Memorial Day Weekend at Boston

We seem to be on a historical site seeing spree after our last trip to “Colonial Williamsburg” we were off to Boston for the memorial day weekend.

First Stop “Harvard Square”

Bustling with activity and situated outside America oldest, and arguably most famous university, after which it is named, this little spot is bustling with activity. Choc a block with places to eat and shopping, the vibe is very upbeat and youthful.

We chose to go for the HAHVAHD tour, run by current students of Harvard. Our tour guide Alley did a great job of introducing us to the history of the university, some quirky traditions and even shared tidbits about how the university currently functions. Highly recommend this to visitors to Harvard. 

Next a quick visit to the MIT campus, here the buildings all look slick and modern in stark contrast to the historical architecture that the Harvardians are so proud of.

That evening it was time for the husband to catch up with an old buddy from college and for Ria and me to make some new friends.

Day 2

We started Day 2 with a self-guided tour of The FreedomTrail. Marked by a red line (which we only discovered about half way into the tour) we visited all the historical spots, many of which had been meeting points for the patriots as they discussed the revolution. Also prominently featured on the trail were several burial grounds where many famous (and not so famous) Bostonians were buried.

Foodie me was excited to stop at the Quincy market adjacent to Faneuil Hall, where the biggest problem was choosing between all the tempting options for lunch. I finally settled on clam chowder and the husband wolfed down a lobster roll (which was banned to me coz of my shrimp allergy)

The second half of the day was at the Boston Duck Tour 

These tours are conducted on W.W.II style amphibious landing vehicle, which chugs along on both water and land. Our very entertaining guide had us in splits through the tour and the little one got a chance to navigate the boat-bus as we were sailing along the Charles river. 

Day 3

We ended out historic tour with a visit to the Boston TeaParty Museum. What a delightful experience this was, I even got a talking part! From disguises, to throwing tea overboard and a mock meeting in historically accurate weather, (it was a rainy day) this was such a fun time. Talking pictures, holograms that disappeared in a poof and to end it all what better than a cup of tea!

Before heading back, we dropped into James Hook & Co for a bite. The husband feasted on a giant lobster while I made do with a crab roll.

Time to head back to NJ but not before paying a 42$ parking fee, as much as we had been warned of the outrageous charges for parking in Boston this was quite the shocker! 

Spring Break 2016

A short road trip planned to coincide with Ria’s spring break.

Day 1

First Stop Shenandoah Caverns

Unassuming from the outside but large and labyrinthine on the inside, these caverns are located in the state of Virginia. They bear a close resemblance to our earlier visit of Ruby falls in Chattanooga. Natural formations in the cave bear uncanny resemblance to the weird and wacky, ranging from elephants to the biggest bits of bacon you can ever imagine. Drops of water often trickle down from the cave ceiling and are nicknamed cave kisses. Sachin got a lot of lovely pictures, each formation is uniquely lit to add to the visual experience of the tour.

Outside the cavers are a couple of other attractions too.

The “American Celebration on Parade”, has massive parade floats on display. 

The “Yellow Barn” has a display of a collection of antique farm equipment and carriages. 

After the cavern visit we headed to Cave Ridge Vineyard, a drive off the highway into a narrow road and picturesque setting. Here there was of course the wine tasting, followed by the most delicious baguette with cheese and wine. A quaint little spot which made for a memorable stop.

Day 2

Colonial Williamsburg

Called a living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg has been recreated from the 1700’s during the times when America was still a British colony and the movement for independence was brewing. Many original structures have been restored and many others rebuilt on original foundations. What a pleasure it was to stroll along these streets where there were functioning silversmiths, cobblers, weavers along with taverns, courts and the capital building. Each structure has guides explaining how things worked in the 18^th century giving us a wonderful historical perspective. Truly the highlight of the holiday for me. I cannot recommend a visit here enough!

Day 3

Aquarium at Virginia Beach

                                              My favorite was the Komodo Dragon!

Virginia Beach

A popular summer destination, we landed here on a bright, sunny but windy day. Temperatures were fairly good and visitors were clad in their beast beach wear and while it was too cold to head into the water it was still fun to be out and about after mostly staying indoors for the winter.

Ocean City, MD

Shops, tourist attractions and hotels jostle for place in this popular tourist destination. While Summers find the beach overflowing with people, the off season was eerily deserted with just a handful of tourists on the boardwalk and almost all of the restaurants closed. We bravely headed over toward the beach and the little one took great persuasion to agree to leave as she was enjoying herself, playing in the sand, collecting shells and building castles. 

Day 4

Bye-Bye To Ocean City and end of the Holiday

The Ocean City boardwalk stretches over 2.5 miles and a fun way to see it all is on the family cycle (surrey) where Sachin and I peddled while Ria sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

First Road Trip in the USA - stopping at Roanoke VA, Great Smokey Mountains, Tennessee and Atlanta

Road trips have never been anywhere near my favorite way to travel, so even though I have been married for more than seven years and my husband loves to drive and occasionally mentions how it would be a good idea to travel by road I have been very reluctant and our so called road trips have been few and far between.

After living in the US for more than a year and procrastinating to take the written test for a US drivers license, push came to shove when my brother-in-law suggested that we take a road trip with them to visit family living in Atlanta for the Thanksgiving weekend.

And that's how it all started...

First Stop Roanoke, Virginia

Midway between New Jersey and The Great Smokey Mountains our first stop was at Roanoke, Virginia. We stepped out to the local “farm to table” restaurant here called Local Roots where we tasted food made from locally sourced ingredients. Sunday Supper is shared family style with each diner getting their own entrée and sharing from common bowls of sides, wonderful hospitality from the restaurant owners who pilled our children with books and went into the kitchen to custom-make a hot sauce for my brother in law whose palate prefers fierier fare than the one on offer. After a quick stop over at the Mill Mountain star the next day, which is perched on the top we were off to The Smokies.

Great Smokey Mountains

Gatlinburg

Situated at one of the entrances to the Great Smokies National Reserve Gatlinburg was bustling with tourists. Here I had my first ride in the Skylift and what fun it was to take a ride up to the top and see the city with its twinkling lights and the Space needle all lit up. My little one who is four was safe on Daddy’s lap and enjoyed herself as well. Dinner was delicious southern food (my favorite was the ribs) and among the most delicious drinks I have ever tasted - a peach iced tea with a spot of Moonshine.

Zip lining at Jayell Farms Pigeon Forge

I have zip lined before and enjoyed myself but this was definitely a special experience. Spread over 6 lines with the longest stretching to 3,000 feet and a view of the great mountains still flashing fall colors. Our baby summoned up all her courage to go solo on the last one (she was strapped to one of us for the others) and at the end of it declared that if she had known it was going to be so much fun she would have done all of them solo!

An evening of dance and country music at Country Tonight Pigeon Forge

It is the festive season and a visit down south wouldn’t be complete with some good old country music. An enjoyable show with lots of razzle dazzle and entertainment for the full family with the kids getting to go up on stage as an added bonus!

Wine Tasting at Eagle Springs Winery

Apricot, honey, strawberry, kiwi and mango sounds more like a fruit salad but these are just some of the ingredients that go into the delicious wines available here. After much tasting four happy customers left with five bottles of wine!

Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail

I know, I know the Smokies is all about trekking and cycling and walking for miles in the natural reserve but with three kids in tow the smallest being 2 and a half we were lucky to manage the motor trail. Picturesque drive with many spots to stop and get some nice clicks!

Jack Daniels Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee

I am no whiskey drinker and yet immensely enjoyed this tour of the JD distillery run free of cost by expert guides. Here we saw the storage vaults, smelt the abundant vapors which escape the barrels (called the Angel’s share), learnt how each barrel is crafted and saw the process of fermentation. And of course while the tour is free the whiskey is not, so we left poorer by a few hundred dollars after a visit to the shop stocked with JDs of every kind!

Ruby Falls, Chattanooga

An impromptu halt at Chattanooga led to a visit to the very beautiful Ruby Falls. The largest underwater waterfall in the US open to the public. A narrow underground trail filled with unique rock and limestone formations culminating in a breathtaking waterfall enhanced by a well-choreographed light show.

ATLANTA

What is Thanksgiving without a feasting with family? True to spirit we gorged on an enormous spread of traditional fare. Couldn’t decide between Turkey or chicken roast so why choose just have both! There were also green beans, cranberry relish, sweet potato bake, mashed potatoes (in all likelihood I missed a dish or two) finished off with gigantic helpings of pecan pie and pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream!

Day 2 in Atlanta

A quick visit to the Stone Mountain to see the world’s largest piece of exposed granite with the world’s largest high relief sculpture featuring three confederate heroes of the American Civil War

Followed by quintessential Southern food at the historic Marie Mac’s Tea Room where many famous personalities have dined included Richard Gere a personal favorite!

Back home for some tree climbing followed by interesting chit chat around a bonfire.

Tummies full, hearts happy and heads filled with pleasant memories of a great holiday.

My Rookie Halloween Experience!

So far Halloween to me has only been watching actors on my favourite American sitcoms enacting the festival so it was fun to be in the thick of things this year. Halloween fever invaded the air about a month ago. It started with pumpkins appearing on doorsteps, some just sat there proclaiming the arrival of fall while others got creative displaying their crooked smiles, wonky teeth and spooky eyes.

It wasn’t long before the decorations took on a more sinister hue, zombie hands, spider webs, danger signs and RIP tombstones were your everyday fare and quite in contrast to the festive decorations like diyas and rangolis that I was more used to. Every day as I dropped the little one  to school we played a little game where the she pretended to save me from a multitude of disasters that could possible befall me on our tiny half a km stretch with attacks from zombies, vampire and monsters  all thwarted by her bravery!

 It wasn’t long before the little one had a school trip where she proudly brought home a mini pumpkin of her own and demanded that it be carved. For a novice who knows nothing there is always YOUTUBE,  thanks to a some online research I found a DIY carving video and then promptly went from DIY to GID  (Get it Done) by the more artistic husband.

Soon enough it was time to pick out a costume for the little one, Girls get an overwhelming 5 choices at the costume store – princess, fairy, butterfly, witch or cat. Since frugal Indian mom didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money I went back to my saviour – social media and this time sought out another favourite -Pinterest for ideas and chose Kitty cat.  Unoriginal, but nevertheless cute and a safe starting point for rookie Halloween mom!  I didn’t have to spend much on the costume, the face paint was my eyeliner and she was ecstatic about her tail and cat ears. 

Since Halloween this year was on a Saturday the parade was on Friday at school. For the uninitiated the Halloween parade is one in which everyone wears a costume and walks around showing off their spooky side. While the kids carried off their myriad looks quite well the sporting teachers looked even better, a motley assortment from Witches to Minnie Mouse, Minions and more

On the big day as we stepped out to join the festivities we saw little kids dressed in costume entering shops with their little Halloween baskets proclaiming trick or treat to grab handfuls of candy from the shops down our street corner. Honestly I think the scariest part of Halloween is the thought of children eating all that sugar - truly sends chills down my spine! However all in the spirit of horrors kiddo also experienced the thrill of getting free candy.

A few photo ops later posing with bales of hay and the ubiquitous pumpkins we were off to NYC to see the annual Halloween parade.  Parades at NYC are always crowded, and standing at 5 feet three inches tall isn’t very conducive to getting a good view; on the other hand being 44 inches tall you stand to get a better view from Daddy’s shoulders.  There is usually a long wait if you want to get a good spot close enough to view the action but as someone waiting declared there was quite a show outside as many of the holiday revellers were in zany costumes of their own. One which particularly caught my eye was a man in a body suit with a shower stall n curtain attached; calmly sipping a beer (the beer was genuine!)

First came the fairies spraying their fairy dust, then the giant skeletons which took 3 or more people to operate, there were witches and vampires, ghouls of every sort, fake blood pouring everywhere maleficent masks of every murderous kind.  

When we had had our share of the spectacle and decided to head back home we found ourselves in the worst human traffic jam ever – only in New York City! What surprises me most is that my 4 year old who runs screaming if a bug happens to be in a 5 feet radius didn’t bat an eyelid to see all the gore that accompanies merry Halloween!

Happy Fathers Day! You Make a Great Dad Sach and here are a few of the many times …

When you two play animals in the tent and her giggles bubble out of the bedroom

When you become her “Tell Me Why” book while she goes into rapid fire mode asking you questions about anything and everything on earth and more

When you tell her a good night story about mythical beings and she listens with her jaw open

When you share your love of cartoons and watch everything from Angry Birds to Minnie mouse together

When you get her an ice-cream and her eyes light up in delight

When you “take her hurt away” by blowing at it and flushing it down the drain and she only really trusts you to do it right

When you carry her on your shoulders if she gets too tired or just wants a better view

When you insist on teaching her Malayalam and try to stick to speaking it yourself

When it’s time to wake up but I see the two of you snuggled together, even though I know it’s going to be even tougher to get her out of bed now!

And in so many more ways… Happy Fathers Day!

Musings on my first two months in the US

It’s been two eventful months since we landed in the USA; a land so foreign and yet so familiar. Foreign because it’s my first time to actually come here; familiar because it has been part of my world almost on a daily basis thanks to all the TV, movies and anecdotes shared by my mother-in-law. What did I expect? I expected everything to be shiny, gleaming and new, technologically so advanced that I had never seen anything like it before. Was it all that and more? Read on

What I loved most

I loved the independence this place gave me. My biggest fear was that I would be marooned in the new country, unable to move around on my own without someone to perhaps drive me around. I needn't have been afraid.  Within the first ten days of landing I took my first train ride – alone (unless you count the 3.5 yr old with me) and from there it just got better and better. Path rides to New York, a ferry to World Trade Centre, light rails for shorter distances and loads of walking around on the beautiful side-walks that criss-cross the city.

A unique experience

The shopping trip to the Ikea furniture store was certainly an experience like never before. In India we would walk into the showroom, choose the product and have it delivered home with someone coming to assemble it shortly. Here we first had to select the product, write down all the code numbers (I had no idea what the husband was actually writing down) and then go down to the warehouse. At the warehouse, there were numbered aisles (ah! Now the codes started making more sense) from which we had to go and pick up  the unassembled pieces of furniture in cardboard boxes. A sprained wrist later – the hubby, not me, we managed to collect everything and send it for shipping.  The next shocker-having to assemble this all together, patience never having being one of my virtues, it was again left to the husband to painstakingly put together the bed, with dozens of tiny little screws, nuts and bolts. A whole days work, phew!

The thing I hate

Well, hate may be a strong word but it is kind of tiresome to start almost from scratch again, from stocking the kitchen larder to buying all our furniture. Undeniably retail therapy has its perks but it can be unpleasant to have these pangs of longing for your fruit bowl or baking dishes, sigh!

What makes my heart sing

Getting out of the house and seeing people from different races, ethnicities, countries, just makes me happy. I grew up in a very multi-cultural atmosphere as part of the big naval family but the US just takes it to another level. I have arguably heard more Indian languages on the streets of Jersey City that I have heard in Bangalore.

What I thought I would miss but don’t

My much bigger house and my maids, and that’s probably connected. It’s the first time in my life that I am staying in a house so small with just one bedroom and a bath. On the plus side it’s easy to clean and adequate for our little family. It will probably get cramped when friends or family come to visit but we haven’t got there as yet. As for my maids, I am happy to replace them with the dishwasher, dryer and vacuum. Disclaimer- that is the unemployed me talking we will see how it goes once I get a job.

When Life has other plans!

Planning a date night isn’t what it used to be. It’s not about sneaking around or curfews anymore, it’s now more about figuring out whether the place is kid friendly or not. Clubbing and partying are pleasant memories of what seems like a distant past but today was going to be different, I had it all planned out.

The little one was going to have her first sleepover with the grandparents; she was super excited and Mom and Dad were going to have a night out, I was equally thrilled! Since we are new to the city, I checked with a few friends for recommendations and then shortlisted a couple of places based on their online reviews.

The review for this place said that the music was good - the only word of caution being that the dance floor was small and it usually got packed so you might find it difficult to do your moves. Here I was expecting to be pushed and shoved on the dance floor but contrary to expectations not one note of music played and we were a tiny crowd of two. With a touch of skepticism sneaking into my happy heart we settled down anyway. I reasoned with myself that we were probably the early birds and the party would get started a little later. Twenty minutes later when the waiter arrived with our drinks I tentatively asked him when the crowd was likely to start coming in. With an apologetic look he said that since a temple next door was celebrating its festival there was a ban on music and so they weren't really expecting a crowd tonight. Crrraack! The sound of my well laid plans shattering.

Not to be out done we decided to finish our drinks in a hurry and head out to the next place on the shortlist. Being newbies to the city we were relying on the GPS to for directions. Unfortunately the GPS seemed to have plans of its own, it kept leading us to the gate of a park and insisted that we needed to drive through; incidentally the park had been closed for the night. Despite all our attempts to get it to re-route it wouldn't budge, finally after spending half an hour going around in circles (quite literally) we gave up and decided to get into the next place we saw.

Expecting the worst we walked in but much to our surprise the place was pulsating with great music and had quite the swish set of people around. The beef burger I ordered was simply divine – the best I have ever had and the hubby had a mean pepperoni pizza. The service was excellent and we topped it off with a delicious Tiramisu.

Life is sometimes like that, you have your best laid plans which don’t work out and then you end up going around in circles for a while before you stumble onto something quite unexpected but which could leave you pleasantly surprised.