And with that, we are wheels up to show the girls Niagara Falls (the largest waterfall by volume of water) from the other side of the longest undefended border of the world…

This is blasphemy, eh? 🙂
In the land of Tim Horton’s, the first thing the girls do is pull over into a Starbucks!!!

What the heck is that?

American Falls & Bridal Veil and the Horseshoe Falls

Indians to the left of them, Indians to the right of them, volleyed and thundered…
Well, certainly they are thundering all over this place.
I guess it is never a tourist spot (of any repute anyways) without being surrounded by a lot of really loud Indians yelling in languages nobody around can understand 🙁

Is it just me or do the Canadians have longer legs than Americans? Going by the road signs, they even seem to be making greater/longer strides than us!! 🙂

The three falls again… This time from the top of the Skylon Tower.
Seventeen years back, Sharmila and I wanted to go to the top of the tower but were told that we had to cross over to another country. (I did not have our Indian passports with me; we were on the American side of the border).
Today we got it done… With two daughters in tow…

A perfect rainbow framed the Horseshoe Falls

After a great day at the Niagara Falls, had a perfect ending meeting up with Sourav Ray and his beautiful family. He was my classmate in middle school and he left our school when I was younger than my daughter. That was back in 1980!!! Thirty three years later, we picked up from exactly where we had left!!! Long time wish fulfilled!!!

Anybody who doubts that there are 1.2 billion Indians in this world, obviously has not been to the Niagara Falls 🙂

Sharmila and I used to enjoy a glass of red wine many an evening at Larry’s (Vintner Cellar) in Plano with Kushal and Mita. Six years later we got together with them for a similar evening at a far away place from Atlanta and Dallas – Hillebrand Winery at Niagara-on-the- Lake area…

Yesterday, while climbing up Murray Rd from the Falls, I heard somebody yelling my name. Sure enough, Aabhas Chandra – a colleague from long past – a decade in fact – had somehow managed to recognize me in a crowd thru all the changes I have gone thru in that decade!!! Both of us were in a hurry at that moment – so we scooted off at that time after exchanging pleasantries…
And then we got together this morning in the one way I know how to catch up with long lost friends – we ran for half an hour in front of the Niagara Falls and then grabbed a Starbucks!!!
Evidently, the arcs of lives meet more than once!!!

I am all for some occasional reminders of basic operations in life, but was that last instruction really necessary? Are all Marriott customers suffering from collective Alzheimer’s or something?

With the three girls window shopping in Toronto airport, I took a sneak peek into my calendar to see what is waiting for me in office. The travel schedule alone was enough to drive me to sit at a bar and order a drink 🙁 I will be in Atlanta literally for six weekdays only 🙁
Two drinks later – I now have a more positive outlook – I am targeting to run every Friday this month…. In a different country each!! First one was Canada. Second will be UK. Third will be US. And fourth will be India.
Three countries that speak English and one that speaks what it thinks is English 🙂

There is something about the engines put on full propulsion at the beginning of a live runway that knocks these two out without fail every time!!!