Chicago Botanic Garden had an Orchid show. Here are some pictures Photos - Flickr
Friday, March 27, 2015
The Big Island of Hawaii
I had a chance to go to big island of Hawaii earlier this year (4-12th Jan).
It is an amazing place with the active volcanos, green landscape, shoreline, colored beaches (black/green/white/yellow) and of course fascinating people. To me it is like a compact form of our Earth :) in miniature version.
It was a very nice trip and my first time to any island.
My friend Emily was my travel buddy with whom I did multiple cool trips before. Check out her travel blog for details on this trip. We had lot of fun there.
http://vegandtravel.blogspot.com/2015/02/happiness-in-hawaii.html
We camped at four different places to explore various unique parts/features of this island.
Some of the unique experience that I had - volcano hiking, swimming with sea turtle, swimming with dolphin, spotting whales. There were so much to do in a single trip.
Weather was super good !!! [specially when u compare the same time in Chicago :P]
I really enjoyed the beautiful green landscapes, tropical fruits, tropical flowers, colorful birds. All of the campsites were next to the pacific shoreline so we caught beautiful sunrise on few days :)
I tried to capture whatever I could but honestly it was too much for a machine.
You have to be there in order to appreciate the true beauty of the mother nature.
We met many interesting people on island -
Debra - She was in charge of the parking lot of the hotel I was staying at Kona. On the first night, I got there late at night and could not find any place to grab food. She was the person who gave me the address of the place that was open at that late hour and told me to try Katsu chicken. Although I ate pizza that time but I tried it later and found that it's a very nice dish and very similar to small Chicken Cutlet [friends from my state will know this :) ].
Our first Coconut man [forgot to ask his name] - who was in Chicago many years ago [what a coincidence !] and he still has a poster from Chicago Blues festival !!!
Ethan - our second coconut man [this time we asked his name]. He and his girlfriend (who is from Vermont) were volunteering in a local farm. He truly understood the type of the young coconut we were looking for. It was very refreshing.
Von - She runs a local restaurant where we had local fish curry, Indian style. She was very nice to give us some advice on sightseeing but I think she was too worried about safety on campsites in general.
Travis - I named him "The rocking ranger" of Volcanoes National Park. He was an awesome storyteller. We stood there and listened to his talk which was mostly about geographic/geologic/historical information on Hawaii volcanoes. His father was a surfer in the island and his childhood was spent on this island, so he had lot of stories to share and I was really mesmerized by all of his short stories.
Dan - On the last day of camping we met this person. He was in charge of the camping ground. On all other campsites, we could not find any body to show our permit. So I was excited to find one person to show the permit at last :) He showed us a good place near camp to watch dolphins and in the morning I saw there a flock of them swimming. He also suggested to go to Two-steps for snorkeling.
Well now the pictures. I arranged them in 3 parts.
First set is from my dslr.
It is an amazing place with the active volcanos, green landscape, shoreline, colored beaches (black/green/white/yellow) and of course fascinating people. To me it is like a compact form of our Earth :) in miniature version.
It was a very nice trip and my first time to any island.
My friend Emily was my travel buddy with whom I did multiple cool trips before. Check out her travel blog for details on this trip. We had lot of fun there.
http://vegandtravel.blogspot.com/2015/02/happiness-in-hawaii.html
We camped at four different places to explore various unique parts/features of this island.
Some of the unique experience that I had - volcano hiking, swimming with sea turtle, swimming with dolphin, spotting whales. There were so much to do in a single trip.
Weather was super good !!! [specially when u compare the same time in Chicago :P]
I really enjoyed the beautiful green landscapes, tropical fruits, tropical flowers, colorful birds. All of the campsites were next to the pacific shoreline so we caught beautiful sunrise on few days :)
I tried to capture whatever I could but honestly it was too much for a machine.
You have to be there in order to appreciate the true beauty of the mother nature.
We met many interesting people on island -
Debra - She was in charge of the parking lot of the hotel I was staying at Kona. On the first night, I got there late at night and could not find any place to grab food. She was the person who gave me the address of the place that was open at that late hour and told me to try Katsu chicken. Although I ate pizza that time but I tried it later and found that it's a very nice dish and very similar to small Chicken Cutlet [friends from my state will know this :) ].
Our first Coconut man [forgot to ask his name] - who was in Chicago many years ago [what a coincidence !] and he still has a poster from Chicago Blues festival !!!
Ethan - our second coconut man [this time we asked his name]. He and his girlfriend (who is from Vermont) were volunteering in a local farm. He truly understood the type of the young coconut we were looking for. It was very refreshing.
Von - She runs a local restaurant where we had local fish curry, Indian style. She was very nice to give us some advice on sightseeing but I think she was too worried about safety on campsites in general.
Travis - I named him "The rocking ranger" of Volcanoes National Park. He was an awesome storyteller. We stood there and listened to his talk which was mostly about geographic/geologic/historical information on Hawaii volcanoes. His father was a surfer in the island and his childhood was spent on this island, so he had lot of stories to share and I was really mesmerized by all of his short stories.
Dan - On the last day of camping we met this person. He was in charge of the camping ground. On all other campsites, we could not find any body to show our permit. So I was excited to find one person to show the permit at last :) He showed us a good place near camp to watch dolphins and in the morning I saw there a flock of them swimming. He also suggested to go to Two-steps for snorkeling.
Well now the pictures. I arranged them in 3 parts.
First set is from my dslr.
Second set consists of photos from my underwater camera while I snorkeled.
There are many great places to snorkel but we found two-steps (Honaunau Bay at South Kona, near city of refuge) is one of the best places to go for. Many locals have suggested that one too.
Finally in the third set, I have few underwater videos. Here is the youtube playlist link -
Friday, February 13, 2015
UT/AZ trip
I visited Arches NP/Capital reef NP/Canyonlands NP/Moab/Monument valley and Saguaro NP with my three friends. It was an awesome trip. Although little cold, but views were just simply stunning :-)
Flickr album
Flickr album
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday, September 1, 2014
Indiana Dunes
I went hiking in Indiana dunes. weather was really nice. Wonderful wildflowers.
Flickr Album
Saturday, August 30, 2014
State Parks @ IL
Summer in IL is quite enjoyable. James visited me from finally and we went camping to Starved rock state park. There is another state park nearby, Matthiessen state park.
Hiking trails were beautiful in both the parks. Although Starved rock is the most popular park here, but we liked the other one. It is only approximately 2 hrs of driving from my place. The nearby town is Utica. This has the smallest downtown I have ever seen :)
Hiking trails were beautiful in both the parks. Although Starved rock is the most popular park here, but we liked the other one. It is only approximately 2 hrs of driving from my place. The nearby town is Utica. This has the smallest downtown I have ever seen :)
Flickr album
Monday, June 30, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Skydeck and architecture tour in Chicago
For the first time, I went to the Skydeck in Willis tower and rode the boat for a nice architecture tour here in Chicago. The best part was to watch a storm that was building up in the north-west side of it from America's tallest building.
After that, I took the architecture tour and the timing was perfect. Sky and skylines, both were really gorgeous :)
Flickr album
After that, I took the architecture tour and the timing was perfect. Sky and skylines, both were really gorgeous :)
Flickr album
Camping trip @ Cuyahoga Valley NP in Ohio
We went for a camping trip in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. It is by the side of Cuyahoga river - the "Crooked River". Ohio & Erie canalway byway also runs through the park.
We reached Boston store visitor center on Saturday at 4:00 am. Surprisingly and fortunately, there was a "photo walk" (around 4:45 am) by the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, I went with them to take pictures of wildflowers. It was a wonderful experience. I met so many people who are avid photographers and naturalists.
The two main flowers in this seasons are daisy (they are about to go) and black-eyed Susan (about to reach the pick). We followed the Buckeye Trail which was covered with these flowers in both sides.
We talked to one of the super-enthusiastic visitor center guides. She gave us really wonderful suggestion / info about the park.
We went to Ledges trail, Brandywine Gorge Trail and brandywine waterfalls, Blue Hen waterfalls, Indigo lake, Beaver Marsh. (total may be around 8 mile).
I tried to jam with someone named Steve who was also there with his guitar :) I wish I had my recorded with me :( On that night, we camped at Standford campsite (Site #5).
On Sunday, we first saw an art exhibition by local artists. There were lot of good paintings. Importantly, I saw few wonderful with soft pastels.
We biked along the main trail of the park - Towpath trail (around 12 mile) and then took the scenic train ride from Rockside station and got down at Peninsula where we rented our bike (from Century Cycles) and parked our car. The best part is that you can put your bike on the train and pay only 3$ for one-side journey :) It is called "Bike the Trail, Ride the Rail !".
Overall, it was a wonderful trip :) and here are some pictures I took there
Flickr album
We reached Boston store visitor center on Saturday at 4:00 am. Surprisingly and fortunately, there was a "photo walk" (around 4:45 am) by the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, I went with them to take pictures of wildflowers. It was a wonderful experience. I met so many people who are avid photographers and naturalists.
The two main flowers in this seasons are daisy (they are about to go) and black-eyed Susan (about to reach the pick). We followed the Buckeye Trail which was covered with these flowers in both sides.
We talked to one of the super-enthusiastic visitor center guides. She gave us really wonderful suggestion / info about the park.
We went to Ledges trail, Brandywine Gorge Trail and brandywine waterfalls, Blue Hen waterfalls, Indigo lake, Beaver Marsh. (total may be around 8 mile).
I tried to jam with someone named Steve who was also there with his guitar :) I wish I had my recorded with me :( On that night, we camped at Standford campsite (Site #5).
On Sunday, we first saw an art exhibition by local artists. There were lot of good paintings. Importantly, I saw few wonderful with soft pastels.
We biked along the main trail of the park - Towpath trail (around 12 mile) and then took the scenic train ride from Rockside station and got down at Peninsula where we rented our bike (from Century Cycles) and parked our car. The best part is that you can put your bike on the train and pay only 3$ for one-side journey :) It is called "Bike the Trail, Ride the Rail !".
Overall, it was a wonderful trip :) and here are some pictures I took there
Flickr album
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
National Seashores @ Michigan
I went for a 2-day-Camping trip with one of my friends.
We visited Pictured rock national seashore and Sleeping bear dunes national seashore.
We visited Pictured rock national seashore and Sleeping bear dunes national seashore.
Link to Flickr album
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Tulip Festival @ Holland, Michigan
Visited on 4th May. It was a bright sunny day in this little town Holland :)
Tulips were not in full bloom though, but still it was really colorful, specially the Dutch village :)
Tulips were not in full bloom though, but still it was really colorful, specially the Dutch village :)
click here for the album in Flickr
Friday, January 3, 2014
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Chicago Botanic Garden - 08.16.13
Beautiful garden close to my place. I spent 3 hours which is not at all sufficient to cover even half of that garden. Colorful flowers, different birds.I spent at least 30 min taking pictures of humming birds and American Goldfinch (I think). They were gorgeous.
Here is the website : Chicago Botanic Garden
I got few interesting pictures of Humming birds. There were at least 4 of them, chasing each other :-)
here are few pictures:
Finally there were few American Goldfinch (I think). I aimed at particular one and took a bunch of pics of it :-)
Here is the link for the bird: American Goldfinch
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Gainesville to Chicago via Niagara :-)
It was an interesting road trip (May 06 - May 14) with my parents and my junior friends. The summary of the itinerary was something like the following --
Gainesville -> crossed Georgia and South Carolina -> Enter North Carolina -> Asheville -> entry to the blue ridge parkway near the folk art center -> various overlooks -> Mount Mitchell state park -> Linville Falls -> Left the blue ridge on right near Boone and took I-81 -> Crossed Virginia ->Shenandoah Valley ->Winchester -> Washington DC reached via 495 -> city tour -> Delaware to mom's friends house -> New Jersey -> NYC through Lincoln Tunnel -> night Grayline bus tour -> crossed Pennsylvania state -> Upstate New York -> Corning Glass Museum near Ithaca -> Watkins Glen State park -> one of the Finger Lake park -> Drive to Buffalo for Niagara Falls -> Drive to Cleveland, OH via I-86 / I-90 to visit Dad's friend for lunch -> Drive through I-90 -> crossed Indiana -> reached Chicago, IL -> flew back from Chicago to Orlando, FL -> drive back home.
Approximate Driving Route/Map:
Click Here to see Road trip Pictures
Gainesville -> crossed Georgia and South Carolina -> Enter North Carolina -> Asheville -> entry to the blue ridge parkway near the folk art center -> various overlooks -> Mount Mitchell state park -> Linville Falls -> Left the blue ridge on right near Boone and took I-81 -> Crossed Virginia ->Shenandoah Valley ->Winchester -> Washington DC reached via 495 -> city tour -> Delaware to mom's friends house -> New Jersey -> NYC through Lincoln Tunnel -> night Grayline bus tour -> crossed Pennsylvania state -> Upstate New York -> Corning Glass Museum near Ithaca -> Watkins Glen State park -> one of the Finger Lake park -> Drive to Buffalo for Niagara Falls -> Drive to Cleveland, OH via I-86 / I-90 to visit Dad's friend for lunch -> Drive through I-90 -> crossed Indiana -> reached Chicago, IL -> flew back from Chicago to Orlando, FL -> drive back home.
Approximate Driving Route/Map:
Click Here to see Road trip Pictures
Monday, April 8, 2013
Bird watching
I went for bird watching yesterday (7th April) early morning with my friends. We saw different kind of birds - cardinal, red-winged black birds, sparrow, crane, pileated woodpecker, Blue Jay, Vireo, American crow, Carolina Chikadee, various warblers, robin, Towhee, northern perula.
Interestingly, I took a green frog's picture (below). The skin was kind of sticky !
Interestingly, I took a green frog's picture (below). The skin was kind of sticky !
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunset Series
Another gorgeous sunset today :)
March 31 - Hawthorne Trail - First overlook @ 7:37 pm (with Polarizer)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Everglades trip
We went to Everglades/Key Largo for 4 days camping trip (25th Dec - 29th Dec).
Some selected photos are uploaded here in the following flickr link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/subho_lens/sets/72157632401591133/
Some selected photos are uploaded here in the following flickr link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/subho_lens/sets/72157632401591133/
Monday, November 19, 2012
Shenondoah National Park
We went there on Oct 19th. Beautiful weather and gorgeous view everywhere :)
Pensacola trip
I went to my friend's place in Pensacola. It was really beautiful. White sands / bright sunlight and lot of fun :)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
walking through the Art Loeb Trail ...
Art Loeb Trail, Black Balsam Area, Pisgah National Forest, NC
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Art Loeb trail - Pisgah National Forest (NC)
Trip :Black Balsam Knob and Rainbow Falls (27th July-29th July)
Beautiful view from our campsite.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Pictures from my latest trip in -
Sedona/Antelope/Grand/Zion/Bryce Canyon; Grand teton/Yellowstone/Rocky
Album shared in Flickr
Friday, May 4, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
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