A day in Boston

Weather in the East has not been cooperating with us for the past 2 weeks. North East has not settled for summer time weather as of yet.

Our 1 day trip to DC to visit the US Capitol had to be moved for the very reason of unpredictable weather forecast in the North East particularly in the DC area. Therefore we had to change our  road trip direction to Boston, MA.

We left around 10 AM from Yonkers and got to Hartford, CT by around noon. After lunch, we headed to Boston. Since the Boston Bruins secured the title of  Stanley Cup Champions, there was a "rolling rally" celebration which ended around the time we arrived at Boston. Roads were blocked off, litter was every where, streets were crowded with fans, and traffic was chaotic. Luckily we were able to find parking near the Capitol building. We took pictures of the Capitol building, walked around Boston Common which is the oldest park in the country.

Around 7PM we headed to Charles River to get a skyline shot of Boston. Ajo enjoyed taking a few skyline shots and it was there we got called "hindu" by a random guy stopped at a traffic light. Our response was silence. Let us leave that event there.

We drove back home that night and reached back in Yonkers past midnight.

Highlights of the Trip

• MA State Capitol
• Boston Common Park
•  Charles River Skyline

Weekend in Philadelphia AKA Cheese Steaks Tour

I had no idea what I was getting into when I signed up to spend the weekend in Philadelphia along with my husband and brother in-law. No offense, I had a wonderful time but let me explain why my blog is titled this way.

Contrary to our original plan to visit Harrisburg & Gettysburg on the weekend of June 11, we headed out to Philadelphia due to a storm moving in to the North East which was likely to cause severe thunder storms in Mid Pennsylvania. We did get a few showers while we were in Philadelphia but overall the weather was pretty good.

We reached Philadelphia around mid day and headed to Steve's Cheese Steak place and had lunch there. It was a tad bit pricey but the food was pretty savory. After lunch we headed to Independence Park and spent the entire afternoon and evening exploring a part of Philadelphia we never knew existed. We visited the independence hall, the liberty bell, and walked around the park and the vicinity. We even so a Junior Ranger getting sworn in to the National Park Systems. Ajo did say Congrats to the girl and I am not quite sure if she was happy about a stranger shaking her hands.

I was pondering what to eat for dinner but apparently it was cheese steak again. We headed to Pat's King of Steak's. Located next to their competitor Gino's, and in the corner of a busy single lane intersection, the lines ended up in the road. Not the safest situation but we did decide to stay in line and finally came to the counter after about a hour of wait. By dinner time, I was not a fan of cheese steaks anymore but I did have a taste. Ajo and Justin loved what they ate but had a few criticisms.  By this time, it was about 10PM and we headed to the hotel we had booked through hotels.com only to realize when we got there that they had overbooked that particular hotel. Hence, we had to go to another hotel nearby. Tired and a little annoyed we drove some more miles to the hotel. We were lucky to receive the room since it was raining pretty hard by the time we reached the hotel.

We woke up the next morning to another day and as previously planned we headed out to the 7 mile road church pastor-ed by Ajay Thomas. We had a great time in worship and we met some old friends, made some new friends, and chatted with church members. We pray that God raise up that church to be a beacon of light in that area and already He has started a good work and will surely make His plans to come to pass.

After Church, lunch was again at another cheese steak place called Tony Luke's. By now this was the 3rd consecutive cheese steak meal, and hence  I was tired of it and did not even want to hear the word "cheese steak". After lunch,we decided to head home early and the drive was smooth with minimal traffic and we had no major weather issues as predicted. Thus ended our "Phily Cheese Steak" Tour...

Highlights of the trip

• Independence Park
• The Phily Cheese Steaks
• 7 Mile Road Church

Days in Maine

Driving to Maine was a dream of ours since we got back from our road trip last August. We have been planning for this 4 day trip for over 3 months.  See the previous post about Day 1.

After that intense night in Bangor, Maine, we woke up to clear skies. Surprisingly not a drop of water touched the ground in Bangor, Maine. Just another witness of God's mercy towards us.

Thurday June 2, 2011
We headed to Lubec, Maine which is the eastern most point in the contiguous US, about 2 hours away from Bangor, ME. We drove to the US/Canada security check point area where you enter Canada at New Brunswick. Then, we drove to the West Quoddy Head light house, a few miles away from downtown Lubec. I think we were all in consensus that it was the most aesthetic light house that we have seen so far. The bright red and white stripes, combined with the contrast of the blue skies, the green grass, and the brilliant hue of the water made the light house stand out like one of a kind.  We captured some phenomenal shots while we enjoyed the serenity of the place. We drove to Bar Harbor that evening and had a Maine lobster dinner at the West Street Cafe, a place which was recommended by our hotel owner. The prices were decent and we got some first time experience cracking lobsters. I have to admit that it was a lot of work. They do work you for your lobster. The meal was satiating ending with a Maine blueberry pie. We slept in Arorra Inn which was located  near downtown Bar Harbor. The prices where very reasonable and the service was great.

Friday June 3, 2011
We woke up at 3:30 or so to drive up to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to see a sunrise. Unfortunately, the temperature was about 40 degrees and with the wind factor and elevation, it probably felt like the 30's. Winter weather in June. We were definitely not prepared for it. Ajo had a half sleeves shirt on and Justin had what he called a "fleece". It was not enough. I was almost bundled up but still it was not worth the pain and agony to watch a cloudy sunrise. We rushed back to the car and to make a long story short, we learned a great deal from this experience.

We drove around the park till about 8AM and returned to the Bar Harbor to have breakfast. We spent the remainder of the park enjoying scenic pull outs at Thunder Hole, Otter Cove and Sand beach. Later that afternoon we hiked up to the bubble rock around 4PM. It was such an awesome experience. The hike was about 1 mile but it felt longer and the rocky trail made coming down more challenging than climbing up. We ended our day back at the Cadillac Mountain enjoying the view and watching a brilliant sunset. We had pizza that night from a local place which we enjoyed as usual.

Saturday June 4, 2011
We woke up once again early at 4AM to enjoy the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain but this time we were bundled up with the resources we had available. Lot more people were already bundled up and waiting for the sunrise than the previous day.  It was a phenomenal sunrise that morning. It was definitely worth the agony of waking up early.

After the sun rose, we visited Jordan pond and  drove to the Bass Harbor Head light house. We left Bar Harbor around 12 noon and drove through Augusta and stopped by the capitol building for a quick visit. We headed back home through Portland, ME where we enjoyed some lobster rolls and calm chowder. We got home past midnight. God's amazing love and protection was visible the entire road to Maine and back. How amazing are the roads less traveled!

Highlights of the trip:

• Lubec, Maine
• Acadia  National Park
• Capitol building at Augusta

Warning or Watch

Thoughts from Bangor, Maine

 About a week and a half ago, parts of Joplin, MO was demolished by a powerful tornado which caused the lives of 134 people. Today, we are in our hotel room in Bangor, ME, tracking tornadoes in the North East which has already touched Springfield, MA causing fatalities, injuries and a great amount of damage. Other parts of the New England area are witnessing damaging winds, hail, and severe thunder storms. MA is in a State of Emergency and the storm has been under keen radar tracking on the News Channels. 

Are we under a watch or warning?

Much of New England is either under a tornado warning or tornado watch. Warning is more of a threat for impending tornado. At present, Bangor is under a watch until 11 PM.


Not just the North East!

This weather is not just affecting the North East area but tornadoes has been spotted in the West Coast in California, and Mid-West in Kansas - Nebraska area.

Are we safe?

We worry about severe storms in life but ultimately we have a Sovereign God who is the ultimate Storm Watcher who controls everything and holds everything in the palm of His hand. God sometimes permits storms to pass above and below us but it never touches us. Even in the midst of the storm He is with us. He will wake up and calm the storm for sure. We just need to call on Him just as the disciples did.

As I sit here and pen these words, I cannot say I am not worried but the calm sky outside our hotel room is definitely helping me to stay calm. Regardless whether we are going through a warning or a watch, the lesson is to wake up and be alert. Today, I pray for Renewal, Rebuilding and Restoration in the affected areas as well as in our personal relationships with God.