Road to Hana

On Day 4 we decided to take the road to Hana, the beautiful tropical forest of Hawaii. This road that runs thru the eastern coastline of Maui gave us spectacular views of the pacific ocean, lush forests, zillions of waterfalls and black sand beaches. 

The road itself is about 52 miles but has about 620 curves and 59 bridges most of which are one lane bridges. Hubby, ofcourse, decided to do the drive. 

Our first stop was at this lovely town of Paia where we had our breakfast - yummy crepes!  And carried some not so yummy lunch that we realized later :). We then stopped at the Garden of Eden. This is a beautiful botanical garden and arboretum. We saw plants and trees that I have never seen before. It wasn't really easy to push the stroller along with my little one. So we carried her around. There were beautiful views of the ocean. We stopped at Keopuka rock of the Jurassic park. This was spectacular! We then got lost a little bit :), saw a waterfall and headed back to Hana. 

Enroute we stopped at a couple of other spots all with unbelievable views of the ocean. 

Our next stop was at the black sand beach and yes the sand is really black! We were all pretty tired and decided not to go down the beach. But enjoyed unforgetful views of the beach. 

Hubby dear decided he was game for driving back home the same day. So instead of going to Hana we went back home. 

Other than Florida keys this is probably the best drive in this country!

My trip to Hawaii

My first real holiday with my little one and hubby, and this is one memory I want to cherish. 

We took a ten hour flight yesterday to Honolulu in the island of Oahu. And a 30 minute flight to our destination Maui. My little one did amazingly well in the flight. She was tired of course but held herself pretty well during the journey. This was probably her longest day so far as she had woken up at 5.45 in the morning and   went to bed at 2 am next day with little naps in between. 

Our flight landed right into a tropical storm which welcomed us with rain and wind :). We had an adventurous ride along the beautiful coast line with heavy rain and sting winds lashing at us. 

We rode thru Lahaina into the Kaanapali area. Our resort, Honua Kai, is beautiful. Our rooms are modern and new with all amenities. We have beautiful view of the mountains. Very pleased with our choice we are :). 

Was hoping my little one would sleep thru the night which she did but spent the second half of the night on top of me :). It was a lovely feeling of course having her next to me after so many months :)

This morning we decided to explore the beach first thing! It was beautiful. My little one thoroughly enjoyed herself in the sea. She was so comfortable, jumping on the waves and playing with the sand. It took a lot of convincing to get her back to the room. We lazed around the room, ate lunch and went down to the whaler's market. We did some souvenir shopping and got back to the room with some late lunch. 

Hubby dear and baby dear were pretty tired. After tucking my little one in her bed I went to Duke's to get some dinner. The place was happening of course. I walked done the boardwalk to the ocean. It was a spectacular sight with the sun having just set. A beautiful cool breeze and absolutely no humidity. Perfect weather I must say!

I came back to the room and hubby and I enjoyed our delicious food on the lanai. Hubby dear is in bed now as I finish off my memoirs for the day :). 

This is probably my favorite holiday so far!

The White Mountains of New Hampshire

Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!
- William Butler Yeats

My husband and I decided to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in the beautiful mountains and valleys of New Hampshire and Vermont. It was one of the best vacations we have ever had. Initially our thoughts were on Yosemite in California or maybe see the Grand Canyon in Arizona. But wanting to do something special, we decided to explore the White Mountains of the Appalachian range that runs through New Hampshire.

The amount of information I found on NH was amazing. Reviewers of Trip advisor gave a whole lot of suggestions on places to stay and things to do. Many travelers had combined NH with Vermont and Maine. That seemed like a good idea, as we had seven to eight days in hand. We decided to spend the first half of our vacation exploring the mountains and the second half at a quite resort in Vermont.

We flew from Minneapolis into Boston city and drove down to North Conway in NH, a 3 hr drive including pit stop at the lovely town of Portsmouth. North Conway is an ideal location for exploring the white mountains. We stayed at the newly renovated Residence Inn, very centrally located. The Kancamagus Highway is one of the most scenic routes in the country and about 10 mins from the hotel. These are few things that we did:

1. Drove on the scenic Kanc highway to the Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves. This is an hour and fifteen minute drive from North Conway, and well-worth the drive, as you get to go on the entire stretch of the scenic road.  If you are lucky enough, you may see a moose (we weren't). There are plenty of things to do here. We did "The Gorge and Boardwalk" and went into all the caves. At times we had to crawl on our knees and even on our tummy to get in and out of the cave. Its super fun!

2. Visited the Flume Gorge at the Franconia Notch State Park. We once again went on the Kanc highway, an hour and fifteen mins drive, and about 15 mins longer than the US 302 route. This gorge was really impressive, about 80-90 feet tall. We went up on a wooden pathway for a while and later on dirt trails. There is a lovely covered bridge half way down the trail. This trip was really good and I would highly recommend it.


3. Saw some spectacular views from Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the New England states. There are two ways to go up the mountain - in a car or by a train. We decided to drive up on the famous auto road, which is one of the oldest man-made attractions in the US. The views from the top of the mountain is simply stunning. The mountain also holds the record for the highest wind gust (231 miles per hr) at the earth's surface.  It took us about 45 mins to reach the foot of the mountains and about 30 mins to go up the summit. This is a must do!

4. On the way back, we stopped at wild cat mountains, where I tried the zip rider. Its super super cool! A chair lift carried us up the mountain, where we mounted a chair hung on a rope and zipped 1/2 a mile at the speed of 45 miles an hour. This is another must do! We also visited Attitash and went up the mountain on the chair lift. We didn't do much here though but would have been a good place if we were with kids.

Restaurants that we visited in North Conway:
1. Bellini's - Good Italian food. But very important to make a reservation before hand (we had to wait for two hours as we didn't have one)
2. Shalimar of India - Decent Indian food. Excellent service
3.  Black Gap Grill - Excellent food with vegetarian options as well (we are vegetarians)

More on Vermont in my next blog..

My short stay at Washington DC

In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger.
~Kobayashi Issa

My journey across the seven seas started not too long. I met the man of my dreams who swept me across the oceans to the US of A...and here I am :-). The city I visited frequently during the first few months turned out to be my favorite place in the US...Washington D.C!

My husband and I lived about twenty miles away from DC, in the city of Fairfax. Fairfax was a lovely place to live. It had a city feel to it without the regular hustle and bustle. Very centrally located we had easy access to shopping malls, grocery stores and parks. The metro system was excellent, and we could reach DC in about 20 - 30 mins.

Washington DC. Sigh! What a gorgeous city! This place is a mix of museums, art galleries, monuments, parks and theaters. The buildings have a lovely architectural appeal. Other than the famous Cherry Blossom festival (which I haven't visited yet) there are parades and festivals happening year around. Not too far from downtown is Georgetown. This busy area offers a whole array of shops and restaurants with people visiting from all over the world. A short walk from here would lead to the Potomac river with beautiful views, cruises, bike trails and garden.

Sigh again! I guess I can go on & on about DC. Given a choice this is the place I would go back to :-).