Travel adventures across the World!!!

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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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Spring Getaway to the Japanese Tea Garden, Rockford Illinois!

Spring is finally here and it feels so wonderful to be out in the sun under clear skies. Over the weekend, we decided to treat ourselves with the bliss of the beautiful season and headed towards the Japanese Anderson Garden in Rockford, Illinois. The Japanese Anderson garden is rated as one of the finest tea gardens in North America. We were fortunate to visit the garden on the opening day for this season which also happened to be Children’s day in Japan.  It was great to watch the Japanese performers play the Koto stringed instruments, Taiko Drum and dance to the beats of their authentic music right in the heart of the spectacular garden.

We spent the day leisurely walking through the scenic waterfalls and koi ponds, climbing through the rocks into the bridges over the streams of running water. We wandered for about 3 hours in the garden taking photo breaks every now and then. There were gravel pathways and picturesque flowers through out the garden. I really enjoyed watching the colorful large fishes swim by in the koi pond fearlessly with the huge ducks. The perfect weather after such a long time made it even more enjoyable.

The best time to visit the garden is Spring and Fall. I was lucky to visit it during the spring and definitely plan to return back and check out the lovely colors of fall. All in all, it was a very peaceful and relaxing getaway from the everyday city life and I will recommend it to all the nature lovers. Have you ever been to the any of the Japanese tea gardens yet? If yes which one and if no, is there one in your list that you want to visit?