Chennai RBI

Time: March 14th-15th, 2017
Place: Chennai
Company: Alone
Highlights:

Overview: One of the reasons for me choosing to head back to India for good was that I didn't've to go to Chennai for US Visa stamping purposes whenever I visited India on vacation! I was tired of preparing for the consulate visit, the countless documents - originals and copies, checklists, the booking process in the company, the approvals in the company, the list goes on and on. 

Now thanks to demonetization, I was left with few old notes that I had to deposit with RBI. Thinking happily that there was an RBI in Bangalore where I could just go and deposit, I was told that I had to go to Chennai RBI - and again with full documentation, checklists, etc. to prove how I legally owned the old notes and why I could not deposit in 2016 itself! And so Fate made me go to Chennai again!

Reached railway station on my TVS at about 6 and took the 6:30 am Lalbagh express hoping that it would be on time. If it exceeded beyond 2:30 pm, then I had to come back to RBI the next day. Thankfully, it was right on time. I reached RBI gates by about 1 pm (via prepaid auto) and although there was a queue, I was able to get inside the campus before the 2:30 pm cut-off.

Once inside, I had to go through the security and then await my turn. My token number was over 150 from the current counter and I had a huge wait time - almost 2.5 hours. So I refreshed myself with some snacks and water and read the book I had with me. My turn finally came at 4:45 pm and it was just a matter of filling up some forms and submitting my old notes just like in any other bank. Except that this was RBI and it was colossal! There were huge portraits of currencies traded in India right from about 10-15 decades ago which was awesome. I wanted to take pics but it was against RBI law to use phones inside the premises. So refrained. Anyways, once I deposited the old notes, I was free to get back to Bangalore. 

I took two buses (and walked a long way in-between) to get back to Railway Station. It was stifling hot and I was profusely sweating. By 5:30 pm, I was sitting in one of the chairs under a full-blast fan on the main platform waiting for my 9 pm Kaveri Express train back to Bangalore. Passed time by chatting with few folks (one Russian included), getting up to date with Whatsapp videos (!), reading some more of my book, munching, etc. and finally it was time to board up.

Train journey back home was uneventful. Slept all the way. Arrived Bangalore at 3:30 am. Against parents advice of not to ride a two-wheeler at such an odd time, still drove home and reached by 4ish. 

After a really long, long time - went on an outstation tour all alone. Tontu and wifey really missed me. Tontu kept asking if I will be back by night and I said I will be sleeping beside her when she wakes up. And so it happened! :-)

Hosur and Tirukkoilur

Time: Feb 28th - Mar 1st, 2017
Place: Hosur and Tirukkoilur
Company: Parents, wife and daughter
Highlights:

Preview: Parents had this idea of visiting Tirukkoilur since it was a long time. Since I was now back in Bangalore, they decided to pull us along! Coincidentally, this year's Saptaaha was held at Hosur between 27th Feb and 5th March. Hosur happens to be on the way to Tirukkoilur. So we decided to club the two in one trip. 

Day 1: Left on 28th at about 10ish and reached Saptaaha event place at about 11:30 am. Couple of religious discourses here, a little bit of homa there, some pooja happening somewhere else - all good stuff. Then, lunch. Bit of a water scarcity problem. And it was time to move on. Left at about 3ish and road didn't seem all that great to Tirukkoilur but it was not too bad either. Reached destination (Mutt) at 7ish, relaxed and retired for the night.

Day 2: Up at 7, freshened up for darshan of Raghuttama Theertharu. That done, lazed about here and there under the sun, with some cows, tender coconut, etc. waiting for lunch. Then decided we might as well visit the famous Trivikrama temple (as we usually do whenever we come here!).

Left in car, reached in few minutes. Good darshan. Although I have been here many times, I realized for the first time that this is Vishnu's Vaman avatar where he puts the 3 footsteps on Earth, Sky and Bali's head. Also found out to my surprise that the temple has idols of all of Vishnu's 10 avatars - but one has to go searching for them all! Headed back to Mutt for another round of darshan and pooja. Considering the Brindavan is all outdoors [Raghuttama Theertharu didn't prefer shelter; if the branch of a neighboring tree starts to give shelter on the Brindavan, it automatically withers away - and so it is believed], it was now scorching. But it was soon over, and delicious lunch ensued.

Soon after, we checked out and left Tirukoilur at 1:30 pm. Journey back was uneventful. By 6:30 pm we were back in Bangalore traffic. Reached home finally at about 7:30 pm.

Overview: It was a short trip but ample enough time spent at Tirukkoilur. Maybe if we had left early on Day 1, we could have spent more time at the Saptaaha too. The drive was mostly good except for a few patches of bad roads. Maybe the roads will get better in a few years' time. The fourth trip in fourth successive week comes to an end!

Isha Yoga Center at Coimbatore for Mahashivaratri

Time: February 24th - 25th, 2017
Place: Isha Ashram at Coimbatore
Company: Wife & daughter
Highlights:

Right about the time we decided to head back to India, we got the news of Adiyogi consecration on the Mahashivaratri day at Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore. We thought it is the right time to visit Isha. Only concern was our daughter was just 6 yet and we were not sure if her age children were allowed - since it was an all-night gathering. There were no concrete Yes or No from Isha volunteers when we enquired. So we decided to take a chance and take her with us. 

Train tickets were easy to get. Registration to attend was easy. And on the day of departure, we left at 5 am on our TVS two-wheeler from Jayanagar home to Majestic. It was cold. Caught the 6:15 train to CBE. Journey was uneventful. It started getting hot at around 11. We reached at 1:15 pm as per schedule and took public transportation to Isha Yoga Center. The bus was crowded. Unfortunately, we had to walk about a km back for the entry since our entry gate was far away from the Isha Yoga Center entrance.

Now, that walk was tough. It was blistering hot. Tontu refused to walk, so we had to carry her. The place was like a desert. There was food service but it wasn't all great since it was all open-air with no place to sit and eat, and the food was very spicy. Tontu was getting tired of it all. After lunch, we headed towards our bay and thankfully we got 3 seats to sit together, at about 5 pm. At the backdrop, was this huge Adiyogi sculpture that dominated us all!

Soon after, it got cooled down. Quite literally! PM Modi came, accompanied with Sadhguru. The big screens were super clear and there never was a moment of boredom. Isha Sounds churned out some superb music. Tontu started enjoying the event too.

Kailash Kher (KK) came on stage to sing the Adiyogi song and that was awesome. And just like that - songs and music and Sadhguru's speeches came one after the other to keep us all occupied. When there was music or songs, Sadhguru walked amongst the masses on a special dais that snaked throught he crowd and danced. This allowed the crowd to be closer to him.

Sadhguru asked us to perform some chants at 11:40 pm and it was awesome - especially because of the huge crowd reverberating the same Yogic words 'Shambho'. It affected some people and they were acting weird, due to the enormous amount of energy-flow. I myself felt rejuvenated at midnight. Despite such massively loud chants, Tontu slept peacefully. 

After that, Sadhguru started a discourse. Now, that made me sleepy after some time. I was almost dozing off when music and dance started again. And so it went on and on. At 2 am, it was really cold. Tontu woke up at about 3 am. We took a walk amongst the various stalls, just to kill the time. In the background, KK had come back on stage and was singing beautifully. The arrangement for the loo was just perfect too.

From 4 to 5, we all struggled hard to be awake. Yet, as Sadhguru had said, we were vertical, so as to benefit from the maximum positive energy. Around 5:30 am, Sadhguru reappeared and gave a final speech, thanking volunteers and all of us for being part of this great event. The crowd then started thronging towards the Adiyogi sculpture. It was huge. Some pictures. Also witnessed a great sunrise.

Then we walked to Isha Yoga Center. It was our first time. We saw the sacred pool of water where many were taking bath. We skipped it, since we were running out of time. We had to catch the noon train back.

The queue to Dhyanalinga and Linga Bhairavi did not really lead to D and LB. Because of the huge crowd, they were not letting the crowd to the sanctum-sanctorum. So we had to view from outside. This was a big disappointment. Because I really wanted to sit in front of Dhyanalingam and feel the positive energy that I had read so much about. Anyways, not meant to be this time. Sometime in future, perhaps. We saw the remaining sacred spots of Isha, sat outside and meditated for quite some time and it was almost time to leave.

Had breakfast right opposite the center and took the bus back to station. Everything was crowded - The Isha Yoga Center, the restaurant, the bus, etc. We reached the station at about noon. Relaxed for a while, and then caught the 1 pm train back to BLR. Slept most of the journey. Reached BLR on time and reached home back on our TVS safely by about 10 pm. 

Overall, it was invigorating experience no doubt. The feelings ranged from - 'What am I doing here?!' to 'There is no other place I would have wanted to be right now!' Tontu was extremely cooperative for her age - from the comforts of an American life just two months prior to the scorching sun of a Coimbatore day and the biting cold of the Isha Yoga Center during the Mahashivaratri night. 

The only real sad thing was having missed the Dhyanalinga. Next time...

Mantralayam

Time: February 15th - 17th, 2017
Place: Mantralayam
Company: Wife, daughter, parents, uncle and aunt
Highlights:

This trip was not really planned but a family function made us not to refuse. The current seer's son was getting into Brahmachari and we also were feeling like visiting Guru Raghavendra Swamy. So off we went.

Day 0: Took the Udyan Express. Home made dinner on moving train. Nostalgic of several trips like this several years ago.

Day 1: Reached at about 7 am. Took an auto to Mantralayam. Our room was booked by a relative very close to the function hall. Bath in the room itself since Tunga is running dry :-(

Visited the Mutt and took blessings from Guru Raghavendra Swamy. Spent about an hour chanting slokas and doing Pradakshinas. Then at about 10:30, went to the function for breakfast. Spent some time at the function, blessing the child. Went back to room, for a nap. Back to function for lunch. Back room for another nap! Didnt have pretty much anything else to do! In the evening, went to Mutt again. Lots of people in the evening. Couple more darshans. Tontu slept peacefully in the courtyard itself amidst the bustle. At night time, had a light snack and left to the station although knowing that the train was 5 hours late. 

Waited in the station from 10 pm till 3 am, sleeping on the waiting room floor amidst mosquitos! Finally the train came. 

Day 2: While we all waited for Bangalore, Tontu had a great time playing in the train, going up and down the berths! General chit-chat until 1 pm at which time we reached. Took the parked car back home. 

Overview: A nice trip other than the late train. Had nice and easy darshan of Raghavendra Swamy. Too hot weather in M. But, all in all, good memories!

Tirumala

Time: February 9th - 10th, 2017
Place: Tirumala
Company: Wife, daughter and parents
Highlights:

Usually a trip to Tirumala is a family tradition yearly once. But the last time I visited was in 2013. In addition, parents tend to visit the shrine every Feb to celebrate their wedding anniversary. So this time, since we were here in India, we all left together in our parents' new car Honda Brio. It was a smooth ride.

Day 1: Left at about 8:45 am and reached Mulbagal Mutt at noon. Went inside for a short visit and bow but the priest there asked us to join for lunch since it was right time. So we enjoyed a delicious Mutt lunch although we had our own lunch packed which ultimately made its way into some needy folks. 

Three more hours and we reached Tirupati. But we continued on to Mangapuram temple to visit Padmavathi Goddess. Short queue there but very hot. The queue system is streamlined now and very fast. Mainly because it doesnt enter the main sanctum sanctorum. That done, we went to our Hotel Bhanu Residency near Kapilatheertha. Relaxed for a short while, then walked to Kapila Theertha temple. It was many many years since I had visited this temple. It is iconic, since it hugs the mountain range up close. Headed back, and on the way, saw a Hare Krishna Hare Rama chant on a nearby Krishna Temple. It was a mesmerizing form of Bhakti Yoga. Basked in the glory for some time and headed back to the room for dinner and rest.

Day 2: Up at 5 am, and headed to Tirumala without bath. Uneventful journey. No car-sickness for Tontu, thankfully. Parked the car near Uttaradi Mutt and walked to Pushkarni for a wonderful bath experience, as always. Then visited Varaha Swamy temple. For the first time, realized the significance of the idol. After watching Vishnupuran (for the second time), understood that this temple is for Vishnu's third avatar, and hence the idol really symbolizes a Boar protecting Mother Earth. All these years, I simply visited the temple without knowing the significance (I was loosely told that Varaha Swamy gave permission to Lord Venkateshwara to be situated in this holy place). 

After Varaha Swamy temple, joined the Rs 300 queue for Lord Venkateshwara Darshan. (The tickets were booked in Bangalore prior to the trip itself). It was a new line and much faster. The new rule is to have a traditional dhoti and no pants allowed. Although I had a dhoti with me, I had left it in the car. So had to purchase one on the spot and enter the premises. The line moved very fast, and we were near the sanctum sanctorum within 2 hours. Just like in Mangapuram, they have now stopped the line from entering the core of the sanctum. Still, the darshan was quite satisfying. Once darshan was over, we quickly ran to Uttaradi Mutt for lunch. Another Mutt lunch unplanned but worked just because of the timing.

Lunch done, we left Tirumala at 1 pm. It was an uneventful journey back. Reliance Restaurant mid-way is gratifying for a nice loo break and quick bites. Got stuck at Bangalore traffic at evening time and by the time we reached home it was almost 9 pm. 

Overview: A much-awaited trip finally concluded. It was a blissful experience - especially the bath in the Pushkarni which Tontu once again enjoyed so much, just as much as she enjoyed in 2013. The back-to-back Mutt lunches were also a surprise and very purifying. The Darshan of Lord Venkateshwara itself was the highlight of the trip and it was satisfying. 

Hubli

Time: Jan 24th, 2017 - Feb 5th, 2017

Place: Hubli

Company: Wife and Daughter

Highlights: 

Our first vacation in India after returning back from US for good. More of a visit to mother-in-law’s house for me than a vacation. My initial plan was to return back to Bangalore after couple of days but decided to stay back for the entire length since I was not getting bored anyways. Also, there was a 5-month old baby downstairs, wife’s cousin’s son, which was a great entertainment as long as we were there. It was fun to play with an infant once again, keep him occupied, make him smile, watch him turn over, etc. 

So, most days started off with a 30-minute yoga on the terrace facing the rising sun. Then, breakfast and some wi-fi tasks. Some random discussion topics, few relatives visits, lunch, siesta, evening walk to a nearby park or some delicious local snacks on the terrace like girmit. Even celebrated a birthday party (wife’s cousin’s) on terrace. All fun stuff.

Went out to Unkal Lake on 26th. Nice short boat ride and big enough park for kids to run around and have fun. Tontu enjoyed the swing and slide - although it was much dirtier than the parks she was used to in US for last 6 years! Once the mosquitos started attacking at 7 pm (!), we left and went to Raghavendra Swamy temple in CBT since it was a Thursday.

Went out to Nrupathunga Betta (Hill) on 28th. A beautiful setting atop a hill. Watched the sunset. It was wonderful. The hill had a park and play area for kids too. Also, it has a big trail for a nice long walk amidst the greenery. The views are awesome too. We could see the Unkal Lake from atop. Spent a long time there.

Couple of days, brother-in-law visited for some property task in Hubli and got busy with him. The days just passed with one thing or the other. Watched couple of cricket matches. Watched Australian Open Finals - Federer Vs Nadal - full match, after a really long time. Much of the time was perfect for unwinding and total relaxation!

Decided to get back to the grind, and booked tickets back to Bangalore for Feb 5th via Janshatabdi. Another long journey but this was faster. Train was delayed by 30 minutes, so left at 2:30 pm and reached at 10:15 pm. Home at 11 pm.

What was supposed to be a 2-day trip became a 11-day trip for me. What was supposed to be a month-long trip from wife became a 11-day trip for her. Either ways, we were satisfied with the amount of time spent in Hubli. Anyways one more trip to Hubli coming soon…

And its Bangalore!

Time: January 9th, 2017 -
Place: Bangalore, India
Company: Wife and Daughter
Highlights:

After 6 years and 6 months stay in various cities of US (from May 2011 to Jan 2017), finally moved back to home city Bangalore for good. The thoughts and discussions were going on for a very long time - almost 2-3 years - about whether to return back or not. Even read through many R2I websites and forums, but the question & answer that mattered most was - 'If you want to spend the rest of your life in one city, which would that be?' Bangalore won unanimously - by all three of us.

Once the decision was made, the implementation was next step. With almost 3-4 pages of points listed in the checklist on to-dos both in US before leaving and in India after arriving. In addition, had to dispose off innumerous things that we had purchased over the last 6 years. Some of them even had sentimental value attached - like daughter's birthday gifts like bicycle, scooter, etc. Heavyweights such as sofa, mattress were a worry but got rid of it at last minute. Donated several things for free. Much gratitude to several of our neighbours for providing the helping hand when it mattered the most. I guess we can never repay it back.

The trip itself was uneventful except for daughter's air-sickness(?). She had pretty much lost all her energy and very dehydrated by the time we landed but still in great spirits to see her grands. But a few hours in Namma Bengaluru and she was back to normal.

It was a wonderful time spent in the US with family. Unlike in 2007 when I had left US and come to Bangalore as a bachelor with still a valid US visa, 10 years on, the trip back home was almost like a final lid on the coffin with me shutting the doors to US pretty much in all aspects - work visa, GC, etc. But this decision had to be made and there was no time like now - especially with Tontu entering 1st grade in 2017. Any delays in the decision would have tilted the balance towards a lifetime in US.

Much thanks to the planets for giving me an opportunity to live, experience and enjoy the American lifestyle...

Bay Area

Time: August 6, 2013 - January 7, 2017
Place: Bay Area
Company: Mainly wife & daughter; at times with friends and relatives
Lesser-known places/events seen:

• Livermore Temple
• Sunnyvale Temple
• Concord Temple
• Milpitas Saibaba temple
• San Jose Children's Discovery Museum
• San Jose Christmas in the park
• San Jose Rose garden
• SFO Chinese New Year Parade
• Cherry picking at Brentwood
• Kid Fest at Concord
• July 4th Fireworks at Milpitas
• Milpitas Holi
• Diwali at Pleasanton Fairgrounds
• Byron Skydiving

Pleasant Hill

Time: September 1st, 2015 to January 7th, 2017
Place: Pleasant Hill, CA, USA
Company: Wife and Daughter
Highlights: Our 8th city of stay in US and the last one although this was just a block away from the previous apartment. So essentially it was the same neighborhood where we spent 3+ years. Reason for shifting was to ensure there was no entanglements with lease-breakage issues in our previous apt Park Regency Apartments. Shifted to Diablo Oaks apartments - rather an old one, with no laundry in the unit. For the first time in US, had to drag the laundry across the apartment complex for washing/drying. But didn't feel it as a major concern although it felt like one before the move. In fact enjoyed the lazy walks on Sundays with so many bugs and butterflies and snails on the pathway. The apt itself was super, with a lush lawn overlook from our balcony as well as the main road yonder. We almost felt like staying in an independent house, because just a short flight of stairs led us to the main road unlike in Park Regency where it used to take 15 mins just to get to the road. Also, the family could see me walk almost all the way to the BART station. The living room had a good length with a high-sloping roof which helped Tontu and I play cricket and many other games. Also, right beside the apt was the Iron Horse Trail, which inspired us to go on many hour-long walks during almost Summer evenings. All in all, an excellent house that gave us lot of joys and memories.

Big Sur & SFO for Thanksgiving 2016

Time: Nov 24th, 25th and 27th, 2016
Places: Big Sur area [Seaside, Pfeiffer Beach, Andrew Molera State Park, Garrapatta Beach] and SFO area [Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, Fisherman's Wharf]
Company: Brother, Sister-in-law, Wife, Daughter
Highlights:

24th: Brother and his wife visited for Thanksgiving. What was initially planned for a day trip to Big Sur, we changed to a night and day. Booked hotel at Seaside city for the night at evening and left Pleasant Hill at about 8 pm. Reached Seaside [Gateway Lodge Motel] at 10:30 pm and retired for the night.

25th: First stop in the morning was supposed to be Pfeiffer Beach but we got mesmerized by the waves on a nearby beach and we headed there. It was sandy but the waves were huge walls of water. We had seen a surf advisory but it was more of a boon than bane since Nature was all at it. It was like looking at huge waterfall! After taking some snaps, we continued onwards to Pfeiffer Beach.

On the way is the Bixby Creek bridge. More poses and more pictures. By the time we reached Pfeiffer Beach, the parking lot was just getting full and it was about 11:30 am. Thankfully we made it in. If the lot gets full, then we would have had to walk the last 2 miles from the main highway! Unlike last time when we came here, it was not so windy. It was very pleasant and warm. We lazily spent some time looking at the natural arch and built few sand castles, and then destroyed them all! Even at noon time we were able to notice the change in the sand color from brown to purple, which is the specialty of this beach.

At about 1 pm, we left Pfeiffer beach and headed to Andrew Molera State Park. Main highlight of this is the trek to the beach. At the very start of the trek is a short stream that needs to be waded through. It is about knee deep but water was very cold. Fun and thrilling. The beach is nice, but for me, it was kinda weird. There were some natural yet weird looking stuff all around the beach. But the waves were great here too. We spent some time looking and then headed back. 

Next stop was the Garrapatta Beach. This happened to be our last beach in the US, and it was one of the very best. The time was late noon and the waves were full-length cascading non-stop from huge heights. It was a stupendous sight. Even the short trail to the beach climbs down from the main highway and hence offers excellent views. We just kept standing on the trail for many minutes with our jaws dropped open at the magnificent scenery.

Finally we left the Big Sur area and headed back north. On the way back home, we went to the Christmas-in-the-Park at San Jose. Our third time in as many years. Bro and SIL had a nice time too. It was just as good with rides, Santa, the trees lighted up, etc. The Ferris Wheel is really scary with no belt and doors unlocked and dangling! Fun stuff!

All done, we headed back home and reached by about midnight after a longish dinner at Milpitas Tirupati Bhimas. It was a nice short trip, planned just a day in advance. We were lucky to get the Seaside hotel on a Thanksgiving weekend, and it was good that we planned for a sleep-over at the hotel. We could not have covered everything in a single day. Our third time at the Big Sur and second time at the Pfeiffer Beach - and it was just as great as the first. Kudos to Nature for all its beauty!!

27th: Brother's visit to my place always entails a visit to SFO. This time, we went to Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and Fisherman's Wharf. Also contemplated the tram ride but it could not be accommodated since we had to park the car at one place. Didn't want to do round trip on the tram. I showed my family the building where I worked and drove along the Embarcadero. Wanted to show the Gandhi statue but couldn't stop there. Had reserved a car parking spot close to Ghirardelli. Walked there and spent some time lazing around. Not much to see other than to just roam around. Visited one chocolate shop, had some ice creams. Then walked to Fisherman's wharf. Posed in front of a WWII sub for quick clicks on the way. At the wharf, saw sea lions lazing around, went to a carousel and more pics. Finally it was time to head back. It was a nice easy relaxing time spent with family.

Yosemite & Eastern Sierra

Time: Oct 8-9, 2016

Place: Eastern Sierra (via Yosemite)

Company: Wife and Daughter

Highlights:

Day 1: We left the house early at about 8:15 am and headed east towards Yosemite. Tontu was little scared of car-sickness and was not keen on this vacation but somehow we coaxed her that she will be fine, and miraculously nothing happened to her despite some steep winding curves. There were no traffic issues and around noon we entered the Yosemite National Park. Our last time here was in May 2012 and scenery was lush green all around. Now, since summer was ending, the scenery was different. We went via the same tunnels, the breath-taking view of the valley and down all the way to the Bridal Veil Falls. It was more of a mist now than a falls. After a quick lunch, we headed to the loop road at the very end of the valley. On the way, we passed couple of deers, munching grass very close to us! We then took a small hike to a small stream (Merced River actually) and then took the shuttle bus around the loop.

Then took the car again and parked somewhere on the curb to take some pics in front of the huge rock structures especially the half dome. After that, we drove around and parked near the El Capitan for some more pics. This place is really cool with two huge granite cliffs and a vista in between. We had missed this last time we were here. It is like being surrounded 360 degrees by towering mountains. Apparently the Merced river flows through this vista but since it is trickling these days, we couldn’t even see it. We spent some time soaking in the magnificent views and scenery until almost 4 pm. Then we left the valley and headed to the exit. There was one more place where we wanted to go – the Glacier Point – but we were hard pressed for time and hence we ditched it. Our main destination was the Eastern Sierra Fall colors and anything in Yosemite was a bonus, especially since it was second time!

Finally, we reached the Tioga Pass road and filled up our fuel to start on this famed scenic road. For much of the road, it seemed just a nice old drive, with trees lining up on both sides. The only inkling on where we were going was the frequent elevation gain signposts. At one point we reached almost 10,000 feet! I never knew the road would reach such an elevation! In fact, when we started in the morning, we were at sea level and within 10 hours, we had reached 10,000 ft! I was scared of Tontu’s body reacting to this altitude, especially after what happened in the Rockies. Thankfully, she was fine – joyous and playful, not even bothered by the long day of driving. [We had intact done this sea-level to 10,000 ft even in Maui (Haleakala crater) and it was done in just less than 2 hours]

Thankfully, we reached a vista point called "Olmsted Point" where we could get down and stretch and take some pics. Olmsted was the landscape artist who designed Central Park in New York. I first read about him in an Erik Larson novel. This vista point was a beautiful place where we could see the half dome cliff, some strange looking glacial rocks and even hike up on them. It was chilly, yet sunny and all around were great views. After some time there, continued on the Tioga Road and soon reached the Tioga Pass. This Pass is another awesome place, with mountains all around and the road carving through the mountain pass. Superb scenery and great driving route. It reminded us of the Eastern entrance of the Yellow Stone – which is akin to this Eastern entrance of the Yosemite! The road here really climbs down at an extremely rapid rate and very soon we were on the Mono Lake.

Mono Lake is a strange lake in the sense that it does not contain fresh water lake. It contains salt water with no outlet and hence it is extremely pungent to smell. Kind of stinky too! There are some strange looking standing structures called Tufas, and those are due to the salt contents that got deposited when the lake had a higher depth. We took some nice pictures and with the setting sun, the pictures came out really well. However, it was again very chilly.

Our final stop for the day was at our motel – Willow Springsmotel near Bridgeport. The road to Bridgeport from Mono Lake is also super awesome. The road has a steep ascent and once again climbs up to over 8500 ft in elevation and then descends quickly too. But by this time, it was pitch dark and we could not see anything. We could only feel the climb and the descent. Thankfully, we reached the motel soon enough, had a quick bite of homemade dinner and retired for the night. It was a long day of driving – almost 300 miles – and we were all exhausted.

Day 2: The goal of this vacation was Fall colors, and we hoped to see fall colors in Eastern Sierra, based on the information given in this website. There were too many places to see here and hence we shortlisted on a few of them – The Lundy lake, The June Lake loop and the Mammoth Lake. Our expectation though was in the opposite order – with Mammoth Lake having the max colors and Lundy being the least. However, when we went to Lundy lake, we were surprised with beautiful yellow colors. We spent some time taking some pictures and then headed to June lake loop.

Our first stop on the June Lake loop was the Silver lake. The superb yellow on this lake was reflecting on the lake and it was an excellent photo-opportunity. The lake too looked very serene. We had high hopes on June lake but that lake had absolutely nothing! We were wondering if we should proceed to Mammoth Lake or not because so far, we had not seen any orange/red colors yet. After some assessment of where we were and how much time we had, we thought we might as well continue on for some more time until we reached Mammoth Lake and then head back home.

We went to ML via the ML scenic loop road hoping there were some colors. However, there were no colors. It was scenic, yes, with superb trees but no colors. We then started climbing up the Mammoth mountain but still could not see any colors in the horizon. We realized these trees had not peaked yet and so headed to the visitor center to check if there were any nearby places to see some more good colors. We had to stop at a couple of places to know where the VC was located but finally found it.

At the VC, we were told that the Lundy lake and the Silver lake were at the peak and Mammoth was still at 10%-25%. That meant we had already been to the peak colors of this region and there was nothing much to see. There were more but they were far and apart or had to be hiked. Considering it was already noon and we were a long way off from home, we decided that it is better to head back home, and we were done with the colors for this season!

After a quick stop at dominos where we had nice pizza, we started on our way back. It was almost 1 pm. Just as we entered the Tioga Road, there were more colors and we stopped at a couple of places to take more pictures. Satisfied, we re-entered Yosemite National Park and headed to the Tuolumne visitor center to collect a souvenir. None available, we were told to get them at the Western entrance visitor center. So we continued on the Tioga road for about an hour or two more. Once at the Western entrance visitor center, we got our souvenir and headed back home out of the National Park boundary.

Rest of the journey was uneventful. Tontu never slept the entire journey (lasting over 600 miles) nor did she seem bored (albeit occasional Are we there yet?s). She didn’t even see iPad nor read any books, just kept playing with her "Teddy Rao"!! And despite winding roads, she didn’t get car sick. It was miraculous! We got stuck in the traffic a little as we neared the east bay area, and we all were tired sitting for such a long time. At Dublin, we stopped for dinner and that was refreshing. Finally, we reached home at about 10 pm.

Overview: We always felt that we had missed some key points in Yosemite when we went the first time – like the Tioga Pass, the El Capitan views and the Glacier Point. We could do two out of the three this time. And clubbing this with the Eastern Sierra Fall colors was good because that would allow us to go via the Tioga Road. We were lucky to get the motel near Bridgeport for less than $100 at such short notice (booked only one day in advance).

All in all, a well-packed two-day trip. Would have been nice if there were more colors though. It was mostly yellow and not much orange-red. There was one thing we didn’t do right – not going to the visitor center first instead of last. If we had done that, then we could have planned the road trip on day two better. But anyways, we visited two out of three peak areas which is good. This was our fourth vacation in four consecutive months. Will there be a fifth?!

Napa Valley

Time: Sept 17, 2016
Place: Napa Valley (drive)
Company: Wife and daughter

Highlights: Our previous time at Napa was a disaster with absolutely none of the green views that Napa is really famous for. It was because we had been there in November and that's post-harvest season. So, we always wanted to see Napa for what it was worth. We were not that into wine-tasting, all we wanted was the views. So we planned for a half-day drive through Napa. 

We left home at about noon, and directly went to Aroma, an Indian restaurant. It was pretty good in both service and ambience. Then we continued north on 29. This road is pretty good actually. Last time we went up to Yountville but the actual winery starts after Yountville when the road becomes bi-directional. We stopped curb side at couple of wineries, took some nice snaps beside bunches of grapes and lanes of grape vines. We continued on until Saint Helena, took right to Silverado Trail and headed south back home. This road zig zags on top of the same wineries that we passed north and it has some nice eye-catching spots, although the road has a faster speed limit and it is not that easy to stop. Soon, we were back on 29 and on our way home. 

This trip to Napa was worthwhile and fulfilling. We felt like having completed unfinished business!

Niagara & Ferndale

Time: Sept 1^st – 5^th 2016

Place: Niagara Falls, NY & Ferndale, MI

Company: Wife, Daughter, Brother, Sister-in-law

Highlights:

Prologue: This trip was originally meant for a visit to brother’s at Michigan. However, considering Niagara was a short drive away from Michigan, and also since Tontu hadn’t seen it, we planned the itinerary in such a way that we will spend a day at the Falls and rest at brother’s house. There were not too many variables to factor – the dates were pretty much finalized (Labor day weekend), there was no car to book and I wanted to use my points for the flight and stay (at Falls). So, the booking was not that big a deal.

Day 0: The flight was at 11:59 pm. So, packed the usual stuff, crossed out the check-list, left home at 8:30 pm, reached Travelodge at South SFO at 9:25 pm, parked the car, took the shuttle at 9:38 pm, and we were at the airport in 10 minutes. Had to request for seats to be together with a bunch of people but finally we were lucky to get it. Our first leg was to Chicago.

Day 1: One hour lay-over at Chicago, then a small jet to Buffalo. Reached at about 10 am, but had to wait till almost 12:30 for brother to pick us up. It was kept as a surprise to Tontu and she shrieked in joy seeing her aunt and uncle! We directly went to Howard Johnson (Closest to the Falls – that’s the name!), checked-in, relaxed and walked towards the Falls. On the way, we had a nice lunch at a Punjabi restaurant.

First stop was Maid of the Mist. Thankfully the long weekend crowd was yet to arrive, so we were spared with the long lines. And it was nice weather too. Tontu enjoyed the spraying of the Falls as the boat went close to the Falls. We also hiked close to the American Falls. Then we walked all the way to the Goat Island. Took in the lush scenery, sat on the lawn, had a light picnic and generally passed time.

Next adventure was Cave of the Winds. We adults enjoyed a lot but Tontu had enough of the water falling on her head! She barely could open her eyes! Surprisingly the water from the Falls was pretty warm. I hadn’t expected that. The ponchos are not really that useful. Our dress got wet anyways – and sun was setting too. So there was a chill in the air. By the time we came out, had some hot chocolate (not so great, by the way), it was already 7 pm. We wanted to watch the light show which starts at 8:30 pm. In order to kill time till then, my wife and I walked back to hotel, got the car and drove to the parking lot. Just as we walked back to the edge, the light show (if it can be called that) started.

It wasn’t all that impressive. It could have been made so, but all we saw was just constant lights glaring at the Falls. It wasn’t changing too quickly either. It didn’t seem like a show. It was just lights upon the Falls. After a while, we thought it better to call it quits. For less than 20 minutes of parking the car, we ended up paying $10 as parking fee! It would make sense to make the fee as time-based. Anyways, we stopped at the same Punjabi restaurant for dinner. It was delicious and we were ravenous! Totally worth the money. And then, that was it for the day.

Day 2: Took it easy. Nice fulfilling breakfast at HoJo. Left Niagara Falls at about 11 am, drove on I-90 for about 2-3 hrs and we planned to spend some time at Edgewater Park at Cleveland, just as a nice stopover for the kiddo. We were lucky that it happened to be an air-show day at Cleveland. So, many folks had come to this very park since it was free! Just as well for us! We parked the car and just then we were greeted to a spectacular air show by the US Navy. The sound boomed as the crafts dived and rose and made patterns and what-not. After munching ice cream, we went on our way. Stopped at a McD for fries and continued. Reached Ferndale at 8 pm. After a light dinner, retired for the night.

Day 3: Initially had planned for an outing like a zoo or temple (considering it was Ganesh Chaturthi). But then changed mind and made it as a chill-pill day. All day long stayed at home. Tontu enjoyed the company of her aunt and uncle. It was a perfect weather day to sit on the lawn, bask in the sunlight, play with sprinkler, etc. In the noon, saw a 1990 Kannada movie (Ananth Nag comedy) – maybe for the nth time! In the evening, went for a nice stroll on the downtown. One more round of sundae ice creams! And that’s it!

Day 4: Had Ganesh festival yummy feast. Packed, left home at noon, reached airport at 1:30 pm and passed time for about an hour. An emotional farewell. Especially Tontu since she didn’t want to go back home. An uneventful flight back home via Dallas. I guess this was the first time I was having a lay-over in Texas – a state that I was somehow always wanted to see or even stay. Anyways. No issues with baggage. Got the shuttle at the right time to car-park, drove back home, and reached safely at 10 pm. It was a ‘perfect-timing’ day all in all.

Epilogue:

1. This trip was important since it could possibly be our last trip to brother’s home in 

Ferndale, MI. If not, at least will surely be so for a long time. The last time we were here was in Jan 2012, right before I had an idea that I might leave East Coast permanently. And this time, it is right before I have an idea that I might leave West Coast permanently!

2. This trip was also very important since it was the recipient of award points redemption for both flights and hotels. The trip to Rio with American Airlines had given all three of us enough points to almost fly free one-way to BUF. And the many stays with Wyndham during past vacations provided us this stay at HoJo at an extremely reasonable price. But for this trip, I might have lost all these points considering the aforementioned idea.

3. In terms of counts – it was my fifth time at Niagara (Apr 2005, Sept 2005, Sept 2006, July 2009, Sept 2016) and fifth at Ferndale too (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016).

4. We created a record of sorts, with this trip (similar to the Rio trip). We were in three different states on the same day of three consecutive months (not including resident state):

• July 5^th 2016 – Alaska
• August 5^th 2016 – Colorado
• September 5^th 2016 – Michigan

5. Another interesting thing about this trip was that exactly 10 years ago, this very same Labor day, I took my parents to Buffalo airport in the act of showing them the great Falls. And bro had come to the airport to pick us all up. And now, 10 years later – exactly the same setting except that this time it was for my daughter. And she had the best time of all – got enough gifts and love from her uncle and aunt.

Footnote - This trip was for my daughter as well as for my brother and his wife, who have visited us almost every year since we arrived in US in 2011. An extremely pleasant and memorable trip of what could possibly be our last flight-based vacation in US….

Rocky Mountain

Time: Aug 5^th-7^th, 2016

Place: Rocky Mountain National Park, Pike’s Peak, Colorado Springs

Company: Wife and daughter

Highlights:

Preview: A visit to the Rockies was on my bucket list for a very long time. But kept pushing out thinking there is nothing much to see – or rather thought its similar to the Smoky Mountain. But it was always in the back of my mind to go there, especially because it is just a 2 hour non-stop flight from SFO. We were planning an East coast trip for Sept long weekend trip when we saw good deal for Rockies on first week of August and just booked the tickets. Rest of the planning followed suit…

Day 1: Left home at 3 am to reach SFO at 4 am. Just a 3 hr sleep overnight. Caught the 6:20 am Frontier flight to Denver, and reached destination at about 10 am. We didn’t have too much planned for that day, so took it easy. Spent some time at the airport taking pics, had brunch, took the shuttle to rental car and by the time we left rental agency, it was almost 12 pm.

Drove to Estes Park, which is like the Eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain. Tontu got sick just as we reached, and we presumed it was due to the motion sickness which is very common with her. It was her sickness #1. Then followed a series of navigational mistakes:

We saw boards for Rocky and blindly followed it. Unfortunately it was taking away from where we actually wanted to go, which was the Bear Lake. The board took us to Fall River Visitor Center. We were actually supposed to enter from Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Mistake #1. So to avoid the winding road within the park boundary, drove all the way back to Estes Park downtown and re-enter. Mistake #2.

We had spotted a deer on our way up, so was trying to look at it on our way back when I missed a right turn. Mistake #3. Then the GPS took me to a wrong road. Mistake #4. Finally got to Estes Park downtown. It is vibrant and colorful. Reminded us of Gatlinburg in Smoky Mountain. I was so absorbed that I missed one more right turn. Mistake #5.

Finally found the right board for Rocky Mountain re-entry. But, GPS now showed left. So followed GPS assuming it knew a better, faster, shorter route. After about 2 miles, we hit a dead-end! Mistake #6. Left picture shows actual road traversed. Right picture shows the road that I should have taken!

Switched the GPS off and followed the new signboard all the way to Rocky Mountain entrance, which was via the Beaver Meadows. Directly headed to Glacier Gorge trailhead to hike the trail to Alberta Falls. On the way, we were fortunate to see 2 elks with huge antlers. Reached trailhead and then Tontu sickness #2.

The hike was moderately strenuous. It was almost a mile, and the little kiddo almost gave up, but we egged her on. Finally we reached the falls. It was spectacular and worth the hike. We started back and carried her most of the way back. Then Tontu sickness #3. She now seemed too dehydrated and devoid of energy. She slept off in the car.

We continued on to Bear Lake parking lot. The hike to the lake was very short. The lake was superb. It was formed millions of years ago from a melting ice chunk. The near-still lake reflected the surrounding mountains and the moving fog seemed unearthly and spectacular. Thankfully, Tontu woke up just at the right time to witness the natural beauty. We spent quite some time taking pictures and then we headed back to the hotel. Then Tontu sickness #4.

Then Mistake #6. Took a right instead of a left. Drove for quite some distance – almost 10 minutes when finally I realized I was going the wrong way. Got too tired with so many mistakes and sickness stops. Finally reached the hotel and ditched the initial plan of going out to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Ordered a dominos pizza and retired for the night. Once again, left picture shows actual road traversed. Right picture shows the road that I should have taken!

Day 2: Got up at 7 am. Quick refresh and breakfast. Had a long day planned ahead – to traverse through the Trail Ridge road and reach Colorado Springs by evening and to see one of the many attractions at that place. But unexpectedly, Tontu threw up three times successively within a very short period of time. She became too dehydrated and energy-less and sleepy, even after a full night’s sleep. Something didn’t seem right. Internet didn’t provide any nearby Urgent Cares either. So, we decide to push on and reach Colorado Springs as fast as we could but thankfully on the way to Trail Ridge itself, we found Estes Park Medical Center – which had both an Emergency Room and an Urgent Care. This was the first time we were visiting a doc on a vacation!

Formalities over, the doc finally met Tontu and did some basic check-up. We were relieved to know that it was nothing really serious. She was mildly dehydrated – and most likely the reason for throwing up so many times was lack of oxygen at this elevation - also known commonly as "Altitude Sickness". (Estes Park was at about 7500 ft. & Denver was about 5000 ft.). This is a common Her body needed adjusting and doctor advised us not to venture the Trail Ridge road – which would climb up to 12000 ft. Best advice was to take sips of water – which apparently happened to work miraculously.

We took some time deciding and finally thought we will stick to our original plan of going through the Trail Ridge road. Thankfully Tontu slept off, and off we started. It was 11:15 am finally when we left the Medical Center, and we were about 2 hours delayed in our plan. Our first stop was Many Parks Curve. Tontu was sleeping so I parked the car and went alone to take a look. After a quick panaromic look, headed up the road again.

Second stop was Rainbow curve. This offers superb scenery – and almost the entire uphill road from Estes Park. Thankfully even wifey was able to see from the car. We were now above cloud level and we could even see snow on mountain tops. We continued on. Next stop was Forest Canyon. Another scenic spot. This place is above tree line, and the curving road on the mountain is an awesome sight to see. While it is pure mountain meadow on the right, it is full forest on the left, with no view of the ground (hence the name forest canyon). And on the meadow were more wildlife animals peacefully grazing. Fantastic scenery. Especially the feeling of being inside the clouds.

Then the road goes through a ‘Rock Cut’. We passed through it and skipped the Tundra trailhead which has a 0.5 mile trail to Tundra. We ditched it, since we were keen on getting through the road & to a lower elevation as fast as possible due to Tontu’s status. Our next stop was Lava Cliffs where we saw a colorful blotch of snow like a glacier except that it was purple in color. This is the highest spot on the road where we stopped – 12135 ft. We then drove through the actual highest elevation on the road which was 12183 ft and reached Gore Range – another overlook point. Next up was Alpine Visitor Center but the parking lot was full and a ranger was asking us to drive through. We didn’t mind much since we were keen on getting down anyways. From here on, it was all downhill.

Next stop was at Medicine Bow Curve. This had lush greenery and we could see the elevation from which we were now descending. After quite some time, we reached the Milner Pass. It was drizzling at this time but we were lucky to get the parking spot right in front of the Continental Dividesignpost. This is an amazing geological position and felt nice to be there.Water on one side of this divide heads to Pacific Ocean and the other sideheads to the Atlantic. This is the second time we were on a Continental Divide, first time being on Glacier National Park. For the first time during the entire stretch of Trail Ridge road, Tontu woke up and agreed to come out of the car for a pose albeit. But after this, she was back to her normal self and didn’t seem to be any more dehydrated. She was done with her sickness episodes. Thank God!

We continued on downward. We saw more elks. Very soon we came to Kawuneeche Visitor Center. Tontu filled up the Junior Ranger activity book and met up with a Park Ranger who asked her a number of questions which she answered to the best of her abilities. At the end, she was asked to take an oath – which is funny actually, it goes something like I wont step on ants, etc.! -  and she got a "Junior Park Ranger" badge! She was so proud of it. We spent some more time at the center, watched the movie in the theatre and bought a magnet.

Our next stop was supposed to be the Adams Falls trailhead. But we missed a turn and we went straight to Grand Lake shore. It turned out, for once, to be a good mistake! Lake was truly grand and very beautiful, so we parked the car and Tontu ventured into the lake. The lake even had small waves. Very conveniently, there was an ice cream shop nearby and the whole setting was straight out of a postcard – mountains, lake, ice cream and children frolicking around. Had a very pleasant time – and it seemed a nice stop for Tontu especially who had a tough start to the day in the morning.

Having obtained the right directions to Adams Falls, we then proceeded thither. Tontu was in full form, and she enjoyed the short hike (0.3 miles), at the end of which was a gushing waterfalls. It was another splendid scenery and our last one on the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) range. The trail went on a small loop bordering the stream (that would eventually go through the falls) and it was pleasant all through.

By the time we pushed off from Adams Falls, it was almost 5 pm. We spotted a deer near the trailhead and continued on to our next destination – Colorado Springs. It was a full 3 hour drive and the road crossed a mountain, went via many mountain passes and many scenic Colorado meadows. It bordered the RMNP all through. It even cut through Denver. 

On the way, we had rain and the rain caused a fantastic double rainbow. It was our second experience of a double rainbow (first one was in Maui, Hawaii). Although we were on a freeway (I-70), the road seemed to weave through many small towns (like Idaho Springs) and there were many twists and turns and crests and troughs. At a speed of 70 mph, that was one enjoyable drive.

Once we passed Denver and headed south, it was all meadows and lush scenery. Soon the road became a country road and by this time, it was raining really hard with thunder and lightning. It was an extremely long time since we had seen a lightning and it was the first time Tontu was seeing it. There seemed to be a flash flood warning in the state of Colorado and we were almost in the middle of it with roads being clogged with water. However, just as we reached our destination, the rain decreased – our destination being a restaurant (Little Nepal).

Food was ok-dokey but service was extremely slow – maybe because of the popularity. We packed up lunch for the next day too, considering we had a full packed schedule. We then headed to our hotel – Howard Johnson – to retire for the night. It was about 10 pm and we were all extremely tired.

Day 3: After a light breakfast at the hotel, we left at 8:45 to Manitou Cliff Dwellings. After 15 minutes, GPS said we had arrived but obviously we hadn’t, so we had to manually ask around and finally we got there just after 9. There isn’t nothing much to see – maybe an hour or hour and half at the most. Since we had a packed day, we kept it for an hour. Some interesting cliff dwellings indeed – hard to imagine how folks lived back then. It was pretty well constructed – complete with balcony, windows, etc. -  considering there was no usage of modern day tools. The pictures came out well – especially after we set our cameras to same settings as antelope canyon scenery. We went in and out of caves, climbed up, down the ladders, took pictures of one another and selfies, visited the museum and we were done.

Our main attraction was the Cog train up the Pike’s Peak and we had to be at the ticket counter by 10:10 am since we had booked round-trip tickets for the 10:40 am online days before. We barely reached the place, packed up our stuff, checked in, went to restroom, had few bites, when it was already time for us to board the train. We were conveniently placed one beside the other, and off we went. The conductor was quite knowledgeable and had answers for every questions raised – ranging from technicalities of the Cog train to the number of male deer on the mountain. She also infused some amount of light humor which helped with the 1.25 hr climb up. There were many tiny animals up near the top – the ones which are used to high altitude and cold climate. As we climbed, temperature got chillier and we all put on our jackets. If it was in 80s down bottom, up top it was in 30s! But it was sunny, so it was nice. There are only 2 cog rails in US – one for Mount Washington in New Hampshire (which I had scaled with my parents in 2006) and this was the other one – Pike’s Peak in Colorado (which I was scaling with my wife and daughter in 2016).

Soon enough, we were up on top of Pike’s Peak - . Apparently oxygen is only 66% here (at sea level it is 100%) – so it is natural for folks to feel altitude sea sickness. But thankfully, none of us faced effects of altitude sickness. Just to give a perspective, given below is the elevations I have reached previously that I believed were significant –

• Mount Washington (2006) – 6,289’ (surprisingly this is an insignificant number comparatively!)
• Haleakala (2014) – 10,023’
• Yamunotri (2004) – 10,797’
• Badrinath (2004) – 10,827’
• Gangotri (2004) – 11,204’
• Kedarnath (2004) – 11,657’
• Trail Ridge Road (2016) – 12,183’
• Pike’s Peak (2016) – 14,114’

We took pics all around the peak, a cloud cover came soon over the peak and we were all enveloped by it. We couldn’t spend too much time since we were given only about 20-25 minutes for ourselves before the train started downward. So we had to hurry up, walking around the visitor center, taking pictures of ourselves, of the scenery surrounding us when the clouds opened up, etc. But still, it was sufficient. We didn’t spend too much time at the visitor center.

The journey back down was uneventful. Even the conductor stopped talking – she was into answering questions mode now. I even dozed off for a bit unknowingly. Tontu slept the entire journey down - which was just more than an hour. Good for her. It was almost 2 pm when we finally reached down.

Our next stop was Garden of the Gods (where we also had our yester-night packed lunch). It was a short drive away. The visitor center was awesome and had lots of interesting information. The one that I liked best was a short video about Earth millions of years ago, the Pangaea supercontinent, and how the continents moved and how it is now. But we didn’t have a lot of time to spend at the visitor center. So we headed out to the so-called Garden which is not like a typical garden made of flowers. It is a garden of uniquely shaped massive rock formations, some of them even red in color – thanks to the oceans that carved them millions of years ago. The owner of this specific land liked it so much that he named it as truly the garden of the Gods, and also ensured it was always free for the public.

Our first stop was at North main parking lot where we took the Central Garden trail. It is a short 1 mile loop trail that goes amidst one of the tallest rock formations in the entire region. It is at times like a huge fort wall, and contains so many pores that it is a rock climber’s paradise! Sure enough, we could see many climbers at different altitudes on the rock formations. We quickly went through the trail and took many pictures at different angles of the various rock formations. It was at times drizzling but it never rained. We were done with it by about 3:45 pm.

We decided to head back to Denver to catch our flight but it seemed too early. So we made another short stop. This one was for Tontu – it was a shortish hump of a boulder. Not too big nor too small and it was fun for Tontu to climb. She needed little bit of support but not entirely – which made her feel as if she was climbing a huge mountain all by herself. There were times when she was scared too since she was losing balance and I was there to help her out of it. Finally she felt as if she had accomplished something great! Although it was just a 15-20 minute stop, this small trek was very refreshing and it generally felt good to have done it.

It was almost 4:30 when we finally left to airport. Out flight was at 9 pm and there was a nagging thought that we were wee bit early. Considering it was just less than 2 hr drive to airport from Colorado Springs, that would mean we would be at airport almost 2.5 hrs before our flight. So I drove easily, staying just below the speed limit and generally enjoyed the drive and scenic vistas. We still had one more place called Seven Falls planned to visit but we ditched it due to lack of time. It seemed a goodish place actually but we had too little time to see it. Considering some other things that we missed [Royal Gorge Bridge], maybe we should have stayed for one more day at Colorado Springs, but anyway, it was ok.

As it turned out, it was good that we left at 4:30. We encountered a massive traffic jam (thanks to an accident) en route to Denver, and got stuck for one complete hour with traffic hardly moving. By the time traffic started moving, it was already 6 pm, and we still had an hour’s journey left. So I drove really fast, and even reached 100 mph at one instant without even realizing I was going so fast! We saw one more accident soon after but thankfully the totaled cars (one of them belonging to an Indian family!) were already towed to the side of the road and traffic was moving already.

Anyways, by the time we filled the fuel and returned the car, it was already 7 pm, and we were right on time. We took the shuttle to the airport, checked in, got through security, took the airport shuttle and reached gate at about 8 pm. Then we realized that our flight was delayed by about 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, it was announced that it was further delayed by 40 minutes. By the time the flight finally departed, it was almost 10:30 pm. So, instead of reaching at 10:30 pm SFO time, we reached at midnight.

At the baggage carousel, another incident occurred. The bags never came! The carousel never moved! We waited and waited and waited, but nothing happened. And there was no one there – none from airport, none from airlines too. After 45 minutes, we passengers got fed up. Each of us started calling the Frontier help desk which sucks anyways since it is all automated. Somehow couple of us got through the call, and finally at 1 am, our bags came. Called the car parking shuttle for pick up, and finally got to our car at about 1:30 am. The ride home was smooth and uneventful, thankfully. We reached about 2:30 am and retired for the night. We were 2.5 hrs delayed – thanks to the airline and then the baggage department. I wrote a painful letter to Frontier Airlines depicting the sad state of affairs. [And for that, I was given some coupons! Now, where will that take us?! Wink, wink!!]

Overall, it was a very adventuresome trip. What with the visit to the urgent care due to Tontu’s dehydration episode, driving to 12k ft elevation despite her health, and topping it with 14k ascent the very next day! And then the traffic jam that caused anxiety on our way back to Denver airport, the delay in the flight, the delay at the baggage claim, etc. But the lasting memories will be that of the sub-alpine “Bear lake” which has a mirror-like reflection, the beautiful tundra of the alpine region of the Rockies and the many wildlife that we witnessed in the short 3-day span that we spent in Colorado.

Colorado is a beautiful state and easily one of our favorites!