On a clear, sunny day, Seattle is easily one of the most beautiful cities to live in. During my three-day stay there, luckily I just got one rainy, cloudy day. My drive from Montana, through the flat plains of eastern Washington and later through the snow capped Cascade Mountains, was amazing. It was one of those in-the-zone days, when driving seems so easy. I reached Seattle in the evening and crashed at my friend, Ram’s place, which is close to the Green Lake. Ram is one of my best friends from undergrad, probably the most reliable person I know and my favorite roadtrip buddy (we have covered several national parks in CA by road). Ram...
Montana
posted by Ankur
Driving through the state of Montana is always a pleasure. Last year, when I could not enter Yellowstone due to heavy rain and snow, I had to take a detour via Montana. That’s when I first came across the splendid beauty of this state. That’s why this time I decided to spend two days in...
Midwest (WI, MN, ND)
posted by Ankur
I call this stretch – “the meat of the Midwest”. It was by far the toughest part of my roadtrip. My body held up fine over a couple of weeks of driving, but by now the mind needed some rest. But, I was already more than half way through my journey across the country. I could not even...
Midwest (OH, MI)
posted by Ankur
Driving through the Midwest is a bit like going for a long walk in the middle of the desert. Although, once in a while you are rewarded when you stumble upon an oasis. My journey through the Midwest was a bit like that too. Over 5 days, I drove about 2000 miles from Cleveland to North Dakota....
Niagara Falls
posted by Ankur
After a brief stopover at Vermont, I was on my way to the Niagara Falls through the lush green roads of rural, upstate New York. There were a few things about this stretch of the trip that really excited me. First of all, yes of course, it was the visit to Niagara – which somehow is a hugely popular tourist attraction among Indians (I’ll come to that later). The other thing I was looking forward to was meeting my undergrad buddy, Sabuj after 9 years. He works as a scientist in a chemical gases company in Buffalo (which is only 20-30 minutes from Niagara). A little bit about Sabuj first. We were in the same major (Material Science)...
Vermont
posted by Ankur
I was on my way to Niagara Falls from Maine, after an overnight stop at Burlington, Vermont. I started late from Acadia and simply wanted to reach Burlington before it got dark. It was a good 8-hour drive. There’s not much to write about this trip, although, there was one dumbfounding...
Maine
posted by Ankur
The trip to Acadia National Park in Maine was very flexible, as I did not have a fixed schedule of things to do or people to meet. With more time on my hands, I decided to take the backcountry route instead of the freeways. It took me an extra hour, but a drive through the countryside is always rewarding. You can stop by the food stalls in the farms and enjoy some fresh fruits and nuts. Now, in Maine, instead there were lobster “farms”, where the food stalls sold lobster rolls and fried seafood. Delicious! That’s why in Maine I decided to go on a strict lobster diet. Every Maine meal had to have some lobster in it. Over the next two...
Boston
posted by Ankur
Among all the cities I visited in the East Coast so far, I liked Boston the most. It has a distinct, classy look. It is cleaner and less crowded than New York. It has a rich history and that’s why every street corner has some story hidden in it. The people are very friendly too. In them, I...
New York
posted by Ankur
After an overnight stop at my cousin’s place in the port town of Newport News, Virginia, I was on my way to the northeast. It has been a week already since I have been on the road and boy, it has been quite an eventful week. I took some travel tips from my brother-in-law (who has...
Charleston, SC
posted by Ankur
While I was in Key West, the Florida sun shone in its full glory and parched every thing under it. The heat and little bit of humidity was enough to form a thick cloud cover as my stay came to an end in Key West. On my way out of Florida, I encountered torrential outpour, such that the...
Key West, FL
posted by Ankur
Corner #1 has been covered!! I spent the last day and a half around the coral archipelago, Florida Keys – the southernmost region of Florida. The first destination was Key West – the southernmost point of mainland US. The route to Key West is really scenic and interesting in several ways. It is called the Overseas Highway and takes about two and a half hours to cover one way for only 120 miles. But the drive is beautiful and a must-do for any roadtrip lover. With aquamarine waters on both the sides, the highway hops from one tiny island to another. It is a designated scenic highway and is truly an engineering marvel (especially...
Tampa, FL
posted by Ankur
Ok, I don’t have much to write about Tampa. The ride from Savannah to Tampa was smooth as such. But, it was too sunny to do anything today. I was a bit tired because of the sun, the long drive and perhaps, from the moving, packing and partying I did over the last 3-4 days. I reached around...
Savannah, GA
posted by Ankur
It has been quite hot in the south during the day. And in the evening usually there are rains and if you go further down south, then storms. Savannah welcomed me with a mild storm in the late evening. I quickly stormed into my hotel and went to bed. The next morning I planned to do a walking tour of Savannah. I didn’t have much time on my hands – just 2-3 hours may be. But that was sufficient to walk around this small, old town – apparently, the oldest city in Georgia. Savannah reminded me a lot of Pondicherry in India. While everything is French in Pondicherry, over here things are more British. The standard street names with signs...
Durham, NC
posted by Ankur
Yesterday, I began my Four Corners roadtrip. I left Durham around 4pm. Before leaving, I visited school – once for the last time. It still hasn’t hit me that I have graduated. Part of me still feels that these next few weeks are just another mid term break, time for another...