The awesomest creatures!

Kathleen and Simon, you guys rock!!
This was one of the coolest and best days of my stay in America. First of, my cousins and I went by ourselves to Los Gatos Downtown. Well, every county has a Downtown, which is pretty much like Brigade Road. Restaurants, showrooms, malls, etc etc. So ya, we went Downtown. We took a bus, a very colourful one, after a long wait! I think our coin rubbing magic trick to summon the bus actually worked. :P We went to Willow Street and had some cheesy pizza and pasta, followed by some delectable chocolate ice cream in Cold Stone. After walking back for around ten minutes we felt rather snoozy and called Suman aunty to pick us up. While we waited, we bought some root beer and water to quench our thirst. It was a pleasant day, but I was warm because I chose the wrong day to wear a jacket.
We were hardly back home when Suman aunty's friend came to pick us up to her friend, Kathleen's house, a nice big house by the country side, with a lot of animals in it. Perfect for me! Surabhi told me that they had a dog, Jazzmine and that was it. Little did I know that within and well, outside the residence too, there were two bearded dragons, a black mammoth lizard whose breed no one could quite recognise (it hissed angrily when it's shelter was taken off, creepy!), a snake, around eight goats, a cat - Black jack, an African Grey Parrot - Corky and around forty other birds. Unbelievable eh? Believe it! :P I was head over heels with excitement! Each and every animal had me astounded! I caressed Jazzmine and the dog next door - Champ, fed the goats and alpacas from my hand, spoke to Corky and petted the bearded dragons. Petting lizards of any kind had been one of my dreams (if you could call it that). I was up on the clouds when Kathlene put them in my hands. First I felt a little odd but then holding two reptiles in my hand felt so absolutely normal. Contrary to my expectations, the dragons had very dry and rough skin and were extremely well mannered. The didn't stick their tongues out and neither did they poop while they were in my arms. Hehe. Now that I have touched them, it is my dream to OWN one of them, although I don't foresee anything of that sort happening in the near future. Anyway, later we sat in the back yard, sipping some lemonade and munching on some strawberries, overlooking the freeway, reservoirs and hills that lay far away. I felt royal actually, sitting at such great a height in a comfortable hammock with my feet at ease in a foot rest. In a while Mr.Simon came along, after "playing around with some liquid Nitrogen' apparently and was introduced to us all. He greeted us in typical country style, "Howdy! How you doin?" Hehe. We got a tour around the house and saw beautiful paintings and mechanical toys that Kathleen had built herself. One of the coolest things in the house was the handwash in the restroom. When you turn on the tap, the water is bathed in blue light! How cool is that! Having a light inside the wash basin!! I am very glad to have met both of them, who are so talented and bounteous. We watched the bearded dragons through the glass, sticking out their tongue, mistaking our fingers for prey. Although they do nothing, they are entertaining and make amazing pets! If only I had spent more time with them, this post would be longer. Hehe. So long then!

It's a Small World

DISNEYLAND!!!
Yayy!! I was so happy when we left our home to LA! We readied ourselves with food and water for a six hour drive and I was impatient till we got there. As we turned around the corner of the house, my aunt saw in the rear view mirror that her red jacket had fallen, next she found a black jacket fallen on the road and then we all turned back to get a clear view of the road and all the jackets because the trunk door wasn't closed. We all had a good laugh! So that is how hasty we were while leaving! During our drive, we played Name Place Animal Thing and Food. Lol. I know, lame game, but it was fun nevertheless. We took freeway 101S, the longer but scenic route. We went to UC Santa Barbara, drove through the campus because there is a possibility of Surabhi going there next year. The campus is not very big but has lovely pink bougainvilleas in abundance. We stopped at a gas station and bought some Sour Skittles(Sllllurrpp!!), more sour candies and Cheetos. On our way, we found a temple and went in, but it was closed. We all prayed from outside and made our way out. Passing through river gorges, valleys, deserts, vineyards, canyons and reservoirs, we soon reached Malibu, the beachfront community in Los Angeles. It is just a tiny stretch of land and has houses built less than 100 yards from the beach, which unfortunately block the view of the beach. It is also known for the countless Hollywood actors that live on hill tops in beautiful, isolated, castle-like houses. Every time I saw a big house I would jump in my seat and say ''Do you think that is Jennifer Aniston's house?" "I think that is David Beckham's house!" It was so exciting! The beach was nice and warm. Sudarshan and I built a mountain and it never got washed off by the water until we left. 21 Miles of absolute scenic beauty I would say. We reached Los Angeles in no time and I started clicking away pictures of everything possible! Bill boards with celebrity's faces, *click* Fancy Stores, *click* Sunset Boulevard, *click click* Beverley Hills, *click click click click click*. Hehe. We parked in a mall from whose rooftop we could see Hollywood. It was a pity we couldn't see Universal Studios. We didn't have enough time. We went to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, located at Hollywood Boulevard. The theatre is most famous for it's concrete blocks, set in the forecourt, which bear signatures, hand prints and footprints of popular actors and musicians, from the 1920's till today. It was intriguing to see Hollywood's most priced assets' hand prints fit into a single square yard. There, I met Master Yoda, Sponge bob, Edward Scissor-hands, Jack Sparrow, a cowboy, some blacks doing their thing(street dance, they were amazing!), and more. The names of famous bands and actors were engraved on the pavement, so you could just keep clicking pictures of things you liked. After spending some more time there, we went hunting for our hotel room. We were so exhausted and there was so much traffic! I saw a limo with windows heavily tinted and I'm pretty sure there was a celebrity inside. It went riiight next to our car, next to my window and I got irritated because I couldn't see who was inside, so I made a face at whoever. Lol. I made the usual "sticking the tongue out" face. We saw UCLA from outside and Hollywood Downtown far away, one of the most prestigious places where Jennifer Lopez and others would do their shopping. After an hour through the city which has the maximum number of cars in America, we reached Best Western and checked in. We got the best looking room anyone had ever seen. Heck it wasn't a room! It was a suite! Surabhi made a joke "Sweet suite sweet!" Hehe. It looked so classy with a drawing room, a kitchen, a bedroom with two majestic black beds, the most comfortable restroom and that. We felt royal with two flat screen TVs, one in the bedroom and one in the drawing room. And we had two such suites!! Kickin' ass eh?! We started a pillow fight to mess up the room because it looked too clean. We watched TV for sometime while eating and after a nice hot shower, I went into a deep, royal slumber.

Disneyland day!! Everyone was ready and inside the car by eight thirty after a hearty meal, the complimentary breakfast. To feel more like we were on a holiday, we cut down on healthy food and had doughnuts, muffins and waffles for breakfast. Yummy.. We parked in the Pumba parking lot and waited for the Pumba shuttle to hitch us a ride to Disneyland! As we sat agitated in the shuttle, I kept looking out to see the entrance. I saw a board decorated with colourful balloons that said "Welcome to Disneyland". Trust me, the feeling is overwhelming! I was the first one to jump out of the shuttle when it stopped and run to the entrance where they were checking the tickets. We had printed tickets but the lady there fed the paper to the computer and gave me my very own Disneyland entry card with a picture of Goofy on it. I took my own time to take a good look at my first view of Disneyland. So many people, so many colours! There was a big flowery Mickey Mouse in the garden with Disneyland written beside it. It looked really pretty! Although it was quite early, there were many people and some wore Mickey ears while some wore Goofy hats. The place has such a happy atmosphere. Wasting no time we boarded the train to New Orleans Square and literally ran to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, one of the best at Disneyland. Twenty enchanting minutes in a ship, surrounded by pirates who are basically out of their mind, shooting with laser guns randomly! It was so realistic! Next we went to the Haunted Mansion. We wanted to finish up the best rides before it could get crowded. A fat guy outside the mansion was trying to frighten all of us with his spooky stare and by saying "terrifying" things. Inside the mansion, about 50 of us were stuffed in a room and then transferred to another room with eerie pictures of creepy folks. After a while we were put in seats and sent on a ride. With freaky ghosts flying around and pianos playing by themselves, blood curdling screams coming from some corner of the mansion, it was thrilling! Our next adventure was on the Splash Mountain. You can figure out what kind of ride that is, right? It was super fun! I was really glad that my mum and aunts and uncle also joined us on the ride because as far as I know my mum doesn't even come close to such rides. We got all the wrong parts wet sitting on the ride and waited till noon to dry up. Hehe. Next we went on a Jungle Cruise in Adventureland with a rather peculiar and funtertaining guide! If not for the amusing guide, I think the safari would have been very dull. We got fast passes for Indiana Jones and moved on to Frontierland if I can remember right. We went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, probably the fastest ride in Disneyland. You see Disneyland has unique rides! You will not find a normal roller coaster or giant wheel like in California Adventures or Great America or even Wonderla. The rides will transport you to an entirely different world! It is something that one must experience in his lifetime! We had lunch at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port, a giant pizza slice each and a little bit of salad. Since we had just eaten, we didn't want to go on any big ride, so Sudarshan and I went on Dumbo, the elephant (kiddie ride) and the rest of them went to the parade area. The parade happens every few hours and it is the happiest thing ever! First we heard the music, "Heyy, we love, we laugh, pumpin up the party now". God that song is so catchy! I totally love it! Then came the dancers, so full of enthusiasm! Surabhi and I could never get over the fact that those guys are so happy all the time and so full of energy. It was with great joy that we watched them and I taped the entire parade. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Chip and Dale, Mad Hatter and so many other characters! There was this part in the song where "Celebrate YOU" was sung over and over again, with the singer pointing it at different people and out of nowhere the singer pointed at me and my heart skipped a beat. :P I was mind-boggled! Hehe. I started giggling and felt like shouting "yay me!!" :P I felt very stupid after sometime though. I never wanted the parade to end. Later we went on "it's a small world". It is such a beautiful little boat ride. It's a heart rending song really and the little toys in there are so adorable! It's amazing that they have fit the whole of Earth under a giant clock. We went on many other rides like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear, Indiana Jones and in the Tiki Room. They were all so magical! We were spellbound by each and every ride! We also watched Honey I shrunk the audience in 3D. It wasn't all that great. I met Minnie mouse and got a picture with her and she let me see her house. I sat on her bed and at her table and ate her diet cookies. :P After an hour's wait, I met Mickey and saw his house too, and the little bed for Pluto that he has. Most exciting of all was when I saw Aladdin and Jasmine! I seriously flipped! Surprisingly, no one had noticed them and I ran to get a picture clicked. Aladdin looked so good and I blabbed "You guys are my favourite!" Disneyland is such a happy place! It makes you forget the rest of the world! Birds singing, flowers blooming around you, green trees swaying gently, colourful balloons everywhere, little kids running around with Princess clothes and Mickey walking around with a smile that never leaves his face; sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, if I have to describe each and every ride, it's gonna take me forever and I'd also be spoiling it for you if you intend to visit Disneyland in the near future. So I will not disclose much information about the rides. That night at Disneyland was the best night ever! We watched in awe as awesome lifelike creatures came soaring out of the water and amazing special effects ignited the night! Mark Twain's ship brought in it all Disney Characters you can imagine! It had the seven princesses and even pirates fighting for Davy Jone's treasure. I saw the best fireworks I had seen in my entire life! Rockets after rockets! I couldn't help but think of Diwali when all of us would lie on the terrace staring at the big black sky, waiting for someone to send rockets and light up the sky! Prerna would always scream on top her voice "If you love God, burst more rockets!" Hehe. Such a lovely sight! We were rooted at the spot looking at a Fantasmic show of fireworks! What brilliant formations in the sky! At the end of the show, the roads were covered with Mickey shaped confetti. It was all such a happy affair!

California Adventures is also an amusement park by Disneyland, much smaller and is just opposite to Disneyland. As soon as we got the Guide Map, I spotted an Aladdin Musical Theatre in it. I made it clear that I wanted to go there some time in the day. The first ride we went on was California Soarin'. Honestly, I thought the ride wouldn't be all that great but when we took off, it was simply amazing! I was so proud of myself that I had seen almost all the spots that we flew over. Such a sensational experience! Next we went on Grizzly River Rafting. The board at the entrance said "Caution:You may get wet." We knew what they meant when we sat in the ride. It was like rafting on a river, downhill. It was so much fun! All of us were dripping! Sudarshan and I chose to go again, and got drenched for the second time. Our next expedition was at California Screamin', a High Speed, 360 degree Roller Coaster ride. Since everyone else decided to ditch us, Sudarshan and I waited twenty minutes for a twenty second ride. It was wild! Mainly because we didn't know beforehand that it would go upside down. We watched two 3D movies, "it's tough to be a bug" and "Muppets". Both of them were excellent! The one with bugs was exceptionally good! We had lunch(Submarines) watching what was claimed to be a magic show. Later we went on Monsters Inc. ride. It was quite fun riding through their city, watching monsters that said "We scare because we care." Those monsters are so cute! Finally, the Aladdin Musical! We waited an hour to enter the theatre but the wait was totally worth it! I had no idea what the show/ride/movie/whatever was about! Only after it started did I realise that it was a play, the Aladdin movie. Even better I thought! The play was mind blowing!! The guy who enacted Genie was outrageously funny! When Aladdin saw Genie for the first time, he asked "Who are you?" Genie, being his sarcastic self said "Hi I'm Mac and you're PC". That got everyone cracking! The entire play was filled with jokes about modern movies and TV shows and all of them were so appropriate for the moment! They were all witty and perfect! Who knew Genie could be such a smart ass! The play was grand and superb! The part where Prince Ali is introduced to Agrabah was absolutely terrific! They presented huge man-made elephants and a whole parade before us and the dancers walked among the audience and astonished everyone. Aladdin looked as good as ever and even the carpet did it's role so well! The technical part of the play was most impressive. They made Aladdin fly on the magic carpet, they made genie appear out of nowhere. They made people disappear in a split second and Genie certainly surprised everyone with his spontaneity! Since Aladdin is my favouritest cartoon character, is was flabbergasted. All day I sang "A whole new world" and irritated my cousins. Hehe. Soon after the movie was over, we made one last trip to Disneyland, mainly to go all around Disneyland by train. It was quite interesting. We saw Dinosaurs and Canyons and all that. After that we went to the Disney store to buy some novelty stuff as souvenir. We were just in time to listen to the music at the parade and that sure did raise my spirits higher! After taking one last good look at Disneyland, we all made for the Lion King tram to get to Timon Parking lot.
I don't generally give advice to anyone, but take this. Go at least once to Disneyland, the place where dreams come true!
Disneyland. The place where happily ever after happens everyday.
Disneyland. The most magical place in the whole world.
Disneyland. A world within the world, without the world.

Lake Tahoe and Yosemite

Lake Tahoe is a large fresh water lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of United States. After an hour's from Davis we reached the lake. Amma and I ran to the water as soon as we saw it and Ashok, the paparazzo came running behind us. Hehe. The water was a clear blue and we could see the bottom so clearly. It is supposed to be one of the cleanest lakes in the world. The lake was freezing though. I touched it once and my hands turned blue and started hurting! God was not on our side so he made the weather cloudy and it began to rain. For sometime we enjoyed the rain and appreciated the snow capped mountains in the distance. Before long, it began to pour and we had to get into the nice, warm, cosy car. We drove around the entire circumference of the lake until we returned to the point we started. It's not a short drive. We had to drive a hundred miles, from the South of Lake Tahoe to West, North, East and back South. It was a cheery drive, with the lake just beside the road, through tunnels and lovely trees everywhere. We even exited California and were in Nevada for a while. During the drive, we stopped at many vista points, one of which had a waterfall. We were on top of the waterfalland the water was roaring on it's way down the rocks. There was also the Fannette Island in the lake, the only island in the lake, also known by the name Hermit's Island. There is what is left of a Tea House built a long long time ago by some knight. After we got too cold we drove to a Diner called Denny's and had some Hash Browns and I drank hot chocolate. They are very generous with food, these Americans. All drinks have free refills!! Cool eh? They put whipped cream on my hot chocolate to make it look delicious and tempting and I got a kick out of just licking off the cream and getting whipped cream refills time and again. It was fun! There was some sort of a Renaissance festival going on around Lake Tahoe so a lot of people were dressed up in bulky costumes. I got a picture with a fat guy who had an awesome mug of beer in his hand! After some more driving we reached our shelter for the night, Best Western. It was the best room we had had so far. It was huge and comfy and had Lake Tanya shining under the sun just outside the window. The manager of the hotel, an Indian, overheard us talking about what we would have for dinner and offered to make some burritos for us for free. Good old man! Our hotel, I realised, was just one mile inside Nevada. Just next to our hotel, was a casino, that is where I had my dinner. I ordered for cheesecake imagining the yummy blueberry cheesecakes I eat in Bangalore. The waitress slammed a slab of cheese in front of me and poured strawberry sauce on it. Sigh! I didn't complain because I love cheese and I ate it happily. Later we went to the casino where I saw my aunt lose her mind! They didn't gamble at all in Las Vegas but they lost dollars over dollars in the Topaz Lodge Casino while I, being a minor, picked up some crayons that was kept for little kids and coloured up some fish. What a pitiful life! I saw some drunk females fighting over something, the result of which, security had to chuck one lady out of the casino. My aunt and uncle won some money but lost it again just for the heck of finishing off the cash. They actually spent almost two hours gambling in the casino! When we were about to exit, we went out the door and my uncle didn;t feel like leaving, he turned to go back inside but came out on second thoughts. I watched half of a lame Cheetah Girls movie back in the room and went to sleep.
The next day was Yosemite day!! We had a pleasant drive to Yosemite, with our surroundings giving competition to Switzerland and edging ever so close to the snowy mountains. Soon enough, we found snow just by the road and there were lakes formed by melted snow. It was simply too perfect! Beautiful blue lake, fur trees behind it and snowy mountains in the background. It was not even too cold! I jumped into the snow and oddly, started feeling hot. So I took off my jacket and made snow balls and started throwing them on people. It was so cool! I even put some inside my mother's jacket! Heehee! We walked around, fell down, got our shoes stuck inside deep snow, put handprints and shoe prints, wrote our names in the snow, made our hands numb and had so much fun! It was the best time I had had in a long time! Our next stop was at a spot from where we got a distinct view of the Half Dome, and that is what Yosemite is most famous for. We could also see the Bridal Veil falls, although it looked like a tiny stream of water coming out of a tap. Next we stopped at a higher point, close enough to the Half Dome, to see people climbing it. It's a pity we couldn't hike anywhere. Well, there's always a next time right? After ten minutes, we found ourselves walking through the woods towards the Bridal Veil falls. The water is blown away from the rocks because of the wind and hence the name, Bridal Veil. It was like a soft shower on. Amazing tranquility between the water, the trees and the animals. Ah!! Serenity!

Random places..

Over the next week, we went around Los Gatos and San Jose to malls and shopping stores. We went to the Westfield mall. It is one of those malls that has outlets all over California. We entered from the back door, so we were welcomed by the restrooms and storage rooms. Not very nice huh! The first store I saw was Hot Topic, a rock band tshirt store. Without further ado, I ran into it looking for Alter Bridge tshirts or of any other band that might interest me. The lady hadn't heard of Alter Bridge, so I lost my enthusiasm and got bored of the store, but still hung around there for half an hour. I saw a Disney store, Apple store, Swarovski store, etc. The most exciting of all, was the Dog Boutique. They have everything possible for a dog! Name tags, clothes, birthday cakes, shoes even! We mostly shopped at a store called Fanzz (I hate it when they use "z" unnecessarily!), which was a sports store. We bought some tshirts for a great deal and left the mall happily. We went to a store called Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is a vast store and one would take hours to walk around the whole store. As the name suggests, it has beds, things you would need in a bathroom, in your kitchen and more. Trust me, kids wouldn't wanna go there! Just beside Bed Bath and Beyond is a store called Diddams. It's the perfect party store. It has everything you need for a party and all the fun stuff possible.
We have been to so many more stores like the Dollar Store, Ross, Tuesday Morning, Michael's Crafts, Walmart, the Indian Store and so on. All these stores are unbelievably vast. We got really tired just walking around in the malls.
We also went to Sudarshan's school to watch their concert. It was so melodious. They played music from Pirates of The Caribbean and Terminator. I did not expect it to sound so good. It was mainly an orchestra of approximately 15 instruments and the chimes added such a grand effect to the entire show! The great music kept me smiling and happy all the time. We went to his school again after a few days for an award ceremony in which Sudarshan won the Math award and gained an acknowledgement in French. We went again, of course, for his graduation. All of us wearing traditional Indian clothes to be formal. It felt really awkward to be dressed in a Salwar where all other people wore beautiful and elegant gowns. We applauded my brother with great pride as he bagged the Most Outstanding Student award among over 300 students. It was a surprise for us as well as him. It was a moment to cherish!
We went to Davis by train to meet my cousin, Kavita didi. We boarded the train in Santa Clara and made ourselves comfortable for our four hour ride. We went by the bay at San Francisco and watched enormous ships sailing(maybe). I soon met my cousin and nephew and niece. They are the most adorable kids! They are so loving, they would always come and say "I love Swathi chitti" and give me a hug or two. We went to UC Davis too see the campus. So green, so clean. We saw s great deal of ducks and ducklings. I saw ugly black ducks following a beautiful white duck. Hehe. (I'm not being a racist!) I also went to Sacramento, the capital city of California, to see Arnold Schwarzeneggar's (you may call him Shivajinagar) office. I found it pretty ironic that Sacramento was the least cultured city among all the cities I have seen so far. Everyone was smoking, drinking, sitting on the pavement and behaving indecently. The Capitol stood out, white and majestic with the American flag waving proudly on top, just above the flag of California. We entered a dignified and well furnished lobby which had a grand statue in the centre. It had passages stretching on all four sides into various other rooms. The roof was translucent with coloured glasses giving the room a glorious look. We walked and ran on the marble floors, clicked pictures and intruded the government officials' privacy. I drank the same water that Schwarzehneggar probably drinks, from a water fountain and I was pleased with myself for that. :)
Hmmm... I have tried a great variety of cuisines during my stay here. I have had tacos, burritos, churros, pesto pizza, falafels, smoothies, all possible fruits like peach, persimmon, blueberries, truck loads of strawberries, pears, grape fruit, the sweetest moosambies and baby carrots of course. I have been eating a lot of fatty stuff like brownies, pastries, chocolates, ice creams, potato and a LOT of cheese. For the first time I had pizza with nothing but extra cheese on it with ketchup. Such a sinful meal! But I'm on a holiday, I'm going to eat all the junk I want to eat! Wow! Just reading this has increased my appetite. I'm going to have some grilled cheese sandwiches. Toodles!

The second weekend

Over the weekend, we went to Petaluma to visit a few relatives I had never met before. I made good friends with a five year old, Ashika. She is one big load of kinetic energy! She didn't let me sit still for even one second! We reached by night; so after a heavy dinner and some raspberry pastries, we jumped into bed. Surabhi and I hadn't had time in the past two weeks to catch up on important things. So we spoke till 2am and fell asleep without realising. The next day we went on a road trip to Redwood Forest. It was a three hour drive I think. It was a pleasant drive with greenery on either side of the road. We stopped at a rest area for a drink and somethings to nibble on.
The Redwood forest has some of the oldest trees in the world. They're so tall and their circumference is massive! Even six of us together could not hold our arms stretched around the tree. It's amazing how a full grown humongous tree can fall off in a flash when it gets struck by lightening. There were countless trees which had been uprooted or burnt. Even they looked good I must say. We went to a bench and ate all the food that we had and drank some juice. Sudarshan, Surabhi and I went exploring around the place into the forest. We jumped into ditches, climbed out, and kept away from poison oak. Just when we turned to go back, I heard the rustling of leaves and a brown and black snake scuttled just past me. It was so close, for all you know, it slid right over my foot! I was so overwhelmed that instead of moving away, I ran after the snake until I was told to stop. We spotted a lizard after that but I couldn't get a picture of it. We lingered around for an hour climbing trees, walking on narrow tree trunks that looked like bridges and admiring the beauty of the Redwoods. We found a small river that was as clear as crystal by the side of the road. Most of us took off our shoes to wet our feet and get them tickled by fish. Ashika was so captivated by the fish, she kept giggling all the time. She sounds really cute when she giggles. We drove back home. The weather was chilly and nice. There was a park before the house, so we slipped on jackets and went for a walk. We played Tag for a while, fooled around on the slides and monkey bars and petted other people's dogs. We came back home, racing each other (running), had a nice supper and made the bed. Unfortunately, making the bed was just a waste of time because Sudarshan and I had a pillow fight right from 9 till 11:30. It was so much fun throwing stuffed toys at him, hitting him, getting hit and all that.
The next day, we went to Berkeley. A very hilly city. The roads are so steep, it's crazy! We went to a summit, called Grizzly Peak. The view from above is not that grand because it's at a height of only 1,700 feet but the drive to the peak was super fun! It was fun because it was a single road that took us to an elevation of 1,700 feet! Imagine how inclined that road would have been! We all went "whoaaa" in the car as if we were ascending on a roller coaster ride. The worst and ironically the most fun part of it was, there were stop signs on that road! How do they expect us to stop and go forward on such a steep road! If you're a bad driver, consider yourself dead meat! Anyway, we finally made it to the top and watched the clouds making their way over the bay and hiding the Golden gate and the rest of Berkeley and San Francisco from view. By the time we could eat a couple of chocolates, we were in the middle of grey infinity.
So we boarded and started to our next destination, Napa Valley, Calistoga. There is an Old Faithful there. "Old Faithful" is the title given to geysers, which shoot out at regular intervals. There are apparently just four in the world and they claimed that this was one of them. Seshi mama refused to believe that it was a natural phenomenon because the geyser shot up every five minutes when we were there! It was a sight to see for the first time, but got boring by the seventh time. It was pretty much like a fountain. It was supposed to be boiling hot, but when I stood under it, the water was dead cold. We could see the smoke rising from the underground and all that but it was strange that the water was not even luke warm. It was there that I saw four horned sheep, llamas and goats. Lots of bamboo too.
That's about what we did over that weekend. Petaluma, Redwood forests, Berkeley and Napa Valley. Good times...

Can't think of a title

On Monday we went to Stanford University. I walked on the same roads where Bill Clinton's daughter had walked. I saw a monumental sculptural group by French artist Auguste Rodin, called The Gates of Hell. It was supposed to be depressing but my cousin and I laughed at them. I wonder why they would want to have something like that in an educational university. The campus is enormous and so green. I don't think anyone will feel like studying there. It is perfect for taking long walks or going cycling or for a picnic. We ate yummy potato sandwiches there, making fun of half dead or dying people, I mean the sculptures.
We went to Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital at Stanford for some work. The atmosphere of the hospital was very pleasant. There was a model of a city with which my mum was very fascinated. She walked around it for twenty minutes. The model had trains, tunnels for the train, an ocean, ships in the ocean, underwater life, the beach and people sun bathing, houses, a forest and people hiking. It had buttons which would either make the train whistle or a ship honk. Basically it was for little kids and it was very intricate.
After that we went to this store called Costco. It was more or less like Metro. They had everything that one would ever need! You name it, they have it! My cousin was really cheesed off because he hates the store. He decided to push the trolley and I decided to pull it. :P We walked around in the alcohol section for a while and then gave up the trolley. They have these tiny stalls in the store, where they give you samples of food. The store has several aisles and a stall at the end of every isle. We went to each and every stall and tasted all new stuff. It was quite fun actually. Free food is always fun! Hehe.

On tuesday, we went to Monterey. You must have heard of the place. It is a small county on the Monterey Bay. The ocean is completely restless at the shore because of the rocks underwater that they crash into. It's quite a sight! You could sit and watch the water splashing forever, ofcourse until you get sick of the smell. The sea weeds don't smell so great. You'll also find sea otters lying in the sun shamelessly in big numbers. But since it was their mating season, they had covered that part of the beach. Phew! I wouldn't wanna see that! Sure, underwater they might be the most graceful creatures, but out of water, they're so sloppy!
We went to 17 Mile Drive in Monterey. It is a very prestigious area with majestic looking villas and manors. The more expensive the houses get, the higher the fences go, so you can't invade their privacy. You'll find some of the most expensive and luxirious hotels and restaurants and one of a kind designer clothes and accessories. There are three or four golf courses in the city, one of which is the Pebble Beach. Apparently Tiger Woods plays there when he gets time. I was so thrilled listening to that! Most of the "city" is the Del Monte Forest, so the golf course goes through the forest and it also extends into the sea. Imagine how many times the golf ball can go flying off into the sea! There are Cypress trees all over the place and because of the strong currents of the wind, they're all bent in one direction or in a few cases, the trees just fall off. There is this one tree called the Lonely Cypress. It's a wonder that it is still standing! It has stood its ground on its rocky perch from 250 long years, and it is the tree closest to the ocean! 17 Mile Drive can easily be called "the greatest meeting of land and water in the world".

On Wednesday, we went to a Shiva-Vishnu temple in Livermore. It looked like any other big temple in India. It had idols of Krishna, Rama, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi and others I can't remember. (You'll have to read all that with an American accent. Hehe.) There were few people in the temple. Someone had offered a bouquet of orchids to God. That is something different. No malli poo or shamanthige hua. The pujari did something really funny and I've never seen anyone in India do that. He was chanting some mantras and suddenly clapped and snapped thrice loudly moving his hand about the idol. I had to stuff my mouth with my fist to control laughing! :P
We went cherry picking after that. It is a really different way of having fun. There are numerous farms on the highway that say "U-pick cherries." You pick up buckets, go into the farm and pick cherries from the trees and you have to buy all those that you pick. In course of action, most of us tend to eat more cherries than pick them. We have to taste them don't we? There were two types of trees. One with red cherries and one with orange cherries. Our pursuit of sweet cherries was delightful! I climbed up ladders to reach the top most branches of the trees, gave other people sour cherries just for fun. I had never eaten cherries before honestly. All I had eaten was those on pastries and ice creams and those are terrible! These cherries are very big and they're shaped like apples! They were utterly delicious! We kept pulling out cherries without realising that we already had 8 pounds! We saw walnut farms, strawberry fields, vineyards, white and yellow peach farms and loads of other fruits. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to explore the whole of California.
We ate at an Indian restaurant in Fremont. I'm really surprised they make exquisite chaat and paranthas in America and the quantity too is vast! It's a rip off though. You have to pay $5 for pani puri which you get for Rs.10. Once in a while, it's alright I guess.
That's about what we did in a week. Have to go swimming now. Until later!

The Great Canyons

Bryce Canyon: A long straight road, green fields on either side, mountains half obscured by mist bordering the fields on the far end, a light rain and Taylor Swift's sweet voice humming in your ear, just perfect!! And when the rain lashes against the windshield, the wiper cuts a neat semi circle and the tiny water droplets glide upwards because of the car's speed, making it look like someone was blow painting a setting sun on the glass. That's how the drive from Nevada to Utah was. Just beautiful! We passed a fair number of spots that made me get all excited, Summit 7777, Mount Carmel Junction, Scofield Avenue, etc etc. The Virgin River Gorge looked exceptionally beautiful in our scenic drive. After a few hour's drive we reached the toll booth to enter Bryce Canyon National Park. When we started our drive inside the national park it seemed quite cloudy. The first spot we went to was Sunset point. Oh well Sunrise point was also in the same spot but obviously in the opposite direction. That's how high and vast the Canyon is! We can see both the sun rising and setting from the same spot!! The canyon is like a whole lot a Indian temples made of red mud running in a line. Or like a HUGE fort. It's astonishing to see how deep the river must have been to have carved out such a magnificent piece of art! I wonder why the Bryce Canyon is not one of the wonders of the world. It certainly is one of a kind and totally deserves to be on that list! My mum amused herself and other tourists by finding face shaped sedimentary rocks. She found one that looked like Bart Simpson and a firangi guy was so happy that she showed him that. The weather was pleasant, but cold for our standards. My cousin had told me that California is warm and pleasant. I was so skeptical about it. The statement itself seemed to be a contradiction!! After seeing Bangalore's rising heat, I never imagined warm could be pleasant. I learnt that only after stepping into the car from the cold winds outside. "Ah! Warm and nice", I would say. Hehe. We went to the Bryce Point, from where we had the best view of the canyon, to Inspiration point, Natural Bridge, the Rainbow and Yovimpa points. The last two points were at a height of 9115ft! We had a picturesque view of most of the national park. Just as we finished the last point, it started pouring. So we ran to the car, with my aunt thanking God that it didn't rain when we were sightseeing. We drove to Panguitch, where our hotel was. It was maintained by an Indian guy so it didn't meet my standards. :P I watched a movie called "Me and My Prince" or something and I so badly wanted to correct whomever concerned that it should be "My Prince and me". When will they learn!!
Grand Canyon: "No language can fully define, no artist can ever paint the beauty, grandeur, immensity and sublimity of this wonderful piece of architecture by Nature's own architect. One must see the Grand Canyon to appreciate it". It has been rightly put by reporters in the 60s that just writing about the Grand Canyon will do no justice to it. So I won't write about it. :P Ok too bad I'm kidding! The Grand Canyon, Arizona, is a gorge created by the Colorado River. We can see the river from above, but it looks like a tiny little stream. It's actually a mile deep and a great deal of people have lost their lives in the restless rapids of the river. If one is lucky enough, he can hear the river roaring from a mile away. There are many trails for hiking too. So if one is all set to trek, it should be the ideal place. But we read of incidents where people lost their lives hiking at the canyon because they carried insufficient water n all that. It said about 250 people are rescued in a year when they get lost hiking. I love reading about such adventurous people and how they died. There is a watch tower at the entrance that was designed such that one could see the entire Canyon from there. That's quite a task. The Grand Canyon was once occupied by the Native American Indians. So they had Indian art all over the inner walls of the tower and a guy was playing the Indian flute. It was enchanting! We saw the remains of the Indians' village which was nothing remarkable really. Was just a few rocks arranged neatly. I saw five chameleons there! :D We saw the Canyon from all possible angles from different spots, that could be accessed easily with the help of a car. The National Park is gigantic! I think it's almost impossible to walk around all the points. We first went to the Desert Point, from where we could clearly see the Mojave Desert. Then we went on to see Navajo Point, Moran(moron) point, Grandview Point, Yaki(yucky) point, Mather Point and Yavapai point. (The words in the bracket mean no offence. I just like calling those points that.) Each of these points gave is new and different versions of the canyon. It's surprising how things can look so different just from quarter a mile away. It was delightful to watch the changing play of light and shadows. There was this place called Hermit's Rest which was accessible only through a shuttle. So we hopped into a shuttle, made some Indian friends. They had a baby which was a year old. It kept wailing till we reached Hermit's Rest! So annoying! The Hermit's Rest was a tiny cave, which they have modernised now. They're turned it into a store I think. After a nice mug of hot chocolate, (the weather was still very cold!!) we made it back to the car park. We exited the park and went to an Imax theatre. To everyone who goes there, the Grand Canyon movie is a must watch. The movie was so impressive! They have shot the Canyon so well. I loved the way they showed the wildlife at the National Park. All hail the movie makers!
I saw llamas and elks; I only half believed these animals existed because I had seen them only in animated movies. We had a nice time in the car. I learnt a lot about what happened in Ramayana from my mum, aunt and uncle. Listened to them talk about the silly things they did when they were young. I kept (still keep) my eyes open for characters from Prison Break. :P This trip totally inspired me to be a travel journalist! So yeah.. It was a great road trip! In my opinion, Bryce Canyon is better than Grand Canyon. Then again, it all depends on perspective!