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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.

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.

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!

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


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A Fairy Tale Island, Mackinac Island!

My trip to Mackinac Island over the Labor Day weekend was so exquisite that given a chance, I would go back to the Island and experience it all over again. The Island is located in Michigan and is accessible by a ferry from Mackinaw city that takes a few minutes to get to the Island. It is surrounded by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron which is cut across by the magnificent Mackinaw bridge. The moment I got out of the ferry, I could see tourists touring around the island in bicycles. The Island is just lovely and reminded me of the old days when there were no cars and the means of transport for everything including luggage/posts were carriages. The downtown of this little island was very extraordinary with horse carriages and bikes in both lanes, even the police was riding a bike. I was amazed to see the cute little Island which has a population of just 500 lucky people.

We headed towards the Mackinac Fort to learn more about the historical significance of this old town and enjoyed watching canyon and rifle firing with short description of how people survived during the wars. We then rented a bike to go around the Island that was a stretch of 8 miles surrounded by beautiful turquoise blue water on one end and forest on the other. I rode a tandem bike for the first time in my life and it was such an enjoyable experience. At a distance of about 2 miles, we parked our bikes to climb up and catch a sight of the arch rock. The view of the water from the arch rock was just breath-taking. We then continued to bike along the lake shore for 8 miles, the pleasant breeze and perfect weather made our ride very enjoyable.

We then reached back to downtown and started to explore the Island on foot. I enjoyed looking through shops with souvenir art shops and beautiful flower arrangements along the streets. The houses by the streets resembled farm houses with beautiful flower gardens and stables. We then walked towards the Grand Hotel which is the most famous hotel in the Island. We then made our way back to the market to enjoy some delicacies of the Island, delicious fudge and Mexican food. Over all I just loved my short one day visit to the Mackinac island and I would recommend it to all the travelers who are looking for an offbeat travel destination.