Saturday - 5/23
Rrrrriiiiiinnnnnngggg!!!....##$&!!!...Click!!
Well, the alarm did go off promptly (as it always does) and I promptly silenced it (as I always do ;-) ). 6:30 AM is an unearthly hour for me...am sure it's the same for many, but I dare say that; it's not for my beloved wife!!
It was almost a month since my wife and kid had landed in the U.S and we had never had the chance to go out and explore the country. Work - both at home and office and our little angel had kept us busy througout. A long weekend (Memorial day!!) was just the thing I was waiting for! I had planned to take them out and being close to SFO - the obvious destination (for a first outing) was Golden Gate bridge! I had been to the place three years ago and was taken in by the structure!
Muir woods - a few miles away was also an ideal place to walk around with Lenya. So, the plan was set for half a day's outing! Golden gate Bridge and Muir Woods!
"We will leave by 9:00 AM so that we can be back by 4 PM. We will have lunch at any good place on our way back" I said excitedly only to notice the grin on my wife's face - which meant "You and 9:00 AM, lets see..huh!!" She was sure we cant leave before 10:30 AM considering my good habit of "late to bed, late to rise".
It was a chilly morning and sure enough, I hugged the pillow till 7:00 AM. And then it was all catching up to do. Brush the teeth, bath, Get the baby ready, pick up the supplies, baby's accessories, breakfast...the list was endless! All these and a few arguments later we were ready to embark!
10:45 AM: "Please fasten your seat belt" - the GPS started off with its customary greeting and we were on our way. I had heard a lot of negatives about driving within SFO on those up and down lanes and was kind of feeling uneasy, but the nerves settled within a few minutes time and we were breezing on the freeway (101 North). The traffic wa
s real slow going in to SFO. So, we had a lot of time to look around as we snailed along on 19th avenue. The street was lined with matchbox sized structures sticking to each other and holding on (somehow!!) flaunting all kinds of colors! All buildings looked old and antique. The digicam was going click click in wife's hands :)!! A few turns and twists later, we were facing the legendary Golden Gate Bridge! It's an amazing str
ucture. It's just daunting to see such a gigantic structure stand tall over the ocean! It was a cloudy day and that made the scene even more beautiful. We rode over the bridge and then I turned over and parked. I wanted to capture the Golden gate in all its pride going through the clouds! The baby was asleep and so we left her in the car (yes we did!!!!) and we got off with the camera. It was chiiiilllllly!!! Wife struggled to confront it, she packed herself in her sweats but was still shivering! We took a few collld photos and went back to the comfort of the car.
ucture. It's just daunting to see such a gigantic structure stand tall over the ocean! It was a cloudy day and that made the scene even more beautiful. We rode over the bridge and then I turned over and parked. I wanted to capture the Golden gate in all its pride going through the clouds! The baby was asleep and so we left her in the car (yes we did!!!!) and we got off with the camera. It was chiiiilllllly!!! Wife struggled to confront it, she packed herself in her sweats but was still shivering! We took a few collld photos and went back to the comfort of the car.Howzzit feel??? - I asked and she said..."its just a bridge"!!!!!
Just a bridge? $##!!!!!!... well, yes it's just a bridge...but it runs more than a mile long with 6 lanes! It is over 700 ft tall and took 4 years to build. But that's how she felt. I still am puzzled by her reaction. She is one tough girl to impress!! - you can take my word for it...phew!!
It was noon and the growling in the stomach was increasing by the minute. My lady was very hungry as she had skipped breakfast. We had passed Golden gate bridge and were on our way to Muir Woods...Just when I was getting restless about not finding an eatout..voila!!...there it was....SUBWAY! I love the subs and she doesn't mind it...so, without any doubts, I drove in. We took the baby (who was still sleeping) in her car seat and settled in a cozy corner inside the subway. As in most places, the vegie choices are minimal...we ordered 2 half subs, chips and started devouring them. The place was empty when we went in but started filling up and was almost full within a few minutes. What timing!! Could not help notice the number of Indians around. Talk about moving to a new country and a new culture!! I am sure they would be thinking the same seeing us. I think the Americans would be feeling alienated and cornered in their own land!! Jai ho!!! Just when we were finishing off our subs...our angel woke up...and you bet - she did make her presence felt! She was hungry tooo and she let us know that in no uncertain sounds - waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh ...flat out!!!
I grabbed the car seat and both of us rushed out of the subway outlet and into the car. Mommy refuelled her as I munched on the chips! Our short little lunch break was over and off we went in search of Muir woods. The GPS had been of real help...its a must have when you dont know your geography!! But it does make you go nuts sometimes....specially when there are roads close to each other and neither you nor the GPS can decide which one! Fortunately the road signs were pretty clear and we had adequate fuel tanked up and so getting lost and finding the way back was more fun than concern.
Muir Woods - One of the few surviving Redwood forests...I knew i
t was a nice and clean place with huge trees. It seems like a good place to trek/hike and camp (I hope I get a chance to do that - someday!). It was a pleasant drive till Muir Woods, but it was not so pleasant finding a parking! Saturday afternoon - I should have expected that...all the designated parking areas were full and after 15 minutes of hunting for a parking space, I found a vacant spot off the curb and I slipped my car in. It was about a mile down from the entrance to Muir Woods!!! Our next major task was to wrap the baby. The weather had gotten a little better but it was still a little too cold for the little one. She had pooped on the way and so, we had to clean her. She was half sleepy from the journey and was cranky. All in all, it took about 15 minutes to deck her up. We put her in the stroller, all packed. She looked like an eskimo (a cute one, though!) in her white woollen coat! We burdened the stroller with some junk food for us and were soon on the road to Muir Woods. I had grabbed the Digital Cam, so madam had no choice, but to carry the bulky Camcorder ;)
A 15 minute walk and we were at the entrance of Muir Woods. The place was crowded with all kinds of people. It kind of felt over populated. But still, the vastness of the woods is such that it could accomodate many more. The
entrance was spacious. There were also two stalls set up...a souvenior shop and a makeshift snack centre. Though the idea of munching on a snack or sipping a coffee was inviting, We decided to give the snack a skip and went ahead. Two tickets of 5$ each and we were handed a receipt and a leaflet which explained the different trails available. There were three hiking routes available of half an hour, one hour and one and half hour. The shortest route was an obvoius choice for us as we had the baby and that was the only route which had level floor to push the stroller. It was a groovy place...greenary allround. Huge trees, formed a canopy and the place was just about perfect for a quite stroll with the family. The weather had gotten better as well. 3 minutes in to the stroll and Lenya started acting cranky. She got restless and did not want to be in the stroller. I think she also figured out that she was not at home and was excited to look around. She wanted to be carried and was probably hungry as well. We decided to carry her in turns and went ahead. We did click a lot of pictures and it was always mommy and daughter or daddy and daughter. It was a nice and relaxing stroll amidst the greenary inspite of the crowd. Could not help compare it with the various places back home in India. One place that came to my mind was "Kodachaadri". Though our stroll was nowhere near as exciting or tough as a trek to Kodachhadri, the feel of the woods was similar. How I miss those treks!!!!
We went about t
he winding path stopping at places where there was some information dispalyed. We both like reading such information placards. It's nice to get to know about the place you are visting. As we strolled along (taking pictures regualarly!), we found one spot where a lot of people had queued up to take photographs. It was an enclosure between two closely spaced trees. It was indeed a nice place to pose for the camera. Since we had not yet taken a pic of all the three of us, I decided that this would be the right place. We just hung around waiting for the others to finish. When our turn came, I releived myself all the stuff I was carrying and all the three of us posed for the camera. We thanked the person who took our photograph and carried on on our stroll all happy! We went ahead talking about the surroundings and how clean they had maintained it and enjoying the greenary around. After about 10 minutes (or it felt!), the unthinkable happenned!
It was noon and the growling in the stomach was increasing by the minute. My lady was very hungry as she had skipped breakfast. We had passed Golden gate bridge and were on our way to Muir Woods...Just when I was getting restless about not finding an eatout..voila!!...there it was....SUBWAY! I love the subs and she doesn't mind it...so, without any doubts, I drove in. We took the baby (who was still sleeping) in her car seat and settled in a cozy corner inside the subway. As in most places, the vegie choices are minimal...we ordered 2 half subs, chips and started devouring them. The place was empty when we went in but started filling up and was almost full within a few minutes. What timing!! Could not help notice the number of Indians around. Talk about moving to a new country and a new culture!! I am sure they would be thinking the same seeing us. I think the Americans would be feeling alienated and cornered in their own land!! Jai ho!!! Just when we were finishing off our subs...our angel woke up...and you bet - she did make her presence felt! She was hungry tooo and she let us know that in no uncertain sounds - waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh ...flat out!!!
I grabbed the car seat and both of us rushed out of the subway outlet and into the car. Mommy refuelled her as I munched on the chips! Our short little lunch break was over and off we went in search of Muir woods. The GPS had been of real help...its a must have when you dont know your geography!! But it does make you go nuts sometimes....specially when there are roads close to each other and neither you nor the GPS can decide which one! Fortunately the road signs were pretty clear and we had adequate fuel tanked up and so getting lost and finding the way back was more fun than concern.
Muir Woods - One of the few surviving Redwood forests...I knew i
t was a nice and clean place with huge trees. It seems like a good place to trek/hike and camp (I hope I get a chance to do that - someday!). It was a pleasant drive till Muir Woods, but it was not so pleasant finding a parking! Saturday afternoon - I should have expected that...all the designated parking areas were full and after 15 minutes of hunting for a parking space, I found a vacant spot off the curb and I slipped my car in. It was about a mile down from the entrance to Muir Woods!!! Our next major task was to wrap the baby. The weather had gotten a little better but it was still a little too cold for the little one. She had pooped on the way and so, we had to clean her. She was half sleepy from the journey and was cranky. All in all, it took about 15 minutes to deck her up. We put her in the stroller, all packed. She looked like an eskimo (a cute one, though!) in her white woollen coat! We burdened the stroller with some junk food for us and were soon on the road to Muir Woods. I had grabbed the Digital Cam, so madam had no choice, but to carry the bulky Camcorder ;)A 15 minute walk and we were at the entrance of Muir Woods. The place was crowded with all kinds of people. It kind of felt over populated. But still, the vastness of the woods is such that it could accomodate many more. The
entrance was spacious. There were also two stalls set up...a souvenior shop and a makeshift snack centre. Though the idea of munching on a snack or sipping a coffee was inviting, We decided to give the snack a skip and went ahead. Two tickets of 5$ each and we were handed a receipt and a leaflet which explained the different trails available. There were three hiking routes available of half an hour, one hour and one and half hour. The shortest route was an obvoius choice for us as we had the baby and that was the only route which had level floor to push the stroller. It was a groovy place...greenary allround. Huge trees, formed a canopy and the place was just about perfect for a quite stroll with the family. The weather had gotten better as well. 3 minutes in to the stroll and Lenya started acting cranky. She got restless and did not want to be in the stroller. I think she also figured out that she was not at home and was excited to look around. She wanted to be carried and was probably hungry as well. We decided to carry her in turns and went ahead. We did click a lot of pictures and it was always mommy and daughter or daddy and daughter. It was a nice and relaxing stroll amidst the greenary inspite of the crowd. Could not help compare it with the various places back home in India. One place that came to my mind was "Kodachaadri". Though our stroll was nowhere near as exciting or tough as a trek to Kodachhadri, the feel of the woods was similar. How I miss those treks!!!!We went about t
he winding path stopping at places where there was some information dispalyed. We both like reading such information placards. It's nice to get to know about the place you are visting. As we strolled along (taking pictures regualarly!), we found one spot where a lot of people had queued up to take photographs. It was an enclosure between two closely spaced trees. It was indeed a nice place to pose for the camera. Since we had not yet taken a pic of all the three of us, I decided that this would be the right place. We just hung around waiting for the others to finish. When our turn came, I releived myself all the stuff I was carrying and all the three of us posed for the camera. We thanked the person who took our photograph and carried on on our stroll all happy! We went ahead talking about the surroundings and how clean they had maintained it and enjoying the greenary around. After about 10 minutes (or it felt!), the unthinkable happenned!"Where's the Camcorder? - she asked..!!!! oh!..s***!!!!! a moments silence and I just took off!...I had put down the camcorder along with other baggage before posing for the family photograph and had forgotten to pick it up!!...I was out of breath but was furiously retracing our path....it seemed to be eternaly long...I was feeling awful, felt like the sky was falling over my head (quote - courtesy Asterix*). After about 5 mins which seemed like 5 light years, I reached the spot where we had taken the photo and to my horror, the camcorder was not there. All my hopes were searching for other hopes! Utterly dejected, I started my jog back...at that point, I did wish that the sky fall on my head! My mind was furiously looking for ways to get it back. My eyes were scanning every passing person with suspicion. I had no idea how my wife would take it. I was sure she would be devastated and livid! The only sane option I could think at that point was to check the visitor's desk hoping some good samaritan would have found my Sony Sony DCR-SR220 and left it at the visitor centre. I trudged back to my wife. She could not beleive what had happenned. I had lost every interest in the surroundings and the stroll. I asked her to meet me at the Vistor Desk and I raced ahead.
There it was - pretty but sitting lonely on top of a table in the visitor's desk!!!!!.....It was a huge releif!!!!! Someone indeed had found it and deposited the camcorder at the the vistor's desk...a good samaritan indeed!!!! We collected the camcorder, then sat down for a while - enjoying our happiness (releif, I should say) with a cup of coffee. The coffee was horrible, but was still refreshing for our situation. My quota of running for the day was not yet finished. Since we had parked a mile down the road, I asked wife to stay put and ran down to the car. It was about 4:00 PM by the time we left Muir Woods, but the fun wasn't over yet! We decided to visit a nearby beach - Muir Beach. But, we could just not find it!!...the GPS was of no use and the sign boards seemed to take us in circles!..After a few concentric excurions, we decided to give up and head home.
There it was - pretty but sitting lonely on top of a table in the visitor's desk!!!!!.....It was a huge releif!!!!! Someone indeed had found it and deposited the camcorder at the the vistor's desk...a good samaritan indeed!!!! We collected the camcorder, then sat down for a while - enjoying our happiness (releif, I should say) with a cup of coffee. The coffee was horrible, but was still refreshing for our situation. My quota of running for the day was not yet finished. Since we had parked a mile down the road, I asked wife to stay put and ran down to the car. It was about 4:00 PM by the time we left Muir Woods, but the fun wasn't over yet! We decided to visit a nearby beach - Muir Beach. But, we could just not find it!!...the GPS was of no use and the sign boards seemed to take us in circles!..After a few concentric excurions, we decided to give up and head home.
The journey back home was uneventful barring a few problems with the GPS. We reached home hungry and promptly emptied the refrigerator :)
