The Word On Travel – Page 3 – A Word From The Three Sisters

Playing Golf!

by Simran Jayasinghe

Before our trip to Palm Springs in August of 2017, I had never played golf. I had played mini golf, but I don’t think that counts as real golf! I had never learned the right way to play golf. That all changed when we were at vacation at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs. The resort had a golf club, and my sisters and I went for a golf lesson.

When we arrived at the golf club, we were impressed with the lay out and style of the club house. There was a nice seating area, with a view of the golf course, a bar for adults, a pro shop, and there were tables where you could order food.

My sisters and I started our lesson on the putting green. Our instructor first taught us how to properly hold the putter, and let us try to get the ball into the hole. Putting looks easy from far away, but it was challenging for us. After a lot of practice, my sisters and I finally got the hang of it! After about half an hour we went to the driving range, in golf carts. Our mom really loved driving around in the golf carts!

At the driving range, we tried hitting golf balls using several different clubs. Our instructor was very calm and patient with us, which, probably wasn’t easy, since it took us a while to hit the ball properly so that it traveled some distance. We learnt how to hold the different clubs properly, and how to keep the ball on the tee and use a driver, and other clubs, called “irons” to try and hit the ball as far as we could. After our lesson was over, we were all exhausted, and our parents surprised us by getting us breakfast from the restaurant inside the golf club. Kiran and I had toast, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Svara had toast, eggs, sausage, and cottage cheese. Also, all three of us shared a french toast.The meal was

scrumptious, and the view was beautiful from where we sat. All three of us enjoyed day of golfing. I highly recommend trying out a golf lesson you ever find yourself at the La Quinta Resort!

La Quinta Resort and Spa – A Review

by Simran Jayasinghe

On a Thursday morning, in August of 2017, our family piled into our car with all of our suitcases and bags. Every year, at the end of summer, our family takes a vacation, to just relax. My sisters and I were excited. We had packed a deck of cards, and were ready to be stuck in a car for three hours on the way to Palm Springs!

Our first stop was the Cabazon Outlets. There, we stretched our legs, and enjoyed Wetzel Pretzel’s in the relaxing shade of a tree. We also shopped for back to school items, like new sneakers, etc. After we were done shopping, we drove to our hotel, the La Quinta Resort & Club.

Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club

When we arrived at the resort, we found out that there were 41 pools throughout the resort! This got our attention, as pools are really important to us because our whole family loves the water. We checked in, and got to our hotel room. Our dad had booked a Spa Villa for us. The hotel room was delightful, especially because the A.C. was on, and it was really hot outside. The hotel room had a small kitchen, with a full size refrigerator, a countertop microwave, and a stove. The room had a master bedroom and a living space with a couch, a T.V. and a fireplace.

Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.

Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa

The couch was a pullout bed for my sisters and I, so that our parents got to sleep in the big bed in the master bedroom. There were two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom, and another in the living area. The room did have a sort of outdoor patio, but on the patio space right outside the kitchen, we did discover some rolled up dirty diapers! P.U! We notified the resort staff, and it was quickly taken care of.

It didn’t take long for us to get relaxed in the hotel room, and at about 7 p.m we went to the pool because it had cooled down a little. We were so happy because our room was right next to the pool! My sisters and I swam around and relaxed in the pool, taking turns splashing our dad, who just sat in the pool the whole time. Our parents went to find some food to have for dinner, and we ended up having Subway. Then, we all fell soundly asleep, to wake up the next morning in Palm Springs!

Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Our family stayed at the resort for five days, which let us experience many things. We to go relax at the pools, play tennis and golf, go to restaurants, and shop. Our family really liked this resort, and recommend it if you need a vacation in the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs!

Palm Springs – A Word on Travel

By Simran Jayasinghe

Not too long ago we went to Palm Springs for a relaxing vacation. It was the end of summer, everybody in our family needed a break from all our summer activities. We drove out to Palm Springs and stayed there for about 5 days. We started in San Diego, and traveled north on interstate 15 to the 79 east, then to the 371 east, and finally onto the 74 east which brought us to Indian Wells near Palm Springs. We drove through the Cahuilla Reservation, and the Santa Rosa and San Janito mountains. The scenery was beautiful, and the drive was enjoyable.

It was a nice, relaxing vacation, even though most days it was really, hot, usually around 105 degrees. Since it was so hot outside, we took advantage of the hotel’s air conditioning, and stayed in the room all day playing Monopoly, cards, and other games we had brought along. We stayed at a Homewood Inn and Suites. The hotel room was perfect for our family because it had a room with a king bed and a living area with a sofa bed. The room also had an oven, a microwave, a stove, and a sink.

The hotel had a complimentary breakfast, which was wonderful, and they also had an evening snack, that was scrumptious as well. The hotel had a nice pool and gym. We swam on a couple of days, and when we did, it was late in the evening because it was cooler. We used the gym a couple times too, all five of us, my Mom, Dad, two sisters, and I. The location of the hotel was convenient. Just next to the hotel was an Applebee’s, and we ended up ordering food from there most days. Overall, the stay was relaxing and enjoyable, and if we go to Palm Springs again, we will be sure to stay at the same hotel!

Olympic Trial Trip – Day 6

By Simran Jayasinghe

We woke up at the Embassy Suites hotel in Kansas City Nebraska. Today was the last day of our trip. We hurried down to breakfast because we knew that Embassy Suites provided an excellent breakfast.

We packed all our belongings, and drove to the Kansas City airport. We turned in our rental car, and took a shuttle to the terminal. We had to wait about an hour before boarding our plane.

The trusty car that took us around (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Waiting for the flight back home! (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We were in boarding group C, so by the time we finally got on the plane, there weren’t any seats together. All the aisle seats and the window seats were taken. Only, single middle seats were available. I had to sit in a middle seat with two strangers on my right and left, my sister Kiran had to sit in a middle seat towards the front of the plane with two other strangers. My little sister, who is only 7, did not want to sit alone, and my mom did not want her to either. Finally, after a stewardess asked people many times if they could move to a different seat and make room for my mom and Svara, one person moved and they got seats in the front part of the plane. My dad was seated near enough to me that he was able to ask me with hand signals if I was okay or not. Although Kiran and I were fine, our mom said that she was worried the whole three hour flight back to L.A. my Mom said that she will never fly Southwest again!

Olympic Trials Trip – Day 5

By Kiran Jayasinghe

Hilton Garden Inn Lobby (image by the Jayasinghe family)

We woke up in St. Louis after dreams of the Gateway Arch and standing in the rain, which is what we had actually done the day before! After helping our mom pack the suitcases, we took the elevator down to the lobby for breakfast. We had porridge, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausages, fruit, juice, and cereal. You can always count on a good breakfast at a Hilton Garden Inn! Then, we went back to our room and relaxed for a bit, before we checked out and left for Kansas City. The drive was supposed to take around two hours, but we took around four, since we stopped at Ozarkland for fudge, Arby’s, and a rest stop.

We were staying at an Embassy Suites for the last night of our trip. The hotel was located on the outskirts of Kansas City. It was beautiful, with a huge lobby, a restaurant, free breakfast, and even an evening snack! We came just in time for the evening snack, so we ate celery, carrots, chips, and dip. Then we unpacked our luggage from the car and settled down in our spacious room. Or rather – two rooms. We lounged on the two queen beds and read books, and watched the cooking channel. Then, we decided to take a dip in the indoor pool. While we soaked in the hot tub, we watched the July 4th fireworks. We didn’t have a very good view of them, but we did see some. When the fireworks were over, we went to our room and watched TV again. We ordered dinner from the restaurant in the lobby, and then fell asleep for the last time on our trip.

Olympic Trial Trip – Day 4

By Simran Jayasinghe

We woke up at Susil Seeya’s house and got ready to drive to St. Louis. We had a scrumptious breakfast of spinach omelettes, sunny-side-up eggs, cheese, toast, butter, and jam. Our parents had omelettes with milk tea, and Kiran, Svara and I had sunny-side-up eggs with juice. Susil Seeya sure can cook!

After that, we hopped into the car and drove to Jefferson City to look at the state capitol building. It rained, again, and our drive to Jefferson City took a little more than an hour.

Inside the Missouri State Capitol building (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

The state capitol building is made as a replica of the white house, but much smaller. The architecture was different than the architecture of the Nebraska statehouse building. There were many exhibits talking about historical events in Missouri, and also a couple of hands-on activities like lifting a pack that the soldier’s in the Civil War had to carry. (We tried that one, and only succeeded in lifting it when all three of us, lifted it together!). We looked at the gift shop, but sadly, they didn’t have keychains, and we decided we would wait to get something in St. Louis.

We drove through the rain to St. Louis, and finally got there at 5:00 p.m. We checked in to the Hilton Garden Inn, and after dropping our luggage off at our hotel room, decided to go to the Gateway Arch. To go up in the Arch, you need to buy tickets in advance, and so my dad quickly went online and bought some tickets. We bought the ‘Journey to the Top’ tickets, which means you get to ride to the top and watch the documentary movie. The price for each ticket is $13 for Adults (16 and over) and $10 for Children (3-15 years old). The Museum of Westward Expansion ( the museum about how the Arch was build) was under construction and therefore, closed.

We arrived at the Gateway Arch at about 6:00 p.m. It was still raining outside and we got soaked walking from the car to the arch entrance. We went to the entrance to the museum, but were told that we were only allowed to enter 20 minutes before the time on our tickets to go up in the Arch. Our tickets were for the 7:15 tram ride, so we had an hour to wait. We stood under a tent they had set up , until we were finally allowed inside. We got in line to board the tram that went up in the Arch. We had to wait in about 4 more lines until we were finally able to board the tiny tram! My dad, Kiran, Svara and I were in one tram. Our mom stayed in the museum because she thought that the tram would be too claustrophobic.

Waiting for our ride up the Gateway Arch. The opening sure looks small! (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

What a view! The view from the top of the Gateway Arch! This is the tallest monument in the US (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

After being in it, I agree, the small capsule would’ve been way too small for our mom’s liking. The view from the top was magnificent. We could see the buildings on the other side of the river. Then we took the tram back down again. We picked a keychain from the gift shop and watched a 30 minute movie on how the Arch was made. By then it was 9:45 p.m., so we went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

I thought the Arch was much taller than this!!? (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

The mighty Mississippi river in the background (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Olympic Trials Trip – Day 3

By Simran Jayasinghe

We woke up in Omaha to see that it was raining (again!) and packed our bags. We were heading to Columbia Missouri, on our way to St. Louis Missouri. We were going to stop on the way and visit the Nebraska Statehouse in Lincoln. The drive was about 1 hour to Lincoln, and very dreary as it rained the whole way.

As we entered the statehouse, we all had the same thought, that it looked like Hogwarts. There were stone passageways and staircases, inscriptions, and carvings on the walls, ancient clocks, tiny elevators with doors that looked like they were made of oak. All these ancient looking features made the statehouse look like what we had imagined Hogwarts to be based on the harry potter books and movies. We wished we could have explored all the hidden passages! The architect chosen to design the capitol building was Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. The building started in 1922, and finished in 1932. The capitol building has 15 floors above ground, and on top of the tower is the 19 foot tall bronze statue of the Sower. The Sower signifies that Nebraska is an agricultural state.

Inside the Nebraska State Capitol Building (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Outside the Nebraska State Capitol Building (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We would’ve loved to get a souvenir or two from the Nebraska statehouse, but unfortunately the gift shop was closed on Saturday. By the time we left the statehouse, it was still pouring outside. We ran to our car and started our 6 hour drive to Columbia, Missouri to visit one of our grand dad’s friends (Susil Seeya). The drive was not that fun because it was raining again. We only stopped once, to get ice cream even though it was raining! We got to Columbia at about 6:00 p.m. We were going to stay the night at our Susil Seeya’s house. Kiran and I got a bedroom in the basement. Svara was with our mom and dad in their room. We slept soundly and were surprised to hear the next morning, that there had been thunder and lightning. Our mom also told us how at 2:00 in the morning, she woke up because her phone was beeping with a flash-flood warning. We were in an area classified to be a flood zone, closer to the Missouri river. Because we don’t get a lot of thunder and lightning in Southern California, our mother was awake most of the night, although we slept through all of it!

Olympic Trials Trip – Day 2

by Kiran Jayasinghe

With Kaitlyn Sandeno, Olympic Gold Medalist (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We woke up late, again, but early enough to catch the last fifteen minutes of the free breakfast provided by our hotel, the Days Inn. We ate waffles, cereal, toast, and drank orange juice. This was our second day in Omaha and we headed back to the Aquazone to by a few more Olympic Trial shirts for friends. We also managed to get one more autograph from Kaitlyn Sandeno, a gold medalist, and a former world record holder.

Once we’d finished all our shopping, we drove to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge stretches across the Missouri river, and you can stand on it, with one foot in Iowa and one foot in Nebraska at the same time.

A very curve Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. The bride straddles two states, Nebraska and Iowa (Image by the Jayasinghe family). — A very curvy Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. The bride straddles two states, Nebraska and Iowa (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Look Ma...In two states at once! (image by the Jayasinghe family). — Look Ma…In two states at once! (image by the Jayasinghe family).

Standing over the state line (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We also saw the Louis and Clark museum. Next, we drove to Souix City, Iowa. We visited another Louis and Clark museum. This museum was larger, and had a interactive exhibit. It had talking, human-like robots, acting out Lewis, Clark, President Jefferson, and other important people.

After browsing the museum, we drove back to Omaha, watching acres and acres of green corn sway. When we finally got to the hotel, we ate Subway, and fell asleep.

Corn, corn and more corn! (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

More corn ... (Image by the Jayasinghe family). — More corn … (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Olympic Trials Trip – Day 1

By Kiran Jayasinghe

Kansas City experienced a thunder storm on June 30th. After a three hour flight from Los Angeles to Kansas City, we drove in that storm, to Omaha, Nebraska. We had left Los Angeles International Airport at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday the 29th of June, and had landed in Kansas City at 1:00 am on the 30th (there’s a two hour time difference).

We drove in the storm, luckily for us it was mostly a dry storm with a lot of lightning, for two hours to Omaha. For the first half an hour, none of us were sleeping. We were too occupied trying to figure out how to turn off the seat warmer on our mom’s seat. Apparently, since it gets cold in Kansas City in the winter, the Infinity rental car we had, had a seat warmer. Also, we were all nervous about the lightning. When we finally reached our destination, the Days Inn on Miracle Hills Drive, we checked in and almost immediately fell asleep.

We woke up after about six hours, around noon, to eat breakfast, and then got ready for the Olympic Trials. We were so excited! This was what our week long trip was all about! We were in Omaha, Nebraska, to see the 2016 Olympic swim trials. We had tickets to see the finals on Thursday night.

Just before I fall into the water! Rolling a plastic log (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We would get to see Michael Phelps, Ryan Lockte, Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin, Maya Dirado, Natalie Coughlin, Nathan Adrian, Conor Dwyer, and all the other big athletes swim for a spot on the 2016 Olympic team to Rio! First, we headed to the aqua zone, where we could participate in activities like standing on a rolling log, and swimming in a Michael Phelps swim spa. The Michael Phelps swim spa is a small spa that Michael Phelps trains in every day for 12 minutes. He swims against a powerful jet of water. I lasted seven seconds.

We also got to take picture with past Olympians and get their autographs! It was amazing! We got to hold their medals and even wear them! We got to take pictures with Debby Myer and Brian Goodelle.

With Brian Goodelle and his Olympic gold medals (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

My own gold medals! I borrowed from Debby Myer, olympic gold medalist (Image but he Jayasinghe family). — My own gold medals! I borrowed from Debby Myer, Olympic gold medalist (Image but the Jayasinghe family).

At about 5:30 we started heading for the Olympic trial pool. There was more security than I thought there would be. They checked our bags, and then we turned our tickets in. We had to walk through metal detectors. Next, we bought some keychains to give as sovaniors to our friends, and hot dogs and nachos to eat. We found our seats, we were so close to the water!

In front of the Olympic trial pool. The pool was brought all the way from Italy (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

Waiting for the Olympic trials to start (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

We were amazed at how many people there were, almost the whole arena was full! The swimmers were warming up, and we sat and ate while watched them and also some races from the night before that were on the big jumbotron. Soon, the whole arena went dark, and a light show started.

They never show the light shows, and other activities they do to keep the audience engaged, when the trials are shown on TV! It was very exciting. One time, water spurted out from beneath the ground, and fire blazed on top! Light reflected on the water so it looked like the fountains were red, white, and blue.

We saw the women’s 200 meter breaststroke (my favorite!), and the men’s 200 breaststroke, men’s 200 meter back, men and women’s 100 meter free, and men’s 200 meter individual medley. The 200 meter IM was especially exciting, with both Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte racing!

Overall, everything was wonderful!

Unfortunately, it only lasted two hours, and then we went back to the hotel. Before we went to sleep, we had Panda Express while watching the cooking channel on TV.

Our Trip to Arizona – Day Twelve

By Simran Jayasinghe

All packed and ready to head home (Image by the Jayasinghe family).

The last day of our trip! We were heading back home! The plan was to drive from Phoenix to our home in San Diego without making any stops, about a six to eight hour drive. We helped our parents pack the van and made sure that we had not left anything in the hotel room. We were sad to leave but were happy to be coming back home.

We drove on Interstate 10 West, along the way, we stopped at Quartzite to get gas. We stopped at the same gas station we had stopped, 11 days ago, when we were starting our trip! When we got to Palm Springs, we stopped at the Cabazon Outlet shops to stretch our legs, and to see if there were any after Christmas sales still going on. We found some really nice rain jackets at reasonable prices at the Columbia outlet store. After having some lunch at the food court, we headed back on the road. We cut across from Interstate 10 to Interstate 15 (South) by taking state Route 79. It was a long drive, and we got to our house at about 6:00 in the evening. We were all very tired, but it was great to be back home after a most enjoyable vacation.