Fireworks!!!

Family visiting the states and hence we found ourselves in NJ over the long weekend. Had a couple of memorable experiences during this visit.


First -- when you are hungry and by hungry, i mean, really really hungry. And you get the best food you ever craved for. Is it not akin to dream. Well, the dream came true.

        I overslept and was in serious risk of missing my flight. So, I came up with the easiest way of saving time -- skip breakfast. I did not even have a glass of milk -- my usual time-saver breakfast -- and by the time I reached home at NJ, I was so so hungry. Lo!!! The lunch was served after about an hour, but what a lunch it was. Original Hyderabad Dumm Biryani with very spicy green chilly curry and raita. I have never ever eaten such good biryani. It was amazingly cooked and so flavorful. The basmati rice, the saffron, the tender marinated veggies and the awesome blend of spices which never over powered the rice -- WOW!!! Add the super spicy chilly curry and the soft raita, for a foodie like me, it was a dream come true.
        I ate like I was hungry for a week, not for a day. I atleast ate 3 plates of Biryani and believe me, those were no ordinary plates. I could hardly move after that wholesome meal. I will never forget that meal for a long long time... 


Second -- 4th of July. You go to go and see the fireworks. My uncle read somewhere that the fireworks at Atlantic City are the best on the east coast. We were not sure, but since there was nothing better to do, we decided to drive down to the casino city just to check it out. We reached there without much fuss and the fireworks started on time. It was one experience which I will never forget in my life -- unless I see something better, which seems unlikely for now -- ever.

The fireworks went on for abt 25 minutes and the intensity was ever increasing. With every new set of showers, we thought that this was the grand finale and it would end now, but it was not ending at all. Soon, there were two simultaneous shows going on. What more, there was a stiff breeze blowing in our direction and it drifted the fireworks even closer - so close, that people were actual worried by the proximity of the luminous bodies. For the first time, I felt that I was at the right place at the right time.


The ride back was a pain though -- with all the cars craving to load-test the Garden State parkway, it took us almost 2.5 hours to cover the first 20 miles and abt 5 hours to complete the entire 100 miles. But, its all worth it, especially if you slept the entire 5 hours of the return journey ;-)


I was lucky enough to be armed with a  camcorder and captured the spectacular extravaganza on tape. As soon as I can lay my hands on it, rest assured, I will post the link here. Till then, let me get my breath back... And let me get my digestive system back in order as well...