Beaches, Cities & Wildlife

This is what I want to say, "If you have the chance to visit only one place on this earth, Yellowstone National Park let it be!" But this is what I would say, "If you ever get a chance to come to US, don't miss visiting this wonder, that is Yellowstone National Park." We happened to visit it with our friends for the July 4th this year, and if I were to tell you I was awestruck by the beauty and the wonders of the place, it is an understatement. Though a lot has been said about this park at numerous places on the internet and elsewhere, everybody's experience is different and I would like to share mine with you.
We landed at Bozeman airport on day 0 and drove for 1.5 hrs to reach Gardiner where we booked our first cabin, located 5 miles from the North Entrance of the Park. It was a riverside cabin amidst hills and the location was serene and beautiful. We were the first to reach the cabin that evening (others were coming from Salt Lake City airport), so took…

I have got the travel bug and am lucky to have a husband who enjoys traveling too. Setting up a travel fund is one of the first things we did since we got married :D. Now, I love to do travel planning, each and every detail of it, that I think I enjoy it as much as I enjoy the trip itself. So, it must be clear to you by now, that I plan almost all of our trips every year except one. The exception being my birthday trip. I told my husband that the best birthday gift he could give me is to take me on a surprise trip. And take me on a nice surprise trip, he does. Last year, it was Lake Tahoe and this year it is...Monument Valley!
Some of you might have seen these majestic sandstone monuments of the Monument Valley on the screen as they have appeared in several Hollywood movies without perhaps knowing where they belong to. Some of these famous movies are Forrest Gump (Forrest ends his cross-country run here), Mission Impossible II (Opening shots feature Tom Cruise climbing in Monument Vall…

Yes...our 2nd anniversary trip was to "the great land" of Alaska (the first was a cruise to Bahamas). And great, it was!

Lush vegetation like no where else,  cool blue ice and lots of glaciers,  snow capped mountains, low hanging clouds,  crystal clear waters, I have no words! 
But, I can take you through our trip, virtually that is, and I hope you will enjoy and get a glimpse of Alaska through our eyes.
Months before our anniversary, when we decided to go to Alaska, I spent a lot of time browsing about what Alaska has to offer and I must tell you, it was quite overwhelming. There was too much to see and do there. Since we decided to spend only 5 days on this trip (both due to time and budget constraints), I had quite a task before me, to pick and choose the best places to see and the most exciting things to do. After a few tough decisions and small compromises (believe me, planning a travel to a place as amazing as Alaska with such constraints isn't easy!), I had what I would…

It may not top the list of best places, but it definitely has it all. Decent beaches, green hills, vineyards, lots of pubs  and a pleasant weather to top it all. We spent the last 3 days of 2011 including the New Year's eve in San Diego and it was fun.
For people visiting San Diego for the first time, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Legoland (if they have kids) are usually on the list of things to see. We, instead, on our first trip decided to avoid these and go around the city to get a feel of it (U know what I mean, right). So, after reaching San Diego in the evening, we first went to the historically important Whaley house, touted as the number one most haunted house in the US according to the Travel Channel's America's Most Haunted. I liked the dramatic style of the lady who narrated the mysterious story of the old Whaley house while taking us through a small tour of the house and the accompanying kids among the audience who seemed so fascinated by the house as to be visiting…