Forced House Arrest

Well... the wet and cold spell continues... when I look out of the large window of our living room the picture is not pretty at all... the creek behind our home looks desolate.. most of the trees there have lost their leaves or are in the last stages of losing them.. leaves have turned from bright green to fiery red to lemony yellow and now birch brown before falling off...

It is too cold to walk out of home... and inside is cozy and warm thanks to the ubiquitous heater... inside the car also it is cozy because of the heater... so only when one is exposed, he feels cold otherwise it is quite cool or rather should I say warm...

So since I can't do travelling on my own I decided to do some armchair travelling... and during the research I hit this website of a radio station which has launched a travel show titled... "Let's Travel!" and a website related to that.

The website offers the same old things that a zillion other travel websites are offering: Travel Tips, StreetSmart Advice, Personal Adventures Podcasts, Photo Gallery and more. But then what set's "Let's Travel!" apart are host Susan Raphael and producer Michael Zufolo who invite you to explore the world with a different feature on the Web site and on the radio Thursdays at Noon (ET, US) and Saturdays at 6pm (ET, US) at http://www.tribecaradio.net/.

A podcast of each week's show is available on the Web site after the Thursday broadcast. All "Let's Travel!" shows are archived as podcasts."Let's Travel!" has a special twist -- offering a true insider's look at trips for people of all lifestyles. Susan Raphael, the show's host, puts the spotlight on travelers of all budgets, age groups and physical abilities. She interviews a vast array of globe-trotters, artists, writers, chefs, musicians and designers from around the world about their personal adventures, cultural perspectives and found treasures! Ms. Raphael will also share news of the joyous journeys and secret hideaways of the show's listening audience.


Browsers to our podcasts and join the "Let's Travel's Fan Club". If you wish to contribute then send your travel tips, stories, suggestions, questions to: info@letstravelradio.com. There comes another website into the already cramped travel space in the world wide web.

Cold and wet and not a ray of sunlight

Since yesterday the weather has suddenly changed... it is no longer sunny and warm with heavy winds chilling bones... it is completely overcast with clouds, no sunshine at all... in fact not even a trace of sunlight... and occassionally drizzling... not to mention the biting cold which encompasses our body when we go outdoors.... definitely not a good time to trek or hike in the woods of flat-as-pancake-Dallas region...

I was under the impression that the entire Texas was a flatland, replete with cattle ranches and horse borne cowboys with guns in their hip and chest holsters... but no... Texas has all kinds of landscapes... flat plains, high mountains with deep valleys and the ocean too... It is amazing.... but life is a tad too slow for people who come from India... or any other big city of US. Vehicles move fast on roads but life seems to stand still... there are big roads and vast open spaces but without the undulations created by the mother earth it seems boring to walk straight. The scenery is the same.... houses, grasslands, and sometimes big lakes...

Oh yes Dallas has this unique distinction, like Bangalore once used to have few hundred lakes around the city, this city has 163 large and medium sized lakes/ waterbodies within a distance of 100 miles from the city. Each lake is amazingly well maintained and most of them have boat piers where one can rent jet skis, sail boats, paddle boats, power boats etc... Wish India had such facilities and people lived good lives. That is not so, even if one invests and creates such facilities it would be ineconomical to run them because there wouldn't be enough customers... who are willing to pay to avail such services.

Yesterday I visited the American Eagle Harley Davidson showroom... oh! wow... it was heaven... I hate working in the sales department of any compay but if I were to get a sales job here I would happily do that... anyway I will be happier in the service working on the engine and transmission of these iron horses... I hadn't carried my camera, else I would have been able to get some really good pictures of bikes and the way they get serviced. I have made friends with some of the staff including the service manager who assured me that I can come anytime and take pictures of the works.

Wait for them.. and believe me you wont be disappointed... these machines are simply beautiful and riding them over the open highways, through undulating mountainous roads, hurtling down the slopes and just enjoying listeing to the deep throaty drone of the V-twin engines is nirvana... I simply love being around these massive motorcycles.

But for now I better get up and start my day...... there is loads of work to do.... and I haven't even started...