Day 20 Graduation ( University of Michigan , Ann Arbor)

Anupam's Friends from the lab with the Advisor

Happy Graduate

Family ready for Graduation ceremony

Happy Family

The Advisors

It was a fun filled day. The weather was perfect and blossoms everywhere. I was worried about the traffic and the crowd but it turned out to be just fine. The graduation ceremony was just for the masters and Doctorate graduates and may be that's why it was not too crowded.

We walked around the beautiful Ann Arbor and showed Chris around. Had lunch at Zingerman's ( again). In fact we packed the take out and took turns eating it outside the graduation hall because I was worried we will not get good seats. We got there on time and managed to sit almost in the front and saw our dear graduate getting hooded and walk on the stage. It was a proud moment for all of us.

Karolina took lots of pictures of Anupam and rest of the family so I have no pictures of her in my camera :(

I finally met his advisor ( after 5 years). Anupam , Karolina and his lab mates arranged a picnic dinner with parents, advisors and friends. It was wonderful. Everyone brought food, some parents barbequed and everyone enjoyed themselves. At this time of the year, Ann Arbor is full of flowers and new leaves.

We came back exhausted, sat in the hot tub ( too hot) and planed for the big day tomorrow. I will tell you about that tomorrow. Good night for now.

Day 19..Ann Arbor , MI ...Guess who just arrived..

Smita and Chris


Anupam and Karolina



Chris and Kim




Zingerman's Deli, Ann Arbor, MI


Karolina and Anupam's work of Art and Engineering


We went to Ann Arbor to see Anupam's home and to see the remodel that Anupam and Karolina had done last year. It is a work of art and engineering. I will highly recommend Karolina for remodeling of any home .
Walked around in the down town ( may be last trip out here) . It is a nice small town with a liberal and yuppie university town feeling. To me it is a cross between Berkeley and Palo Alto.There is lot of activity going on due to graduation week and all the hotels and restaurants are full.
Anupam amd Karolina came first, we had lunch at the Zingerman's deli. It is an Ann arbor icon and the variety and quality of sandwiches is amazing.
Afternoon showers and rain brought us back to the hotel and then Kim arrived next followed by Smita and Chris.
I feel like I am home after a long road trip. We all miss Shalini and Matt and wish they would be here too but she needs to work ( someone has to..:). We had a wonderful Lebnese dinner at a little mom and pop shop .

So, the day ended nice and happy, I am enjoying the family after three weeks.

Good night , sleep well.

Day 18 ..Finally Arrived at the destination ( Ann Arbor)

Carpets of Wild Flowers at Starved Rock SP , ILL.


Ottawa , Ill , A historic town


Murals in Ottawa. ( It is known for them)


More Murals ( about the historic events)


Early morning Hike out of Starved Rock Park

After a beautiful morning hike , we left the Starved Rock park and drove on small country roads till be got to Ottawa. Ottawa is another surprise gem , hidden away in the country side. President Lincoln practiced law here. This is also the place where first Lincoln/ Douglas debate took place. This small town is full of history.

After Ottawa, we left the country roads and joined I80, along with every trucking company in the United States. 80 was crowded, ugly and no fun at all. I have to admit, we are falling in love with small country roads and the country side.

But, 80 was fast and we made it to Belle ville in good time. The holiday inn express here is very highly rated and seems like a nice place with friendly service. The manager is from Egypt , so we talked for a while.

Not much happened today , but I guess we needed some rest after 19 days of adventure.

Good night,




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Day 17 ..Oglesby..where in the world this is ??

Starved Rock State Park...


Hiking ...my style



Silos and Elevators...all computer controlled ( remotely)


Illinois River View from the trails


Illinois river locks and dam( view from the trail)

So, where in the world is Oglesby and where is the Starved Rock State park? Even the GPS did not know. We followed it faithfully and it brought us in the middle of the corn field and announced , " arrived at the destination". We looked at each other, no rocks , no river , no trees and no lodge...

We found it eventually and it is beautiful. The park is lush green, full of blooming wild flowers. Lots of trails , all made for the book , "hiking for dummies" . All color coded, marked and mostly board walks. Still very pretty and not touristy at all. The lodge is cool, complete with log cabins, hot tubs and wild life.
These trails and the lodge were built by CCC during the time of depression. We think that Obama should have done something similar this time also.
This place is a result of glaciers advancing and receding over last 100,000 years. More recently, native Americans used to live here and the legend has it that one group starved the other group to death here during one of their battles.

More recently, this used to be a place for the Chicago elite. they used to come by train and boat to enjoy the fancy hotel and nature.

So, we had a good day overall. The log cabin is nice, The lodge has indoor swimming pool, hot tub and sauna. We went in to hot tub and sauna had our dinner and now watching V on TV.has TV ( watching V) and Wi fi :)

Check out the map below to see where we are. Good night and sleep well.





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day 15...Still with Lincoln

Illinois State Capitol Building

Saw Mill at New Salem. Lincoln worked here as a hired help

Lincoln's first store at New Salem ( it went bankrupt )

Lincoln used this as sleeping area. ( Behind the store and the Post office)

"Mother Road " Route 66 A Crazy Dog Store ( known to have invented the Corn Dogs)

The storm finally left and there was a little blue sky and some Sun during the day. We took advantage of the absence of the storm and went to New Salem. This is 20 miles from Springfield and this is where Lincoln came to live in 1832 as a young man of 22 years. This was a frontier town of 25 families. He worked at the Saw Mill, Slept in a Lodge for $1 a week and eventually ran a General Store selling house hold stuff. He slept in the back of the store and also worked as the town Post Master. Lincoln did not have any formal school education before he got here. He was at New Salem for 6 years and during this time , he taught himself law ( by borrowing books from where ever he could) and participated in the local debates. He was known as a nice boy but a LAZY one because he read most of the time:)

Anyway, New Salem visit was very educational as well as a nice relaxing small village with lots of green around. Although most of the structures are recreated based on the description of the era but it looks very authentic and gives a feel of the life of that time. A definite place to visit to learn about Lincoln's early life.

Back to Springfield, we took a tour of the Capitol building ( along with bunch of 8th graders, who told us they liked our shoes:). State Capitol building is very impressive, our tax dollars at work.

In the evening , we drove on the " Mother Road: Route 66 and saw some landmarks. The Crazy Dog " place has been family owned and operated since 1930's. The Corn dog was invented here. There are lots of old pictures and stories posted on the walls.

So, that's it for the Lincoln country. It is inspiring and educational. I wonder what inspired this 22 year old young man to get himself educated and work his way to become the president of United States.

Good night for the day. Sleep well and have sweet deams.

Day 14 Land of Lincoln..Springfield , ILL

Me with Lincoln's family in the White house
Lincoln's home in Springfield. ( He won the presidential elecyion here)

Outhouse at his home

Jagdish with younf Lincoln at the log cabin

Boyscout rally ( All American)

Another day at Springfield. Weather is little better but still cold, rainy and windy. We have decided to stay here one extra day and soak in Lincoln stories along with the rain and cold.

Springfield is where he spent 20 years of his adult life and this is where he ran for the presidential race and won. Lots of history and we spent the day just taking it all in. The museum is very well done. It has several multimedia presentations , using live and hologram people and is complete with lights, sounds and laser effects. The recreations of Lincoln's early life, his election and civil war are also very informative as well as well presented. There were many TV news and newspaper articles and cartoons showing how unpopular he was while he was alive. I cannot help to admire his guts to go ahead and do what was necessary inspite of all the opposition. He was a man ahead of his time. He did so much for the nation ( and he did not even get 40% popular votes.) He is the one who implimented the Homstead act , Land grants for education ( all the universities were opened because of that) , agricultural colleges etc etc.

We were lucky enough to witness the national boyscout rally through Springfield. This was a special event and we just happend to be there. There were all these little kids who marched 2 miles in the rain and storm ( from Lincoln's tomb to his home). Lincoln's body was brought to Springfield and is buried here along with his kids and wife.

Lincoln's home and neighbourhood are also historic sites and we took the tour of that. Once again, I do not know of any other president ( except Obama) with such humble beginnings. Another intriguing thing is the story of his wife Mary and how she suffered after his death.

Enough of history lessons, good night and be good.

Day 13 Turnedo and storm to Springfield , Ill

New spring growth in a park at Belleue , Iowa

Mighty Missisipi

Jim, Becky, Leona nad JAgdish in Eldora , Iowa

Leona's barn yard

Tulips at Ames, Iowa

Last night we were treated with Thunder and lightening while sleeping at Leona's home. Sometimes the thunder was so loud that it shook the house ( it felt like it). But the moring was sunny and beautiful. We headed out after breakfast and a gorgeous view of the river and the valley.

Soon, we realised that we were the "storm chasers" and got into a very nasty storm. We decided ot take the small road by the Missisipi and it was very beautiful. We went all the way to Clinton on this tiny one lane road. The towns on thw way were very pretty ( specially Bellevue) and road very nice. Forests full of new shinny leaves and water everywhere ( unfortunately from the sky too). We managed to drive 400 miles and made it ot Springfield , Ill . Now we are finding out that in fact there is a tonnado warning in the area and we were just lucky enough to get here with no issue at all.

In fact we walked out for dinner and on the way back were greeted by the lighting and thunder. I really enjoyed the whole thing, till we saw on the TV about the warning etc....now we are scared :) ...just kidding , we are safe in the nice hotel in down town.

I will report on the Springfield tomorrow. Till then good night.

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Day 12 Leona..in Eldora, Iowa

A mansion at Winterset , Iowa

Fish Fry Festival at Eldora ( LEona and Jagdish)

Leona and me at the river park, Eldora

Covered bridges of Madision County , Winterset , Iowa

Jagdish with dogs
There is a saying : " Some one asked is this heaven? Another person answered , " no , it is Iowa"....

Our day started in Lincoln Nebraska, with rain and stormy weather but we pushed forward towards Eldora, Iowa to meet with our dear friend Leona. We took little country roads and enjoyed the views of the farms inturrpted only by red barn yards, or silos or little white house or cattles. The storm kept getting stronger andstronger and after getting pushed over by the of the passing truck, we decided to cut down the adventure and take highway 80.

Oue first stop in Iowa was the Winterset, made famous by the movie and covered bridges. The town is picture perfect , complete with the town square, court house, jail and a theatre ( showing, diary of a wimpy kid:) The person at the chamber of commerce turned out to be ex californian whose father is a mechanical engineer from Berkeley. Anyways, there are total of 6 bridges left and most of them on a dirt road. We decided to be happy with just one and move on.

Next stop was college town of Ames. The botanical gardens were blooming with Tulips but the wind and the storm were too intense to enjoy them. We managed to find the Sugar Maple planted in the memory of Bill Vigar ( Becky's Dad) and then headed off to Eldora.

The GPS ( gizmo) donated by Anupam has been very useful friend except this time it decided to take us by some short cuts that involved dirt roads in the rainy weather. I had to vito it and believe it or not managed to get to Leona's house just using my memory.

Leona is an amazing lady and my inspiration. She had the tour of Eldora planned for us and as a special treat she took us to " fish fry" for dinner. This is special event, happens only once a month and this was the last one for this year. Seemed like the whole town of ELdora was there. It was a wonderful experience.

Leona and I set down to play Rummykube and soon enough Jim, Becky and the three " boys" showed up. We had a wonderful time with them.

I did not do the blog last night because I did not want Leona to be up and wait for me. So, here it is a day late.

It was a wonderful and adventurous day and seeing Leona, JIm , Becky and the "boys" was definitely the high light. Good night and be good

Day 11 Lincoln, NE....A good life

Old Church in downtown Lincoln



Senator Jagdish



Kids at the nature history museum


Largest Mammoth in the world ( see the dwarf in front of it...evolution on a small island)


Similarities between me and my ancestor

Happy earth day.

It turns out the earth day was started in Nebraska as "arbor day" and was used as the day for planting trees. When the city of Lincoln was first founded, there were only 6 trees as far as eye could see. It was just plains and grass land. There were kids growing up here that had never seen a tree.

We spent the day in Lincoln, the capitol city of Nebraska. First stop was capitol building. It was built in 1920 and is very impressive. The architects and the artists tried to show the history of America , not just the white people. It has many interesting murals. One example : one mural showing the 1879 trial of Omaha and " the Standing Bear" which established that native Americans are "PERSONS" and have the same human rights. There were many school groups there ( because of earth day holiday) and I noticed the absence of any Asian kids. Mostly white with few native Americans.

The Nature history museum is huge and we had to see it all. Big claim here is that it has the biggest collection of Elephant fossils in the world. The biggest mammoth skeleton is here and right next to it is the dwarf mammoth skeleton ( the dwarf is small because it is from a small island and adapted to the environment there. ... is fascinating to see the evolution at work).

Speaking of evolution: This museum also has a big section devoted to Darwin, his life story and his books his theory. The genetics exhibits were simple enough that even I could understand most of them. Overall this was a great science museum and lots of kids were enjoying it.

We also, did some shopping in the downtown where we ate at an Indian restaurant owned by BHUTANI people and cooks were Bhutani too.

Another museum: Nebraska history museum had the history of native Americans, white man's arrival , conflicts, Nebraska's acceptance in the union and the present.

In general, it was a good educational day. People are very nice and relaxed and are ready to talk when ever you want.

Time to say good night. I hope all of you are doing well. I always enjoy hearing back from you.

Day 11 Rockies to Lincoln , Nebraska

A maxican restaurant at North Platte



Buffalo Monument at Kearney


Arch over 80 at Kearney , NE



Arch is half way ( 1733 miles) between San Francisco and Boston on Historic Morman and Pioneer trails


Cow Palace


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We drove from Estes Park, Colorado to Lincoln Nebraska. A very long and not very eventful drive. The scenic road out of Colorado was good but once we got on 80, it is whole lot of flat nothing, except Cow Palaces and more of them. There are fields of corn but at this time of the year they are resting and waiting for the new crop.

The only interesting spot was at Kearney , where on August 16, 1999 a group of private investors and Disney team, installed a monument arch over 80 ( they closed the free way for 8 hours). The only problem was that there was no exit to get to the Arch :).

Anyways, now it is a major tourist thing. Unfortunately inside was closed so we got to see the outside only. It is a mid point of lot of old pioneer trails . The inside has dioramas of all Americana and the history of white man in America and the hardships of old pioneer days. It is pretty and touristy at the same time.

With the help and initiative of Smita I spent time learning the map so now you can visually see where we are at this moment. Now we are on central time zone ( two hours ahead of California) .

Good night and I will love to hear from you when you get a chance. Also, if you have suggestions for sights to be seen along the way, please send me emails or call.