Trip to Venice Beach – 40th Birthday – Day 3

Woke up early. We had a 11:00 pm checkout. We had decided to have the breakfast from what we had got with us. It was becoming apparent that we were getting so much to eat, most of which would just make the journey back home. After the breakfast we decided to explore the hotel a bit which we had not got much opportunity earlier. There were maze of corridors, not all connecting all the way through. The backyard of the hotel was especially good, with pool and inhouse restaurant opening up to the beach. We decided to head to the beach. Its the beach on the harbor so its quite and calm with more gentle waves than on the beaches of sea or ocean. We had already changed to our regular clothes so dropped the plan to go kayaking which G was interested in. We would surely had fallen and got wet and we did not had enough time and clothes to go back to the room and change.

I and Ar entered the water and walked around knee deep water for 20 or so minutes. The water was cool and calm. The beach had started getting a bit busy with some people setting up for a birthday party on the other side. G avoided getting into the water. After some pics and slo mo shots we got out, cleaned up the sand and headed to the backyard of the hotel. It is a nice places, with palm lined trees. We wanted to eat at the restaurant, at least once, but the menu we had seen earlier was only of sea/meat food. But it was a nice place facing the beach and harbor. The waiters were laying up the tables as its seems there was some planned event. We clicked some pics, soaked in the sun for a bit and headed back.

We had already packed our stuff. It was already close to 11:00 am. We moved the luggage to our car in couple of rounds and after checkout formalities headed out. We were not sure where to have lunch and after realizing the first option which was the Bollywood Zaika (which we had been before and liked a lot) was close on Sunday, we found a place which we though was good close by at Santa Monica. It was a few minute drive and the route is amazing. We parked at the back end of this restaurant opposite to the church. Luckily we found the free parking else we would have to search the metered parking on the main roads. It was the Indian restaurant and after the order or rather during the process of giving realized we had met the most un courteous restaurant staff. They were packing something and it seemed it was for some catering order later that day. We ordered chaat items, idli and dosa along with mango lassi for Ar. The food was not delivered in decent plates and was very average. They delivered shev puri instead of dahi puri and when G went to the guy to point this out he got into a argument with her saying how come dahi puri would not have dahi. Only when we put it in front of his eyes, did he started seeing I suppose 😉 or may be not. The worst ever experience there. We were glad we were done and left.

The journey back was uneventful, except that we did experience some traffic, which I spent listening to music and G (half napping) and Ar all asleep 😉

P.S.: The actual birthday was later in the week and G & Ar had planned few surprises and this extended birthday was memorable one!

Trip to Venice Beach – 40th Birthday – Day 2

26-Nov-2022: We woke up at normal time and the gallery opened to a great view. The water of the harbor had come in and had formed a nice , clean, small beach just below our hotel. We could see some kayaks coming back from the morning practice and also there was some local race going on. On the other side of the road we could see the other spurt of harbor which was filled with private boats. It was a great view. We prepared chai from the Wagh Bakri chai powder and hot water we had brought with us. The balcony was the perfect place for the morning tea. We could see some locals going about there morning walks and some kids have started arriving at the beach to play. We then got ready and left the hotel for our first stop of the day which was going to be the famous canals from which this place takes its name at around 9:00 am.

They were located at around 10 -15 minutes from our place. This city is built as Venice and has these artificial canal system built along which there are private residences. There are 2 rows and 4 columns of canals, where the rows are bigger and columns bit narrower. You an cross the one to another through the bridges built at regular intervals. There is a small dock in front of every home and most of them have the private boats parked there. We also saw some pier type boats on which you can place chairs and float around. Would be quite nice. This being Halloween week, many home still had the decorations on. The houses had nice front yards with gardens and some even had setup made for squirrels and birds to come and have some eats. We zig zagged through all of the canals walkways and you can easily spend a good amount of time exploring this place. Ar, was getting hungrier by the minute, that is when we decided t o head towards Kinney Blvd which has all the famous places in this town.

On the way we saw some nice houses and old buildings. The Kinney Blvd is the go to place here and was fairly crowded when we arrived. We were not sure and so decided to walk along until we found good enough place to eat. I had done some home work on the restaurants but was still not sure where to go. It was also quite a hot day and so when we saw the food truck we ordered over selves some juices. I think Ar had strawberry and we had the elderberry juice. There was one restaurant which I came across during analysis called The Butcher’s Daughter, where they server the veg version of popular non-veg dishes but normally we are skeptical about these plant based dishes so we avoid, but after not seeing anything to our liking we finally headed there. They have indoor and outdoor seating and the theme is old French kind of restaurant. There was a huge waiting line and we had to stand 15 minutes before the waiter found us a table in the premise but in open air and it was amazing. They had an interesting menu. We ordered soup, avocado toast, burger and pizza. The order came in fairly fast and all the things tested amazing. We were quite impressed and would rate this place as one of the best restaurant we had eaten here in US, considering we are vegetarian. Also it was nice to see the place for full and overflowing. We spent maybe much more time than we would have otherwise and we liked it so much that we decided we would be back again during this trip 🙂

It was around 3:00 pm and we started walking back to hotel. The streets of Venice are nice, with tree lined boulevards, old houses and small quite streets. We had thought of going and do some kayaking or boat at the beach, next to hotel. But we were tired and a bit sleepy 😉 Also this trip was planned as relaxing and we did not wanted to push ourselves too much. So we just had a quick nap. We woke up by 4:30 pm, prepared and had chai and then got ready to leave for the Venice beach. The beach was around a mile and quarter from hotel and after a quick walk we entered the eating zone in front of it. Ar wanted to do the e-scooter ride since we had arrived and there are many of them throughout the city. We found one, downloaded the App but had some issues getting it running. Later we figured out that as there are GPS controlled they wont start until you are in designated place, which is not the boardwalk, main street, on the opposite side and so on. Also its not that easy to just cancel the ride and you cant just finish the session by dropping the scooter where you want. It has to be at the designated place. Finally we found an alley where we got it working and Ar & G had long ride there. I also went around and they are cool having used them before.

From there we moved towards the pier, which was not that well maintained. So did not spend too much time and headed towards the beach. There are many vendors on the both sides of the sidewalk and also some music being played. We then spotted a children’s park and Ar went playing there and we just took a seat in front of it. We were able to see the sunset and then it started getting dark quickly. There were Ar and an another young boy playing and the boy was just copying what Ar was doing like slide or climbing etc. We had put on the portable speaker and old hindi songs were playing. It was also getting chilly there with cool breeze blowing from the ocean. We were not really hungry, but wanted to get going and not go back to hotel, but head directly to restaurant. I had reserved the table at the Butcher’s daughter ;), where else for 8:15.

It was a 5 minutes walk and near it we saw some nice wall paintings done by elementary school kids some of which were quite impressive. Tonight, it was bit less crowdy than in the afternoon. Anyways we had the reservation and we got the table earlier than time. burger, one rice dish, which reminded us of dal khichadi and pizza. G ordered coffee and I had pure passion juice, though I wanted to have other one which was not available. The dinner was nice. Ar was already getting worried that we have to again walk back to hotel, so I booked Lyft ride back to hotel, which made Ar happy to no end ;). Back at hotel, we went for a quick walk along the water, which had receded now and then time to call it the day.

Trip to Venice Beach – 40th Birthday – Day 1

25-Nov-2022: I am not much into birthday celebration and this year though it being my 40th was going to be similar affair. Though we try to plan some outing around each other’s birthday time as its a good excuse to get away. This year G was thinking on going to Catalina Island, which is around an hour boat ride from Newport beach. Its a nice place and I have been there but G 7 Ar have yet too. There are lots of water activities to do there and is a quite and calm place. G did some enquiries but it seemed that they had very limited availability of weekends at the hotels. Also it was not easy to take leave out from my and her office. The other option was to go for a airbnb kind of a place and we saw one interesting house in the oceanside, opening up to the beach. It had 2 levels and we could book one and so it was not appealing that much though the place looked amazing and we let it pass. So after lot of search we decided to finalize the Venice beach area. We have been there once and its next to Santa Monica in LA and a nice place. There was lot of deliberation on the hotel to book and finally we zeroed in on the “Jamaica Bay INN by the beach side by Hilton”. It was in the Marina Del Ray area on the harbor about a mile from the ocean front. Seemed to be a nice place and it was booked for 2 nights.

The plan was to leave by car after office on 25th the Friday and stay that night and next and return back on Sunday the 27th.There was not much to carry but we still stuffed up multiple bags, mostly with food and snacks. On Friday, I was able to warp up my work relatively early but G’s work continued for normal hours till 4:00pm. After that we started to get things ready and left around 6:00 pm. The route to this place was all the way up north on I-405. I wanted to start early to beat the Friday night traffic of LA but we could only start during the peak hours. The traffic was heavy throughout but more so as we approached the airport where we kind of stuck for long time. Also the tire pressure alert started flashing on the car’s dashboard suddenly and it was difficult to pull out from exit due to traffic. Finally as I was bout to do so it stopped. It kept doing that for few times in this trip, but later whenever I checked the pressure was normal, even I got it checked at the gas station. It seems the sensors are acting up a bit. We reached our destination at around 8:30 which was at least 1 hour or more than the normal time required. We were quite tired by then. We parked in their parking area which was paid one :(. After doing the formalities which took a while as it seems the receptionist had done a goof up and he was sweating profusely. We had asked for the harbor view room, so after we reached the room and opened the door to gallery we were bit disappointed as the water looked in distance where we could see some sail and personal boats. We realized it would be low tide and we will only know the actual view matches their pictures in the morning.

We were hungry by now and G suggested we go to El Torito which we saw was nearby. She had been at their Dana Point location earlier with her friends and had liked it. So we decided to head there. We picked the car from parking and driving along the harbor reached this place which is right on the harbor in about 5 mins. We found the parking which was quite full as there are many eating places around here and tonight at few places they had a Halloween party. We met few with Halloween costumes as we made our way to the hotel. We were seated next to the water and had a great view. They start with Chips and guacamole which they prepare right in front of you which was first time for me. It was good. We ordered Veggie Fajitas, Quesadillas and Chile Relleno. G wanted to order only 2 dishes, which I though would not be enough. But they serve good quantities which was more than we could finish. They were fine, but not to our heart’s content. We wanted to try out there deserts, but we were full and not more space in our tummy’s. They also had some candies which Ar liked a lot. We then went for a small walk along the water and then it was time to head back.

We were back by around 11:00 pm and quite tired. So we took to bed and were asleep in no time.

A (Whole) Day At the Beach!

06-Aug-2022: We go to the beach quite so often since we came to US. We live on west coast and the beach is just 10 mins drive from our home. Once you reach the pacific coast you can go north or south and there are beaches all over. Typically we go an spend say an hour or couple before heading back. In US you see people spending days on beaches from morning to night and we had thought we would also try it once but mostly have found out that after couple of hours we find nothing much to do. So we have been planning and Ar pushed for it that this summer before the school starts we should spend a whole day at beach. My suggestion that we start at 8:00 am clock though scared her.

We let her plan the day which she after discussion with me and G planned to the hour, starting from 10:00 am to the sun set. She suggested we spend lot of time in water, platy some games even board games and of course eat lot of food :). We had decided to go on a Saturday and a day before after office I went and go some stuff like Salsa, ice cubes, chips, ice cream etc. The weather was going to be ok and so we were looking forward to spending the whole day at beach.

We woke up late, spent lot of time getting ready and so could start after 10:00 am only. In the morning I filled up the new cooler we had got with ice and then Ice cream, coconut water, salsa etc. G had prepared ingredients for Chipotle bowl and we put that in as well, which might have been a mistake which we realized later. Ar last night had helped collect & pack various games like ball, snake & ladder etc. So we left 11:15 am from home. We were bit worried about the parking but luckily the beach was lightly crowded that day at least in the morning and so we got good parking spot, got the parking permit (10 hours, that’s first ;)) and moved with first lot of stuff (we had so much, like we are going outstation ;)) and found a good spot in the park overlook the beach at a high ground, under a tree for cover. As G went ahead setting it up, I went back to get the remaining stuff and we were all setup as clock hit noon.

As it was already past noon we decided to have lunch before we get into anything else. We had setup the Bluetooth speaker and we were playing some nice old Hindi songs. As we opened the cooler we saw the ice cubes on the top had mostly melted and then realized we should not have put the Chipotle stuff in as it was still bit warm. But thing were still mostly cool and G got onto prepare the Chipotle bowl which Ar was too excited to lay her hand on. Rice & beans, guacamole, Medium salsa, peppers & lettuce. It was as good as the bowl we get at Chipotle. G, well done! The weather was quite good, it was still cloudy which is a unique feature of beaches here. Closer to home it was sunny as we started and the coast which is no more than 4 mile as crow flies was cloudy and cool. After the lunch we had the mini ice-cream cone (which should have been called micro) from Trader Joe’s which were starting to melt a bit, we were ready to hit the beach.

The beach is short trek from the park and the time was of high tide. The beach itself was fairly crowded and felt more so as water had risen. We walked back and forth in the water which was cold as always. We might have spent over 2 hours there as Ar was not ready to leave. She was enjoying approaching the water as waves receded and turn back as they came back. Then there were these in countable times of jumping on the waves and trying to find see shells. By this time the clouds were retreating and so weather was getting warmer, a perfect time spend time in water. On our way back the water had risen further and we had to pass through narrow channel of raised sand dune and water and few times water hitting us all the way as we almost drenched in it. Finally we were out of water and walked back to our station.

We were back to our resting place by 3:00 pm. It was now movie time. I had downloaded couple of movies on Netflix & Amazon prime for offline viewing on iPad. The consensus was for KGF and so setup the iPad on the cooler but we struggled a bit to get it right as the sun above us was reflecting the background on the screen so the picture was not clear. After trying out various stuff we go the angle fairly right and got into the movie. The movie was ok and the setting was good. Ar was not in it much and instead she was playing around and doing her stuff. After a while we had an intermission and G & Ar went to play and I took some rest. It was getting quite hot and difficult to find a good shady spot.

We had out tea at 5:00 pm. We had got the hot water and ready team mix and all three had a nice cup of it. Then there was another round of play this time a improvised version of cricket which looked more a like a kids soft ball between me and Ar. Then it was time to go for a short walk on the trail which we do often on this beach. The trails runs parallel to the coast and offers some best views. We did bit longer than normal loop but Ar was tired and wanted to go back. En route we saw plants for fennel seeds and munched on raw juicy seeds which are one of our favorites.

We were back to our station again and it was almost 6:00 pm. We watched the movie for a while and it was getting closer to the sunset. So we packed and decided to go to the lower park to get the better views. It was getting quite cold and the place we had chosen overlooking the beach from close quarters was windy as well. We had planned to have the other ice cream we had brought (sandwich ice-cream), but it had almost melted. G & Ar went back to the car and I decided to prepare the bhel. You think its going to be a while to sunset and then the sun rapidly sets. I though G & Ar missed the show, but they had seen it from afar. By the time they were back the bhel was ready but it was getting quite cold after the sunset and all our jackets had gone wet during the waves splash earlier today. So we had the snacks fast and started packing. We left the beach around 8:00 pm, around an hour earlier than planned and paid for.

We were back home by 8:30 pm. We still had some space for left over bhel and chipotle rice 🙂 and called it the day. It was unbelievable but we had spent the whole day there and Ar deserves a special thanks for planning and seeing it through.

Last day of 2016!

31-DEC-2016: Normally we don’t have any special plans for 31st. Typically we just spend some time with family, may be cook something together, watch a movie or so and then take to bed. This time around I was on long leave and we have been thinking about going for a cruise, so booking a cruise for the night of 31st sounded an interesting idea. We booked the cruise in advance as normally the sits fill up quickly. This was from Davy’s Locker called the Boat light parade cruise, which takes off from the Balboa pier of Newport beach. We were on the 8:10 pm slot and it was going to be 2 hours long. The cruise goes around the Newport harbor passing by many houses located on the water front, close enough for you to see their Holiday decoration and lighting’s.

We were going to have home cooked dinner. So G got the dinner packed along with few snack items and juice. We got there bit early, it was around 6:00 pm as we thought we may not get parking later and also we could go around a bit. We had decided to park in the Balboa pier parking lot, same place we had parked when I had been to Catalina island. But as we pulled in, the person on duty informed us that they have closed for the day and so you would have to do street parking. So bit sad we got on the road again, thinking when and where we would get the parking, but luckily just opposite to this parking lot on the other side of the street there was a slot available on the street. We parked there and paid for the parking for next 4 hours.

Now we had long time to kill and though normally there are lot of activities to do on the pier, but due to it being 31st everything was closed. Also it was very cold outside, kind of chilling, so we deiced to stay put in the car only. We even turned on the heater in the car, it was that cold! After a while we got bored and decided to walk the shoreline and explore the place a bit. So we moved along the shore passing by many houses. It was dark by then, but the lights had lit up the harbor. Many of the houses we saw had some cool Christmas decorations, some having moving decos and were really nice. The reflection of lights in the harbor water was sight to see. We would have walked more, but it was quite chilly and decided to head back to the comforts of our car.

We were hungry by then and so had our dinner. For dinner we had home made pattice, which though cold by now tasted yummy! Again the actual plan was to have it sitting along the harbor, but it was just not possible in this weather. It was a memorable experience to have dinner in the Car and we had nice songs playing in the background for company. Once done there was still some time in our hand and so we had a quick nap 🙂 Now it was close to 7:30 pm and we decided to head to the cruise office. First off we got in the wrong line, it was for the one slot before us, which we realized just before boarding the ship :). So we got back and stood underneath the shade of the office. It was not as comforting as inside the office itself, but we wanted to be close to the front of the line to get better seats :). Then it started raining, thankfully we had our umbrellas, but were worried about this whole plan being washed away. Thankfully the rains stopped in a bit, but made weather even more chilling! We weathered on and finally our cruise came and they started boarding.

The cruise was nice and quite big than we had anticipated. There were 2 decks and we straight away headed to the top one to get a better view and experience, hoping and praying it does not start raining again. The lower deck was enclosed and cozy and though the upper deck also had seating arrangements they were open to sky and it was very cold and became even more when the ship started moving 🙂 . The boarding was done quickly and the ship started and we were on our way. We were now cruising in the harbor and getting some nice views of the bay. There are many houses on the shoreline and many of them have there personal boats or yachts, which were also artistically decorated.

There were not many boats moving in the harbor itself like normally is the case except few like us, some of them had a full blow party going on their decks. Ours was more sober, with light music and cruising along slowly.  Many of the houses had nice decos, some which I remember well were showcasing events from Christs life, one who had created a big clock with multiple color lights and then reindeer, snowman, snowing effect etc.

At first we were quite excited to stand on the deck along the railings watching the spectre, but then as the night advanced it became really chilly. Now we would have liked to head to the lower deck, but off course it was all packed :). Somehow we managed to get under some shelter on our deck only, which protected us from the breeze at least. I and Ar got bored eventually and then decided to head to the tail of the Ship. Not only you get good views from here, but the the thrust from the exhaust creates nice waves and shapes in the water. It was so peaceful being on water. Year 2016 was passing us by and we were ushering into the new year only a few hours away.

We had already taken the U turn and now were seeing the other side from close quarters. One lesson for us was to get hand gloves and add more layers of clothes. The return trip was bit uneventful except that we were almost frozen! We finally landed and rushed towards the parking lot. After turning the heater on full blast, we became bit normal and then pulled the car and headed south along the pacific coast highway. Its always nice to drive on PCH, nights are even better, but the 31st made it memorable. Earlier we had thought that we could go someplace else after the cruise, but the cold got into us and we decided to just head home. We were back by 11:00 pm and thus ended an eventful year 2016 and welcome to year 2017!

Bay Area Trip – Day 3

19-Mar-2016: Today was going to be a slow day. Woke up late and did the daily chores. Then had a hearty breakfast. First time had the oats upma, which was surprisingly nice. Yash was going back today as she had some pre planned work. We were asking her to wait a day and leave with us tomorrow as we would have dropped her to the university campus on our way home, but she wanted to leave early. So P went to drop her to their friend’s place who were car pooling and meanwhile we just passed time watching some TV.

As we had more time to kill, we decided to go around the community. It’s difficult to describe but bay area has it charm and its so closely associated with the industry we are part of and in a way you relate to this area more due to the stories and books we have heard and read about on the legends of the computer industry who grew up and went on to do fascinating things used to/do stay here. The community was bit old but nice and first time we saw small kids playing outside with so many of their friends which is not a common site in US.

When P was back we had our lunch and decided to head out. There were no specific plans, we were first going to visit a temple in the afternoon and then go to bay shore area in the evening. The temple was Shiva temple situated in an area called Livermore and was located on the East shore,  we being at South shore of bay area. So we had a nice drive around the shoreline. The shoreline itself is average as at many places it is more of a creek, but we got a good opportunity to see the Silicon valley. Campus after campus passed us by of the famous IT companies, whose products we had grown up using and admiring. I had been in this area before, but today got the opportunity to see it with lot of time in our hand.

So the place we were going was around 1.5 hrs drive away. After skirting the shoreline , we took an exit to I -580. The drive from here to the temple is pure bliss. The whole country side is dotted with beautiful rolling hills, some lush green, and California currently passing through a long phase of drought, it was not still not in full bloom. We could imagine how it would be during spring and all, but it is one of the best places I have ever been too.  There were some nice farms on the way and some hills had solitary house on the top. A picturesque view. We reached the temple and took darshan. Then on the way we stopped at a lake, which was quite nice, surrounded by a nice little garden. We had some snacks, went round the lake and also spotted many ducks in it. Ar had nice time running behind them who quite often were coming in the park area. What a nice place, I would love to come here for a walk everyday.

From there we headed back. One stopover which I had in my mind was Google campus. I had been here, but wanted G and Ar to see it. P who had been leaving here since long time had never been here which we couldn’t believe. So we arrived at their Mountain view offices, parked and went inside. At the gate itself you are greeted by the Android mascot. Then as you venture in you see the famous Google building, their visitors area and canteen. They also have a cycle stand with good variety of bikes and you can pick your choice and go around the campus. So we picked one, I and G got on one after ages and we had nice time riding it. Ar was given the ride by P and she had a good one. The time was running so slow and we could have been there for a long long time :).

After a while we decided to head to the shoreline. The traffic had started building up now and at some places it was bumper to bumper. The shoreline is place where the freshwater lake meets the shore and there is a nice park maintained around it which is close to the Google’s office. We strolled a while in the park and along the shore. Ar was more interested in playing in sand. This was quite a busy place, with many families on stroll or playing etc. Then we all sat on the bench along the shore and saw the sun going down the horizon.  Today was the laid-back day of the whole trip and we still enjoyed it a lot. We headed home from there and were bit disappointed as a wonderful trip was coming to an end. We had our dinner at P’s home only and then saw TV for some time, chatted a while and went to bed. Tomorrow was again going to be a hectic and eventful day.

Bay Area Trip – Day 2

18-Mar-2016: We woke early today. Many of the houses here are old with wooden structure and so they make lot of noise even when some one walks toe tipped on the floor 🙂 We were woken by such screeching sounds. Today we were on our own for most of the day as the other guys were going to office. They made oats upma for breakfast and then left for the office. We also got ready and left the house at 10:00 am. We were planning to see some silicon valley companies and go for SFO sightseeing. So first we went to Facebook headquarters. We thought they would have visitors area, but were told that only the traffic island with the big like sign is accessible for visitors. So we liked the real Like sign! and moved on.

Our next stop was San Francisco city. The route is you take I-280 up north and then head towards I-101, which eventually crosses the bay through the iconic Golden gate bridge. The weather was nice and clear though bit cold. We faced some traffic on I-280. To get onto I-101 we took the wrong exit and had to do lot of roundabout in one area. Somehow we got on the right track. On the way, you cruise along the San Francisco bay with nice views. As we entered the city limits the road narrowed and there was some traffic. In some time there it was in front of us the Golden Gate bridge. Now, I have been here, but not when I was behind the wheels. So it was a nice and memorable experience to drive on this iconic structure. This area is always windy and air chilly. On the other side of the bridge is the Golden Gate Park, with a vista point. We parked there and had a good look of the GG with the sun sparkled golden water in the background.

We were still deliberating on the best way to see SFO city. I was not much enthused to go into the city and park there as I knew from earlier experience the roads and traffic of the city. Not only many of the roads are narrow, but as the city is situated on a hill, its a roller coaster ride :). Some of the roads have gradient of 70º. Right then we spotted a tourist bus which was parked on the vista point. We could not see any sales counter for it on the pavement, but decided to check with the bus driver, if there are any city tours which we can catch from where we were. He said no tours start from here and he is in the middle of his tour, but if you guys want, you can hop on my bus and I will charge you less. After some bargaining, we agreed upon a price and we hopped on our lucky break.

The bus was open air double decker bus and we were lucky to find a place on the top deck. The bus went through the hill loop and tunnel on its way to cross over the Golden gate. The air was very chilly and we were rethinking our decision to sit on the top deck :). The Golden Gate bridge, the harbor and the experience of crossing it is surreal. We were now in the city and the bus guide was showing us some important landmarks like the Alcatraz island (yeah, The Rock movie one !) etc. Then the bus was back at its starting point which is at the fisherman’s wharf. The driver asked us to un-board and be back in an 1 hour when he would be back from his next tour, so that he can show us the remaining spots and drop us back to vista point. We pushed our luck and asked about his last tour which we can take, allowing us more time to explore the city. He reluctantly agreed, to pick us on his last tour, but instructed us to only board his bus.

Now there are many places to explore, but we didn’t had much time as we had some other things lined up back at our place. One thing we did not wanted to miss was the cable train ride. This is an iconic ride which one has to do! I had done this before and G and Ar were also excited to go for it. So we first inquired about it and learnt that there was some time for next ride, so we decided to have lunch. Unfortunately we could not find any good veg options around, so ended up having some stuff we had carried with us.

Then we decided to head towards the starting station of the cable train, which was couple of blocks away. We got the tickets, but there was a long queue to board it and we were worried we may miss this as we had a hard stop at 3:00 pm, when we had to board our last bus back to our parking spot. This cable train is mechanical and runs completely on leavers. The junction is also quite unique, in which the arriving car has to be manually reversed for the next journey. Finally our wait was over and luckily we got into it, but we had to stand, which was sad as we did not get a clear view of outside. But the ride was fun nevertheless, the train shares the track with road traffic and due to its mechanical levers and the SFO roads which have huge slopes and sharp turns its like a roller coaster ride. We got off before our stop as we were not sure if we would be back in time and went to the other side to catch the return train. Few trains passed us but they were all full and they didn’t stop. We had to take a cab back to our bus stop as it was getting very late. So we could not enjoy the cable train completely.

We were back in time to catch the bus back to parking. We saw few places en-route and after crossing the Golden gate bridge were back to vista point. Thanks to this tour driver we could explore the city a bit and we were back on our way to I-101 again crossing the bridge,  which Ar had started liking and even remembers it now also. The traffic was building up and by the time we hit I-280, the Friday silicon valley traffic made our progress really slow. We reached Sunnyvale around 5:00 pm and were quite hungry, so decided to have pizza. We were thinking of Pizza Hut or Dominoes, but couldn’t find any in the locality and so had to settle for some local pizza chain. We ordered a veg pizza and some sides and the food was average at the best. Just then we got the call that our friends have arrived back home and so headed there. After having tea and freshening up we were on the move again.

Tai and Yash had come early. After they refreshed we went for the drive. We went over San Hose downtown which was nice. We then went to Santana Row, which is one of the upmarket areas there. We parked and had a stroll in the area. The area has a nice vibe to it and we soaked it in. We went to Tesla showroom and had a look into their latest models and even sat in one, which was my first time. What a car , what an engineering!  There are many community activity areas there and one of them has a big chess board and has kind of life size pieces. Ar went straight for the king ;).

Then we drove back to Sunnyvale and had dinner at a south Indian place. The place had good ambiance and we had dosa and idli vada which was quite nice. We spent time chatting as we were meeting after a long time. It was almost 9:30 pm and were quite tired. After reaching home we retired to bed immediately.

Bay Area Trip – Day 1

17-Mar-2016: Few of our friends call Bay area their home and we had wanted to visit them for some time and also G and Ar had not been there. So this had been in planning for some time, but it kept getting moved forward, one due to we not having the car and also it being a long trip we were not ready yet. This trip got finalized in Feb and we decided to go in March We were thinking of taking couple of days off before the weekend and make it a 4 days trip. The distance from our place is around 400 miles and it takes around 7:00 hours to reach if you go non stop 🙂 . We started planning the itinerary as the day approached. The plan was as below:

• Day 1: Head towards Bay area, via Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and enjoy the scenic route. Reach our friend’s place.
• Day 2: Do a SFO sightseeing and spend some time with friends.
• Day 3: Do some local sightseeing, like silicon valley etc, mainly a relax day.
• Day 4: Before heading back visit one more of our friend and be home by evening.

We packed our stuff and ended up carrying lot of luggage ;), mainly food, clothes, gifts etc. I had loaded the car tank preceding night as we were to start early. Woke up at 5:00 am. We had planned to leave by 6:30 am as we wanted to cross LA before peak time traffic. Though as always we got delayed and could start only around 7:30 am. We were cruising along I-5 and traffic was light, but as we got on 101, the traffic slowed us down. It took us more than a quarter hour to cross LA. We took diversion at CA-58 to head towards Moro bay where we got on to the Pacific coast highway (PCH), which was going to accompany us for next 200+ miles. This route is one of the most beautiful and scenic route in the world. The whole road passes right next to the Pacific coast on one side and cliffs on other. There are many beautiful beaches, vista points and arched bridges on the way.

We were making nice progress as traffic was light. We took a stop at San Simon which is a nice town and has great beach front. We had our lunch their which we had brought with us (parathas etc). It was such a nice experience to have it alongside the San Simon coastline. We would have liked to explore this town more as we had heard it has some nice old European architecture style buildings. For some other time! We also fueled up here and moved ahead. It is important to keep refueling on PCH at regular intervals as you might not spot any gas station for a long stretch.

Our next stop was going to be Big Sur. This is a resort town on the way and its very scenic. The main attraction is the cove and waterfall descending into it. We parked on PCH and then had to descend and get to the bridge. From here you get view of pristine blue waters and the water falling from cliff into the cove. I have not seen such a sight. Its mesmerizing. We spent some good amount of time there and did not want to leave. Just a short distance from here is Bixby creek bridge, which you might have seen on numerous postcards. There are couple of vista points before the bridge, from where you can see the arched bridge on the cliff flanked by Pacific coastline with blue waters. We then crossed the bridge and took break on the vista point on other side of the bridge. You get a different view of the bridge from here which is equally jaw dropping. Big Sur is a destination in itself and you can spend few days here to explore it, which we did not had unfortunately 😦 . We wanted to see one more point (a beach), which is quite popular but couldn’t find the spot and as we were getting late so we continued further.

Around 30 miles from Big Sur is the famous 17 mile drive. This is a private drive and there is $10 fee. Its a small peninsula and you go round the loop which is around 17 mile and so the name. At the beginning there is forested area and the jungle is heavily wooded. We took couple of breaks there, it was cool and peaceful. From here as you drive down you start feeling the ocean breeze. There are many scenic spots here like the iconic Lone Cyprus tree which is timeless, then there is Pebble beach and many golf coarse on the coast line. We took a break at the Pebble beach and had some snacks on the benches overlooking it. It gave us much needed break. It was around 5:30 pm and I had been driving for close to 10 hours. Ar was started getting bit restive, with her constant question being “Are we there yet?”. We then completed the loop which was quite scenic and then headed out.

There is an exit for Sunnyvale before you enter Santa Cruz. This is the point you leave the coast behind. It was a mesmerizing PCH ride, which we would remember forever. Yeah, its just like as they show in movies 🙂 . We stopped at a gas station to fill the tank and then we headed for our destination. We reached our friend’s home at Cupertino by 8:00 pm. We were quite tired, but had completed the 1st leg. We had driven for almost 12.5 hours and covered a distance of over 400 miles. We parked our vehicle, pulled out all our stuff and headed to their home. After freshening up and some chit chat had dinner and then it was time to go to bed.

PS:  I had done the PCH ride before, but it was as a passenger and I always wanted to drive myself on this stretch. I cant explain enough in words how scenic and wonderful this route is..

Seal & Sunset beach Weekend Getaway

10-Jun-2017:  Today was more beaches day! We couldn’t see the sunset yesterday and so decided to go to some beach to catch one today. The plan was to go late in second half and come back after the sunset. G wanted to start late in the evening something like 6-6:30 pm and before that have the weekly grocery run. But I was getting bored and wanted to leave early. Finally we dropped the grocery plans and decided to head straight to the beach. We decided to cover 2 of the beaches on our To Do list. One was the Seal beach which is close to Long beach and bit south from there the Sunset beach. We planned to go to Seal first and then come catch the sunset on its namesake beach.

We left around 4:00 pm. This time around we didn’t miss to get the snacks with us. The route is go to Pacific Coast Highway and head north and Seal beach is located around 9-10 miles from Huntington beach. The route is our favorite and we were enjoying the drive. It was bit hot though but skies were clear, good news for seeing the sunset. We reached there around 5:30 pm. There is a big parking lot there and the parking charges are $3:00 for 2 hours.

The beach was ok, not great. The Seal is for the namesake, we could not spot any Seals 😉 There are only limited amenities, like only one shower/restroom and a small children’s play area. Also the coasts view is not as scenic, the long beach port and rigs in the ocean are the dampener. Ar though played a lot in the water and she was not ready to leave. We spent lot of time in water. The water was warm with nice swirl of waves hitting now and then. Ar also played with her sand toys and created a small castle. We then decided to take a beach walk and enjoy the moment. There is a nice pier where we strolled a bit and then decided to head to the other beach as it was almost 7:20 pm.

The Sunset beach is 3 miles down south from here and its quite a long beach. There are houses lining the beach front and there is ample parking on the road side. So we pulled just before 19th street and beach is just few yards away from there. Ar was not too eager to go as she was feeling bit cold as well. But after some time she was fine. We put down the blanket on the sands and relaxed. We were hungry by now and had some snacks.

Ar was playing in the sand and I just put on the cap on my face and took a quick nap. G also took some rest. It was close to 8:00 pm now and sun was about to set. I wont say this is the best sunset point ever, but it was nice and we had good time seeing the sun set. We also shot lot of video footage for our vlogs. It was getting quite cold now as the sun had gone below the horizon. We left the place around 8:30 pm.

It had been a bit tiring weekend, but we had nice time covering 3 beaches and the PCH drive. On the way back the traffic was thin and we reached home around 9:30 pm. On the way we picked up bread and G prepared some nice hot sandwiches and we called it a day.

Dana Point Sunset

10-Jun-2017: It’s summer time! Not my favorite month though, but G’s fav and Ar’s also, kinda. One thing we like about summer months is that the day are longer and so you have lot of time at your hands. So Ar’s school break has also started and we have planned some beach gateways with family in the vacation time. We plan to cover at least but not restricted to 12 beaches, that would be 1 beach a week for the vacation duration.

This Saturday we woke late and were behind everything, but after a late lunch decided to head out. We did not have a specific plan, though we were thinking about seeing sunset at Dana Point. It was 4:00 pm when we left and as we hit the Pacific Coast Highway we changed plans and decided to go the other direction i.e. up north and stop at a point where our journey takes us. The weather was good, bit cloudy, we had out sun roof open and were cruising along the PCH.

We passed through Laguna, Corona del mar, Newport beaches and decided to halt at Huntington pier. It was around 5:30 pm now and I pulled up in the parking lot, but when I saw $15 rate, pulled out immediately. For the whole day its fine, but for 1-2 hours we were going to spend there it was not worth it. So we decided to head back to our original destination: Dana point. Ar was bit tired by now and she was anxious when we are going to reach the beach. The traffic surprisingly was thin that day and beaches were also quite empty, may be due to it being cloudy today. Seeing parking spots easily available at Laguna beach tempted us to stop there, but then we decided to stick to our plans. We took the Golden Lantern exit and were at Dana Point by 6:15 pm. There is enough parking space here and its free.

Dana Point is actually a harbor and you would spot many boats and yachts here. The water on the harbor side is calm and serene and on the other side rash and noisy 🙂 On the extreme right side beyond the harbor is Pacific Coast and located there is the Sun Set point, flanked by the hill’s cliff. There are some nice benches to sit and relax and during low tides you can go down the stairs to the waters. This is the place which was my first outing when I came to US. Nice place and nice old memories.

Instead of benches, we decided to sit on the rocks closer to the water. The sound of waves hitting the rocks is so soothing. We knew we will not be able to catch the sunset as it was cloudy near the horizon. We spent good 2 hours there and were lost in time. Ar also had lot of fun. As sun approached the horizon the sky turns into a painting canvas. It was also getting quite cold now and the tide was also rising, some waves were splashing water on us. It was time to leave. We picked the car and headed home and were back by 8:30 pm. We were back late than we had planned and as Ar wanted pizza for dinner, we picked that from Dominoes and headed home to munch on it.

PS: Couple of things that didn’t go as per plan: One was snacks which I had packed was left at home only (no surprises here 😉 ) and so we didn’t had anything to eat on the beach and second being the main reason for the outing to see the sunset remained unfulfilled, so we decided to go again tomorrow at some other place to catch the sun going beyond the horizon.