April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Zoo, Sanctuary, Aquarium]

#249

What's the difference between a Zoo, a Sanctuary, and an Aquarium?

Aquarium's easy because it only deals with animals found in water - the seas, oceans, and rivers. Basically a house for marine life.

A zoo is typically a facility where animals are conserved and sometimes also housed for public display for education purposes. They can feature a variety of animals from across different regions and ecosystems. Zoos can also focus on breeding to conserve endangered species, whereas a sanctuary provides a safe haven for rescue animals. Put simply, a sanctuary's focus is care and rehab for animals. 

Finally, a safari, typically a wildlife one, is an outdoor adventure experience, where visitors in jeeps or open buses observe wild animals in their natural habitats while listening to the guides educate them about their daily interactions with the animals. It's the most immersive experience out of all the above options.

Except for sanctuary, we were able to experience the other three in the US in the past year since we've been here. We visited the massive Georgia Aquarium, followed by the Atlanta Zoo, followed by the Wildlife Safari in San Diego's Safari Park.

While I'd rate the zoo and safari pretty much equally, the aquarium stands apart, as it was truly an amazing experience we had, and even got to touch a sting ray (under supervision, of course)!

The above picture was taken at the Atlanta Zoo - where we were greeted by a flock of pink flamingoes. Did you know - a group of flamingoes is called a flamboyance. What a mellifluous word! Absolutely apt for the sight for sore eyes we encountered just as we entered the place!

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Yosemite National Park]

#248

I finally accomplished one of my US Trip bucket list items - visiting the Yosemite National Park. We planned a 2-day trip with two of our other friends and visited this majestic masterpiece of nature in September, when the weather was just right to witness various cliffs and mountains and lakes and waterfalls.

We stayed in an Airbnb inside the park for a night and drove around to famous places like Half Dome and El Capitan. We also hiked to the top of Bridal veil falls - which I learnt is one of the most common names for several waterfalls across the country - a waterfall that free-falls as a thin stream, resembling a bride's white veil, giving it the self-explanatory name.

One of our friends had been here before and she came up with a fantastic itinerary that ensured we covered the major points like Glacier Point and a few other MacOS wallpapers, and maintained a balance between hiking and driving such that we didn't tire out doing either full-time. 

On our way near the entrance, we even saw a grizzly mama bear with her three cubs, settled near a tall tree, but perhaps on hearing car noises, the four of them scurried away deep into the forest. That was our first experience witnessing bears in this country.

We ended our trip by driving to a nearby place called Mammoth Lake, and also stopped on the way to take pictures underneath Giant Sequoias at the Mariposa Grove.

Oh what natural wonders the Pacific Northwest has to offer!

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Xbox Controller]

#247

In between trips, it takes some time to get back into the regular routine of work and housework, among other things like workout and cooking. 

Finding moments to relax and rejuvenate is essential - which we achieve through gaming. After contemplating for several months and struggling to play co-op games like Overcooked (and Overcooked 2) on a single keyboard, we finally bought an Xbox controller. 

I chose the above one for myself in the Astral Purple color - my favorite. 

Amidst the hustle of work and planning the next trip, diving into the immersive worlds of these frenetic cooking games that are the ultimate tests of our teamwork and coordination make it the perfect entertaining yet relaxing (though stressful during gameplay) activity to enjoy after meals and avoid napping!

This has been our 2024 post-travel pursuit, going steady for the past 4 months after every trip and post almost every other meal, especially on weekends.

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [World of Coca Cola]

#246

An adventure of taste, effervescence, and rich history - that's what we got when we stepped into the World of Coca Cola!

From spending time mixing up our own fizzy drink recipes, to walking through an exhibit showcasing Coca-Cola advertisements throughout the years, to tasting hundreds of flavors of Coca-cola from across the world, to guessing scents from their smells alone, it was a wonderful 90-minute assault to our senses.

This place offered visitors like us a journey through its iconic branding, logo, and origins of this beloved beverage. We tasted the original Coca Cola and the recalled ones and everything in between.

There were fruity flavors such as the Parletta Sparberry from Zimbabwe and Minute Maid Joy Apple Lychee from Korea. There were funky ones none of us enjoyed, like BBQ Coke and Cranberry-infused Coke which turned out to be a combination of bitter and sour and cough-syrupy. 

And then there were my favorites, which I went for refills - like Sprite Cucumber from Romania, and Stoney Ginger Beer From Tanzania.

In the end, our thirsts were quenched, both literally and figuratively!

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Valley of Fire State Park]

#245

Our last day in Las Vegas was completely free and so we decided to drive to the Valley of Fire State Park for a day trip. Why is it called so? Because at sunset, it looked like the whole valley was on fire, hence someone traveling through this place in the 1920s gave it this apt name. Pretty much the entire place contains sandstone rocks, which are colored red due to the presence of iron oxide, or rust, in them.

When we went in September, it was quite scorching, and there was a funny-but-serious warning sign we came across within the park - "Heat warning - you might die". Great warning!

This was one of the very first places where my husband took up driving in the US, a pretty good place to hone your skills - an easy, low-speed drive but with challenges like driving on a single, narrow lane with big vehicles coming slightly fast on the opposite side. 

We ended up wrapping up our visit within half a day as it was getting hotter and drier even inside the car, and we headed to the Seven Magic Mountains from there - a queer name, since they were neither mountains nor was there anything magical about them! But there were thankfully 7 of them!

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [UCLA]

#244

Tucked away within the geology department of the University of California Los Angeles, famously known as UCLA, lies its meteorite gallery. How did we stumble upon this during our LA trip? It was listed as a must-see in Google Maps!

Driving through LA traffic, it wasn't easy to get there. Fortunately, we made it in time - 4:15PM - and had 45 minutes to leisurely browse through the entire gallery before it closed at 5PM.

Yet another aspect of luck - we ended up listening to a who we thought was a UCLA professor share with some of the students there about the origins of some of these meteorites and talk about rock formations in general. 

Walking around the exhibit, there were showcases housing stunning collections of meteorites from across the cosmos - the Moon, Mars, asteroids - offering visitors a glimpse into the wonders of our universe.

There was a sheet attached on a bulletin board above each meteorite that told the story of how UCLA acquired it and high-level information about the type of mineral identified from it, and related details.

Overall a good suggestion from Google, since otherwise we wouldn't have found out about this place, and I gathered from friends who went here that not much else was worth seeing within that campus. It was truly a much better one-time experience that we had in LA over visiting regular beaches and restaurants.

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Tulip Festival]

#243

We drove 90 minutes north of Seattle to the The Skagit Valley, where there was a Tulip Festival, a yearly occurrence. A kaleidoscope of bright colors, this place beckons visitors from across the state to witness this vibrant landscape.

We spent about an hour here, navigating long paths of various colors and sizes of tulips as well as gardens contained sculpted grass and greenery. I recently learnt that this is known as 'Topiary.' 

Visitors like us - it was very crowded even though we were one of the first people there at 9AM - were enamored and enveloped in a sea of blossoms that stretched as far as the eye can see, painting the countryside with shades of red, yellow, pink, white, and purple.

From nature enthusiasts to those in search of different experiences, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival enthuses one and all, leaving them with awe and wonder and making their long trip worth the drive.

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Snorkeling]

#242

It was our very first experience of doing snorkeling as well as having huge magnificent manta rays swim right underneath us. This was yet another must-do adventure if you ever go to Hawaii.

It was 8PM. They took us out to slightly deeper waters by boat, a short ride. We had to put on snorkeling gear and swim a bit to reach a raft where everyone had to become completely horizontal and stretch out to hold on to the sides of the raft. We then had to put our face in and await until the manta rays swam beneath us, gracing us with their soft gentle touch as they swam by near bright lights, because according to the guide, that's where they swim around for food.

Mastering the snorkeling gear was a little tricky at first and took some getting used to. It snugly fitted to my face, completely disallowing breathing through my nose—a sensation I initially found disconcerting. 

Once I adjusted to the rhythm of breathing solely through my mouth, a world of wonder unfolded beneath the surface. 

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Red Rocks Amphitheatre]

#241

Yet another unplanned venue, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre was suggested to us as a must-visit by the hotel staff in Denver the night we checked in. It is kind of unique because it's carved into the red sandstone cliffs and is one of the tallest amphitheatres at over 300 feet. It seats more than 9000 people and is apparently one of the most popular concert venues.

An intriguing aspect we observed other than its remarkable acoustics was the number of people busy working out on the stairs! There was a lady doing push ups combined with hopping up on each stair, reaching the top (which took quite a while because there were so many steps), and repeating the entire routine. There were several others jogging, doing abs workouts, and a few others doing periodic pushups as well.

Climbing to the top was a bit of a workout for us too, but it was worth it, as we witnessed the beautiful Denver city skyline, also mountainous, but in a different way than the Pacific Northwest.

We also enjoyed visiting the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Springs while we were there, but that's a story for another day!

April 2024 A-Z Challenge: U.S. Travel Chronicles [Quesadilla]

#240

After every adventurous trip with new foods and experiences, we return home to relish comfort food once again. As it can take a few days to get over the tiredness and get back into regular routine, we typically use the food service called HelloFresh to segue back into making home-cooked food.

HelloFresh simplifies meal preparation by sending the right quantity and proportion of ingredients and the recipe to make fun stuff like pastas and protein bowls. Our recurring favorite, as avid enthusiasts of Mexican cuisine, has been their veggie quesadilla. 

With its vibrant flavors and simple preparation, it captures the essence of homemade goodness. And keeps us full and content, alongside providing a balanced diet - protein from beans and guacamole, carbohydrates from the rice and tortilla, probiotics from sour cream, and essential vitamins from the pico de gallo, cheese being optional.

My husband and I typically make these dishes together as we relive the highlights of our trip, making it a cherished ritual we look forward to after our trips.