A wonder vacation!

And so we left for the airport after lunch with all the bags and baggages and Arya was excited about going in the plane. We were on time of course and the flight trip was not very exhausting as Arya did sleep through most of it. From Las Vegas we drove (I mean V) to Boulder City and we stayed there that night. And as usual I did over pack and V kept reminding me throughout the whole trip that it wasn't right, and he was right! And the most important thing that we carried around throughout the trip was the walking wings (belt) to hold on to Arya,so that he could walk whenever he wanted to and trust me it was a good choice.
Please click on the link photos to see a few of the snaps taken during the trip.
The next morning after a good breakfast we left for Hoover Dam and we were told that its been in drought for the past 10 years. But I couldn't believe my eyes as it sure didn't seem like drought to me. It was a day of good weather and we did enjoy our morning there. We took the tour to the power plant and saw the generators and the marvelous structure form within. We spent about two hours there and then we left for the Sky Walk.
Sky Walk is a part of the great Grand Canyon, where you have a platform of glass built in a U shape called the Glass Bridge and you get to walk over it. The Indians who live there are called Hualapai tribe. The sky walk is also called the Eagle's Point as you can see a rock formation in the form of an eagle with its wings stretched and a sleeping dog on top. It was an awesome experience as it felt like walking over the canyon thousands of feet above it.
It is a wonderful sight for the eye to see, and seriously it is not for the weak in heart with fear of heights. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take our cameras there and the picture that they took wasn't good enough. The canyon with time changes shape and as per the view from there we were shown two points the the flying eagle and the sleeping dog. There was another view point too but it started to fog and rain an so we had to rush back to the shuttle bus and get back to the car. Other than that it was a good one. There was a tree called Joshua tree over there and lots of it and the only place where one could find it too. There was a board that said Joshua Tree Forest. We started the long drive from there to the Grand Canyon where we had intended on spending 2 days.
A small info on the Canyon, (from the US National Park) - Grand Canyon is in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the borders of Utah and Nevada. The Colorado River, which flows through the canyon, drains water from seven states, but the feature we know as Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona. A 277 mile long (446 km) canyon separates the park into South and North Rims. The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is a mile-deep, (1.6 km) and creates a barrier that bisects the park(National Park).
We visited the South Rim and the North Rim is not very famous due its weather, altitude and so on. We reached there at around 8.00 at night and we decided to see the movie on the Grand Canyon that is shown at the Imax, at the south rim entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park, the National Geographic Visitor Center a must-stop before visiting the ‘rim of the world’ (as it is called). It gives a wonderful view and idea about the Grand Canyon. We stayed at the Yavapai Lodge which was next to the Market Plaza which is the main business center for the village. I was all excited to see the Canyon and much to my disappointment it was foggy and couldn't see a thing and a very cold morning too. We tried to wait for around 2 hours and see if it would clear up but it didn't and we were told that the weather was gonna be like that for the whole week and I was like I only have one more day.
So we made a quick decision to leave that day itself for Zion National Park instead of monday.
At the Canyon there are a lot of view points along the road which gives a good view of the whole grandeur. I should say that it was my lucky day to get to see the Grand Canyon at some of the view points and it was a beautiful site. I did not wanna leave from there and all I wanted to do was just stand there and watch the Canyon and the Colorado River that was rushing by in its path and the clouds that were passing by. It was a view worth waiting for and so we started to hit most of the view points to see it and we were lucky. There is a point called the Desert View Watchtower, it was built in 1930s and it is now maintained by the National Park. The view is exactly as the word desert view means, the flat view of the land which is a desert and a marvelous one too..
That evening we drove to Zion National Park and reached by 11 or so. The drive at night was a little scary for me, so V had to drive slowly letting the other cars drive by. At Zion we hiked on the most common trails Emarald Pool trail (lower & middle), the went and saw the weeping rock and Riverside Walk. Since it had been raining the last day or two the river was muddy and was not very safe either. People around did try to walk in the river to cross across and enjoy the riverside walk, but they turned back within a minute or two. So we just wet our feet for a while and returned. At Zion we did see 2 rock climbers too. To see Zion a whole day is more than sufficient, unless one is planning on hiking on all the trails.
The next morning we wanted to leave early for Bryce but then realized that we won't be able see anything until sunrise, so we left at around 7 and that was a amazing. We saw wild goats, deer grazing and running across. Then we stopped at checkers point, to see the huge rock that is naturally carved like a checker board and enjoying the site so early in the morning we reached Bryce. Was glad to see the tunnels in day light, well at least the entrance and the exit.
Bryce is not a Canyon(as per the park info), as it is not carved carved by flowing water. Water is the active ingredient here, but in the form of "frost-wedging" and chemical weathering. It is full of Hoodoos that are eerie at times to look at and arches and mostly whimsical. Both formed naturally but they seem so perfect. Hoodoos are rich in various colors and are formed by iron and manganese. If you go trailing you will be able to see a lot of purple colored rocks and sediments which are caused by manganese. Bryce has a lot of trails and the most easiest is considered to be the Queen's Garden Trail which starts from the Sunrise Point. Half way down I reached a point where it was steep on both sides so I turned back.
To enjoy sunrise and sunset, Bryce is the place to be. There are amazing colors around like bright red, off white, grey colors at the top of the hoodoos and the whole of it basically limestone and sand at an amazing 10.000ft elevation. There are quite a few view points Sunrise point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, Paria Point, Natural Bridge, Bryce Point and so on. Navajo Trail was a moderate trail and since V has already been there, he suggested that I do the trail and that I would enjoy it. He was right, I did enjoy it and much more I loved it.The natural formation of the arches and hoodoos will keep any person mesmarised forever.Here we did try and stop at all the view points and Bryce Point and Inspiration points were the best. I will never forget my experience at all the three national parks and if I do get a chance to go again I will surely do it. And in the evening bidding farewell to the great view we started our 4hr drive to Vegas.
At Vegas we had a relaxed schedule as we had 4 days there. We spent the noons sleeping as the heat was too much for all of us. It was a fun place to be in and unfortunately we couldn't hit the casinos as Arya is only two and a half and as per their state law if you are not 21 you cannot be in the casino. So we went around seeing shows, malls, saw the themes and decor of the casinos. They were good. At the Bellagio their theme this time was with air balloon and different trains and they had created a whole model demo of it all and Arya loved to see the small trains. So we went to see it twice and the dancing fountain too.
It seemed like The Venetian had tried to rebuild the whole of Venice inside this one place and they did do a decent job at it too. MGM still showing the lion show and it is said that they own more than 30 lions and during the day there are lions from 11 in the morning till around 10 or so at nite. They bring in lions in turn and they take care of them very well. Then there is Newyork Newyork, which has the ambience of Newyork inside. There were a lot of shows at every casino. Like the Sirens of TI at Treasure Island and Cirque du Soleil has around five shows at 6 casinos such as Ka, Mystere, O, Zumanity, Love and Criss Angel Believe. We watched Ka and it was a good show where in teh use of technology and imagination worked together to create a perfect show. Since wer couldn't take Arya to these shows we decided to spend more time at CircusCircus and Arya enjoyed himself there as he could go on rides there and play around, there were a lot of kids around it. He wanted to press every button he could get his hands on and everywhere we went he wanted to be the one to on the elevator and he would say "Abracadabra" for the door to open and he was very proud. The Stratosphere gives a good view Las Vegas Blvd and the surrounding, Fremont street wonderfully done with the overhead screen at night and the little Eiffel Tower for those who haven't been to France. It was fun over there and on our way back in the flight we all slept until the pilot woke us all up....
And thus a long week with a wonderful trip came to an end with a whole load of laundry and unpacking to be done....Now when is my next trip gonna be, I wonder?

Vegas here I come!

After moving to Miami, we visited Key West with Vivek's friends. So I can say that we haven't had a vacation this year for just the three of us. Las Vegas and Grand Canyon are two of the places I had been wanting to visit and so here we are with the tickets in hand and all bookings done all set to go on a 8 day vacation which I would say is a long vacation for us. Our previous vacation was our 2 week trip to Europe in 2006, and Arya was just 7 months old that time.

For the past two weeks Vivek has been insisting that I hit the gym as there is a lot of walking to do and well he also has started to go too.. . I am not sure, how Arya is gonna handle it as he has never been away from home for such a long time and now as he is gonna turn 3, he has started to ask a lot of questions, "what is that?" and very demanding. I only hope that the trip doesn't drive him crazy and he me! I really want him to enjoy this trip.

I started the packing today and I am going crazy with the stuff that I need to carry along. Shall let you guys know all about it once I get back in 8days, even though the duration is short we all are looking forward towards it, and a break for V from his busy schedule. For the past few days Arya has been asking me, "ellarum plane poroma?"

So see you all in a few days time, and I shall share more recipes with you all. Have fun ladies and take care!

I've been tagged

Lothika of Natural Remedies at Home has tagged me and she sent me the magic lamp of luck. Thank you Lothika for sending them to me.

The rules are as below:

“At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog”.Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.”-

1.What was I doing ten years ago?

I was studying in plus 2....

2.Five things on Today’s “To do” list

Go to the library
Add one more recipe to the blog
Grocery shopping
Pick up my mails
Try some

3.I am addicted to :
Spicy food and chocolates

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Spend at least half on the ashramams that my Father-in-law volunteers to help, get my parents and vivek's parents to go on a long vacation for as long as they wish.

5. Places i have lived:
Alapuzha (kerala), Chennai, Bangalore,Trichy, Austin (Texas),St.Louis(Missourri) and now Miami.

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere.

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Variety Rice Week

This week I was bored of making curries and sabjis, so we decided that it will be variety rice this whole week. We started with peas pulao in coconut milk on monday with chicken & potato sidedish. Tuesday was Tomato Rice with minced raita and egg. Today's lunch has coconut rice and prawns masala. For tomorrow its gonna be lemon rice with potato fry. Friday i am not sure if we are gonna be home for lunch, but if we are i will surely let you know!
My brother-in-law is a fun loving person who is funny and a great person too. He is very outspoken and great to be with too. Arya is very fond of his periyappa and periyamma and his cousins yash and yuvan. The only person my son loves to speak to on the phone is his periyamma and he is always ready to give her a call any time of the day. His family is in India on vacation and being long weekend he is coming over for three days. I am very fond of everyone at my inlaws place and they are loving and caring people. All the time that I have spent with them has always been wonderful and I am lucky to be a part of this wonderful family.

Last time we met him was when he had come over for our son's birthday party last november. This weekend we are gonna be out seeing places and V and I have got tickets for Dasavadaram. We will be going for the movie without Arya and we haven't done anything without him in a long time. Well off I go today to do the grocery shopping today, ofcourse once Arya is up from his nap. By next week i will add in the recipes for the above.
As for the Summer Splash event, hurry up and send in your entries!