This is not like how the first post should be, but here it is!! I need to start with something..
Well, 'the journey' is quite a big word to use, I am talking about a 10 day awesome trip to the East coast of USA which started and ended in NYC. It was a much needed vacation for all of us and we all had a time of our lives. So this post happens to be more of a travelogue:
Day 1: On flight to New York La Guardia airport from DFW
Starting from home at the crack of dawn, we make it way before time for our flight. It wasn't a direct flight and we had around 3 hours layover at Atlanta. The first place that I hit at any airport is the souvenir shop. collecting magnets of places that I visit has been a new found hobby. So there I was, shopping for magnets at the Atlanta souvenir shop :) Later in a few hours we were at the LGA airport. The vastness and the fast paced life of the city continues to amaze me. A nice night view of the city from the 102nd floor of the Empire state building was a moment worth remembering. And yes it is from this very place that the adventure started. First night in the city and one camera down :(
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| Outside the NY public library |
Day 2: On the way to Niagara
It was impossible to do without a camera and the next day started with our hunt for a nearby ' Best buy' . Nothing comes easy in life and hence after a long search we finally got a camera that we wanted and left for Niagara falls. The travel was fun with Ninad behind the wheel of his dream car the Mazda 3. The adventure part was that we did not have a GPS system with us and it took us around 2 hours to get out of the city. And at this point we developed a sudden love for the Texas freeways. Storms awaited us in Niagara and the night view was not clearly seen as we had thought it to be. But it is beautiful and truly a place to visit. Indian food always remains a treat and it was special to have authentic punjabi food at Niagara. Pachranga aachar at the falls!! Can anything beat that!!
Day 3: Niagara Falls
The Maid of the mist and cave of the mist were amazing and the word 'beautiful' seems too less to explain the beauty of the falls. The Niagara Falls state park is amazing and they have done a great job and maintaining the charm of the falls. Another lucnch at Maharaja and we were set to go to Corning Museum of Glass. The glass work and masterpieces made our visit there totally worth it!
Day 4: NYC it is!!
Madame Tussauds Wax museum, Times Square, Wall street and traveling by subways made our day!!
Day 5: New Jersey
Cape May, A beach place at the sothermost part of New Jersey! A perfect place for an american vacation on a long weekend. Having said that I don't think I need to say any more. Playing in the water and making sand castles, continues to be fun as always!!
Day 6: NJ and NY
An attempt made to appreciate the work of artists. A visit to the Museum of Modern Art. Fancy as it sounds, it is a huge museum displaying various forms of art from all over the world. My patience ended after seeing about a quarter of the museum. Nice lunch at MoMA followed by a bike ride in central park. Now this was ' the moment' . Riding a bike with mama and mami at central park was something that I had never done before.. It was fun!!
Day 7 : Philadelphia
Day started at 6.30 am in the morning. I actually woke up too see mama off to work! This is a again a rare thing!! since we had to go early that day I was ready to go at around 7.30 am. Watched 2 movies and chilled out at home and left for Atlantic city in the evening. Thats the beauty of our trip. We had all plans ready but it was hardly ever that we followed the plans. It was always an impromptu decision. Atlantic city is a place which probably gets the highest electricity bills!! The place makes you think that gambling is the way to life.We checked in the hotel (Donald Trump's Taj Mahal Hotel and casino) and I got a short and very useful lesson for Poker from Ninad. Later, we went to the boardwalk. The water was cold but I still couldn't resist the temptation and had to step into the water. Pizza and iced tea at the boardwalk was our dinner. Trust me, cheese pizza never tasted so yummy.So much excitement at the poker table. We had our share of winning and losing moments!!
Day 8: Atlantic City to Washington DC
We were set for the travel with laptops fully charged and bollywood music playing all the way!!
Visit to the capitol building and a night view of the white house marked the day. Nice dinner at a Biryani place with Ninad's cousin. Biryani that was not too spicy!!
Day 9: Washington DC
The city truly gives the message of being the capital of the country. everything about this place is grand. We enjoyed a nice bus tour around the city. A glimpse of the first couple of the US outside the White house was like the cherry on top.
Day 10: Philadelphia
Visit to the old capital before going back to NJ. Philly is a treat for people who love history or have some knowledge about the American history. All the monuments and places of historic importance are very well preserved. Tap house is a local brewery famous for its beers. A treat for beer lovers. Nice ambiance and nice location.Day ended with Pav bhaji at the Lakshmi road in Edison. It is just like India!!
Day 11:Princeton
Visit to the dentist, Golf course, Lunch at P. F Chang, Shopping with mama ( brought back memories of India), ice cream @ Thomas ice cream and a drink at the Brew House in Princeton Downtown.
A day well spent!!
Day 12: NYC
Statue of liberty and Miss Liberty ride and Chipotle!! Left for the airport at around 12 from Leena tai's place and boarded the flight to DFW, The tour thus ended and we were all back to the grind!
To sum it up, Ameya walked more than he had walked the entire semester..Manasi had a fun time dressing up in all her new attires.. Ninad gave too much work to his brains and his knees hurt, and I was happy that the whole trip happened!!
