August 31, 2009

Mini golf at Willows Run

My first experience at golf was with a bunch of my colleagues at Willows Run Golf Course. We played mini golf at the Rainbow Run Putting course at Willows which is a themed 18 hole putting course. I liked the design of the course that was adorned with pretty lake, bridge, cave, and waterfalls.

It took me quite some time to settle into the game and it was no surprise that I used all 6 chances during the initial round of the 18 holes. But the best came at the very end, when I scored 2 and 3 in the 17th and 18th holes!

Overall I enjoyed the experience and I am glad I am no longer gonna be a first timer at golf!

August 27, 2009

In Lake Washington!

In spite of having enjoyed the beauty of Lake Washington for more than a year now, we had not found any chance of being IN the lake. Till August 2009 of course when the seattle-folks decided to dive in :) literally!

We rented a boat at Yarrow Bay Marina park. The best part about getting a boat license is that you have to give no test! So anyone who has registered to be a boat driver can zoom on water! Since we were more than a dozen, we has 2 boats for us (each could fit 7). We could now officially race amongst ourselves! After some initial instructions from the rental company guy we were all set for the aquatic race.

Speed on water is really not the same as on road! In this case you can take a sharp turn almost dropping your friends on the edge of the boat or simulate speed bumps with the waves. Its like creating your own path for an amusement park ride and you can choose when you want the bump or the turn unlike an actual roller coaster. The only uncontrollable aspect here is the height! Our friend got her elbow stamped(bruised) during one of these bumps that she later displayed with pride to prove the speed factor!

The 2 hours in the lake were the most eventful with a surprise birthday celebration of one of our friend, cop catching us for speeding in a speed limited zone of the lake(yes they have cops on the lake too.. we didnt know how to pull over in a boat so we only stopped where we were :)), most of us diving into the water to drive the point of being IN the lake.

One more thing added to the todo list for Kirkland visitors :)

August 23, 2009

BBQ weekend

"Seattle-folks" (that's how we like to call ourselves) met for an evening of Barbecued food and fun this weekend. The hosts found an excellent opportunity to gather all of us on their huge deck and almost a dozen of us jumped in having done our pre-preparations of sorts, shopping for almost all things that could go on the grill. Our hosts welcomed us with the best home made guacamole and chips and salsas that we relished for so long that some of us had to be reminded that the long long grilling session was the real theme for the evening!

The "grilling event" couldn't have had a better start than our very own Mumbai-style "makai bhuttas" (grilled corn cobs) smeared with lime and salt and spicy paprika! (Secret ingredients like pav bhaji masalas can do wonders ..sshhh). Next came on fire the yummy semi-boiled sweet potatoes again smeared with the spicy powders and then coated with maple syrup based rub. Garlic bread couldn't be left far behind either in this burning race. The irresistibly delicious looking paneer tikka on skewers for the vegetarian junta and the shrimp equivalents for the rest was the star of evening! Of course no bbq party can ever be complete without the sausages and burger patties topped with molten cheese and hidden between the bun and its green accompaniments (read lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes). With every new dish that was prepared on the grill, each one of us took the opportunity to display our barbecuing skills and do our bit of cooking and serving for the evening .. Of course the sprite, coke, vodka, whiskey, orange cream (the best new addition to the list) glasses were filled at regular intervals!

After a perfect barbecued multi course meal that we relished to our heart's content, little did we know that an innovative surprise dessert was awaiting us! No prizes for guessing that it had the grill effect too.. Grilled pineapple slices drowned in caramelized sugar and cinnamon accompanied with pure vanilla ice cream was the show stealer that redefined the dessert bliss!

One of us rightly portrayed the motto for the perfect evening - 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happy hour'.