear Island NC
This time we camped just beside the Atlantic ocean... unique experience.

Skiing Sugar Mt. NC - Jan 2003

This time, we went with Outdoor Adventures to Sugar Mountain. This was the first time I got introduced to skiing. I was really skeptical before going for skiing (and spending a whopping 200 bucks on the trip), but I guess I have the adventure worm in me which led to the decision. The first day was so tiring that by 3 pm, I almost gave up, I was getting nowhere after taking the lesson. But then it happened; my first green run. I never looked back after that :); well, until Jan 2005 when I got injured doing the same.

Rajmachi - Dec 2002

Test of endurance, with Kalmady, sushant, lashmi and other juniors. Memorable, but in a different way, although I must admit it was a nightmare for some in the group.

Singapore - Dec 2002

With Arpit, Lashmi
Sentosa Island with Lashmi.

Nov. 2002- Seattle

OOPSLA conference. Also met up with Ravi.

White water rafting in Aug 2002

New River - West Virginia
First time.. and that on 4/4+ rapids
NCSU Outdoor Adventures

Summer 2002 - Backpacking

Went with Arpit, Nimish and Outdoor Adventures to Linville Gorge for backpacking. Was a fun trip.

New york - Mar 2002

Meet Sunil uncle, chhaya mamiji and santu bhuaji
See NYC, downtown, Empire State Bldg. Also saw temples, big malls (felt big at the time).

Tirupati - July 2001

Ichalkaranji's Uncle, aunt, gopal bhayya, bhabhi, anu jiji
Very memorable trip. Just before I went to the USA.

Lonavla - July 2001

Stopped on trip back to Mumbai from Tirupati. Went to Walvhan dam, bushi dam.

Bangalore - Jan-Feb 2001

BE "industrial tour". Mysore gardens, infosys, IBM etc. Group of 40 ppl

Bhimashankar - Monsoon 2000

Climb was memorable; one of the best I have seen. Rain forest (it was raining).
Some risky bends..

Akola

Bittu bhayya's marriage
Great atmosphere.. two compartments booked to our selves

Lonavla - Impromptu trip

Monsoon of 2000 I think.
Decided in the morning, with Vivek, Furkan and Niraj.
Very memorable, lashing rains.. went to Walvhan, Bushi dam.

Rishikesh, Mussoorie

Went for Bhagvad Gita katha by maternal grandparents. Wonderful trip. Remember buying cheap vegetables to feed a lot of ppl who had come.

Wangni - 2000

Pretty much impromptu.. pretty good though, as far as I remember.

Sagargadh - 1998

SE with seniors (Vishal Ghotge and co. )
First trek in VJTI

Nainital

Went to Nainital, Kausani, Ranikhet - Amazing trip with parents and sis. Summer 2000 I think.

Took the train to Kathgodam. Then rented a maruti van for our entire trip.

Saw golf courses, stayed at the Gandhi ashram in Kausani, at a hotel (rented house almost) in Nainital. Second trip on Rajdhani Express in my life I think. Very good.

Amravati

Benu uncle's marriage...
Amazing reception.. remember seeing Maine Pyar kiya and Agneepath umpteen no. of times

Goa - 2000

This was a trip I made with school friends. A bunch of us decided to goto Goa.
Its a 16 hour bus drive to Goa. We stayed at a house owned by Mayuresh's relative, I think. We went to Calangute beach and lit a campfire. Drunk locals came screaming after us and beat us when we lit a campfire on the beach. I think a couple of us got a whacking. We also played cricket amongst coconut trees. Fun times.

Numerous trips to Ichalkaranji, Jaisinghpur

Located in southwest Maharashtra. Overnight trip.... beautiful journey..
Relatives live out there.. nothing much to see.. except the Sugar and Yarn factories.

Numerous trips to Surat

Almost every six months to a year. The city, earlier was Richie Rich.. now dont know. Great place to live.. really clean by Mumbai's standards (supposedly second cleanest in India)

Trips to Rajasthan

Seen Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer... and my home town Kuchaman City. Plus villages like Salemabad, Rajgarh.

Need I mention.. Sand.. great to sleep on the sand on cool nights. The sevaiyan and kachori in Kuchaman are simply amazing.

Calcutta - On way to Assam

Whenever we went to Assam, it was thru Calcutta (now Kolkata). Crowded buses, beautiful Howrah Bridge and Metro rail. Conductors fold the rupee notes longitudinally, in a special way. Jhaal Muri (Sukha bhel with Olive oil) and Toast muri are not to be missed. For the uninitiated, Jhaal means hot (spicy) and muri is the kurmure part.

Numerous trips to Assam

As a child. Rich greenery, rain, rain and rain. Beautiful landscape and a Village of a few hundred ppl where my maternal grandparents live. Places seen:

Guwahati, Nowgong, Jakhalabandha

There u can experience really primitive stuff like water pump (great exercise). Eat hot jaggery (just as it is made) and sit on a grocery store and sell 5 packets of Charminar for 20 bucks or weigh half a kg of sugar. Went to rhino park on one of the trips.

Badrinath Kedarnath

When I was six I think with paternal grand parents... pretty amazing trip. Faint memories of walking on the path with a deep ravine on one side and mountains on the other. Sat in a palki for the first (and last time of my life).. where humans carry you on shoulders. Remember giving Cashews to the guys picking up my grandparents on the palki where I was with them.

Which cars have I driven

Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Prius 05
Honda Civic - 89, 04
Honda Accord test drive
Chevy Malibu V6 - 04
Dodge Caravan (Grand) - First one in the US and same as the first one for my wife.
Ford Taurus
Volvo S40
Suzuki Aerio
Toyota Echo
Chevy Cavalier
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Z350 test drive
Maruti 800
Maruti 1000
Tata Indica
Sebring Convertible
Corvette C6 (Auto show in motion)
Lexus ES330 (Auto show in motion)
Pontiac G6
Pontiac Vibe
Dodge Caliber
Chevy Impala

States covered so far

In India
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Orissa, WB, Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, UP, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Goa

In US
SC, NC, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nevada, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, California, District Of Columbia, Maryland, Arizona, Hawai'i, Alaska, Florida

Countries
India, US, Singapore

Countries (including airports)
India, US, Singapore, Italy, UK, South Korea, France

Concerts attended to date

July 1: Tabla solo by Anubrata Chatterjee. He is another one of those child prodigies. He is 22 years of age and his fingers are nimble as ever. He is definitely going to be among the top in the next generation of tabla players.

June 17: Lakshmi Shankar's 81st Birthday celebration. My first vocal concert. Recitals by Jayanti Sahasrabuddhe, Nachiketa Sharma, Shubhangi Sakhalkar, Gopa Raha and finally by the living legend Lakshmi Shankar. She is 81 but her voice has all the clarity, pitch and control. Nachiketaji's rendition of Raag Shyam Kalyan is also worth mentioning.

May 5, 2007: Sisirkana Dhar Choudhary AKA Didi on the violin. This was her first concert that I was attending. The concert went over 4 hours, and she played right from the heart.

Apr 26, 2007: Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain playing Raag Puriya Kalyan followed by Raag Mishra Khamaj. Amazing as usual. Thanks to Uttamda, we got a chance to meet the artists in person and that was an elevating experience.

Sep. 14, 2006: Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia with George Brooks and Group. Raag Yaman Kalyan was played by Panditji. The jazz was also pretty good and Kathak by Kaveri Agashe added a unique touch to the jazz.

Oct 29, 2005: Pt. Ali Akbar Khan, Alam Khan and Ashish Khan in sarode trio. Raag Hem Bihag and Pilu Marwa, simply stunning.

Sep. 4, 2005: Ghulam Ali, Talat Aziz and Anup Jalota in concert. Damadam mast kalandar was awesome.

June 18: Pt. Swapan Chaudhari and Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra (got cancelled). But it was replaced by Tabla solo by Pt. Swapan Chaudhari and Sarode by Alam Khan (Kaunsi Kanhara). I must say that Alam Khan rocks and he is probably the future of Sarode (with Pt Amjad Ali Khan's sons)

May 20, 2005: Ghulam Ali and Talat Aziz - Unfortunately, Ghulam Ali met with an accident and the show was cancelled.

May 8, 2005: Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt with Shuben Chatterjee - a most amazing experience. The concert was dedicated to Moms and Rain. Started off with Raag Mian ki Malhar, followed by vocal renditions of Raag Goud Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar and Megh Malhar. Second half was Raag Basant, Raag Hansadhwani and finally, his composition from his album, A Meeting by the River.

Apr 24, 2005: Pt. Shivkumar sharma, rahul sharma and zakir hussain playing raag "Rasika Priya". Simply mesmerizing stuff. Followed by George Brooks on the Saxophone. Steve Smith was amazing on the drums.

Mar 2005: Standup by Bill Maher.... a lot of what he speaks in the show.. not worth it. Especially since I was on pager duty.

Nov. 20, 2004: Zakir Hussain with Shri Alam Khan on Sarode. Mesmerizing... first half Alam khan played Raag Vihag (tantanan tantananan), followed by tabla solo by Zakir Hussain.. Simply mesmerizing.

Nov. 2004: Cobbs comedy club for Ed Helms.

Oct 9, 2004: Pt Hariprasad chaurasia with Pt Bhawaniji on the pakhawaj (first flute concert with the pakhawaj). Raag Balkauns in slow Alaap and two compositions.. mesmerizing. End with Raag Pahadi. If I get a CD of this recording, I am so going to buy it!!!! The disciples of Pt Chaurasia, Debopriya Chatterjee and Rimpa Siva hold a lot of promise too.

Sep 17, 2004: GS Sachdev, Zakir Hussain live. Sat in row E (fifth from the front, around 15-20 feet from Zakir Hussain). Raag Gaurav Vihar, Mishra Khamaj, Jay jayavanti were played. Grace Cathedral in SF is an amazing location to have a concert. The place was simply amazing.

Aug. 2004: Hariharan - Classical, and all his songs (Liyakat Ali Khan on Sarangi) in Hayward

Aug 2004: Hasya Kavi Sammelan - Surendra Sharma, Arun Gemini and Niraj Puri - the most humorous so far (beats Stand up comedy by miles if you have a North Indian Context!)

Aug 2004: Gotham's Comedy Club - New York with Jim David, Vic Henley and Lenny Marcus.. hilarious, amazing performers

Summer 2004: Jagjit Singh Ghazals in Bay Area

GS Sachdev and Swapan Chaudhari - Flute

Dec 2002: Shivkumar Sharma, Rahul Sharma(his son), Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh Chaurasia (his son) and Zakir Hussain - Santoor, Flute and Tabla in Bombay (If you missed this one, you dont know what u missed!)

May 2004: Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ramani, Swapan Chaudhari - North and South Indian Classical flute (Jugalbandi)

2002: Indian Ocean - Kandisa in Raleigh

2000: Falguni Pathak - Dandiya in Mumbai (One near Goregaon Highway I think)