Few days in the west

My cousin stays in Denver and we decided to visit him. This was our first plane trip with Satu and honestly, I don't think we were well prepared to handle Satu or the beauty. It has been a very long time since I've been on the plane. I didn't know that the seats aren't reserved. We were one of the last people to get in the plane and ... my hubby and I sat a few seats away. Thankfully, I sat next to a nurse who had experience with raising kids ... and she found Satu adorable and we found a lot to discuss. Sou sat next to a prof from Berkley.

The view - Mindblowing. I have no idea what these are but there were soooo many of them. Sadly, my cousin doesn't know what these are either but they are sooo pretty. I asked my neighbor to click a pic for me.

People go  gaga over Himalayas...I felt I got to see them for free. These are the Rocky mountains. I waited for my neighbor to get off so I could click these. Little did I know that I would be staying so close to them.

My cousin has a beautiful house. This is the view from his house. I was amazed. I felt I was living next to the rocky mountains. They haven't come so well in my pic but trust me, they are there.

The second thing I noticed about Colorado are the geese. Apparently, it comes in their migratory path and  ..... there were sooo many of them. I was in awe. My  husband is always curious as to what is it that they are eating... We finally figured it out - they eat ice. Here we are, on our way to see the Garden of Gods. We stopped by to see the mountains and click a pic.

and some more

 

Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs. My uncle saw a rock formation that looks like two camels kissing. As we all entered the park, the task was to find them. It was easy. They were just at the entrance. Ironically, after this, all I could see was camels everywhere. 

There was this thin crevice through which the kids took turns to go to the other side. I didn't even try. I just sat there and got a pic clicked.

The ride back was beautiful. There were different red and orange colored rocks along the twisted roads.

By the time we reached this tourist spot, we were too tired to get out the car. We clicked pic of this floating rock from the car and called it a day. We went back home for some home made pasta.

Next day, we went to the aquarium. Satu slept through most of the trips sadly. Aquarium was pretty.

The sting rays were pretty. The Sting Ray isn't really dangerous. At the end of the day, we spent some time petting them. They were pretty fun and energetic. I am amazed we got a chance to touch them.

 

The aquarium also had a tiger. Satu got up and was amazed to see them. His gaze followed the tiger's every move.

Mom and son with the Orangatun and her baby

The aquarium is pretty. I wish I could go scuba diving. One day soon. Until then, here are some pix.

I can't recall the name of the pretty fish but they were really pretty. I made Satu stand there and he liked watching them till we decided to click a pic.

The day after this, we went to the zoo. We saw lion, red panda, peacocks, peahens cheetah and many more. I was amazed to see Hyenas. We tried to tell them jokes but didn't hear them laugh at all.

We also saw the penguin and Sea-lion show. Sea lions weren't as much fun as they were in Niagra but the show was decent.

We spent the next day in LODO. That's lower downtown. Colorado has the most art sculptures in this area. We saw the blue bear and few others that I can't recall. We saw the many murals on the walls and loved this area the most.

They have a very beautiful Botanic garden and we were lucky to get to see it at night with the lights. It was gorgeous. There were lights everywhere. There were lights on shrubs, trees and plants. There were different colors of light and different shapes and types. Some were blinking and some were twinkling. Some were following a pattern and some were just following their own rhythm. It was a beautiful experience.

Weekend at Rhode Island

Here we are, enjoying last few days of summer. We planned and planned and planned for the long weekend for months. There were many factors that were to be considered..my 7 months old was to be considered and also our choices and budget. Finally we decided on Block island. It is an actual island in Rhode Island. We started with just two families but slowly, we ended up with 6 families.

Here we are, before boarding the ferry. We took a ferry from New London, pretty close to Jaya and Ramky's house. Here are the ones who were eager to board and arrived before time.

My boys in red. We are on the ferry. Don't get deceived by their face, they actually had a good time on the ferry. They saw jellyfish and enjoyed the breeze and the splashing water. I guess the water splashed a second before the pic and hence

Here are we with Jaya Ramky and Prani.

And here are all of us, making the most noise on the ferry. Busy and happy in our own world - eating, playing and waiting to reach the coveted island for which we hadn't planned anything ;)

Jaya, our unofficial but enthusiastic photographer took me out for this pic. It was cold!!! I went there to see the milk ;) milk like foam and also to see how it felt.

This is us, ready with our hats and goggles coming out of the ferry- Watch out Block Islands - we are a bunch of noisy and carefree people.

 

This is right opposite the visitors centre. Look at the parking line. Cool na?

We went to .. I don't recall the name anymore. It is a small place just at the start of the ... It is a park. It was good. It was fun. It was scenic.

After this, we moved towards Mohegans bluff point.It had stairs. Many many stairs.We choose to skip it after a few stairs as going and coming with the baby meant a lot of trouble.

After some time, all friends who had gone down, came back up huffing.

Here is a pic clicked from the very top.

And here is the talented Prani's pic of the point. It was an awesome day to be to out. Not tooo cold and it was mostly bright. We were scared of meeting Hurricane Hermine but thankfully she didn't bother us.

We went to the light house after all this. The iced lemonade was recommended by the taxi driver. We tried it... And gelato. The light house has a history and we took a tour to find more about it. It was pretty. 

We relaxed outside the house and rested. Satu ate oranges. You know you have had a good summer when you get tanned. Look at my arm. Tanned!

We took a lot of group pics.

It was almost time to go home. We made a quick stop at the zoo. I had read that it is a must-see place. We saw many many animals.

We then ate ate and ate mexican food. It was delicious. I loved it and am going to try it again.

This is the last pic of the day. Even the camera is tired but if you zoom, you will find us.

We took the ferry back home. All were soooo tired. We tried to sleep but Satu was uncomfortable for the first few minutes and he told the whole ferry how tired he is. Thankfully, he was fine after a few minutes. We came home and slept.

The next day, we spent time at the Warwick mall shopping and then headed to the water fire. Jaya wasn't around us when we clicked this pic. :(

Anyway, the water fire was beautiful. I wish I could have gone back to it after dinner. I liked how the glow of fire brightened the whole place. Also, how lovely and warm it got. I so wish I could have spent more time there.

Anyway, we had fun! I don't know what to think of a trip from which I take a few days to recover. It was all worth it though. I know I have had a good weekend when I don't get time to watch Kapil Sharma. This time, I watched it today. Talk about a hangover! 

Picnic at Elizabeth Park

Well, I really want to finish posting.
Hence, one more post. One more happy event. One more great memory.

We picnicked at Elizabeth Park with Ramky and family. We decided to meet for brunch and have sandwiches.

I am getting close to having everything for a picnic. There are approx 3 weeks left of summer.

Here we are, enjoying the park. We had all just reached and settled.

We enjoyed the flowers ... so pretty. What a well-maintained garden! So green even in the summer. We truly enjoyed the picnic and the walk. I know, soon I will look at this pic with Jaya and miss this fantastic and comfy time with her but until then ... here we are.

This is Jaya Ramky's idea.. to be above a bed of roses. ;) Our life isn't a bed of roses but it isn't full of thorns either.

We found this pretty gazebo and rested. Looks like a cobweb. Cool and lovely. This was right in middle of the rose garden and the air would bring us the scent from the beautiful garden.

You can clearly see the fatigue on our face.

 Satu slept for sometime but got up just in time for quick snap.

We did some craziness while he slept. I love this snap. I can feel the pure joy we felt.

The picnic ended a little after lunch time. We had decided to try something different and went for Vietnamese food. We ate with chopsticks. It is easy and we loved it. I can still remember the taste

As most group pics are, this one is alive with the vibration of laughter and fun. I am feeling so grateful that I am getting chances to be out. I will revisit these memories when we hibernate during the winter. until then, we have plans to be out at least twice a month. It is so easy because of JayaRamky and fun. More to come soon. Please pray that all goes well.