Thursday, December 21, 2006

Yuletide

December is a hectic month.

Thanks to the holidays.

What holidays? Celebrations?

Thanksgiving is just over. Creative and brilliant lights, tastefully decorated Christmas trees, huge discounted sales, rush to gift everyone on your list, parties that you are invited to.

Did I miss the carol singing, the nativity and the rejoicing?

Ho ho ho Santa.

Dress your fun or festive winter best, watch the nutcracker or some other play, eat, and eat as much as you can.

At my workplace, almost the entire month is casual-wear (which is holiday dress code, a Santa hat goes well with anything!), some one or the
Other is always sharing delightful food.

Hanukkah, Christmas, Kaazwan all following Thanksgiving evokes excitement all around. You cannot miss it.

Got to love it.

Either that or grumpy emotions by the whole fuss.

Hey! Why’s the fuss?

Grumpy - is it because they have no family to celebrate with? Or choose not to be thrust into a family? Wonder if it invokes sad memories

A BBC study says that less than half the children don’t associate Christ's birth with Christmas.
Wonder that percentage it is here? Why are we surprised?

I am all for harmonious living, we've got to appreciate and respect others. I understand the implications of rigidity and non-tolernace.

But.

But must we confuse one with another? Must faith be 'secularized' in order to be legal?

So, what are we celebrating? Black, red and green of Kwanzaa and white, red and green of Christmas?

Celebrating a birth that made a difference? Goodwill towards men? A festival of lights? community? Who cares?

Ho ho ho Santa.

We’ll party till we can.

Monday, December 04, 2006

An Evening in December

This years theme - a few toys' tale of their worth.

Simple yet a thought provoking powerful theme.

About a few 'has been' toys, that are dysfunctional and hopelessly unattractive in front of the current hot models.
So, they are in the discounted heap.
A pilot scared of heights, a ballerina who cannot dance a clown who cries...all feeling worthless and low.

Oh! Who will buy these toys? What chance do they have?

Except the action guy who's been the previous two years' top toy.
Discounted this year, yet the one toy who believes in his worth.
Perfect.
Just as the toy maker intended.

He persuades the rest, to reach out and look beyond their imperfections to the perfection they were intended, to their ability to bring joy to a child.

How one person can make a difference in the face of obvious odds.

I got this in a fortune cookie months ago in a Chinese restaurant, and still carry it around in my purse - Think highly of yourself, for the world will take you on your own estimate.

Sorta self appraisal.

That’s what it is worth.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

lasagna

A friend wants to know my secret recipe of weekday lasagna. I directed her to Kraft’s Chef to the rescue site with features cat Cora's dishes.

Of course she lost the link, and so here it is. I have changed the recipe to the way I made it.


1 lb. ground meat
2 cups chopped green peppers (about 2 peppers)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (add olives, carpers tried with chopped jalapeƱos & mushrooms)
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1-2/3 cups water (go easy on the water, I used 1/4 cup only)
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
12 lasagna noodles (I remember the BelAir cooking demos mention that you can bake with uncooked noodles, otherwise do the routine for the noodles before you start)
1 cup Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (Or the 3 cheese mix for a Mexican flavor)

BROWN meat in large (4-qt.) saucepan on medium heat; drain.

ADD peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil.
Stir in noodles;
Reduce heat to medium-low.
Cover.

COOK; stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 min. or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Stir 1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Ricotta Cheese into noodle mixture before sprinkling with shredded cheese.


Alternatively, start with layering and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Traditional lasagna can take up to 2 hours to prepare. This one only takes 28 minutes. You save over 1-1/2 hours!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Quote

In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing.
Antonio Porchia

Halloween 2006 @ work



The Monster book
the Harry Potter casts


McGonagal with Dumbaldore
Death eater at Agaggog's dark forest



Hagrid by his cottage




Hypogriff





snapping the pirate






Jack in the family







Cowboys and Cowgirls








the dressed up crowding for the elevator









with Snape outside










Hogwards library fireplace











Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Tattoos

Iam a big fan of epigrams.
Bumper stickers, graffiti.
Writings on the wall, on the car, on your t-shirt.
Even if yours says, 'Duh!' or ‘STOP STARING AT ME', I will crane my neck to read it.

what is our oil doing under their soil ?

yes, this is my truck. No, I will not help you move.

still wild (this was on a very sophisticated lady's car)

Want to know if there is life after death? Touch my car and find out!


life is like mail,somtimes you just don't get it ( I read this on Orkut).

Mercifully my penchant to figure out tattoos is gone.
In a not so charming manner.
We were taking about tattoos, when a colleague without warning, buttoned down his shirt, and showed off his chest tattoo.
Ew!
With so people walking all over around us in the cafeteria, I was terribly embarrassed by the action.
So, no more tattoo peering for me.

Friday, October 06, 2006

I have a hundred things running in my head, but as I write my head is empty as a drum.

I have read that some place long long back, cant quite remember where.

well this week,checked on a not so impressive windows Vista & office 2007 .

the ribbon frame in the office pack was a turn-off.

parental consent

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Spot a scooter

Everyday I see at least one scooter on the road. No, not the kiddies’ bare-bone ones.
Actual motorized 2 wheelers like vespas. In downtown.

Iam excited. There needs to be more.

Have they been around always but I am noticing them only now?

I don’t know.

Zooming past, well, actually just sharing the road with the cars.
Along with the occasional biker, these days are cool.

I hold my reservations to the motorbikes. Possibly am even prejudiced. There is something brutish about the average motor-biker.
The slickest of them are yet bulky, invariably either perfectly fit or hefty people with a mean look.
In their smiles, they still seem better off at a distance. This is in spite of knowing a die-hard biker very well.

With the way the gas prices are shooting, it makes sense to ride motorbikes, eh scooters or even bikes.

Economical that is smart, sensible choices.

Especially in downtown.

The freeways can be rash; I would like to see them in smaller roads too.

Accepted this is California, the roads here are wide, and everyone owns a car, and this is not Europe to mind the old narrow streets.

I guess that's why it is a refreshing sight to spot a two-wheeler.

Sensibility over grandiose.

Definitely more charming than a Hummer, for instance.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Halloween, already ?

I’m not a Harry Porter fan.

Apart from the good it did to Rowling, the only person to become a billionaire by writing children's books, in fact I’m bewilded what the sudden fascination to fantasy is all about.

Did watch a couple of porter movies too.

But nah, haven’t got any more interested.Till now that is.

Nor does Halloween interest me.

Boo! Hoo!!
Scared??
Spooky?
Eww! Don’t bother me!

Apart from the treats, Halloween is not exactly an enjoyable day.

Yea, people dressing up, kids in their costumes are all watchable. But not exactly something to look forward to, or get excited about.

Things might just about change though. I’m so very keen now. Not in it’s entirely, but definitely in a couple of characters and in the story line too. Harry potter’s that is.

Cos that’s the theme this time.

I actually said yes to participate in this years Halloween. It’s a big deal in my workplace. The planning and execution is elaborate, the enthusiasm overflows and yea, I’ve jumped in too.

Yoo-hoo!!

I've gotta read the books, got to seee the movies.

Sure, it’s too early for Halloween, but what the heck!

I am excited. I think I'll enjoy it too.

Monday, September 18, 2006

The human touch

This is so much about being individualistic.
To each person his own.
I make my decisions. I live my life. In my terms. If I mess up, it’s my problem.
Half the world lives like that.
Kids pick it from their parents. That’s’ the way to live, but more so because they don’t have a choice, I think.
What are my choices?
Not that anything is wrong with that.
After all, it is your life, and eventually you alone are accountable to your life.
Where is the family? Somewhere, someplace. Even if they live within a mile of each other, the distance seems so far. Grandparents make no bones of the nuisance grandkids can be. So, it is rationed visits, rationed hugs.
There is the no warmth, no closeness felt and shared without reason. Just like that is a non-issue .except in mutually decided days of the year - like
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a few other.oh, I love my family.
You lead your way, I will lead mine.
What’s wrong with that?
No, nothing!
After all ayn rand was right too about objectivity.
I don’t think there's anything wrong with that, except that people like me who come form a different planet, are astounded by the matter-of-fact aloofness. And the precise measure of distancing people, irrespective of who they are.
Movies, book and soaps reflect a different perspective though. People yearning for love from their family, lessons taught about valuing people not things. Use things, not people. Not the other way around. All normal values, any where in the world. The basics of human living.
That a surprise why?
Beneath the exteriors, aren’t we all the same? Emotions, longings, need to identify with, to belong, and to be loved and accepted uncondiontally?
I have been thinking of this lately.
Beats me still.

Recently I dined with a fairly big group and my dining experiences where we shared the food, gave me a subtle shift.

I have never been a big fan of Tortellini with its creamy sauce, but dining at San Francisco’s Buca di Beppo sure changes that. Someone else had ordered that. Or the 9 layer Lasagna for that matter (I cannot accept any lasagna as good, since the one I make comes out soooo bad. booo hoo!)

Someone else had ordered that too.

Generally too cheesy, too saucy, too Italian for me. I try to pair it with forkful of salads.
But this time the Lasagna was simply yummy. This is the only place where I can have meatballs and spaghetti without burying them in parmesan cheese or Pepper.
We chatted, and started with freshly made warm garlic bread with vinegar and olive oil, and went family style lunching. ordering large portions and sharing across the table.
This was a wee bit of surprise for me. Yes, this is a family style old Italian restraunta, and this is the way to eat here. Still.
I know all the people in my group for at least a year. I lunched a zillion times together.
Even shared home cooked food.
Yet.
Don’t know why.
The sharing of food, of simply sharing out of the same dish somehow gave me a surprisingly closeness. Couple of them mentioned it too.

What a nice way to have a meal. I think, apart from the great food, everyone likes it for the family experience it gives, simply sitting together and
Sharing food.
Yum.
And chatting
The restraunt was not serving any spinach at all due to the E. coli bacteria scare.
What if it’s well cooked, that should kill the bacteria?
Someone said, sure, it’ll kill the taste too!

The interesting feature of these restraunats is the old home-like setting and hangings on the walls.
With so many photographs occupying every inch of the wall, I simply had to crane my neck to see them better.
Most are harmless old pictures of life in supposedly southern Italy or the US. Kids with their families, boys with their bikes and cars. Women in the
50's swimwear, bright smiles. Families dining together, celebrity dining, and a few prominently placed naughty ones.
Among the chains, Olive Garden and The Old Spaghetti Factory are other favorites, but the experience here is the best.

We went lunching to another fine dining place for a birthday - frank fats.
Great food from Peking, Szechuan, sanghai and Cantonese cooking. Another nice to place to dine in with a big group. This time, all twelve of us
ordered different dishes and shared. We passed on plates, piling some of all the different dishes on our own.
Even the Ma Po tofu tasted good to me. We shared long beans, mango ginger chicken, scallops & shrimps with garlic minus the spinach again, honey walnut prawns among others. Sipping green tea all the while. I asked for the roast duck noodle.
Does sharing food get us together?
Is it just me, or just moments like these bring us closer?
We even shared the birthday ginger ice cream. Small pieces of freshly sliced ginger in creamy ice cream.
Sounds yucky, but tastes yummy. Really.
I think irrespective of what our societies do, and they way our lives are being driven, basic human contact does give us simple pleasure. Not fun. But happiness. The difference between the two is can be so deceiving at times. But not at times like these.

We are people who struggle to look beyond our noses for our happiness, yet that is where it is.

Look, look

Knowledge will not always take the place of simple observation - Arnold Lobel.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Eternity ?

I walk into the elevator, nod to the people already in.
Yes, I know them. People I work with.
There’s interesting talk inside, a bright – good morning,
A compliment – nice skirt, a smile,
A witty remark, smart repartee, a juicy gossip - hey, you know Clara’s broke up yesterday.
I wish the elevator took longer to reach.
And yet at times, just silence.
No conversations, no small talk all the way to the 16th floor.
Silence.
Checking the floor numbers.
Seems like an eternity. Anywhere else but here.
Enclosed and no place to go, although there are people I know in with me.
The door opens, I dart out.
That seemed like eternity.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The last leg - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

We woke up leisurely the next morning. Had to pay for the firewood. Six dollars.rammaged through wallet, counted all the quarters and cents, had only
five. And a twenty. Should be just put in the five?
Or the twenty?
Maybe the $20, and take another two stacks.
Rummaged through bags, finally got the dollar.
We ate muffins, noodles and had tea.packed up, the next destination was buttermilk country, just spend an hour or two, and then we'll be on our way.
Buttermilk country is popular for bouldering, rock climbing and off-road. Its at the base of the eastern sierras, the best part was the drive that
gives a fantastic view of Owens valley and the white mountains, the high-desert landscape, Mount Humphreys, Mount Tom and the Eastern Sierra
Mountains. It got its name from the fact that a dairy, known among miners for its buttermilk, was once located along this route.
This place appeals to all abilities of climbers, has a diverse range of rock types and climbing styles, and all in driving distances.
So, off we went.
I was a bit reluctant as usual.
Of the sports and recreational activities, rock climbing appeals the least to me.
What’s the fun of climbing a rock? And scrapping a knee? Some fun that.
Anyway, we went since Dharma enjoys it, and Rebecca seems to climb without fear effortlessly. I thought I'll give it a shot too.
The dirt road takes us to the area; we drove 3 miles almost to the end and parked, and walked up to a group of easy looking rocks. I felt better.
The sign said that green flags marked areas that to being restored, so off-limits for now.
We drove away to a spot, and Dharma disappeared by the time Rebecca and I got out of the car.
I looked in all directions, and we shouted out to him.
No reply.
He looked down from the top of a pile. How did you climb? Why didn’t you reply back?
He was too excited to reply.
Rebecca did a neat climb, and I stumbled along. Not bad I had to admit. These rocks are definitely worth climbing.
No more stops we decided, now straight back home. Drove a couple of miles, a sign said Indian tacos. Its almost lunch time, lets get some. So, we drove into a smaller street and finally saw a home with the same sign.
Native American tacos and Indian fried bread - basically thick fried bread with minced meat, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and sour cream. Homemade
It tasted really good. We ate some on the way. We drove into Bishop, we noticed the tri-county fair tents, the parking was a bit too far from the tents, so decided to skip that.
No more stops, I said.
A vista point, the freeway sign said. So, off we went. Grand view of the mountains and the valley, benches put for visitors, and a couple of boards with some details of the mountains. With gang graffiti sprayed in black.
Idiots. Thoughtless idiots.
Can they find some other place to announce their insane presence?
No more stops, I said again.
Dharma suggested the Inyo craters. It’s on the way.
Oh, sure I said.
The Inyo craters or mono-Inyo craters are a group of volcanic craters; the mammoth scenic loop takes us there. A short mile hike through pine trees brings us to the craters. There are no signs or boards about the craters. When were they formed and noticed? How big are they?
The carters are small, of course much smaller than the Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley which is the biggest. Trees have grown in the edges and even within the carter, a pool of green water at the bottom.
Hump, I grumbled about the lack of information about the craters.
No wonder many people don’t visit such places. What’s the point of taking a diversion form their travel, hiking a mile in the forest, and just seeing a hole in the ground with green water? And no information of its existence?
Anyway, we drove on till our next stop back on 395 to the day area again. Splashed in the river one more time. The trash cans were full and overflowing with the long weekend visitors’ trash.
We had spent almost an hour there, no more stops, we said again.
But stop we did.
Again by the river, parked the car, and again fought the shrubs and plants to find a way down.
A neat quite place with not a soul around. Splashed around in the cool waters, and drove on.
No more stops.
Back home, content with the trip. A weekend well spent.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

LaborDay Weekend - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

After visiting the state park, the road sign said 13 miles to Lee Viking - very rough road.

Should it be back the same way we came 3 miles on rough road, or 13 on very rough road?

Of course, we took the very rough. The rough road seemed not-too-rough, so the very rough maybe be just about rough. What’s the point of an SUV anyway?

Indeed the road wasn’t bad at all - dirt road, but wide enough, and plain. Plain not smooth. That was the rough part.

We passed by cars braving the road.

Stopped after the while to let the tire pressure low.

Rebecca has dozed off by then, and we managed to get lost. The directions led to a ranch with fiercely barking dogs, and then a road that seem to go

for ever. We could see 395 running parallel far away. So, weren’t back about 2 miles and then took another route. The sun was setting, and we wanted to

Set up camp before dark. Mono lake as usual looks splendid and serene. It looked wider to me than I remembered. 40 feet below its original level, it

Waters Los Angeles. Stopped by for coffee and air for the wheels. Decided to set up camp before hunting dinner.

Bishop is at 4000 odd feet elevation, and further Big pine is at 7000 odd feet, while the bristlecone forest is at 10,000 feet.

Ideally it is good to acclimatize at a slightly lower altitude before moving to higher ground.

Actually that would be a sensible thing to do.

Of course we weren’t so concerned.

We drove past Bishop, bright lights, and shops. Galen and Barbara Rowell's Mountain light gallery on the main street. Wasn’t Bishop a small town that

Friends of ours who had earlier lived complained about. Didn’t look small to me, there's a big casino, signs of parks and campgrounds, hotels and shops.

Signs of the tri-county fair. We even spotted the fairgrounds, small tents all shut down for the night.

Nah, we want to go to the mountains. Hoping we would get an empty spot.

The bristlecone forest is high on the White Mountains off 168 easts from Big Pine which is about 15 miles from Bishop. The difference is in the

Elevation. But then who cares with the destination being so close?

We noted a county campground board, but decided to check the White Mountains first.

Stopped off the turn for the visitor information center with a Hugh American flag.

Rebecca woke up, and soon we drove off.

No services for the next 57 miles the sign warned. We crossed the road that diverts to 75 miles off to Death Valley. Taken that road 3 years back, but

is still just as exciting.

Harsh weather places that you need to be overly cautious about as you travel. Fuel, food, importantly water.

We drove with an occasional car in the opposite direction in the canyon. A part of it is very steep - steep canyon that is. Most trees looked like small

Shrubs or even dwarfed trees.

I was concerned about the temperature drop and the dreaded winds I had read about. Didn’t want to wake up in a windy tent in the high mountains.

We drove in silence in the dark. The moon was up and bright, highlighting the canyon walls. Rebecca was unusually quite. Dharma mentioned acute

Mountain sickness that he had read about in the visitor's center. I wondered if the darkness around and the shadow of the canyons and the trees in the

Moonlight bothered her.

We reached the 10,000 ft elevation but seemed to drive forever. Where did the 3 campgrounds go? Where they unmarked to discourage too much traffic?

We drove back and located the Grandview campsite. This was supposed to be the best. When we wake up, the bristle cone would be right there facing us in

the sunrise.

It was hard to figure if there was an available spot in the campsites. Were the stumps marking the sites? Should there be numbered spots? We stopped at

at least 3 stops in confusion and looped back to the entrance. Dharma got out to check on foot, and Rebecca was just happy to get out of her car seat.

She moved to the drivers seat and promptly threw up and cried. In the silence of the place, her cries were magnified loud and clear through the night air.

We decided this was just not right, and drove down immediately. I sat with Rebecca making her talk. Forget camping, let’s check in a hotel, and get her

to recover and comfortable, forget camping. We drove to all the hotels and motels we could see on Bishop. No luck. All rooms booked for the tricounty

fair. The family campgrounds in Big Pine were crowded and revolting. We stopped by the casino parking lot, the camping guide said try the county

Campgrounds further to Bishop, and so off went back and mercifully found it just the place we wanted.

Already the altitude difference was great.

This is a big campsite with fewer compspot, so each spot was spacious and just right. We pitched the tent, and went to sleep. Streams of water was

running closely. The sounds lulling us to sleep.

We woke up early, Rebecca in good spirits. The White Mountains seemed tall and hugh right in front. Everyone else seemed to be part of the southern

California Ford Broncho club. hugh RVs, tough looking men and women, with a hint of a smile and their mean machines.

We made tea, took our time sipping it with marmalade sandwiches and packed back the tent.

No more rush.

Let’s just relax and keep a steady pace. No rush.

The plan was to drive to the ancient cove, hike a short one, and come back to the lower altitude.

No hanging around at 10,000 ft.

In the bright morning light, the drive seemed altogether different. We were relaxed and refreshed keeping a close watch on Rebecca. Any sign of

Difference in her behavior, and we would call off the hike.

Mercifully she was happy and chirpy as usual.

What a great relief. Children can be a nuisance with their energy levels, yet it is a million times better than an unusual quietness. The silence can be

deafening, the mind fears the unspeakable.

The sun was bright, and day was brilliant. Deep blue skies, white brilliant clouds, the air clean and the breeze and temperature just right.

Wow, is that wonderful or what. Just for a slice of sheer perfection in the mountains.

I shot a prayer of gratefulness. For the simple pleasures of living. For the health to travel and to enjoy the incredible.

We stopped by the picnic area, there was piƱon , duglous fir and bristle cone trees all over. Beautiful spot, finished lunch, and decided to go for a 1

mile self-discovering nature trail.

Another car stopped by, and a boy, maybe 12 years old darted out. He spotted a cactus plant in excitement and shouted for us to see it too. over

Enthusiastic brat I thought, I couldn’t see his parents anywhere.

We put back out stuff, and started the nature trail. It is a challenge to keep Rebecca on the trail; her excitement takes her off to collect grass,

Stone, leaf, branch. The soil is dry and loose; the terrain is rough yet almost fragile. A short walk brings us to the open mountain facing the sierras.

far away, yet imposing and majestic. A little snow on top.

Miles away from home, ten thousand feet high up; it’s a great place to be.

We walked by reading the posted information on the native plants and interesting fact, passing another cactus, and then the Mormon tree plant. The

tea plant has bright green straight thin pipe like leaves, and looks like a bunch of green threads tied at the bottom. I picked a tiny bit and smelled

it, wonderful aroma. idea for a smoothing cuppa. Guess what the puiate Indians drank the tea since it could cure colds, rheumatism and kidney problems.

Whoa!

Wise natives knew its usage well.

Another was the pinecone, the Indians roasted them so it was eerier to break, and you needed to break open the cone, to remove the seeds 9 or nut. The

cone is hard, and has somewhat sharp edges; I have a whole new respect for the pine nut now.

and then comes the boy eagerly asking ' Have you seen the beaver tail cacti?

Oh, so this is a cactus seeker I thought.

How shallow first impressions can be.

He walked with a HP digital camera around his neck, his father carrying a bulky hogen tripod, and a contax camera. Started with, have you seen?

Beaver tail anywhere?'

What?

Beavertail cactus - you know the stems are flat resembling the tail of a beaver, that's why it’s called so. Have you seen any?

Nope, have you?

He went on rapidly about the two we had in fact seen earlier.

We chatted for a while on the native plants, the weather, and survival classes in France. About growing up in Netherlands with British English and

American accents, the French castles.

in these places, you should always wear shirts with full sleeves, and full pants, and a hat. the UV rays are very strong, and you can be bit by a

Scorpion. If you are in the middle of a desert, and don’t have water, then cactus can save you. Just cut the stem, and drink the liquid. you will live.

Oh, there are poisonous cacti in Death Valley, don’t touch them.

If you don’t know whether a cactus is poisonous or not, dig a shallow hole on the ground, cut the stem, and pour the liquid inside the hole. leave it

like that till the next day, the water will distill, and you can drink that.

Phew!

Interesting kid.

Very friendly. He showed me his pet hamster pictures.

It’s always a pleasure to meet kids like that. The world in their radar, confident and curious instead of the burdens of peer pressure and video

games.

We read and noticed Indian rice grass, Mormon tea, Utah junipers, piƱon and firs, wrapped up the walk, and drove to Schulman grove. Dr. Edmund

Schulman discovered the bristle cone pines east of the Sierra Nevada, and the grove with he oldest bristle cone is given his name. These are the oldest

living trees on earth. The trees survive in the poorly nourished, alkaline soil with a minimum of moisture. In fact, the trees longevity is linked to

these inhospitable conditions. The younger trees have softer tissues, and may not live as long as the older ones. The forest is eroding away instead of

decaying. The 4,723 year-old Methuselah tree is the oldest. The biblical Methuselah lived only 900 plus years, and was the oldest man on earth.

40 centuries. Phew!

The trees live in harsh surroundings. High mountains, lots of snow, winds at high speeds, and they are fragile and irreplaceable.

We chose to hike the 4.5 mile trail, and the initial mile was the steepest.

A couple of young boys ran the trail, leaving their parents behind. We crossed each other every time either they or we took stopped for a while. Apart

from them, there are 2 more couples we met or saw on the way. No one else in the vast forest.

The first 2 miles were okay, till Dharma noticed slight discomfort in his knee. Since the trail was narrow, and the mountainside was steep, we didn’t

want to let Rebecca down. went slow the nest mile, and then let her down the last mile and a half. She walked with excitement.

The trees are twisted, exposing their roots and stem, standing in dignity as time passes still living, their shape polished by winds, snow and sand.

The soil is very dry, the views spectacular.

as we hiked, the scenery was wonderful, across us, the sierras looked shorter, although they stand more than 2000 ft higher. looked to the valley far

way, was that a dry lake there?

Away from the maddening crowd.

You need to be there to experience that.

high up in the White Mountains, it does have a kinda spooky feel, inspite of the clear sky and the wonderful weather.

We made out way back to the car, satisfied to finish the hike. Dharma's knee was aching a bit more, it was almost 5 o'clock, and we drove off to camp.

filled the tank at Bishop, and decided to camp in the mountains further west instead. 4000 ft was still warmer than the 10,000 odds.

The tall trees campground was closed, we wondered if we would have to drive back all the way again. Mercifully the next one was a small and still

mostly unoccupied. We quickly set u-p the tent, and started the charcoal fire starter.

Struggled to get the fire going, the paper caught on, but the charcoal was still stubborn. It was getting dark.

Waited, watched and tried everything, no avail.

Our neighbor campers proved very helpful. When dharma went over to ask them if firewood was available anywhere closely, the man came over leaving his

dinner immediately. The cut the wood pieces with his small axe into smaller twig sizes, rolled newspapers, placed the small pieces over, and lit. Whoa!

That was quick, the fire was roaring high in minutes. His wife came over, and we chatted for a while.

Thanks to him, we grilled our stuff.

Small mercies that make a difference.

I had emptied the veggies in my refrigerator, so we had grilled asparagus, zucchinis, tomatoes, white onions, corn

along with the marinated lamb.

Sleep was easy as we were totally tired.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

September 11th

I know I haven't completed my Labor Day travel yarn. But then it is already September 11th.
I choose to ignore the date as if it is nothing.
Five years have gone by, and I can still remember it is it was yesterday. I had just woken up, when our maid came rushing home without buying the milk that morning. My mom and she switched were watching the TV news, as I walked in, I glanced at the screen, showing the towers in flames. I thought it was some movie running.
Cheap shot I thought.
Over ambitious simulation of some amateur film maker.
What are you watching? I asked.
This is news, its happening!
Cannot be.
How could it?

Now, I think you now?
Is the US immune to the wars?
While the world burns in ethic violence, ethnic cleaning, intense hatred and such, how can another nation, particularly on ein prominence escape.
When pictures of the suspects came up, I wished it wasn’t true, fearing the backlash the religion will face.
Innocence facing the wrath of ignorant radicals.
Not again.
Yet this also will pass.
The pain is too raw and too wide spread to simply ignore, yet this will be another blimp in mindless hatred history soon.
When will man stop hating another?
Will it ever be perfect?
Wishful indeed.
I wish it were just a cheap movie.

Pictures - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country



























Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

The long weekend comes, oh how we look forward to it!
As usual we planed the places we wanted to visit and wanted to leave on Friday night, come back by Monday evening.

Packed our stuff, read the maps, checked the weather, re-checked our stuff.
Still the camera bag wasn’t ready Dharma's various cameras and his lenses and their million accessories, what about the tent, sleeping bag, should we take the chairs too?

What the heck!

This weekend pleasure trip not a business drill.

Let’s slow down.

We’ll pack slow, relax, enjoy.

So, we packed our stuff leisurely and slept of. Slept as long as we could. Till Rebecca got up, and wouldn’t lie down nay more.

And off we went.

We started well, and drove on 50, got a glimpse of Lake Tahoe high up, hmm not very blue right now.

395 is a scenic route. It looks beautiful every time we travel by.
We stopped by the river for a short break; let Rebecca play a little, snacks and stuff.
Parked on the shoulder, and walked down to the river. Searched for a safe route down, finally walked by the shrubs and made out way.
The water was cold as ever. Kicked off our shoes, splashed the water, had our snacks, and lazed around.
Spent 2 hrs there instead of 20 minutes.
So far so good.
The weather was cool and just perfect. Next stop was for lunch at a day use area by the Walker River. We have stopped here almost 3 years back, and I can remember the place as if I visited it yesterday.
Dharma went to the river, and I was just getting Rebecca out, and she punked.
Again.
Cleaned her, distracted her with the squirrels , the chirping birds and the pine cones.
She seemed okay, we sat down for lunch, and yet another splash in the river.
Beautiful day and we set out to look for a campground.

We have wanted to visit Bodie every time we have traveled 395, but just haven’t been able to. Next time, we'll make it.

This time, we hadn’t planned Bodie, and yet as we approached 167 on 395, we made the turn.

Worthwhile.

Bodie is a ghost town - the largest presently that flourished when gold and silver was found in the mountains. In its hey days, the population was close to 10,000.
This is the year 1878. William S. Body found gold here in 1859. The mining camp grew slowly from 1860 to the mid-1870s
and then declined after the lure was somewhere else, several fires, World War I, and finally the fire of 1932, and that was the last straw indeed.

Today, about 150 well preserved buildings remain (about 5% of the original) thanks to the efforts of the state park. This was a large town, no city by its day’s standards.

There is the Methodist Church, saloon, school firehouse, Bodie hotel, several homes all frozen in time.

And the empty mines.

Too bad the firehouse had clogs and bad maintence issues and couldn’t save much.

All of them are in arrested decay - preserved but no restoration will be done -as they were after the fire, as the residents left them.

Homes have the wallpapers peeling away, beds, dressing tables, dining tables, kitchen with the utensils still in place. The Carriages and tool boxes are still intact. With layers and layers of dust. The materials are slowly tearing away and fading.

As you walk by each home, it is as if you are indeed visiting a home that has current residents. The current poor shape seems to diminish, and it’s like you can actually imagine life thriving among the deterioration.

You can walk into some homes, others are locked, yet you can peep through the windows to look in.

Interesting to see the sizes of homes then.
Small.
Much smaller to an average American home today.

so, we walked past homes that had the only best green garden in the town, home to the town sheriff's father, home of the family that ran stagecoaches, home of the man who brought lumber to the town.

Yet well decorated and well equipped.

The saloon, bars and shops are well stocked and still have the merchandise on the shelves. pool tables waiting for the putt.

In spite of the harsh weather, high on the sierras, the treeless terrain is dry - summers are punishingly hot, winters bring good amount of snow, gold and silver brought people here.

I can imagine dance halls, saloons and the church with folks gaily going about their lives.

This was a bad town too.
'Goodbye God, we are going to Bodie' - the prayer of a little girl wrote says it all. Legend has it that she prayed as she learned her family is moving to Bodie.
Crime thrived here just as any place where gold was discovered. Stagecoach holdups and murders.

The Wild West.

Bodie state park is more different than what I had read and imagined about. This is bigger and in better shape.

The best way to visit is to spend 2 to 4 hours.
Slow down.
Think and let the surroundings take you to a different time in the same place, listen and see.
It is worth the while.

spicy pistachios

spices - chipotle sauce, lemon baked with the shells on.
To eat, break open the shell and eat the kernel.
what's the point ?
the spices are on the shell, the kernels are plain.
lick the shell and then eat the nut ???
eww!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006


The State Fair



I love the California annual state fair held each year in Arden.

Mostly because it reminds me of our melas back home.

The crowds and the noises, the smell and the near chaos.
Bright colors and lights.
Exotic and fun foods like corn on a stick, hot-dog on a stick, old lady's hair, apple caramels, fudges, freshly squeezed lemonades,
Frozen lemonades on a stick, steaks, kettle corns.....
The food looks great, but tastes yuck! (Well, not always, there are some delightful surprises)
The lemonades, corn and Texas bbq are our regular.
The prices are either ridiculously cheap or steep.

Fair price!

The bright lights

Interesting toys, and stuffed animals everyone seems to have won.
The joolas, the ferris wheels, the Russian circus stall, haunted house are all just the same as back home.
Stalls for the usual jewellary, local crafts, Native American crafts, appliances and stuff. There are stalls of DMV, county stalls
promoting local products and tourism.
All sorts of shows - cook shows, Hollywood move production show, safety shows, baby shows...
Each year there is at least one stall with Indian stuff invariably manned by a snooty chap. wonder why?

The differences are in the rodeo shows, the petting zoos, the animal races and the live music.
The zoo has domestic animals like cows, sheep, llama, pigs and even deer and kangaroos. This is a great attraction for kids of all
Ages, since they come in contact to pet these animals. Seems silly seeing these animals, but then this is one of the few chances
that kids here get to know these animals.

How excited can you get to see a cow or a donkey?? after seeing them all over the place in India.

Rebecca was excited, and she just as the other kids went about happily petting and laughing.
Hey, sheep come here! come here, donkey !

She rode a pony too, all smiles and totally carefree. What surprised me more is the confidence that she went with all by herself.
Takes after me, Iam sure ;)




Seems they used to have elephant rides along with the horse rides earlier.
I like the sky rides and the monorail too. The sky ride is a wench that moves on wire, it’s a view from the top. The monorail is a
rail that rides up the sky throughout the whole complex, giving an aerial perspective of the fair.
and the rides.
oh, the rides, this time I went for the free-fall among other extremes. Ohhh! Fun.
Still cannot get myself for the ones that turn upside-down in mid-air or even higher at relatively fast speeds, that is truly
Freaky.
Nah! So, far this is thrill enough for me.

We look for the home-made dip stall, an elderly couple selling dip ingredients. We meet them each year, chatting a bit. They have
moved to Texas now from San Francisco to be closer to their grand kids. Good dips too.

The finale is fireworks each night at 10pm. Beautiful explosions in the sky.

Worth it.


We did not attend Paul Dhinakaran's meeting.
Too busy.
Too lazy
Just didn’t want to go.
He’s not worth all that trouble.
No one else's interested - cos it's on Sunday evening. Saturday or Friday night might have been a different story.
All of the above excuses
Beats me though, how Marysville, a tiny town could arrange for a meeting where the speaker would only come for a crowd of 500 or more, while Sacramento could not.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Where's the heat ?

This year, winter was around till summer started. Where did spring go?
And summers? One week was killer heat; the rest has been pleasant, sometimes cooler, and sometimes even cold!
Funny thing is I went to buy swim-wear for Rebecca in the beginning of August, and zilch; there are none in the shelves.
Why?
Cos summer is over, we now carry our autumn collection.
Hey, August hasn’t ended yet - so, summers' not done yet. And no, this isn’t an haute couture store; it is an old navy store.
I need to get her a swim suit.
Go; try Wal-Mart or the like.
I cannot stand Wal-mart. Its business methods are despicable. I don’t like that store!
Well, the cashier shrugged charmingly.
I didn’t find it funny at all.
I stormed out of the store - summer is over, eh?
How come it is blazing hot out-side? Autumn indeed!!
Mercifully, Target had one - just one swim-suit her size. I grabbed it. No way was I hopping stores to see what they thought of the seasons.

So, this time around, officials are urging people to reduce electricity use to avoid blackouts as a heat wave strains power
Supplies
Someone else says this is Global-warming-on-your-face. We should have seen this coming. All over the globe, the climate has turned
harsher than normal. We are actually noticing the change.

Time to get radical.

Isn’t this what movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence & The Day After Tomorrow have tried to depict?

Apart from Greenpeace.com and http://www.sierraclub.com, here are a few other worthwhile sites www.futureforest.com
Greenpeace urges you to join in with an 'either defend the planet or the planet will defend itself' warning option. Sierra club
gives you a cute ‘Iam here to defend the plant' button.

http://www.carbonneutral.com/
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_activist

Thursday, August 24, 2006

keep your cool

Over a 100 deaths in cal due to the heat wave this year, another hundred or so across the east coast.
a small no considering the numbers in developing countries and in lands of extreme weathers.
nevertheless,there are interruptions which open up alternatives to conserving energy.

Here are a few random rumbling on keeping cool

- Turn on the fans and keep large bowl filled with cold water all over the home; the evaporation form the bowl will cool the place. Even if there are no fans, the effect is still good.

- Put water in spay cans (make sure the holes are tiny), and spray fine water in the air all over your place - restaurants do it too It gives a great cooling effect.

- Think iced tea and Jumba juice.

- Freeze bed -spreads! Weird as it may sound - this is from a friend who actually does it. She puts clean bedspreads in plastic bags and keeps them in the freezer for 20 mins or so, and then viola, it’s an invitingly cool bed.

- Eat water melon, English cucumbers, lettuce salads, and fish.

- Lick popsicles, sherbets and ice-creams.

- Go jump in a pool or a lake.

Summers used to be so intense in my childhood home in Jamshedpur that we used to pour buckets of water in our bedrooms in the evening. The old English bungalow that my family lived in had bedrooms that were slightly lower than the rest of the rooms, specially the storage-room. So, we poured water, and allowed the ceiling fans as well as the air-coolers to help evaporate and turn the rooms cool.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Day2 - Fort Ross, Russian Cove

We had put up the cover for the tent. Lessons learnt from the cold of the previous night. Cannot see the stars now, but

then decided comfort and rest were more important than gazing at the night sky. besides we were too tired and slept off immediately.
No alarm clocks to wake us up.
Rebecca did.
about eight-ish. I crept out to check on the others.
Joe and family were on already their way home. Seemed to be in a rush. Smiles and good-byes.
??
No one knows. Wonder why.
Anyway, the others were slowly waking and moving about. Breakfast and getting ready.
We folded the tent, cleaned, packed and cleared the site, made tea, drank it slowly, and went across to join the rest.
The kids were off to the playground, I went to the swings to push Kirti , Kitchu and Rebecca.
Higher, more higher!
Swinging 3 tiny kids and I am getting a good morning work-out.
Angel akka made good quesadilla - Mexican pizza of sorts and we had some. The orange juice pack had leaked and the ice was

all orange-ish. I poured the remaining juice and passed it around.
Chatted around, everyone had finished b'fast and were packing. We helped to put down a couple of tents and packing too.
The check-out time was noon, and it was too soon for lunch. So, leaving after lunch was ruled out.
We decided to drive for an hour or so and then stop for lunch.
Fort Ross sounded good to everyone.
How about parking in the day-use area, spending some time there playing, lunching and then driving straight home?
Hmm, sounded good to me, but everyone else seemed to be on the move. Tomorrow’s monday, need to fix things for school, work etc.
Stephen and family decided to leave immediately. Reeve didn’t seem to do well at night. So, we packed lunch for them and sent them off too.
Rebecca spotted an alphabet-caterpillar as we wondered close to the Gualala River. It didn’t work. Maybe needs new batteries.
The river bed was dry and wide with lots of pebbles; it looked like a narrow stream.
Still beautiful with the high trees and greenery around.
We drove up to Fort Ross state historic park for lunch. Lots of vehicles around, and we found picnic tables close to the parking lot.
The kids ran to climb branches of cypress trees, and we took a few pictures.

Lunch was quick, and the question was whether to go down to the beach or visit the fort?

Fort Ross is an Old Russian fort built in the early 1800s.It was established for Russia's tsarist government exploration,trade and settlement in the North Pacific, and for establishing permanent settlements in Alaska and California.

It still has a gun blockhouses and sentries on the two corners without blockhouses, a well, chapel and warehouse filled with provisions for the fort; a barracks and three officials’ houses...




Already Sheina had thrown-up within the hours drive, Jamela akka had developed a headache, and Gigi and John was on the verge. We finished lunch, took a few pictures, and said good-bye to all. there was first day of school on monday, Vallejo
shopping on the way etc. We talked to the fort with Santhosh and Nithila along the eucalyptus trees. Bright red and orangish-brown leaves lay on the ground.



It’s a very short walk, and we immediately realized that we could have driven to the fort's gates and parked instead of the parking lot. That way, we could have used the picnic tables inside, and everyone would have visited the fort itself.

Too late. The fort is a small rectangular enclosure, and we quickly visited all the standing structures and also the well.

We let santhosh decide whether to go the beach below. He had a small leg sprain form the previous day's cricket. He said,yes. Nithila's was an immediate yes too. So, we walked out of the fort towards the ocean. The skies were downcast, and it was windy and bit cold. We walked to the edge, and looked below; the beach is a crude downhill walk. We lingered near and decided not to go down.


Dharma wanted to go the Russian cove and the Armstrong state park on the way back. So, we made our way to the cove. drive on CA1, the cove looks inviting. We parked and walked through a short over-growth of shrubs and trees to the open full of

big smooth pebbles and strewn logs. Dharma pulled a few logs together to mark the place we got out of the shrubs. Rebecca was all excited seeing the stones, and started and her collection, stuffing them to her jacket pockets.

We strolled lazily to the beach, carrying the stove and stuff to make lemon-tea by the beach. Dharma set up the set on the rocks by the waves, and boiled water. It was a while before we realized that it was a bad spot with too much wind, so we

moved the stove to the rocks behind. A nice small cave like enclosure of rocks. This looked like a popular spot, since it had a lot of trash on the ground. I made the tea, and we sat on the rocks to enjoy. Rebecca was busy stuffing pebbles in her pockets.

It was getting late; we moved out and drove back. Stopped for dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant, and all home-ward bound. Normally, we would put sort out clothes, shoes etc and put things back in their place before sleeping. It was

already 11:30 when we reached home, Rebecca was asleep and we dumped the things from the car, and zzzzzzzz. It was almost 3 days later that all the things went back to their places!

Over all a good trip, much better than what we anticipated. Just a few things went out of sync, here and there, otherwise everyone enjoyed it. sign!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Day1 - Beach and BBQ

We walked to the rocks by the left, and the sandstone rocks were slopping and had holes as if to facilitate rock climbing.
This was easy enough for me too! We hung on the rocks for a while, and then came back to join the others.
Are you ready to go the lighthouse?
We had discussed about visiting the Point Arena Lighthouse after the beach. That would be further up north, about hours
drive.
The lighthouse is about 1 mile into the ocean, and a fabulous place.
What? Another long drive on the winding road?
I have never heard CA 1 being referred to with such disdain, and I flinched.
I checked myself, this is their trip, and not ours, so I better keep my mouth shut and go with the flow.
A few were very keen; others were outright not interested to go see a light-house at all, no matter how spectacular.
The sun was out, bright and I must admit, it was tempting to simply laze around.
The lazy lumps won.
Some one came clutching a flat piece of wood, 'how about Cricket?’
The idea got the men and kids up, and soon the game was on.
What’s cricket? How do you play?
Cricket is Indian baseball.
A bloke throws the ball; you hit it hard and run for a run. If the ball is back before your reach the stumps, well then
You are stumped.
It was nice to see the game, everyone played for fun...
Most of the women were under the umbrella, chatting, closing their eyes. This is relaxation indeed. I was busy watching the
game as well as keeping an eye for Rebecca.
Aunty wanted to go for a stroll. So I went along with uncle, and shanthi akka.
went for a while, and Dharma signaled to wait to Rebecca who had followed us.
We collected colored pebbles for Gigi and Rebecca was busy picking her pebbles and conversing rapidly. We came back, and
Jean akka wanted to go for a walk, Dharma wasn’t keen to join us, and so Off I went for another walk.
Soon, it was time to leave.

We reached the campsite, and Dharma went in to pay for the registration, Rebecca was fast asleep, and we were waiting by
the fish-wash at the entrance, listening to abalone divers talking of their day's catch. Interesting talk about
restrictions for smaller than 7 inch abalone, and the like.

I put Rebecca down in Santhosh's tent, since our tent was way off; we were going to hang around the others. We started
with the BBQ preparations. I just realized that I was terribly hungry.
So, I gobbled up some baklavas. Yummy! Hunger makes the sweets even sweeter!
The evening was great. The fire was soon up, with Dharma, Jeba anna tending, Denix joined in to grill. The camp bbq was
actually a small shallow fire-pit with stone around. The grill was a flat rectangular grill bought at the camp store.
Too small to feed the army.
It might have been nice if we had brought our table-top grill too.
So, we took out the marinated meat. Mine was a cosco pack of 3 types of marinate - teriyaki, garlic-herb and Mediterranean.
The others were freshly ground garlic, and marinated chicken. Mine was still frozen in the ice-pack, we sliced smaller
Pieces.
Started with the hotdogs and burger patties..for the kids. I was still hungry, soon the party begun.
I fixed a burger for myself, and went to check on Rebecca. She was awake and crying in the tent.
Aavi ! It hurts!
She pointed to her knee and shin. I could make out nothing, so I picked her and walked. She was crying even louder, so
Dharma got out of grilling and took her. It worked. Grape flavored tiny candy.
Maybe she was exhausted after the whole day in the beach. Maybe she fell, and didn’t realize it..
We sang songs, passed on plates, fixed burgers and hot-dogs, grilled some corn, and it was soon 10pm.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the bbq. Good. Gald the Costco stuff came out pretty well.
Already?
Camp quiet time.
There were more riddles from the kids, jokes and performances, time to call it a day.
Some on remembered the smores. Smores are actually short for some more whatever that is. And with each occasion of smore,
comes the differces in how it is eaten.
Girls - Place Hershey bars on graham crackers, Toast marshmallows, Place toasted marshmallows on Hershey bars to melt
Chocolate, eat as a cookie.

While Boys
Eat Hershey bars, Eat marshmallows, Throw graham crackers at other boys.

Good day.
End of day1.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Day1 - day on the beach




It must be 6:30, cos my cell phone alarm went off. loud and clear.
Shucks!
Who follows routines and alarms while camping?
No way was I going to get up and turn it off, too much bother, besides it was too cold out of the sleeping bag.
So, it just rang and rang.
Our neighboring campers were anyway up, so I wasn’t worried about disturbing anybody.
Rebz woke by 7:15, and I crawled out by 7:30, and went to check on the other tents. Mary aunty was busy heating water, and making coffee.
chatted for a while, and ppl were already taking showers and getting ready.

Good enthu.
All the kids rushed for b'fast of bagels, cereals, and such and then ran to the playground closely.

Normally, I would have turned my nose on the playground - hey, you are supposed enjoy things other than your routine, what’s' the point of
sticking to normalcy? But, this time I was gladly relieved - keep the kids busy and happy, you can relax better ;)

We chatted, lazed around, got ready, gathered lunch from those responsible for lunch, got our stuff, and hey, where are we going?
Consult the experts - Dharma, where are we going?
has annan.
But, you know the places here.
Hmm, not really, Dharma said weakly.
Aunty promptly put in a Tamil proverb something like among a group of blind ppl, the person with one eye is the king.
I put in 'just because everyone thinks you are the expert, don’t think that really are one’!
pssss, the air in the balloon went off. ha ha !!

Finally decided on the Gualala Point Park in Sonoma County.
I love that beach - it has the Gualala delta - the river flowing into the ocean. So, off we went.
The directions was simple, make a left here, and then a right.

The beach is a not so short walk from the parking lot. You can see it, but it looks as if it is way beyond. Thankfully, everyone was excited, and so pulled out their beach chairs, toys, lunch stuff etc and started the march.
I handled the first-aid kit to Rebecca to carry, she was excited and walked briskly first, and then went slowly lost her tempo, dragging her feet, allowing everyone else to walk fast. Nithila picked her and walked the rest. We walked on and claimed a spot close to the logs.

This is a long beach with great waves; the river flows in on the right, just below the road. The town of Gualala looks like a medditerean village across the road on a hilly terrain. The sand is almost black, and as you walk closer to the ocean, the pebbles are tiny multi-colored gems wet and sparkling. The left end is a bit rocky, and has a few rocks on the beach too. The sun was almost hiding behind in the skies, and breeze was a bit cold, just great.

Some settled down in their chairs, and others looked around. The kids ran to the water, and I followed suit. A clear distinction here - those wiser clutching their jackets tighter, sitting comfortably and watching, and the carefree, footloose running to the teasing waves. The Pacific is cold, the coldest ocean in fact. The sun was stilling not out, and so it was getting colder. Rebecca’s' terrified of the ocean waves, and was not willing to come close. So, Dharma took her for a walk and pebble collecting.


I wanted to go further, looked around; no one else seemed to think the same. Hmmm... Let’s give then some time.
So, I hung around, watching the kids frolic and shout with glee. This was fun. The ocean is always a wonderful place to be, albeit this particular beach is a lil wild, exploited and therefore presumably dangerous.

Gigi and Jean akka moved closer, the rest dipping and moving away. My flip-flops were old and loose, I was debating whether to leave them on the sand. I just wore them.

Mistake.
I lost them - to the ocean!
Boo! Boo! They weren't in the best of shape, but I’ve had them for more than 6 years, and what the heck!

We splash around and played with the waves. Rebecca wasn’t interested at all, I could see why. Nithila and I went in a little further and laughed, the waves were high, but lost their force and height as they reached us, so we had then by about our knees. The water was really cold. I could feel as if my feet were getting numb, my flip-flop almost coming out. I put them back on every time, as the water receded. Occasionally, we got a big wave and we laughed and turned our backs. Rebecca and Dharma were wandering by the logs and pebbles, the boys and Stephen and family hung closby, Eva and Santhosh were coming and going out. Uncle and David anna were by the kids. Only Nithaila and I were in the water. As I turned around to avoid a full splash, I lost balance and fell. Ohhh, that was cold, I was totally drenched, and still laughing another big wave came by.

Watching the waves at that height gives you a different perspective - as if the whole white foamy ocean is thundering and rushing to you. No wonder Rebecca didn’t want anything to do with the waves.

I was totally wet, but loved it. What’s the point of traveling, going to a beach and then not getting wet?
Hmm, cold or not, I hadn’t had enough. So, we went a few steps further in. Akkad and Gigi walked closby , but stayed out of the water. We called Santhosh and stood our ground. I was thinking abt getting out and taking off by flip-flops and walked a few steps away, and there came another wave, this time I lost it. The ocean took my one slipper!

I lost a slipper, but it was great fun. We hung around for a while, and then started back for lunch.

Let’s have lunch.
Oops! Some one had forgotten the plates in the car!!
Oh, no! What are going to have without plates, eh?
Hmm, no prob, I asked Dharma to get them, but then David and Juba anon went off. I was terribly hunger. We had a few fruits and water. Eventually, we finished lunch, and then the sun came out.

Wow! how it changed things.
The Ocean changed to the deep bluish-green hue, and sparkled. The beach looked incredibly beautiful.
With fun in the tummy, and the sun shining brightly, everyone got energized and also drowsy and lazy.
We walked to the rocks by the left, and the sandstone rocks were slopping and had holes as if to facilitate rock climbing. This was easy enough for me too! We hung on the rocks or a while, and then came back to join the others.