COMFORTABLE HOUSE IN PEORIA

House entrance and Garage

Living houses in Peoria, Illinois, USA are quite comfortable. It is not built of cement, sand and bricks but made of prefabricated walls, heat proof and floors are either carpeted or wooden floorings.
Since the cold is extreme, there is heating system in-built in the basement, along with space for workouts and any other indoor games.

FIREPLACE

There is also fireplace in the corner which provides necessary heat when the outside temperature goes extreme,

KITCHEN

Kitchen with all modern facilities including hot and cold water to the washing sink, double walled fridge, micro oven \, dish washer and washing machine. Kitchen also fitted with built-in cupboards.

LIVING ROOM

The car garage has automatic opening and closing door system fitted, which can be operated with remote control fitted in the car.
The group of houses called David's Court, has no security or entrance gates. The residents drive in to the housing complex, open the garage door from the remote switch and close it by remote.
Each house has a garbage bin provided by the civic authorities, which cleared once in a week.

BOXES FOR LETTERS

The letter boxes provided for each house are placed together.
The backyard and the surroundings of the houses have green grass, well maintained.
The area also has a neighborhood park, which has a pond, children's play area and tennis courts.
written on Thursday, 10th April 2014

RAMA NAVAMI AT PEORIA, USA

Outside view of Temple

There is a Hindu temple in the woods of Peoria, Illinois, USA, in a large area of land. The temple is like a auditorium, and on the stage  a number of marble idols of hindu Gods and Godesses and kept in a nicely decorated "Mantapa"........

People who come to witness the pooja function either squat on the carpet on the stage or sit on the chairs in the auditorium.

Devotees go on the stage, worship their idols of God/Godesses, come round and exit. There is also large parking place, as people coming there can only reach by cars.

Tuesday, 8th April, Ramanavami day and there was pooja, bhajans, mangalaarathi and prasadam (kosambari and paanaka).

There are two priests from India (Obviously!), they were from Karnataka, Kannada speaking.
There was no entrance, but pooja, archana was $25.00

Tissues were given before theertham was served.
It was SRIRAMA-SEETHA KALYANOTSAVA......  and the feeling was like wedding function.

Written on Wednesday 9th April, Davids Court, Peoria

VISIT TO PARK PEORIA, USA

7th April..... it's windy and chill...... even then with sweater and jackets decided to walk to a nearby park, a distance about a mile, in the beautiful residential area. The houses are spread apart, lot of space in between, some houses have private barbaque and children play area behind their houses.

There are also walking trail in between the house and the road. In front of each house has a letter box, a garbage bin, neatly placed.

Walking along these houses, we reached the park area which has a pond with ducks swimming and enjoying and a children play area, where few parents were spending their time with their children.
The most striking part of the visit was hardly anyone around, roads, park,  all appear no one, contrary to what we see in India...... people, people,,,,,, and the litter every where.....
Tuesday, 08 April

PEORIA RIVERFRONT

It was a casual evening visit to the Peoria riverfront...... nice and quiet area, except for the sound of vehicles passing on the bridge. Large walking area, rail line, lot of parking space, children play area and the adjacent calm Illinois river.

Bridge across Illinois river

The Peoria RiverFront is one of Illinois'oldest and most exciting regions, alive with adventure and fun for all. Enjoy arts, entertainment, and eateries in a friendly, vibrant urban environment.

Spend an hour or an afternoon exploring the Caterpillar Visitors Center.  Take a virtual ride in a Cat(R) 797 mining truck.  Unleash your inner engineer and design your very own Cat machine.  Hop onto a simulator and see what its like to operate equipment the way real-life operators do.
Monday 07 April

VISIT TO IOWA

On a Saturday morning 5th April  we left for a trip to IOWA state to visit a relation. The place is Ames, IOWA state......  a distance of 300 miles from Peoria on a inter-state highway. The drive was superb and boring as the stretches of road are straight and monotonous. It was 4 and half hours non-stop drive, though we stopped over for loo after 2 hour drive. The GPS facility is excellent device where a traveler can can find the location without missing the spot.

Visit and lunch at Sanjeev and Veena  family..... nice lunch prepared by Veena and we enjoyed the food and house kept neat and clean. 5-year oldTejasi is their little daughter, very cute and affectionate

The city of AMES has the following university with beautiful campus.   

Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Iowa State is an international university with a friendly welcoming personality. Students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries come to Ames, Iowa, to choose from100 majors, study with world-class scholars and hone their leadership skills in 800-plus student organizations. Iowa State offers a great environment where students can enjoy reaching their potential and discovering their passions.

Ada Hayden Heritage Park and lake

Ada Hayden Heritage Park is located on the far north side of Ames and along US 69. The park is the former site of Hallet's Quarry and is named in honor of Ada Hayden. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate from the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now known as Iowa State University. Part of the park area was formerly owned by Ada's parents and this area was her playground during her childhood days, and an outdoor laboratory for her classes in botany and ecology during her college career.

VISIT TO PUBLIC LIBRARY

It was an evening visit to Library....... contrary to public libraries in India, this is excellent example of how a library can be kept, run and maintained.
Peoria is a small place compared to other cities in USA, but the upkeep and maintenance of the place is superb. People after registering as members go there to borrow books, CD's magazines or any other reference books, registered on self checked computer system..... carry a receipt and off you go....... no checks, no signature, no cards. The date for return is automatically registered, which can be extended online any number of times.......

Friday, 4th April 2014

TRIP TO USA- DAY 2: CHICAGO, PEORIA

Chicago Skyline

Tuesday 1st April..... though it was April fool's day, it was real for us. We were at Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi, waiting for AI flight 127 to Chicago, one stretch flying hours of 15 and half hours, a distance of 12580 miles, as per captains announcement.
After the immigration check, security, and again the security check we were in the huge aircraft, capable of carrying 500 people, flying for non-stop, more than 16 hours, trans-atlantic crossing.
The flight, huge boeing, left on on time at 2am, and there were more 400 people on board.
We were served with dinner at 3am, after slept for couple of hours, and the plane was flying towards westward, towards darkness...... and it was time for breakfast.....
Watched some movie, read magazines, book...... still we were flying, long way to go.....
After another 4-5 hours, it was lunch time as per indian time, and it is still early morning.....

When the time was showing 4pm in watch, IST...... it was dawn, through the window, we could see the sun rising up...... and we were flying above the cloud....
and little later, we could see the the Chicago skyline down below......
At 7am, US time, when it was showing 5pm in watch..... we landed at Chicago International Airport...... and the usual formalities of immigration, customs and exit.....

How long are you visiting US?...... Are you visiting some one....?? asked the immigration officer at the counter...... and the passports were stamped for 6 months stay......
Are you carrying any foodstuff?? ......asked the customs officer without asking us to open the bags...... nothing was the reply....
and we walked out the checks .......

with Shubha & Raghu

Shubha, Raghu and Lahari were at the airport building looking for us..... as it's a huge airport with 5 terminals...... they eventually reached us...... and we were in the car with our luggage heading towards Peoria..... a distance of 160 miles from Chicago.....

Raghu and Lahari

 Reached at 2.00pm.....Had lunch.... Nice, huge house..... due to jetlag.... couldn't sleep well.....
Tuesday, 3rd April 2014, Peoria, IL.

TRIP TO USA- DAY1

Statue of Soorya at Delhi Int. Airport

Monday, 31st March 2014....After all the big hassle of going to Chennai, getting Visa, getting ticket confirmation, taking some dollars from the Bank, obtaining International Driving Permit from RTO, Indiranagar and little bit of shopping, D-day has come. WE...... me and wife nalini,,,,,, leaving for USA......
AI flight from Bangalore to Delhi was at 8.10pm, and we, with Ravi, Vidya and Rishi left for Kempegowda International Airport from our BIRTHIMANE house at 5.30pm, by Verna,Hyundai, It was a pleasant 20-minutes drive from the house on a newly opened elevated expressway to the airport, Toll.... yet to start.

After the usual baggage, check-in, and without any hassles through the security check, we were in the transit lounge at the departure gate no.2 and the flight left for Delhi as per schedule and reached Indira Gandhi International airport at 11pm and strolled around waiting for the connecting flight to Chicago at 2 a.m.
3rd April, Peoria, Illinois, USA

MOVIE - SHIVAJINAGAR

Violence, action, stunt, killings and little bit of romance..... if one wants to see, they may go to movie SHIVAJINAGAR. It was just because one of students, Adithya Menon was acting in the film as police officer, I decided to sit through the length of the movie.
Adithya's role in the movie was short at the end and acted superbly and with stylish personality.
the movie is a buff, with Duniya Vijay and Parul Yadav in the lead role.
People who love action, violence, killings may like the movie. It has also masala of item dance, outdoor romantic and  beach side hero heroine romance......
However it was not a thriller..... but was waste of time and money.
written Thursday 6th March 2014

NEW BABY PIGEONS

FIRST DAY

It was couple of months ago, I posted the news of baby pigeons in our house bathroom window of the first floor. Those birdies, grew big, had wings and flew away into the big big world.

Yetsreday, once again, two more pigeon aggs were hatched and became birdies and the mother pigeon giving all support to protest her new born. This time it is the first bathroom window as I cleaned the top wondow.

The baby pigeons, I think are doing well and the mother pigeon is looking after them very well.

Nicely prepared nest, and the warmth from the mother, babies will soon grow.

SECOND DAY

written Monday, 24th Feb.2014