Chile (August 1 – 18, 2018)
- San Pedro de Atacama – small, cute, charming town at almost 8,000 feet elevation. The night sky is unlike anywhere else.
- Atacama Desert – The best place for astronomy vacation but it’s 1,000 miles long. It’s a unique place with lots to see and do.
- Chile – General observations I made about Chile in the three weeks. I didn’t know much about the country so I didn’t really know what to expect.
Summer of Hiking 2018
- Bull Hill/Mt. Taurus – Moderate hike with the great views of the Hudson Valley, Cold Spring and West Point.
- Carpenters Loop – A perfect next step hike along the Hudson Valley was in Pallisades, New Jersey. It was mostly easy except for a short section.
- Arden Point and Glenclyffe – This was the perfect hike to start the summer with beautiful views and it wasn’t difficult. As the summer goes on, the hikes will get more and more challenging.
Florida (May 11 – 13, 2018)
- Miami – The one weekend we visited Miami, the weather wasn’t beach friendly. That just meant we explored other parts of the city.
Aurora Borealis, Finland (March 8 – 18, 2018)
- Decisions, Decisions – Where is the best place to see the northern lights? Everyone says it’s Iceland, but is that true? Is there somewhere else where the chances of seeing the auroras is higher?
- Everything Auroras – Watching the auroras should be on everyone’s bucket list. It’s by far one of the best vacations of my life.
- Winter Wonderland Part 1 – There are so many winter activities during the day time in the arctic circle. Hiking through the snow can be surprisingly fun.
- Winter Wonderland Part 2 – Reindeer safari, ice bar and more. The best and the worst part about Lapland.
India
- Pune Temples – Even if you aren’t religious, these two landmark temples in the middle of the city are worth visiting.
- Shaniwar Wada – On to more historical site in Pune. It just so happens, there there’s a ghost story associated with it.
South Dakota (August 18 – 26, 2017)
- Sunrise Ranch, Edgemont – Spent an amazing weekend at the ranch feeding farm animals, horseback riding, and eating steak.
- Solar Eclipse – technically we saw it from Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Nebraska.
- Mammoth Site – The world’s largest mammoth remains in the world and an active paleontological dig site.
National Parks and Monuments
- Joshua Tree National Park, California (March 14 – 17, 2017) – one of the most fascinating parks where two uniquely different desert systems meet.
- Yosemite National Park, California (May 22 – 25, 2017) – there is a reason why this is one of the most visited parks in America.
- Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, California (May 25 – 27, 2017) – felt like I was in fairy tale, surrounded by such giant trees.
- Badlands National Park, South Dakota (Aug 18 – 26, 2017) – I’ve never seen so much wildlife at any other national park as I did in one day at Badlands!
- Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota (Aug 18 – 26, 2017) – one of the most underrated national park in the country
- Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota (Aug 18 – 26, 2017) – Third largest cave in the world and it has cave bacon
- Mount Rushmore, South Dakota (Aug 18 – 26, 2017) – probably the least impressive destination in Black Hills area
- Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska (Aug 21, 2017) – where we saw the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017
- Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming (Aug 18 – 26, 2017) – Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed here!
New York City
- NYC Restaurants – Check out my favorite places to eat in the city
The Bahamas (January 8 – 12, 2017)
Bahamas was over-rated and way over priced. I think there are better islands in the Caribbean to visit.
Trinidad (August 17 – 22, 2016)
Trinidad was never really a country I thought about visiting but I’m glad I went there. In fact, I would recommend anyone interested in more than just beaches to visit Trinidad. Winter or spring is the best time to visit because the weather is nicer. Summers in Trinidad bring a lot of rain and humidity. I’d love to back between March – May so I can watch leatherback turtles come ashore to lay eggs at Grande Riviere.
- Port of Spain
- Maracas Beach
- Caroni Swamp
- Pitch Lake
- Temple in the sea and Dattatreya Temple (85 foot Hanuman Statue)
Scotland (July 10 – 20, 2016)
Beautiful country but what I learned about myself is that I prefer to spend time away from cities. I live in NYC so as far as cities go, I usually get bored kinda fast. I prefer to spend time in the countryside, exploring the areas/places outside the city. I wish I had spent less time in Edinburgh and more time in Isle of Skye and/or Islay. Below are blogs with more details about my visit to Scotland.