16 January 2026

Flying over St. Pete

I had just come back home from office meetings for a couple of days in St. Pete. And immediately turned around to go on a vacation with Sharmila. And what do you know? We flew right over St. Pete. I can see the pink Vinoy hotel where we stayed in!!

16 January 2026

Flying over Clearwater

The year was 2021. The month was February. The world was still under the spell of Covid virus. I was dealing with the news of my mom’s death. I did not know then but a couple of weeks later, my dad would pass away too. Due to the virus, we were all cooped up without any ability to travel.

Moment I got my first vaccination, I hit the road. I needed to get out somewhere and decompress. Deal with my mom’s news and the constant feeling of getting stuck in a place. It was me and my friend Avi.

If you notice the break in the beach where the water goes in, and then follow to the first multi-storey building a bit to the right – that is the Sheraton I had escaped to.

That was my first trip after Covid!

8 January 2026

Yerba Mate!

At times, I had seen people drinking from a coffee cup but with a straw! The straw was made of metal and shaped more like a pipe. It looked more like a pipe-meet-coffee cup!

Found out in Uruguay – where lot of people were doing it – that is used to drink Yerba Mete – sort of like herbal tea except, caffeinated!

Got a few varieties of the Mate and two of those cups. Now, I need some excuse to drink it!!