Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara, Newyork

We reached Niagara falls around noon time, it was long weekend so it was bit crowded. We went to the whirlpool jet ski first. Per ticket its around 56 dollars, but money is worth spent. This one is like a speed boat shown below, which takes you for a splash around the river. more details here in this site http://www.whirlpooljet.com/. The speed boat can carry around 30-40 people at one go and can travel up to the speed of 55 miles per hour. Its one of the most thrilling experiences I had in my entire travel life.


After the jet ski experience we went to the Niagara Falls state park. The main two must see attractions there is the Maid of the Mist tour and the Cave the Winds tour.
There are other minor attractions all around like Discovery center and Aquarium etc.
"Maid of the mist" is a tour (11 dollars per person with kids under five going for free) where you will be taken to both the American side of the falls( called American falls) and towards the Canadian Falls called the Horse shoe falls. Its a breath taking experience which is beyond any word can describe.

Here is the view of the American Falls



Here is the view of Canadian Falls called the horse shoe falls.




By evening you can enjoy the color lit Niagara Falls. Also they have fireworks in and around that region which also adds a sparkle to the entire experience.

There is a queue for getting into the "Maid of the mist" and "Cave of the winds" tour. So its better to be inside the park by early morning. or else you will have problems finding a nearby parking spot. If you arrive early then first you could get into Maid of the mist tour. The boat will take you near the falls. Then get into the Cave of the winds tour where you can stand directly near the water fall on wooden stands they had put nearby the water fall.

Non citizens visiting the region should be very careful moving around in the car since Canada border is nearby, you may by accident get into Canada. As there is no big marker showing up the boundaries, there are cases where someone will get stuck at the border without having Canadian Visa and without having proper documents for reentry to US. So those who are having single entry visa's or say work visa in US like H1B or L1 should be extremely careful while travelling around the region. This is applicable to all those visitors coming from Michigan or Chicago area by drive since the GPS route will show a route thru Canada, thru the BlueWater bridge. This route may take you to Niagara and reduce the journey time by 3 hours, but all the immigration headaches are associated with that. If you can take 3 hrs extra travel time then its better coming to Cleveland, Ohio and then from there to Niagara.

Here is the route that we took we traveled from Holland Michigan to Niagara thru Ohio.


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Tulip Festival , Holland, Michigan

Tulip festival season is one of the celebrated times in West Michigan. The festival is 10+ days long and takes place in early May. Mostly this period is when the climate here is good after several months of snow. Slight rain may be there but that cools up the atmosphere.

Here are some of the Tulip season snaps



another snap



Half a million tulips are planted around the city of Holland and when the tulip bulbs bloom its a feast for your eyes. Lot many activities and functions takes place during this time period in the city. You will get a flavor of Dutch culture during this period since lot many dance festivals takes place on that theme. There will be fire works in the Kollen park in the evening to add up the spice. Another major attraction is Neils dutch village, where lot many rides and other show pieces are arranged.

A walk thru downtown Holland would give you a glimpse of floral arrangements. There are several parks surrounding the area like Centinnial park , Helder park etc and lot many activities takes place during this time period. Check the website www.tuliptime.com for more details. There is a tulip garden called Veldheers tulip garden and shoe factory. You will have a chance to see how wooden shoes are made.

The nearest airport is Grand Rapids international airport, but Holland is in the Amtrack line for those who wish to travel by train.

Six Flags Amusement Park, Fiesta , San Antonio , Texas

Six Flags Amusement park at Fiesta Texas is 3 hours from Houston. The day we reached there was sunny. Six Flags have rides suited for young children to elder ones who dare to go for adrenalin pumping rides.

Take a look at the snaps of some of the rides.






This is the one of the favorite superman ride

BAPS Swami Narayan Temple, Houston Texas

BAPS Swami Narayan temple in Houston Texas is one of the well known temples in entire North America. The temple is well known for its Serene atmosphere as well as the sculptures inside the temple. The temple is manged by BAPS Swami Narayan Sansthan. The entire sanctum sanctorum is surronded by flowing water body which gives it a pleasent cool feeling in Summer as well as Winter.

There is a gift shop which sells sweets and other matierials of interest. The 'prasadam' of the temple is a peculiarity and its different from other temples where they give you cooked pulses mixed with lot of spices and other ingrediates.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston , Texas.

The airport itself is quite big like any other airport you see in big cities of US. Houston was large like other major cities I had seen, temperature is hot enough that you will get tired if you are out in the sun for an hour. We were there when the summer was beginning when the mercury level was not at the top , but still could get a feel of how hot it can go during summers. Visiting from Michigan it looked like taking a dip from cold ice water to hot water tub. We went thru the terminal B. Airport is a little crowded and sometimes you have to wait and you may end up standing in the terminal. So its better if you come on time or very early so that you can find a spot to sit.

Detroit International Auto Show, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Auto show is one of the worlds most renouned event in the Automotive Industry Circles. North America is one of the largest users of Automotive Products and major companies in and around the globe use this event as the launch pad for promoting their products and announcing the newer arsenals to compete in the market.

Usually this takes place during the first quarter of the year. Ford had a major presence.

I will post some snaps from the event soon

Princeton, New Jersey

It was a short trip to Princeton , NJ. We spent new year along with one of my relatives. We spent most of the time indoor, snow was all around so it was not a good time to go out and explore.

We were a little tired driving from Pittsburgh, but the journey gave an insight to the terrain of the north eastern US. We spent time on several spots on the journey towards and back from New Jersey. We got into trouble while driving thru a toll road at New Jersey. We were not carrying enough bills and we were having only credit cards with us. But the toll authorities noted down my license number and asked to pay online.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

We were on the route towards New Jersey, and we stayed overnight at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Towards the journey we spent time at Desquene Incline where we could get a full view of the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. There was a small tram sliding thru the incline down and then up. The entire trip was very short. On return journey we visited the Hindu temple of Pittsburgh.

Holland, Grand Rapids, MI to Princeton, New Jersey

The entire journey was 14+ hours by car. Ours was a break journey and we took break at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We took the trip thru the I-92 till Ann Arbor, near Detroit.

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We took the i-82 towards Toledo. Then most of our journey was near thru the Lake Superior. We crossed the Ohio state and entered Pennsylvania where we stayed overnight. Next day we took the journey from Pennsylvania to Princeton , New Jersey. The entire route is looked like a straight route till Princeton. Most of the terrain was a vast unoccupied land. Most of the area we saw was not even having trees or other plants. It was simply plain, with some towns here and there between the routes.

Gerald Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Although I had traveled across several airports this one was one is among the most liked ones. Its not a major international airport, but still it is big compared to the crowd we see there. It seemed like airport is very spacious for the crowd it had. Good facility for long term car parking (9$ per day). There is convenient to and fro shuttle arranged to the terminal so its hassle free , you can conveniently park the car at the parking lot and take the shuttle to and fro towards the terminal . Even they note down the location where you had parked the car and leave you near by that on return. The staff is very courteous and as soon as you get down from the car or shuttle they help you to bring down your luggage. Airport looks like a newly built structure.

Cincinatti International Airport , Ohio

I had a transit thru this aiport while traveling from Seattle to Grand Rapids. Lot many Delta fights from west coast to east coast have this airport as a transit point. Airport looked almost same with other airports and without any distinctive features.

Denver International Airport, Colorado

My transit thru Denver Airport was when I was traveling from Grand Rapids , Michigan to Seattle , Washington. The airport was slightly different. It looked like the airport was built near an open space, may be a farmland. I could hardly see any big building near this airport. I could see some mountain ranges very far away from the airport, but it was scenic to see the outside nature withing the airport. The building dome was unique with a structure like lot many white tents placed close to each other.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport

My transit thru Chicago O'Hare International airport was when I was traveling from Seattle to Grand Rapids, MI. Compared to many other airports this is sligtly bigger. I didnt get much time to explore more here since my transit time was less than one hour. I could hardly find time for exploring after I had taken dinner from here.
Its modern and with all amenities which we expect. But it was crowded and it seems like the whole airport carries a good volume of passengers every year.

Space Needle , Seattle , WA

This is a must watch if you are at Seattle. This is in downtown Seattle and there are lot many parking lots nearby which come in different prices. Very nearby is Pacific Science center and Childrens museum is also nearby. Children under 3 are free and adults pay around 18 dollars.

The obeservation deck is almost 520 feet above sealevel. There is SkyCity Restaurant which is revolving deck. When the Space Needle was built in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

some funfacts given here: http://www.spaceneedle.com/discover/funfacts.html



Visit here for more info http://www.spaceneedle.com/

Snoqualmie water falls, WA

The park and free viewing area are open from dawn until dusk. Pets are NOT allowed. The distance between the free parking lot and the viewing platform is approximately 200 feet and is wheelchair accessible. Snoqualmie Falls is one of Washington state's most popular scenic attractions. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the Falls every year.

Parking is free here.The hiking trail down to the falls is closed until 2013

Closest Address: 6501 Railroad Ave SE
GPS: 47.542932,-121.836834


more information here : http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/

Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle , WA

This is my secong visit to Woodland Park zoo. The zoo is similar to other zoo's but one striking difference is about the greenary. The greenary is more natural and gives a soothing effect to eyes. Lucky we had a chance to see the elephants feeding since we reached there aroung the feeding time. There are some on the spot shows where an Raptors trying to catch its prey. Raptors are some of the fastest animals on the planet, with species such as peregrine falcons reaching dives approaching 140 mph!

There is a Historic carousal for children to play and we spent some time there. Then there is Humboldt penquin exihibit and an incredible underwater viewing of those penquins. There is an Australasia section where several creatures from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the thousands of islands of the South Pacific are displayed. Prominent among them are kangaroos and you can feed some parrot species.

Zoomazium is Woodland Park Zoo's nature-themed playspace especially for ages toddler through 8 years.African Savanna Exhibit consists of species from African continent like giraffes, Hippos etc.Northern Trail. Mimicking the habitat of Alaska's tundra and taiga region, the Northern Trail features the animals that make this area their home including brown bears, Roosevelt elk, river otters, arctic foxes, snowy owls, mountain goats, and northern bald eagles. Northern Trail includes the Taiga Viewing Shelter, an indoor viewing area where you see river otters swim playfully underwater and bears hunt for trout.

Whether they creep, crawl, fly (or all three!) Bug World contains a fascinating array of the often overlooked life that teems around us.The dense tropical forests of Asia hold some of the world's most endangered species including Asian elephants, orangutans, Malayan tapirs and more.There are exibhits which feature reptiles and amphibians including Komodo dragon.

Visit for more info www.zoo.org

Olympic National Park, Port Angeles , Washington

Olympic National Park is at the north-western tip of US. The whole area is scenic with its blue lakes and snow covered mountains. We approched the Olymbic mountain ranges traveling from the eastern side of mountain ranges to reach Port Angeles thru
Sequim by taking US-101.


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We approched the visitor center and gathered information about all the locations of interest. Our plan was to visit all the places possible on a single day. The whole area is so wide that some of the beaches are far away and you may end up loosing time traveling.

We started journey towards Hurricane Ridge. As we started our ascend towards the Ridge , clouds engulfed our route and the visiblity was almost zero. It was turning out to be a dangerous car drive thru the hair pin turns and twists. Both sides of road where full of tall , green , wet trees. Once we crossed the mist we could see snow covered mountains and the seen was awesome and I dont know the apt words to describe !



We came back to Port Angeles and then took the route towards to Crescent lake. The lake water was so cold and we spent time on the shores spenting time in some photography. We returned back towards Bellevue by late night and it was US Independece day and we could see fireworks all thru our route. And I started my account by opening the first traffic ticket after coming to US !

Mount Rainier National Park , Washington

We planned a journey to the Mount Rainier Scenic rail road which starts from Elbe during the morning time. The jounery is by a old steam engine which takes you towards a nearby lake. From Seattle , Tacoma , Olympia and other areas to the north, you have to follow Interstate Hwy 5 to Hwy 512 toward Puyallup. Exit 1 mile to State Highway 7 to Elbe . Approximately 40 miles directly located on Hwy 7, which is also known as Moutnain Highway. Although we reached a little early some delay was caused due to the repair work being carried on one of the rail engines.


The journey is scenic and mostly thru Forest. We could see lot many campgrounds on both sides of the route where people where enjoying their camping. One way journey is around 45 minutes and then 15 minutes stay at the lake. The whole journey is thru the foothills of Mount Rainier. After return we moved ahead to visit the Mount Rainier National Park.




It almost 30-45 minutes from Elbe and as we reach the Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park we have to pay a 15 dollar for entering the park. Once we enter the park the route is green and vivid. Dense forest surronds both sides of the route. We took our lunch from Copper creek hotel and then started our upward journey towards the Paradise point. As we travel ahead we could see lot many snow covered moutains in and around. At one point we just stopped our car and went out to stand above massive snow body we saw near the road but as we tried to stand on the edge of the snow it got crushed and we all got wet as there was stream underneath the snow.



We further went ahead to reach Paradise point by noon time. It was one of the spendid seens in a long time. There was trail one could climb covered with snow. We tried hiking the snow covered trail and eventhough it was easy climb intially as we gained the altitude things were becoming hard. So we spent time playing in the snow and then took some snaps near a snowman made by someone before we started our return journey to Seattle.

Journey across the Pacific Coast

This was one of the most exciting thrilling and tiresome journey ever I had taken. But it was worth many ways. The journey was planned from San Diego to Seattle. San Diego California is at the South-West tip of US near to the Mexico border city of Tijuana and Seattle is on the North-West tip of US, near to the Canadian city of Vancouver in British Colombia. Most of the route is straight forward without twists and turns, straight from San Diego to Seattle and one has to to catch the Interstate -5 all through the journey. But still we went into some trouble due to the GPS system errors and sometimes due to our bad decisions. But still overall it was a pleasant journey without much troubles.


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The total journey is of almost 20 hrs by car. A total distance of 1256.2 miles (2021 kms approximately)was covered in three days taking two breaks , one at Coalinga in California and another one in Portland, Oregon. This is almost like cutting US into two across the pacific coast.



We started by evening around 4 PM from San Diego and reached Los Angeles in around 2.5 hrs. As we cruised thru the I-5 on the right hand side we could see the Camp Pendalton which is a US Marine Base. On the left side you will be having the Pacific ocean shores. Across Los Angeles we had to go thru traffic rush so had to slow down. Cutting across the Los Angeles city thru the Interstate - 5 route was a hardship but we could compensate it during the journey from Los Angeles to Coalinga.
After Los Angeles its a journey thru less populated areas and some portion is thru forest area. It was dark around by the time we crossed this section but still figured out that we are surrounded by mountains. About 11 PM we reached Coalinga and stayed overnight at the hotel. We started early the next day (5.00 AM) from Coalinga.

The route from Coalinga towards Portland is scenic and beautiful. We were lucky that weather was also sunny throughout our journey. The places from Coalinga to Sacremento was having lot of herd farms. We could see many horses and Cows grazing in the meadows surrounding hilly regions. Lot of cultivations are done in this region and its very scenic to see this part of the countryside.


Most of the places are of hilly terrain and was covered with sparkling white snow. The routes were thru the snowy mountains and we saw numerous water bodies surrounding all through the region. Our GPS made wrong calculation of the route and we had to circle around the Shasta Lake region. But it was like a boon than a suffering since this gave us chance to see the beautiful mountainous region surrounding Shasta Lake We took a break just near to Portland , Oregon at Willonville.

Next day we started the journey from Portland and downtown Portland was full of cris-cross over-bridges and even God will get confused which way to take to the destination. Once we crossed the Portland part it was again scenic journey but there were no snow covered mountains. We reached Renton in 2 hrs time and we reached Redmond near the Microsoft HeadQuarters in another one hour and we stopped the journey for the day there.

At the Birch Aquarium , San Diego , CA

Birch Aquarium is small but is a must see place in San Diego. It gives lot of information about modern day environmental challenges like carbon emission , climate chage etc. The aquarium is one of its class , where they had manitained uniqueness in the fact that you could see several flora and fauna you had never seen in other aquariums around the globe.

The aquarium is maintained by Scripps Ocenographic Institute , University of California at San Diego. One could easly spend anytime between 3 to 5 hours here seeing sea creatures you had never seen.

More details here:

http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/