We must celebrate Indian Independence Day, especially if we value freedom.  To be given back a country like India that is as rich in diversity, culture and heritage – what’s not to celebrate?  This year was the 69th Anniversary of Indian Independence.  It has been 69 years since the British gave back India to the Indians.  That is reason to celebrate.  So celebrate we did!  First, I took the day off from work on Friday, August 14th.  If a country won’t give us our own holiday (I guess we can’t expect it here in the USA), we must give ourselves the holiday.

So, we drove up to the Disneyland area and were supposed to go to Knotts Soak City today, but the kids said we had arrived too late as our arrival time was about 1:15 pm, and they would only have about less than five hours at the Water Park, they wanted the entire day from 10 am until 6pm, so we decided to just go to Artesia and have lunch somewhere.  We really like Ashoka The Great, and have been here before many times, so this is where we ate lunch.

Ashoka The Great Restaurant in Artesia

Ashoka The Great in Artesia

Ashoka The Great in Artesia

These are my three kids enjoying the buffet at Ashoka The Great

Ashoka The Great Restaurant, Artesia

This is me and my three kids

Ashoka The Great in Artesia

My little girl Chandi loves fruit, and Ashoka has a great selection of fruit for her right after she eats enough of the other lunch items. I love Khadi Pakora, it’s my favorite curry (the yellow one below) and I love Saag (spinach – right behind the Khadi Pakora).

Ashoka The Great Restaurant, Artesia

Ashoka The Great Restaurant, Artesia

Ashoka The Great Restaurant, Artesia

Then we walked around a bit, and went to a few different stores.  I bought some bangles for Chandi and Niki, and decided it was time for a visit to one of my favorite Sweets & Snacks restaurants – Ambala Sweets & Snacks!  The kids had just enough space for banana milkshakes, and I had space for a cup of tea, and one of the sweets from the assortment that I bought – see the picture of sweets in the box below.  The rest of the sweets I could eat at the hotel or back in San Diego (if there was any left).

Ambala Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Ambala Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Ambala Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Ambala Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Then we headed to the car which was parked in the parking lot of Bombay Sweets & Snacks.  I had to go inside, and get another cup of tea.  I sometimes just love the atmosphere of different restaurants, and when they have TV screens that play Indian movies or music videos, I just love relaxing there with a cup of chai.  Chandi just hung out with me while my other two sat in the car, even though it was an extremely hot day – they were fed up of me and my cups of teas.  I love the food at Bombay Sweets & Snacks too, but how much can you eat after a buffet?  I sometimes stay full all day after a buffet.

Bombay Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Bombay Sweets & Snacks, Artesia

Our stomachs were full, and we got to the Hilton Garden Inn in Anaheim at around 8 pm.  What a lovely hotel, and the service was very nice.

Hilton Garden Inn in Anaheim

Next morning, I had coffee in my room, and then enjoyed another cup in the lobby, before we headed out to Knotts Soak City.

Hilton Garden Inn in Anaheim

In my next post, I will continue writing about our celebration of the Indian Independence Day.  We started celebrating one day early, and celebrated all day Saturday, and then Sunday too!