June 10th: Boarded the "American Eagle" flight to Los Angeles. Nothing to mention except that we had no complaints. That was the first time I saw LAX & immediately understood that it is as fast paced as the city itself. After a 3 hr walking in the airport, we boarded DL 816 to Anchorage. LA was blanketed in fog. Once the airplane took off, we came out of the fog & there was this Sun as if it was there all the time! For most of the journey, I fell asleep(or at least tried to). Ganesh was immersed in a movie. [View Full Entry]

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A dream come true! Words can seldom explain how I feel about this trip. I've been sitting with travel guides & The Milepost for God knows how long! The trip finally fell into place. When: June 10th - 25th 2007 Where: Alaska, The Last Frontier What: A taste of everything the 49th state has to offer for non-cruise travelers First timers: A 2 week vacation, visiting the Last Frontier, seeing NA tallest peak(hopefully), touching the Arctic circle, visiting Santa Claus at North Pole, Glacier/wildlife cruis [View Full Entry]

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When: May 19-20 2007 Where: Coastal Mendocino, NorCal What: Van Damme SP & Mackerricher SP The North coast is a little foggy & cold in Summer. But if we wait for an ideal weather, we'd be waiting for ever. I booked this campsite in Mackerricher SP simply because Russian Gulch, Van Damme were filled up 1 month in advance. Coming to think of it, we've never been to this part of the state at all. Give a place & dear hubby comes up with a bunch of hikes from his bible(101 best hikes of CA). Sat, 19th May: Plans to start [View Full Entry]

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When: Saturday, 24th Mar 2007 - Sunday, 25th Mar 2007. What: a relaxing weekend getaway to Hearst castle. Where: California's central & Southern coast. This trip was indeed a "Peekaboo" for Ganesh I planned this surprise trip for his birthday(as his birthday fell on a weekday, we decided to celebrate it over the weekend). He did not know where we were going until later in the day! Considering the occasion & all, it was decided that it really would be a relaxing trip!!! We've certainly never done those before. So, I made hotel reservations @ San Simeon, 170 miles S from [View Full Entry]

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Mon, 19th February 2007 in Sedona Every day so far, has been tiring. Days zap by seeing & doing so many things. Evenings fly off on the drive. Nights are just a memory. Navigating to our hotel in the dark was not very enthusiastic! I think I woke up in the night often to the whistling of the train. Night was too dark to see any tracks. Thought would figure it out in the morning. Surprisingly, I was fresh in the morning. Got up to the train whistle again. I could not take it anymore. I got up to see a [View Full Entry]

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Date Visited: Sunday, 18th Feb 2007. Canyon de Chelly(pronounced Canyon de Shey) is 3 hours NW of Holbrook. It is 104 miles E of Monument Valley, AZ. Day started early. After the to-go continental breakfast & a spectacular sunrise, we left Holbrook. The gas prices shocked me. A place such as Holbrook gives gas for $2.11 a gallon. California is a loooong way ahead! Where is Canyon de Chelly? Ganesh was interested in taking the 9.00am jeep tour at Canyon de Chelly. But we were 20 minutes late. We reached Chinle around [View Full Entry]

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A 5 day vacation from Bay Area to Northern Arizona. So much we saw in 5 days is all very overwhelming. So, this time, I am going to split the whole vacation into relevant bits. So much to say & so many photos to show too When: Fri, 16th Feb 2007 through Wed, 21st Feb 2007 Where: Northern Arizona What: London Bridge, The Mother Road, Route 66; Winslow, Holbrook & Petrified Forest National Park. Inspiration: the movie "CARS" Highlights: London Bridge, Lake havasu city & The Mother Road itself. Well, we did I-40 all the way & took detours into [View Full Entry]

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When: Sunday, 11th Feb What: Peak over the Peninsula Where: San Bruno Mountain State & County Park Distance: 4.9 miles Another hike from "101 hikes in Northern CA" Rain in the bay area! Much awaited, but not welcomed this weekend! Rained like hell on Saturday. Sunday's forecast spelled rain, but sky seemed to clear out, at least near home. Late start, nevertheless, we started! We took the scenic I280 to Daly city. Unpredicted weather peaked in & out! No plans of turnin [View Full Entry]

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When: 28th Jan 2007 Where: El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve What: getting back in time into a historic Redwood forest This hike was an instant pick in 10 minutes. Almost 30 miles from home. almost half-point between hwy 92 & hwy 84 on CA 35. It was sunny when we started from home. But as we neared the coast, I could hardly see the mountains amidst all that fog. By the time we got onto CA 92, I wasn't so sure if we were going to do it at all. But then, as the unpredictable weather set it, [View Full Entry]

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The thought of being in an island on New Year’s eve can be really fascinating! Can it? Or maybe not? Well! I was going to find it out. When time came to decide how to spend New Year’s eve, I certainly wanted to keep up the tradition: • not staying at home • doing something that we’ve never done before. Ganesh did not have any specifics. So, Ram was up for it when I brought this up. I was not sure how far this was going to materialize. What to say of the weather? It was the peak of an El [View Full Entry]

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