In December 2007, the Maryland Murthys and New Jersey Gopis decided to go on a vacation, but the detsination was unknown. After a brief discussion, they decided to "head west". The Gopis and Murthys agreed to include San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Grand Canyon in the itinerary. Once the vacation planning was finalized, the rest of the family were then invited, to which the Athnis and Prathiba joined in.

What a mix of places! Soon phone calls to Wyndham resorts from both Murthys and Athnis were made to reserve the biggest units they have (needed at least three rooms in each place). Luckily, we got the most beautiful units in all places.

The Murthys flew from Maryland to Atlanta, where they joined the Athnis. Both the Murthys and Athnis flew from Atlanta to San Diego. The Gopis and Pratibha flew from Newark to San Diego. The entire "crew" met up at the San Diego Airport, where a huge Ford van ( 8 seater with large luggage place - which we needed for 14 suit cases and many plastic bags with kitchen supplies). Four drivers were assigned - Gopi, Bhagya, Sripad and Vasu. None of us had driven that size vehicle before. Wow! It was an experience. Who will be the first bold person? Gopi volunteered and drove effortlessly to our resort. The resort faced the Pacific Ocean and so did our rooms. The ladies made a fantastic dinner and all relaxed with red wine after a brief walk to a local grocery store. Three days in San Diego went like three hours. We took a train ride, a tram ride, a and a visit to Balboa Park was a lot of fun. Pictures attached will speak for itself.

We made it to another country too!! Mexico!! We went on a shopping spree in Tejuana, Mexico which was so much fun to the ladies and sharpened negotiating skills for the men!!

We drove from San Diego to Los Angeles. The resort in L.A. was perfect. Two minutes from Disney. Accommodation was very good and had plenty of fun drinking (and eating) !! We hired a personal taxi who took us on a personal tour of Los Angeles. Our visit to Hollywood, Kodak Theater and the Walk of Fame can never be forgotten. !

We also took a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This museaum was truly heavenly. It is gracefully situated in scenic Simi Valley, 1 hour drive from L.A. downtown. The library brings out elegance, grace, class, and respect. Only wished we had more time there.

On to Viva Las Vegas. The three and half hours of drive would have been a little taxing but the
s uper-drivers we had made it fun and relaxing. I think we heard a little snoring from the back seats!
The Las Vegas resorts were out of this world. It was huge, with a very large kitchen.

We each saw a different show. We visited all the stunning casinos, including the Venetian, Bellagio, Paris, Treasure Island, and MGM to name a few. The gambling was quite enticing. Some of us lost a little money, while a few others made some money sometimes, but all were having big smiles at the end. We wish we could have stayed a bit longer.

We then moved on to Grand Canyon. It was a 6 hour drive, but the van was quite comfortable. In the Grand Canyon, we saw an Imax movie of the GC, which was beautiful. We relaxed, and had some nice meals. We were able to watch the sunset into the Grand Canyon cliffs, a truly spectacular site. Indira and Vasu hiked 1/2 way down the canyon !!! BUT, Sripad, Parthiba and Bhagya went MUCH further down !!! By the manner in which we trotted down those cliffs, no one would have guessed we were "seniors"!!! The weather was a bit cold, but that was part of the fun.

Finally, on Saturday morning, we left Grand Canyon to San Diego, to take our return flight. Although the drive was quite long, it went by effortlessly.

Saying good bye at the end of a fantastic vacation was painful, but we will certainly do it again with more people and have more fun!! See the pictures and have a taste of all the fun we had .... and feel Jealous!!!