Woke up at 10, and ready to go at 11. We had a cup of coffee at the manager's office and went off towards the rainbow falls.
A complete trek of about 6 miles on hilly terrain, not the simplest at all. The rainbow falls were decent, nothing really spectacular for those who have checked those out around Pune (or maybe other places too).
But these falls were different than those back at home. Ok lemme rephrase, the falls were different than those at home due to the weather. It was amazingly cold, and there were huge number of icicles created near the falls. Those icicles looked really beautiful with the sun shimmering on them.
The trek to the falls itself was a good workout. With Ajinkya and I jogging about half of it, it turned out to be a super-workout for us. There were these small one-log bridges across the stream of water that were quite picturesque.
The 6 miles walk surely drained a lot out of us. And the six of us could not wait too long to dig in. We decided to eat at the Charleys that luck had denied us on Day 1. This time we were in good time and ‘space' to get a table right away. Everybody ate a lot. And the grandma waitress, with her age showing in her forgetfulness, did make us laugh with her antics.
With the food in, we decided to move on. With the end of Wednesday looming, and the weather uncertain, we had a couple of options going to Mammoth caves chancing it or heading back home. We had a share of pickers too, Ajinkya, Dhaval, Satya and Amit decided to chance it while Amey, Shishir, Pranav and me decided to head back. With about 6 hrs 30 mins of estimated driving time, it was a 'miracle' that we made it back home in about 6 hours. Our watch (or the speedometer) was wrong.
Home at about 2 AM, we were very lucky to get a free parking spot closeby. Was not much that any1 wanted to do but sleep and we did exactly that. Each one, I guess, dreaming about the next Spring break (if at all) and the fun waiting in that time!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Spring Break 06 - Day 5: Smokeys Day 2
The previous night was the last date we had the room reserved for us. We were to check out at 11 AM and we did. The plan of action for the day was to do some white-water rafting, check out the rainbow falls and then move on towards Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Everyone was quite excited about the rafting.
Unfortunately, the dam in the town releases its water sometime around 1 PM and so the last batch for rafting is generally around 11 AM and we didn't find anyone to take us for the joy-ride. Fortunately, there was a place that did agree to take us on the raft-ride. And boy, what a ride it was. Was an amazing experience, and rafting sure has become one of my favorites since. I just can't explain it!.
With two hours of rowing, we were famished. I had this nice big helping of barbecue chicken. Don't remember the taste! but sure felt good inside :).
We then decided to get back to Gatlinburg and explore the tourist town there. And along with that plan what to do next. We were out of our room, and with all the work really not in a condition to make a roundabout 5 hour drive towards Mammoth caves. Most of us wanted to check the Rainbow Falls. With that vote taken in, we decided to spend another night around and booked a couple of rooms in a motel Pigeon Forge.
Before that, we had tattoos made on our arms. Took us about an hour to choose 4 tattoos, but was worth the fun. We also checked out a 4D theatre that totally sucked. We bought some t-shirts and ate something to finish the day happily.
We had this amazing dinner at IHOP (another chain of restaurants that spells out to International House of Pancakes). I was really full and totally deserved a nice rest.
Unfortunately, the dam in the town releases its water sometime around 1 PM and so the last batch for rafting is generally around 11 AM and we didn't find anyone to take us for the joy-ride. Fortunately, there was a place that did agree to take us on the raft-ride. And boy, what a ride it was. Was an amazing experience, and rafting sure has become one of my favorites since. I just can't explain it!.
With two hours of rowing, we were famished. I had this nice big helping of barbecue chicken. Don't remember the taste! but sure felt good inside :).
We then decided to get back to Gatlinburg and explore the tourist town there. And along with that plan what to do next. We were out of our room, and with all the work really not in a condition to make a roundabout 5 hour drive towards Mammoth caves. Most of us wanted to check the Rainbow Falls. With that vote taken in, we decided to spend another night around and booked a couple of rooms in a motel Pigeon Forge.
Before that, we had tattoos made on our arms. Took us about an hour to choose 4 tattoos, but was worth the fun. We also checked out a 4D theatre that totally sucked. We bought some t-shirts and ate something to finish the day happily.
We had this amazing dinner at IHOP (another chain of restaurants that spells out to International House of Pancakes). I was really full and totally deserved a nice rest.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Spring Break 06 - Day 4: Smokeys Day 1
The first day at Smokeys. As per plan, we drove out to the National Park setup at the foothills of the Smokeys and gathered as much information as possible from the friendly Ranger along with as many maps of the area as possible.
The day though quite pleasant at time, was forecasted to have a really bad storm in the later part. With that in mind, the ranger cautioned us to set on long trails. She let us know that the Rainbow Falls were a pretty sight and not to be missed. Also, the New Found Gap, the highest point in the Smokeys was another interesting place. It was accessible by road itself, and the road went on through the scenic mountains towards North Carolina, had a part of the Applachain trail (one of the longest in the world) along it, and went all the way to Cherokee where there was an Indian Residency area. (The American Indians that Mr. Columbus found, not us Indians).
We decided to take on all these things, and try to get back before the storm.
The New Found Gap, definitely was a breath-taking view and we spent a good half an hour at that place marveling at the mountains and taking pictures. It was hard to imagine how beautiful it would be during the fall, but even the ‘quite-barren' mountain slopes were a view to gasp.
Next we moved on to the longest trail. With the storm showing signs of early arrival, we didn't venture too far on the trail. With about an hour spent here, and the rain now just beginning, and the hunger settling in, we decided to go to the closest eating place around…. Cherokee – about 10 miles in the other direction from our hotel. Some wise guy has said – hunger is the worst enemy. Well I would not completely disagree.
We moved on towards Cherokee, with the rain coming down a little harder, but not giving any trouble. As we reached the Indian Residency area, the rain was nowhere around. There we found this amazing little Chocolate Factory and outlet. Two talkative grannys were running the store at that time, and we had a LOT of chocolate inside us in no time. We washed it down with some coffee. But food… as in hunger satisfying food was not seen around. Most of the restaurants were closed, as it was not the ‘visitor' season which it seems starts somewhere in mid-April. So we moved on right into Cherokee. There we found a decent Pizzeria where we had stomach over-full of pizza. ( The cute oriental-looking waitress had nothing to do with the amount of pizza we ate).
With the hunger satisfied and the storm still not seen, we decided to head back to Pigeon Forge (that's where our hotel was remember?) This moment on, is where I understand the wise-crack I mentioned above. The ghats that we had crossed to get to Cherokee, were completely filled with fog – fog as dense as cotton I would say. I got a pic of that in the album by the right. Check it out – yeah the one where u see nothing. It was well.. completely white and our cars moving at about 10 mph seemed really fast. With 3 of us – Pranav from the back seat, Shishir from the driver-side seat and me in the driver seat, with our eyes peeled to the road, managed to make it through. The other four in the other car, were ahead. They made it too guys… they were waiting for us at the end of the 11 miles stretch where the fog gave way to some ‘visible' air. We had our jokes about our fog and in about 5 mins drove on towards the hotel.
Just as we got in, and were in the corridors opening the door to our room, the storm really started. Man… did it pour!!! . Nature can have its way … wow… that evening it proved its mood tantrum… again. It literally poured, for about half hour and then went off the way it had come.
That night Amey, Pranav, Shishir and me were in a really pranky mood. Especially me n Pranav. We crawled downstairs and tried to scare Satya and Amit with white sheets over our head playing ghosts. The pranks failed miserably, but we still had our laughs.
Oh oh oh! this is one of the most well kept secret till now!
We had 2 TV sets in our room, one downstairs where Ajinkya, Dhaval, Amit and Satya ‘lived' and one upstairs where the rest of us 4 ‘lived'. Each set had its own remote control. Now these controls were universal, and we had ours configured to theirs!! And was it fun to switch off and switch on their TV with them wondering whats going on ! :D.. Devilish I know! but I loved it. >:)
That night we slept at about 5.30 AM. We had this long talk about all of us and what we like/dislike about each others. Good times
The day though quite pleasant at time, was forecasted to have a really bad storm in the later part. With that in mind, the ranger cautioned us to set on long trails. She let us know that the Rainbow Falls were a pretty sight and not to be missed. Also, the New Found Gap, the highest point in the Smokeys was another interesting place. It was accessible by road itself, and the road went on through the scenic mountains towards North Carolina, had a part of the Applachain trail (one of the longest in the world) along it, and went all the way to Cherokee where there was an Indian Residency area. (The American Indians that Mr. Columbus found, not us Indians).
We decided to take on all these things, and try to get back before the storm.
The New Found Gap, definitely was a breath-taking view and we spent a good half an hour at that place marveling at the mountains and taking pictures. It was hard to imagine how beautiful it would be during the fall, but even the ‘quite-barren' mountain slopes were a view to gasp.
Next we moved on to the longest trail. With the storm showing signs of early arrival, we didn't venture too far on the trail. With about an hour spent here, and the rain now just beginning, and the hunger settling in, we decided to go to the closest eating place around…. Cherokee – about 10 miles in the other direction from our hotel. Some wise guy has said – hunger is the worst enemy. Well I would not completely disagree.
We moved on towards Cherokee, with the rain coming down a little harder, but not giving any trouble. As we reached the Indian Residency area, the rain was nowhere around. There we found this amazing little Chocolate Factory and outlet. Two talkative grannys were running the store at that time, and we had a LOT of chocolate inside us in no time. We washed it down with some coffee. But food… as in hunger satisfying food was not seen around. Most of the restaurants were closed, as it was not the ‘visitor' season which it seems starts somewhere in mid-April. So we moved on right into Cherokee. There we found a decent Pizzeria where we had stomach over-full of pizza. ( The cute oriental-looking waitress had nothing to do with the amount of pizza we ate).
With the hunger satisfied and the storm still not seen, we decided to head back to Pigeon Forge (that's where our hotel was remember?) This moment on, is where I understand the wise-crack I mentioned above. The ghats that we had crossed to get to Cherokee, were completely filled with fog – fog as dense as cotton I would say. I got a pic of that in the album by the right. Check it out – yeah the one where u see nothing. It was well.. completely white and our cars moving at about 10 mph seemed really fast. With 3 of us – Pranav from the back seat, Shishir from the driver-side seat and me in the driver seat, with our eyes peeled to the road, managed to make it through. The other four in the other car, were ahead. They made it too guys… they were waiting for us at the end of the 11 miles stretch where the fog gave way to some ‘visible' air. We had our jokes about our fog and in about 5 mins drove on towards the hotel.
Just as we got in, and were in the corridors opening the door to our room, the storm really started. Man… did it pour!!! . Nature can have its way … wow… that evening it proved its mood tantrum… again. It literally poured, for about half hour and then went off the way it had come.
That night Amey, Pranav, Shishir and me were in a really pranky mood. Especially me n Pranav. We crawled downstairs and tried to scare Satya and Amit with white sheets over our head playing ghosts. The pranks failed miserably, but we still had our laughs.
Oh oh oh! this is one of the most well kept secret till now!
We had 2 TV sets in our room, one downstairs where Ajinkya, Dhaval, Amit and Satya ‘lived' and one upstairs where the rest of us 4 ‘lived'. Each set had its own remote control. Now these controls were universal, and we had ours configured to theirs!! And was it fun to switch off and switch on their TV with them wondering whats going on ! :D.. Devilish I know! but I loved it. >:)
That night we slept at about 5.30 AM. We had this long talk about all of us and what we like/dislike about each others. Good times
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Spring Break 06 - Day 3: Smokeys ahoy!
Smokeys ahoy! Started off as early as 9 AM. Yeah there was some talk of 6 AM, just decided to look at it a lil differently ( for those who don't see the joke. Get urself up on ur a$$! ) The ride was an exciting one with a lot of rain coming (pouring would be a better word actually). The visibility wasn't so great though we never moved slower than ..ahem.. some speed. Did I mention it was pouring down? And we saw quite a few cars slipped and banged on the curbs, but I just decided to risk the lives of those in the car. After all, the speed surely was fun without the site. It seriously was pouring all the way in Indiana and Kentucky. Check the driving map and details on right.
With a couple of breaks, we made it to the Hotel room in about 8 hours. The drive certainly got a much more scenic from in the later half with the Kentucky mountains making way for the Indiana plains. Our hotel was in a town called Pigeon Forge, 5 miles away from the Smokey Mtns. Itself. Yeah lower rates – u guessed right (if u did at all).
The room was not a complete disaster. It had 3 double beds, allowing 6 of us 8 to get rest on them and the remaining two were to be satisfied in the sleeping bags. Didn't really make a difference, as we didn't really sleep longer than 4-5 hours, with major part of the night spent in pranks and big discussions.
The room became more attractive as we saw 2 really gorgeous chicks in a room below our floor.
With the check-in formalities done, we decided to go around this town and get some munch. We walked about a little more than a mile, till we got bored of walking. We saw a Charley's just ahead where we decided to have some food. But, smart people as we are, we figured out that, we would not be in a mood to walk back after eating. So we walked back right away and got our cars to Charley's. (Oh it's a chain of restaurants for those who have been wondering).
Sunday night, 9 PM, perfect time for dinner. No wonder we were told that there was quite some waiting involved before eating there. So we just had a reservation made and decided to get down to a Chinese buffet place we had seen earlier. The food at the Chinese buffet was, hmm... how do I put it so that I don't get sued by the buffet places . Ok I think u musta got it so I am just gonna leave it at that.
But we still ate quite a lot, worth each penny of the 10 odd $s that we spent. (Atleast I did). We then went off for a late night drive towards the town of Gatlinburg. That's supposed to be the real attraction after the smokeys itself. It was quite late and most of the places were closed or rather… about to open in about 3-4 hours.
With nothing else to do, we got back to our hotel room. Jokes and pranks being in the air, laughter was not at all lacking. We then had a game of cards. Plans for the next day were made. Was nothing great, just wake up at some time I forget and go down to the Smokey mountains and explore all of it. Check out the trails and more info that can be planned on the next day.
With these plans brewing up, people started getting drowsy. And was not long that we were dreaming (not day-dreaming).
With a couple of breaks, we made it to the Hotel room in about 8 hours. The drive certainly got a much more scenic from in the later half with the Kentucky mountains making way for the Indiana plains. Our hotel was in a town called Pigeon Forge, 5 miles away from the Smokey Mtns. Itself. Yeah lower rates – u guessed right (if u did at all).
The room was not a complete disaster. It had 3 double beds, allowing 6 of us 8 to get rest on them and the remaining two were to be satisfied in the sleeping bags. Didn't really make a difference, as we didn't really sleep longer than 4-5 hours, with major part of the night spent in pranks and big discussions.
The room became more attractive as we saw 2 really gorgeous chicks in a room below our floor.
With the check-in formalities done, we decided to go around this town and get some munch. We walked about a little more than a mile, till we got bored of walking. We saw a Charley's just ahead where we decided to have some food. But, smart people as we are, we figured out that, we would not be in a mood to walk back after eating. So we walked back right away and got our cars to Charley's. (Oh it's a chain of restaurants for those who have been wondering).
Sunday night, 9 PM, perfect time for dinner. No wonder we were told that there was quite some waiting involved before eating there. So we just had a reservation made and decided to get down to a Chinese buffet place we had seen earlier. The food at the Chinese buffet was, hmm... how do I put it so that I don't get sued by the buffet places . Ok I think u musta got it so I am just gonna leave it at that.
But we still ate quite a lot, worth each penny of the 10 odd $s that we spent. (Atleast I did). We then went off for a late night drive towards the town of Gatlinburg. That's supposed to be the real attraction after the smokeys itself. It was quite late and most of the places were closed or rather… about to open in about 3-4 hours.
With nothing else to do, we got back to our hotel room. Jokes and pranks being in the air, laughter was not at all lacking. We then had a game of cards. Plans for the next day were made. Was nothing great, just wake up at some time I forget and go down to the Smokey mountains and explore all of it. Check out the trails and more info that can be planned on the next day.
With these plans brewing up, people started getting drowsy. And was not long that we were dreaming (not day-dreaming).
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Spring Break 06 - Day 2: Chicago
The day began with a nice hot cup of tea made by Mr. Gunjan, with a lot of jokes and fun, and various plans and options for the day ahead. The final plan though was made up with 7 of us near the cars. The plan was quite simple “drive down the lake-shore drive, one the scenic drives out there, get down to Devon Street (Gandhi marg as its known now), eat as much Indian food as possible out there, check the downtown after that (if we are up to it) and then get back to Indy.
Driving down to Devon was not a problem and eating food never is. Checking downtown was out of question once we got there. It was as crowded as the roads in Pune during Ganapati.
The drive though was certainly awesome with Lake Michigan at the right giving a lively beach scene and the soaring Chicago downtown on the left bringing the blue sky into the picture too. Indian food was certainly close, but surely was not ˜Indiana" per say. In fact we get better Indian food at the restaurant here in Indy.
The drive back to Indy was not long either, and we were home by around 7.30 PM. There was a b'day party the same night at one the apartments around and had a some fun out there. All the other people went on a tour of the Indy downtown.
It was decided to leave off towards Smokey Mountains as early as possible the next day. There was some talk about 6 AM, which we will know when it actually happens. Hoping to have some fun from 2mor and not think about any work things for the next 3 days (atleast).
Driving down to Devon was not a problem and eating food never is. Checking downtown was out of question once we got there. It was as crowded as the roads in Pune during Ganapati.
The drive though was certainly awesome with Lake Michigan at the right giving a lively beach scene and the soaring Chicago downtown on the left bringing the blue sky into the picture too. Indian food was certainly close, but surely was not ˜Indiana" per say. In fact we get better Indian food at the restaurant here in Indy.
The drive back to Indy was not long either, and we were home by around 7.30 PM. There was a b'day party the same night at one the apartments around and had a some fun out there. All the other people went on a tour of the Indy downtown.
It was decided to leave off towards Smokey Mountains as early as possible the next day. There was some talk about 6 AM, which we will know when it actually happens. Hoping to have some fun from 2mor and not think about any work things for the next 3 days (atleast).
Friday, March 10, 2006
Spring Break 06 - Day 1: Chicago ahoy!
Rented the cars from National at around 4 PM and took off to Chicago right away. Was not much of a drive and were into the city in about 3 hours. The fun came after that when the address given was a 'little' different than where we actually were supposed to go.
Ajinkya's school-mate was the person we were planning to go to. Well, for some 'not-yet-known' reason, he could not come out of his apartment building. The address he had given was some thing different and he could not even guide us to his building from where we were, which we later understood was just behind his building's entrance.
And we had made this interesting error of mistaking O'Hare airport with O'Hare airport's information centre. (The two of these are 20 miles apart). With this amazing realization, we had our plans changed drastically. According to the original plan, we were supposed to go to the airport to collect Amit (whose flight was landing at 9.30) and Dhaval (whose flight was touching down at 11). With the airport moving 20 miles farther, this plan was dumped into the waste basket along with the remains of the packed Indian food we had bought at the nearby 7-11.
As soon as Amit was here, we let him know that he should wait for Dhaval and then the 2 of them should catch a cab and get down to this place where we were and then go ahead with other plans. With a little pissed off and hungry Amit waiting for Dhaval, we decided to get on with making some plans and knowing the city better. Asking this 'in-the-building' guy felt a waste of time and so I called up another guy named Gunjan, who I know stayed somewhere close. Luckily it was really close (just the next apartment building). Consulting him made quite a few things clearer. And we also got a place to lay our a$$es to rest after whatever it was that we were going to be doing.
Well, things did not go quite as smooth as I had hoped, and I don't even want to get into that, now that its gone, but we surely had our share of fun. That night, after Dhaval and Amit made it to the rest spot, after about half an hour, we left towards downtown Chicago. With small walks around downtown at about 2 AM I was surely having fun.
The Sears Towers did make a nice sight. With the moon in the background and the Sears shiny black stones gleaming in the white light with the black sky draping the backstage, snaps were bound to be taken. They should be up in the album I have (or will soon be having) along with this blog. We also walked along some other places that we just thought would be cool for a walk. Finally everyone retired wherever they were supposed to be sleeping at around 4 AM.
Ajinkya's school-mate was the person we were planning to go to. Well, for some 'not-yet-known' reason, he could not come out of his apartment building. The address he had given was some thing different and he could not even guide us to his building from where we were, which we later understood was just behind his building's entrance.
And we had made this interesting error of mistaking O'Hare airport with O'Hare airport's information centre. (The two of these are 20 miles apart). With this amazing realization, we had our plans changed drastically. According to the original plan, we were supposed to go to the airport to collect Amit (whose flight was landing at 9.30) and Dhaval (whose flight was touching down at 11). With the airport moving 20 miles farther, this plan was dumped into the waste basket along with the remains of the packed Indian food we had bought at the nearby 7-11.
As soon as Amit was here, we let him know that he should wait for Dhaval and then the 2 of them should catch a cab and get down to this place where we were and then go ahead with other plans. With a little pissed off and hungry Amit waiting for Dhaval, we decided to get on with making some plans and knowing the city better. Asking this 'in-the-building' guy felt a waste of time and so I called up another guy named Gunjan, who I know stayed somewhere close. Luckily it was really close (just the next apartment building). Consulting him made quite a few things clearer. And we also got a place to lay our a$$es to rest after whatever it was that we were going to be doing.
Well, things did not go quite as smooth as I had hoped, and I don't even want to get into that, now that its gone, but we surely had our share of fun. That night, after Dhaval and Amit made it to the rest spot, after about half an hour, we left towards downtown Chicago. With small walks around downtown at about 2 AM I was surely having fun.
The Sears Towers did make a nice sight. With the moon in the background and the Sears shiny black stones gleaming in the white light with the black sky draping the backstage, snaps were bound to be taken. They should be up in the album I have (or will soon be having) along with this blog. We also walked along some other places that we just thought would be cool for a walk. Finally everyone retired wherever they were supposed to be sleeping at around 4 AM.
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