First Night

Thats the name of the New Year's eve event @ State College. Musical and theatrical performances in downtown churches, indoor and outdoor resolution sculptures, and art workshops were arranged all around the downtown. With temperatures of around 21 deg F (-6 deg C) and free Hot Chocolate and Hanson's Kettle Corn... the atmosphere was all electrifying! First Night State College is well known for its outstanding displays of carved ice. Mega sculptures carved in ice exhibited on roads ... it was a treat to watch .. and its all here for u ..

Pennsylvanian Elks...

Eagle...

SS United States.. the fastest US streamliner built in Penn State .. in 1952

Dragon...

A Tractor...

George Washinton...

And finally... "The King" on his Ice Throne!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

Oodles of Snow

Fall is almost gone... and I got a lil busy at just the wrong time.. to post more from fall splendor... and even b4 I could realize it ... winter is here ... its not only me whoz so confused with time.. but weather is as confused as I am... coz its crazily snowing even b4 the end of fall...

Partial fall color and snow in front of my apartment

in front of other houses too...

But soon the winter took over completely and covered all of it..

There was some greenery spotted around the house, mainly due to the pines in the golf course ...

But otherwise it was the typical winter trees all around with
"void branches"

It got really windy at times

but who would not be enthralled by the pristine beauty of white snow ? Anyone would be beguiled by a white carpet welcome like this one to dare the scary winds.. atleast I was...

To give u a comparison between peak fall and winter .. here are two pics of the same place .. (albeit from different angles)... i guess it still gives u a feel of the difference...

Two Minutes

Out of Bangalore (India) for a long time ?? .. months/yrs ...????

Missing eat-outs, fast foods, restaurants where u could walk in and order idli vada sambar ... or masala dose ?

If u r one of those thinking it'll take ages to prepare a masala dose @ home ... u r "wrong"!!!

All that it takes is 2 mins! Don't believe me ?? find out for urself.. this is how we make masala dose at home

Served with chutney ....



it just got better...


pile one over the other .. two mins each .. u know ?? ;)


and have fun :)

Reflections

Fall colors add a new dimension to reflection photography. This one is so close to one of the imaginary pictures that would pop up in my mind when ppl talked about a "foreign" country (when I was a kid) ....the other being snow covered mountains!!

The swans in the pool beats even my imaginary world!! or probably i'm deprived of such creative imaginations ;)

and all these in a place thats so closely connected to India!! it can't get better... all these pics are from a lake in Iskcon temple (Palace of Gold) @ Wheeling, West Virginia.

Visit to a Choclaty World

Being the chocoholic that I am ... it was a dream come true as I had been to "Chocolate World" at Hershey famous for the popular brand of chocolates with the same name... and specially for the Hershey "kisses".

Chocolate world has a very informative tour about exactly how chocolates are made @ Hershey.. starting from how cocoa seeds are selected ( a mix of seeds from Ecuador (south america) and Africa!!)... fermented... broken.. powdered...

to make solid bars of chocolate.. yummm !!

and how they are further melted and mixed with milk to make milk chocolate... mouth watering! ain't it ?

how chocolate is refined and conched (no pic of conching here)....

to get these delectable stuff... i just luv them!!

specially when melted chocolate runs over roasted almonds...

broken almonds

or better.. if its whole... yummmmm...

and finally packed...

As you would've imagined by now, I couldn't resist the temptation for any longer.... I got myself.. more than a KG infact 1.25 KG of chocolate finally!!

Colored Clouds

Splendor of Niagara at night

Maid Of The Mist

Having visited umpteen cascades in the west, a visit to Niagara which is only about 240 miles from my place was definitely on the cards.. We had to make it before winter set in.. coz we didn't want to freeze in no mans land (neither US nor Canada)...

Also, the first time ever I got so close to any international border .. so much so that pedestrians are allowed to cross through the border...

And a beautiful bridge separating the two countries...for most ppl who drive to cross the border

...and in between is a special gift from US to Canada, as a token of appreciation of a long lasting friendly relationship (unlike our neighbors).. Its this view.. of US falls from Canadian side (as seen from the Maid of the Mist boat ride...

The USP of this falls is not its height or width but the sheer rate at which water is pushed down.... more than 200,000 cu feet per second!!!

and to top it all .. u get an easy access point to a top view of the falls to check out how the falls is formed... which is also rare in most other falls I have seen..

and not to forget .. the ever lasting rainbow at the falls to add to its beauty...