Travelling - The biggest lie that existed on my resume until now. Being a traditional guy next door working in a typical software industry, I killed many opportunities I had to explore amazing places in my home country. I have decided to take some time out of my rat race to explore the new. America, It is you for some reason I'm here. Its time for me to bring my biggest lie into reality.
I felt some buzz about a weekend trip in planning phase behind the scenes and i was initially clueless. A sudden invite from our batch for the trip ignited the spark; I didn't bother to ask where we were going and what we are going to do over the trip because that was the suspense I wouldn't want to reveal for myself, much ahead of time. I slept late in the night before journey, ambiguous about which car I'm gonna travel. The first surprise in the morning was loud enough. A black car, which i have seen only in Fast and furious, arrived in front of me. Wow! its a Dodge Challenger. So, lets start the journey with a Car Selfie...
Team Challenger(Names from right to left): Vinay, Bhaskar, Avinaash & Yashwanth
Oops...The car goes unrecognized because of over excitement. Let's reveal it in the upcoming journey
Some quick Tacos made us all set to go. Vinay, the man behind the wheel decided to test the throttle. The pick up gives an adrenaline rush cruising into crazy speeds that I have ever imagined. When you have a beast in your hand, don't bother about safety, be watchful of the cops on interstate highways ( A "ticket" on your way Hurts!)
Beautiful is a the horizon with clear blue and green ranches in the frame. The twists and turns of the road reveals the eye-pleasing mountain ranges and valleys.
Such a road will never make the photographer sleep. Let there be raining pictures :)
We have added our touch of craziness with a peppy number in "Happy"
We were head towards the Lost Maples state park in Texas. Unfortunately, the park was full we have to wait for one hour and 45 mins. Finding folks in other cars with no cell phone connectivity is fun and we somehow managed to find our friends five miles away from the park entrance.
We got our turn to start the trek into the Lost Maples. We should have given two more weeks push forward for the maples to turn yellow. Yet, it's beautiful in its own way!
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| The Monkey Rock |
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| Walking uphill |
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| Walking and climbing the mountain uphill is strenuous: It's worth the view at the top |
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| The beauty evolves with fall colors of leaves turning golden yellow |
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| Is there anything wrong with the image ? Find it out... |
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| During my childhood, My friends Harsha, Sri vidya and I used to think of this plant as devil's species... Nostalgic schooldays |
Walking around 10,700 steps (4.7 miles) in the wild without any hassle of work study and household chores is quite refreshing. The three hours we spent in trekking left us with many memories.I read somewhere that travelling is a great stress buster and i have experienced it that day in Lost Maples.
We headed to Kerrville City park to our campsite. entering into the park was a bit tricky as the management building was a mile away from the park which is unusual! We are all set to make the night a lively one with the minimal arrangements. Setting up a huge tent (Spacious enough for ten people to sleep) literally took an hour with more than eight people involved in the installation. We have forgot the most important thing for campfire. Since Americans are known for their helping and welcoming nature, An Old american couple voluntarily asked us to use their spare firewood and fuel. A country's greatness lies in the people representing it.
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| Campsite at Kerrville City park |
My first campfire was great with songs sung from 90's and the crazy judges we had for "Anthyakshari". I loved the chicken cooked on grill and the fun around the fire. The next day's trip in our Dodge was to Six flags - Fiesta Texas, pushing the limits of fear and courage for adventurous rides.
Images Courtesy: Bhaskar Prashant Kotha and Avinaash Chinamilli (Myself)
