SFO and Salt Lake flight

Listening to the song "Just Feels Right" Euge Groove saxophone and drums!!! Thats exactly how i felt when I flew this week over SFO and Salt Lake this weekend!!! I fly every week thats the life of a consultant, never before have I been so excited about a view from the sky........

Having flown over so many cities ...my most beautiful flight has been over SFO, Utah second and Hong Kong a distant third...the view from the above is breathtaking i wish I could take a two seater and fly over the SFO in the evening!! Must do the biplane ride as soon as possible!!!Right from the moment we take off its right above the Bay and one can see the waves from the sky!!!!

Let me list what you see

1. Alcatraz Island in a distance it looks so small and close to the mainland now I wonder why no one could swim and escape from the prisons...well not mentioning the water is freezing cold!!
   
2. The Golden Gate Park
   
3. Bay Bridge like a serpent in the sea this one is cool the bridge seems to extend for miles !!!
   
4. Golden Gate Bridge in its reddest ( i know its not a word) glory
5. The Mountains with Greenery next to the ocean
6. Grey Mountains the true Californian desert mountains
   

I was also fortunate to see the next sight from the sky the Salt Lands of Utah...............I was speechless when I saw the earth below it was exploding in 1000 different colors didn't even know so many colors existed I would insist that all take the flight to Salt Lake just to see this view.

DAY 8: 3 Jun 2007 Reno Nevada to San Jose California

3519.7 miles Pittsburgh to Mountain View

Day 7: 1 June 2007 Jerome Idaho to Reno Nevada

Warm People

Unlike my Bhutan trip where I was using the public transport I got lots of opportunities to interact, in this trip I didn't get the same opportunity. This friendly stranger at the remote gas station came and introduced himself and asked me where I was going and we got talking. He was a chef at the local resort. He congratulated me for the exciting journey I was taking and hoped that I would enjoy the whole trip.

This Gas station was on the Wyoming side of Yellow Stone National Park.

At other places too I have met all warm personalties maybe because its all the people from the hospitality industry restaurants and motels.

I must say the park rangers and tourist information volunteers were very helpful in coming up with the most optimal plan for the time I had at various places in fact the kind lady at South Dakota Visitor Center drew me a route on the map I should take so that I can see the maximum along the route!!!!

Gas Stations (Petrol Bunk)

Well lets say i have been to some very small Gas stations with equally antique pumping machines. I was driving through the Sate Roads in Idaho which are the interior roads running through villages . I stopped at a store to pump Gas but didn't know how to operate it!! There was another person and I watched him perform the elaborate procedure :-) and ended up asking for his help.

I will update this page after the end of the trip with the Gas Prices across state I hope it doesn't burn a big hole in my pockets!!

Playing on Vices of human beings!!

Westerners/Settlers used on Indians now Indians use it on westerners!! I have taken some interest to the Native Indian Americans story for some time I have read few articles, looking for some books which can give me some more insight into their past and present. I got interested when I went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Miami which is owned by Seminole Indian Tribe.

Throughout my journey I have been through many Indian reservations like Elk Point, Sioux City all these places there is a Gas station and Casino, restaurant and Casino combinations!!

Like at 8am at Elk Point I was having breakfast people were in the slot and card machines. The Gas station on the freeway out in the wild but it had a casino attached to it!!!

Promotions Old Fashioned Way Montana

During this trip I have had some unique experiences. When I was in West Yellowstone a small town just on the outskirts of Yellow Stone NP on the Montana side I was having my lunch at a restaurant and in came some 10-15 boys and girls neatly dressed in formal clothes and sang a song. This was for a show they were having starting that evening and going on for the next three months!!!

The brochure for the show is also shown below.

Day 6: 31 May 2007 Rexburgh to Jerome Idaho

Day 5: 30 May 2007 Cody Wyoming to Rexburgh Idaho

Day 4: 29 May 2007 Keystone SD to Cody Wyoming

For more snaps: http://picasaweb.google.com/rakutty

Day 3: 28 May 2007 Sioux City Iowa to Keystone South Dakota

For more snaps please check
http://picasaweb.google.com/rakutty

Beautiful States:Montana and Wyoming

Wyoming and Montana are the most beautiful states I have been in this trip. They are all mountainous terrain where the roads and sky merge in the horizon.Greenery is all over. Also remote as the land is so vast and spread around. The speed limits in these two states are 75 mph (125kmph)

States I visited during this trip:

Pennsylvania Keystone State
West Virginia Mountain State
Ohio Birthplace of Aviation
Indiana Crossroads of America
Illinois Prairie State
Iowa Hawkeye State
South Dakota Mount Rushmore State
Wyoming Equality State
Idaho Gem State
Nevada Silver State
California Golden State
Montana Treasure State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_nicknames

Day 2 on Road: IOWA REST AREAS

HATS OFF TO IOWA!!!

Well what can you say about this state. Its in the forefront of technology. And this is state which is acres and acres of farms for all you can see. I haven't seen this in states like California /Florida which are I guess the most leading states in US!!


The Rest areas are very beautiful,manicured lawns, benches, spotlessly clean restrooms. I stopped by at many of the rest areas.

You can see some of the snaps of the Rest Area I took today. http://picasaweb.google.com/rakutty/Day227May2007UrbanaIllinoisToSiouxCityIowa

Day 2 on Road ADVERTISMENTS ALONG FREEWAY

GREAT LEGS EVERY NIGHT --this advt was for some meat company

"Burma Shave"-style signs that can be seen along many of the major highways throughout Illinois.There are series of boards the ones i can remeber are:

POLICE RARELY
ARRIVE IN TIME
WHAT PROTECTS YOU
DURING THE CRIME?

CRIMINALS MENACING?
A LADY ALONE?
DETERRENCE REQUIRES
MORE THAN A PHONE

At the end of all the last sign board is always Guns Save Life.com. I found out later that its the local Rifle association.

Day 2 on Road: SIGNBOARDS

After having traveled 1000+miles in the last two days I wanted to mention this hilarious incident of signboards I noticed in my travel within India. The earlier government had started the Golden Quadrilateral with all fanfare and National Highway Authority(NHA) with all its enthusiasm had put the Prime Minister's portrait along with the directions and distance on all the signboards!! The new Government with a new Prime Minister came to power NHA quickly put a black cover on all the signboards, let the people who use the roads be damned its important that the previous government doesn't get credit !!!

Well whatever said done the signboards are back I guess, I haven't seen if they just replaced it with the new Prime Ministers photo. Its going to be an expensive proposition either ways:-))

Day 2 on Road: $1000 Road

Thousand Dollar Road well thats the name of a small town road I saw in my trip today can you beat that with any other name. Also in the last two days I have seen so many Washington street,town city names it makes me wonder if they are short of leaders to honor!! Some of the other road name I appreciate in my journey are the Wilbur Wright road, M L King road. Will keep a lookout for interesting names.

WANDERER: USEFUL SITES FOR ROAD TRIPS

WANDERER: USEFUL SITES FOR ROAD TRIPS

USEFUL SITES FOR ROAD TRIPS

In US I have used many sites to decide on road trips I have just listed what I think are user friendly and also at the same time providing maximum information.

TRAVMATIX (www.travmatix.com)

The best feature here is the TravPlan, it gives you at each exit what you can find for eating and lodging. The other feature is you can choose the brand too so that it only gives you the exits where you can eat at Denny's and sleep at Motel8!!(These are only examples not my favorites)

It also mentions the rest areas , gas stations (petrol bunks) with the gas price one can estimate the cost of the whole trip.

ROADSIDEAMERICA (www.roadsideamerica.com)

One can see the attractions of the city most of them are offbeat tourist attractions. It also shows the maps, so one can find attractions along your route.

The most Obvious ones:

1. LONELY PLANET THORN TREE POST: One of the most interesting places where you can gather information. I used this extensively for my travel within India .
2. GOOGLE EARTH
3. www.maps.google.com
4. www.mapquest.com
5. Yahoo Travels

DAY 2: 27 May 2007 Urbana, Illinois to Sioux City, Iowa

DAY 1: 26 May 2007 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Urbana, Illinois

REMINISCENCES OF MY TRAIN JOURNEYS

The earliest train journey I can recall (guess the year is 1983/84) is when we used to travel from Jallandhar in Punjab to Kannur in Kerala. Its vague as I was very young. Father was stationed in Adampur an Air Force Base. Every year we used to take 2 months of our summer vacation to visit Sister (who was studying in a boarding school in Kerala) and relatives in Vengara (www.vengara.com). Well mother made sure she packed Food for all of us for the entire 3 ( or was it 4?) days travel!!

Then there was a long gap between the train Journeys after we shifted to Bangalore as we used to take the bus to go to our village. The next train journey was in the year 1993 after I passed my 12th Grade, when Ministry of Defense,Government of India decided I was qualified enough to try out for the Office Cadre in Indian Navy , so I was invited by the SSB (Service Selection Board) to meet them for a four day all expenses paid interview at Bhopal Sulatania Infantry Lines, one of the most beautiful places I have seen!! Ten years later 2003 when I was working with FreeMarkets and was in Bhopal for a client meeting I requested my client to take me there, you see I am a very nostalgic person :-) Also walked in the Old Bhopal streets and had hot Jealbis of the halwai's from the street, maybe it was the same guy 10 years back too!!

Let me not digress and change the track back to Indian Railways. After 1993 I went all out on my travels by trains. I like to travel without reservations as this gives me the opportunity to meet people from the various strata of the society. These are rich, cherished and memorable experiences of my journeys.

• I have broken bread (rotis) with Lambani tribal women (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambani) prepared on a Kerosene stove inside the train compartment.
• Shared a top rack with an unemployed Bihari youth ( and 3 other people) heading towards Mumbai looking for a job for 30 hours!! And them not allowing me to spend even a buck to buy food or tea,they treated me as they felt I was a guest!! On reaching Mumbai I reciprocated by taking them for a good Lunch and Beer @ Papa Pacho in Bandra!!
• An Army Jawan headed to Assam to fight insurgency and his frustration with the life ( 2001 Chennai to Kolkatta)
• Shared a Patiala Peg along with the Ticket Collector to NJP and heard good stories on the way to New Jalpaiguri (2001 Kolkatta to NJP)
• Sat on the train door from Thrissur to Trivandrum the entire journey and watched the darkness pass by at 60kmph (1995 Engineering days 38 miles/hr)
• Had a insightful talk with a Sadhu (2000) did you know Govt. Of India/ Indian railways doesn't ask them for tickets!!!
• A small train (as big as a bus) on narrow gauge when I went for a rafting/hike in North Karnataka!!! It stopped for people to cross the railway lines!! (2004)
• The folks who took fascination to my Compaq laptop (2004 journey from Bangalore to Delhi 40 hours) after I showed them two movies and the battery ran out..in the middle of the second movie

What I would love to do is the longest journey on Indian Railways from Jammu Tawi to Kanyakumari, a distance of about 3,751 km covered by Himsagar Express ,a 5 day trip , planning to take a flight from Delhi to Jammu board the train .........someday its in my list of 50 things to do before I am 50!!!

The Machine (& The Man)

2007 HONDA CIVIC COUPE -Galaxy Grey Metallic Color ( I must admit after coming to US I too have adapted to the easy spelling used by Americans Colour/Color?)

Yes thats the car for the long drive planned. I bought this car in Dec 2006 and have mustered just 2000 miles in 6 months, given that I use a rented car when I am at client site 4 days of the week, its understandable.






Let me list few features of the car:

• 140hp 1.8-Liter SOHC 16-Valve i-VTEC 4-Cylinder Engine
• 5-Speed Automatic Transmission with Grade Logic Control
• Front and Rear Disc Brakes
• Front MacPherson Strut Suspension
• Rear Multi-Link Suspension
• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)--This feature was most useful when I did the 1600mile road trip to Grand Canyons, its best understood when it has been used and you are grateful for it
• 350-Watt AM/FM/CD Premium Audio System with 7 Speakers incl.--Its good
• 60/40 Split Fold-Down Rear Seatback--Extra Space for storage
• MP3/Auxiliary Input Jack-- Best Feature especially long drives can put old Hindi music and hum along
• Passenger-Side Walk-in Feature with Memory--How is this done? Must get some reading done on this!!

TALISMA WANDERER

TALISMA: Its an Arabic word meaning "magic letter". The English word Talisman comes from this .

Let me put the word in a context, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens, Charles: His face was a talisman to the porters and servants of his more dashing clients, and procured him ready admission, though he trudged on foot, and others, who were denied, rattled to the door in carriages.

Come on lets face it, thats a Talisman we all would love to have

WANDERER: To travel about, on, or through
Let me put the word in a context, Great Expectations by Dickens, Charles: And you," she said, in a voice of touching interest to a wanderer, "you live abroad still?

Yeah still live abroad. The one place I would really like to be abroad is Africa...someday....


Origin of the words fascinate me I got hooked on to it when i started preparing for my CAT,GRE and TOEFL and a gift of 2 books from my brother
1) Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
2) All About Words by Maxwell Nurnberg and Morris Rosenblum

I would highly recommend these books even if you are not preparing for any exams.

This snap is from my recent visit to Key West.

Well here are some more details, have to take the maps by next week.

After a lot of deliberations and discussions I have finally decided on the places and made reservations. Unlike my road trips in India where I used to find the nearest "Dabha" to rest and sleep in the car, I made Motel reservations!! Well the fact is also that it was a long time back and I was younger too.

The halts are:
Pittsburgh, PA
Urbana, IL
Sioux City, IA
Keystone, SD ( Mt. RUSHMORE)
CODY, WY (Yellow Stone NP)
Rexburgh, ID
Twin Falls, ID
Reno, NV
San Jose, CA

COAST TO COAST

I am in the process of deciding the route for coast to coast drive। Pittsburgh to San Jose. The trip will cover Chicago, Mount Rushmore, Yellow Stone National Park and Twin Falls.





Tentative Stops
------------------------
Pittsburgh PA 15232
Chicago IL
Chamberlain SD (Keystone SD 57751)
CODY WY 82414
Twin Falls, Idaho 83303
San Jose CA 9004