Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

After flying more than 3000 miles and crossing North America from one end to other, and that too alone one way, we reached the beautiful city of Vancouver. The view from sky of LA and Grand Canyon is amazing. After giving surprise to Deepika's sister, this was our another memorable family visit to meet them and enjoy with our cute nephew "Rijul". He attracts everyone with his naughty tricks and sweet looks. Around one month Deepika enjoyed the stay with festives of Halloween and Diwali. A group of friends carved glowing pumpkins to decorate the home. After so many years Deepika got the chance to lit the crackers and sparkle the light on Diwali with her sister. Me on the other end played poker on Diwali night with friends in Hartford.

We have a mix of people from all over world in Vancouver. Grocery Stores are owned by Chinese and Transport like public buses and Cabs are mostly driven by Indians. First time saw the buses connected to electric wires on top running across streets. Most of the Pizza outlets run by Indians have menu like Shahi Paneer, Tandoori Chiken with flavors of Ginger or Mint - Complete Desi-Italian combo.

It was our first snowfall together and we played in snow like crazy, built snowman and traversed around the city in minus 10 degree centigrade. The city has water, land and mountains very close to downtown, and that makes it all together beautiful. We visited Capilano Suspension bridge which has nice treks across the forest. Hanging bridges on tree tops, natures walk around ponds and scenic points to view the flow of water below the cliff. The place has totem poles which reflects the northwest native family figures and mythical stories that goes back to generations.

Stanley Park viewpoints showcase beautiful bridge, sea and downtown. Although it was freezing cold, we managed to capture few wonderful moments from there. Grouse Mountain top was shining as Pine trees were covered with snow and the sunrays with clouds was reflecting soothing colors of nature. Got the chance to see acrobatic dolphins for the first time at Vancouver Aquarium. Thank god we escaped the water splash during Belluga's (white whales) show as it was freezing cold that day. We have seen 4-D movies with water splash, air belts and snake bites before but the cool thing here was creating snowfall and bubbles all over theatre.

The journey was hectic but it was worth it to explore the new places and spending great time with family.