Parents Weekend, Saint Louis 10/21-23, 2011

It has been a fun weekend in Saint Louis, visiting Arun at WashU. Been 8 weeks since we dropped him off for college, back in August, 2011. Now he is the one giving driving directions to the local favorites.

Instead of doing the suggested tours, seminars around campus, Arun and I spent most of our time talking, eating out and shopping. When he was in class or getting work done in his dorm, I waited for him at my favorite spot on campus, Cafe Bergson at the Danforth Center. Deep comfortable cushioned chairs, ottomans, and the smell of coffee lend a perfect ambience for working, reading or just a quick nap!

Bay area chain restaurants having a presence in Saint Louis are Maggiano's, California Pizza Kitchen and we had dinner (Thursday) and Lunch (Friday). Arun was really craving some Indian food, so it was dinner (Friday) at House of India, on Delmar and 170. The mild paneer makhni, bhaigan bhartha, onion and garlic naans, and mango milkshake were slowly polished off our plates. Now, why didn't he ask for sambar and dosai?? Next door was Jilly's Cup Cakes and Cafe, the winner of third season of Food Network's Cup Cake wars! Sadly though, they were closed at 10pm!! Need to come back again.

No visit to WashU is complete without a trip to "The Loop", a collection of bars, eating places and furniture shops! We went to Ranoush for lunch (Saturday), and decided to check out Jilly's again. This time, we found the place bustling with folks having lunch, coffee or enjoying one of their jumbo cupcakes! Arun chose their "Pink velvet cake" (CAKE: Pink velvet, STUFFING: Caramel
TOPPING: Cream cheese, caramel buttercream and pecan praline), and I went for the "Space monkey" (CAKE: Banana-Toffee, STUFFING: Toffee Dulce de Leche, TOPPING: Caramel Cream Cheese Swirl & Chocolate Astronaut Ice Cream); both had filledcenters, layers of frosting and topped by pecan pralines or chocolate! Yum! Here are the links:


http://www.hoistl.com/


http://www.ranoush.com/


http://www.jillyscupcakebar.com/


Shopped at Bed Bath and Beyond, Macys for dorm storage, winter jackets and warm clothing. Saint Louis is in the grips of following their team the STL Cardinals, in the World Series, against the Texas Rangers, and many locals everywhere we sporting team jerseys and colors. We watched Game 3 at Shekar's home; Albert Pujols put on a mightly show with a record tying three homers to defeat the Rangers 16-7!!



I visited Shekar, Akila, Mama, Mami, Arjun and Arya at home Sat. morning. Both kids had a busy schedule, with soccer, violin, piano, tennis, birthday party. Arjun's last game of the season was fun to watch in the mildly cold Missouri morning! Arya was comfortable on my lap!!

Dining in Kona, Waimea

Kona:
Breakfast, Brunch:
Lava Java - Fluffy omelettes, guava bread french toast, tofu & brown rice

Dinner:
Boston Basil's - great pizza, salads, italian food

Snacks:
Rosa's Cantina - nachos! Not dinner!!
Italian Ice- shaved ice
Scandinavian ice - shaved ice with icecream centers

Waimea (cattle / cowboy country)
Village Burger

Hilo
New Chiang Mai Thai restaurant
Farmer's market on Saturday - tender coconuts, summer rolls, mochi, masadolas
What's Shakin' - farm stand icecream, all fruit smoothies (no ice), fresh fruit

Snorkeling in Kona - July 3rd and 4th, 2011

Unlike Maui, good snorkeling spots on the Big Island are few and far between. One of the better ones is very close to our condo - Kahalu'u Beach Park. The entry into the water is quite rocky but soon we were swimming in the midst of sea turtles; foot long fish in a variety of colors and designs - yellow, blue, white, spotted, striped; sea urchins and anemones...

This was Priya first foray into snorkeling - after a few gulps of salty sea water, she was comfortable, while tightly gripping my hands! She squealed when the sea turtle swam close to us. Arun and Murali went deeper into the ocean, up to the breakwaters, and saw lot more sea life. Arun got a little too adventurous and came back with some scrapes after an encounter with a shark (sea urchin, really!) One of the turtles was sunbathing very close to the shore - fun to watch up close!

The sand is salt and pepper in color, built up from all the volcanic activity over hundreds of years on this island. But clearly, a far cry from the snorkeling mecca of Maui.

Big Island!

Off to the Big Island! We have not visited this island in the Hawaiian chain - Kauai, Oahu, Maui, yes; but this will the first time to the Big One! Priya is very excited since she does not remember our previous visits, and Arun just wants to get away, far from Sunnyvale. Our plan is to spend a few days in Kona and a few more in Hilo, on the eastern side. Murali can't wait to spend some time at Mauna Kea, a marvelous gem for astronomy buffs!

We took United from SFO to Honolulu (Oahu) and realizing we had four hours before our connection to Kona, decided to go into the city for lunch. Arun quickly found an Italian restaurant in a mall on his iPhone and a short taxi ride took us there. Turned out to be pretty good italian food, made and served by non-italians..

The flight to Kona was awesome - the plane flew at a low altitude, and we saw the whole hawaiian island chain clearly all the way - Lanai, Maui, and other smaller ones. The airport at Kona is quaint and looks like a bunch of huts grouped together...with the baggage claim area in an outdoor setting!

Getting to Keauhou Swim and Racquet Club was a nice drive down the coast, Priya jutting her head out to soak in the island breeze. But getting through the main gate was a challenge, since the renters forgot to tell us about the code - managed to get in through the help of other renters and found our condo tucked away in a quiet garden setting...The patio has an interesting sign..


After a quick change, it a nice dinner overlooking the Pacific at Thai Rin.

Saint Louis, Missouri

Woke up Thursday morning to a typical mid-western rain storm - with lightning. It pours constantly, in a steady stream, for a couple of hours. The herbs in the yard love it, and the grass is much more greener than California. Just as it started quietly, it ended around 10am and the day turned out quite nice after that.

I took Priya, Arjun and Arya to The Lodge, at Des Peres a great water recreation facility. The indoor wave pool had children and adults bobbing around in inflated rings. The outdoor fun included a lazy river, slides and water fountains that the kids enjoyed immensely.

Shekar mentioned that this is a more recent phenomenon - cities building recreational facilities and turning it over to professional management. The facility was very clean, and prices at the concession stand were extremely reasonable ($2 or less)