India Wins the Cricket World Cup 2011

After several years of anticipation, and heart breaks the Indian cricket team has finally put in a great performance and won the ultimate trophy.

I am not a cricket aficionado, but most people from and in India are cricket fans... no cricket lovers... no cricket devotees. These people would skip work, school, or other important events in life to watch a game on the idiot box (TV). The fact that our team was perpetually disappointing its fans, particularly the Indian people who give them so much love, adoration and respect is what I never liked.

Finally the day has arrived when Indian team has made the Indian people happy... jubilant... overjoyed. I hope their winning spree continues for another series.

Wilson Creek Trail & Park, McKinney

A sole tree stands as silent witness to the changing weather in McKinney, Texas. Children play, adolescents come here to court their romantic partners, adults and seniors throng to get some exercise. The needs of different sections of the population are different but the park and its components including this tree fulfill all the diverse needs successfully. Some lessons we as a society need to learn, to live cooperatively, rather than competitively. Lot more can be achieved this way than the present way.

Skateboarding Dog

This dog was featured in today's morning news and I found the video on youtube... Most adults humans would find skateboarding daunting and scary, but not this canine. The four-legged creature has mastered the art of skateboarding with elan....

Sailing Across the Lewisville

Yesterday I got the opportunity to sail a boat with two new friends. These two gentlemen are retired and trying to pursue their hobbies more frequently now. I just tagged along with them on the big boat and it was a pretty good learning experience both in terms of sailing and otherwise. For one thing sailing with modern sailboats is not so tough, everything is fixed right and so long as you know what you are doing one can sail pretty efficiently. There is no need for brute force to tie down the mast or sails, there is no need for special technique because things have been made easy by smart inventors of these boats and accessories.

Well we set sail from one of the few FREE docks/ boat ramps on Lewisville Lake's shoreline and bounced across the waters for sometime before we were able to catch some strong winds and hit the high waters. The boat moves pretty fast if the wind is right and it often gets scary too. Since it was my first experience sailing a modern water craft, I was all eyes and ears to learn the intricacies of what is to be done.

There were occasions when the wind dropped and we just drifted along without being able to move. And then while crossing under a bridge I thought our mast almost touched the underside of the concrete structure, but luckily we passed without an incident.

Overall the day was great for sailing and I have a brand new experience to talk about now.

Liberty Fest, Farmers Branch

Today was the second day of the annual three-day Liberty Fest held at Farmers Branch, Texas. I came to know about the fest through some posters and decided to participate. Today's highlights were an outdoor expo which featured a lot of recreational vehicle marketers, two artificial outdoor rock climbing walls, a micro-mini petting zoo with all the farm animals, such as chicken, rabbits, pigs, calf, and a llama. These animals are so common in small towns and some areas of Indian cities but very very rare in US cities. The only place American-born children get to see live animals other than dogs, cats and fish.
My favorite section of the event was of course the car and motorcycle show featuring a wide array of metal steeds and monsters. I have personally almost given up the hope of ever riding a motorcycle again, but when I see a beautiful set of wheels I can't help but take a closer look and oogle at it.
Anyway enough of my chatter... here are some pictures of the Liberty fest.

Mineral Wells State Park Visit

Sunday was pretty eventful, visited one more state park in the vast state of Texas and this time it was closer home... about 100 miles south west. The park is named after the city of Mineral Wells which was a thriving spa, health resort, town famous for its fresh water resources. At its peak the town's water was known to cure all human diseases and people traveled to this little town to spend few weeks rejuvenating themselves. Well that was probably more than a century ago. Today the town is just another small town in Texas with a large ranching community and tourism that the State park draws. Well this is the closest location from DFW metro area for rock climbing, some hill hiking and of course swimming and wildlife watching.
Here are some pictures of the location and I will post further about what we did in the state park soon.

Mineral Wells Trading Post... the only store on the state park

Lake Mineral Wells - vast waterbody

Still Water Kayaking @ White Rock Lake, Dallas

Yesterday we went Kayaking at the White Rock Lake, Dallas. It was a free marketing event organized by REI, the adventure & outdoor sports gear store. There were all kinds of kayaks and all visitors were allowed to get into them and try their hand at it. Being mildly windy it was a little challenging to kayak in the area, but nevertheless it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures...

Vistas of Lost Lake and Surroundings

Continuing my report on the short but eventful visit to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, India-homa, I would simply say that our hike turned into a mini adventure after I coaxed everyone into climbing down the rock face into the depths of the valley rather than follow the trail that snaked around the hills to form a natural slope. Once down at the water level we crossed the shallow stream via a trail of rocky outcrops and started retracing our steps around the lost lake.

Here are some pictures:

View of the waterfalls from the base of the hill

The world is full of insensitive people who will litter even the most pristine natural spots.....

Sweeping view of the valley and rock face we just descended

Playing Raquet Ball

Since coming to the US I have done lots of things for the first time in my life. Rollerskating, hiking through forests on a fenced up trail, exploring underwater caves, driving on the right side of the road, etc. Today I added one more thing to this list... Playing Racquetball. Well our new apartment has some cool sports facilities including a beautiful Racquetball court and the management company lends the equipment required, rackets and balls. We just need to get there and play when the court is free. And that is what we did this evening after I came back from college.

I found the game to be a highly intensive and fitness oriented game. As we chase ball in the wooden cage we will lose calories and gain strength. I like this game and hope to continue playing. Both here at the apartment and also outside when I get the opportunity.

Paintball an entertaining sport!!!

In modern games apart from computer-based war games the sport of Paintball is one of the most entertaining activities I have participated. Teams playing paintball fight like it is a real war, but at the end opposing teams get together and enjoy a drink before going home.

Paintball needs spme special gear such as guns, color dyes, pellets etc and one of the best places to buy gear is Ultimate Paintball. You could go to paintball online and get cool stuff from Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts, Dye, Empire, Draxxus and other paintball gear. The best part of this online store is that they offer free shipping and their prices are really competitive. So if you are looking for great paintball stuff just go to Ultimate Paintball and order online.