Niagara falls... nature "calls" once again

The fact that I live close to Niagara falls, one of the seven wonders of the world.... so what? Does that mean I should go there often? Of course yes. It is damn beautiful. But all these in theory, on paper. The reality is you do not appreciate things which are near to you. For example, your parents, siblings, friends. Its when you go far far away, "saat samundar paar", that is when you realize the importance.. sob!! Enough of the senti, k-serial stuff. The point is even if it is near I do not often get a chance to visit Niagara. But the two times that I have been there, two different experiences. The first time was a bit hectic visit, the second one was a more elaborate, so much elaborate that we had time to know the history of Niagara, get "gyan" on migrating birds flying in "v-shape" formation.

My two friends with whom I spent my summer had come down from Boston, for visiting Niagara falls. It was a case of "neki aur pooch pooch".. And off I was on my second visit to Niagara.... The journey started on "rainy" note, dark clouds hovering above our heads, bijli kadakna and all that. 20 miles into the journey, and it all cleared, enlightening our spirits as much as the sun enlightened the sky. Great visit was on the cards.

As you start approaching Niagara falls, from far away you can see a cloud of mist forming in the air. This is from the force of water that falls down. It is an amazing view. Sad there is no place to pull over your car and watch it. But nothing to fret over. We reached the falls and surprisingly found a place to park our car at nominal rates. Surprising because inspite of the weather being so nice, there was not much crowd. We approached the information center to get some maps and stuff. The guy sitting behind the desk was like guys we have a complete package for the Niagara for 60 bucks which includes 5 attractions and blah blah... I was like wait a minute. What 60 bucks? One of us was brave (pun intended, kindly use any adjectives you wish to use) enough to ask for student discounts.. hahahhahah... the guy was like, "we are sorry, but we dont have that kind of thing. But I can do one thing for you guys. I can waive of the taxes on the 60 bucks"... I started immediately walking away without turning to look around.. Is it some kind of joke.. Folks planning on a visit to Niagara, dont buy into it.... who wants to see a aquarium and other s@#t along with other stuff for 60 bucks. You go there to wonder at the force of the nature unleashed and you can do that for just 23 bucks, which is the entrance fee to two attractions: "Cave of the Winds" and "Maid of the Mist".. Full too "paaisa vasool".

Our first ride was the "Cave of the winds"... Yellow ponchos... Here you get to walk right upto the falls.. Its amazing..... You see multiple rainbows formed because of the falling water... Walk right upto the falls and look up, amazing feeling.... The force of water hitting the rocks and splashing on you is so powerful. This is what I had missed in my first visit to Niagara falls, it had closed by the time we went there... And you get a pair of non-slip sandals.. ofcourse they are supposed to be recycled, but people bring it back home as souveniurs...The second ride was the "Maid of the Mist".. Blue ponchos... A ferry takes you right into the Horse Shoe Falls... The niagara is made up of two falls.. the "American falls" and the "Horse Shoe falls" name given because of the shape... The horse shoe is the big brother of the two falls.. You have to visit it to appreciate the beauty... Now our ferry driver was a fatooo... He did not take us as deep as other ferry ones, but no complains...

After covering the two rides it was time for some ice creams... Ice creams at Niagara sucks... One of my friends, dared and bought a double scoop rainbow... He could see rainbows everywhere after eating that rainbow... Close your eyes and remember all the cough syrups and medicines given when you were as a small child. Same to same.... Moral of the story: "Go with the flow, do not diverge i.e. buy the basic chocolate or vanilla when you are eating from a ice cream store which has no history"

We had decided to see the light show in the evening before returning back home. We had some time in the middle before the light show started, so what to do during that time. We inquired about the movie which tells history about Niagara, a 40 minute documentary covering the myths and tales associated with Niagara. Ticket was for 11 bucks, but we got it in black for 6 bucks.. :D
One family did not want to see the show, as they were getting late and wanted to get rid of their tickets.... The show was not until 40 minutes after. Stomachs grumbling it was decided to invest the time in hunting for food... We saw a sign for a Punjabi Dhaba on one of the corners of the street, as we approached it we saw a sign "Punjabi Dhaba...moved two blocks away... Free pick up and drop service available".. By the time we were able to decipher the message, one uncle came and said... "Come on guys the car is waiting... lets go" We decided to take the risk..."the two blocks was in reality very very far away" We were feeling as if, we will not be able to come back for the movie. 6 bucks gone down the Niagara. But finally we reached.. The food was amazing.. we decided to take a take out... the aunty of the dhaba was a kind lady.. she gave us extra rotis..

Just in time for the show... But to our shock.. there was huge line to get in... there was no way we could have got a seat.. the thing is even if you have a ticket.. it is on a first come first serve basis... What had happened was "two tour operators" had bought a lot of tickets and with the help of the checker managed to get all their people ahead of the line...Result no way we would have managed to get in... But here is where the Indian training to handle public situations like this comes in handy... A little raise in the voice.."janta ki awaz" gather a crowd and the poor checker was forced to let us in... They are not at all used to this. But there were no seats, so we saw the movie sitting in the ally.. the aroma of our Indian food spreading throughout the theatre.. The movie... less said about it the better.. it was how the "Maid of the Mist" got its name... some mythical girl commits suicide by jumping off the Niagara, is catched by the spirits who reside behind the waters of Niagara.. no need to worry folks.. Niagara is not haunted... :D.. by the way the chick in the movie was hot.. she commits suicide because, she was being forced to marry a old man... Some war stories about the quest to control Niagara because people believed it be a way of entering China and other stuff... Movie over... nice to spend your idle time though...

Time for the light show.. This is also what I had missed in my previous visit... Huge flood lights of different colors are flashed onto Niagara from the Canada side... Truly beautiful view.... Thing is there are 7 different colors that will be flashed, one after the other and in the end all together. This usually happens fast and the entire stuff is for like 40 minutes... I dont know what sin we had commited, but for us first the white light came on.. We were like ohhhhhhhh aaaaaahhhhh, wowwwwwww" but after some time "change the f@#&ing light".. the white light was on for full 10 minutes, then came on the green, same story of ohhhs, ahhs and f#$%" We had patience to wait for two more colors, and then we had enough... But nonetheless it was beautiful...

Probably next time I go I will get to see the faster version of the show.... Happy and content with the visit... we commenced back on our return journey....

By the way the meaning of Niagara is Thunder Water...

Back to Cuse.. Back to Pavilion

Well, well, well... It is said that all good things have to come to an end... But they say it probably because there are other good things that are waiting for you to come and end them and then move on to others... I must be reading some lifecycle stuff to be talking like this... but anyways... I just returned from my 14 week stay in Boston, which was "supposed" to be my first summer in the States.

That day it was pouring cats and dogs, same to same Mumbai Paus.... I guess Boston was sad because I was leaving, but then you will say there was rain in Syracuse too.. Then I must say that for Syracuse it was "Khushi ke aasu", that I was coming back. :D... However the rain made the commute from my house to the bus terminal a small challenge.. Somehow my bags had decided to become heavy all of a sudden and the wheels of the bag which till now used to run in the direction they were supposed to decided to have fun with me that day... I said left.. they said right.... and vice versa... But then somehow I passed my little driving test and got to the terminal... The Greyhound people had some trouble getting a bus for us and we got delayed by close to an hour.... The whole time we were betting if we would get a Wi-Fi equipped bus or not... By the way this is called "Maaj".... Finally a Wi-Fi came, but no use as I slept through most of the way...

And as I dozed off... I slowly wandered to the first time I came down to Boston... It was amazing,... the city was very welcoming... not much crowd, bu the same feel of the city... Reached 512 St. Alphonsus, which was my tent for the next 3 months.... The first best thing, there was a swimming pool in our building, and our balcony was right facing it... Nice timepass for the weekends, whether you decide to swim or no... :D.. The house was always full of people.. Till the end I had about 12 to 13 roomies over the course of the summer.... Met some nice people in the house who are now friends for life...

To talk about the city, it is a very beautiful and romantic city.... the sad part is I only got to enjoy the first part.. About the later, well we will have to do something about it... Working on it folks.. :D... I stayed near to North Eastern University, so the crowd was amazing.. Prudential building was a walking distance away and there was a beautiful spot called "Reflection Pond" with all fountains and a big pond... I worked in the heart of Boston, right in the Financial District... Used to spend my lunch hour in the park near to my office.. watching "Birds" or "Chimnya".... "Bird Watching".... There is a street in Boston called "Newbury Street"... this is where the romance comes into play... The street has many restaurants, with tables on the street... a nice candle lit tables.. and music going on.. Heard the food is good though.... Another one is the Boston Harbor and the Quincy market area.. You can find amazing street performers here.... The view from Harbor is amazing... You can see planes land and take off from Logan airport... Simply sit gazing at the sea.. with Boston Downtown on the back.... By the way this is another romantic spot... There is a Fort nearby, which is also beautiful and many beaches within a driving distance of 15 minutes... we have been to many......

One of my favorites in Boston was the early morning train ride to work... Reasons... from mumbai.. train is the part of the life... well ok, ok .. I am lying.. when you are surrounded by tons of beautiful well dressed chicks, why would your ride be not fun???? Boston is where I first took a shot at playing lawn tennis... New Federer in the making.. watch out folks...

There were some ups and downs....but the fun was never compromised......

Now I am back to Syracuse.. my alma matter... here is where I am going to "Padh likh ke.... "
There was a slight difference... all right slighhhhhhhhtttttt difference in Boston and Syracuse....
Less people, no trains (No chicks)... I have no swimming pool in my house...no beaches..... but still it is good to be back at School....

Boston I will be back

Hampton Beach...Tons of everything

Struggling to wake up in the morning after an awesome six flags trip is but natural. Infact it was fun to laze around for a change.. But then the morning light started to come in through the window and realities said "Come on buddy.. get up"... Yawning and stretching... finally managed to sit straight on my bed.. The awesome smell of something cooking in the kitchen got me going. Later did I know that it was going to be a brunch. I was planning to come back to my house in Boston, from Waltham and was searching for the details of the trip back home, such as the bus timing and blah blah... Well this are the luxuries of US, you can plan most of your things...

And while I was doing that, Rahul, Abhays brother asked me.. What you doing? Dont worry about going back.. We are going to Hampton Beach.. Join us.. That was it... I can be sold out on any trip in matter of seconds... Lets get our beach gear folks... While everything was getting ready, me and little Janhavi drew loads of pictures of Mickey and Minnie and Teddies.. and humans... She is one artist.. I was amazed.. Then we played office office and it was fun too...

We started off at 12:00 for a 1nd half hour drive.. which was pleasant. Entering Hampton felt like entering Goa.. The smell of the sea and for some reason you can always smell the lobsters when you go near the sea.. Anyways, I am not a fan of Lobsters anymore.. not atleast the boiled one... Spices rock baby... But no problems with the smell. It gives the feel you know. Parking was a big deal and it is no different than any where else. 5 bucks parking lot suddenly began to cost 25 bucks and obviously we are not supposed to be lucky to find free parking slots... If that was true then I would I have asked for a date with any hot hollywood actress and would have got it. :D So we managed to find a 10 dollar slot, cheap I guess. Now the reason behind the rates of parking shooting up was... This years summer has not been an actual summer of sorts.... It was cloudy, rainy most of the times, with weekends either drenched by the rain or dulled by the clouds.. It so happened that this particular weekend the sun had decided to shine in all its glory and the clouds had decided to probably visit India, for a change. So everybody from all near by places had come down to Hamptonb beach.. In some parts of the beach I was not able to see the sand... only bright colored _____ please fill in the blanks folks... :D The sun means a lot here and the bath from the sun is a privilege and the so called Tan that we get is a prized possession.. So you can understand..

We somehow managed to find a space, or carv out a space on the beach, mattressess on the sand and the swim wear on off we went to the inviting waters... It was cold, but not enough to dampen our "dumba dumba" spirits.. So 1 2 sade made 3 and we splashed in the water.. The chill gone from the body it was time for fun... Riding the big waves.. Lying on your back on the water and watching the bright blue sky,,, standing still and watching the small fishes swim in the water.. amazing.... We carved out an arm chair in the sand and decided to do some sun bathing.. hahahahahah.. no tan needed for me atleast... but the lying there peacefully in the cold sand and the sound of the waves was magical...

With our fun quota all filled up, it was time to pack up... But before that some window shopping.. with a Dunkin coolata in our hands.. and we walked back to our cars...

It was truly HAMP "TON" of FUN..... One of the most amazing weekends in Boston...

Six flags.. the promise kept

It was two times in a row that I had planned of going to Six Flags and two times my efforts had been thwarted. Sad... But on Thursday evening, I received a call from my friend Abhay, asking me if I wanted to come with them to Six Flags.. His mom and dad had come from India and they along with his cousin brother and his family were planning a trip to Six Flags, Springfield. I did some calculations in my mind, took a decision of bunking the office on Friday and decided.. Six Flags here I come... It was one of the best weekends I have spent during my tenure in Boston.

Early morning I took a train and bus to Abhays place in Waltham.... It was great meeting uncle and aunty and Rahuls family once again..... Never felt out of place a single moment.. They were that welcoming... Dropped a mail to my manager "I am not feeling well. Will not be able to report to office" and off we were to six flags...

The rides were amazing.. fast, steep, twists and turns and rotations and zero gravity drops... Enjoyed a lot.. My personal favorite was the bizzaro.... The water park was fun too.. I was wearing a cotton short, so the girl near one of the slides was not letting me go.. But my eyes did the trick. I gave her a beseeching look and she melted right away.. and let me go.. Just seconds before she had refused a girl in front of me.. That was a small victory,... Bachna ye hasino... hahahhahaha

A indian dinner on the way back and I collapsed as soon as sat in the car,.. While I was asleep I still felt like I was in one of the rides.. That was an amazing feeling...

This was friday... the trip to Hampton beach, New Hampshire was on Saturday... in the next blog...

By the way I forgot to mention.. I want to appreciate the enthusiasm and spirit shown by Abhays parents.. they enjoyed all the rides like us... The trip was special because of them...

Cape Cod.. the unplanned but an awesome trip

I was busy (yeah literally busy) watching Orphan on my laptop. I wanted to watch this movie from the time I saw the trailer in the theatres. I some how have a fetish for the horror movies.. the bhoot ke pichure... :D.. And my phone rings... Movie pause... It is my friend, who had just in the morning passed his driving test and was eager to enjoy his new found freedom. " I am at the car agency.. this fellow is giving me all kinds of deals.. tell me fast which car do u guys want".. I am like hold on dude, whats going on.. He is like lets go for a drive somewhere.. I said but where.. Dont worry man we will plan something after I get home.. I fall into a category who will set off on a trip at the slightest cue.. so this temptation was sufficient for me. We had to convince another friend and after much GD we finally agreed on hiring the car. Now where to go.. Multiple choices...

Cape Cod which is a 3 hour drive, Lake George in New York, where would stay for the night and go to Six flags the next day... Finally it was decided to go to Cape Cod which is place in Massachusets with many beaches... Wrote down the directions and off we were

The drive started smoothly, but not for a long time.. After about an hour or so we got caught up in the traffic.. For some unknown reasons the freeway to Cape Cod is by no means free.. on weekends.,.. Awesome traffic.. bumper to bumper... That took most of our time... And then we heard a grumbling sound... It came from our stomachs pleading for atleast a Mac D burger.. which is the by the way Garibon ka khana now... :D So the next exit and we got into a Mac D, burger in our stomachs and back on our way.. The break worked like magic.. as once we resumed on the high way the traffic was pretty much smooth.. and away we went on our merry way..

On the way we were joined by a family driving in their American tumtum (please visit my orkut profile for pics of Cape Cod and You will understand the tumtum) which was a old model convertible.. They were all cosily stuffed in the car and our dear uncle, was driving as if he was a Schumi in Ferrari. Zigzag, broom and he drove siftly moving between cars.. We were wondering whether the car door would come off, the mirror would fall down... Nothing of that sort... Old is Gold was true...

Our aim was to reach one of the beaches and catch the sunset, but we wanted to go to the farthest point of Cape Cod, the last point in that direction before the huge mass of ocean.... We ignored the smell of the lobsters coming from the many restaurants as we neared Cape Cod, but a resolution in mind that today we are gonna try the lobster, while coming back... The sun was slowly reclining back in the horizon and preparing to say hello to the other part of the world. From bright shining yellow, to orange and sinking fast.. and we finally made it to the beach before it turned red and kissed the ocean in front of us...

The beach was amazing... people had come in for camping on the beach... There were camp fires on the beach.. We have heard of beach weddings.. Well we actually got to see one.... Two beautiful brides... :D It was a small wedding, but it was beautiful... The beauty of the place was amazing. On one side the sun was diving and the other side the moon was rising up.. Amazing... As it grew darker, the camp fires started glowing brightly and we could just see the silhoutees of people around it... I am going to do camping on a beach for sure.. probably next summer.... And then the very familiar sound of mosquitoes on our head indicated that it was time to say , ye bye to the beach...

Now time to fulfill the promise.. We stopped at a restaurant named Moby Dick for eating a lobster.. Well it is quite a costly item, so we decided to best share it and just have a taste of the lobster than to make it our dinner... I am glad we did it... The lobster arrived in its majestic glory all set in the plate.. with butter.. it was quite big... Asked the waitress, how to eat it as we had no clue where to start... She said she started of with the tail moved on to the claws and then something something and she did not like the middle stomach portion and all.... We had got a clamp like thing to break open the claws of the lobster.. I had high expectations, but one bite and phusssssssssssssssssss... it was just a boiled mass of "maas"... no meeth. mirchi... Somehow we started our journey as the waitress had described, toiled through the tail, forced our way through the claws and by the time I ripped open the stomach, we just could go no more... My advice, dont even think of eating the stomach, even if you dare to try a lobster. To our amazement there was chinese family who was devoring lobster after lobster with quite ease... We considered giving ours to them... :D.. Our hands were smelling of lobster. We order a cake to change the taste and we resumed back..

Reached late night into boston to the familiar scenes of girls coming out of pubs.. Early morning we were supposed to drive to six flags.. but alas that trip never did happen.. But no regrets...

Cape Cod was amazing... the nature is awesome...

A day of beaches

Menu: A car for which you dont have to pay, add to that a weekend and a perfect weather... Awesome recipe for getting out of the bed and going out... Well we had a car which was given to person A by his company and he was out of town and then the car was left in our care and we could not care less.....

We decided to go to the near by beach named Nahant beach (somehow the name sounds similar to some beach in India... or is it just me). With a newbie at the wheel and I guess an outdated GPS, that was an awesome ride.... We went all places and routes except the right one ofcourse... But the good thing was we drove all around Boston Downtown.. So it was not that bad...

But we finally got on to the correct road and the beach was not that far away....... The ride was worth it... The beach was not crowded so obviously it was beautiful... Anything solace is beauty....

We hung around the beach for a while... then a Dunkin donut and coffee coolata in our tummies off we were back to the city of Boston.. The newbie was confident till now, but was sometimes pondering... did the guy behind me gave me a horn, did he flash his lights... this that, but ok... we understand... We all remember the first days of school, college... That was Nahant beach

In the evening, we went to a sand sculpting festival at Revere beach.... oh yes.... the people who participate get to play in the sand and win prize money tooo.... But they are professionals... that was reflected in the sculptures that were potrayed.. Some were the obvious modern art, which I feel is abstract and never understand... I liked the one called "An afternoon Dream", may be because I liked it or maybe because I related to it.... I think it is more the later.... That is what I do in the office after my lunch.... Dream and Dream and Dream .. oh yes I do count the hours, minutes and seconds before it is 5 and off I am... Back to the beach... Well this one was crowded as opposed to the morning one..... There was a band playing some songs, one of which went like ..."If you have money... friends will crowd you" and then if you dont they will not... well something like that, I dont remember exactly... Now you dont call people like those friends do you? There was supposed to be fireworks at the beach at 9:30 but we were out of patience... so off we went....

On the way home we stopped at Quincy Market which is one of the happening places in Boston downtown... There we watched a juggling act... It was good and funny.... aaisa bahut saara item dekhne milta hai Boston.... somebody is making music out of banging buckets, somebody is jumping across 6 people, somebody is making weird hats..... But the feel of the place is nice....

There is harbor nearby which is also beautiful.....

Came back and a perfect daal chaval to the end the day of beaches....

Boston.. New York... DC... Virginia... Awesome weekend

Always heard people saying its a long weekend... but never realized the importance of those words until now..... You will understand when you start to say 9 to 5.. The independence day weekend was an ideal time for a getaway.. And I am good at those.. I took a leave on thursday itself.....

And left Boston on wednesday at 7:30 PM. I was literally counting the hours, minutes and seconds when I was in office... work.... naahhhh Finally the clock struck 5 and off I was to South Station. There I was supposed to meet an old friend Ganesh and then go to NYC which was our first leg of the journey. My good old friend had brought home made omlette sandwiches which was a treat...The bus we got into was wi-fi equipped so it was fun.. We reached NYC at 12:00 midnight and our next bus to Washington DC was at 1:45 AM. At NYC we were joined by two of my friends Onkar and Shriya and we travelled together to DC. As opposed to the new wi-fi equipped bus all we got the second time was on old forgotten bus right out of the garage... Somehow we were tired and dozed off as soon as we got into it. So no problem at all...

We reached on time at 6:00 AM in the morning at Washington DC, where we were received our friend Ade.. We drove around DC a bit coz the car was rented for an hour, so we thought why to waste the remaining 40 minutes,... It was pleasant driving in DC early morning with the cool breeze. Then we reached home, took some rest, got ready and set out to see DC and its monuments. They are all in a straight line literally and we finished the entire tour in 3 hours flat... No oohssss and ahhhs over there... Lincoln memorial, World War 2 memorial, Korean War memorial, White house and one more monument. I forgot the name.. Anyways...

We got back home and then there was the big task of doing the groceries for the upcoming trip to Shenondoah Valley, Virginia... We had to buy loads of chicken, veggies for the vegans (i learnt the word over here :), somehow i dont like it). But I felt sleepy and requested my friends to do the groceries and my kind friends did it by themselves. So we hired a Toyota Corolla and one of my best friends Kunal joined us at 8. So we all left together in two cars for the 100 mile trip to the Shenondoah Valley....

Now the suspense.. We had only one GPS.. and it was not in the car in which I was there... So we were Ram Bharose.... Onkar, Kunal and Rituja were in other car and they were trying to give us directions over the phone... oh yes it was a big ordeal.. we had written down instructions from google maps... but GPS is the real thing... So we made it quite far almost to our cabin, but for the last few miles... We lost network and we lost the sense of directions too... Later did we realize we were so near yet so far... However in the confusion, our car went off the road... But we did not know we had a superman with us... Ganesh... with one hand he lifted the car back on to the road.... kya khata hai be Ganesh....

So somehow we got in touch with the other car and were back on our merry way to our cabin. The cabin was worth the pain... In the midst of woods, it was plain beauty and solace... Barbecue in the lawn, fully equipped kitchen... We immediately put all our stuff in and started the barbecue... well it was not actually how we would have liked it but it was ok...... We tend to enjoy anything and everything we do....

Five more of our friends joined us early in the morning and we were 12 in total... Did I mention the cottage was booked only for two.. :D The morning started off with a great Kanda Poha and then we left to visit the Shenondoah Valley Skyline Drive... Well it is a fancy name given to what we call "Ghat" back in India.... It was same to same Khandala Ghat.... Only thing we paid 15 bucks to go there.... But as I said we enjoy everything and anything we do..... Beautiful place and reminded me of the many mountains and treks I had been too in India... Miss it a lot.... So on the way back again one of the cars lost the way and they went 30 40 miles in the wrong direction.. Luckily I was in the car with GPS and reached our cabin.... And we did the next best thing.. Dozed off till the others came back..... :D.. In the evening it was time for the Hot tub jacuzzii......... With some beer to go along........Dinner was an awesome chicken prepared by Rituja.. I pity the vegan guys.. waste it is.... anyways... so after dinner it was time for some poker and obviously some leg pulling and by now the famous 'Somaiya Talk".. People get bored listening to it, but we dont and we dont give up... We just love to be together and remember the great times....

Next day was for relaxing and chilling out... Vada Pav, barbecue chicken, dum biryani, water melon, was on the menu... We all sat in the lawn outside where the barbecue was on.. We opened the car and started the music.. Awesome time..... Ek taraf chick(en), ek taraf pyala aur ek taraf gaana.... Lage raho bhai... We just lost track of time....... Great great time...

After everything it was time to clean the house.... coz we had to leave it back in the same condition as we got it..... Well that was a onerous task, but when everybody pitched in it was not that big a deal..... Well atleast we thought we did a good job.. :D.. Then some more poker, some more talks and the awesome Dum Biryani as if to sign off the perfect holiday...

Next morning we started off as early as 6:00 AM as we had to catch a 8:30 AM bus from DC... On the way back we were seeing people being pulled over by cops for speeding and we were surprised at the number of cops present... every 10 miles one cop... can you believe... We were almost reaching DC when a cop asked one of our cars to pull over for speeding.. I believe we were going 52 when it was 45 speed limit..... The joke though... "The cop comes over and says, Hi Guys how are you doing today"... What a way to fine you right....

Anyways we made it to to the bus terminal on time.... And then the long journey back home started.....

Ahhhh............ awesome weekend with great people..