How To Spend A Day At MillPort Scotland? The Island of a thousand bicycles

We've been to places around Scotland, but never a specific visit to a village. So this weekend, we thought of visiting an Island village - Millport.

There are several reasons why I picked this place. It's proximity to our place, so the short travel and it was a one day trip. Second reason being, we didn't want to miss out the near by gems searching for the farther locations. And it turned out to be the best decision for the weekend. And we enjoyed it very much.

We had to take the car in a ferry to reach the island. The experience was wonderful as it was our first of this kind of travel.

The island was very small and so our intention was to discover the place on cycle. 

We did around 10KM of cycling in Millport.

These are the places that we visited.

• Cathedral of Isles
• Garrison House
• Crocodile Rock
• Millport Beach
• Millport Cycling

Never felt satisfied after a travel like this one. I was laughing inside out from the sheer happiness visiting this place.

Second Highest Bridge In The World

It was another busy day searching for a destination to visit. Spend an hour and planned 3 places to visit. Royal Gorge was the first one in the sequence. 

The main reason to visit this place? This bridge was the highest bridge in the WORLD till 2001, when it's position was replaced by the Liuguanghe Bridge in China.

I was amazed at this creation for all through the journey. A construction masterpiece by itself. Unlike the bridge in China, this isn't made of concrete, but with big chunks of metal, all over the place.

And can you believe the fact that this bridge was built in just six months. That was an amazing fact for me.

The sad part - in June 2013, the areas was destroyed by a severe wild fire. Almost the entire park and the facilities were burned to flames. Only the bridge stood the ground. 

The entire place looked deserted due to this event. Hope they will rebuild the old glorious day of this park.

Stroller Trial

Sometimes none of the positions work for Ikey. That is when I tried placing him in the stroller. Thought it might work, but he was very sad about that. 

Lesson learned  - It is not the time for the stroller yet. 

Diaper Changing Fun

Diaper Change - That is one thing my friends used to tease me when Ikey was close to come out to this world. 

To be frank, diaper change is not a tough job for me, except when it happens between some urgent work. 

Still patient and smiling, we make Ikey the happiest person in the world.

How to Grill & Bake fun on a Christmas?

Whats more fun than spending time together on a Christmas night. That is what we planned. Decided to do a grilling session for preparing the Christmas dinner.

Confirmed the menu the day before and Ani led the shopping for the items. 

Invitation & Menu

It was real fun to prepare the recipes for the grilling. Prawns, Chicken, Fish Fillets were all ready the day before. Perfect marination overnight.

The tough part as usual is to make the charcoal burn. We bought some Weber charcoal and lighter, which made the job easier compared to the last time.

The charcoal burned in few minutes, however cechi took all the efforts to make it burn :) Excellent job!

The prawns ready to grill on the skewers

Ani wanted to engage full heartedly to the grilling, however she did the complete job of marinating the items for us to grill.

Get smoked :)

Yummy prawns BBQ in the make

Fish Fillets

Encouraging the charcoal cubes in between

Veg Biriyani and Fish Fillets

Ready for dinner

Ani's creative shot :)

Ani tried the fruit cake for Christmas the first time. To be frank, it was awesome. The main ingredient is the wine soaked dry fruits. 

It was a real yummy deal.

Altogether a fun filled and joyous Christmas night...

When to grill next?

How to beat the Bangalore Winter

Grilling is fun

To be frank, climate is the main reason why I hate Kerala and love Bangalore. Climate, I can't compromise.

Many says that Bangalore is not the old Bangalore anymore. IT development and real estate is killing Bangalore at a faster rate (who is worried about it anyway).

Inspite of all these concerns, Bangalore winter is still good. It is a chilled December for me and Ani. While I enjoy the climate, Ani is not liking it much. Especially Isaac and mummy are facing troubles due to this climate.

It was on my birthday, Ani gifted me with a small charcoal grill set. I was excited to grill at the very moment. But for that I need to get some charcoal.

Took the bike and went around my place to get some charcoal. Nowhere they are selling it. Finally went into a BBQ restaurant and bought some charcoal for INR 60/kg.

Marinated the chicken with the traditional Tandoori Chicken recipe. And started the grilling by 9 pm.

But the tough part was to lighten up the charcoal. It took my life to make it burn as I didn't have the right tools to do it :)

Freezing cold outside, but the heat from the grill was so soothing.

However at the end of the grilling - satisfaction made me to SMILE.

BTW - the chicken was yummy :)

Getting grilled in the traditional way

Ready to savor...

Meeting Paul and Nancy

Houston wasn't in my travel list, until I met Paul . 

Paul got transferred from Seattle to Texas, based on his location preference, as he was staying out of Houston.

We used to go pick lunch for the team together from Chipotle and I loved that ride always. When I speak about the facts of India, it will be closely correlated from Paul's experience from Hongkong.

It was during one of those journey, Paul asked about visiting him and Nancy at Houston. Houston got added to the weekend trip list as I was excited to meet them over a weekend. And it happened. 

This trip will be one of those moments that I will cherish for sure. There was no ice breaking needed, no formalities. They were so easy to get along. 

We went out for dinner at a Thai place together followed by a Houston city ride. In between the ride, we hopped in for a dessert from their favorite store. Coconut milk & bamboo based desserts, DrinkBamboo, but it was so tastey and yummy.

Paul and Nancy became the best Houston guides, showing around the places and explaining about the city and the culture.

After spending time with them for a day, I headed towards the Lake Wood church the next day for the Sunday service.

If I am visiting Houston again, they will be in my visiting list for sure...Thanks a ton for the wonderful moments!

I Can't Ignore The BBQ Boards

If it is written BBQ somewhere along the way I drive, I could never resist stopping by. Frankly speaking, I never liked the BBQ food till I joined the team for lunch at a wonderful BBQ restaurant. 

Since then that became my favorite cuisine. Specially the smoked baby ribs :) If I miss a cuisine in US, it will be the slow smoked baby BBQ ribs. It's yummy.

On the way back from the Oasis restaurant, the above hoarding caught my attention. No second thought, parked in the premise and headed towards the counter. 

A small outlet, then menu was outstanding. Quickly ordered the brisket and waited impatiently for my call.

Waiting can be sweet when it is for something worth and there it was my favorites in front. Still my mouth waters at this yummy pack.

Let's Go Houston!

An awaited trip to the famous NASA home town. 

3 hours from Arlington, Houston had surprising stuffs for me in the shelf. The actual plan to visit NASA and Galveston island did happen, however the main highlight was the moments with Paul/Nancy and the meet up with Joel Osteen at the Lakewood Church (a cherishing moment indeed).

It was a long drive and I wanted that drive to be a special one. So took the muscle machine for the journey. 

It wasn't like a normal drive though. I enjoyed the outstanding power the car delivered during the entire stretch. Smooth and steady, piercing the air in the front, it took me to Houston in two and half hours. 

Once reached Houston, wanted a short break. Then took out the planner which Ani shared to go through the locations in the wonderful state.

The horse is full and ready to dash. Houston was less than 300 miles and used the rest for a small town trip before re-fueling.

More trip memories coming soon...

Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre

I heard a lot about this place from my colleague, couple of weeks before the Colorado trip. I didn't know much about this place then. 

Once the trekking through the Red Rock Mountain Park trail was over, I sat for sometime to read about the amphitheater. Learned this research and preparation from Ani. She collects all the information about the place to visit much ahead of the trip that we could really understand the significance of the place we were in.

The best part I loved about this amphitheater - no one built it. It is a naturally formed venue, a perfect architecture for an amphitheater. You can enjoy the concerts, enjoying the music and staring at the star studded night and mystical natural ambiance embracing your heart and mind. One step closer to heaven is what I can say about that feeling.

The entrance of the amphitheater. There wasn't much visitors around when I reached this place. There was preparations going on for a concert that night. Logistics teams were busy ferrying the equipments to this place.

Towards the amphitheater is the visitor center. Past to this is where the back row of the theater begins. Its like a slope towards the stage.

The gathering area outside the theater.

And I am viewing a natural marvel. The best amphitheater in the world. Goosebumps!

The venue getting ready for a big concert of the evening.

A concert at Red Rock Amphitheater

Red Rock Mountain Park

I noticed this park while on the Dinosaur Ridge bus tour. The park was so visible as it looked so reddish. The rock formations were strange and unique, the red colored mountains and the terrain looked so beautiful. I decided that to be the next location to visit.

Red Rocks Park is a mountain park in Jefferson County, Colorado. The park is known for its very large red sandstone outcrops. Many of these rock formations within the park have names, from the mushroom-shaped Seat of Pluto to the inclined Cave of the Seven Ladders.

When I reached the park, which is very close to the dinosaur ridge, there wasn't much people around. The place was so calm and beautiful. I could listen to the joyful voice from the mountains, from those who were trekking along the beautiful park trails.

Parked the car and I just couldn't take my eyes from the beauty of the mountains around. It felt like the place might get a shower, but it only enhanced the beauty of that place. So soothing to the heart and I got refreshed with the cold breeze around that place.

From the parking lot, we have to walk few miles to reach the center of red rock mountain. Saw a couple who were so excited to cycle up the mountain. When they saw me clicking pics around, they wishes and waved at me. Spoke to them for sometime and got some interesting information about the park. I decided to walk up the mountain then.

The rocks at this place are formed about 290 million years ago. I was right in the center of a historical gem at that moment.

This small passage through the mountain took me to another exciting part of the Red Rock Mountain park. The world renowned amphi-theatre. I never realized its significance until I spoke to the theater director, who gave interesting facts about that place.

This world is so special, filled with views that will never quench our thirst to travel. I was enjoying each and every moment of the journey. Walking through the lands which I thought I will never see in my life...

Dinosaur Ridge - The Old Ocean Base

That was an another beautiful day at Colorado. Got up in the morning and flipped through the list I had for the next destination. Rocky Mountains - topped the list. But it was too early to reach that place. So decided to pick once more destination to fill the gap. TripAdvisor picked up the Dinosaur Ridge and I headed to visit the same.

After the visit and the van tour, I realized one fact. The place was authentic. Not a normal visiting area. It has the world's best dinosaur sightings. Couldn't believe the fact that the land I was standing then was under the ocean for years. Wow, am impressed.

Dinosaur Ridge is part of the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark located in Morrison, Colorado, just west of Denver.

The Dinosaur Ridge area is one of the world's most famous dinosaur fossil localities. In 1877, some of the best-known dinosaurs were found here, including Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus. In 1973, the area was recognized for its uniqueness as well as its historical and scientific significance when it was designated the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Bus tour on every 45 minutes. And I was right on time, so didn't want to wait for long. 5$ trip, but it was worth the journey.

That's the tour bus. The guide was smart and resourceful. And he made the trip so exciting with interesting information about the place.

Life size dinosaur structure at the visitor center. Took this timer picture while waiting for the bus.

I mentioned about this place under the ocean. The ripple marks on the mountain is due to the water movement. Interesting!

One of the few spots of the bus tour. Dinosaur foot prints all over the place.

Million year old rocks. Highly protected and preserved.

So I took some rocks in my hand. I have a deep root history on my palm.

Different type of rock formations over the years made this place looks like an architectural marvel.

Because of the historical significance, I couldn't even collect some rocks. I would have done that as I learned from the Arkansas visit that rock collection is a highly appreciated hobby :)

That was a real dinosaur bone. Real mean real. Wow - I was so happy to touch and feel the remains of my nightmare :)

Kids were the most excited people in the group. I left the group when small kids started asking questions beyond their age. I couldn't take that :)

Someone built a home around this place and it looked fantastic. Blended with the nature, that house had all its beauty in it.