Suneel's Travel Adventures

Got up early and was ready to leave by 7:30am because I was visiting both New River Gorge and Mammoth Cave National parks today. Also, I had made a reservation for a cave tour at 3:45pm, so needed to ensure I reach Mammoth Cave before that.  It was very foggy on the road and in the New River Gorge park once I reached that. It was great, cool hiking weather but not much visibility into the canyon. I did the short Endless Wall Loop trail. It has several places you can optionally climb down a long steel ladder and hike along the sheer cliffs. I did not climb down the ladders, since I was hiking alone and did not want to risk it.  The fog also obscured the view of famous New River Gorge bridge, the longest steel arch bridge in the world. It is also the 3rd highest bridge in the US.         The drive from New River Gorge to Mammoth Cave was magnificent, probably one of most picturesque during my road trip. I stopped to take a few pictures, but I wish I cou...

Drove from the urban, crowded, active metro of Washington DC to the rural, lush forests and mountains of Virginia and West Virginia today. The goal was to visit both Shenandoah and New River Gorge National Parks today, but that turned out to be too ambitious. Will have to go to New River Gorge tomorrow after staying the night at an AirBnb in Fayetteville, West Virginia. After a wonderful, but too short a time with my nephew in DC, hit the road in the morning. It was slow going through the traffic on Constitution Ave. It gave me a chance to catch a glimpse of the White House, Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.       After getting out of DC into Virginia, I made a quick stop at a supercharger and then was on my way to Shenandoah National Park.  Driving in the countryside in the east coast is beautiful with lush green rolling hills covered with dense forests. Quite a contrast to the west coast. This was also true for the drive today. I reached around 1pm at t...

A relatively short drive today from Allentown to Washington DC. The break from long drives daily was welcome and much needed. The destination today was my nephew's house in central Washington DC.  Washington DC is not one of the 48 states I am covering in this road trip. It is a district, created in the constitution as the seat of the US government. Its odd status is captured well in the tagline on their license plates - "Taxation Without Representation".  Driving through the eastern states, a big difference compared to California is the widespread usage of tolls on the freeways. Most places have done away with the toll booths and now use electronic tolling like E-ZPass. I don't have one, so I have been driving through without paying. I am supposed to get a bill in the mail to pay the tolls from the various states I have gone through. Remains to be seen if this will all work out cleanly.  I reached my nephew's house late afternoon. It is in central DC, surrounded ...

The drive through 6 states in the northeast today was quite a contrast compared to the long drives through some of the larger states like Montana and the Dakotas.  The wide range and disparity in the area and the population of the various US states is baffling to me, especially given the political importance of each state.  After a delicious Avocado toast breakfast prepared by my nephew,  it was time to start my drive south along the Atlantic coast. My first stop was Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. I walked around the campus and stopped at the Van Wickle gates. This is where our son started his college journey twelve years ago and my wife and I took our first step to being empty nesters.   Next stop was lunch at the famous Sally's Apizza at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I had the potato and rosemary pizza, which was quite good.         Continued my drive south to the last stop of the day in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Here...

It was raining when we got up,  so we were glad to have finished our hiking in Acadia the previous day. Before starting our drive back to Boston, we went to Bar Harbor's iconic restaurant, Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast . It was a fitting treat to celebrate our wonderful time in Acadia National Park.  The drive back to Boston was pleasant and we got back around 4pm. But, not done for the day we got ready and headed to my nephew's house for a dinner party. It was great being together and enjoying the delicious homemade Greek/Middle-eastern delicacies.   The raw numbers for the day: 307 miles driving, 4300 steps walking 2 Tesla supercharger stops 3 states - Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts  Next:  Day 24: Drive through six States (Sept 27, 2022)

After 3 weeks, I have reached the mid-point on my road trip across USA! I am also at the eastern most and northern most stop of the road trip.  It has been a fabulous three weeks. I have driven 6700 miles and walked 233K steps so far. Have traveled through 22 US states + Ontario, Canada. I have visited and hiked in 12 national parks. Enjoyed time with friends and family in many different cities. Next, I head south and then back west towards home.    This was one of the rare days in my road trip where I am not driving to a new place. We have the full day to explore Acadia and come back to our cottage. Not having to pack and then unpack feels good. Also, no recharging sessions for the Tesla needed today. The weather forecast calls for rain after 8pm today, continuing into tomorrow. So, the plan is to maximize our time in the park. Had our own breakfast in the cottage, saving time not going to a restaurant. Packed our lunch sandwiches and set out for a full day of h...

Start of a big 3-day trip to Acadia National Park in Maine with my daughter and her boyfriend. We started early from Cambridge so we could reach Acadia early afternoon and have time for a hike in the park. Navigating through the streets of Boston continued to be a challenge for me. First stop was a Tesla supercharger stop in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The first charger we plugged into was charging slower than expected, so we switched to another spot which worked much better, closer to the 150kw expected rate. This was the first hiccup at a Tesla supercharger during my 3 weeks driving trip so far. We got breakfast at the nearby Panera Bread, while the Tesla fully charged. After reaching Acadia around 2pm, stopped at the visitor center to get hiking recommendations. It was quite windy, a side effect of the hurricane that hit Nova Scotia. The forest ranger asked us to avoid the Beehive and Precipice trails today due to high winds. We first went to Sieur de Monts Road and did short, but stee...

A short drive today from Albany to Boston, via side roads in Vermont. Had a relaxed, late start from Albany, after breakfast and more chit-chat with my friends. I had plugged in my car for 110V trickle charging in their garage, so was ready to hit the road.  Instead of taking I-90 to Boston,  took the scenic route through Wilmington and Brattleboro in Vermont. The fall foliage is making its presence felt, even though the peak is a few weeks away.  I had planned to do a hike at Monadnock State Park in New Hampshire, but skipped it since I needed to reach Boston in time for a family dinner.  Instead I made a quick stopover at Walden Pond to reflect on the 2 years Thoreau spent there and the spiritual significance of nature.        From Walden Pond, it was a quick drive to Boston, though I did got lost a few times on the confusing roads in the city. The highlight of the evening was getting together with 5 members of the next generation in our fam...

Got up early in the morning to walk to the Falls at sunrise. It was mostly cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining. The rain was forecast to start around 10am.  It was an invigorating, brisk walk in the cool weather. Lot fewer people around compared to the throngs the previous evening.   After a made-to-order breakfast at the B&B, it was time to leave Niagara Falls. Crossed the Rainbow Bridge into USA. It took a few minutes to explain to the border agent what a California car was doing so far away from home.  My destination today was Albany, New York for an eagerly awaited reunion with a couple of IIT buddies. I reached my friends house in Albany around 4pm after driving in the rain on the New York state thruway. A second friend and his wife drove in from Boston and arrived shortly after me. I've known these friends for 45 years, we spent five years together in the same hostel, played long hours of bridge, went for late night movies on our bicyles, Chai at surds ...

  It had rained overnight and the resort like backyard at my friends house looked even greener. Quite a contrast to the smaller lots in California.  After a leisurely breakfast, it was time to bid adieu to them and head on to Canada today. Can't thank them enough for their warmth and hospitality. I filled out the ArriveCAN form and got ready for my drive across Ambassador Bridge in Detroit  for my one day overseas in this road trip.   The first stop was to see my aunt in Kitchener, Canada. It was slow going because of the long line of trucks at the border. The border agent wanted to know about all the places I had stopped at on my road trip. Then the traffic stopped for an hour due to an accident and had to be diverted through some backroads. And on top of everything, it was raining hard.  A few hours late, I was glad to finally get there and meet my cousin and my aunt and get her blessings.  After a couple of hours chatting and catching up, reminisci...

 Tuesday, Sept 20, 2022 From my AirBnb in Sturgis, drove in the morning to Shipshewana, a small town which has a sizeable Amish community. It is also a popular tourist spot for antiques and handicrafts.  It was interesting to watch the Amish horse buggies amidst the car traffic. Also saw some of them using  tricycles to get around. I didn't get a chance to stay too long, since I had a long drive ahead to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. After a long drive through Ohio, reached Cuyahoga Valley National Park around 2:30pm. Going there was not originally in my plan, but I got greedy and at the last minute, added the 250 mile detour in order to tick off one more national park. What would have been a relaxing day, turned into a long, tiring driving marathon. I guess it is ingrained in us to bite more than we can chew, try to be overachievers. This was a reminder for me that sometimes it is better to slow down and pull back.   The park itself is quite nice, beautiful ...