by Roy -

This article is written by K.K.Mehra, an avid traveler and travel writer

I am an avid traveller and have been to the remotest part of the country as also to the USA and Canada. My wife and I went to meet our son in USA recently. We had the most memorable time of our life when we travelled to the west coast of America.

Las Vegas

We reached Las Vegas and from there went by road to Los Angeles and San Francisco. For our return journey, we chose to travel by the Amtrak train from San Francisco to Providence, Rhode Island, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, with stopovers at Chicago, Washington and New York.

Our tour started by boarding a flight from Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, to Las Vegas en route to Philadelphia.

We were overwhelmed by the breathtaking beauty of Las Vegas, one of the most exciting and entertaining cities in the world. We stayed at the famous MGM Grand Hotel.

On the Las Vegas strip, we got a glimpse of the world famous New York skyscrapers, the Sphinx and Pyramids of Egypt, the Eiffel Tower, the gondolas of Venice, the Dutch architecture and huge Greek sculptures.

It is the city where nobody sleeps. Even late in the night or at dawn people were revelling and enjoying the fun filled life. The next morning we left by bus to visit the Grand Canyon South Rim, en route to Hoover Dam, which is 275 miles from Las Vegas.

The next morning we headed for Los Angeles by road taking a Greyhound Bus and the journey between Las Vegas to LA was awesome with vast no man’s land on either side of the road making for a great view.

The famous Kodak Theater

Our first stop in the city was Kodak Theatre where the Oscar Awards ceremony is held and just standing there was dream come true. We also visited Third Promenade, Grove, China Town, Griffith Park area and China Town.

Our next destination was San Francisco and we boarded a Greyhound Bus to reach by the evening.

The next morning we started our city tour and reached the two-mile long Golden Gate Bridge. In the afternoon we started our tour of Alcatraz Island. The ride in the steamer was very entertaining and the view of the city from the bay was great.

The next morning we started our excursion to the Muir Woods, Sausalito and wine country.

We travelled across the Golden Gate Bridge and reached the quite, beautiful town of Sausalito, nestled in the jungles along the bay. A two-hour drive took us to Sonoma Valley, which houses hundreds of wineries. A tour of the wineries was also very knowledgeable. After that we came back to our destination.

K.K.Mehra

18 June 2010

http://travel.hindustantimes.com/travelogues/a-memorable-trip-to-las-vegas.php

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 189 user reviews.

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by Roy -

This article is written by Punshil Kumar, based in Delhi

To ward off the stifling summer heat of Delhi, my two daughters in America insisted that we join them. They are putting up in Bowie and Virginia. I left for the United States of America (USA) in April with my wife. We got a warm and affectionate welcome from our daughters who received us in New York. All of us then headed to Washington. Initially we stayed in Bowie and enjoyed a lot. We usually shuttled between the two houses.  During my stay there we went to see the White House and also visited several Chinese and Thai restaurants.  We also enjoyed going to pizza shops because the children loved to do so. On every Saturday I used to accompany my daughters to Indian stores for their grocery shopping.  Once we also visited the children’s school to attend their graduation function. We were stunned to see the spectacular fireworks on July 4, the American Independence Day. We spread a sheet on the pavement along with others and enjoyed crackers, which sprouted into flowers of different colours in the sky.  With a friend of my son-inlaw, I went to Pennsylvania and stayed in his house for two days.  I went to New York twice and stayed with my brother-in-law in Hopewell Junction, a suburb of New York. I also visited Seattle with my wife and brother-in-law, and we stayed there for a week, and visited several lakes and went to see Mount Rainier.  I also visited Ocean City and we stayed there for three days in a rented house and enjoyed the sun and sand on the beach. My younger daughter is a beautician and a very social person. Her friends used to come home and we had a lot of fun in their company. They celebrated my birthday also.  Unlike India, in USA there are no shops in residential establishments and thus people go to wholesale and retail stores for grocery, fruits, milk and vegetables mostly on Saturdays and store the stuff in the pantry and refrigerator.  Most of the families in USA do not cook and bring stuff from nearby restaurants, to save them from cleaning the kitchen. Some families do cook in their houses, but to save time they also bring ready to cook things, which are now available in plenty.  Another interesting thing I noted here was that the morning walkers are often greeted with a hello. This brews a very happy feeling within, as it comes from absolute strangers in a foreign land. It was definitely a memorable holiday.

Punshil Kumar

17 Sept 2011

http://travel.hindustantimes.com/travelogues/exploring-the-united-states.php

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 279 user reviews.

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by Roy -

The Mount St Helens’ Crater

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County,  Washington ,  United States. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle and 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Portland Oregon . Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the british diplomat Lord St. Helens who made a survey of the area in the late 18th century.

Landscape

The volcanic  activity of Mount St. Helens is well known and  familiar to most people from the  photographs and the recent history of the mountain . The great 1980 eruption destroyed most of the volcanic cone, leaving a huge amphitheater on the north side that is well seen from the Johnston Ridge Observatory/Visitor center. Current (2004-2005) volcanic activity is building a new lava dome within this amphitheater, visible from the“VolcanoCam” at the observatory but not yet large enough to replace the destroyed cone.

St. Helens is still glaciated to some extent, despite its reduced altitude. One unexpected and remarkable bit of landscape on the mountain is the astonishing Loowit Falls, a waterfall that emerges directly from the amphitheater bearing melt water from a glacier within the crater. This falls can be seen (use binoculars) from the observatory, but to get the best feeling for the incongruity of the falls — it seems to emerge as though from the surface of the moon — requires a hike on a trail that is closed as of 2005 owing to the volcanic activity.

Climate

Most viewpoints on the Monument’s north, east, and south sides can be reached from Memorial Day until snow closes the roads, usually in late October. Trails are generally open from June through October, although some lower elevation trails can be hiked all year. The Mount St. Helens Visitor Center (Highway 504 milepost 5) now operated by Washington State Parks is open during the winter, except winter holiday.

Get in

The most popular tourist route into the Mount St. Helens area is via Washington state route 504. It can be reached at Castle Rock, off exit 49 off Interstate 5 in Washington, about one hour and 15 minutes north of Portland and two hours south of Seattle.

Camping

Camping near I-5 exits to Mount St. Helens along Route 504 is available at Seaquest State Park or south of Hwy 12 at Lewis & Clark State Park. There are also National Forest Service campsites south of Randle (NE of MSH access forest road 99) and along the Lewis River east of Cougar.

Stay safe

Other than the volcanic activity, St. Helens poses basically the usual set of hazards associated with mountainous country such as changeable weather, potential for road closures due to snow in the winter, etc. One extra thing to be aware of is that much of the area on the north side of the mountain, particularly the northeast, does not yet have many travel services, even things as basic as gas stations. When leaving the main roads to head for the observatory, or particularly the Windy Ridge viewpoint and trailhead, it’s wise to have a full gas tank and be equipped with everything you need to survive on a mountain such as proper shoes, proper clothes, flashlight, food, enough water etc.

Oct 2010

http://www.worldtravelattractions.com/mount-saint-helens/

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 172 user reviews.

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