Driving Through The Winter Wonderland

My daughter has been bugging me since Thanksgiving for a vacation to Lake Tahoe during winter months. She wanted to go sledding. I don't blame her. It's been a while since we went to Tahoe in winter. So I finally booked a cabin in Tahoe for the President's day week. We were planning to leave on Sunday, the 20th and be back on Tuesday, the 22nd (to beat the traffic). The week before our travel the weather in California was gorgeous, almost spring like weather.

However as the travel date was approaching, the weather took a dramatic turn (no surprise there!!! Murphy's law always holds good!) There was a severe winter storm on Friday night leading to Saturday morning at Tahoe. According to local news there was a major gridlock on the roads leading to Tahoe because of the severe weather conditions. We were constantly checking weather for Tahoe to see if the storm cleared.

Luckily for us on Sunday it was clear blue skies where we live as well as in Tahoe, which made driving a breeze. We could reach our destination in 3 and 1/2 hours. Not bad!!! Also because of the recent snow storm, there was fresh snow everywhere. All the pine trees were covered in snow. All the rooftops were covered with a thick layer of snow, with icicles dangling on the edges. The drive was so scenic, it felt like driving through a winter wonderland. I took pictures along the drive with my iPhone. The pictures are not with the greatest resolution, I don't think they did justice to the scenery. However they say, pictures say a thousand words. I think it holds good in this scenario.

Enjoy the ride!!

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Window Shopping

One of the fun things about Disneyland are the colorful window displays. I have always enjoyed looking at them. Of all the windows "Ratatouille" captured my attention. Because they actually had a character moving. The display is so realistic, with all sorts of details. You can see a refrigerator, kitchen utensils, recipe book etc. Here are some pictures and the video of that window display. I only wish I did not see the glass reflection in my pictures and video.

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It's A Small World!

We had been to Disneyland just recently for my daughter's spring break. It was one hectic trip no doubt. No matter how well you plan your trip, there is only so many rides one can cover in a day.

Of all the rides, "It's a small world" is very different, and the message is wonderful - unity in diversity. It promotes the sense of togetherness and peace, which is so much needed in this world, with all that is going on.

Here are some pictures I took of the ride.

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I Cannot Beleive I Met .....

This summer I visited my sister's family in PA. My sister had planned a visit to the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam ( also known locally as Saylorsburg temple ). She had donated $500 to the temple for the "Gift for the Day" program. That donation covers a day of meals, utilities and operations at the temple. She made a donation in memory of my dad.

We went the previous night and they provided us with accommodations at the temple. The next morning was the actual Abhishekam performed to Lord Dakshinamurthi. So my sister's family and my family along with our mom we all got ready and we went to the temple and who do we see there .....

It was Pandit Jasraj Ji performing on stage inside the temple. Apparently Pandit Jasraj Institute for music, artistry and appreciation has it's annual Shibir at the Arsha Vidya Gurkulam every summer. We could not believe our luck. We were so thrilled to see him perform so up close. It is not a publicized event. We felt very lucky to have seen him. My mom was very touched. We all remembered our dad fondly. My dad was a great lover of music. He enjoyed music immensely and we would always catch him singing. So we all felt the connection of the great musician being present for our important day.

After the performance we all headed to the dining hall for our dinner. Pandit Jasraj Ji was there too. So I asked my daughter to say namaste to panditji, which she did. He was very kind and made some conversation with her. He is such a humble man for somebody who is so accomplished. Later my mom, my sister and I went and spoke to him a bit too. We were all so elated to have such an opportunity.

So you never know who you might see, when you least expect it !!

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Funny Faces!!!

During my visit to India, my mom cut a vegetable (I forgot which vegetable it was) getting ready to cook and this is what we saw. They looked like happy faces (and some not so happy). So I decided to take some pictures .... Funny isn't it?!!!

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Around The World

The following are some of the souvenirs and travel memorabilia from around the world given to us by our family and friends.

When I saw these different souvenirs from different parts of the world, an old Hindi song, "Mera Joota Hai Japani" from movie "Shree 420" came to my mind. So I searched the net and linked it above.

Enjoy.

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Just Got Back From India!

I just got back from India. Wow! That was a great trip. I last visited India 2 years ago. Way too many changes in India this time around. I had been to Bangalore and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Suddenly Bangalore feels more like Bombay with way too many high rise apartments any where you look. Lots of new shopping malls (Garuda mall, The Forum, Central mall ... just to name a few) all over Bangalore. This is the first time I felt as if I don't know this place anymore. That's odd since I spent most of my growing years there and I visit India every other year.

The other big thing is the economy in India seems to be booming. It does feel like silicon valley with respect to companies, since most of the big names have an office there. However there is one thing that needs immediate attention. That is the roads almost anywhere in the city (even around the airports) need to be improved drastically. So what used to take 15 to 20 minutes to commute previously, now takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. It could only get worse from here on once all the new apartment complexes get filled up. That would be a real nightmare

Overall there are lots of positive changes in India and economy is boo........ming!!!

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