So we were on our way back to Carl’s place back in Planesboro, NJ. Confused? You might want to start with July 4 weekend post and work your way up. If not, read on.

We were scheduled to reach there at about 6 in the morning, right around sunrise. And sunrise from the country side? Well, isn’t that something to look forward to. But you know, technology and stuff. There’s just so many more options only a few touches away. While on the way, we, as in the me and Ashwini (Carl had dozed off pretty quickly), came up with the craziest idea. We decided to see the sunrise from Manhattan Bridge IN NEW YORK. (Pics below.)

Just about 20 miles out of the way, it seemed like a totally legitimate idea. So we changed course. Carl still had no idea. We crossed the Holland tunnel into the city. This is when Carl actually woke up. It was fairly bright outside and Carl knew New York quite well to know where we were. So much for the surprise.

Anywho, we reach manhattan bridge, just a while after sunrise. But it was still beautiful. We hung out there for a while, enjoyed the view and finally felt like heading back. But before that we really wanted to find a restroom. So we searched for a coffee place. We found one right by Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It’s called Estaminet. Really good coffee, but no restrooms :). We took the coffee anyways. (We actually made them rush into starting service because we had been waiting outside for a while. Eh! It was time anyways.).

And we were finally headed back to Carl’s for a nice overdue sleep before I’d have to head back to Richmond and get ready for the Monday ahead. But if you think it was the end of excitement have I got a surprise for you.

Remember the “couple of couple” from Swagat restaurant at the Falls (read about them here). We ran into them AGAIN. 2 days in a row, 2 different restaurants about 400 miles apart, from one of the most popular places (Niagara falls) to a very remote place (Planesboro, NJ). How much of a coincidence is that. I actually confirmed that they had lunch at the same restaurant the day before. What are the chances of that happening? It was just so exciting.

But it was all abated by the fact the guy who I talked to, to confirm, did’t blink an eye. Ah what the heck, it was still so exciting. We were actually discussing the odds of that happening over the rest of lunch, especially coz we had a manager amongst us (ahem ahem Ashwini ahem ahem).

Post lunch we visited the newly created BAPS Swaminarayan temple on the premises of the under-construction Akshardham in Robbinsville, NJ. The architecture and carvings on the temple walls and pillars are marvellously stunning. The complete structure is expected to complete around 2017-2018. Looking forward to this one. Check out the Akshardham – New Delhi to get an idea of what we’re talking about here.

And so it ended, in the most crazy way possible. And before I knew it, I was on the road again. Dropped Ashwini back in Philly, picked up another fellow intern at Capital One from just outside DC and finally made it back home to a nice comfy bed and a long sleep. That’s all folks!

My next adventure – Crab-tree Falls hike

-Akshar Rawal