collage of pvr, originally uploaded by arch_rowdie.

Ok, last minute trips will not be perfect,
…but they can definitely thrilling ! and awesome! and all that jazz !

We started off on Saturday 04/14 early morning, literally dragging ourselves off the bed and into the 9 am flight after missing the early bird 7am one (How in the world did Uday think we were going to make that?).

I did not have high hopes for the city but boy was it beautiful ! I looked at several websites trying to plan activities for our 4 day trip before we got there but one got there.. it was pretty much …

good food, good beaches, good time, good weather …
and ..
o yea, bad pirates !

I will let the pictures speak for themselves but I highly recommend a trip to puerto vallarta to rekindle & revamp some of that lost/weary spirit in a relationship.

It was such a nice honeymoon get-away that if two 20-somethings walked around holding hand-in-hand, they will very likely bump into a curious local (or one of the dozen or so savvy timeshare salesman) asking them if they are “honeymooners”.

Needless to say, there is definitely some nice golf courses in the city to attract the “patchy adams” (this city hosted the 2005 world championship) and enough shopping buzz on the streets (downtown is a beautiful mix of restaurants, diamond & silver shops and some upcoming shopping joints) to welcome the “peachy madams”.

Also, the city boasts some 400 odd restaurants, mostly based on the hill slopes, offering some savory menus (mostly seafood)and splendid sunsets for the connoisseur in you to feast on.

The place boasts of the same weather as Hawaii besides the intimacy of a small town, filled with friendly people and good-looking latina singles, making a nice get-away for couples and singles alike !

So I say… pack your bags muchachos y muchachas!
(dont forget your spanish cheatsheets) Get ready for some amazing time in the BBB (beautiful banderas bay) !

I was browsing the TV today afternoon and saw this serial called “Laguna Beach” on VH1( i think).. I was wondering what’s so much hype about this Beach. And so I started surfing the net to understand what the speciality of Laguna Beach is!

It is located in Orange County, one of the rich counties in Los Angeles,California.
Questions arose .. ..and I found the answers!!
Here you go..

# why did they name it Laguna?
During the early times, the Indians (the red indians or native americans as they call now) thrived on rich coastal lands and used to call lagonas , for lake
By 1980, the Laguna Beach was a major attraction spot.. people started coming to Laguna for their summer vacations.

# So why is it so popular??
The city of Laguna beach has almost 20 parks..that includes tennis courts, basketball and volleyball courts, vista points(natural scenic beauty), laguna museum, the first hotel built (”Hotel Laguna”) and many more.

The Laguna coastline is over 6 miles and has 30 public beaches .

There are many major attractions at laguna beach… that includes Tidepools, Museums, Marine Parks, then you have the Wilderness Parks…

What I have mentioned here is just the preview of the attractions at Laguna Beach. I suggest you visit the Laguna Beach during the long weekend or during the holidays because there are a lots n lots of attractions which you really dont want to miss at any cost.

Oh! here are the most exciting attractions.. which you wont regret :
>Dolphin n Whale Safari
> Trail Hiking/ Trail Running / Mountain Biking .. .. my all time fav.
>Kayak Tours
> .. for all those who like surfing and want to learn.. then soul surfing school is the best.. they teach you right from the basics. Soul surfing..
> Whale Watching ..The best time for whale watching is during Dec-Apr.. .. its ideal to make reservations.. ..there is a trip for every 2 hrs daily.
> For all those who love to taste different types of wine Wine lovers!!
> Ladies!! want to pamper yourself get ready then!
.. ..totally for skin n body care
.. .. surf n sand.. this Spa features nourishing therapies inspired by the unique natural essences of its oceanfront location.
> then there is aLaguna Beach tour .. .. you can visit the spectacular parks, Balboa Island, New Port Beach.. and many other
>hmm .. .. Surface Jet tours they have special events. so make reservations.
> If you are fond of Art, then they have the Art festival.. which includes
* Fine Art exhibition which is open from July through September
* Garden of Eden It is voted as one of the top three art festivals in the nation by readers of American Style Magazine.

For all the History lovers [ I like to some extent ] there are a couple of Museums which you can visit.

WOW!! that’s a BIG list of attractions at Laguna Beach.. .. I bet you cannot finish all these attractions in just one day!!!

To visit all these attractions, you need to have a accomodation…right? thats so important.

Alright, the Laguna Beach has a lot of guest cottages, which is located 2 blocks away from the beach. If you are willing to spend some more money thenCarriage house is considered as the No.1 Cottage with Breakfast served, which is quite expensive.

I made a quick search on the net for other hotels at reasonable price.. .. but to my surprise, the price of one night stay ranges from $50 to all over $200 n above.

I found out one Hotel, Vacation Village, a 3.5 star hotel and the average price for one night stay is from $66- $246, not bad!

The day dosent feel good without a good dinner!
Forest avenue is talked about as one of the best restaurants in the area! The dishes look Yummy.. .. !!

Oh! thats shrimp scampi..at forest avenue

I’m now thinking, this would be my next vacation spot Uday are you ready?!

Cant miss it, its got a lot of attractions.

I’ve heard a lot people taking about this beach …and so we made a stop at the Malibu beach… It was a bright sunny day.. in one word “just beautiful” .. ..

A beautiful lagoon beach with white sandy beaches, the mountains(check at the picture again!) and casual ambience is Southern California’s famous beach for Surfriders. Yes that’s right… surf riders ..if you love surfing then this beach is the best.. must say.

We were drving on the Pacific Coastal Highway ‘1 ‘…’gorgeous!!’ and the words on a road sign are accurate: “Malibu, 27 Miles of Scenic Beauty”. The Highway ‘1′ is one of the busy roads i ever saw with shops, hotels, restaurents, condos, houses(my O my..they are just too good! Oh! yes even the prices r awesome no doubt ..it might range from $5 m to $25 m or even more), and a beautiful ocean within the view.

Its got beautiful attractions, but we didnt have much time to check them out.. anyways, If you are visiting Malibu , then you should check these:

>If you like fishing, then Malibu Creek Bridge which is the Malibu Pier, is the best place for saltwater fishing.

>If you like to sit back and watch the nature, then the west side of MalibuCreek Bridge is the nature area with great bird watching, wetland guided tours of natural elements such the as monarch butterfly, tidepools.

>”ZumaBeach” which is the widest sandy beach in Malibu. This beach is popular for sports and ideal for the families. [ ..Damn! I missed it]

>Another attraction is the Westward Beach, a part of Point Dume State Beach.… click on the ‘Point Dume State’ for more details!

And the best hotel to stay is the Malibu Beach Inn
It’s considered as the outstanding beach accommodations overlooking Malibu Lagoon Beach.

Want to have a ncie dinner overlooking the beach? , then I suggest

Malibu Chart House. It is the best restaurent which has a spectacular ocean viewing dining room, located right on topanga beach. The restaurent features magnificent sunset views of Topanga Point and Santa Monica Bay.

And there is aHindu temple located in Malibu.It’s said that this temple is very beautiful… a must see !!

I wish we had visited the Hindu Temple..but I’m going to make it next time!
Though we stayed there for 1 1/2 hr, our trip to the Malibu, the Beach was a delightful experience.