only positive vibes.....

A 2013 Travelogue

I am born in India, which is a country with variety of landscapes, natural wonders, and serene places. Cultural diversities and languages draw many tourists round a year. Currently, I live in Norton, Ohio, USA, and work in an IT firm. It is a country with lots of picturesque landscapes, vivid flora and fauna, national parks with rich natural elements. My favorite mainland state is Utah, very mesmerizing.

In 2013, I made many trips within USA with my family. I would like to share my journey and experience. November 2013, Thanksgiving Holidays, Me, and my husband travelled from Akron Canton Airport, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia to reach our destination Hawaii Islands. It is almost 4501 miles from Norton, Ohio to Honolulu, Oahu.

Hawaiian Islands includes eight major Islands. I visited OAHU Island which includes Honolulu city, capital of Hawaii. After a long domestic flight, we reached in the afternoon. I was very happy and excited to explore the places I never seen and much heard before. From chilly Ohio winters of November to warm tropics, it was nothing less than a paradise.

It was a 10 days trip and I didn’t want to waste those few hours before sunset on the very first day.

We checked in Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort Hotel, went to Waikiki beach, and enjoyed the pacific sunset. It was magical.

Day 2, we went to Pearl Harbor and did Honolulu city tour. It had a quite different charm compared to US mainland cities. Iolani Place was so breathtaking. The hand work of the Queen Liliuokalani when she was held captive was something I will cherish as most beautiful handwork ever. It seemed her every emotions were present in her handwork.

Day 3, we had a Circle Island tour. Most thrilling part was when saw the giant footprint of Godzilla and Jurassic Park shooting spots in Kuala Ranch.

I was very excited for the next day, Day 4, we went for sailing and got a glimpse of a giant sea turtle. The day ended with horseback riding inside the Kuala Ranch. I was little scared and thrilled at the same time. We returned to our hotel at Waikiki and went to bed early as we didn’t want to miss the sunrise next day.

Day 5, we hiked to the top of Diamond Head crater and enjoyed the view of the entire city in the dawn.

Later the same day, we enjoyed Hawaiian Luau which is basically a traditional celebration with music and good food. We experienced live Polynesian shows, participated in Hawaiian dance, and enjoyed the popular Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken and native drink Mai Tai.

Next day, Day 6, we kept it leisure to explore the local markets and nearby places to shop and eat. We started our day visiting Byodo-In temple which is a replica of old Buddhist temple in Japan. We were lucky to visit International Market Place which I heard soon will be demolished for building a new mall.

It was amazing to see a large population of Japanese tourist along with people from different countries like Australia, Canada, and US mainland.

Day 7, me and my husband booked a local cab and went to Lanikai beach. Next stop was Pali Lookout where we got the entire northeast view of the Oahu Island. One of the bloodiest battles in Hawaiian history took place many years ago, in which King Kamehameha I conquered the island of Oahu, bringing it under his rule.

I had butterflies in my stomach when I came to know that we booked a doors-off helicopter tour of Oahu Island. It was an experience of lifetime.

Day 8, we went to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Waimanalo beach. The coconut trees added extra beauty to the landscape. We also had a glimpse of Eternity beach on our way.

Day 9, Waimea Bay was our last destination of that trip. It was nothing less than a tropical bliss. It had a huge rock and white sand beach with crystal clear water.

Day 10, we could not believe that our most amazing holiday was finally ending. We went to Waikiki beach to listen to the waves, touch the sand for the final time. We came back to hotel and got ready to catch our flight. After a long hour we landed safely to Akron Canton Airport and it was snowing already. Hope you can imagine what I felt after enjoying almost 10 days in warm tropics.

I suggest all the explorers to visit Hawaii at least once to get one step closer to the nature.

Xeneria

Meera is a smart, independent girl. She just finished her college and landed a job in Corporate sector.

She was enjoying her new responsibilities. Her parents were also happy to see their daughter slowly walking towards the path of success. But at the same time as any other Indian parents, they were desperate for her marriage. After completing her first year, she got married to Vineet, a mechanical engineer working at a Government firm in the capital city of India, New Delhi.

Meera was not happy but she had to agree as she did not have any other choice. She requested a transfer to her firm, but they never agreed. So, she resigned from her current job and moved to Delhi after marriage.

Vineet had a joint family but he was living in a quarter provided by his company to live close to work.

After marriage, Vineet and Meera stayed with the family in their ancestral home. Vineet had to travel hours to reach his office. But they have decided to stay few initial months with family as Meera will not feel alone after Vineet leaves for work.

Meera accepted the new changes in her life and she was keeping herself busy doing the daily chores and taking care of her new family members. Deep inside, she wanted to go back to her old life and be independent again.

One day, Vineet was in office and family members gathered to have lunch together. Meera asked her mother in law if there is any lemon in the fridge. Her mother in law replied that we do not buy lemons. Most of us are having acidity problems and specially Vineet hates it. She continued her story.

When Vineet was a boy, he ate his normal meal squeezing some lemon wedges to his curries. Once he finished his lunch, he was having nausea. He soon after vomited out his entire meal and was feeling very dizzy. Doctor was called and he reported that Vineet has chronic acid reflux. He must avoid warm milk, lemon, or lime etc.

After that day, Vineet never touched another lemon although he was very happy that he can get rid of drinking a glass of milk everyday after coming back from school and she laughs.

Meera couldn’t say her that she really loves lemon and her meals will not be complete without one. But she remained silent and adjusted without it.

Meera was taking care of Vineet’s family and most of the household work and Vineet was working hard in his office. He had long office hours as his travel time has also added up but when he comes back home in the late evenings, Meera always has a smile on her face.

Vineet was always shy when it comes to speak what he really likes in Meera, what qualities he really admires about her. Meera was outspoken but she also keeps her feelings to herself when she is not hearing much from the other side. Meera will try out new recipes for Vineet and cook according to his likes or dislike. She couldn’t do much like newly weds as she was living with all the other family members, but she was happy as she was always receiving love and affection specially from Vineet’s grandparents.

Meera will wake up early and pack Vineet’s tiffin and prepare her favorite ginger lemon tea without a lemon and spent some “Me time” doing Yoga in the terrace.

On weekends, Meera will go to market with Vineet for groceries. Someday, they will go for a movie or café. That was the only  private time they used to spent with each other outside home. Meera adapted her life to make others happy. She also tried to be happy by seeing other happy faces around her. And all the family members adored her for her caring nature.

Two years passed by.

One day Vineet announced at dinner, that his company has promoted him but also transferred him to a new city, Mumbai. It was happy and sad moment for everyone.

Meera and Vineet moved to a new city and slowly adjusted in their new quarter. Meera and Vineet went to visit Meera’s parents in Pune after long time. She was also preparing herself to start working again. Vineet was also encouraging her. She was working hard to face job interviews soon.

One Monday, Meera woke up and saw Vineet is not there in the room. She went to kitchen to prepare her morning tea and saw a bag full of groceries. She thought Vineet must have went to his early morning stroll and got those groceries from nearby market as she had prepared the list last night.

She decided to sort those groceries first and then make tea. As she was taking out the contents one by one, she saw a brown paper bag and 2 oval shaped yellow things. She jumped off with excitement. She could not believe what she was seeing. Her favorite pair of lemons.

Immediately she prepared her favorite tea, this time with lemon. She also enjoyed rest of her meals with those fresh and juicy lemons.

She then realized her feelings are not anymore one sided. The bond of friendship, love and care is now mutual.

She surely believed that Love can be expressed without words and here, 2 lemons did that.

Maria and Victor married recently. They moved to a town near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. They were living in an apartment on rent. Victor works in construction business as manager. Maria keeps herself busy decorating the rooms. They were happy even though they were far from their home.

Victor and Maria arranged all the furniture and a new bed set for their bedroom. There was a old clock hanging in the wall left by previous tenant. Victor did not moved the clock as it was just in the right spot.

After few weeks passed, Maria starts complaining about the clock. After Victor leaves for work in the early hours, she tries to get some more hours of sleep but the tick tock sound from that old clock irritates her.

After constant nagging, Victor moves the clock from their bedroom to living room. He thought everything will be better now, as he never wanted to get rid of that clock as it had an antique look and feel. But just opposite to what Victor thought, Maria starts complaining again.

She said after having her morning green tea, she does yoga and meditation and that large tick tock noise disturbs her to concentrate.

So, Victor had no choice and remove the clock and keep that inside the store room removing the batteries. Maria puts a victory smile on her face.

Few months passed, Maria does her best to keep herself busy but she really misses her home, family, old friends and the streets of her native place. Victor was spending more hours at his work to earn money and start a family.

After fall, winter approached and trees started shedding their leaves, no birds chirping, no people walking in the streets. Everything just went mute. Grounds were covered with white snow.

One morning, she was sipping tea from her cup and suddenly, said "I should have kept that CLOCK". It could have added little tune to this silent and dull days.