Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Travelogue. Grand Canyon. 2007
Interesting Facts:
Starting City: Phoenix (1100ft elevation)
Ending City: Grand Canyon (Tusayan, 6600ft elevation)
My parents and my sister were all joining me in Phoenix this December. So it was the perfect time to plan on some short trip. The first one in the list was a 2 day trip to the Grand Canyon. I had already taken my parents to that place on their last visit here. But that was during the summer, and in winter, you get to see the canyon covered in snow. Plus my sister is visiting here for the first time, and when you come to Arizona, its a "must" that you see the Grand Canyon.
So we left Phoenix at 10am on Dec 20th. Since it was just the 4 of us, I decided to drive. Grand Canyon is about 3.5 hours from Phoenix (210 miles), and you drive via Flagstaff and Williams. I had recorded quiet a few hindi and tamil songs the previous day. So we had plenty of entertainment in the car. Plus once Archana(my sister) starts talking, thats plenty entertainment right there.
One of the interesting aspects of the drive is the change in scenery and vegetation. You go from 1100ft in elevation to around 6600 ft by the time you reach the Grand Canyon. And you can see the vegetation change from shrubs & Saguaro cactus to small trees & bushes to large pine trees and thick forests as you go to northern Arizona.
By the time we reached Flagstaff, the weather had gotten considerably cooler. And we started to see snow on the road sides. Just few patches at first, but as we got closer to Flagstaff, there was snow all around. This was the first time my mom was seeing snow, and she was absolutely thrilled to see it. It had always been her dream to see snow and play in it. And now seeing the whiteness all around her, you could see the excitement in her face.
We too a lot of pictures of the scenery and snow covered roads all along. Past Flagstaff, we decided to stop at a rest area for a while. This place was covered with snow, and it was a perfect opportunity for us(to do what?). We all brought out our jackets and gloves and mufflers as it was quiet chilly. Amma then got out of the car and started playing in the snow. We started mini snow fights.
Rest area.
- Lunch, sandwiches.
- Snow fights. First taste of snow.
- White and powdery. Beautiful.
- Lots of pictures and videos.
- Peaks covered with snow in backdrop.
- Remembered the wide open field where I stopped on my last winter trip to canyon (in 2001). Pointed it out to others. Unfortunately there was no snow.
Reached GC at around 2:30 pm.
Much less snow than in flagstaff. Initially disappointed.
Checked in hotel, took a brief rest and then headed to the GCNP (Grand Canyon National Park).
Reached canyon around 4pm. First went to Mather point.
Canyon was beautiful as always. No matter how many times you see it. Always takes your breath away.
It was a beautiful day to see and photograph the canyon. There was light cloud cover, but the canyon was clearly visible. The rims were covered with snow. And the interior of the canyon was bathed in sun light displaying various colors.
they say the best time to see the canyon is during sun rise & sun set as the angle of the light throws in some shadows and also shows the canyon in different colors. It was breath taking, and we took some really good photos. And on top of the canyon where we were, it was all covered with snow.
It was pretty cold up there, and despite the multi-layered clothing, the cold was seeping in and were numbing out fingers and bones. But the view and the snow was worth the cold.
After Mather point, we drove a little further and went to Yavapai point. This is where they have a small observatory with some history of the canyon. They show the different rocks that form the canyon, and how it was formed etc. It is also a great place to view the canyon as it provides with lot of photo opportunity. Along with the canyon, we also took pictures of some snowmen. :)
After sunset, we decided to stop by the IMAX theater. There they play a 30 mins presentation called the hidden secrets of the Grand Canyon, and its worth a watch. It has some pretty exciting moments.
After the IMAX movie, we had some dinner from the restaurant nearby ad then headed back to hotel. We were all pretty tired after the long day, and we had to wake up early to go catch sunrise at the canyon tomorrow. I wanted to go to bed early, but then Amma and Archana had other plans. They forced me to play scrabble with them. Now thats a game I hate, but I still managed to win (quiet comfortably infact). After that we all hit the bed,
Next day morning when we woke up and peeked outside the window, we realized that it had snowed at night. The hotel driveway, and all the cars were covered with snow. Even the main roads were covered with snow and they were being cleared by a snowplow. We quickly got ready and got a light breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed out. My first job was to clear the snow from the wind shields and glasses. I always say its fun to go to a snowy place for vacation, but its such a pain to live in such a place. Imagine shoveling snow everyday. Too much time and energy for such a boring task.
Once that was taken care of, we headed back to the canyon. Sunrise was supposed to be at 7:30am. We first went back to Mather point. Just in time for sunrise. We took a few pictures, and we could see the canyon color changing beautifully as the sun started rising. From darkness, we could see different shades of red and brown as the canyon walls were bathed in sun light. The air was bone chilling, but we still hung in there for few snaps. We also took lots of snaps of the snow covered rims.
From Mather point, we headed next to Yavapai point, and saw different section of the canyon, and different angles. It was again a beautiful day for taking pictures and viewing the canyon. No clouds and it was just bright and beautiful. Lots more pictures followed along with some videos. We also played for a while in the snow. By now, it was almost 9am. We decided to head back to the hotel so we can finish our breakfast. Then we can complete our checkout, and return to the Canyon. On the way back, we spotted a herd of deer and spent some time taking pictures. Wildlife photography is pretty hard as they don't really pose as we want them to. :)
After breakfast and checkout, we drove back to the canyon. This time, we decided to drive till the very end of the canyon. We drove all the way to Hermits Rest, which is the end road trail. We also stopped at various other vista points on the way. In between, we also stopped by for some snow time. We all got into ankle deep snow, tried to make snowman and snow angles, and had some snow ball fights. We all got pretty wet and cold, but it was super fun.
So finally around 2pm, we decided to wind up our trip and head back home. So we said goodbye to the Canyon. Took some final snaps at the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, and started out drive back home.
We stopped by at Flagstaff for a quick lunch. And our next stop was Phoenix.
Overall it was a really fun trip. Lots of snow, and some great views of the Canyon., In my many trips to the Grand Canyon, this was the best view I have got. The weather was excellent, and it was always sunny and bright.
In 2 days, we are going to Las Vegas for our next road trip. Stay tuned for another update. :)
Starting City: Phoenix (1100ft elevation)
Ending City: Grand Canyon (Tusayan, 6600ft elevation)
My parents and my sister were all joining me in Phoenix this December. So it was the perfect time to plan on some short trip. The first one in the list was a 2 day trip to the Grand Canyon. I had already taken my parents to that place on their last visit here. But that was during the summer, and in winter, you get to see the canyon covered in snow. Plus my sister is visiting here for the first time, and when you come to Arizona, its a "must" that you see the Grand Canyon.
So we left Phoenix at 10am on Dec 20th. Since it was just the 4 of us, I decided to drive. Grand Canyon is about 3.5 hours from Phoenix (210 miles), and you drive via Flagstaff and Williams. I had recorded quiet a few hindi and tamil songs the previous day. So we had plenty of entertainment in the car. Plus once Archana(my sister) starts talking, thats plenty entertainment right there.
One of the interesting aspects of the drive is the change in scenery and vegetation. You go from 1100ft in elevation to around 6600 ft by the time you reach the Grand Canyon. And you can see the vegetation change from shrubs & Saguaro cactus to small trees & bushes to large pine trees and thick forests as you go to northern Arizona.
By the time we reached Flagstaff, the weather had gotten considerably cooler. And we started to see snow on the road sides. Just few patches at first, but as we got closer to Flagstaff, there was snow all around. This was the first time my mom was seeing snow, and she was absolutely thrilled to see it. It had always been her dream to see snow and play in it. And now seeing the whiteness all around her, you could see the excitement in her face.
We too a lot of pictures of the scenery and snow covered roads all along. Past Flagstaff, we decided to stop at a rest area for a while. This place was covered with snow, and it was a perfect opportunity for us(to do what?). We all brought out our jackets and gloves and mufflers as it was quiet chilly. Amma then got out of the car and started playing in the snow. We started mini snow fights.
Rest area.
- Lunch, sandwiches.
- Snow fights. First taste of snow.
- White and powdery. Beautiful.
- Lots of pictures and videos.
- Peaks covered with snow in backdrop.
- Remembered the wide open field where I stopped on my last winter trip to canyon (in 2001). Pointed it out to others. Unfortunately there was no snow.
Reached GC at around 2:30 pm.
Much less snow than in flagstaff. Initially disappointed.
Checked in hotel, took a brief rest and then headed to the GCNP (Grand Canyon National Park).
Reached canyon around 4pm. First went to Mather point.
Canyon was beautiful as always. No matter how many times you see it. Always takes your breath away.
It was a beautiful day to see and photograph the canyon. There was light cloud cover, but the canyon was clearly visible. The rims were covered with snow. And the interior of the canyon was bathed in sun light displaying various colors.
they say the best time to see the canyon is during sun rise & sun set as the angle of the light throws in some shadows and also shows the canyon in different colors. It was breath taking, and we took some really good photos. And on top of the canyon where we were, it was all covered with snow.
It was pretty cold up there, and despite the multi-layered clothing, the cold was seeping in and were numbing out fingers and bones. But the view and the snow was worth the cold.
After Mather point, we drove a little further and went to Yavapai point. This is where they have a small observatory with some history of the canyon. They show the different rocks that form the canyon, and how it was formed etc. It is also a great place to view the canyon as it provides with lot of photo opportunity. Along with the canyon, we also took pictures of some snowmen. :)
After sunset, we decided to stop by the IMAX theater. There they play a 30 mins presentation called the hidden secrets of the Grand Canyon, and its worth a watch. It has some pretty exciting moments.
After the IMAX movie, we had some dinner from the restaurant nearby ad then headed back to hotel. We were all pretty tired after the long day, and we had to wake up early to go catch sunrise at the canyon tomorrow. I wanted to go to bed early, but then Amma and Archana had other plans. They forced me to play scrabble with them. Now thats a game I hate, but I still managed to win (quiet comfortably infact). After that we all hit the bed,
Next day morning when we woke up and peeked outside the window, we realized that it had snowed at night. The hotel driveway, and all the cars were covered with snow. Even the main roads were covered with snow and they were being cleared by a snowplow. We quickly got ready and got a light breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed out. My first job was to clear the snow from the wind shields and glasses. I always say its fun to go to a snowy place for vacation, but its such a pain to live in such a place. Imagine shoveling snow everyday. Too much time and energy for such a boring task.
Once that was taken care of, we headed back to the canyon. Sunrise was supposed to be at 7:30am. We first went back to Mather point. Just in time for sunrise. We took a few pictures, and we could see the canyon color changing beautifully as the sun started rising. From darkness, we could see different shades of red and brown as the canyon walls were bathed in sun light. The air was bone chilling, but we still hung in there for few snaps. We also took lots of snaps of the snow covered rims.
From Mather point, we headed next to Yavapai point, and saw different section of the canyon, and different angles. It was again a beautiful day for taking pictures and viewing the canyon. No clouds and it was just bright and beautiful. Lots more pictures followed along with some videos. We also played for a while in the snow. By now, it was almost 9am. We decided to head back to the hotel so we can finish our breakfast. Then we can complete our checkout, and return to the Canyon. On the way back, we spotted a herd of deer and spent some time taking pictures. Wildlife photography is pretty hard as they don't really pose as we want them to. :)
After breakfast and checkout, we drove back to the canyon. This time, we decided to drive till the very end of the canyon. We drove all the way to Hermits Rest, which is the end road trail. We also stopped at various other vista points on the way. In between, we also stopped by for some snow time. We all got into ankle deep snow, tried to make snowman and snow angles, and had some snow ball fights. We all got pretty wet and cold, but it was super fun.
So finally around 2pm, we decided to wind up our trip and head back home. So we said goodbye to the Canyon. Took some final snaps at the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, and started out drive back home.
We stopped by at Flagstaff for a quick lunch. And our next stop was Phoenix.
Overall it was a really fun trip. Lots of snow, and some great views of the Canyon., In my many trips to the Grand Canyon, this was the best view I have got. The weather was excellent, and it was always sunny and bright.
In 2 days, we are going to Las Vegas for our next road trip. Stay tuned for another update. :)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Actual Cost of Homeownership.
Now that the house purchase is complete, it just struck me that there are lot more cost associated with being a home owner. Especially when you are moving into your first home. So I am going to track all the additional expenses related to moving into a new house. I have put a $1000 budget (apart from the furniture) to buy all the items needed. Lets see if I can manage to stick under that.
1. MOR Furniture: $1586
- Living & Dining set - $1586
2. Big Lots: $34.59
- Door mats (5 nos)- $10.81
- Bathroom mats, Shower Liner & Bins - $23.78
3. Wal-Mart: $21.80
- Shelf Liners (3 nos) - $3.05
- Fold Stool - $13.92
- Sink Set - $4.83 (what is this??)
4. Costco: $93.12
- Magic Bullet (kitchen accessories) - $54.14
- Hands Free Trash Can - $38.98
5. Kirkland's: $93.07
- Photo with frame (3 nos) - $54.12
- Flower Vase w/flowers - $32.47
- Flame Balls (2 nos) - $6.48
6. Ikea: $302.39
- Home accessories (will be expanded later) - $302.39
7. Sears: $43.32
- Laser level & Stud Finder - $43.31
8. Fry's: (missing)
Total Expenses: $2174.28
1. MOR Furniture: $1586
- Living & Dining set - $1586
2. Big Lots: $34.59
- Door mats (5 nos)- $10.81
- Bathroom mats, Shower Liner & Bins - $23.78
3. Wal-Mart: $21.80
- Shelf Liners (3 nos) - $3.05
- Fold Stool - $13.92
- Sink Set - $4.83 (what is this??)
4. Costco: $93.12
- Magic Bullet (kitchen accessories) - $54.14
- Hands Free Trash Can - $38.98
5. Kirkland's: $93.07
- Photo with frame (3 nos) - $54.12
- Flower Vase w/flowers - $32.47
- Flame Balls (2 nos) - $6.48
6. Ikea: $302.39
- Home accessories (will be expanded later) - $302.39
7. Sears: $43.32
- Laser level & Stud Finder - $43.31
8. Fry's: (missing)
Total Expenses: $2174.28
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Mine at last....
After months of construction, negotiation and running around, its finally over. Today was the day when I closed on the house, and officially got the keys to move in.
The week leading upto today quiet busy. I had to call the various service and utility companies to change service to my new address. Also had to call the title company and loan officer to get th final settlement statement for closing. All these was being done a day before closing. So on Tuesday (a day before closing), I went to the bank to get a cashier's check for the closing amount.
The day began early today. It started at 8am when I had the final walk through to make sure all the items identified during the pre-closing walk through were addressed. Most issues were addressed. Some last minute touch ups and paint jobs were still being done. Other than that, the only major issue left was the blinds which has not yet been installed. After the checkup was complete, I got a cooler bag filled with handy stuff for moving form Pulte. Apparently they give this gift to all new homeowners.
The closing was setup at the title company (Sun Title Agency in my case) at 10:30 am. I decided to go there with my dad. My realtor was also to join me there. From what I had heard form various people, I expected the closing to be a long and boring process with millions of pages of legal documents to review and sign. So I was surprised when the escrow officer gave me just a small stack of documents to review and sign. The whole process took a little more than an hour. I finally handed over my cashiers check (down payment) and within minutes, I was handed over the letter to collect the keys for my house.
So after lunch, I along with mom decided to go and collect the keys form the sales office. After the formalities were complete, I got the keys, and did one final walk through and check up of the house. Everything seem to be in order, and its ready to move in.
So here are the final set of pictures of the finished house.
The week leading upto today quiet busy. I had to call the various service and utility companies to change service to my new address. Also had to call the title company and loan officer to get th final settlement statement for closing. All these was being done a day before closing. So on Tuesday (a day before closing), I went to the bank to get a cashier's check for the closing amount.
The day began early today. It started at 8am when I had the final walk through to make sure all the items identified during the pre-closing walk through were addressed. Most issues were addressed. Some last minute touch ups and paint jobs were still being done. Other than that, the only major issue left was the blinds which has not yet been installed. After the checkup was complete, I got a cooler bag filled with handy stuff for moving form Pulte. Apparently they give this gift to all new homeowners.
The closing was setup at the title company (Sun Title Agency in my case) at 10:30 am. I decided to go there with my dad. My realtor was also to join me there. From what I had heard form various people, I expected the closing to be a long and boring process with millions of pages of legal documents to review and sign. So I was surprised when the escrow officer gave me just a small stack of documents to review and sign. The whole process took a little more than an hour. I finally handed over my cashiers check (down payment) and within minutes, I was handed over the letter to collect the keys for my house.
So after lunch, I along with mom decided to go and collect the keys form the sales office. After the formalities were complete, I got the keys, and did one final walk through and check up of the house. Everything seem to be in order, and its ready to move in.
So here are the final set of pictures of the finished house.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Update.. Week 21...
This is when the whole home buying process is getting to be interesting. After last weekend, where we saw the model homes in Ledgestone and got to know about the new incentives being offered by Pulte, I decided to call and try to negotiate some kind of a deal.
Th options I was considering was
Now that the new incentives were negotiated, time to contact my loan officer again to update him on the changes. I was supposed to lock in my interest rate, but I decided to hold that until I got the incentives confirmed. I told him about the additional incentives, and asked him to send me the updated GFE (God Faith Estimate). Once everything looked good, I decided to lock in the rate at 6.875%. Now this week, I had also agreed to go with the latest loan option my loan officer had offered. I had mentioned in my earlier blog about how I was not happy with the PMI option being offered. So my loan officer shopped around for alternatives, and came up with a loan program which was a single 90% loan with no PMI. I just had to put the 10% down. The catch was that the interest rate was higher (6.875 instead of 6.5%) than the loan with PMI, but overall, it worked out cheaper in terms of monthly payment.
Now the only remaining task before going into the week before closing is to get the home insurance policy setup. I plan on doing it this coming monday.
Now for the pictures of this week.
Th options I was considering was
- See if I can exchange my current purchase contract for the Jade model, to one of the bigger models in Legestone series.
- If the exchange is not possible, see if I can get some additional incentives for my current purchase.
- Appliance upgrade, which included refrigerator, washer/dryer.
- Install blinds on all windows.
- Offered an additional 3% towards my closing costs (basically covered all my closing cost)
Now that the new incentives were negotiated, time to contact my loan officer again to update him on the changes. I was supposed to lock in my interest rate, but I decided to hold that until I got the incentives confirmed. I told him about the additional incentives, and asked him to send me the updated GFE (God Faith Estimate). Once everything looked good, I decided to lock in the rate at 6.875%. Now this week, I had also agreed to go with the latest loan option my loan officer had offered. I had mentioned in my earlier blog about how I was not happy with the PMI option being offered. So my loan officer shopped around for alternatives, and came up with a loan program which was a single 90% loan with no PMI. I just had to put the 10% down. The catch was that the interest rate was higher (6.875 instead of 6.5%) than the loan with PMI, but overall, it worked out cheaper in terms of monthly payment.
Now the only remaining task before going into the week before closing is to get the home insurance policy setup. I plan on doing it this coming monday.
Now for the pictures of this week.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Construction Update.. Week 20..
Construction is almost coming to an end. I am just few weeks away from closing. And this is the first weekend, I am free since my parents are here. So I decided to take them to my house and show them the unit and model houses.
I first showed them the models of the houses in my sub-division. They liked the houses, especially the Jade floorplan. Then I showed them my house, which was close to completion. Just the final QA walkthru is remaining.
After seeing my house and the models, we decided to go check out th bigger house models in the other sub-division (Ledgestone). The first was the "Crimson" model, and we were all floored by it.
Huge vaulted ceilings, good open design giving a feeling of spaciousness, and very good interior decoration immediately sold us the model. But it was out of my price range. But this was the weekend of "Monster Sale" at Pulte. They were offering huge incentives on these models which included
So now my option was to see if I could work out a deal where I can change my house from the smaller Jade models to the bigger Crimson one. But since I am just 3 weeks away from closing, I was not sure how viable that options is. But I still decided to give it a try.
So I called my realtor, and asked him to find out more details about the sale. And also fin out my options regarding switching from Jade to Crimson. So next week is going to be interesting, an I get to do some negotiating done.
I first showed them the models of the houses in my sub-division. They liked the houses, especially the Jade floorplan. Then I showed them my house, which was close to completion. Just the final QA walkthru is remaining.
After seeing my house and the models, we decided to go check out th bigger house models in the other sub-division (Ledgestone). The first was the "Crimson" model, and we were all floored by it.
Huge vaulted ceilings, good open design giving a feeling of spaciousness, and very good interior decoration immediately sold us the model. But it was out of my price range. But this was the weekend of "Monster Sale" at Pulte. They were offering huge incentives on these models which included
- $35,000 discount.
- All closing costs paid.
- All appliances (washer/dryer & fridge included) and blinds installed.
- And a 5.85% 30-year fixed loan with jut 5% down.
So now my option was to see if I could work out a deal where I can change my house from the smaller Jade models to the bigger Crimson one. But since I am just 3 weeks away from closing, I was not sure how viable that options is. But I still decided to give it a try.
So I called my realtor, and asked him to find out more details about the sale. And also fin out my options regarding switching from Jade to Crimson. So next week is going to be interesting, an I get to do some negotiating done.
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