San Francisco, California

After exploring Canyons, Vegas and the Disney’s we finally arrived at San Jose in Bay area to meet my school friend Saravanan and his family. It was so nostalgic to meet Sarvan after nearly 10.5 years and time really flies away. Sarvan had a daughter Sasha who is also of the same age like Anish and they both had a great time together. Golden gate bridge was always a picturesque scenic post which hangs in most of our houses during our childhood days and it was always my dream to explore this wonder one day and finally the dream came true. It is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait covering around 4.8 kms between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. 

It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. After exploring the Golden gate bridge we had a chance to go to Palace of Fine Arts which was very impressive and indeed a beautiful place. 

Next day we went to Mystery Spot which is a visual illusion based tourist attraction near Santa Cruz in California. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Then we went to Santa Cruz beach and Anish enjoyed playing in the beach sand and he built the sand castles with his mommy. It’s a nice beach to hang out on a sunny day. Thanks to Sarvan, his wife Anusha and his daughter Sasha who gave a great company for us, their hospitality and helped us to explore the great city of San Francisco and it was indeed a trip to remember in our lives. 

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Disneyland, California

Walt Disney World Resort, known as Walt Disney World or Disney World is an entertainment complex in Anaheim in California. Initially I had the plan of taking the scenic route of highway one between Los Angeles and San Francisco but many recommended to go to Disney Land skipping the scenic route mainly for Anish. I must say one day was not sufficient to explore Disney. There are two theme parks: Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park and if you are the first timer and with time constraints, I would recommend to go to Disneyland park.

This iconic amusement park features around 8 themed lands with rides, shows and costumed characters and it requires minimum four days to five days to explore the whole of this great adventure park. Fireworks at around 8 o clock were definitely worth experiencing. Anish enjoyed most of the rides and it was certainly a day to remember. Thanks to my friend Krishna who accommodated us in his house for couple of nights and we had a great time with Krishna and his wife Jyotsna.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Las Vegas, USA

Las Vegas often known as simply Vegas is a city in United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada known primarily for gambling, shopping, fine dining and nightlife and is the leading financial, commercial and cultural center for Southern Nevada. The city bills itself as ‘The Entertainment Capital of the World’ and is famous for its mega casino hotels and associated entertainment. 

It's located in Mojave Desert and the temperatures were soaring high even in March. Most casinos in the downtown area are located on the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Strip. Honestly Las Vegas didn’t impress me a lot probably because I went with my family and thank god we just stayed only for a night in Plaza Hotel. Vegas is OK for one time and didn’t live up to my expectations. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona. Its construction was the result of massive effort involving thousands of workers and cost over hundreds of lives. It’s on the way from Grand Canyon to Las Vegas and very close to Las Vegas around 30 miles. 

The gigantic bridge connecting the two states of Nevada and Arizona is really breath taking and gives the panoramic view of the Colorado river. It was really hot even during the month of March and just can’t imagine how it will be during the peak summer. Definitely worth watching if you are on the way to Las Vegas. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Grand Canyon is a steep sided canyon carved by the Colorado river in the state of Arizona in United States. We landed in Phoenix, AZ from NJ and stayed in our friend’s place for a night and we drove to south rim of the canyon. The south rim is open all year round weather permitting. The north Rim is generally open mid-May to mid-October. 

It was my childhood dream to visit the Canyons and we had a great time exploring it and the weather stayed fine all throughout the day. Thanks to Rajesh and his family for accommodating us for a night in Phoenix and celebrating Anish 4th birthday – the first real birthday since he happens to be a leap year kid. If you are in West Coast, Grand Canyon is a must see place. After exploring the Canyons, we stayed in Flagstaff for a night. There are lots of activities which can be done in Grand Canyon like rafting, hiking, museums, camping etc. There is also helicopter ride from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon which has some breath taking views. All in all it was a day to remember.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S