At Grand Canyon. Nov 1998. Grand canyon cannot be explained in words, it needs to be experienced. It truely is a wonder of the world. In this trip, we only got to see it from the rim. I am thinking of a helicopter trip for the next visit, but my dream is to run the river...hmmm, I don't think that's going to happen until Srinidhi is a teenager, if at all.

At Grand Canyon, Nov 1998. You can see the mighty Colorado river running through the canyon in the background.

I am cutting down some trees in my backyard in preparation for landscaping. These are evergreens, I think they are called Atlantic Ceder or something. They spoil the view to the stream and the wood bridge in the back. Besides, they are not tall enough to survive among the other tall trees we have. I already cut down three trees. You can see the stumps and the fallen trees. This is a before picture for the fourth tree.

After cutting down.

Kaayal Pura - காயல் புறா

It had been my fantasy for a long time to own a boat; finally took the plunge this year. We got a new Bayliner runabout couple of weeks back. I have a name for her, Kaayal Pura (காயல் புறா), which means Dove on the Lake. We have nice water around here, Lake Norman. Looking forward to the fun years ahead on the boat.

இதுதான் எனது புது மோட்டார் படகு. இரண்டு வாரங்களுக்கு முன்பு வாங்கினேன். இதற்க்கு காயல் புறா என்று பெயர் வைத்துள்ளேன். படகு வாங்க வேண்டும் என்பது எனது பல வருட கனவு. இதில் ஏழு பேர் போக இடம் உள்ளது.

Ready to learn and enjoy. Fun years ahead.

First trip on our boat.

Kaayal Pura docked at the marina.

Discovery Place Science Museum - டிஸ்கவரி ப்ளேஸ், சயன்ஸ் ம்யூஸியம்

Couple of weeks back we took Srinidhi to Discovery place, the science museum at downtown Charlotte. He enjoyed the special NASA exhibits. (probably since he knew rockets and spacemen before)

இரண்டு வாரங்களுக்கு முன்பு ஸ்ரீநிதியை டிஸ்கவரி ப்ளேஸ் சயன்ஸ் ம்யூசியத்திற்க்கு அழைத்து சென்றிறுந்தோம். வாண்வெளி சம்பந்த பட்ட நாசா எக்ஸிபிட்ஸ் மிகவும் பிடித்து இருந்தது.

In front of one of NASA exhibits.

Srinidhi at dinosaur exhibit. He is not into dinosaurs yet. Only thing that interested him mildly in this area was their huge foot print.

ஸ்ரீநிதிக்கு டைனசார்களை இன்னும் பிடிக்க ஆரம்பிக்கவில்லை.

Srinidhi in fornt of Discovery Place, science museum, at downtown Charlotte.

The Week End

We had a great July 4th weekend. My college friend Gurpreet Singh and his wife Abha visited us from Washington DC. This is their second visit; they were here during 2001 once. They stayed with us for two days this time. Srinidhi hit it on with Abha instantly and they had a ball.

We went to the lake, more on that later.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn Gurpreet is still keeping track of Tamil movies. He was a fan of Tamil movies and music, especially of Maniratnam, during college days. Ithayathai Thirudathe, Anjali, Nayakan were some of his favorites.

We walked down the memory lane and talked about the movie trips in REC buses we had. (Remember the entire REC bus emptying at Chippi Theater? Remember Blame it on Rio and Blue Lagoon? Etc)

Gurpreet wanted to see Autograph and Kaadhal. Since the store didn't have the DVD for either, we ended up watching 5 Star. It was a good movie, but bummer... no closed caption! I took charge as the translator.

After the late night movie, truthful to our hostel tradition, we took on few hours of weighty discussion on topics ranging from cosmos to soul, genes to business. No, no, no, we were not drunk or anything, just may be dizzy after a long day :-)

Anyway, it was a fun weekend.

Happy Independence Day - சுதந்திர தின வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Happy Birthday to the Land of the Free. On this day, I thank you America for helping to spread the ideals of Liberty to all of Humanity. I salute the Nation, the Flag that represents it and the Constitution that protects it.

ஜூலை 4, அமெரிக்க சுதந்திர தினம். சுதந்திரத்துவத்தை அனைத்து மானிடர்க்கும் பரப்ப அயராது பாடுபடும் அமெரிக்காவுக்கு இன்நன்னாளில் எனது வந்தனம்.

He Likes Swings Now, Suddenly! - ஊஞ்சல்

Ever since Srinidhi was one, we tried to sit him on the swing whenever we go to park. He simply didn't. Suddenly last month, he decided he will use the swing after all!

ஸ்ரீநிதிக்கு ஒரு வயசானது முதல், பார்க்குக்கு போகும் பொழுதெல்லாம், ஊஞ்சலில் ஆடவைக்க முயற்ச்சி செய்து வந்தோம். பார்க்கில் அது மட்டும் ஸ்ரீநிதிக்கு பிடிக்காத விஷயம். சென்ற மாதம் ஒரு நாள் திடீரென ஊஞ்சல் ஆட பிடித்துவிட்டது!