Travel – Page 4 – The Mint Girl Blog

My Trip

I went to Chicago recently. From Chicago, we also went on a mini road trip to Milwaukee.

The trip was fun and we stopped at a few interesting areas along the way. These are some of my favorite stops.

Mars Cheese Castle
This is a shop filled with cheese and cheese related items. The selection of cheese is wide and everything is locally made in Wisconsin. There’s also a bakery and some other local products, like jam and jelly beans (there’s a factory close by). There’s also postcards and cheese decorations. It’s a fun place and I enjoyed the trip there.
Wind Point Lighthouse
The lighthouse is a nice and beautiful area. It overlooks Lake Michigan and is a great photo spot. There are many rocks around the lake, so you can’t go down to the edge unfortunately, but the rocks are good places to sit. When we went, it was raining, not letting us see the full magnificence of the lighthouse, but I’m glad I was at least able to see some of it.
Wingspread house
This is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (a famous architect). The house is shaped like a pinwheel and covers 14,000 square feet. We didn’t get to go inside the house, but it seemed like an amazing creation from the outside!
La Merenda
La Merenda is a really great restaurant with food from all over the world. The patio has many plants, like mint, thyme, kale, and so much more. The food is served in a tapas style (small sharable plates) and is delicious. Each dish is different and I really enjoyed them.
Boswell Book Company
This is a great bookshop! I always love bookshops and this was no exception. There were some really great books and I loved the way recommendations were also included. I saw a few super cool posters and magnets. Overall, this place is great!

Traveling in San Antonio

I went to San Antonio recently and I enjoyed all of the marvelous and wonderful sights, so I decided to share my favorites with you. I hope you enjoy!

The Japanese/Chinese Tea Garden
The Japanese Tea Gardens, were a crowded, but beautiful place. It was lush, green, and filled with nature. There were a few koi ponds, a waterfall, and beautiful bridges. We also saw koi and 2 ducklings. I really loved the scenery and the breath-taking views.
The Pearl (neighborhood)
The Pearl is a neighborhood with many restaurants and other fun shops. It borders the San Antonio River and is a big open area. There are many picturesque views, with the buildings and the field areas. Two of my favorite places in the Pearl are Lick Ice-cream and Twig Bookstore.
The Mercado
The Mercado is the largest Mexican market in the US, with 32 specialty stores/booths. It is full of vibrant colors, like the papel picado overhead, or the fun colors of the booths. There’s food, drinks, toys, and more. Sadly, we went at a time before the market has opened, so we didn’t get to see everything.

Have you been to San Antonio? If so, what are your favorite parts of the city?

Snowpocalypse 2021

Blankets of snow cover the ground
Millions of people with their power out
Houses and trees and cars all covered in ice
Doesn’t feel great, but looks somewhat nice.

People without water, their pipes have burst
No price gouging is a rule that has been enforced
There is a boil water notice on all tap water
I hope that it soon gets hotter

Best of 2020

2020 has been a strange year, but here are some of the things that happened.

1. Starting the year with family:

I love spending time with my grandparents. I’m glad I got to do it in the beginning of this year, even if I couldn’t make my annual summer trip to India 😭. I also got to spend some time with my uncle and aunt, before they moved countries.

2. Ending my elementary years and staring my middle school ones:

I finished 5th grade (virtually) and started middle school and the school of my choice (also virtually)! Virtual school is less than ideal, but I’ve learned to adjust. You can read about my experiences here.

3. ARCADIS Science Fair:

I participated in the ARCADIS science fair and did a project on supercooling and snapfreezing water. I learnt a lot and was really surprised when I won!

4. Mini Getaways:

Since we couldn’t travel a lot, I relied on a few small breaks to get away . My favorite one was definitely my birthday weekend getaway with a few of my friends and family. I also liked the Corpus Christi, Driftwood, and Pensacola Beach breaks.

5. Dance:

I spent a lot of time focusing on dance during these COVID times. I’ve taken place in a Bharatanatyam dance exam (for both theory and practical) and started learning a new Indian classical dance form, Mohiniattam. I performed a few solo items and recorded them. I’ve also began to learn Carnatic music to support my skills.

In Western dance, I was able to get one last performance on February in my elementary school dance company and I’m in my new school’s Drill Team. It’s less than ideal, but I’m hoping to be able to go back to performing soon.

6. Life Skills:

2020 has been a year where I learnt and tried so many new things.

I learned to crochet, and did a few art projects including tie-dye projects and wreaths for our door.
I cooked and baked (I even made my first layered cake!) and got comfortable in the kitchen. Some of the treats I made include mint chutney bread, cranberry cookies, brownies, and more. I also learned to make rice and keera kootu.
I’ve learned a lot of handy household chores like doing the laundry and handwashing clothes as well as ironing and sweeping.

7. Improved Technology Skills:

I started to use Instagram and I wrote on my blog more. I got better at using Google Drive, Docs, and Slides. I’ve learnt about different features on computers and got better at navigating through the digital world.

8. Writing:

I wrote 2 stories (which I’m going to edit this year) and a few short stories for my blog.

9. Reading:

I’ve read a ton this year and made friends with a few bookstagrammers. On my instagram, I took part in two challenges, the #mgbookmarch challenge in March and the #mgbooktober challenge in October. I’ve also started new series, and began to read a higher level of mglit!

**(If you’re not following me yet, you totally should)**

You can check out my insta here.

Goodbye 2020

The sun sets, marking the end of 2020
Starting a new year

The sandpiper runs
Towards a brand new year,
or away from a horrible, disaster filled 2020?
Or is it just looking for food?

I run
Laughing and playing with my family, carefree
But also cold,
and hoping the new year will soon come

Happiness runs
With all of us, making its way to the finish line,
the start of 2021
We will find it on January 1st among the ordinary things.

The sun sets with all of us running,
and it will rise to a new year
Another 365 days, before the next year
Let’s use these days wisely

Happy Deepavali!

A light shines in dark times
Hope follows behind
For it is Deepavali

Spend time with family, friends
Play games, eat good food
For it is Deepavali

Done for today, time to sleep
Go to bed, happy
For it is Deepavali

I hope you enjoyed these haikus about Diwali! Happy Deepavali to all of you reading this!

A longing

This week, I attended the WITS poetry workshop, which Joshua Nguyen taught. We learned about haibuns (poems which have a paragraph in the beginning and a haiku at the end) and got a chance to write our own. I had so much fun with this and this is my haibun.

I wrote my haibun about a longing to be at the beach.

There is a longing inside of me to see a beautiful blue-green sea, slowly fading into dark blue. I wish to have my feet buried into the warm sand while a book captures my attention. I wish to be where trees line the background and I can sit peacefully with an ice-cream cone. I want to hear the shouts and joy of kids, but still live in my own world of tranquility. I want to relax in the shade of a tree while still staying warm, courtesy of the sun peeping through the branches. I wish to be as relaxed as I was there and never care for anything in the world.

I want to see the

wondrous ocean again

and relax, happy

What are you longing for during social distancing?

Mint Girl Goes Ziplining

When I went on my vacation to Langkawi, I was pretty surprised that our hotel was in the midst of a forest. The landscape there was very pretty and the animals galore.We saw so many trees and the water on the beach was very clear. The hotel atmosphere was very calming and the staff was very nice. We took some tours that let us see some of the best and most interesting creatures. One of my favorite parts of the trip was spotting a colugo and the other was ziplining.

I had been wanting to zipline for a long time but I was quite nervous. At Umgawa, I didn’t have to worry. The instructors there were very nice and walked us through the guidelines. We walked for some time and came to our first line. It was a practice line and I was nervous, but ready. When I flew through the air, I leaned back and relaxed. I felt so free flying through the forest.

The scenery was beautiful and I loved every second of it.Nothing could beat seeing the Andaman Sea or a waterfall on your side while flying through the forest. I spotted a whole family of dusky leaf monkeys leaping through the trees. A few of them had babies and they all played with each other. I found this to be a super cute scene. We also saw tons of butterflies flitting around the trees. My favorite animal of the day, though, was the hawk we saw. We saw it two times. Once when we were walking on one of the rope bridges and before we abseiled(went down).

I definitely recommend Umgawa to any family looking for adventures, wildlife(pictures), and tons of fun.

Mint Girl Goes to Carrabba’s

When you walk into Carrabba’s, the first thing that hits you is the smell and the bustle of people. Carrabba’s is an Italian restaurant in Upper Kirby in Houston. This restaurant is a bustling place with many people, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

The service at Carrabba’s is very nice. We were seated almost immediately and a waiter was with us soon. Our waiter was very attentive and full of suggestions. Out of all suggestions, I enjoyed the dessert the most. We ordered the seasonal special; the Italian Sundae. The sundae had a vanilla ice cream base. Topping the ice cream was a drizzle of strawberry balsamic vinegar glaze and crumbled almond biscotti . It was absolutely delicious.

We ate family style; sharing everything from everyone’s plate. We got the Minestrone soup, Mamma Mandola’s Sicilian Chicken, Mushroom Ravioli, Stuffed Shrimp Mandola, and my favorite classic…..Margarita Pizza!

Every thing we ate tasted amazing. I don’t think you can go wrong at Carrabba’s.

5 Things I recommend in Dubai

I recently visited Dubai and I enjoyed it a lot. Here are a few of my suggestions on what to do.

1. Go to the top of Burj Khalifa:
The first thing we did when we got to Dubai was see the Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa is 828 m tall which makes it the world’s tallest building. We went to the 148th floor and relaxed in the lounge there.

2. Sunset at The Pointe:
The Pointe is on The Palm. It is on one of the fronds of the man-made island. There’s a small beach lined with beanbag chairs which are very comfortable. Overlooking the beach is the famous Atlantis hotel. There are many activities and games on the Pointe. There are also quite a few gift and coffee shops around.

3. Take a speed boat tour:
A speed boat tour is perfect near sunset. As the boat crashes over the waves, you feel carefree. Ours was at the perfect time. When the red sun started to set behind Burj Al Arab, all the phones came out. With the sun hiding, the effect was spectacular! I definitely recommend a boat tour near sunset.

4. The Optical Illusion Museum:
The museum, located in the Al Seef area, may seem small but it’s full of optical illusions. There are some games and pictures which might have you scratching your head. One of my favorite things to do were the optical illusion picture “booths”. One person would stand in a certain area based on the instructions and the other person would snap a pic on the labeled spots. This was one of my top favorite places.

5. The Dubai Miracle Gardens:
The Gardens is full of vibrant and colorful creations. The amount of plants and flowers in a desert astonishes me. There are many sculptures like dancers, an airplane, horses, and more! This place truly is a miracle. It is my top pick in Dubai!