Thanksgiving was celebrated with much pomp and vigor across the nation…. A day when most families unite to re-ignite the good old days and to cherish what they had… I celebrated Thanksgiving with a new family… A family, where every individual is a character on his own… where every member is a member of some other family, but someone who brings in something unique and something rare into the family… I celebrated Thanksgiving with my new friends…
Going on a road trip for 4 days, with people whom, I met hardly half-an-hour ago was not what I had in my mind... I, like all people, felt that a trip would be worth its weight in gold, if it’s composed of like-minded people... People, who shared common thoughts and common ideologies…. And if the trip is with folks of the fairer-sex, people should have some common aura between them… After this trip, I guess, that’s one more ideology to be dumped… one more idea pushed aside as a thing of the past.
It was an exhilarating experience, which left me enriched and enlightened... Perhaps, the words used here could not describe my actual feeling… The trip started with me and three other girls, one of which,Nithya, is a very good friend of mine…. I end this trip with a new friend added to my list,a person, whom I believe, would go on to make a big difference in all of our lives… The charm and the guise, the managerial ability and the caring attitude, the maturity in their actions, the clarity in their thoughts left me searching for words…
The road to Grand Canyon was long and winding and so was the traffic on the express-way. The queue seemed larger than the largest anaconda and moved slower than the oldest tortoise on the planet. After what it seemed as an eternity, we finally reached Flagstaff. An over-night, rather after a small siesta, stay we got back onto the free-way… Finally after close to 20 hours of excruciating drive and stay at the hotel, it was bliss… A feast to the sore eyes… Like a kid, lost in a candy store… I clicked my way to happiness… Being naïve, I tried to capture the entire beauty of the Canyon into my small sony-cyber shot camera.
To quote Aristotle, "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous". Time stood frozen.. For sometime atleast.. It was the second time for me.. Nevertheless.. it was an experience that everyone needs to have once in their life time.. The sunset was an event that left me enthralled.. Soon it was time to bid adieu.. Adieu to one of those monuments, which has stood the test of time..
The way to San Francisco, was fantabulous.. A night at Bakersfield, treated along with a sumptuous breakfast and we were on our way.. All this time, the girlz were having their usual rheotoric fun :D.. It was Thanksgiving and the girlz were missing all the shopping. The nights were spent turning the internet upside down for the best deals, and the days were spent sleeping in the car.. The trip looked like a long-pajama party.
Finally.. after 12 hours and 900 miles, we arrived at SFO. Arriving straight at the wharf, we had a majestic view of the Bay Bridge. In the fading lights, the Bay bridge looked majestic. After a bit of shopping, it was time to have some fun. The 3D show was awesome.. The thrills and frills of the ride, with the cool glasses..
It was time to settle for the night.. and we got ourselves a suite.. Kudos to Sharmila, who managed to keep every member of the team, always full and happy, by properly managing our food assets. Thats one place where we saved a considerable figure on our expenses .. Talk about a good deal..
The next day brought us into SFO.. A vibrant city, with a unique style of its own. A city known for its software companies and the desi population inherent in it. We started the day with a visit to the temple. The temple at Livermore,filled, our hearts with content and our stomachs with delicious indian food. We bumped into a friend who gladly agreed to accomadate us for the night. Then,it was a wild dash back to the Wharf. We missed the cruise which we were supposed to go. But we caught the next one.The cruise was fun and cold. The girlz were grinning from ear to ear, with their teeth chattering in the chill weather. We went around the bridge and the Alcatraz. Alcatraz or the rock, attracts more people now, than when it was constructed :D
Our next destination .. Japanese Tea Garden. We got lost in the downtown and we landed on the Lombard, the most crooked street in the world. Driving on those crooked streets spent shivers down my spine. It was as if i was seated in a game car in a roller coaster, except for this case, it was real. To add some icing to the cake, the car was running low on gas. We transformed ourselves from mere computer programmers to expert map readers, in just a couple of minutes, esp Priya, who plotted the way for us.Eventually, Japanese tea was too sweet and too cold for us.
Last day.. The day began with a visit to the bridge. The bridge bore as a testament to the awesome spirit of the city and the unrelenting quest of man to modernize his life. It began to drizzle and thats when the fun quadrapuled. To quote Alice Hoffman, "When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure."
Never had i being out in the rain with my friends on a bridge.. It was freaky and fun.. Eventually we managed to get ourselves back into the car, wet but.. content.
We finally, gathered ourselves and started the journey towards Los Angeles. We stopped for lunch in the midway. It was dark by the time, we arrived in LA. Nithya had to catch a flight and after that the rest of the girlz, had to be given a ride home.It was an awesome trip and i hated to see it come to an end. The tour may have ended.. but not the spirit of the group.
Friends may be apart.. but the friendship isn't...
Thank GOD for Thanksgiving
