Trip to Victoria BC – Day 3

Here is the final post about our Victoria trip. Here are the previous posts – day 1 and day 2. On day 3, we had planned to go whale watching. We checked out of the hotel in the morning, and left for the harbor. Our whale watching boat was in the afternoon.  Since we didn’t have anything specific to do in the morning, we just went around for a walk. The weather was awesome. We just took a stroll around the harbor aimlessly. It was fun. We ate some street food, I bought a couple of earrings and we took a few pics. We then headed to the Noodlebox for lunch. All of us loved that place and wanted to eat there one more time before we headed back to Seattle. We ate some yummy noodles and went for whale watching. We had to go and report to them before we could get on the boat. They talked to us about the different kinds of whales and what we could be seeing that day. The kids had so much fun listening to that talk.

Once we were in the boat, the kids wanted to get to top deck, but were not allowed. They were very disappointed initially, but soon we found out that bottom deck was the best. Once the boat gained speed, it was very very cold out on the deck. We wore our double layered jackets and caps and it was still cold. The bottom part of the boat had doors. So, we shut them and stayed inside. We had a pretty good view from the inside as well. When the boat came to a place where there was a possibility of whale sighting, they slowed down. Then we got on to the deck and waited for the whales to come to the surface. We saw a bunch of them going around in groups. A couple of the whales got very near to our boat. It was amazing to watch them so closely out in the sea. The kids were very excited.

Whale close to our boat

Two whales from a distance

Once we were back from the tour, we went back to the hotel to get our luggage, and got on the ferry. We were very happy with our 3 day trip and were ready to go back home (even if we would only call it home for one more day. We moved to California the next day). I was very worried about being nauseous again and had taken those tablets ahead of time. But, this time we had a better ferry and the ride was much better.  I was not nauseous at all. We reached home at midnight. We were tired and fell asleep very quickly.

I am very happy that we decided to go on that trip even if it was in between our moving and stuff. It was lots of fun.

Trip to Victoria BC – Day 2

Okay, here I am writing about our Victoria trip in bits and pieces. We went for a three day trip. I wrote about Day 1 here.

On the second day, we had planned to go to Butterfly Gardens and Butchart Gardens. We booked this as a package along with the ferry. So, all we did was go to the ferry terminal and boarded a bus. We went to the butterfly gardens first. We had about 45 min to see this place. It was more than enough. It was a small but beautiful place with a tropical climate controlled area. There were many different kinds of butterflies freely flying all around us. They also had some ants and other insects on display. The kids were fascinated by that.

Butterfly Gardens

From there we went to Butchart Gardens. There are a vast number of plants and many different varieties of flowers. It is really beautiful. It is almost like a big maze. It would have been hard to navigate through without a map. It took us about two hours to see the entire place. The kids got bored after a while, but I loved it. I could have spent another hour in the rose garden itself. Oh my god… so many different kinds of roses. Here are some of the roses from the garden.

It was a nice warm and sunny day and after walking around the gardens we were tired. They had an ice cream shop at the end of the gardens. So, we ate ice cream and then I bought some seeds for me and my parents.

We then took the bus back to the ferry terminal and walked back to the hotel. S and the kids wanted to go to the pool, but they were tired. They just relaxed while I worked for a bit. We then went out to dinner. We wanted to go to a restaurant which had some interesting menu options. But, that place had a 30 min wait. We were hungry. So we went to a nearby mall which had a food court. There were some options in the food court including an Indian place. We took some roti and sabji which was okay. We then did a little bit of shopping for souvenirs in a local shop and headed to the hotel.

All of us were very tired. I did have some work stuff to finish. The kids read for a while and fell asleep. It was a wonderful day!!

Home Sweet Home – Feels good to be back!

Ah it feels so good to be back in Seattle after a 5 week trip to India and London. It was a fun trip which was also boring at times and there were times I was just plain frustrated with so many people at once that I started contemplating some of the decisions that I made so long ago. Once, we are back on the plane, usually it all feels good. But, this time, I don’t feel that way.

Anyway, the kids had fun for the most part. As soon as we landed in India, we went to MIL’s place and then Sanjay started crying that he wants to go back to Seattle. I had to struggle with that for a while and also he wouldn’t go to the bathroom. He kept saying “I will go after we go back to Seattle”. I had to convince him ever so gently every time he had to go. It took almost 3 – 4 days for him to be ok with going to the bathroom.

The jet lag lasted for almost 10 days this time. So, I felt like I was constantly tired. The kids would wake up at  2:00 or 3:00 in the morning consistently and it was very difficult.  At times like those, I wished I was in Seattle or better yet I was at my parents house where I could have a say in certain things.

The best part of the trip was:

– Not having to wear jackets every time we go out

– Eating mangoes. Even though we went at the end of the mango season, we still ate a lot of mangoes. The kids just plain loved them. Who wouldn’t?

– Eating pani puri from the pani puri wala on the foot path.

– Eating all the yummy food that my mom made specially for me 🙂

– Leaving the kids with my parents and going shopping with S.

– Watching the kids get excited about going in trains, autos and scooters.

– Watching my parents and in-laws having fun with the kids

 

The worst part of the trip was:

– Having to deal with the power cuts and the heat because of lack of rains

– Having to deal with some nosy relatives who have nothing better than to gossip all day

– Having to deal with some unpleasant things which I wish I could forget.

 

I was originally planning to writing posts regularly as I would not have much to do there. Between the power cuts, and going out and me being lazy a little bit, I never got around to writing. Hopefully, I will write more now and also get around to reading all the posts that are waiting in my reader 🙂

 

 

Hayak – Snoqualmie

Two weeks back we took an unplanned trip to the mountains nearby where we could go sledding. We woke up on Sunday morning and were very happy that it was sunny. Immediately S wanted to go somewhere and we decided to go sledding. We had breakfast and headed out by 10:00 am. It was very nice drive and there was a lot of snow on the mountains. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had great views while we were driving.

 

 

Initially we could see the snow on the mountains but the trees on either side of the road were green and it was beautiful. As we drove towards the mountains, we could see snow on the side of the road and all around us.

 

 

 

The kids has so much fun sledding. Initially Sarath did not want to sled at all. For some reason he did not want to do it. I told him to come with me just once and then he does not have to do it anymore. After that first time, it was hard to stop him He went on the sled by himself and had fun. Sanjay was ready from the start. There are two areas for sledding – both next to each other. There is one small hill and another larger one. We initially went on the smaller hill and then at the end we went on the larger one as well.

We did not pack lunch as we did not have time in the morning. That was a big problem for us. There is not a single place we could eat unless we drove around 50 miles back towards Seattle. I mean there are restaurants nearby but I don’t think we would have had any vegetarian options there. The kids were very tired when we got back to the car and were starving. It was way past their lunch time. Luckily, I had packed some snacks for us and they gobbled up the snacks. Sanjay even fell asleep by the time we reached the restaurant. We went to an Indian restaurant which was really good.

Then we came back home in time for the Superbowl and it was fun watching the Seahawcks win the game.

 

First weekend of 2014 – Bogathon Post 4

Myself and S are always planning on going out on weekends but, most of the weekends we end up spending time at home doing nothing in particular. We love those lazy days too. But, being in Seattle, the number of sunny days in an year is small. So, according to S, if we stay indoors on a sunny weekend, it is a crime!

Today we originally had plans to go to the mall to buy me some clothes. When we woke up we saw that it was going to be sunny and S immediately started making plans to go out somewhere. I had a sore throat all last night and was not feeling my best this morning. But, then again I thought I’ll feel better if I get myself out of the house and so agreed on going some place. After some discussion we settled on going for a scenic drive, eating some sandwiches (picnic lunch) and then go to the mall. So, we made sandwiches and packed everything we needed and headed out. We did not plan on any particular route. So, we decided to go the Snoqualmie fall which is a short drive from our place. We had been there almost more than an year ago. The water fall is very nice and today being sunny it did not feel as cold either.

As soon as we reached the waterfalls, Sarath said he was hungry. So, we sat in the car and ate our sandwiches and then went to see the falls.

The kids loved it. Here are some pics 🙂

By the time we went back to the car, my sore throat and cold had increased and my ears started hurting as well. So, we headed back home. Sanjay slept in the car and when we got home he woke up and decided not to sleep again and also decided on not letting me sleep 😦 So, all my hopes of having a good nap vanished. By the evening, I felt very sick as if I had fever and I started feeling very cold. I just sat in bed and S made tea for me and also made dinner. By dinner time, I stared feeling worse and so I ate quickly and settled in bed with a space heater in our room. S took care of the kids, putting them to bed and also everything in the kitchen. Isn’t he the best husband? I think so. I still feel very tired. Hopefully I’ll get some good sleep tonight and will feel better tomorrow.