Niagara Falls

This travelog is long overdue! During the summer, we made a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my Sister-in-law, the local family matriarch! 

As soon as we settled in, there was a trip to Niagra falls. It was a good 4 hour drive to the falls. We spent a good 5 hours there and drove back by 10PM after a dinner stop at a Travel stop Pizza hut. Did not realize how long it has been since I had Pizza hut pizza! 

It was a nice drive along lake Erie with my niece and her hubby who also joined us. I remember her as a small kid of 5 or 6! Now she is married and is running a family. How time flies! 

We had a greally great time as we went on the Maid of the Mist to see the falls. Some of the pictures are from the 5D. Then at some point the lens got completely wet. It is a weather proof lens but it was practically getting drenched. Given waterproof and weatherproof are two different things, decided to switch to the iPhone. 

 

My niece was limping by that time because her knee was acting up. So the five of us went on to see Hurricane ridge at the Cave of the Winds. The kids loved it so much that they wanted to go back and stand in the falls again and again. 

Finally when we could no longer breathe, we turned back towards the parking lot. The air is so heavy with the mist that you walk but feel like you are drowning. 

The last time we visited Niagara falls was at least 10 years ago. I am trying to dig out the old photos and videos. Not sure if the little one was born or not during that trip. 

In a few years we plan to go back, to the Canadian side and stay till late in the night to see the falls with lighting! We are at a stage where the kids are comfortable taking care of themselves, there are no diapers to change, no feeding breaks.. we should capitalize on this phase while the parents still have energy to go on hikes, lug suitcases etc.

The trip was all the more fun as daddy Narayanan explained the family tree on the fathers side starting from kid 1 to kid 12 over a one hour period.

It was a big hit with Jr. !

On a final note, what is a post on Niagara falls, without a video?!

Niagara falls continues to be a big hit with the family! Cannot wait to go back!

The girls go sky diving with Varun uncle..

This weekend was interesting. Came back from Asia and was still recovering from food poisoning and jet lag. Sangeetha's baby cousin (not a baby anymore, just like how the Little One is not little anymore!) came to visit us. I decided to make the most of his visit and cheer myself up. This kid was seven I think during our wedding and somehow I still see him as a seven year old. . . as usual I digress.

He came for a weekend visit from Melbourne. So we decided to go take him bowling and then Indoor sky-diving.

He won the bowling by a wide margin and beat everyone in our house. Then came the sky diving..

he did great! He was startled at first but adapted well and went up the wind tunnel! 

but we had some unexpected surprises.

We learned that Jr. is a natural at this!

The little one surprised us as well.. 

Jr. went up the wind tunnel on her second try and that was something to watch! 

They all came out with certificates and coupons for future visits. Something tells me that we will be going there again. The place is 35 minutes away from home and if we can reserve a spot (which was available that morning) it is a good deal.. especially if you have had a rough three days and just want to watch some smiling faces and family members have a great time! 

Have not been in this tunnel in almost nine years! "Damn I looked young once!" was the thought that came to mind after looking at that old post from 2008.. maybe will go again to celebrate 10 year anniversary of first indoor sky-diving experience in January.. and maybe, maybe, will take Sangeetha with me!

At this rate, not sure if I will ever get to post things from the Pittsburgh trip. It is going to be another hectic week.. maybe this weekend... lots of tea, sit outside and blog! 

Irony

Every year, around this time, the thread ceremony is performed. This year, I was in airports and planes on the two designated days. 

Called my mom to tell her that work just trumped "Aaavaniavittam" and she told me to do it Sunday morning instead. 

So this morning I got up (never slept thanks to Jet lag is more like it), changed the thread, chanted the Gayathri mantra a 1008 times.

Funny thing is that when you sit in the same spot for an hour and you still think you are 25 years old.. one forgets that the lower half of your body is numb from lack of blood flow.

Tried to stretch my legs and get up and just fell down in one swoop. It was like I had no legs.. took me some time to realize what had just happened. Eventually the circulation returned and wrapped things up. Don't know that this is telling me other than "you need to do this more often so that you can recover from sitting cross legged for an hour and a half, sooner" 

Amma, this one is for you!

Given my mom is "worried" about my hair loss, this angle perfectly avoids the bald spot.. so going forward, going to make this the default angle! 

Now why Irony? Well, as part of the thread changing ceremony we use rice and sesame seeds in water as an offering.

 

Given my allergy to sesame seeds, playing with that water is like playing with fire for me. Maybe there is a hidden lesson for me in that as well. 

All said and done, there is a new thread and I look forward to explaining this to folks who ask about it over the next few weeks, from new yoga buddies to TSA agents!

While searching for previous links on the thread changing cermony, found this one.. someday the little one is giong to see what she puts her daddy through!

Another year.. still learning.. still searching for answers!