The 4th of Jul dawned bright and clear.It was America's Independence Day but the real action was taking place in Manhattan for the Macy's Independence Day Parade and then there would be the spectacular fireworks later at 10 PM.
Varsha had made a lovely Avalakki with curd and then we sat down to finish our final packing.Sachin came down at around 10 AM and then the three of us drove down to Bharath's ( Chaya's son) house in Jersey City.Bharath's wife Ashwini had just arrived in New York 6 days earlier and they had moved into the partment barely 2 days earlier.We had the privilege of being their first guests.
Ashwini had made Puliyogare and Anna saaru along with curd.The apartment is centrally located with everything available nearby and there are plenty of Indians all around with an Indian Store nearby.
Madhura also joined us and we had a nice time together with Bharath and Ashwini.
We all got back to Varsha/Narasimha's apartment around 3 PM and finished the final stages of our packing.
Varsha had packed some sambar rice and curd rice for both Sudha and myself and for Sachin & Madhura since they were leaving direct for Washington enroute to Cary.
We loaded the bags in Narasimha's car and then bid a tearful farewell to Sachin and Madhura ( at least Sudha did).Sachin and Madhura had really looked after us very well and anticipated every need of ours.This was one of the most relaxing holidays we had ever enjoyed and a large part of the credit should go to them for making it a truly memorable vacation.
Varsha came with us inside the JFK Airport while Narasimha went to park the car.We had 11 pieces of baggage ( including one dinner bag which was to be disposed of before we passed thru Security). Fortunately, we were able to check in 6 bags ( only 2 per person are normally allowed) and so our hand baggage was quite easy to manage.
After a cup of coffee, Varsha and Narasimha bade farewell to us.They had been the perfect hosts and made us feel perfectly at home. It was extremely nice of them to drop us off at the Airport and to pack our Dinner also.
Our flight was at 11.50 PM. At around 9 PM we decided to have dinner and opened the dinner packet.As we were having the curd rice with pickle, we noticed a Japanese gentleman hovering around us.We thought he was looking for a place to sit and I offered him a chair.He asked us where he could get similar food and I had to tell him that this was lovingly packed at home and not available at the Airport.Varsha, take note---- you have an alternate career as a caterer available to you!!
The journey home was quite comfortable. We reached Doha at 6.30 PM local time on 5th Jul after flying over Amsterdam and Baghdad. After a brief halt at Doha, we caught the Chennai flight at 8.50 PM and landed at Chennai Airport at 3.45 AM on 6th morning.
It felt good to be back in Chennai and India , more so with Sandeep having shifted to Chennai and Greeshma expected to join him a month later.
As I have been repeatedly mentioning, this was a memorable trip for Sudha and myself and we have brought back a lot of pleasant memories.
Thank you all for following this USA Diary. In a short while, I'll be resuming the blogs on the story of my life.
Kesari Prasad
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