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/

At San Jose Airport (Sillicon Valley)

San Jose airport is small but has its own differences compared to other airports around the city. Mostly the airport is busy since you could see lot of business people traveling around since this is one of the city where all tech companies had setup there shop.

There are very less number of tall building near the airport and that is one thing which is different from others. There were lot of renovation or extention work going thru out the airport. You could see billboards of all tech majors google , apple you name it they are there in different sizes and forms. There are lesser number of restaurants inside compared to other major airports in US.

At the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino , Las Vegas , Nevada , US

The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino is one of the costliest hotels in and around Las Vegas. It consists of several restaurants for dining. We had a nice time dining at
Pinot Brasserie. Pinot Brasserie offers the warm, bustling ambiance of an urban Parisian brasserie. The hotel is having all the amenities one could think of and beyond.

More details here http://www.venetian.com/

There are lot of show houses within the hotel. There is a Venice like structure built within the hotel , which takes you to the back waters of Italy. We saw the "Phantom of the Opera" show and the man made sets of the show are one of the finest i had ever seen. This lavish production was named the “#1 show in Las Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review Journal and continues to thrill audiences night after night.

From the moment you enter the magnificent $40 million custom-built theatre, you are in the storied Paris Opera House and part of The Phantom's world and all its signature songs, lyrics, costumes, and more. With spectacular sets, new illusions and a breathtaking chandelier experience unlike anything you have ever seen, Phantom is a can't-miss experience that promises surprises that will astound new audiences and loyal Phantom fans alike, and it’s only at The Venetian. Get your tickets today
its costly 259$ for a show :)

More details here http://www.phantomlasvegas.com/

At the Flemmingo Resort Hotel & Casino , Las Vegas , Nevada , US

Flemmingo Resort Hotel & Casino was one of the Biggest hotels I had seen ever. The hotel is a central attraction of Las Vegas gambling pools. After a party at the hotel during the noon time we were given Cash by our company to engage in a game where one need to play gambling and come back with all there earnings, the one team who earns the maximum wins the game.

The ground floor of the Hotel is filled with gambling tables and you could see all type of gambling going on 24/7 . Drinks and beverages are served all thru the session. The lower floor is polluted by people who smoke. So hard time for those who are having breating troubles. But there is a park like structure in the middle of the hotel which is open and give plenty of fresh air.

We enjoyed playing the game but almost lost all the money we had. Anyway we tried our best. Our night stay was arranged in this hotel, but we spent all night walking thru the streets of Las Vegas which was lively all thru the night. People spent lot of money there and one could see desperate faces who lost money , people who had drunk till nose end, people engaged in gambling business, lot of sex workers all fill the roads and gets roads gets crowded by midnight.