Liberty the place to be

We landed in DC on the 6th and drove straight to Bethesda on that cold and cloudy morning. After getting the luggage unloaded, the next priority was lunch. We were taken out to a splendid Indian Buffet at the 'Haandi' in Bethesda. We returned back, relaxed for sometime and again went out for a walk to the CVS Pharmacy, the Starbucks coffee shop and finally collected a few provisions from a store on the way. After returning back home we cooked ourselves some daal and rice and settled for the night. The next morning it was actually planned to go out to DC but it was so cozy i decided not to get out of bed till lunch. and so it was lunch again at another Indian restaurant in Bethesda, The Saffron Lounge. After lunch it was back to bed and the evening was spent preparing some Hyderabadi Biriyani. Did'nt come out so well but managed to have it. The next morning on the 8th we had no option but to leave for DC. It was a memorable ride for both of us on the Washington Metro and after we got off at the Metro Central in DC, we both went abt exploring DC with just a map. That was perhaps something we'll both cherish forever. We went to the Washington Memorial first and then to the white house, the various museums, and then we started to feel hungry. That was tough now. We kept looking for a good restaurant till 4.30 pm and when we finally found one.. the Rasika on 6-33 D Avn. it was closed for lunch and would not open for dinner till 5.30 pm. So i had to take a visibly hungry and upset Deepu to the starbucks coffee shop for some cake and coffee. We then decided to go to Capitol till it was time for dinner. The Capitol at sunset was an unbelieveable sight. After making it to the Rasika finally at 5.30 pm, we somehow changed plans to have dinner at Georgetown's Amma Kitchen rather. So we quickly had some mango lassi and Sheek Kebabs at Rasika and head straight to Amma's. It was a nice treat of Idli Dosa stuff. After dinner we were driven across DC for some more time and returned home late.

After a day off that we took on the 9th, we finally decided to leave for new york on the 10th. By 1 pm we were all packed and in the car. We left Bethesda by 1.30 pm towards New York. Passing thro places like Baltimore we reached New Jersy at abt 7.30 pm and drove to the Wellesly inn . It was a very good hotel and we were in mood only for some rest coz of the tiring journey.

But as there was hardly any time and we had to leave new york the next evening, we decided to drive to new york once now itself for dinner. We had heard a lot abt the famous NY pizza and decided to have it for dinner. It was a great drive towards NY, passing by the NEWARK Airport, watching the planes land and take off right beside us, and then we finally reached the Lincoln tunnel, the gateway to Manhattan. The skyline of Manhattan was already visible from there with the red top of the empire state building sitting over like a crown against the dark sky of the evening. Needless to say the glittering skyscrapers against the night sky was a real treat. The Lincoln tunnel actually takes u across the Hudson river and it passes under the river. As soon as u emerge out, u are welcomed by a board “welcome to Manhattan” for those who wished to be there atleast once in a lifetime ( not that it requires any more visits than that, u don’t have to be there another time unless u have some work out there). For about an hour we drove across the gullies of NY most of the time bending our heads backward to get a glimpse of the towering buildings all along the way. Its just overwhelming to find ur tiny self among those tall buildings. It was decided to have the pizza at the traditional Ray's Pizza in Little Italy and it really turned out to be a good one even to me who normally does'nt like pizza stuff. We then drove through the streets of NY and the Time Square. Finally returned to hotel by late night.

The next morning we skipped Breakfast and rushed to the ferry to be taken across to the liberty island. The boat ride and the walk around the Statue of liberty on the island was an experience in itself. Later in the evening we made it to the WTC site and had dinner at the Salaam Bombay. We started our drive back to Bethesda by 8 pm and reached home by midnight.

The next day was my last day in the USA for a long time now. I spent most of the day packing and doing the last minute stuff. Deepu prepared mouth watering Biriyani for me. and after having the treat drove to the Washington Dulles airport. After bidding Deepu BYE :-( i flew out of the USA at 4.50 pm. Deepu is still in Bethesda, Maryland and will join me in mid December. I m now spending days at Udupi waiting for that day to come as quickly as possible.

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

I finally landed in Lauderdale at abt 1330 hrs on 06-11-06 and walked out of the airport as i was directed by Deepu to do so. But she kept me waiting there for the next 15 tense minutes when i finally caught a glimpse of her in the car. After that momentous hug, we got the luggage into the car and drove home. The rest of the day it was just endless talking and.....( off course after a wonderful biryani treat). Finally it was decided in the evening we wud go for a drive and dinner. We had dinner at the P F Changs Chinese restaurant and drove to the downtown and then to the Lauderdale beach. I made it a point to touch down to the cold waters of the Atlantic lest i may not be able to do it again this lifetime.

The next morning again we spent the day at home till afternoon, when we finally got fininshed with some packing and decided to go out to the shopping malls. I brought myself a jacket and a Tennis racket while Deepthi was exchanging a lot of stuff that she was not happy with. We returned home and got ourselves prepared for the flight next morning to Washington DC.

Training Days

After those two wonderful blogs frm Deepu I thought I should be writing something. Actually the schedule was so tight during training that I hardly found time to write anything on it. If we weren’t training then we were either in the gym working out or, out shopping… most often just finding out the prices of things we were planning to buy for gifts. The training as such was good as it was definitely adding to our professional skills. But it was not that physically demanding as it was made to look. The Americans have this habit of actually training or rather working in between long breaks. They would work for four days and on Friday the fifth it would be weekend from 2 pm onwards. Amazing how the country still runs fine. Back here we have the habit of slogging 24*7 without much of value addition. It was something to learn.
Most memorable things about training apart from the course content itself were
1. The food- If there is one reason I’ll dread going back to the US for another stint is the kind of food they eat. Nothing much to explain… have a look at the pic.

Off course the Indias restaurant and more than all the Priya and MTR readymade foods saved us for the last part of the training.
2. Shopping – I’ll always remember those huge malls like the Wal-Mart, Steave & Beary’s, J C Penny’s, Dillards, the Dollar tree, Academy sports, Circuit City, Comp USA, Best Buy and many more.
3. Bus journeys- the evening return journey on the bus from Zachary training facility were very memorable for the singing sessions we had on them.
4. Weekend visits- weekend visits to New Orleans ( the equarium of the Americas, movie at the IMAX, and off course the Bourbone st.), the White Oak Plantation, The Nottoway Plantation, The flea market, the Swamp tour…
5. CQB exercises- shooting hostages will off course linger in our minds for a long time.
6. Mayor of Baton Rouge- Being made the Honorary Mayor of the city for a day was definitely a nice gesture.
On 3rd of Nov we had our graduation at the Oak Lodge and on the early morning of 4th I left for Fort Lauderdale to join Deepu. I think this should rank amongst one of my most memorable journeys in life. That anticipation of seeing her after a six week long wait was something that’s to be experienced. Six weeks I was kept alive by her phone calls and I was just glad on that flight, that all that was coming to an end and I don’t have to depend on that instrument anymore.

Together in D.C.

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Finally my wait has ended and subbu has joined me in Florida and we flew to Washington D.C. together. from the flight the veiw of fall colours was breath taking. we had a great time exploring the city all by ourselves. We also went to Newyork and saw the amazing 'Statue of Liberty' and the beautiful Manhattan. it was great being in the financial capital of the world. but we couldn't help comparing the city to 'aamchi Mumbai', which in many ways is similar to New york. Both of us enjoyed the experience and offcourse being together added to the joy.

waiting for subbu

its been a long wait for me in Miami. i was waiting for subbu to finish training and join me. Florida is a beautiful place and i wanted subbu to be with me, but i know he is doing a better job being in the training. He was made the 'Honorary Mayor' of the city of Baton rouge for one day and was also given the 'Key' to baton rouge and i feel very proud of him. i visited 'Disney world' in Florida but the joy was not complete as subbu was not with me.