Chicago Calling

September 2019

Chicago – the windy city. A wedding in the family took us to this architectural style icon and we added a few extra days to explore the city. The trip started with first forgetting to load the stroller into the taxi and next forgetting to collect our luggage from the carousal at Chicago. We had to go back for our luggage and ended up buying a second hand stroller for the trip. Definitely not good notes. On the plus side, we had the best weather we could have asked for. No wind cutting in our eyes; no heavy jackets needed. Unheard of weather for the city.

This picture is one of my favourites from this trip. I love her little hoodie and that cat like instinct. It reminds me of the scene in Lion King where Mufasa is teaching little Simba to hunt. All through this trip, she was on the prowl and not a pigeon was safe.

We are booked at the Wyndham Grand on the riverfront. It is conveniently located and the river facing rooms have delightful views. This takes the edge of the mornings disasters. We check-in and immediately head out to lunch. All of us are starving. A short walk and we find ourselves eating deep dish pizza at the very popular Pizano’s. The weather is so good, we are seated outside. The food and fire engines keep the LO occupied.

We are minutes away from the Millennium Park. I am to take Amma and the LO to the park and keep them entertained while the husband goes and collects our luggage. We skirt around the fountain that spits water at you and go all the way across the park to the play structures at Maggie Daley Park. On the way we take our time to chase pigeons around the very shiny Bean and enjoy the shrubbery at Lurie Garden. All three of us are close to exhausted by the time we get to the park. I had to first persuade the LO to go on the play structures and then it took our combined cajoling and an ice-cream bribe to get her back to the hotel.

After a quick nap for everyone, we get to important task #2 – pick up stroller. This is done in a completely different, very residential part of the city. There was one more thing we forgot – Amma’s phone charger. After picking up the stroller, I venture into the dangerous Chicago night in search of a type of phone charger that was nowhere to be found. Luckily, the husband’s charger fits and they are able to share.

I’m picking up the draft after two years. The human memory is fallible, mine more, but I will tell how I remember it. The waterfront is front and foremost in my memory. We had an excellent view of the river with its many bridges and boats from our room. I recall walking along the river side promenade where the LO chased pigeons and tried splashing in a fountain. She spent most of her trip chasing pigeons and I spent mine chasing her. Then there was a boat cruise. We floated up and down the river, admiring the beautiful architecture on either side. The Shedd aquarium was another highlight of our trip. The touch tanks were a big hit with the LO. The Sky Deck was not such a hit with her. The poor darling was terrified and nothing we said could reassure her.

The main event of the trip was a wedding in the family. My first NRI wedding. When I came back and described it my friend, she was nonplused. This is how they happen, she said. Wow! Run away, darling. Elope. Come back and tell us you are married. We’ll have a lovely party to celebrate.

Disney Again

Planning, planning, planning. Planning is everything. We checked into our hotel the night before. This meant everyone was well rested. Hotel breakfast ensured everyone was well fed as well. No reason to start the day cranky. Winter in California means no jackets or hats needed. The advantage of not going in summer is less crowds and no hot sun beating down on your head. We spent money on the fast pass. This helped us reduce boring, energy draining, wait-in-line time. We must have carried two kilograms of food, snacks and drinks (most of which we finished), and we bought more. Buying is an integral part of the Disney experience. If you are going to Disneyland/world – be prepared to spend.

I introduced the LO to Mickey and friends a few months prior to the visit. There was no way I was going to pay all that money, if she couldn’t even recognize Mickey. It paid off. She had a lovely time going around Toon Town looking for various characters.

The lovely ladies in my life and Belle

The It’s a Small World ride is a perfect start to the day. After this we met Mickey, Donald, Pluto and a few princesses. We go on age appropriate rides. The scared-y bunch that we are, the baby roller-coaster in Toon town and the few other rides the LO could go on are good enough for most us. A fun-filled morning exhausted those who needed naps and they agree to nap. Good thing we took our stroller, because the LO didn’t have to leave the park to nap. While she napped, we took turns going on rides.  Afternoon naps = happy evenings. The promised trip to Star Wars land was a wonderful end, but wait – *picture abhi baki hai, mere dost. Fantasmic and fireworks follow. The fireworks disappoint. It was not the grand spectacle we had witnessed last time, with the Disney castle in the background. Also, there is no parade in winter.  

Recreating memories

Overall, the disappointments were minor compared to the joy we experienced. We made it through the entire day without any tantrums or meltdowns. There were photographers taking pictures. Amma went on her first roller-coaster ever. The LO thoroughly enjoyed her first time at Disney. The older two had a blast. What a wonderful world!

*picture abhi baki hai, mere dost – there’s more to come

Capilano Bridge Park

April 10, 2019

The tourist attractions at both Victoria and Vancouver are expensive, but there the one place I felt was completely worth the money was the Capilano Bridge Park. Initially, I had planned to combine it with a visit to Grouse Mountain, but further research indicated it would be too rushed to enjoy either place. So, I dropped Grouse Mountain in favour of the park because it seemed to have more to do in this season, and the name said park. When you have five children in your party, one only 18 months old, it makes a difference.

 

It is a rainy day and the LO is napping so we opt to stay back in the parking lot while the others go ahead. When she wakes up, we are still doubtful. Then it stops raining. There is a light drizzle,but we decide to take our chances. I load the LO on my back and wake my way to the famous bridge.  I’ve been on suspension rope bridges before, am fairly stable and not afraid of heights so I was not expecting any thrills. However, it’s a whole different experience with a baby on your back and an umbrella in one hand. Unlike the rickety suspension bridges of my past, sometimes with a plank missing, open sides and just ropes for railings, this one is wobbly but undoubtedly safe.450 feet below, the Capilano river gushes through the evergreens. On the other side is the treetop adventure that takes guests 100 feet up in the coastal rainforest. You walk through the dark green foliage on narrow walkways attached to old-growth trees. At the other end of the bridge, starts the tree top walk and the real adventure. We climbed into the trees and walked through the lush green canopy.  The best part is that the viewing platforms are attached to an innovative tree collar system that is adjustable and moveable and has no nails or bolts penetrating into the trees. No trees were harmed in the making of this walkway. Yay!! At the start of the walk, a park official gave the kids scavenger hunt sheets and it was as much fun for the adults as it was for the kids. We are a mad family like that.

The last piece was the Cliffwalk –  a cantilevered and suspended walkway jutting out from the granite cliff face above Capilano River. In some sections you are walking on glass, so you can see the canyon far below.

To sum it up, everyone in our motley crew, from 18 m to almost 70 years, loved this park. As for me,  at the end of all the climbing and walking, with a baby on my back, I realized I truly am stronger than I think!

San Diego Life – Safari Park

November 2018

We could have gone to the zoo, but A picks the Safari Park instead. We know we want to feed the lorikeets, go one the carousal and take the Safari train. By the time we get into the park, the LO has settled in for a snooze in her stroller. We have to wait for her to wake to do any of the above. The first thing we see is an armadillo. I never imagined them to be that small. The sister and Big Bro make a detour to the Ranger Station to return a $5 bill we found. The LO is comfortably asleep as we push her through the tiger trail. We hike up to see the condors. The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. Their wings may stretch nearly ten feet from tip to tip. This enables them to glide on thermal currents 15,000 feet up in the air, but makes it very cumbersome to hop over a couple of feet. The LO wakes up sometime in the Australian Outback. Strollers are not allowed in the kangaroo (+wallaby) exhibit, so the LO stayed out with her aunt. After lunch we go to feed the Lorikeets. Before that Big Bro and the husband go to the bat house, while Big Sis gets her carousal ride. She picks an Okapi and insists it’s her pony, petting and nuzzling it. Everybody loves the Lorikeet feeding experience. What is not to love! The follow up is petting the goats. The line to get on the Safari Tram is now an hour long. We collectively decide we don’t want to stand in line that long.  Instead we have another go at the carousal, see the flamingoes again, but a blue ceramic gecko at the gift shop, watch a cockatoo go berserk and go home.

 

Butchart Gardens

April 7-9, 2019

The older kids are going hiking before we head back to Vancouver. The husband and I were going to take the LO to the bug zoo. Mum cannot decide which is less appealing. Luckily for her, things take an unexpected turn. The others cannot stop raving about the Butchart Gardens, forcing us to go back, even if just to see what the fuss is all about. The scene is very different when we arrive. Today, the skies are clear, sun is shining brightly and it’s neither too hot nor too cold. Yesterday, we were the only ones in the parking lot, today the place is teeming with cars.

We follow the path Akash had asked us to take and come up to a striking bird’s eye view of the sunken garden. Walking further, we reach the carousal. The LO can’t wait to get on. After a fun ride on a lion, we foolishly decide to let her explore the garden by herself, on foot. Little feet move faster than you think, and in directions of their choice. After scrambling after her down a grassy slope and somehow convincing her to run back up, we manage to get her into our trusty carrier.

Lunch, is a picnic under a flourishing cherry tree.

The gardens are beautiful and well laid out.

Our unanimous favorite is the Japanese garden. Japan is a misty island and the traditional Japanese gardens are designed to take advantage of this. It is no wonder therefore that the rest of our group, who saw it in shrouded in mist yesterday, came back so impressed. In Japan, the garden is created as a confluence of nature and artifice. Japanese gardening strives to recreate the raw majestic of nature in a small enclosed space. Highly sculpted plants are made to suggest windswept trees or rolling hillsides. Stones are strategically placed to represent islands and craggy mountaintops. The sea is simulated by carefully raking gravel. There are many different styles of Japanese gardens – the stone or Zen gardens, hill gardens, tea gardens and stroll gardens. The Japanese garden at Butchart Gardens seems to have elements of almost all of them. The dense green foliage, the rustling of the maple and beech, the soft gurgling water, the quiet little ponds and the tap-tap of the sōzu – it works both as individual parts and as a sum of the parts.

There is a little icecream parlour in Butchart gardens, but before you get there, a small window has been cut in the hedge for the best view ever of the harbor. The icecream parlour, to my surprise and delight had a couple of vegan flavours. Usually that means getting a sorbet, but not this time. We spend the next three quarters of an hour in the plaza outside the gift shop where the LO runs about and “smells” flowers. It is almost time to leave when I realized my purse is missing. I retrace my steps frantically with no success. With fingers crossed I show up at the information desk hoping someone has turned it in, and what do you know, someone has indeed turned it in. Life is beautiful.

Vancouver – Day 1

April 9-12, 2019

PC – Mahesh Raju

It’s a rainy day, what should we do? Granville Island with its covered markets seems like our best bet. The kids have a field day playing in the Kids Market. The boys play video games, the girls play in the play structure with its two-story high slide and the LO enjoys the ball pit. The adults have nothing to do beyond some perfunctory supervision. Yet, other than mum and my sister, none of us could explore the market.

We headed back into downtown for lunch as the market has limited vegetarian/vegan options. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out an address on a map, but downtown Vancouver is a tight grid of one-way streets. The lunch spot I had picked was a chain, and we landed up different locations. SMAK is a quick service restaurant serving healthy, locally sourced food in compostable containers.  Totally my kind of place. Last night we tried Caribbean food at Calabash. The downstairs serves as an art gallery for local artists and a club with a live DJ. The food was excellent, the vibes  friendly, and  staff  great. However, if you choose to walk down to the restaurant, know that the neighbourhood is the opposite.  Downtown Eastside  is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, and  is infamous for its levels of drug use, poverty, crime, mental illness, prostitution, and homelessness. Two blocks on every side, the city is very different.

Homelessness is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating over the last decade in Vancouver. The husband and I were unaware of this and were certainly not expecting to walk right into the thick of it, with our mother and child in tow. I went from being surprised to alarmed to wary. It was very disturbing. It is one of the things I will remember about this city, along with all the beautiful experiences we had hear.

Victoria

April 7-9, 2019

PC – Mahesh Raju

Victoria is a small little port on the island of Vancouver. The only way to get here is by ferry and what a ride it is! While I enjoyed the open seas, the LO monopolized a slide her size in the play area on-board. I never knew she liked slides so much. It kept her entertained for an hour almost each way.

 

PC – Ashok Roy

Our first stop was lunch. The restaurant I picked was located in the public market. I was expecting a farmer’s marker like setting, with stalls and hawkers selling fresh produce, but this was nothing like that. The restaurant I had picked was closed. A sign of things to come. It was like a curse following us, wherever we went – closed. The market had a few other options, and everyone got something. The little boys got bento boxes and it seemed like a fair substitute for the sushi they were clamoring for. For my part, I was so excited to see vegan poutine. I thought I would never eat poutine again. It was so unimpressive that I may never eat poutine again.

PC – Ragini Murugan

We walked around the Inner harbor, all the way to the Thunderbird Park and from there to Fisherman’s Wharf. The park was closed, so I had to settle for letting the kids run wild in a random park under a random cherry tree in full bloom. This turned out to be quite the highlight of the afternoon. Lara danced under the tree singing “It’s snowing, it’s snowing!”, as petals fluttered to the ground. Mira danced with her. The boys ran around the park and even made a new friend. Mum lounged under the tree and the LO toddled about taking in the excitement.

PC- Ashok Roy

The floating houses at Fisherman’s Wharf are postcard pretty. In my mind’s eye, I see the residents laughing and dancing under twinkling fairy lights, on warm summer nights, long after the last tourists have gone.  A tiny water taxi takes us back into downtown.

PC -Wait staff

After all my intensive research and meticulous planning, dinner reservations are changed at the last minute. I am obviously annoyed, but all is well that ends well. Everyone enjoyed their dinner at Varsha.

San Diego Life – Tide Pools

November 2018

It’s Black Friday. The husband and B-I-L are out shopping. Time and tide wait for none, so the rest of us head out to the tide pools. Tidepools are shallow pockets where water is trapped during low tides, forming small pools that provide habitat for numerous plants, invertebrates, and fish. They are a great place for children (and adults) to explore, experience, and learn. During the summer months the pools covered by high tides during the day. Late fall through winter are considered the best times to visit. We have time our visit to coincide with the low tide, as have a million others. The is a mile-long line of cars on the road leading up to the parking lot of the Cabrillo National Monument’s tidepools. This is one of the best-protected and most easily accessible rocky inter-tidal zones in southern California. Since access to the pools is time bound, the older ones and I get out and walk. The LO has no choice but to come with her aunt later. I have no clue how we are going to find them or get back home, because there is cell phone signal here.

The kids have been here before. They are excited to scramble over the rocks, wade into the water and point out sea life to me. Akash  shows me a sea anemone “eating” his finger. Lara is thrilled. I, on the other hand, have grown old. A more concerned about keeping my shoes dry than getting my feet wet. I’m afraid someone’s going to cut their feet or fall or hurt themselves badly over the rocks. The National Parks website warns – a child’s enthusiasm and excitement over being in this natural wonderland can quickly translate into a slip or tumble. As a child, I’ve done worse, but as a mother I can’t take my eyes off them, and they are both going in opposite directions.

The kids spot their mother. When we reach her, a Ranger comes to warn everyone that it is almost closing time. Our car is parked at the top, near the lighthouse. The sister volunteers to go get it while the rest of our motley crew waits in the parking lot by the pools. We reach home wet, tired and happy.

San Diego Love

November 2018

I have everything to give thanks for, but above all I am thankful for the love that I have been blessed with. From family and friends, from people I don’t meet anymore and those whom I’ve barely met. The universe has been kind and I am grateful.

We are in San Diego for Thanksgiving. It’s still November and we’ve already had our first snow storm, and California is coming out of one of their biggest forest fires in recent times so in addition to everything else, I am thankful for the sun on my face, on my back, legs and all over, and for the clear blue skies above. The flights to India and back had lulled us into a false zone of comfort. The flight to San Diego was a nightmare in comparison. The LO was sick and restless. The flight was full. We were bumped up to Economy Plus and it was so bad that I didn’t even know it. Additional security meant we barely made it inside our flight and then the flight was delayed due to technical issues. We had not packed any food for us because we thought we would eat at the airport. That didn’t happen. We took food only for the LO and she wouldn’t eat. We had to wait at the gate till everyone got out because the LO had only one sock on. She had thrown one somewhere in the plane. In short – DISASTER.

Once out we were met with food and love. The LO was still cranky. Big Sis L offered her a bunch of things to calm down, including her own inseparable ‘blanky’. The LO settled in for a nap. She woke up recovered and in time for the party. The sister had put together a mini mostly vegan feast. How much more can you love someone! Have you ever had a cocktail from a can? I met the cocktail answer to beer. It was so good. I am going to find it and stock up.

It’s been four days for love and laughter, tantrums and tears. The LO has been spoilt for attention. We need to teach her how to handle it. It’s odd, since she did so well in India. The newest addition to our family – Flash, slept through it all. I was really looking forward to meeting him, but he’s a tortoise and has gone into hibernation.

The Olympic Adventure

We visited the Olympic Peninsula in our trip to Pacific Northwest this past fall (Fall 2018). The Peninsula is huge, and has lovely lakes, waterfalls, mountains and beaches that can take up to a whole week to explore. We only had four days here, but we made the most of it. We visited the Quinault Area, the coastline (Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach), Hoh Rainforest region, Sol Duc Valley and Lake Crescent Area. The Olympic National Park is definitely one of the prettiest national parks I”ve been to (the other ones being Smokey Mountain National Park and Denali National Park) and would highly recommend making trip to this Peninsula if visiting the Northwest! Here I’m describing the first two stops on our visit there.

We entered the Olympic Peninsula at night from its southern end- from the Quinault Reservation, closer to the Washington-Oregon Border. Lake Quinault is the very first lake we saw the next morning and it was simply mesmerizing. Peaceful and pristine. Since we were in the Peninsula (and the Olympic Park) in the weekday, there were no crowds and we had the lake to ourselves. There are no motorized boating activities allowed in the lake, only kayaks and canoes were allowed in some areas of the lake. Bordering the lake is the Quinault Rainforest trail, a mile-long trail that takes you through the temperate rainforest and gives you a glimpse of how lush green the scenery can be. And of course, since it’s a temperate rainforest, there are waterfalls pretty much everywhere. It was fairly enjoyable hike. Behlul carried Abir in his hiker backpack, and of course Abir enjoyed the trees too, wanting to touch all of them! Near the Quinault Area, there are maybe 3-4 restaurants and cafes to choose from for breakfast/lunch/dinner, so not much of a choice here. We were aware of this and had carried plenty of snacks/quick foods/munchables when we left Portland and started driving northward. Of course, my almost 1- year old son Abir had his food bag at his disposal- his fruit and vegetable purees, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, baby cookies, teething wafers, water, etc. We weren’t sure where all we would find grocery stores, and a hungry baby is the last thing you want on a trip!

Our next destination in the Peninsula was on the Washington Coast-Ruby Beach. Ruby beach is one of the most visited beaches in the Peninsula, due to its rock structures, tidal pools and a lovely hike to get to the beach. Here we saw the mystical Northwest fog that everyone talks about- the entire beach was pretty much covered in fog! We could hardly see more than 5 feet ahead. We had to pull out our jackets, beanies, scarves, and mittens to get down to the beach. Being ex-Californians and now Texans, any temperature below 60F is cold for us and it was about 50F at the beach at the peak of summer! There were quite a few tidal pools that we saw, and due to it being low tide, the rock structures were accessible by foot. We spent about 2 hours on this beach. The first one hour was fun, it mainly consisted of taking pictures, exploring, being amazed at nature’s abundant beauty. The second hour- not so much. We ended up wetting our shoes in one of the streams/pools, Abir also lost his pair of shoes on this beach (he loved wiggling his legs and toes, and letting go of his shoes back then!) so we spent a good chunk of time walking around looking for his lost shoes. Luckily, we found them (soaking wet though), and then hiked back up to the car. By the time we got back, all of us were cold and hungry, so we headed to the town of Forks for a warm meal and our stop for the night.

 

– Amruta Garud