Family time in Catalina Island, California!

Every year my mom visits me during the beginning of summer which gives me an opportunity to travel and show her around America. I always try to pick a destination to travel and spend time with her while exploring a new place. Since my mom and aunt both love being around water and do water activities, this time I chose Catalina Island in California for our travel venture. Short yet sweet our trip turned out to be just perfect balance between touring the island and spending quality time with family.

We flew to Los Angeles, landed super late at night, got some rest and then spent our first day shopping in the Santa Monica neighborhood. It was a bright and sunny spring day with purple jacaranda’s and bright red bougenvillas blooming all over the streets. We enjoyed shopping all day and spent the day picnicking out with our delicious homemade food. The weather was perfect and it was so lovely to stroll around and explore Santa Monica with Aunt Monica. We ended our day at Venice beach where we savored our delicious dinner while watching sunset.

Next day we were all set to catch our ferry ride to Catalina Island. The ferry took us about two hours and as soon as we reached, I could spot California’s orange Garibaldi fish in the crystal clear water of the island. The palm trees all over the island looked very welcoming and we were all ready to explore it. We made our way to our resort which had an amazing garden view which had a lovely staircase to the swimming pool. After enjoying some cozy moments in the hotel relaxing and chatting which is our favorite thing to do, we made our way to explore the island. One of the enjoyable activities to do was snorkeling at the Lover’s cover which I got very excited about. We rented our snorkeling gears and headed towards the lover’s cove which is a marine life preserve area in the island. The beach was rocky and the water wavy but we still enjoyed snorkeling and looking all kinds of fishes in the Pacific ocean. We rented a buggie board and it was so fun to look through it underwater and see the colorful fishes. As it started to get darker, we made our way back to the hotel and relaxed at the Jacuzzi for a little bit since it was a pretty long day for us with all the travel and snorkeling.

It was unbelievable that our three nights were already coming to an end. Since we had such packed days, we decided to take it easy the last day and just chill by the pool and eventually checkout. We enjoyed our Mexican lunch and delicious icecreams in the island before we hoped on into the ferry back. The most amazing part about the island was it was a no car island, so the major means of transportation was by a golf cart which we managed to get into for a picture. As we headed to the airport, we were happy to have spent such great time together. Until we meet again.

Have you recently had good times with your family? If so where and when did you go. Please share , I would love to know.

 

The sunsets and beaches of Coronado Island!

Coronado island is a small coastal town with very rich culture and history. The pristine beaches and dramatic sunsets of the island are extra ordinary and stand out in various ways. It offers a small town atmosphere with old mansion villas, boutique shops and market. In the heart of Coronado stands the historic hotel Del Coronado which is a must visit. The serene island is just 2 miles from the hustle and bustle of Downtown San Diego. The bridge that connects the two has spectacular harbor views.

The two things that I enjoyed the most in the island was the surreal sunsets and the late morning beach combing. We stayed at Loews Coronado Bay resort which was at a walking distance from Silver Strand State beach. The hotel staff was very prompt with their golfs cart transportation to the beach and offered us towels as well as beach chairs. The sunset hues were just phenomenal. We spent lot of time there just enjoying the sunset and taking photo breaks in between. The colorful rays of the sun reflected back gorgeously through the crashing waves. It was such a joyful moment and I am happy we were able to capture it.

Sunset at the Silver Strand State beach

The best part about the beach was the fact that it was little farther out from the main area of the island. The white sand was covered with different kinds of shells which made it a great spot for beach combing. My favorite pick was the sand dollars which are species of extremely flattened, burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida. It is very important to make sure that the sea urchins are not alive while we pick them. Since they already lost their purple color and tiny spines, I could confirm the ones that I picked were actually from dead sea urchins. Picking these shells was such an enjoyable experience that I went to the beach two days in a row. The key is shells can be picked only during low tides when high tides have already done their job of bringing the shells to the beach. I would recommend the best time for collecting these shells would be late morning during low tides. I personally could spend hours and hours doing this but we had such limited time. The sand dollars are so fragile and need extreme care during travel so they don’t crack.

Old Fort Mansions

San Dollars

Overall, Coronado island offered us a lovely vacation and I brought back handpicked souvenir shells which I now use for home decor. Is there an activity you particularly enjoy during your trip? Please share I will be happy to read!

Napa and Sonoma Wine County in Spring!

After reading from several resources about Napa and Sonoma being the most beautiful in the month of April, I so wanted to visit the wine country in the spring. With purple wisteria in bloom across the Sonoma streets and the lush green vineyards all across the valley, spring turned out to be just perfect time to visit the wine country with friends. The highlight of our trip was the super fresh food served in the farm to table style restaurants. Everything including salads, juices and soups were freshly made from the vegetables and fruits harvested from their own farms. My two recommendation of these kind of restaurants would be Farmstead and Harvest Table. The dishes served were very flavorful and very well blended together with impeccable service. All we did was eat, eat and eat!

My most awaited part of the trip was the Tuscan style castle and winery Castello Di Amorosa. The winery was built in the 13^th century and is located on a hill surrounded by valleys covered with grape vines. The inside of the castle is beautiful and there are dark cave like entrances with wine tastings in every corner of the castle. We really enjoyed the different kinds of wine tasting. My personal favorites were the smooth sweet wines Sympatica and Moscato. The other winery that we really enjoyed was the Mumm Napa which had a beautiful patio serving wine with snacks overlooking the huge vineyards.

Both Sonoma and Napa downtown seemed to be laid back and relaxing with soft country side music that fabulously complimented the wine. We spend our evenings strolling by the outdoor bars and restaurants and would sit down to hear the music which was absolutely soothing for the mind. It helped us unwind from the day to day hustle and bustle of the city. The other restaurants that I really enjoyed was the rustic bistro “Girl and the Fig” as well as the Spanish eatery “Bravas Bar de Tapas”. Our hotel Double Tree By Hilton near the Sonoma valley also offered a free wine and cheese hour every evening accompanied with live piano music in the background. It was a great way to sit back and relax after a day of exploring the valley. I also enjoyed driving along the rolling meadows and hills covered with roses and grape vines and it was difficult to leave such a beautiful place, but our next destination Sausalito was waiting for us 🙂

Back in California, The Pacific coast!

Undoubtedly California is one of those States of America you can go back to as many times you want and there will be plenty new options to explore and enjoy. Last month I was in California with my friends to explore a few unexplored cities and return back to one of my favorite ones. San Diego, Carlsbad and Rancho Palos Verdes are the three cities we explored in and out during our four day trip to California. All four days were surreal and just writing about those brings in me this indescribable ecstatic feeling.  Little things such as picking sea shells from the Carlsbard Shore, gazing at the sea lions roar in Lajolla beach, walking by the surreal wildflowers all over by the pacific coast and watching wild whales right from our resort room were things I enjoyed the most.

We landed in Los Angeles and drove to San Diego which was about a few hours away from LA. As soon as we reached San Diego, I wanted to go back to the place I loved the most there, Lajolla Cove. Last time I visited there was three years ago and it seemed liked nothing has changed since then. Just watching the sea lions swim, bask and laze under the sun is a joy of its own. Some would bite each other and others would snuggle just representing how we all naturally resemble each other. I gazed them for a long time loving the whole experience of relating their behavior to humans. A few other tourists were being chased by the sea lions which was very fun to watch. This time we did explore the downtown LaJolla which was a colorful little neighborhood. We enjoyed delicious vegan tacos and margarita pitchers at a Mexican restaurant called Puesto which I would definitely recommend.

Sea Lions at LaJolla Cove

Mahi Mahi Tacos

Winter Butternit Squash Salad

La Jolla Downtown

Vegan Tacos

Our second day in San Diego, we wanted to visit the world famous Safari zoo. I always get excited when the animals get to enjoy their freedom instead of being tied up in the zoos. The safari park itself was very huge and scenic with back drop of giant palm trees and the tram that took us around was a fun little ride. The sight of the Giraffes enjoying the huge park surrounded by mountains reminded me of the primitive times when animals freely enjoyed in the jungle. After our short trip to the safari park, we drove to Coronado island to catch the view of the beautiful sunset by the Hotel Del Coronado. As the sun slowly set, we admired the amber colored sky that just lit up both the water in the ocean and sand in the beach. As we made our way to Carlsbad from San Diego, our hearts were filled with lots of lovely memories.

Sunset at Coronado

Shells from Carlsbad shore

Safari Zoo

The highlight of our trip was our stay at the Terranea resort by the Pacific ocean in Rancho Palos Verdes. It was by far and without any doubt the best resort I have ever stayed at. The resort has its own private beach area which was full of wildflowers by the pacific coast. The turquoise blue water of the ocean looked gorgeous. While we all sat and talked by the beach, the waves crashed wildly on the shore by the cave. We could clearly notice the nature’s phenomenon of high and low tides during the night and day respectively. The restaurants of this resort overlooked the pacific ocean and we enjoyed our breakfast with a beautiful ocean view. The most amazing experience was to watch the wild whales right from the balcony of our room. I still remember my excitement to see those whales as I was the one who spot them and show my friends. My heart sunk to check out from this hotel and infact to just leave that room was a heavy feeling itself. But I was carrying a bag of shells and memories with me which made it easier 🙂 I would go back to this place in a blink of an eye!

Wild Flowers by the pacific

Sunrise

Breakfast at Terranea

Rocks by the private beach

Both good and bad times are momentary, capture the best while you can!

Year 2016 – Travel and Yoga!

2016 has been a great year for me in terms of travel and yoga. I am so proud to say that I have practiced yoga almost every day throughout the year. I always set some time apart to return to my mat and grace my practice. I also traveled to so many different places through out the year for which I am very grateful. Travel and Yoga are the two things I have been in love with lately and I hope our bond only grows stronger in 2017. Here are a few trips where I tried to make both meet each other.

Santa Barbara, California

I made my first road trip of 2016 in California driving through Pacific Coast Highway from San Fransisco to Los Angeles. Here is a picture of me in Wheel Pose (Chakrasana). The pose is very good for strengthening of the both upper and lower body. It is also a great chest opener.

Wheel Pose( Chakrasana)

Washington, DC

I was in Washington for the Cherry Blossoms in April. Here is a picture of me in Tree pose(Vikrasana) at the Library of Congress. The tree pose is a balancing pose good for both mind and body. Its practice strengthens the body and calms the mind.

Tree Pose(Vikrasana)

Florence, Italy

I traveled to Italy with my family over the summer. On international yoga day I was in Florence. Here is a picture of me trying to do Camel pose (Ustrasana). I am so terrible at it and I hope to improve. This pose is a huge chest and heart opener. It also strengthens the thigh muscles.

Camel Pose(Utkarasana)

Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin

Late summer, I and my friends made a fun road trip to the Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin. Below is a picture of me doing the Reverse Warrior(Viparita Virabhadrasana). The pose strengthens the lower body at the same time stretches the upper body. It is also a very good balancing pose.

Reverse Warrior( Viparita Virabhadrasana)

Palm Springs, California

I spent my birthday at Palm Springs doing an amazing yoga hike by the Santa Rosa mountains.The sun shined through my sun salutations at the top of the hill. Sun Salutation(Surya Namaskar) offers body a complete rejuvenation and gets the blood flowing from head to toe. Below is a picture of me in Cobra pose(Bhujangasana) as a part of sun salutations which is again a great chest opener and arm strengthener.

Cobra Pose(Bhujangasana)

St Pete’s Beach, Florida

My last trip of the year to Florida over Christmas, we stayed at this really nice resort in St Petes Beach. The Don Ceaser resort offered yoga classes in the morning at their private beach and I loved practicing yoga at the beach by the waves. Below is a picture of me doing Boat pose(Navasana). It helps in strengthening of core muscles.

Boat Pose(Navasana)

As the new year begins, new resolutions and opportunities await. Let us all welcome the year and promise each other positivity and gratefulness. No matter what we all should promise ourselves to return to things that we love to do. Blessings and good wishes to you all. Happy 2017 🙂

What are your passions? Please post your comments. I would love to read.

Los Angeles with my girls!

I have always wanted to take a trip just with my girlfriends and finally after a long wait this did happen on our recent trip to LA. We all studied together from high school in India and never imaged we would plan a trip after twelve long years, now that we all are in US. All four of us traveled to LA from different parts of US. All we did was eat, shop, walk and talk. Los Angeles is such a huge city and we spent all four days exploring the different neighborhoods. I particularly fell in love with the food and the people in LA. Every restaurant we ate was both healthy and delicious at the same time. People seemed to be very carefree and easy-going. Here are bits and pieces of our trip broken down day wise!

Day 1 – We spent our first day exploring the Venice beach neighborhood of LA. The locale that I adored the most in LA was the Venice beach Ocean front. The boardwalk filled with artists, musicians and fortune tellers was very pleasant to walk by. Every other person there was skateboarding and it was quite a relaxed atmosphere around. Almost every restaurant had outdoor seating and served delicious food. We enjoyed the delicious taco salad bowl and burgers with coconut water. After our brunch we enjoyed biking along the oceanfront trail which ran parallel to the ocean. With ocean on one side and little shops and market on the other, we all enjoyed our bikes that we rented right at the Venice beach.  As soon as we returned our bikes we were ready to explore the little shops by the beach. The best part about going with my besties in the trip was shopping. We spent so much time in the shops looking for cute little things and most importantly all of us loved it.

Universal Studios Hollywood is where we all headed the next day and it was definitely much more thrilling than what I had expected. Although the wait times of a few rides was long, it was totally worth it and one of a kind experience. The ride that I enjoyed the most was Harry Potter. It was more like a 4 D experience and we all absolutely loved it. We also loved posing by Shrek and the Minions. The little houses by minions were adorable, it felt like we could sit there forever by the colorful neighborhood. One thing we missed during our visit was the studio tour which was long and did not quite fit into our schedule. No wonder early arrival is recommended for all the theme parks.

Our third day in LA was kind of touristy for us. We walked through the Walk of Fame trying to pose with the stars in different creative ways. We enjoyed open bus tours which drove through Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and Hollywood sign showing us different celebrity homes. I loved Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie’s house the most, it looked like a fairy tale home.

The most captivating part of our trip was visiting the Warner Brother’s studio. It was where the sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S was filmed. It is one of my favorite shows and I was so very excited to get to visit the studio. On top of that, the best part was I got to visit it with my besties. We all enjoyed the whole interactive experience in the studio where each one of us got to be a part of the show and enacted a scene from the show. Some of the other studios that we got to see were the Ellen’s show, Gillmore Girls and Big Bang Theory. It was very interesting to see all these places in real. It is something that everyone who enjoys watching television will really appreciate.

Day 4- Our last day in LA we were all heartbroken that such an amazing trip was coming to an end. We wandered by the rodeo drive and also stopped by the Santa Monica Pier to catch a last sight of the beautiful city. We enjoyed our spicy and savory Indian lunch at Spice Affair in Beverly hills. The day went by pretty quickly and we were all set to make our way to the airport. Goodbyes are hard and we did promise each other another fun trip soon 🙂

One of best Birthdays ever, Palm Springs, California!

I was very apprehensive when I started to plan my birthday trip to Palm Springs. However how things turned out to be absolutely opposite and wonderful was such a great birthday surprise. Palm Springs is a desert in Southern California which is located within a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. The landscape of the desert itself is very unique. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria resort located at the Coachella Valley which was indeed the highlight of the trip. The resort was nestled in between the Santa Rosa Mountains with a backdrop of huge palm trees. The architecture of the resort was quite fascinating with red-tile roofs villas and welcoming gateway arch filled with Bougainvillea creepers. The colorful flowers mostly red and white roses complimented the tangy smelling citrus orange and grapefruit trees. In short it was an absolute nature’s paradise.

All we did during our trip was explored our resort which in itself was such an adventure. The resort was so huge that we would travel from one place to another in hummer carts which was such a fun and bumpy ride. The restaurants in the resort had an amazing roof top view of the mountains. We enjoyed the Mexican dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort and relished the natural beauty and view it had to offer. Our breakfasts were super healthy with so many fresh fruits and vegetable options which we enjoyed by the outdoor patio. This travel was a real vacation for me. Relaxing in the resort by the pool, pampering myself with spa, appreciating the little things instead of running around covering things to do and see in the city was the best part. I loved this kind of vacation and would definitely recommend you all to try it out once. Sometimes we all forget about the real relaxation that a vacation has to offer.

The resort had all kinds of fun activities to offer during the morning hours. There was a meditation class early in the morning which I really enjoyed under the huge palm trees . Breathing deep, listening to the chirping birds in silence and focusing on the different chakras of the body was such an amazing experience.

The activity I enjoyed the most was yoga hike. Early morning at 6:30 am on my birthday, we woke up for the guided hike through the trails that run behind the resort along the mountains.  The weather was a bit chilly early morning, however we were all bundled up feeling toasty and warmed up from the hike. We did see the sun rise through the mountains lighting up the Santa Rosa mountains with reddish-brown color. After reaching the hill-top, our teacher guided us through yogi sun salutations which was definitely my best birthday gift ever.

All I would say is I never knew that I could have so much fun inside a resort. Sometimes experimenting different options helps you learn what you actually love. This was an absolutely different kind of travel than my usual travel journey but I really enjoyed it and I am definitely looking forward to many more pleasant stays in beautiful resorts all over the world. Do you have any recommendations of resorts you stayed in? Do share. I would love to read.

A Perfect day in San Francisco!

Can San Francisco be explored in a day? Yes, it can! I have done it. Here are a few highlights of the city that I enjoyed in just one day.

Golden Gate Bridge

Our day in the city began with the beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point. We enjoyed our walk along the pathways by the Pacific Ocean down the stairs all the way to catch scenic views at the bottom of the trail. I wish I was wearing more comfortable shoes, I wasn’t really prepared for a trail in the middle of the city. Nevertheless I had a great time. The ocean was perfect for surfing with huge waves and I caught a glimpse of a surfer swim on his board towards the strong tides.

Golden Gate Park

After enjoying the views of the Golden Gate Bridge we drove to the Golden Gate Park which was about twenty minutes’ drive. To my surprise the drive was very scenic with huge trees on our way with winding roads. That I think is the beauty of California, lot of surprises my way. We parked our car and made our way to the garden which was huge. It started with the rose garden, tea garden and then we finally reached the main area which has famous museums surrounded by lush greenery. My favorite was the huge palm trees which I hugged so tight 🙂

Union Square

By the time we were walking out of the Golden Gate Park, we were hungry and ready for a delicious lunch. So our next stop was Union square which is the Downtown area of San Francisco.  At this point we parked our car in one of the public parking garage by our hotel because finding parking in downtown is calling danger.We relished the authentic Indian buffet at ‘The Amber’ which had great variety of options in their lunch buffet and also was very appetizing.

After our lunch, I was very excited to ride the cable car which was one of the adventures in my bucket list. Cable car is one of the oldest way of commute in history and San Francisco is one of the very few places to still have it. The drivers have to manually rotate the cable car to ride the opposite way. It was a wait of more than one hour but completely worth it. We rode up the steep hilly roads of San Francisco city with our heads hanging out of the cable car which was quite an adventure. We rode the cable car towards our next spot and that was Fisherman’s Wharf.

Fisherman’s Wharf

I don’t know what that was but I always imagined Fisherman’s Wharf to be this beautiful place in San Francisco that everyone goes to. It turned out to be completely opposite of what I imagined. It was beautiful no doubt but it was very crowded and smoky. It was more of a tourist trap with shops around and crowded street performances around. To be honest I wasn’t able to enjoy much there because of the swarming tourists over the weekend. Probably would have been better over the weekdays.

The only thing I liked in the Fishermen’s Wharf was the Ghirardelli Square where you could actually watch how chocolate is made from scratch using raw cocoa. It was great experience to know how chocolate is processed.

 Lombard Street

Quick but not easy walk up the hill from Ghirardelli Square took us to the Lombard Street which is a steep winding street. It is one of its own kind and one of the must see stops in San Francisco. While other people were driving down the Lombard Street, we walked up the stairs to finally reach the top. The funny part was our Uber cab driver that we called to go back to the hotel was very kind to drive us down the Lombard Street. So we got to ride down the steepest winding street, yayy!

China Town

After relaxing in the hotel for an hour or so, we then went to China town for dinner which was just a few minutes of walk from our hotel. We enjoyed the Chinese food there and the jasmine tea which I still remember which was such a bliss after the long day 🙂

We crunched in everything in a day because we just had one day in San Francisco. End of the day I was contended to explore an awesome city full of surprises.

Things to do:

Explore explore explore

Hiking at the Fort Point

Ride Cable Car

Drive down Lombard Street

Places to Eat:

Amber (Indian)

Hunan Home’s Restaurant(Chinese)

Weekend in San Diego,California!

California is undoubtedly one of my favorite states in the US because of its lovely weather and scenic outlook. Located on the pacific coast of California, San Diego is a lively city with rich architecture and lovely beaches. My trip to San Diego in the winter was very refreshing because of the beautiful weather and warm people. It was a perfect blend of both urban city and natural beauty. My weekend in San Diego was very fast pace and here are some things that I enjoyed a lot.

Bask at La Jolla Cove

La Jolla Cove is an extraordinary beach in San Diego surrounded by marine life, sand cliffs and caves. The sea lions and the wild birds bask along the shore while the visitors enjoy this remarkable sight. Kayaking along the caves and snorkeling through the clear water is an amazing experience. If you are not a water lover, instead you can step into the caves by the shore to see the tiny fishes swim by along your feet. You can relax there for hours watching the gigantic waves hit the shore.

Watch sunset at Coronado Island  

The best time to visit the Coronado island is during sunset. It is one of the best sunset views that I have ever seen in my life.Take a ferry or drive through the scenic Coronado bridge to the Coronado Island from San Diego to catch the spectacular sunset view from the shores. Walk along the famous extravagant Hotel Del Coronado across the ocean to watch the tourists enjoy the bonfire by their cottages. Go ice-skating in the arena by the hotel if you are in a mood for an adventurous evening. Wander in the streets to shop for souvenirs and grab a bite in the restaurants along the streets. Take Segway tours to explore the different parks in the island if you have the entire day.

Night Life in Gaslamp Quarter

Located in the heart of San Diego, Gaslamp Quarter is the historic downtown of San Diego. On your visit to San Diego make sure you plan to stay by the Gaslamp District to experience the rocking night life in San Diego. There are more than 50 night clubs and lounges there, few of them are roof top and offer fantastic night view of the city. Moreover all the eateries including brunch and lunch are at a walking distance and there is plenty of parking available as well.

Go Sea World 

A day is Sea World is worth spending if you haven’t been to this theme park previously.Personally I love the shows in Sea world, the killer whale show being my personal favorite. Do not forget to hop on the cable car in the sea world which runs over the San Diego bay and offers a panoramic view of the skyline and the bridge.

A few things that I missed during my visit to San Diego are Balboa park,San Diego zoo and the safari park which I will definitely plan during my next visit. I am definitely going back as it is one of my personal favorite cities in the US. What’s yours?