Visit to Global Vipassana, Gorai on 03-Nov-2011

Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai, Mumbai is a Meditation Dome Hall with a capacity to seat around 8,000 mediators which is the largest such meditation hall in the worldIts traditional Burmese design is an expression of gratitude towards the country of Myanmar for preserving the practice of Vipassana. The shape of the pagoda is a copy of the Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Pagoda) in Yangon, Myanmar. It was built combining ancient Indian and modern technology to enable it to last for a thousand years. Official web-site is Global Pagoda, Gorai

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is declared as one of the "Seven Wonders of Maharashtra" by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in partnership with ABP Majha, a Marathi news channel; after they reviewed 350 destinations. 

Visited the Pagoda for the third time with Sadhana and my close friend Uttam Panchal and enjoyed the visit once again because of nice climate, serenty and spiritual thoughts making to see into ourselves

Prof Uttam Panchal in front of the main gate

Visit to Penns Caves PA and Center County Memorial Park, State College, PA on 07-Jul-2019

Penns Cave, PA is America's only all-water cavern & farm-nature-wildlife park. In 1885, Penn’s Cave opened as a commercial show cavern and the Penn’s Cave Hotel was built. Very fortunate to see this place and had very different experience. Nature takes it own course and the creation of the caves took millions  of years.

An astonishing and magnificent visit.... !!!! 

Visit to Braj Temple, Schuykill County, PA, USA on 06-Jul-2019

The Vraj Hindu Temple is located in Schuylkill County, in Pennsylvania, United States.  It is a multi-million-dollar temple or haveli covering 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the land. Vraj is also known as Noontan Nadalaya, and abode for God Shrinathji (a manifestation of Krishna). It is visited by an average of 100,000 Hindu pilgrims per year.  Nootan Nandalaya (Temple) is surrounded by hills and is situated on the bank of Chandra Sarovar (lake). The temple is having a very good canteen, gift shop and residence facilities. 

A very well developed complex which provides some peace of mind to the devotees and good to visit with family and friends. One can spend a day or two and lead a calm and peaceful life with dear ones.

Jay Shrikrishna ... !!!

Independence Day Parade on 04-Jul-2019

Got opportunity to attend Independence Day Parade, Towson MD USA. Had also attended National Independence Day Festival and Parade. Philadelphia, in 2015. A lot of enthusiasm and public participation showing their skills, vintage bikes and cars, showcasing of government departments in the parade which lasted for 2 hours. 

Visit to Mercer County Park and Radha Krishna Temple, Princeton on 29-Jun-2019

Mercer County Park, is a recreational park The park encompasses over 2,500 acres (10 square kms). The National Softball Association honored the Mercer County Park Commission with its "Outstanding Parks Award" for the softball fields and facilities in Mercer County Park. The park is having many facilities such as golf course, Two cricket pitches, Seven basketball courts, Ice skating center, 24 Tennis Courts, Nature trails, Picnic areas and so on. Perfect place for a day out with family and friends. Besides, sport facilities in the park offers an golden opportunity for the sportsmen. The day was very hot and later on after 4 pm the climate changed. The rain and strong wind started and weather become pleasant in 15 minutes. 

Visit to Annapolis, MD, USA and Thomas Point Park on 08-Jun-2019

Visited Annapolis, Maryland and Sandy Point State Park with Myra, Priyanka, Ankit, Sadhana and enjoyed an evening in the historic city. 

Annapolis is capital city of Maryland and famous mainly for 18th Century brick-houses United States Naval Academy, and Chesapeake Bay. It was temporary capital of USA in 1783-1784. A happening tourist place with nice traditional main street famous for ice-cream, chocolates and fudges. The place has rich heritage of arts, culture and theatre.  Had a good walk on the main street with music playing and market full of tourists, variety of cars and bikes. 

Visit to Baltimore Inner Harbor on 31-May-2015

Baltimore is one of America's oldest seaports. Baltimore's recently-renewed Inner Harbor is home to some of the city's best attractions, including the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery Children's Museum and Harbor place.

A happening tourist place with fantastic walk along the pier street music, historic ships, shops, games, parks, swiftly plying electric scooters, artist showing there skills, cultural events etc. Spent about 2-3 hours on the harbor in the evening. About 2 mile of scenic walk with Myra, Priyanka, Ankit, Sadhana was very refreshing.

  

Inner Harbor, Baltimore

Visit to the Aksharsham Temple, Robbinsville NJ on 27-May-2019

Visited the Swaminarayan Temple, Robbinsville Akshardham (Devnagari: स्वामिनारायण अक्षरधाम) in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu temple complex. The complex is very big and a lot work is still in progress though the temple is complete. The inspiration to construct this temple came from Pramukh Swami Maharaj President, BAPS.

Visited the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple with the Paliwals which  is built using Italian marble.  The marble is cut and designed by the Rajasthani artists in India and sent to USA with serial number to be directly used in the construction. Very beautiful and delicate design of the pillars, main hall,and passages out side the temple. The temple has Aksharpith Book  & Souvenir Shop  and Shayaona Sweet and Snacks Center. A nice place to spend a day or half with family peacefully. 

Visit to Bushkill Waterfalls and Smithfield Beach on 26-May-2019

Bushkill Waterfalls is a series of eight privately owned waterfalls, the tallest of which cascades over 100 feet (30 m), located in Pocono Mountains in the United States. Beginning at the headwaters of the Little Bush Kill, the water descends the mountain, toward the Delaware River, forming Bushkill Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Bridesmaid Falls, Laurel Glen Falls, Pennell Falls, and three additional, unnamed falls. The place is also  popular for hiking and birdwatching. The area has a variety of trails and bridges that vary in length and difficulty. The fall is also known as "Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania."

Visited Bushkill Waterfalls and Smithfield Beach with Paliwals and Sadhna for 4-5 hours. Completed a trail for about 2 hours enjoying the waterfall and the nature around.

With ever smiling Paliwals in front of the waterfall

Visit to Hopatkong Lake on 25-May-2019

Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about 4 square miles (10 km²) in area. Lake Hopatcong was produced by damming and flooding of two ponds, known as the Great Pond and Little Pond, and the Musconetcong River, its natural outlet.

The place is very scenic and a perfect point for spending day out with family and children with sport activities and swimming. 

Little Myra's First Outing with Paliwals, Parents and Grandparents

Visit to Roland Lake, Baltimore MD on 17-May-2019

Lake Roland Park, Baltimore MD is a city/county park encompassing over 500 acres of woodland, wetlands, serpentine barrens, rare plants and rocky plateaus surrounding Lake Roland in Baltimore County, Maryland. A hidden lush green gem in Towson MD for walking, cycle and running around the lake.

Little Myra, Priyanka, Sadhana and myself visited the park in  the evening for 2 hours. Nice beautiful place covering over 500 acres of woodland, wetlands, serpentine barrens, rare plants and rocky plateaus surrounding Lake Roland . Ideal for a day-out in the surroundings of lush green trees, tweeting birds, and trails.

Holi Celeberations in Greater Baltimore Temple on 23-Mar-2019

Attended Holi Festival at Greater Baltimore Temple celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. Well-organized event which followed after the arati and refreshments. Reminded me the holi celebrations in very traditional way in Mahad 3-4 years before.

A Short Drive on Horses & Hound Scenic Byway on 12-Mar-2019

Today, I was very lucky to have a short drive for about an 30 minutes on  Horses and Hound Scenic Byway and was really enjoyed the snaky road and the nature around it. The byway is so named because of the fox hunting and horse breeding that has been a part of the culture in these hills and valleys.

Visit to Great Falls Park on 10-Mar-2019

Visited Great Falls Park along the Potomac River near Washington DC on 10-Mar-2019. Very nice place with nature's different flavor with tall leafless trees. We see here series of steep, jagged rocks making an idle place for kayaking.Easy to access from Washington DC and nice place to spare a few hours.

Shahs, Paliwals and Pathaks

A Snowy Day in Towson, MD on 20-Feb-2019

The weather was  pleasing and nature bestowed upon its best everywhere as snowfall continued through out the morning. The temperature was sub-zero. And anyhow with some determination, took an half-an-hour walk around the neighborhood and enjoyed the chill and nature's beautiful bounty.  Government vehicles were busy clearing the snow prompt using salt and me taking snaps and watching the scene -  नज़ारा. 

Visit to Timonium Motorcycle Show on 10 Feb-2019

Ankit, Priyanka, Sadhana and DY visited the Timonium Motorcycle Show at Lutherville, MD, USAshow on the same day of arrival from India to Towson, MD, USA.  I found myself very lucky to have look at hundreds of bikes in the last  1 hour and 30 minutes of the closure of the show. I had been to New Hope, PA, USA in 2014 village to enjoy season's fall and was astonished with a variety of bikes fantastically decorated on the main street of New Hope,  on a busy Sunday in summer. But the Timonium Feb-2019 show proved to be beyond my dreams

Visit to USA in 2019

Currently in USA and plan to move around  to places around Baltimore and Washington DC.  A few rides on a bike are in the offfing - may be on Harley-Davidson. And also to spent some time with my daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Ankit.  It is good winter here and hope to see nice summer as well. A perfect timing to visit USA.

This post will share my experience  during this stay about places, exhibition, etc. :

With Paliwals, Shah and Pathaks in USA

Visit to Junagadh, Girnar, Somnath and Dwaraka in Jan-2019

A visit to Guru Dattatreya Temple, Girnar and Somnath and Dwaraka was organized by Durg Malhar Treks and Tours from 5 Jan, 2019 to 8 Jan-19. The travel was done by railway, bus and auto-rikshaw. Sumant Kelkar, Sadhana and me extended this tour to Dwaraka from 5-Jan, 2019 to 11-Jan-19 and returned to Thane on 12-Jan-2019.

Visit to Dwaraka, Rukmani, Nagnath, Gopi and Bet Dwaraka from 09-Jan-19 to 11-Jan-19

On 09-Jan-2019, visited Dwaraka, Rukmini Temple, Nagnath Mandir, Gopi, Bhet Dwaraka. Krishna ruled from Dwaraka, spent time with Gopies at Gopi village and his residence was at Bhet Dwarka. Bhet Dwaraka is also known for the Sudama's - Krishna's childhood friend visit

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Selfie at Dwaraka Station : The steam-engine named as "Dwaraka"

Visit to Somnath on 08-Jan-2019

Visited Somnath Temple located at Prabhas Patan near Veralval in Saurashtra believed to be the first Jyotirlinga of Shiva. The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam (the confluence of three rivers: Kapila, Hiran and Sarasvati). The present temple is built in the Chaulukya style of temple architecture or "Kailash Mahameru Prasad" style.

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath seashore until Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Bāṇastambha (Sanskrit: बाणस्तम्भ, lit. arrow pillar) erected on the sea-protection wall. The Bāṇastambha mentions that it stands at a point on the Indian landmass that is the first point on land in the north to the South Pole at that particular longitude.

With Kelkar and Sadhana at Somnath Beach

Visit to Dattatreya Temple on Girnar Peak on 7 Jan-2019

A visit to Guru Dattatreya Temple, Girnar Peak was organized by Durg Malhar Treks and Tours in Jan, 2019. Girnar Mountain is older than Himalayas The temple of Guru Dattatreya is located on the top of holy mountain Girnar and takes a tough climb of 10,000 steps .On the way, the devotee passes Jain temples around 3,800 steps, Goddess Ambaji 5,000 steps and Gorakhnath around 7,000 steps. Gorakhnath is the highest peak in Gujarat. The climb is quite difficult and testing the mental and physical ability of the devotees.

Visit to Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Junagadh on 06-Jan-2019

 Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Junagadh 

A group of 60 tourist visited the temple in the evening. The climate was pleasant and with a lot of tourists around and the ambiance of the temple and surrounding was really enjoyable. in 1828, Swaminarayana himself  installed Shri Ranchhodrai and Trikamrai in the inner sanctum.