Let's Explore Houston

This summer I had the pleasure of visiting my maternal family in USA. My masi lives in Houston, Texas and my Tia (means masi in Spanish) and grandparents live in Austin, Texas. When my school resumed, my teacher gave me a project to create a brochure on some place. So my memories of Houston came to life when I decided to write about the places I visited with my family. There were some places which  I couldn't  visit this time but will surely do so the next time I am in Houston. Did I mention that since 2005, this was my 6th visit to Houston. So let's begin.

Houston, with a population of 2.3 million people, is the fourth most populous city in the USA. It also brags to be the fourth largest city of the nation. 83 languages are spoken

Year 2012 - Resolution

Here is a list of things that I wish I could follow this year -

1. Eat less candies & be very selective of chocolates that I eat {my favorite - Kit Kat}

2. Play Less & Study More {learn with understanding and read regularly}

3. Avoid Junk Food {only exception - Parties}

4. Improve Handwriting {clear & consistent}

5. Help my class get an angel {award}

2011 Summer Vacation - Dive Agar

There are two ways to reach Dive-Agar from Hari Hareshwar and we took the route that runs parallel to the sea. The beginning didn't seem that pleasing as we bypassed many small villages but as we got closer to Dive Agar things suddenly changed. At times the road would just touch the beach and at times it would leap you up the hill. To the right were lush green hills and to the left was the beautiful blue sea. This little yet pleasant journey lasted only for 45 minutes.

Lush Green Hills

Beautiful Blue Sea

Road by the sea

Getting closer to the hill

On the Hill

Once we reached Diveagar, we followed the boards of MTDC Resort - Exotica, where we had planned our stay. The resort is surrounded by tall Suru trees, lush tropical garden and is situated so close to the beach that we could clearly hear the sounds of the waves.

Cottage # 7

We checked in at around 10am and headed straight to the beach for some fun and excitement. Unlike Hari Hareshwar, the beaches in Dive Agar are quite safe even during monsoon season. The beach is otherwise known for its clear water, white sand and serenity but small traces of recent oil spill could be seen on the sand as well as in the water. During summer the shore is a home to thousands of sand crabs that burrow holes in the sand, building nice sand patterns on the beach.

Sand Crabs

Traces of recent oil spill

South side of the Beach

North Side of the Beach

Surrounded by hills on each end

One of the most famous places in Dive Agar is the Suvarna Ganesh Temple where an idol of Lord Ganesh is carved out of 24 carat gold. The idol that weighs 1 kg 325 gms was buried in land for more than 1000 years. The trunk that contained the idol was dated Friday, 10th November, 1060.

found by a female peasant in 1997

During these 2 nights stay at Dive Agar we spent most of our time at the beach. We saw some amazing water patterns on the beach especially at the times when low and high tides coincided with each other.

A low tide coinciding with a high tide

Waves fighting in opposite directions

Another unique water pattern

Sunset time at the beach was the most pleasing experience of the day. And having the long open shore and clean beach with hardly any people around was like putting a cherry on the top.

 

We couldn't believe how quick the time passed by at this beautiful place. Finally the day came when we had to leave Dive Agar and return back to our routine life. We packed up and left for Pune on 9th morning. It was indeed one of my best vacation around Pune.

2011 Summer Vacation - Hari Hareshwar

During this summer holidays me and my parents planned a trip to Dive Agar and Hari Hareshwar. We packed our bags, filled our car and started driving (around 7 AM) towards Hari Hareshwar that is about 180 kms from Pune. The route planned was Pune-Paud-Tamhini-Nizampur-Mangoan-Mhasla-Srivardhan-Harihareshawr. Harihareshwar is known as Kashi of Southern India. The hill on the seashore at Harihareshwar is also known as 'Harihar' or 'Pushpadri'.

It was 11 AM when we reached the MTDC Resort where we had planned our stay. The resort is surrounded by hills on all four sides and has a thick green cover, combining scenic drama and quaint charm. Unlike other hotels, the resort has an intimate and private feel to it. We got a beautiful Konkani styled cottage facing the sea, with a small balcony to enjoy the view. The cottage was minimalist in design with wooden furnishing.

Deluxe Tent 1

After settling down a bit, we took a small walk around the resort to figure out things and immediately headed towards the north to see the temple of Lord Hari Hareshwar. It was a rainy day and the sand was all wet so we had to walk in the mud. The entrance of the Temple was surrounded by shops selling food products and prayer offerings.

Hari Harishwar Temple Entrance

Inside the Temple

View of the sea from the temple

There was a long line of devotees at the temple so we headed straight to the temple beach. In monsoon the sea is very active so we saw huge waves hitting the shores of the temple. What we witnessed here was just amazing - giant waves both beautiful and scary at the same time. The waves that hit the temple edge were twice as big as the one shown below. We couldn't capture them because of the rain but O what a scene it was!

High Tide at Hari Hareshwar

From the temple we returned to our cottage, had our lunch and went for a short walk around the MTDC Resort that is known for its safe and secluded beaches. The white sand and turquoise green water was just spectacular. We spent some time walking on the beach near the water and enjoying the lovely atmosphere that surrounded us.

MTDC Beach {E}

Ocean View from MTDC Resort {SE}

Ocean view from MTDC Resort {SE}

Ocean View {SE}

Due to the weather it was risky to go in the water so, we spent rest of that evening and most of the other day at the gazebo, eating food, listening to the music, taking photos and videos, watching colorful birds and gazing the ocean for waves and dolphins. We also learned that high tides and low tides occur alternatively every six hours and the timing of which is dependent on the moon position.

Bird Watching

Spotted a Chameleon

Oriental Magpie Robin

Ocean View from the Cottage

A place filled with peace and tranquility

We instantly fell in love with this place, so much so that we were disappointed to leave in two days.Though we tried capturing this beautiful spot in our memories through these photos, we couldn't get enough  and before we realized it was time for us to check out and leave for Dive-Agar.

A beautiful evening in pune

Last evening we experienced moderate amount of rain in Pune. It was mostly sunny during the day with the temperature rising from 27 degrees celsius in the morning to 33 degrees in the afternoon. Later it was mostly cloudy and by 6:15 in the evening it started pouring. The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit cool with the wind blowing along with the rain. O what a beautiful evening it was!
 
I started wondering what causes rain? How do rain clouds form? From where does the water fall? How do the colors of a rainbow appear in the sky? What causes thunder and lightning? I am sure that a science encyclopedia would help me answer these questions. But today internet has answers to almost everything. Though I have the urge to find out everything and write down in this post, I will have to write several different posts to explain each topic simply because of lack of time.

So today let's just understand the water cycle.

Source: Kidzone

Here are few experiments that you could try at home to understand each process:

Source: Kidzone

Source: Kidzone

Source: Kidzone

Source: Kidzone

This is getting interesting isn't it? I can't wait to write on the next topic. Check back later to read and learn about Rain!

About Myself

My name is Ilisa and I am 7-1/2 years old. I go to Sanskriti School located on a small hill in Pune. My teacher's name is Pramila m'am and she teaches us English and EVS. She is a very kind lady. On this blog I want to share everything about me.

My favorite hobbies are reading and dancing. Currently I am hooked on Mr. Pink Whistle and Famous Five series written by Enid Blyton. I also love playing violin and practice it daily for about an hour. I know how to play our national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" written by Rabindranath Tagore and the song "Vande Mataram." Now I am learning the song "Mera Joota Hai Japani" and "Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re."

This summer vacation I want to learn swimming and scrapbooking, join a dance class and develop better reading skills.