A trip to California

My best friend and I recently traveled to California. It's in the beautiful sunny west coast of the US and has the best things - sun, beach, ocean, hills, money, glamor and glitz and brains. But this time, it lacked one thing - water. California is going through severe drought - reasons unclear. Some blame it on global warming, some on Almonds. I'm no expert - but it looks like global warming may have played a part in this acute water shortage.

Anyway, plants like these are bringing some color to the terrain. All weather, water conserving-adaptation technique preserved plants. No idea what it's called. But it's fascinating nature-tech at display.

Drought or no-drought, love is always eternal. Whether relationships stay that way is another question. But at least, lovers worlwide are now into photo shoots. See this one below. Perched on top of a cliff, overlooking the Pacific, nicely silhoutting into the horizon. I'm sure this is one photo that will look great. I hope and wish this couple have a great time of togetherness, until death do them apart.

California is also a dreamland for the adventure seekers. Well, all of America is that way. I have found that Americans have a sense of adventure in everything they do. And, it starts really young. Here you can see toddlers, I'm not kidding, yeah - babies (in my olden brain), paddling their surfpads. It was such a delight to see the kids playing in the waves. I wish I was one too - but alas, I can't swim. Maybe that's one thing I can try to change in my life - LEARN TO SWIM.

The statue of this young man with his surf embodies the pioneering, adventurous streak in a person. It is people like him that blaze new path in life - discover new frontiers, stretching the imagination of life and living. In modern times, one can see such a spirit in the entrepreneurs of the world. Take facebook's Mark Zuckerburg for instance. He made us use his idea and convinced one-fifth of the world's population that it is fun. As I write this, there's probably another Mark Zuckerburg at work somewhere in the World. I hope my fellow countrymen and women get the right encoruagement from our society to carve out new ideas into reality, and create new frontiers in science, medicine, and all areas of society.

It can be as simple as this shop - Marianne's ice cream shop at Santa Cruz. Started by this gentleman, now almost everyone who visits this sleepy touristy town makes it a point to stop here for a cold delight. Creating a brand requires commitment, energy, vision and above all - quality service.

Here you can see the natural bridge of Santa Cruz. With birds resting on top of it, awaiting the onset of the high tide and a setting sun, this beach was such a tranquil spot for a quiet reflection. I hope I can spend some time on a beachfront house to just gaze into the never ending play of waves on the rocks and sandy beaches and watch umpteen number of dusks, sipping a hot cup of chai.

While I am debating how to reflect, here's what these teenagers are doing for fun in San Jose. At an age when I was playing street cricket and coconut football, these young men are already on their bikes and  practicing jumps on it.The games people play is a mini version of the wars countries fight. US and NATO shoots precision bombs, while Boko Haram fights with machetes. Either way, blood is same everywhere. 

San Jose is the home of Silicon Valley. Once these vast lands were orange farms. Now it is inhabited by Indian and Chinese software professionals. It's a hub of innovation and inventions. 

As a result of the changing demographics, what was once inconceivable is now in bricks and stones. Who would have thought that there would be a gurdwara in San Jose? And that too a majestic one!

Finally, the sun shines bright on the distant San Jose skyline. Solar power is increasingly utilized in this city for regular household use. It's a simple principle: make the most of what you have - gifts, money, talents etc. 

On our way back home, we witnessed some things that caught my eye. Like this amazing road network. It amazes me to see how the engineers design the roadways and bridges. Maybe one of these days, I can spend some time watching construction laborers. I used to enjoy this activity when I was a little schoolboy.

This small device saved the planet from thousands of plastic bottles. The way forward for green citizens of the world lies in smart gadgets like this - eg; blow-air hand dryer instead of paper towels. 

Mid air to home, we were both flummoxed by these round green things in the middle of the Nevada desert. We later found out that this is a method of farming using a technique called pivot irrigation. Just another example of man's resilience. Cultivation in desert land!

Finally, we landed in home town after an 8-day trip. One thing both of us could easily notice was the disproportionate White population who fly versus Blacks. It's an unfortunate testament of the prevailing inequality of the American society. At the same time, on our bus ride home from airport, our co-passengers were predominantly Black. 

We are now back home, and back to the grind of daily routine. Looking forward to the next vacation or travel. My best friend remains my best travel companion. I remember the first step I took with her. We must have now traveled several thousand miles together. It's the best part of vacations and travel - the companionship.