3000 Miles & 14 Days Family Road Trip: Part 1

It was December 1st week I realized that Holidays are almost near and I haven't planned any thing for the Holidays. Kids had two week vacation and I had Vacation Leaves which were about to expire so going somewhere for Holidays was must and with almost last minute everything from Air Tickets and popular vacation Places where super expensive. Last time I had done a 9 day road trip, so I decided to go for another Road trip with my own Car(Hyundai Elantra) and I booked Hotels using Expedia to ensure that if it doesn't work out I will cancel it. Here is itinerary and others details that I followed...

Day1: Seattle to Reno(705 miles, Good drive with Snow patch in Mountains)


Early morning started from Seattle at 5.00 am and drove non stop to Portland around 3 hours. First stop was Voodoo Doughnuts a Famous place in Portland for Doughnuts.
https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/

Next we had quick breakfast at MacDonald and Lunch stop at Subway on the way and drove towards Reno. Being December we had to drive through a Snow patch(2-3 miles) in Mountains which was risky and super slow, though I was carrying snow chains didn't need them. Also we took 2-3 small breaks on the way and reached Reno around 8.00 pm.
My family loves Chinese cuisine and we had a really good dinner at Two Guys from Hong Kong
http://renochinesegourmet.com/.
Finally we checked in at Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno around 9.30pm.







Day2: Reno to South Lake Tahoe and back (120 Miles, Pleasant drive)


After Breakfast we drove from Reno to South lake Tahoe with first stop at Logan Shoals Vista Point which had a good view of the Lake. Next stop  within few minutes drive was Cave Rock state point this again had good view of the Lake and the surrounding Snow Mountains, including the view of the Cave Rocks.











Originally we had planned to go to the Heavenly Gondola for a trip to the Top of Mountains but its was Cloudy so I was skeptical. On the way we noticed the Snow activities just beside the Harrah's Lake Tahoe resort and enjoyed the Snowmobiling and Snow tubing activities.

After around 2.5 hours of fun Snow activities we decide to drive back to Reno to our Resort. The entire drive was pleasant around 80 minuets each way from Reno to South Lake Tahoe and back.

Day3: Reno to Pahrump nevada(394 miles, Pleasant Drive)


We started in the morning towards our next destination Death Valley Nation park, our Hotel was booked in Holiday Inn Express at Pahrump Nevada.
This drive was beautiful we took multiple breaks on the way including a stop at Walker Lake

 Originally I had planned take a stop at Area 51 alien center and explore if I could drive towards Area 51 taking the dirt road, but when I spoke with the lady at the Center I realized it could be hard drive especially something you should not try with family and kids. So I dropped it and drove directly to the destination reaching the Hotel around 7 pm.






Day4: Death Valley National Park and drive towards Valencia Six Flags (308 miles)

We drove from Hotel to Death Valley making our First stop at Dante's View  with a great view of the Valley and Badwater Basin. Next stop was Zabriskie Point with unique Landscape of the valley and also we did a small trek in the valley.











Later stops were at Devil's Golf Course and Badwater basin, Badwater basin was few miles walk to the center of the Basin so it took more time than planned. On the way back we took the Artist Drive with amazing views of Artists Palette.


Though we had planned for few other points due to early sunset we didn't had the opportunity and decided to drive towards Carlsbad our next destination. It was already dark so the drive out of the valley with curves and steep inclined roads was one of the hardest and stressful drive. We reached our Hotel Hilton Garden Inn Valencia Six Flags around 9 pm.

 
Day5: Six Flags Adventure 
Six Flags was long due on my list of Adventure so over next two days we enjoyed all the Thrill and Fun rides at Six Flag. As it was Christmas and Year end celebration going on Six Flags had Lighting, Music and other Special activities going on in the Park. Kids had lots of fun too enjoying the rides in the Kids and Family section and all the other activities going on in the Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued:
https://punelive.blogspot.com/2019/01/3000-miles-14-days-family-road-trip_5.html

Goat Meat in Seattle Washington

Even though Seattle is full of Indians finding fresh goat meat can be a tough task. There are multiple shops that sell goat meat but most of them get it from Portland mostly on Wednesday( or twice a week) and keep it freezer and sell it throughout the week.

I thought of putting my experience and journey to find the right place not necessarily in order of the right place

1. Halal Meats bellevue: 1-2 stars

    14625 NE 24th St, Bellevue, WA 98007

    This is shop located in Overlake mall beside Anajapar restaurant. Goat meat here is hit & miss, for

     me it was always on bad side but few people found it ok. On the top of it the owner is very rude

     guy and he puts future packed date on the meat packs fooling the customers. Another worst thing

     is this guys sells meat in 15-20 dollars pack. This shop will be my last option to go I would say

    avoid or spend money on getting goat curry from Currypoint 2 go just located backside of this

    place rather wasting your money.

2. International Food Bazaar: 3 stars

    1313 156th Ave NE # 215, Bellevue, WA 98007

    Good part of this shop is they sell goat meat in 9-11 dollar packs and if you go at the right time

   you  will get good meat. Owner here is good and will entertain special requests if they can.

   This is better option as compared to other Shops listed over here, visiting on certian days

   like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday is good chances of getting fresh meat.

3. Shalimar Grocery: 3.5-4 stars

   16541 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA 98052

   This place is unique as compared to 1 and 2 as it sells Young goat meat and believe me if you get it

   when  this guy just got it , it was a good option however they increased the prices to $15 per pound. They

   dont have Young goat always better to call them and find out when they will get it, other times you

   will find the Regular goat in 11-14 dollars pack and most of the times its ok, make sure that its fresh. If you friend the

  butcher guy you can get some insider tips on meat here and figure out when you should visit this

  place.Try going there on Wednesday to Friday, any other days the meat is not going to be fresh.

4. JD'S Market: 3.5 star

    4419 200th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036

   This shop is ok option nothing great about it, they get goat meat usually on Wednesday, cut in

   smaller pieces and sell it in packs throughout the week. Only reason it get 3.5 in instead of buying

   the ready packs talk to butcher and get the required cut of meat in any portions starting from 1

   pound. 

5. http://www.brightideacres.com/: 4 stars

   10890 Elliott Road Snohomish, WA 98296 

   Now this is only place/farm that cuts fresh goat meat and you can get it as fresh as you 

   can get. You need go to there website check for availability or call them reserve your 

   goat and then visit the place to get the meat. This place comes with additional 

   problem you can only get Half/Full goat that means you buy at-least 20 pounds and that 

   too at expensive rates. So if you have party or group of people to pool in go for this 

   option and you will enjoy the meat.

6. New Meat store just beside Mayuri Grocery Bellevue:
    I got a chance to visit this Meat store, first impression its similar to other meat selling stores. But I 
    haven't got chance to try the goat meat here but thought of mentioning it.

If your buying from the shops and not much familiar with buying goat meat, talk to the butcher find out which day they get the meat and plan accordingly. Also best way to judge  meat freshness is that it should be in pinkish color and not like dark red, if its blood red don't buy it rather wait for fresh stock. 

Indian passport renewal from US(BLS)

Indian passport renewal from US(BLS)

I know there are quite a few posts on the Indian passport renewal from US. I just want to post here the process I followed, as some of the really good posts are outdated and some forms have been updated.

This blog is only for those who are looking to renew their passport before the expiration date of the passport. For others, whose passports have already been expired or those who lost their passport, might need some additional steps. Also, if you find any mistakes, please suggest, I am more than willing to make the correction. 

To start, this is the official website you need to refer for the renewal.

http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/reissue10.php

Find out your application center, this depends on your state of residence. This can be found from the BLS website, in my case it was New york. Some application centers require more documents or special affidavits, please refer to your application center requirements for complete list. I have tried to list out the documents in the order I found it easy to complete.

1. Online Application Form:

 The first thing you need to start is your Online Application, please follow the url from BLS website.

To retrieve the partially incomplete form 

http://passport.gov.in/nri/

Page 1:

         Indian Mission: <Select your Application center>
         Service Desired: RE-ISSUE OF PASSPORT
         Remember to fill in your DOB in dd/mm/yyyy and not in mm/dd US format.

         Address To Be Printed in Passport:
            This is the address where your passport will be mailed.
            Should be your US address for which you have a valid address proof 
            NOT your Indian address.

Page 2:

     Other Address: Your Indian Address

      Phone No.
     Mobile No.
     E-mail Address
          Provide your US phone number and email address.

     Applicant's Family Information
               These fields are self explanatory and unless you want to make a change in the 
               parents names, fill up parents names from your old passport.

      Passport Details:
      File No:
         The last page in your passport, refer to this
          http://sudee4u.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-renew-indian-passport-in-usa.html

Once you enter all the fields in the page 2, click "Save & Continue". In the next page you can skip the upload photo and click "Save & Continue" again. Click the "Generate PDF".  This should generate you a pdf with 3 pages.
Take a print out of this pdf, you need to manually fill up some of the fields in this document.

       In the printed online application form:
        Specimen Signature: Your signature

        Payment of Fee:

         Refer to the BLS website for the exact amount you need to pay and the from of payment.          

          This is what I did for NY application center(Regular processing)

          Amount Paid: $91.20 by Money Order(more details on Processing fee section)

          7. Particulars of person to be intimated in the event of death or accident:
          Give the address of a local guardian or close friend

          9.Local car driving Licence No...<US licence No>.....Date and Place of issue..
          <Your License Details>

         10. Education Qualification: 
          Your qualification. (eg) Master of Science or Bachelor of Engineering.

         11. When did applicant first leave India? 
         The first time you entered US (Check your first US immigration stamp date)

         When was he/she in India last? 
          The date you last left India (Refer your latest Indian immigration stamp date, 
           before leaving to US)

         12. How long has applicant continuously resided abroad?
         Years or months from your latest entry in US.

         13. Present Emigration Status: 
         ECNR for degree holders, I am not sure about others.

         14. Profession and business address:
         Provide your office address and phone number

        15. Please mention, if citizen of India by birth/descent/Naturalization/Registration.
         Circle that is applicable to you, most likely "birth"

        16, 17, 18 Based on your passport detail and in majority of the cases it will NA, No, No

        19. Give two address of your friends or relatives in India who know you personally.

        20 to 25 Pretty straightforward questions, if something isn't applicable, you can write NA

        26, Declaration:
        Sign and Date the form.

        Don't forget to sign the two boxes in 29.

2. Nationality Verification Form

      You can get this form from:
      http://www.immihelp.com/nri/indianpassport/nationality-status-verification-form.pdf

       You need three copies of this form.

        Most fields are self explanatory

        12) Date of leaving India: 
        Your last India exit date(refer to your latest India immigration exit stamp)

       13) Period of stay abroad: 
       Years/months from your last US entry.

       15) Travel agent: 
       NA if you made your own travel arrangement in your last trip or name your travel agent 
       who booked your itinerary in case it was sponsored by your company.


NOTORIZING DOCUMENTS
Notorizing a document is nothing but an authorized notary signing that you are submitting the photocopies of the original documents. You can easily find someone who is authorized to notarize documents. Usually most big banks have a notary (be sure to call up and find out if they notarize photocopies before going, some banks don't notarize photocopies of documents). Most UPS stores have an in-store notary and they charge about $2 per document.

3. Visa Proof

  Get a color photocopy of your I797 or visa document and get it notorized.

4. Address Proof Document  

This should be the same address that you mentioned initially in your online application form. You can use your driving license, current lease photocopy or your energy bill(with your name & address). This document has to be notorized.

5. Marriage Certificate(Optional)

If you got married after the issue of your last passport, then you need the following two documents.

  a) Notorized copy of your wife/husband's passport
  b) Notorized copy of your marriage certificate.

6. Your original passport

You should enclose your original passport in the the package.

Photocopies of first 5 pages and last two pages of your current passport (This obviously doesn't need to be notorized, since you will be enclosing your original passport in the package you send to BLS)

7. Affidavit form for change of appearance: 

Required only if your appearance has significantly changed from your old passport picture. I think this is mandatory for Houston jurisdiction, please refer to the BLS website for application center specific requirements,.

Photographs:

Refer to the photo requirements here
http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/Passport%20Sized%20Photo%20Requiremens.pdf

In general, if you go to walgreens or any store and tell them to take passport photos, that should match the specifications mentioned. I would recommend not to wear a light colored tops or shirt, since it would blend with the white background.

You would need 1 photo for the online application form.
3 photos for the nationality verification form(one for each copy)
In addition, I attached 2 photos along with my application, since I wasn't clear about the exact number of copies required and wanted to be on the safer side.

Processing Fee

Refer to the processing fee section on the BLS site. For regular, ordinary booklet is $91.20. There are quite a few ways to do this, I actually took a moneygram money order from walmart. It is really economical(only 70 cents) and easy to take. Be sure to write the money order in favor of BLS INTERNATIONAL SERVICES USA INC.

BLS order Form

Application Type: Postal    Airway Bill no: <Tracking number from the label to sent to BLS>

Prepaid Delivery: Yes       Airway Bill no: <Tracking no from the return label >

The "Airway Bill no" is nothing but the tracking numbers, see my "shipping packages" section for more information.

All the other fields in the form are self explanatory, fill them and submit it.

Once you submit the form, you will receive on email with two attachments from the BLS.

There will be clear instructions on how to use these documents in the email from BLS.

     Attachment 1: BLS order form

         Take a printout of this and place this inside the shipping package.

     Attachment 2: Passport shipping Label

         Take a printout of this and this has to be affixed on the external shipping package

         (Fedex package) that is sent to BLS

Checklist:

Print the checklist from BLS site, verify you have all the documents and make a tick mark on whatever is applicable to you.

Shipping packages

You need the tracking numbers to be entered in the BLS order form. I think there are quite a few ways to do this. I used fedex and will list the steps you can follow.

1, Create a fedex personal account from their website.

2, Create two shipping labels (for the weight, specify 1 lb)

      (a)  Destination <BLS address > 

      (b) Other label for the return package(destination: your home address) 

3, Print these labels and you can see the tracking number on these labels, which you should use it on your BLS order form.

Go to fedex store and ask them for an envelope with a return envelope. They will provide you two envelopes, the bigger one and a smaller return envelope.

Place your return label in the return envelop and place it inside the bigger envelope.

Place all your documents inside the shipping envelope.

Affix the passport shipping label (Emailed by BLS after submitting BLS order form) outside the envelope.

You can drop the fedex package in any fedex drop box, you will not be charged immediately. Your credit card will be charged when the package has reached the destination / shipping facility.

Once you have sent the package, wait for a few days, BLS will send an email saying that your application has been received and is in processing stage, You can start tracking the status of your passport in the BLS website  http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/tracking.php