I was pretty upset over the fact that Amit and I didn't make a road trip all throughout 2010. Of course, we did do it while we were in the US but that was just one. So when I got that last chance, I was more than happy to grab it. On the 31st, Amit had an off, I decided to take one, Amit's cousin Gaurav didn't have any placement talks / tests and Aai-Baba had a free day without any class or doctor's appointment - making it a perfect day for a road trip. I was expecting this and was thinking of places we could go. Though we all agreed and jumped on the idea of the trip, it took us 8 am on the 31st to decide the place - Kaas plateau and lake.
Since all websites told me that there aren't any good eateries enroute and I've to keep away from unhygienic places, packing up lunch was the first thing that started Aai's & my day. Bean-sprout veggie, curd rice and chapatis was the menu. As you can imgaine, it was 10.45am by the time we left home. Just as we left, Baba remembered that the grocery delivery fellow may drop by later in the day, so we made a detour to the grocery store to inform him. Finally we set out via Warje to NH-4 at around 11 am. Without stopping anywhere except for confirming the route, we headed straight to Kaas. As expected, it took us around 2.30 hrs to reach Kaas plateau. The plateau was fairly barren but the weather was awesome. The wind was just-enough chilly, extremely fresh and there was no noise / chaos. Such a peaceful environment. We did miss the Kaas valley flowers but the serenity and peace made it up. The lunch by the lake tasted better than ever. with a few exceptions, the lake was clean. At around 3pm, we started back. Gaurav wanted to visit Thoseghar waterfalls but Baba wanted to be back home just to be sure that the trip does not become and overload for his already aching joints. Gaurav was visibly disappointed.
As we hit NH-4, I had this urge of having the strawberry ice-cream at Mapro Garden in Mahabaleshwar. Now that it was my wish, there was no reason for consensus ! Amit took the 2nd exit to Mahabaleshwar. 20 kms crossing the ghat, we were at mapro and ordered the day's special Strawberry creme with fresh strawberries and icecream. Gaurav's expression said it all! The ice-cream was just too good ... worth the drive (at least for me, Amit and Gaurav!).
We left Mahabaleshwar at around 7 and were home by 9. Aai and I cooked mutter curry and corn pulav to welcome the new year. Amit was too exhausted.. understandably he was constantly behind the wheel with no one to relieve him and he has been out-of-touch of these long drives!!
All I could dream of was more n more road trips in 2011 !
