Last weekend my cousins from my grandmother's side came down from Massachusetts for a visit and all of these pictures are courtesy of my cousins Debbie and Judy. I decided to take a break from the camera this weekend and just have fun and pay more attention to my guests as I sometimes get too carried away with the camera. They were interested in sightseeing and the nightlife that South Florida has to offer. Well they can't possibly come here to do sightseeing and not go on an air-boat ride to see the South Florida Gators. And I am talking about the real gators not the college football team... and that is the first thing we did. First they discovered the Everglades. This was my third time here and each time is a different experience, and never old for me!
It is always exciting to see an alligator in its own natural environment up close and personal and even more fun to be with others on their first time.
We learned that these birds are voted one of the prettiest in Florida and even more beautiful in person.
We also learned that they have a difficult time surviving due to being eaten by the alligators!
Below is a picture of my cousins Debbie and Sharon in front of the air-boat we were on.
Here Debbie, Sharon and Judy are being brave for a picture in front of an alligator that is coming towards them.
After the air-boat ride we went to see this "Alligator Dundee, Jr", play with his friends and answer questions for us. I appreciated the respect he had for the alligators and his warmth in protecting them.
He also had a little fun with the gator!
Bye Gators, until next time!
After leaving the Gators and stopping at a store where they sold Florida Oranges and other specialties from the area we were on our way to our next destination in the area called the Hard Rock Seminole Casino. Here the options are gambling, eating, dancing, and shopping to name a few. I can't say what we chose to do besides the awesome Italian Restaurant that we ate at because we had a girls day and night out with a secret pack! Below is a picture of the Hard Rock lit up at night from the parking garage as we were leaving!
Next Sharon, Debbie and I kept the party going and when we got home and changed we went out to City Place in West Palm Beach and had a lot of fun dancing but did not bring the camera. The next night we got ready to go to South Beach in Miami and this time Uday joined us and Mom and Judy stayed home and relaxed. 
Simba wanted to join the party but there was not enough room in the car!
We ate at a Latin fusion restaurant where the food servings were small but the food was very good. This was my first time having Spanish food gourmet style! Below Sharon and Debbie toast with their signature Miami drinks such as Sangria and a Mojito.
Below is Debbie and Sharon in front of Versace's old house.
and us too!
We had to show them Miami's most famous nightclub called Mangoes and Uday and I wanted to go in since we never have before but instead we all decided to go to the outdoor club called Clevelander where we could dance. At Mangoes it is all about watching the sexy male and female Latin dancers.
Uday and I had fun watching from the outside for a while.
Finally some dancing of our own. My cousin Sharon was the hit of the party with all of her groovy moves.
My cousins enjoyed some sunshine and relaxation at the pool at my mom's clubhouse during the day.
One of the days they were here I took Sharon and Debbie to Peanut Island for snorkeling and Mom took Judy to Busch's Wild Animal Sanctuary. Judy took a few pictures of what they saw at the Sanctuary. Sharon, Debbie and I did not take our camera for snorkeling. Later we all met up at the Tiki Bar and had lunch! It was a great South Florida day and the weather could not have been more perfect!!
Before they left they decided they had to go to the Breakers in Palm Beach for dinner. For those who do not know what the Breakers is, it is the most posh hotel in Palm Beach! It is the place to see and be seen! Uday and I decided to sit this one out! Below is a picture of the ladies outside the Breakers.
Now a few pictures of the inside...
Cocktail hour at the Breakers with the ocean view!
And Sharon being herself and adjusting well to the Palm Beach lifestyle!
Last but not least a picture of my Mom feeling like a princess with the royal treatment at the Breakers and with our cousins!
It was so fun having our cousins here for a visit and we can't wait for them to come back again! We will be thinking of what to do with them next time and hopefully more prepared to keep up with my cousin Sharon who was like the "Energizer Bunny". Hope they enjoyed a little bit of what West Palm Beach and the area has to offer! And remember "What happens in West Palm stays in West Palm!
Here is a little illustration of what Uday and I do when we are not working and going on vacations. We keep ourselves so busy that sometimes I tend to just highlight the vacation stuff. So here is just a little bit of what else we have been up to...
We got a chance to hang out with some friends and spend quality time with our dogs. Bonding with our dogs Boo and Simba, we take them to the park at least twice, almost every weekend. They are so much fun to watch and are also bonding more everyday with each other! Here's some pictures of Boo and Simba at the nicest closest park called Okeeheelee Park .
There are always beautiful sunsets at this park and we most often go right before sunset.
Here is another event that we try to do every year and here are pictures of me getting ready and saying good-bye to Simba to go to India Fest, in West Palm Beach...
Here is a little taste of India and a close up shot of two of the dancers at the West Palm Beach India festival:
It was nice meeting our friends at the Festival. Jerry and his wife Brittany are still newlyweds, and it was nice to catch up with them since last seeing them at their wedding. This all American couple do love Spicy food! It was also nice hanging out with our other friend John who tried Indian food for the first time and he liked it even though he usually doesn't like Spicy food. He also bought the idol of an Indian god as a souvenir. And by the way ladies, John is still single!!
We all liked the food and dance... check out a short clip of an Indian dance below:
Speaking of India, we enjoy going to our favorite Indian restaurant called India Palace. Shaji, one of the owners of the restaurant assures us that his food is the best and I must say that Uday and I agree. Uday says that this restaurant serves the most authentic Indian food he has ever tasted outside of India. And the best thing is that Shaji makes us feel less guilty about getting our fill there when he tells us about the zero calories, zero fat and zero cholesterol. You got to love Shaji!!! Here is a short clip of him talking about his restaurant!
Keeping with the Indian theme...we also saw Slumdog Millionaire and loved it!!! I was so appreciative that they made this movie so Americans and people from other countries can see how different it is in India. The need to help the many homeless children there is real! As an American citizen (and a social worker) I find it horrifying that a government doesn't do more to help homeless and starving kids. Uday says, "although there are some orphanages they still cannot reach the many homeless starving kids on the streets due to the economic, social, and political structure in India". As an animal lover (although this was not shown in the movie), their animal rights are not that effective, and there continues to be many homeless and starving domesticated animals. There are still organizations such as Animal Rights India, In Defense of Animals in India, and Blue Cross of India that protect and help stray animals. I hope this movie draws more attention in order to help India!!
Another thing we got to do, as we do once in a while was to go camping. This time we went to Lake Kissimmee State Park with our friend Scott and his Christian outdoorsy group called Outlanders. This was the first time we also brought our two dogs, Boo and Simba, with us.
Here is a the camp sign on the left and Uday and Scott on the right with Uday holding a fallen feather from a Vulture.
Ahh, the great outdoors...
That night Uday made chicken curry for everyone while I held both Boo and Simba.
As evening approached, we listened to Jesus play Christian music. (That sentence sounds funny)! Later as the night died down, Scott snapped many pictures such as the two below. The picture on the left shows Uday and I listening to Jesus and the picture on the right Scott took before retiring to his tent and it is one of my favorites. He is into photography and I must say that he can take some real good ones...Thanks for the good time and good pictures Scott :)
It was fun but the dogs were a lot of work and did not want to sleep most of the night because they were protecting us from all of the noises so the next day we were all tired but we still managed to do some exploring:
It was interesting to see our dogs enjoy the adventure of being outside and their new appreciation for coming home at the end of camping!
While driving around Kissimmee, we visited a place called "Spook Hill". We had to drive around for a while to find it since the signs getting there are missing, but when one finally find it, it is so "spooky"... not really! You drive to where the bottom of the hill begins and with your car in neutral watch it roll backwards.
Click on the picture below to see a video about Spook Hill and it's Legend and watch the car go backwards.
They say it is due to a Native American Legend, although I thought perhaps it was just physics. I still need to give this a try at the bottom of another steep hill to see if the same thing happens or if it truely is "spooky".
On our way we also came across miles and miles of orange groves. The Kissimmee area is known for its fresh and juicy oranges. So we stopped by one of these groves and helped ourselves to a few of these ripe fruits :)
Lastly, the other thing we have been up to has been re-painting and decorated our bedroom and downstairs bathroom. Since we can't sell our Townhouse at this time we finally decided to give it a little fixing. Well, I decided and Uday was nice enough to go along with it!
The first picture is an old picture of our bedroom before we got our King size bed. The second we have our King size and different bedspread but it is hard to see much as we moved everything but the walls are the same.
The picture on the right also shows me goofing around while we were painting . Below are pictures of how it looks now.
I love how our new bedspread happens to match our two dogs.
Along with painting the downstairs bathroom, I also made a painting of leaves for that room that I am pretty proud of.
I don't get to be creative often at work as a therapist, so it feels good to be creative at home.
And with that, we continue to spice up our lives...
