MEINE CORNER IN THE BLOG WORLD!

Day 4 in Maui : Just 1 adventure on the agenda called Road to Hana. Hana is a town in east Maui and though Hana itself is pretty, the roads, bridges and sights that you  experience is what makes the road to Hana a must do! We did fill the tank for our car and pack some lunch and drinks with us as we were told it will be tough to find food and even gas on the way. After a good breakfast we were off to Hana highway. We made about 6 big stops, based on a guide. 1- twin falls : where the trail was adorned with tropical plantation and We walked through a river stream to watch the falls. 2- 70' waterfall: I fail to remember the name, but at one of the bridges, we enjoyed the view and were trying to take in the peace and quiet! 3-Lava Tube right before the Wai'anapanapa State park (this was quite a sight, a volcano site where the lava had erupted about 960 years ago, walking inside the cave was quite an adventure) Amazingly, no bats or other such beings, just golden and silver s

Day 3 in Maui: we had booked a submarine trip in the morning and a sunset dinner cruise that night! For non- divers and the less daring group, the submarine ride a blessing and a real adventure. There's nothing like being the human tank that goes to visit the sea world. It did feel wonderful to visit 3 reefs, have the more nosey fishes swim right to our windows and stare at what's going on. Also having algae on the tank is a big attraction for them. We didn't have the pleasure of seeing a shark but a huge variety of fishes and eels is very exciting. The lovely ride to and fro the submarine gave us pretty views of the west Maui mountains and the sunlight was very generous. We spent the afternoon in Lahaina district. It felt perfect to walk by the ocean, get lunch, try the maui mango gelato, a spa treatment and shop for souvenirs. After that we were all set for our cruise. The most enjoyable part of the cruise was the views, food and drink . Sadly the ride was cold and

Day 2 at Maui : No big plans, it felt more like a trail/ hike day.  There were a few suggestions and we picked Iao valley and Haleakala national park, both located at central Maui. The Iao valley is one of the more famous ones as it had one of the bigger thriving taro plantations. The Ioa valley is very moist in comparison to south Maui, the presence of tropical forest add to the humidity and it's easy to see how the valley would support life with a river stream and various fruits and flowers that easily grow in the fertile soil. The Iao valley has a so called needle point, a hill which is more than 300feet in height and always has a mist on top. Apparently there's always mist up top through out the year. The walk in this valley was very easy and about lunch time, we headed to Haleakala national park. The volcano national park is famous for the sunrise and sunset views from its 10,000 foot height. Also called the house of sun, the drive up isn't that easy. The curves a

A dark early morning, raining and cold, off we were to the airport to our long awaited trip to Hawaii. The airport parking lots, shuttles, check in lines  et al were packed as it were thanksgiving holidays. Luckily our flights were on time inspite of the busy season and In fact we landed earlier than scheduled at the Kahului (Maui) airport. The airport was a pleasant surprise with the open ceilings that is rare to find. You walk right out to find the direct view of tropical skyline with warm temperature  and cool breeze welcoming you. It was an exciting moment and perfect time to change to flip flops! We couldn't resist the hawaii shirts at the airport shops. Once we got our rental car, off we were to Wailea, about 17 miles which is located at South Maui. At the Wailea Marriott, the resort was just so exotic with the multi flora , waterfalls and koi ponds,  sound of the ocean and chirping birds - a lovely combination to relax. We had decided to stick to the resort that night to 

To begin with I was thinking I shouldn't celebrate this birthday much and all the coming ones. I think it was age was bothering me, though I didn't feel my age at all! But what the heck, I went ahead and did things I've been wanting to do on the day of!  So we headed to Cal Academy of Science in San Francisco ( http://calacademy.org/ ). I've been dying to visit it and finally we made the trip. It was just amazing to spot so many different butterflies, birds, snakes, spiders and fishes! The moon jellies are always like wow-stuff and I had no idea that there are leafy sea dragons! The coral reefs were so pretty and the school of fishes both small and big all entertaining! Their planetarium show was pretty good and they had a global warming section. Overall, worth the trip.  We had Japanese tea at Japanese tea garden right opposite the Academy. This place isn't worth the visit price, but the cherry blossoms were just so awesome. The sight is so lovely. For dinner

Past few months were very tight -  trips to India and pressure to finish up with examinations by 2011 along with work! Result was a big sacrifice of social life, long days, bigger dark circles, swollen feet, mosquito bites; but ended up having a great time with family, my sister in law's wedding was the biggest ocassion & got to finally meet my niece and celebrate her 1st birthday! can't believe she's completed a year - i think it was just the other day that my sister had delievered her! As we step into a new decade, I am trying to form my goals and objectives for the year....I have to say I'm pretty impressed with accomplishing 2010 goals! - Attempted and passed all CPA exams! - Back to yoga classes ! - Visited sister and parents - stayed a few days with them! - Did my annual med check-ups - drinking more water each day as well The only thing I did not get to was taking some Spanish language classes. let's hope I get to that some day. In 2011, I defi