[mobike008]

January 7th, 2024 (Sunday)

As always, the plan for a drive happens just a day before and this time what spiked the conversation was the relentless snow that fell in the mountain passes of Washington. We are lucky that all the mountain passes and National Forests (We have 3 of them in state of Washington) are super close.

They are as close as 50 miles to the furthest being 120 miles which is 45 mins drive to 2 hours drive one-way.

This conversation came up on a Saturday evening to go for a drive on Sunday. I thought of Stevens Pass which was the closest (50 miles from home) and also gets the maximum snow but, that is crazy mountain range and one of the best drives in Washington but, there were no good restaurants or stop area so we decided to do the next best- Snoqualmie Pass which was just off the I-90 East freeway and is faster to reach as it’s all freeway driving till we reach the Snoqualmie Pass and was about 70 miles ( a little over an hour drive) from home.

Ashu (Non-BHPian) but, joins all drives is a neighbor (lives about 3 miles away) offered to pick me up. I was feeling bit lazy to drive so I took up on his offer and he came home in his spanking new Mercedes C300 to pick me up. We drove south towards Seattle and Snoqualmie Pass and stopped briefly at BHPian Crackhead’s home to pick him up and we all went in one car.

I was super excited about my newest acquisition- Yup, a Drone. During my recent trip to Portland, OR. I picked up a DJI Mini 3 which is the most basic drone for a newbie like me. And, I was keen on using this trip to fly the drone. I have zero experience of flying anything in the past. Ashu was kind to drop into my home and give me a demo- Yes, we flew the drone inside my home a night before. Haha!

Reason to pick up the DJI Mini 3 :

1. Weighs less than 250gms which is a mandate for not having a flying license
2. 12 Kms Range
3. Has sensors to pick out objects
4. Finally, there was a mouth watering deal during the Christmas holidays so I had to pick it up. It was over 50% off for this particular model.

Plan was simple :

1. Leave home at 11:00am and en-route pick-up BHPIan Crackhead
2. Reach Snoqualmie Pass by 12:30pm
3. First and foremost, enjoy a slice of pizza from “Lee Grocery” which is small grocery store on the Summit. They make one of the finest pizzas.
4. Short Hike in the Snow
5. Find a nice spot to fly the drone
6. On the way back, we stopped in Snoqualmie Falls City which is nestled between mountains. Another short flying experience.
7. Head towards home and try out luck yet again at having a meal at MTR, Seattle

As you may know, MTR is a renowned restaurant from Bangalore and know for their

Benne Dose
Bisebele Bath
Rava Idly
Pineapple Kesari

MTR Seattle is the first MTR in the US of A and we are super glad they chose Seattle as their first location in USA.

They opened a couple of weeks ago and there was ridiculously long lines as there is a huge Indian population in Seattle.

A few days ago, while passing by this location, I had made 2 attempts to enjoy a meal there but, was overwhelmed looking at the long queues.

We decided to try again today. Challenging part is they close in afternoon from 2:30pm-5:30pm

Reached MTR at 5:00pm, there were already 10 people ahead of us. We waited for 30 mins and it was almost like the doors open and they usher you into “ Heaven”. LOL!

Crackhead’s mom and aunt also joined in and we enjoyed a hearty, hearty meal. I can safely say the best South Indian meal in US till date.

That’s how a simple half day trip on a Sunday ended for us.

Enjoy the pics from iPhones and also the separate post of the pics and videos of my new fascination- DJI Mini 3.

Ashu picks me up and we drive south towards BHPian Crackhead's home.



Driving South..



Picked up Crackhead and his cute daughter and now heading east on I-90 East.





Driving on this major freeway. I-90 East. This freeway takes you all the way to Boston on the East Coast.









I-90 was pretty as a peach. I love this highway during FALL when all those trees becomes completely colorful.





Reaching the Destination- Snowqualmie Pass. Just look at this. Parking is full. That's WASHINGTON for you. Folks here love outdoors just too much.





Reached and Parked at Lee Grocery Store at Snoqualmie Pass Summit.



Massive selection of sauces.





Lovely thin crust Pizza.



Cheesy Bread for the kiddo.



Enjoying a cheesy bread surrounded by snow capped mountains. Bliss !!



Snowman.



After sometime, we decided to head out and find a spot in the nearby areas to fly the drone.



Some pictures of the nearby locations. Surreal Visuals all around of us.











Drone set up on top of the Mercedes. This location was used for it to come back too after the flight.

[mobike008]

After spending time at the snowqualmie Pass Summit area which was super crowded with skiers. We decided to head to somewhere more peaceful where we can fly the drones.

But, finding a peaceful place in outdoors in Washington is like asking for the "impossible". LOL!

We drove a few miles in the surrounding area and decided to stop at one place where we can cover the side road as well as the I-90 freeway in the drone video.

Thankfully, the weather was perfect. Low Negatives but, not windy at all.

Perfect conditions to fly the drone.

I enjoyed flying the drone with a little bit of help from my friend who helped in guiding it back to our location. I need a lot of practice and hope to hone this skill over the course of this year.

We drove through some side roads to arrive at the spot where we stopped.





We drove past these cars parked and took a U-Turn and came back. Folks were hiking out in the snow. There is a beautiful trail here and many people throng here for the hike in snow.



First picture from the drone. Yaayyy !!



These shots were taken at the second location in Snoqualmie Falls City.





Pretty huh? These homes command prices starting from $1.5 Million and above.









Love this community. We come here pretty often as it's right next to the Seattle attraction- Snoqualmie Falls.







Prettiest Traffic Light Stop. Agree???



Driving back home...







A few pictures with the beautiful "C".

[mobike008]

After those beautiful few hours stopping at those 2 pretty locations, we decided to head back home.

Enroute we planned to give "MTR" one more try. We reached MTR at 5:00pm (Yup, it gets totally dark by 4:00pm). There were already folks in line.

We too got in the line and luckily got the seat when they opened at 5:30pm.

Enjoyed a hearty meal and headed back home to reach home by 7:30pm.

That's how a lovely day hunting for snow and flying drones ended.

Cheers
Mobike008

P.S : Other than the drone pictures, all pictures taken with an iPhone 15 Promax.


Reached MTR. Beautiful ambient lighting of the Mercedes C300.



Just before reaching MTR. I love this view of Bellevue Downtown.



Check the new BMW 7-Series. Indian Guy waiting for the MTR to open.



Menu for the day.



Check the line out. Anjappar who is right next door must be furious as line was blocking their entrance. Haha!



Some amazing food. All of the dishes hit the spot. Truly Bangalore taste.



















Snoqualmie Pass Summit- During Summers. Just to give you a perspective how the area looks in a different season.





We were lucky as this was posted on WSDOT right next day. That entire highway was blocked as there was relentless snow. Lucky we made it a day before.

[mobike008]

Alright, here is the main deal.

My new DJI Mini 3 :



Drone Videos.

DJIMini 3 is super simple and I was able to do some basic editing and add background music.

Hope you like my first attempt at flying drones. There is some goof up in music addition and some edits. But, hey, I am still learning.

My 1st Drone Video

https://youtu.be/DmmkWyNHOAE

Another small attempt in the same area.

https://youtu.be/j7_fOuqG4A8

3rd Video at Snoqualmie Falls.

https://youtu.be/OXXjeTo7KNw

Check this video out. This was taken with my phone while going to Snoqualmie Pass Summit- That entire freeway was absolutely, absolutely surreal.

https://youtu.be/cY39lQuyQa4

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!