A truly jolly holiday to the lovely sunny LA

A truly jolly holly-day in Los Angeles, California left us so refreshed and sprightly in the three wonderful days that we spent there. After a long spell of five chilly months in Minneapolis, it was an absolutely welcome and wonderful break to the bright sunny beaches and parks; the transition from temperatures of `10 degrees to 70 was nothing short of heaven. We were so pleased to be strolling outside in the awesome weather, minus all those layers of sweaters and jackets. The kids were literally surprised the first day that the sky can be blue and not just gray all the time, the ground can be snow-less as well and it is possible to feel so light even when outside :)

We spent the first day in the posh Beverley Hills neighbourhood, gazing in awe at the luxurious stars' bungalows, the plush streets and bylanes and the swanky ultra-expensive designer shops. Unfortunately and for obvious reasons, there were no name plates to distinguish which bungalow belonged to whom. We drove for the best views of the Hollywood sign and continuing in the same mood, spent our evening at Hollywood Blvd famous for the stars' Walk of Fame; their foot and hand prints at the forecourt of the Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater, the venue for the Oscars.










The second day, we headed for Venice Beach to revel in the sun and sand of the lovely California. It was fascinating to just sit there and bask in the glorious sun and listen to the splashing waves. We couldn't go much in the water though because it was just too chilly. After enjoying pineapple and lime flavored shaved ice; adding some salt and pepper in an attempt to re-create apna 'Juhu beach' effect and some roasted corn with lemon and masala at the Venice beach oceanwalk; we headed for some more snacks at a local Mediterranean restaurant and relished the falafal and chicken kafta kabobs with hummus and complete with wine. Refreshed by the invigorating day at the beach, we realised that we actually had time and energy to promenade at the famous Universal City Walk as well. It was fun with all the flashing lights and the jovial atmosphere and left us tired and ready for a great nights sleep.





We just had a couple of hours at hand on the last day before catching our flight which we decided to spend leisurely at a neighbourhood park where the kids could have some fun at the swings and we could just laze around and prepare ourselves for another two months of indoor solitude in MN.




Pictures from the trip

best of LA trip ( Mar 3 - Mar 5, 2007)

A trip to cherish - the Scenic North Shore Minnesota

We started out on Thursday morning, the 28th of September along the North Shore Scenic Drive in Minnesota with a degree of uncertainty in our minds. We had planned for a night and 2 days in Lutsen and 1 night and a day in Duluth and on 2 days out of 3 the chances of precipitation were almost 50%. But the fall colors being already at their peak, we didn't have an option of waiting for fair weather days. We were lucky, as we were to realise later that rain didn't really play a spoilt sport. It was beautiful with fall at its peak, the vibrant colors of fiery red, brilliant orange and shimmering gold casting an enchanting spell on us right from the start. Our first stop was the Duluth visitor center offering fabulous view of the city and Lake Superior. After having a yummy pizza at Two Harbors, we drove for another hour or so before making our second stop at Gooseberry Falls. Now I have to admit that having stayed in California for two and a half years and having enjoyed and admired the beauty of the place, I am very very biased towards the state and eye everything here in Minnesota with a mild degree of disdain. Gooseberry falls, which we had heard a lot about, did got us a bit disheartened because just 4 months back we had seen the most spectacular waterfalls at Yosemite. We hoped for better sights further ahead.

We reached our reasort at about 4:30 in the evening and after freshening up a bit went for a stroll on the Mystery trail right next to the resort. It was a chilly evening and the purely for pleasure hike made us feel better and warmer. We stayed the night in Lutsen and took the Gondola ride on Moose mountain the first thing in the morning. This two mile round trip sightseeing ride glides at treetop level through the Poplar River Valley before climbing dramatically to the summit of Moose Mountain. With mountain top picnic area and observation deck this 1000 foot peak offers vistas of more than 100 miles. It affords a birds eye view of the blue waters of Superior lake and its dramatic coastline on one side and endless terrains of maple, birch, aspen and pine trees on the Sawtooth mountains on the other. The scenery could not be more perfect. The rush of colors that painted the mountains looked surreal.





After admiring the wonder atop the mountain peak at length, we started driving back to Duluth stopping at several trails to uncover hidden treausures of pure natural beauty. Though it was not one of the best days conventionally for sightseeing with no sunshine, but having rained the whole of the previous night added another dimension to the beauty of the place. The rain made many of the brightly colored leaves fall, making even the ground absolutely stunning with color. The trail to Britton Peak was the most awesome one. You have to look at the pictures (link attached) to believe it.





Vansh too refused to be carried and wanted to walk himself. We also stopped by at the shores of Lake Superior. Apart from the acres of wilderness and the Lake Superior vistas sprawling before us the way they did, another facet that struck us was the serenity and the solitude of the place. We were there on a weekday so luckily people were sparse and the trails were nearly devoid of any human activity. Even otherwise, there was not a single sound, not even a bird chirping or the leaves rustling, not even the found everywhere sound of crickets - nothing at all. It was very calming, almost otherworldly.

The night of 29th was a lazy one at Duluth - we spent some time at the Lakewalk and had Shahi Korma and tikkas at India Palace. 30th, we took the North Shore Scenic (supposedly!!) Rail ride which didn't even come close to the expectations we had from it. It took us along Lake Superior treating us to views which were no match to what we had already seen the day before. It stopped at Two Harbors, a small town between Duluth and Lutsen for 2 hours and we didn't know what could anybody do there for two hours!! We just had a Sundae at Dairy Queen and were an audience to an animal rights march of some ladies with their dogs. We were glad to be on our way back. Vansh spent most of the time napping and we killed time by playing a guessing game of 20 questions on famous personalities.

Snaps from the Lutsen Trip

best of North Shore Trip - Sep 28-30, 2006

Sep 28, 2006 - 66 Photos