Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Mr.T

Mr. T, me and my dad in Sydney, 2018





A few words about my uncle(Mr T.) who passed away yesterday.


He was more of a 2nd father than an uncle to me.


If not for him, I would have not been able to come to the US. It was he who bought me the plane ticket and gave me $3000.00 to come over in 1986


He was honest to the core. A philanthropist who would not hesitate to give his shirt off his own back if someone needed it.


He loved food, and would not hesitate to pick food from street vendors wherever he went. He would often take me with him to run errands when i was a kid, and invariably get scolded by my father on our return for letting me eat 'crap from the street'


He was a child at heart. He loved to build and fly kites. The fact that his kites were not very good and often didn't get off the ground didn't deter him. He was the only grown man running down the street trying to get his kites to fly. People would stare and make fun of him, but he didn't care one bit, He was having the time of his life.


He loved to travel, and traveled extensively all over the world.  One of his dream locations was Alaska. He never got to do that. I plan to do that in his honor.


His favorite song : https://youtu.be/o7Jnp949e2Y

Friday, February 26, 2021

2021 Old men trip

6/28/21 Update

New Dates : October 9 - October 17

  1. Ivan 95%
  2. Philip 90%
  3. Tarun 75%
  4. Saji 75%
  5. Reji 50%
  6. Rupi 50%
  7. Jitesh 50%
  8. Arvind 5%
  9. Rudy 1%
  10. Pradeep 1%
  11. Omprakash 0%
  12. Venky 0%
  13. Pat 0%

Valley of fire State Park
Zion National Park
Page AZ (Horseshoe bend Kayak)
Moab

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4/21/21 Update:

Dates: September 25 - October 3

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4/15/21 Update:

Dates: September 18-26

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Lets keep track of the 2021 trip here.

We are planning on a total of 9 days. 

Even if we all can't take the exact days off, we may still be able to do some stuff together.

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These are the tentative participants with my estimated % for them making the trip this year. (There's always next time!)

I used a very complex secret formula to come up with the percentages.  

Ivan 95%

Omprakash 90%

Philip 70%

Saji 60%

Reji 50%

Jitesh 50%

Rupi 50%

Arvind 25%

Venky 5%

Tarun 1%

Pat 1%

Rudy 1%

Pradeep 1%

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When should we go?

September 18-26

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Where should we go?  (Arizona/Utah/Colorado)

Page, AZ

Moab, UT

The current plan is to rent a RV in Phoenix for the trip.

Estimated costs for one week:

With 1750 miles (@10 miles a gallon @ $3.00 a gallon) = $600.00

and $750.00 added for miles at .35 cents/mile

8/21 - 8/28

Large (sleeps 7)  $2200.00

Standard (sleeps 5) $2100.o


The above estimate is for a standard and has a $500.00 deposit and $104.00 for zero deductible insurance. 

We will get the $500.00 back.

Our gas costs are estimated at $600.00 

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Some of things we'd like to do:

Raft down horseshoe bend

Do a 'challenging' non-technical climb (14,000 + feet ) 

Utah MTB (Moab)



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Philip : Can you please look into rafting companies that do Horseshoe bend.

Omprakash : Can you look into 'challenging' trails near Page/Moab






Friday, August 2, 2019

Summer 2019: July 26-August 12


First Leg 1457 Miles
July 26-27    Franklin,MN
July 28-29    Dallas, TX
July 30       Austin, TX
July 31-Aug 2 Corpus Christi, TX






Sunday, December 30, 2018

Dec. 21-Jan 1 RV and Train trip


5487 Miles



Check out Cruise America specials for great RV deals. We got Phoenix to Seattle for $9.99 a day with 2500 free miles. 

Click here   (Rolling out of Phoenix usually has the best deals)



1st Leg:
Saint Paul MN to Rapid City SD in rental car      574 Miles

2nd Leg

Rapid City SD to Phoenix AZ via Colorado City TX  1739 Miles in 25 foot RV





3rd Leg


Phoenix AZ to Seattle, WA via Hollywood CA 1581 Miles in 25 foot RV


4th Leg   Seattle WA to Saint Paul MN on Amtrak 1661 Miles on Amtrak







Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Texas and Australia


3000 Mile road trip



Dallas-Los Angeles-Sydney-Los Angeles-Dallas

Tuesday, July 10, 2018