Livonia Saibaba Temple

Shri Shirdi Saibaba Temple in Livonia Michigan

Sri Shirdi Sai Samsthan, Michigan is a non-profit organization which was started on Guru Purnima day (July 22) in 2002.Initially Bajans and puja's for Baba were conducted in apartment rental places and later on were performed in Novi civic center.

The Samsthan has been growing since then with several volunteers who strengthened our goal to build a temple for Shirdi Sai Baba in Greater Detroit area.

In 2006 the organization became a member based Samsthan. This is run by a 9 member Executive Committee (EC) elected from the members who take care of day to day operations of the temple and a 10 member board of trustees (BOT) who give direction to samsthan and provide oversight to the EC. They had 2 major fund raisers one in June 2006 and another one in April 2008 to collect funds for building a temple for Shiridi Sai Baba.

Since Jan 2008, we have extended the pujas and bajans to Saturday, besides just Thursday. Eventually the temple was bought in May 2008.

We had a grand inaugural function of the temple in Aug 2008.Since moving to the temple we have been performing daily aarthi and bajans.

In 2013, the by-laws are revised with the help of by-law revision committee accordingly the EC and BOT have been merged into a 15 member BOT. BOT's are elected by the members. The BOT's in turn elect the operating committee. Every year 5 BOT's retire and 5 new BOT's are elected.

Objective of SSSSMI - Promote the philosophy of Sri Shirdi Saibaba through our temple in Livonia.

Mission - To establish religious, social, cultural, spiritual and educational growth and awareness in the community.

Goal - To spread the word and preachings of Baba in and around Michigan.

Intent - To conduct charitable and relief activities to the people in need irrespective of their religion.

Vision - To universally establish educational and devotional activities among youth in the form of Sai Gurukulam.

Address: Livonia Shirdi Saibaba Temple 28875 W Seven Mile Rd, Livonia, MI 48152

Temple Open on All days : From 08.30 AM till 09.00 PM

Hindu Temples in Michigan

·        Livonia Sai Temple

·        Flint Kasi Sri Viswanatha Temple

·        Pontiac The Eternal Mother Temple

·        Troy Bharatiya Temple

·        Canton Hindu Temple

·        Lansing Bharatiya Temple

Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour

Whirlpool Jet Boat Adventure Tour - Niagara Falls USA

Niagara Whirlpool Jet Adventures is the must-do thrilling white-water and historic river boating experience. Whirlpool Jet Boat skim just above the swift waters of the Niagara River, followed by the swirling torrent of the legendary Niagara Gorge Devil’s Hole class 5 white water rapids. With the hair-raising 360 degree spins known as the ‘Cowboy’ for which the Jet Boats are specifically designed for.

Enjoy a breathtaking guided tour through the spectacular Niagara River Gorge and the famous Whirlpool has experienced Captains, they safely navigate the treacherous world-class rapids. With a 100% safety record it's a fun adventure for all ages (minimum 40 inches tall, average height of a 4 year old).  All tour boats are U.S. Coast Guard certified, and has experienced Captains and Guides are trained in the world-class rapids of Hells Canyon and the Niagara Gorge.

Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours has thrilled over 1.5 million passengers on the mighty Niagara River, for 45-60 minute fully-guided tour, we can experience the awe-inspiring scenery, and feel the rush of the Class V whitewater rapids. The boats are specially designed 1500 horsepower jet boats plunge directly into the rapids, scooping up hundreds of gallons of water.

Niagara Jet Adventures is the must-do attraction in Niagara Falls, We can feel the Thrill of the Ultimate  white-water ride,  we can choose the wet or dry seating. Remember, if you sit on the Wet deck…you will be soaked and need a change of clothing!

Address :Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours Niagara Falls, 115 South Water Street, Lewiston, NY  14092.

Washington DC Attractions

Washington, D.C - District of Columbia Attractions

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as "Washington", "the District", or simply "D.C.", is the capital of the United States. 

Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. Washington is described as the political Capital of the World, owing to its status as the seat of the United States Federal Government and numerous international institutions, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Fun Facts about Washington DC

Ø  On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River.

Ø  Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall.

Ø  The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations.

Ø  Dc is famous for its National Cherry Blossom Festival which is celebrated around the city each spring.

Ø  The USA’s capital teems with iconic monuments and memorials, vast museums and the corridors of power where visionaries and demagogues roam.

Ø  It's your home of many monuments and memorials, The White House, the Washington National Cathedral, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the United States Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Ø  The White House ranked second on the AIA's "List of America's Favorite Architecture" in 2007.

Ø  The Library of Congress is the biggest library in the world.

Ø  Washington is one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million annual tourists.

District of Columbia Must see Attractions

Ø  US Capitol Building

Ø  White House

Ø  Lincoln Memorial

Ø  DC War Memorial

Ø  World War II Memorial

Ø  Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Ø  Washington National Cathedral
Ø  Washington Monument Tower

Ø  Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Ø  National Museum of African American History and Culture

Ø  National Cherry Blossom Festival - Occurs every year mid of March

How to Reach : Washington, D.C., is located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. It’s easy to ride the Metro or hop on a bike and explore all that DC has to offer. Walk the halls of free Smithsonian museums, paddle on the Potomac River or sit back on a double-decker tour bus and soak up some history.

Lincoln Memorial DC

Lincoln Memorial Washington DC

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of  the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument.

The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and his Second Inaugural Address.

The 170-ton statue is composed of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble (Georgia Marble Company) and rises 30 feet (9.1 m) from the floor, including the 19-foot (5.8 m) seated figure (with armchair and footrest) upon an 11-foot (3.4 m) high pedestal. The Lincoln Memorial includes 36 columns of Colorado marble, one for each state in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865; each column stands 44 feet (13.4 metres) high. The names of the 48 contiguous states are listed above the colonnade, and the dates of their admission to the Union are engraved in Roman numerals. Because Hawaii and Alaska attained statehood several decades after the Lincoln Memorial was finished, their names are inscribed on a plaque located on the front steps.

The Lincoln memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favourite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Lincoln Memorial is one of the most beloved American monuments: It attracts millions of visitors each year.

Address: 2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20037

World War II Memorial DC

World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C

The World War II Memorial is a memorial of national significance dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of small triumphal arches surrounding a square and fountain, it sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group.

 The World War II Memorial opened to the public on April 29, 200 and dedicated on May 29, 2004 by President George W. Bush, to honor the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S. during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home.The Memorial is located adjacent to the Washington Monument, in the heart of the National Mall.

Symbols of America’s triumph in the Second World War are artfully displayed all over the World War II Memorial, which has a splendid fountain at its center. 56 granite columns symbolize unity among the 48 states, seven federal territories and the District of Columbia. The columns form a semi-circle around the memorial’s plaza, with two 43-foot tall arches on opposite sides. The northern arch represents victory in the Atlantic, while the southern arch symbolizes victory in the Pacific.

How to Reach :  It is located on 17th Street, between Constitution and Independence Avenues, and is flanked by the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. The memorial is operated by the National Park Service and is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The most convenient way to reach the World War II Memorial is by Metro bus or Metro. There are two Metro stations close by: Smithsonian and Federal Triangle, both located on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines. As for the bus,take either the 32, 34 or 36 Metro bus routes.

National Air and Space Museum DC

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in DC

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the NASM, is a museum in Washington, D.C.. It was established in 1946 as the National Air Museum and opened its main building on the National Mall near L'Enfant Plaza in 1976. In 2016, the museum saw approximately 7.5 million visitors, making it the second most visited museum in the world, and the most visited museum in the United States.

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has thousands of objects on display, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to exhibition galleries, we can visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east terrace.

The museum contains the Apollo 11 command module, the Friendship 7 capsule which was flown by John Glenn, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1 which broke the sound barrier, and the Wright brothers' plane near the entrance. It also is home to the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum collects, preserves, studies, and exhibits artifacts, archival materials, and works of art related to the history, culture, and science of aviation and spaceflight and the study of the universe.

There are many things to do at the Museum in DC

Ø  Daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults.

Ø  Scheduled lectures and events throughout the year

DC Space Museum Fun Facts :

Ø  The Museum is the largest of the Smithsonian's 19 museums and its Center for Earth and Planetary studies is one of the Institution's nine research centers.

Ø  More than eight million people a year visit the Museum's two locations, making it the most visited museum in the country. Since it opened in 1976, the Museum has welcomed 311 million visitors.

Ø  The Museum's collection encompasses some 60,000 objects ranging in size from Saturn V rockets to jetliners to gliders to space helmets to microchips. Fully one-third of the Museum's aircraft and spacecraft are one-of-a-kind or associated with a major milestone.

The Apollo Lunar Module originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman Aircraft to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back.

The North American X-15 was a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and returning with valuable data used in aircraft and spacecraft design. The X-15's official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a manned, powered aircraft, set in October 1967.

How to Reach : Located in Washington, DC, on the National Mall between the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Castle. Bordered by Independence Avenue, Jefferson Drive, and 4th and 7th Streets, SW.

Address: 600 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20560

National Air and Space Museum Hours : 10:00 am to 5:30 pm  and Admission is Free.

United States Capitol Building DC

Capitol Hill - Washington, DC

The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress, and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Though not at the geographic center of the Federal District, the Capitol forms the origin point for the District's street-numbering system and the District's four quadrants. The United States Capitol is among the most symbolically important and architecturally impressive buildings in the nation.

The National Mall is a landscaped park within the National Mall and Memorial Parks, an official unit of the United States National Park System. It is located near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. The National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior administers the National Mall. 

The United States Capitol is a monument, a working office building, and one of the most recognizable symbols of representative democracy in the world. There is a guided tours of the building are free, but tickets are limited and there's often a long wait. It's best to reserve online in advance (there’s no fee).

United States Capitol Building - Washington DC Facts
Architectural style	Neoclassical Style
Architect	William Thornton
Construction started	September 18, 1793
Completed	1800

Capitol Building Fun Facts

Ø  The Capitol was built after Thomas Jefferson held a design competition to elicit entries from some of the finest architects in America.

Ø  The Capitol building has 540 rooms and has 658 windows (108 in the dome alone). The Dome is 8,909,200 pounds of cast-iron with 108 windows, and was constructed between 1855 and 1866. The statue at the top of dome is the Statue of Freedom. The Rotunda stands 180 feet, 3 inches tall and is 96 feet in diameter.

Ø  Today, the Capitol covers a ground area of 16,275 square meters or 1.6 hectares (175,170 square feet, or 4 acres), and has a floor area of 67,000 square meters or 6.7 hectares (721,200 square feet or 16.5 acres).

Ø  The original design for the Capitol Building was drawn by Dr. William Thornton and the current dome on the Capitol was designed by Thomas U. Walter, but there have been 11 Architects of the Capitol who have all made contributions to the building.

Ø  The statue that sits atop the dome is called the Statue of Freedom. The bronze Statue of Freedom is the crowning feature of the dome. It stands 6 meters (19 feet 6 inches) tall and weighs approximately 6,800 kilograms (15,000 pounds).

Ø  The Capitol Complex includes include the Capitol, Capitol Visitor Center, Senate Office Buildings, House Office Buildings, US Supreme Court, Library of Congress, US Botanic Garden and Capitol Campus grounds.

How to Reach : The United States Capitol is bordered by Constitution Avenue to the north, Independence Avenue to the south, and First Streets, to the east and west.  It is located at the far eastern end of the National Mall beyond the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

Address: East Capitol St NE & First St SE, Washington, DC 20004

White House Washington DC

White House  - USA President's House

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800.

The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban, and Construction took place between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white.

The modern-day White House complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building—the former State Department, which now houses offices for the President's staff and the Vice President—and Blair House, a guest residence. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, as well as a two-story basement.

The President's Front Yard. The north lawn is the president's front yard. It has many old trees and other plantings, some of which date back nearly the full two hundred years of the White House's existence. James Polk added a statue of Thomas Jefferson to the north lawn.

White House Washington DC Facts
Architectural style	Neoclassical Style
Architect	James Hoban
Construction started	October 13, 1792
Completed	November 1, 1800

The White House property is a USA National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park.

In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".

White House Fun Facts to know:

·         There are 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, and 6 levels to accommodate all the people who live in, work in, and visit the White House.

·         There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 7 staircases, and 3 elevators.

·         At various times in history, the White House has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion."

·         President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.

·         The construction of the White House was completed in 1800.

·         The first president to live here is John Adams, and he was second president of USA.

Can we visit the White House ?

Tours are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. Requests can be submitted up to three months in advance and no less than 21 days in advance. We are encouraged to submit the request as early as possible as a limited number of spaces are available. The White House tour is free of charge.

Address:         1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,  NW Washington, D.C. 20500 U.S.