Page 3 of travellersoul Travel Blog Posts



Shreya and I were looking forward to a whitewater rafting trip for a few weeks now. For some reason or other, it was getting postponed. Finally, this weekend we had a rafting trip in Merced river near Yosemite National Park. We drove down to El Portal on Saturday morning as our rafting trip was scheduled for 2 pm. I have been to rafting before in Truckee river near Lake Tahoe. It was class III-III+. This time we chose class III-IV run of the Merced river. Being spring-time rafting, water was icy cold. However, thanks to the past few days’ warm weather, water level had come up significantly. Good thing, they provided us wet suits for rafting. We were supposed to check-in at Indian Flat RV resort for rafting. Following some safety and general instruction, we set ... read more
Rafting II
Rafting III
Rafting IV

North America » United States » California » Fremont » Mission Peak April 19th 2008

This Saturday we made a spontaneous plan of going for hike. It was supposed to be cold and windy but sunny weekend. Initially we were thinking of going for a hike in Muir Woods; however, considering the weather conditions we zeroed down to Mission Peak Preserve near Fremont. Even though this was a spontaneous plan, Pranav, Mohnish, Ruchi, and Saket also joined us. We started around 1 pm. It’s a 5.6 miles roundtrip hike. However, it is quite steep, especially in the beginning and at the end. Weather channel stated it would be a windy day. When we started the hike, we thought how windy it could be! Oh yeah… it can be really windy! In fact, it was stormy at the peak! Few of us had hiked in a recent past. Hence, all of ... read more
Hikers
Silicon Valley
Hikers and the Valley

North America » United States » California » Los Angeles » Anaheim April 12th 2008

Disneyland is a self-acclaimed happiest place on the earth! No matter how old you are, how many times you have been there… the kid inside you will enjoy the experience for sure! This weekend, we decided to check the grounds of these accusations. There are two different resorts: Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park in Los Angeles. We decided to make a day trip to the Disneyland Park, as we were accompanied by my sister (Shailee), brother-in-law (Pritesh), and my 2.5 years old nephew (Rishi). For kids, Disneyland Park is definitely the right choice considering the attractions like Toontown and Fantasyland. That, however, does not mean that elders do not have much to do… There is a lot for everyone at the Disneyland resorts. The park is divided into seven areas (clockwise from the entry): ... read more
Snow White's Castle
Splash Mountain
Disney Parade

North America » United States » California » Santa Rosa April 5th 2008

African Wild Life Safari in California! Safari West is a hidden jewel of North California. Well, it’s not exactly a hidden jewel, as some of the time slots we wanted were already sold out. However, I had not heard about this place from people around me. When I talked to some of my colleagues at work, none of them knew about it! Safari West is a privately owned wild life habitat and a zoo spread over 400 acre of area near Santa Rosa in Sonoma county. Safari West is home to over 400 mammals and birds including some endangered species. This time Nirav, Mohnish, and Prutha joined us for the safari trip. It is a 2 hours drive from San Jose. We had a reservation for 1 pm; however, after the lunch at Giovanni’s pizzeria in ... read more
Giraffes
Baby Zebra
Wildebeest


After the Yosemite day trip, we were off to an adventure trip at Moaning Caverns on Sunday. There are number of caverns near Gold Country area of California - most of them have walking tours open to public. Moaning Cavern was discovered around 1850 by gold miners; however, no gold was found from this cavern. We chose Moaning Caverns as it had a rappelling and spelunking adventure available! We drove to the Moaning Caverns through the beautiful towns of James Town and Sonora. Pranav, Ruchi, and Sumita joined us from San Jose. It is a 2 hours drive from Yosemite and 2.5 hours from San Jose. We met at the Moaning Caverns around 10:45am and checked in for the adventure trip… none of us were really aware of the actual adventure... some of us were nervous ... read more
Underground Adventure
Underground Formations
Zipline


Shreya and I visited Yosemite National Park valley on the weekend of March 29, 2008. This was Shreya's first visit and my fifth or sixth visit. I'm really glad that I have the annual pass :). I can't stop getting more amazed with the place every time I visit! This is early spring; all the waterfalls are at their best! Not all the snow was melted yet; hence roads to the Glacier Point and Tioga Pass are still closed. We ended up spending one day in the valley itself. However, I will suggest people not to miss visiting Yosemite in spring. The waterfalls in the valley will surely leave you speechless. Yosemite Falls is at its max; so is the Bridalveil Falls. Yosemite Falls is almost active round the year; however, Bridalveil Fall dries up late ... read more
Lower Yosemite Falls
Yosemite

North America » United States » California » Big Bear March 23rd 2008

This season we had not been to skiing even once... We went to Reno-Tahoe in December, but by the time we reached the slopes, it was too late for skiing lessons! So, this weekend we decided to hit some slopes before winter is officially over. People generally go to northern areas for skiing and snow boarding. However, being different people that we are, we decided to go to Big Bear Lake in Southern California on the weekend of March 23, 2008! This time our travel buddies were Pranav and Mohnish from San Jose, and Prutha, Nirav, Siddarth, Kanan from SoCal! Big Bear is 2-2.5 hours east of Los Angels and 7 hours south-east of San Jose. We decided to meet there directly. We had a nice and cozy cabin booked for as at Cal-Pine chalets in ... read more
Skiing Group
Big Bear
Big Bear Lake

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu February 16th 2008

We had two more days with us to visit places we hadn’t been to in Oahu. We were somewhat tired from previous two really hectic days. So, we decided to take the day little bit lightly. We walked around the area in the morning and had a nice breakfast. We signed up for a guided half-day tour ”Natural Highlights of Oahu Adventure” with Oahu Nature Tours. We thought it would be nice to sit back and relax while the guide will take us and talk about some of the attractions of Oahu. The guided tour was really nice. The guide was really informative and interesting. Good thing it was a small group, which gave us plenty of flexibility and personal attention. We drove through the Diamond Head state park and reached the Hanauma Bay lookout. Hanauma ... read more
From Here to Eternity Beach
Makapu'u Lookout
Pali Lookout

North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Laie February 15th 2008

We spent the fourth day at the Polynesian Cultural Center near the north shore of Oahu. They provided us transportation from our hotel. It is a living museum of the culture of Polynesian islands. This cultural center represents seven islands of the Polynesia: Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Aotearoa, and Marquesas. Polynesian cultural center is divided into above mentioned villages. All the villages exhibits and conducts activities of respective cultures. They also participate in some common activities like Canoe Pageant “Rainbows of Paradise” and a multicultural show "Horizons: Where the Sea Meets the Sky". There is also an IMAX theater, a lagoon for canoe ride, and an open-air auditorium. There are several options for food and beverages also. In a way, this is like a theme park without rides! But, more entertaining in its own way! ... read more
Samoan Kitchen Demo
Hawaiian Hut
Moai of the Easter Island

North America » United States » Hawaii » Big Island » Hilo February 14th 2008

We wanted to celebrate our first Valentine’s Day after the wedding in style… something different… and the answer was - Hawaii Volcano National Park! It is the home to one of the most active volcanoes in the world - Kilauea. This national park is located on the Hawaii’s Big Island. The Big Island, also known as the Island of Hawai’i or the Big Isle, is the biggest island of the State of Hawaii and still growing! It is also the youngest amongst the all. Nearest airport from the national park is in the city of Hilo. Hilo is approximately 36 miles away from the national park. Hilo airport is a very small airport. However, it has number of flights operating quite frequently everyday between Hilo and other islands (mainly Oahu). There is also a commuters’ terminal ... read more
Lava River
Kilauea
Lava Beach




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