Great Smoky Mounts

July 4th weekend was a road trip to the Smoky Mountains National Park and Asheville NC on the return leg home.

3 days and 2 nights.

A counterclockwise loop that took us west - NW to the towns of Cherokee and Maggie Valley, NC before heading north toward Gatlinburg TN.

hidden gem - two waterfalls merge to form Soco Falls

Maggie Valley was so named for the daughter of a local post master in 1905. Soco falls and a tower to climb over the valley were local attractions as was checking out Native Indian art at a crafts store with boiled peanuts for snacking.

We checked out the southern part of the NP which runs east to west cutting across the state of TN and NC border. Rapids and waterfalls and sights of the Little River gurgling alongside the road through the park kept us occupied with oohs and aahs. Then finished that day 1 with sightseeing more waterfalls on the eastern portion of the park.

Day 2 dawned bright with a drive to the western part of the park to see Cades Cove, a beloved trek to spot deer and elk. We did encounter some of the former hooved members but not the elk. We did on one trip to Rainbow Falls see a young black bear looking for food. What a sight!

Then a trip to Grotto Falls with a 3 mile round trip hike took the wind out of my legs and lungs. It was refreshing no doubt but the weekend crowding was not my fave. To be expected though.

The evening was spent checking out shopping and theme parks around Pigeon Forge, TN. A brewery offered some amazing bar food (Yee Haw Brewery) while I could not say the same for their pilsner (the only type of beer I will drink).

Boneless Chicken Wings and Southwest Rolls

That concluded day 2.

The last day we drove early in hopes to complete our trifecta of the wild mammals and visit the Cataloochee Valley for some Elk shooting. Only with a camera of course. Those large deer like animals had evaded us in Cades Cove and we were hopeful the early morning fog would be the ticket to see them relaxing.

Our lucky stars led the way and with the help of a ranger we did manage to spot a herd of five lounging in the early morning sun.

grazing Elk (antlers seemed to be gone for now)

After having had this amazing experience it was time to check out the newly victorious James Beard award winner Indian street food restaurant run by a London born boy of Indian heritage.

A thali which is a sampler - I had mine with Naan and Butter Chicken

Place is called Chai Pani in Asheville, NC. 'Chai Pani' translates to Tea and Water, is a homage to the basic welcome drinks that any family in India would offer a guest even if they were complete stranger.

The award had certainly been well publicized resulting a 2 hour wait for a table and another hour before the food actually made its way to the table. Good taste but not worth the 3 hours of waiting IMHO. Again fascinating intro to the world of Indian street food which may let the average American palate explore what they have been missing but service can definitely be improved.

Not too familiar with the James Beard criteria for awarding so it was worth stopping by and checking it off the bucket list.

Finally we wrapped the trip to visit an Omni hotel in a secluded part of the town - The Grove Hotel nestled in the mountain greenery is a quiet and luxurious but old worldly retreat. We had a quick cocktail on their oversize veranda overlooking downtown Asheville in the valley below.

A place frequented by a dozen or so US presidents. Recently Obama stayed here.

A few good books

On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...

Costa Rica

Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry. Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while. Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...

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