When: Thanksgiving 2009( 25th - 29th November) Where: San Diego Highlights: 2 days in Sea World, Venice canals, Venice beach & of course the US Mexican border: in short, every moment. Mileage: ~1100 miles I would've called this trip "dynamic" until I met someone who went out 2000mi with just a car, GPS & a destination. We may not be the wild ones but to digest the fact that I printed out Sea World tickets 4 hrs before our actual departure is about as wild as it gets for us. We left home a couple hrs after the angel fell asleep. I was concerned that we were putting little S to a hazzle by letting her sleep in her car seat, but if we had left early in the morning, things could've been pretty worse. It ... read more

When: 17th & 18th October 2009 Where: Plumas County, Northern Sierras Highlight: Awesome Autumn Mileage: 660 mi Unfortunately fall is not celebrated in CA as much as in New England. California has a canopy of Evergreen trees. However there seem to be pockets of places where fall actually happens. So, we have to make do with whatever we can see. Eastern Sierra is a popular spot(a 7 hr drive from home). It is with some research I actually discovered this place in the Northern Sierra(Sierra Nevada mountains). It is not very far from home, but this place does not advertise itself so much, nor does it seems to get that much the crowd. I wonder why? After closely watching url=http://www.plumascounty.org/Awesome_Autumn/Awesome%20Autumn%202009/Leaf%20Peeper%20Reports2009.htmthis site(for a long time), I thought NOW would be THE weekend to see ... read more

When: Labor day weekend :: 5th Sep - 7th Sep Where: The lakes at Mammoth :: Devils postpile in the Eastern Sierras :: Ancient bristle cone forest in the White mountains Dreaming of visiting the place we'd always wanted to visit, we set out early saturday morning. The place is a good 7 hr drive from where we call home. Our so-far-trust-worthy cell phone alarm failed & we woke up 1 hr late to leave 1.5 hrs later. So much for a good & early start Nevertheless, we were not to be disheartened. Half way along, I remember reading a sign, "hwy 120 closed into Yosemite National Park". I remember asking Ganesh if he read the sign. He was like ..... As we got closer to the park, there were more signs informing closure of Tioga ... read more

When: 2nd July - 8th July 2009 Where: Whistler & Vancouver I would gladly add this trip into the "unplanned & chaotic" trip category. Initially a road trip(from CA to Vancouver & back) turned into a fly-road trip at the last minute. And I am so glad it did. Early morning flights are crazy, specially when you have to wake up at 2.30 am. Tagging a baby along, home food was a must. So were the baggages. But I would say, we were a little smarter this time than most others, courtesy- Air Travel! 2nd July Little S is awake at the slightest sound. So, she was pretty much up with us. We had to drop the car at long term parking near OAK-the reason for such an early start for a 6:00am flight. We were ... read more

When: Memorial Weekend, 23rd - 25th May 2009 Where: experience a tinge of the drive, the waterfalls & the hiker's paradise in Shasta country The Shasta area is abundant in everything; Rivers, waterfalls, thousand miles of trails, snow, mountains, scenic drives, boating, caverns...you can go on & on. But the highlight is the one and only Mt.Shasta. Everytime I look at it, it is like I have never seen it before. It is so fresh, massive, beautiful & inspiring, all at the same time. This trip got us closer, a better place to view this mighty mountain. More about this mountain The trip was so pathetically planned. I do not know how many more times I am going to say this. Me & the significant other were debating on places to go. In fact, I was ... read more