Cooolorado

So here it goes, I get a call from my Boss that there's an emergency situation and I may need to travel over the weekend. He knows, I am always up for a travel, I agreed in a minute. Next hour, I was booking a flight to Colorado. Since, I was out of time, that company can book the flights, so I just booked it by my own and next day I am in Colorado, crazy right.

Well, the crazier thing is, I found one of my college buddy over there. I had to travel on Sunday, but it wasn't sure that I have to visit office. So, we made a plan to roam around that one day. Colorado is a mountain place, it has many places to visit. I had a itinerary of all the places, I want to visit. I picked him up from his place and we directly headed to the Colorado Springs. It was already afternoon, so we had to finish everything fast. Also, it was hot and me being from Chicago, can't handle that much heat and my friend, well he just didn't wanted to walk much.

Our first point was Garden of the Gods, well we didn't find parking over there after taking 2 rounds of parking lot, so we moved on. We just saw it from outside and headed to next attraction: Red rock canyon open space, which was basically just an open area. Then we moved to Ghost town museum, this was the first place where we could find proper parking and stayed for some time. It was a paid attraction and I didn't find it worth. The good thing about the place was we got to know about the history of Colorado. It was a gold mining area and the gold was found in river water. Colorado is actually famous for gold digging, I was not aware of it.

Moving on to the best attraction of the day-Seven Falls. It's actually, one continuous fall, but water drops 7 times with stops in between. It is also a paid attraction, but its worth it. We reached there in evening, so Sun was also supporting our small hike. There is a shuttle that takes us from parking to the base and then there is a small hike. Also a shuttle is available from base to the falls if you don't want to hike. I was in the car from morning, so I had to walk a bit, so we didn't took the shuttle. We took some cool pictures while hiking up and then reached to the mesmerizing falls. I must say, it is beautiful. We have to take many stairs to reach to the top of the falls. It gives us picture of all the falls from the top. Once we are at the top, there are 2 hikes, shorter and longer one. I took the longer one, but my friend was tired by this time. So he decided to wait for me. As I started going up, I got to know that it is going to take around 40 minutes to return. I was already halfway through and could not go back, so I informed some people who were going down to let my friend know that I am going to be late. I tried to finish the hike asap and came down. Seven Falls was the only attraction that made our day successful. Then we had pizza on our way back and day can be called as successful.

I had to work in office on the following 2 days and then returned back to Chicago. Next day, I was working in office and my boss again reached out to me for traveling the very same day. No worries, I was back in Colorado in night. This time, it was a hectic schedule. I was working even on weekends. I tried to visit the garden again with my client partner, but no parking one more time. Since my friend was on a trip-a long weekend one, so I couldn't catch up with him.

Then I went back to Chicago and after a couple of days, back in Colorado. This was the 3rd visit and hence the name Cooolorado. This time, I didn't tried to visit garden but had nice Indian food everyday with my friend. Overall it was a good trip every time. I was able to view Colorado from different perspective in every trip which is really a great experience. Many thanks to my friend. Normally, I avoid visiting same place twice, but it was an emergency-Hurricane.

Niagara Falls and US trip closure

New York is too big to cover in a post. So here's another one starts in the city that never sleeps. When we finished the Intrepid Museum, my parents visited Statue of Liberty cruise on discounted tickets-courtesy of our guide. I had already been on that cruise and didn't wanted to go as it was not much there. Our next NY attraction was again an art place like the one in Chicago. This one was much bigger and beautiful than the previous one, so we thought of checking it out. It has really great architectures brought from all over the world. It is the largest Museum in United States. 

Then we moved on to the last but the best attraction of entire tour-The Niagara Falls. Well, before falls, we visited Niagara Fort and understood its history. It was originally built for New France, then fell into British hands and now comes under US. The fort has few actors who shows how the attacks were performed during their era. They even shoot a cannon sometimes and we were lucky to spot it. Then the guide showed us different parts of Niagara falls, origin, middle and the actual falls. We took the famous Maid of the Mist boat tour which goes close to the falls and comes back. Frankly speaking, it was in my bucket list but when I saw it, it was not beyond my expectations, may be I have seen enough that even Niagara doesn't excites me much or I have become mobiholic or in Love. I guess the last one.

Once we finished the one and only Niagara, the tour came to an end. There was just one last show remaining. It was Native American Dance show, it was related to native people near the Niagara. It was a good show, just to relax yourself after such a long trip. There was nothing remained for us to visit anymore. We started our return just after the show. Our aim was to complete some distance before taking rest for the night. 

The last attraction of our tour was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there was just one person from our tour who opted for it. Since, it was part of the package, we had no choice but to stop there. We enjoyed the Cleveland harbor in the meantime, that Bangalore guy was visiting the museum. It was a good museum, even from the outside. Then we returned Chicago, this concludes our East Coast Tour by GetBus Tours, looks like that company is closed down now 😳.

The next day, we went to get some souvenirs and parents took India flight after one more day. To conclude, it was a short and sweet trip. We completed it with God's grace. My parents don't keep well, but they completed this trip without any health issues. Thanks to God. Jai Shree Krishna.

Baltimore, Amish Village, Philadelphia and NY

Charging Bull

It was another long day of the trip. Usually, we used to start early in morning and return late evening. This day, we covered, Baltimore-just the harbour. Then we moved to Amish Village, it's a different culture, different (old) lifestyle which still exists in certain parts of America. They showed us their style of house and the guide girl made me try dresses. Also, I was the translator for this guide too. She even suggested me taking it as a job which I am considering.

The Times Square

Then we moved on to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell-an iconic symbol of American Independence. Next was the Stock exchange in New York, followed by the Charging Bull/Wall Street Bull. Last but not the least for the day the one and only Times Square. We spent plenty of time in Times Square. I believe it is the most famous place all over the earth. People from all over the countries come to visit this place.

New York Skyline

It's located in midtown Manhattan section of New York. Once we completed it, we had a nice dinner in a nearby Indian restaurant. Just before moving towards our hotel, we stopped for night view of the New York skyline. I must say, its worth watching. The night view is like a cherry on top. With this we concluded our day. But hold on, it was completed wrt tour. My day had just started as I called one of my old friend from New Jersey with tea. As father wanted to have tea, I called him and he was also so friendly that he traveled 40 miles to bring tea, actually to meet. We had tea and went for a Pan. Then, as per tradition, called our common friends and remembered the great old days.

Enterprise Shuttle @ The Intrepid

Next day was also dedicated to New York. By this time, guide was so happy and grateful that he decided to buy breakfast for me and parents. As I helped him to drive this tour till the time. He would have gone mad as it was already difficult to manage the Chinese group and then on top an Indian group with language barrier. Our first attraction for the day was the Empire State Building. We skipped it as we already visited Chicago 360. It also gave us time to chill a bit and have breakfast for free. Second no. goes to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. I had been to this place, but it was easy for parents, if I could just escort them through it at a faster pace and explain them whatever possible.
More to follow about New York in next post.

To Michigan-Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.

Presidential Limousine

As we were heading towards our first city-Michigan. The guide informed us that in US, odd numbered routes are from North to South and even number east to west. We were on I-94 which means we were going towards east. A good piece of information.

Our first stop was The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, MI. It houses Presidential Limousines, Thomas Edison Lab, Wright Brother's planes and many other interesting historical exhibits. It is the largest indoor-outdoor Museum complex and worth visiting.

Next we visited, General Motors Heritage Center in Detroit, MI. The cool thing about Detroit is that its a bridge distance from Canada and you can actually see it easily from Detroit. The not so good part is that its bankrupt, there are houses available for $1. It's a less preferable place to live due to its alarming crime rate. Our next stop was Pittsburgh-the city of bridges. It was followed by the Capital of the United States of America-Washington D.C.. We visited the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and National Air and Space Museum.

General Motors HQ

It is said that time flies when you are having fun and believe me we never knew that it has been 2 days already with the group. By this time, the group became like a family. First, me and MH couple became a unit and later the entire Indian community became one. Also, the Chinese people became another group but they always used to leave one or the other member behind.

The White House

Whenever we used to stop on the way, we had to stop at a rest are and they dont have much to eat for my parents and even MH couple. In the beginning, the couple had some namkeen puri and pohe to offer, but soon they ran out of it. So, when we used to stop for lunch, I used to quickly go through all the shops and order for both the couples and me. We always used to have a bag of namkeen and pickle. If we don't like anything, just get a burrito (treat as chapati), get salsa (treat as tomato sabzi). When we used to stop in the city to eat, we could easily get an Indian restaurant and had proper food. Still food was a challenge for parents.

Chinatown-Chicago

Our actual US trip started from Chicago or I should say, when we left Chicago. All the Chinese tours starts from Chinatown. The tour company took us from our hotel to Chinatown and then they divided us in different groups, some people were put in a big bus and others in a van. As we were about to board, a girl came to us and asked about my parents and inquired about us. She was sending her parents on a trip and was looking for a company. I said, don't worry, I am accompanying them.

Let me describe the passengers in van. There was an old Chinese couple, a Mother and daughter, an engineer from Bangalore, an old South Indian couple from Africa, then a Maharashtrian couple and in 3 of us. Last but not the least, a Chinese guide and driver. So in all there were 14 people. I would say, the passengers were mixed properly. I am not sure, it was their intention or not but whatever happened was good.

As we started the tour, the guide introduced himself and set some ground rules for the 5 day trip. Like will have stop every 2-3 hours for restrooms and lunch/dinner breaks. We were informed to choose the attractions and pay money for the attractions selected. We were also told to stick to the schedule.
I was sitting next to MH couple and hence they started inquiring what the guide was saying. I had to translate for my parents anyways so I started explaining both of them together. Now, I was taking care of them and my parents as well. It was fun. I felt as if it was my duty and a good deed to explain and help MH couple. Whenever the guide used to say anything, I will start translating it. The guide understood that the trip required someone like me for its success, else it would have become difficult for him.There was no way for him to manage it alone as my parents and MH couple cannot understand him. He used to speak in English first and then translate in Chinese for 4 Chinese people.

Parents BAPS visit

Day 3

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

The 3rd day was supposed to have some free time and just relax, but we had a change of plan. I called one of my friend, who helped us to visit BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago. It is one of the best temples of Chicago area and largest in Illinois. We visited temple early in morning and in afternoon we had a nice lunch buffet in a restaurant called as Tava. Parents loved good Indian food. Next we visited Hanuman Mandir of Greater Chicago. That was all for that day.

Shri Hanuman Mandir

Day 4

We visited Shedd Aquarium. It has been one of the largest aquarium in the world for some time. We started later in the day, so that I could attend office in the morning. Still we were able to complete it before the closing time easily. I thought that we may not be able to complete it, but we were. I guess, I would have rushed parents a bit. 

Shedd Aquarium

Day 5

This day was supposed to start their East coast tour, but they just picked us from airport and dropped to a Hotel. At least, they were supposed to take us to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago, but they didn't and hence I didn't pay tip to guide for the day. But, we visited ourselves to the outlets and saw the stores. Then came back for a subway.

The Cloud gate and Chicago Skyline

Day 6

It was the starting day of our trip. The tour guide took us to lot of places in Chicago including- The cloud gate, we were able to get a good picture as there was no one around. Next we visited the Chicago 360. Dad didn't entered for 360 view. Then we had a beautiful boat ride for Chicago Architecture tour. It was raining, so were sitting inside the boat for first half of tour. Since the guide was speaking in English and I was also not following her, it was just a boat tour for Mom and Dad. We also visited Navy Pier followed by Chicago Theatre. Theatre was a good place to visit due to its architecture. It's stairs were copied in the movie Titanic. Last and least we visited Chicago Arts institute, it was not much of fun, as we dont enjoy arts that much.

Smile Please

Parents US visit

It's been sometime, I have written anything. It is due to a mix of factors which includes my girl and my travels obviously. This July, I had my parents visit US for a short duration, 14 days to be specific. In that short span of time, I managed to have them a tour of US east coast. The planning of US tour was being in progress from an year. After such a long time, finally my parents made up their mind to visit. I had booked their flight and tour 2-3 months in advance and if I book flights, there is a rare scenario that I am going to cancel it. This way, I knew that its going to be a success this year. I had prepared an excel which allowed me to book everything in advance and plan each and everything smoothly. 

I had to book separate flights for domestic and International, so that they don't have to wait for long in Delhi. They had few hours between flights, which made situation tensed. They were bit late which put them in pressure as they were trying to cross security at Delhi airport. I was also in tension, as I had no contact from them after Indore. With God's grace, they were able to board the International flight successfully and I was able to make contact with them. Now, I was relaxed. They easily passed immigration at Chicago port and then I met them. I posted a picture over the family group to let everyone know that they have arrived. 

I kept the first day of arrival free without any travels. They came home and relaxed. Father had a tea and mom-coffee. Aunty prepared some snacks. We spoke for some time and then I told them to relax. In night, we visited nearby local shops. So that they get to see US a bit. The next day we planned for shopping, I didn't wanted to buy anything while we are traveling to avoid carrying and bringing it back to Chicago. Soon, we finished shopping and came back home, then we had some time to relax before going to Chicago downtown.

Evening, we visited Chicago downtown starting from Chicago Board of Trade, Cloud gate, Buckingham Fountain and ended the day with marvelous fireworks at Navy Pier.