The Santa Ana winds finally have subsided, but not before making 1000s homeless and
making a record 1 million people flee their homes. In a region where the 3 of the top 5
millionaire counties in the country lie, the fire has already wrecked damage tothe tune of $1 bn. The 15 simultaneous fires in southern california have collectively been dubbed as the worst fire in the history of California causing an evacuation of epic proportions. There is no official count of the death toll, but some sources confirm that atleast 7 people have died, and more than 100 injured.
It is a really shuddering thought to think about people returning home to burnt embers and ashes. Years of good memories were washed away for many, in minutes, by the engulfing
flames. Some had time to salvage their precious items, whereas others probably lost years
worth of hard-work and sweat in seconds. Insurance might buy back some warmth, but for most the sorrow is insurmountable and I can only hope that time will be the best healer.
As evacuees poured in, Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, became a refuge for all the homeless. But before one could start drawing an eerie analogy with New Orleans stadium post-katrina, the donations and volunteers poured in and transformed it into something much more amenable. Infact, if you read this report, you would believe a carnival was happening in San Diego. Natural disasters often bring out the generosity and compassion in humankind, and this incident was no different.
Growing up in India, I had never heard about this form of nature's wrath. When I moved to
US, I ended up spending time in the east coast where the trees either stayed green or were
covered with snow. Under these circumstances fire was never a possibility. Only on moving
west of the Rockies, I saw a terrain ripe for the fires - extreme dryness, high winds through canyons and passes, and dry extensive grasslands. I did not realise how dry it can get in Southern California, till I started using moisturizer in peak summer, and I have definitely seen single digit relative humidity percentage in winter.
However, I always failed to understand how fires could be started spontaneously. I always
thought that fires were started due to live cigarrete stubs or careless embers flying into dry wilderness. But after a few searches on google, I finally convinced myself to the fact that nature can start a fire by itself without any human assisstance. Often times high wind gusts through narrow passages pack enough heat and when the conditions are extremely dry, they can ignite a brush and start a huge fire. This same sequence of event was responisble for starting atleast 12 out of the 15 simultaneous fires in Cal.
Traditionally, Southern California has always faced the threat of wildfires. Just like the Midwest suffers from tornadoes and snowstorms or the gulf coast suffers from different categories of hurricanes, this part of the country faces the fiery threat of the nature. But the effects of this threat has been amplified off late, courtesy the high costs of homes driving people further into the desert lands and mountain tops. But technology and money can only buy so much...in the end man has to always play second fiddle to Mother Nature.
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Leaving Los Angeles
'Surf & Turf' ! There are not many places in the world where the above phrase would make sense, and even if it did, it probably can never be implemented. Surf & Turf refers to hitting the turf (on your snowboard) in the morning in the mountains where it is snowing and then surfing by the ocean in the evening where it is 70F and sunny !! And this incredible gradient in temperature could be seen in a mere stretch of 60-70 miles all within the limits of Greater Los Angeles. If you had more time in the day, you could even fit in a dirt bike or ATV run through the vast desertland a mere 60 miles from downtown. This diveristy is best signified by TV stations as they give 5 different weather forecasts for LA - Beaches, Metro, Valleys, Mountains & Deserts with about 25F difference between the deserts and beaches.
There is a reason why Hollywood exists where it is - the skies are clear, the ocean is blue, the mountains rise high above the basin and most importantly the weather stays 70-75F all year around. Hollywood might have made LA famous, but the common man in the city is probably as detatched from it as any other person in the country. The city is filled with self made and inherited millionaries who are not afraid to flaunt their wealth via cool cars and palatial houses in prime ocean locality.
But it's not just the weather, scenic beauty and riches which attract people to the city. It is literally a melting pot of a myriad cultures from across the world. You can find settlements from every country as you visit Little Tokyo, China Town, Little India, Little Armenia, Little Saigon etc. These places abound with rich heritage and great food. My culinary palate was widely expanded and I definitely felt more learned with a 2 year stint exploring these small neighbourhoods in the city. The greater Los Angeles consists of 88 smaller cities and each one of them has something different to offer. From the bungalow heavens of Pasadena to the bohemanian lifestyle of Venice to the high rollers of Palos Verdes to the great food of East LA, each part has a different personality.
West Los Angeles definitely seems like the second most liberal part of the country after SFO. Los Angeles kind of eschews the chain corporate culture in some ways as the city is filled with mom and pop restaurants instead of those monotonous chains, save the fast food places. Most parts have also successfully staved Wal Mart's efforts to tap into SoCal market. Hybrid cars are more welcome here than any other part of the country as they get special privileges to ride in the car pool lanes. California is definitely the most progressive state in the country as it is in the forefront of the eco preservation and pro climate choices.
But like any other city, Los Angeles has its own problems. On most days the traffic can be very frustrating, the smog reduces the visibility and blocks view of the great San Gabriel mountains. There are high crime neighbourhoods nestled right in the heart of the city and most importantly it is one of the costliest neighbourhoods in the world. But given the scenic beauty of the place and great quality of life California has to offer, I still feel it is worthwile to put up with all the above.
Over the past 4 years, I have travelled intensely within the country visiting more than 26 states and as many cities. San Francisco might probably be the most scenic city in the country, but add weather to the equation and LA wins hands down. As my dream stay at LA comes to end with my moved to Houston, I can only hope that someday I can afford to go back and live in California !!
There is a reason why Hollywood exists where it is - the skies are clear, the ocean is blue, the mountains rise high above the basin and most importantly the weather stays 70-75F all year around. Hollywood might have made LA famous, but the common man in the city is probably as detatched from it as any other person in the country. The city is filled with self made and inherited millionaries who are not afraid to flaunt their wealth via cool cars and palatial houses in prime ocean locality.
But it's not just the weather, scenic beauty and riches which attract people to the city. It is literally a melting pot of a myriad cultures from across the world. You can find settlements from every country as you visit Little Tokyo, China Town, Little India, Little Armenia, Little Saigon etc. These places abound with rich heritage and great food. My culinary palate was widely expanded and I definitely felt more learned with a 2 year stint exploring these small neighbourhoods in the city. The greater Los Angeles consists of 88 smaller cities and each one of them has something different to offer. From the bungalow heavens of Pasadena to the bohemanian lifestyle of Venice to the high rollers of Palos Verdes to the great food of East LA, each part has a different personality.
West Los Angeles definitely seems like the second most liberal part of the country after SFO. Los Angeles kind of eschews the chain corporate culture in some ways as the city is filled with mom and pop restaurants instead of those monotonous chains, save the fast food places. Most parts have also successfully staved Wal Mart's efforts to tap into SoCal market. Hybrid cars are more welcome here than any other part of the country as they get special privileges to ride in the car pool lanes. California is definitely the most progressive state in the country as it is in the forefront of the eco preservation and pro climate choices.
But like any other city, Los Angeles has its own problems. On most days the traffic can be very frustrating, the smog reduces the visibility and blocks view of the great San Gabriel mountains. There are high crime neighbourhoods nestled right in the heart of the city and most importantly it is one of the costliest neighbourhoods in the world. But given the scenic beauty of the place and great quality of life California has to offer, I still feel it is worthwile to put up with all the above.
Over the past 4 years, I have travelled intensely within the country visiting more than 26 states and as many cities. San Francisco might probably be the most scenic city in the country, but add weather to the equation and LA wins hands down. As my dream stay at LA comes to end with my moved to Houston, I can only hope that someday I can afford to go back and live in California !!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Sunrise of the Angeles
Over the past year, I have seen some spectacular sunsets over the mountains in Malibu and on beaches of Santa Monica, Venice and Huntington. But great sunsets are expected in this part of the country, given the clear skies and undisturbed view of the horizon over the pacific ocean. But, what I did not expect to see is beautiful sunrises.
The end of summer has brought in shorter days, and the late sunrises have coincided perfectly with my daily commute to work, to make it beautiful. Normally driving east on sunrises like these are blinding and a menace to the traffic. But the hazy skies, and the huge wildfire burning to the north have given a nice orangish tinge to the sun.
The end of summer has brought in shorter days, and the late sunrises have coincided perfectly with my daily commute to work, to make it beautiful. Normally driving east on sunrises like these are blinding and a menace to the traffic. But the hazy skies, and the huge wildfire burning to the north have given a nice orangish tinge to the sun.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Sierra Nevada
I finally got the chance to visit the much touted Sierra Nevada range in Central California. The enormity of the range and the paucity of time meant that I would visit only a small portion of this huge range, but the glimpse of this range was neverthless spectacular. We visited the Sequioa National Park in Central california which is home to the largest trees in the world.
This was also the first time I got to drive along the Central valley california on CA-99. The Central valley for most part resembles Kansas, as it has green fields lining both the sides of the freeway, and visibility stretching to horizon. However, the perennial fog sometimes blocks the view of the spectacular mountains to the east. The drive into the park is a treacherous one, as you climb an elevation of 7,000 ft, at a slow 20 mph. Driving at night is definitely nightmarish, with those hair pin bends and monstrous sequioa trees lining the sides.
The first day was spent camping at Lodgepole by the banks of Kaweah river at an altitude of 6,700 ft. Abundant bear warnings only added to the anxiety, as we resigned to the fate of storing all our food in huge tin bear vaults. The next day we paid visit to the General Sherman Tree, and I was stunned by the fact that a tree of that size still exists in the world. The Congress trail, is a nice 2.5 mile hike through some of these monstrous trees, and easily dwarf the other alpine trees around it.
The most exciting part of the trip however was backpacking into the wilderness. A 7 mile hike, with an elevation gain of 2,700 ft was made less strenuous due to numerous lakes and beautiful vistas en-route. At Heather lake, a small slip later I was drenched in the lake and lack of planning (read adequate change clothes) meant I would hike the remaining 2 miles with wet shorts to the summit. At Pear lake, our night camp, I was surprised to see snow around the lake, and understandably the water was ice cold. Although that didn't discourage us from taking a dip in the water, we had to keep a close eye on marmots, lest they nibble on our clothes and take away the shoes. The hike down was done at a much vigorous pace, but 2 days and 20 miles of walking doesn't augur well with your tendons and ligaments, and I spent much of the monday limping at work.
On a different note, for 2 days we had no cell phone signals or internet connection. Infact, as none of us wore a wrist watch, for one whole day on our backpacking trip, we had no clue of time. We slept when the sun set and rose with the first ray of the sun. The pockets were empty - no wallet, no keys, no cellphone. It was a wonderful feeling !!
This was also the first time I got to drive along the Central valley california on CA-99. The Central valley for most part resembles Kansas, as it has green fields lining both the sides of the freeway, and visibility stretching to horizon. However, the perennial fog sometimes blocks the view of the spectacular mountains to the east. The drive into the park is a treacherous one, as you climb an elevation of 7,000 ft, at a slow 20 mph. Driving at night is definitely nightmarish, with those hair pin bends and monstrous sequioa trees lining the sides.
The first day was spent camping at Lodgepole by the banks of Kaweah river at an altitude of 6,700 ft. Abundant bear warnings only added to the anxiety, as we resigned to the fate of storing all our food in huge tin bear vaults. The next day we paid visit to the General Sherman Tree, and I was stunned by the fact that a tree of that size still exists in the world. The Congress trail, is a nice 2.5 mile hike through some of these monstrous trees, and easily dwarf the other alpine trees around it.
The most exciting part of the trip however was backpacking into the wilderness. A 7 mile hike, with an elevation gain of 2,700 ft was made less strenuous due to numerous lakes and beautiful vistas en-route. At Heather lake, a small slip later I was drenched in the lake and lack of planning (read adequate change clothes) meant I would hike the remaining 2 miles with wet shorts to the summit. At Pear lake, our night camp, I was surprised to see snow around the lake, and understandably the water was ice cold. Although that didn't discourage us from taking a dip in the water, we had to keep a close eye on marmots, lest they nibble on our clothes and take away the shoes. The hike down was done at a much vigorous pace, but 2 days and 20 miles of walking doesn't augur well with your tendons and ligaments, and I spent much of the monday limping at work.
On a different note, for 2 days we had no cell phone signals or internet connection. Infact, as none of us wore a wrist watch, for one whole day on our backpacking trip, we had no clue of time. We slept when the sun set and rose with the first ray of the sun. The pockets were empty - no wallet, no keys, no cellphone. It was a wonderful feeling !!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Pacific Coast Highway
It was about 6 years ago, when I was on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) for the first time. I was riding my bike at 100 mph on the hair pin bends hugging the coastline, when all of a sudden I crashed into the railing and flew into the ocean. Miraculously I survived the crash and a few "ESC" buttons later I was restarting the "RoadRash" game. In reality, when I finally got to drive on Pacific Coast Highway this long weekend, we were negotiating the sharp bends at less than 35 mph.
The 120 mile drive from San Simeon to Monterrey Bay along the Pacific ocean is probably the most scenic drive I have done to date. The narrow paved road winds high on some sheer cliffs with steep drops into the Pacific on the other side. At some points there is not even a railing to break your fall, but then the speed limits does reduce to 25 mph on such curves.
There are two things which can add beauty to any landscape - vast expanse of water, and high green mountains. The drive offers breathtaking views of both. The sight of waves rushing to the shore and crashing on the rocks has a very soothing effect. The PCH also was a perfect example of the weird weather pattern, as a 5 mile stretch of heavy downpour was easily followed by bright sunshine and extraordinary visibility. As you drive up north, the water changes its color from blue to green and various shades in between depending on the depth of the ocean and sunlight.
On Sunday we drove to Napa Valley. The Napa county lies between two parellel mountain ranges about 80 miles northeast of San Francisco. 5 quaint little cities line this scenic valley enclosed by some snow clad mountains. Napa is renowned world over for producing Chardonny's and Sauvignon's. The Napa tour was capped by a visit to the Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga and sampling of 5 cheap wines. Nothing comes free, and the same applies to all their high quality wines.
The high spirits of Sunday night and the steady headache on monday morning was doused by the best breakfast I have had in the last 2 years at Swathi Tiffins in Sunnyvale. The drive back home was further enhanced by two marvellous drives - Route 17 through redwood lined Santa Cruz and route 152 from Watsonville with green cattle filled hilltops giving a look of a Swiss countryside. In Santa Cruz, we also stopped by Mystery Spot, where wierd magnetic patterns cause serious light diffraction and make the gravitational force to appear at an angle. Numerous illustrations left me in disbelief as I am trying to solve this mystery with the aid of Google and some common sense.
Here are some random pics from the drive
ps: How does it feel to total a $1 mn car ? Read the death of Ferrari Enzo on PCH.
The 120 mile drive from San Simeon to Monterrey Bay along the Pacific ocean is probably the most scenic drive I have done to date. The narrow paved road winds high on some sheer cliffs with steep drops into the Pacific on the other side. At some points there is not even a railing to break your fall, but then the speed limits does reduce to 25 mph on such curves.
There are two things which can add beauty to any landscape - vast expanse of water, and high green mountains. The drive offers breathtaking views of both. The sight of waves rushing to the shore and crashing on the rocks has a very soothing effect. The PCH also was a perfect example of the weird weather pattern, as a 5 mile stretch of heavy downpour was easily followed by bright sunshine and extraordinary visibility. As you drive up north, the water changes its color from blue to green and various shades in between depending on the depth of the ocean and sunlight.
On Sunday we drove to Napa Valley. The Napa county lies between two parellel mountain ranges about 80 miles northeast of San Francisco. 5 quaint little cities line this scenic valley enclosed by some snow clad mountains. Napa is renowned world over for producing Chardonny's and Sauvignon's. The Napa tour was capped by a visit to the Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga and sampling of 5 cheap wines. Nothing comes free, and the same applies to all their high quality wines.
The high spirits of Sunday night and the steady headache on monday morning was doused by the best breakfast I have had in the last 2 years at Swathi Tiffins in Sunnyvale. The drive back home was further enhanced by two marvellous drives - Route 17 through redwood lined Santa Cruz and route 152 from Watsonville with green cattle filled hilltops giving a look of a Swiss countryside. In Santa Cruz, we also stopped by Mystery Spot, where wierd magnetic patterns cause serious light diffraction and make the gravitational force to appear at an angle. Numerous illustrations left me in disbelief as I am trying to solve this mystery with the aid of Google and some common sense.
Here are some random pics from the drive
ps: How does it feel to total a $1 mn car ? Read the death of Ferrari Enzo on PCH.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Ozzfest and SFO
"Bol, tu kutta hain", screams the English officer. Aamir Khan spits out (thu-kuta-hain) and repeats "tu kutta hain" and brings in some comic relief to the overbooked Naz theatre in Bay Area. After two nights of 5 hour sleep each, and 6 1/2 hr of lonely driving, I thought my first hindi movie in a theatre in more than 2 years would be something to write about, but 'Mangal Pandey' was a big let down. However, I wasn't in the Bay Area to watch the 1857 uprising, but to see the 2005 Ozzfest.
The Ozzfest 2005 was being held in the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA from 9 am - 11 pm. Since we weren't aware of the exact schedule, we ended up at the park by 11:00 am. The events in the main stadium was about to start only at 4:00 pm, but there were lot of not-so-famous heavy metal bands playing in the adjacent stage. While the excessive heat gave us a Madras like tan, the highly priced food and drinks left our wallets lighter. The only decent performance before 4:00 pm was by Rob Zombie, and we spent much of the afternoon cursing our host, and discussing some PJ's.
A mention must be made of the composition of crowd. This is only my 2nd big rock concert and so it would be imprudent to generalise, but I must say the hard rock loving fans in this country is predominantly white. There were no one of Hispanic or Oriental descent, though they constitue a sizeable chunk of the Bay Area population. There were only about handful of south-asians (indians), half of which were the group comprising yours truly. However there was color in a different form, as some of the ladies decided to wear paint on their upper body rather than clothes. While 'Mudvayne' was performing, a girl was creating "flash" news for a dollar bill. There were some who competed with her, but she went home richer by atleast 20-30 dollars, as our sore eyes were treated free of cost.
The main action started at 4:30 on the center stage, with "In Flames", from Sweden giving a very energetic performance.The climatic moment of the show came when "Iron Maiden" took centre stage at 8:00 pm. The crowd went delirious as they belted out some of their very famous songs. However, my best part of the concert came when 'Black Sabbath' started performing. Ozzy Osburne still retained his golden voice, and Tonni Lommi mesmorised the audience with his guitaring. In my opinion he was better than all 4 of the Maiden strummers.
Sunday was capped off with a trip to Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco and 50 Mb of 'patel' snaps. We started off spending some time at the 'fisherman's wharf' and 'pier 39', and then climbed some steep hills on the Lombard street and came winding down on the 'crooked street'. God Bless, all the manual transmission owners in San Fran, and I can certainly not imagine myself navigating those 60 degree steep inclines on my stick transmission. The weekend ended on a very tiring note with another 6 hour drive home to Los Angeles. Light rains and lightning lit up the San Bernardino / Verdugo mountains as I approached Los Angeles, and made it a beautiful sight even though it was close to midnight.
The Ozzfest 2005 was being held in the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA from 9 am - 11 pm. Since we weren't aware of the exact schedule, we ended up at the park by 11:00 am. The events in the main stadium was about to start only at 4:00 pm, but there were lot of not-so-famous heavy metal bands playing in the adjacent stage. While the excessive heat gave us a Madras like tan, the highly priced food and drinks left our wallets lighter. The only decent performance before 4:00 pm was by Rob Zombie, and we spent much of the afternoon cursing our host, and discussing some PJ's.
A mention must be made of the composition of crowd. This is only my 2nd big rock concert and so it would be imprudent to generalise, but I must say the hard rock loving fans in this country is predominantly white. There were no one of Hispanic or Oriental descent, though they constitue a sizeable chunk of the Bay Area population. There were only about handful of south-asians (indians), half of which were the group comprising yours truly. However there was color in a different form, as some of the ladies decided to wear paint on their upper body rather than clothes. While 'Mudvayne' was performing, a girl was creating "flash" news for a dollar bill. There were some who competed with her, but she went home richer by atleast 20-30 dollars, as our sore eyes were treated free of cost.
The main action started at 4:30 on the center stage, with "In Flames", from Sweden giving a very energetic performance.The climatic moment of the show came when "Iron Maiden" took centre stage at 8:00 pm. The crowd went delirious as they belted out some of their very famous songs. However, my best part of the concert came when 'Black Sabbath' started performing. Ozzy Osburne still retained his golden voice, and Tonni Lommi mesmorised the audience with his guitaring. In my opinion he was better than all 4 of the Maiden strummers.
Sunday was capped off with a trip to Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco and 50 Mb of 'patel' snaps. We started off spending some time at the 'fisherman's wharf' and 'pier 39', and then climbed some steep hills on the Lombard street and came winding down on the 'crooked street'. God Bless, all the manual transmission owners in San Fran, and I can certainly not imagine myself navigating those 60 degree steep inclines on my stick transmission. The weekend ended on a very tiring note with another 6 hour drive home to Los Angeles. Light rains and lightning lit up the San Bernardino / Verdugo mountains as I approached Los Angeles, and made it a beautiful sight even though it was close to midnight.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Venice Beach
Though some might claim Santa Monica beach (of Baywatch fame) as the most popular beach in Los Angeles, my winner for the best beach is Venice beach. This weekend I donned the hat of a tourist guide as I took my friends from Northern California on a Los Angeles tour. Venice beach being my personal favourite, it was fairly easy for me to convince my friends to take a trip to the ocean on Sunday afternoon.
After a very sumptuous meal at Annapoorna in Culver city, the spirits were a little low, but the the cool pacific breeze and the beach smell did the trick. Getting to the beach was the easy part, parking was the most difficult. With most of the lots charging 20$ for a space, we decided to scout for a free parking spot on a nearby street. 30 minutes later, and after a well executed parellel parking, we walked towards the beach.
My heart leapt as I caught the first glimpse of sail boats and surfers through the narrow aisle between those colorful buildings that line Ocean Ave. The beach was very crowded, but nevertheless it was a sight to behold. We decided to maintain a uniformity in terms of beach attire sported by others, as we shed a layer or two and jumped into the cool ocean. Since none of us had swum in ocean before, we let common sense take over, and we decided to restrict ourselves from reaching really deep areas.
The Pacific ocean differs from the other oceans, as it possesse very cool currents. This maintains the temperature in coastal Souther Cal at a cool 70F, even while the rest of the country is sweltering in 100+ heat. This is the primary reason why there are so many vineries in Central California. Also, unlike Atlantic Ocean, Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal, Pacific has a very shallow bed. We were almost 50 mts into the water, and still the water was only chest high.
On our way back, a rather funny or should I say embarrasing incident happened. Since we had left our pair of change clothes in the trunk of the car, we trudged a wet 1/2 mile back to the car. The presence of 2 towels meant only 2 of us could change at a time ( we shamelessly changed behind a bigsized SUV parked just behind us, on a moderately busy street). Just as when Susu & Sachin handed over the towels to me & Chakka, a blonde pulls over next to our car and asks whether we are leaving the spot. I implore my friend Ketan sitting in the car to ward her away, but Ketan shamelessly said that we would leave in 2 minutes. I thought this would make her drive away, but she replied "Its OK, I'll wait".....as my other friends laughed, me and Chakka threw our towels in the trunk and drove home with a very wet and salty pair of shorts.....
After a very sumptuous meal at Annapoorna in Culver city, the spirits were a little low, but the the cool pacific breeze and the beach smell did the trick. Getting to the beach was the easy part, parking was the most difficult. With most of the lots charging 20$ for a space, we decided to scout for a free parking spot on a nearby street. 30 minutes later, and after a well executed parellel parking, we walked towards the beach.
My heart leapt as I caught the first glimpse of sail boats and surfers through the narrow aisle between those colorful buildings that line Ocean Ave. The beach was very crowded, but nevertheless it was a sight to behold. We decided to maintain a uniformity in terms of beach attire sported by others, as we shed a layer or two and jumped into the cool ocean. Since none of us had swum in ocean before, we let common sense take over, and we decided to restrict ourselves from reaching really deep areas.
The Pacific ocean differs from the other oceans, as it possesse very cool currents. This maintains the temperature in coastal Souther Cal at a cool 70F, even while the rest of the country is sweltering in 100+ heat. This is the primary reason why there are so many vineries in Central California. Also, unlike Atlantic Ocean, Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal, Pacific has a very shallow bed. We were almost 50 mts into the water, and still the water was only chest high.
On our way back, a rather funny or should I say embarrasing incident happened. Since we had left our pair of change clothes in the trunk of the car, we trudged a wet 1/2 mile back to the car. The presence of 2 towels meant only 2 of us could change at a time ( we shamelessly changed behind a bigsized SUV parked just behind us, on a moderately busy street). Just as when Susu & Sachin handed over the towels to me & Chakka, a blonde pulls over next to our car and asks whether we are leaving the spot. I implore my friend Ketan sitting in the car to ward her away, but Ketan shamelessly said that we would leave in 2 minutes. I thought this would make her drive away, but she replied "Its OK, I'll wait".....as my other friends laughed, me and Chakka threw our towels in the trunk and drove home with a very wet and salty pair of shorts.....
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Spaghetti Junction - Los Angeles
Spaghetti Junction - Los Angeles (source Google Maps (satellite image))
I am still not sure which is the most complex freeway interchange in Los Angeles. I have driven through almost all of them, and my winner would be the exchange on 110 & 105 about 10 miles east of LAX. The intersection of 110 and 10 near downtown comes a close second. If you have the Google Earth program installed on your computer, you can get a better view of this jucntion.
I drove on the lowermost tier of this junction (110 south). It was a sight to behold, but the fear of being killed in an accident forced my gaze downwards - towards the road in front of me.
Sometimes it's funny when I start comparing this with the busiest intersection I used to walk by, for the past 2 years - Atherton St & College Ave (probably Atherton & Vairo Blvd) in State College. The contrast between a quaint little college town and a city bustling with 9 million people is just amazing. Each has it's own merits and disadvantages. Things have surely changed a lot......donno whether its for the better or the worse !
Monday, May 23, 2005
LA musings
.....As the plane soared over the city with the impressive San Gabriel mountains in the background, all I could see down below was a grid like, very intricate system of highways, and flat roof tops of millions of homes. It took the flight almost 20 minutes to cross the LA city and land at the LAX near the pacific (speaks volumes about the size of the LA county). Although I had a rental car at my disposal, I was really scared at the prospect of driving around this big city without a navigator. But all my fears were put to rest when I finally hit the road enrouute to Culver City and Palms - first stop on my apartment hunting trip.
The first thing that hit my eyes as I cruised around the Palms area was the number of Mustangs on the road( the gas prices were the second thing to hit my eyes :) ) . Rear wheel drives thrive in warm snow parched areas, and rightfully, I saw a platoon of Mustangs on the streets - the sight of people cruising around in cool looking convertibles made me regret my choice of a hard top coupe. By not converting a lot of major surface streets into freeways LA surely has made it easy for the directionally handicapped. Most of the famous boulevards run right across the county. Besides, Angelenos passed of as very patient and polite drivers, especially after one has driven in Jersey and Manhattan. I didnt hear a single honk on the road for hours. Culver city and Palms seemed like a little Mexico to me - as I tried tuning my car FM stereo, I hit atleast 7 spanish stations ! These areas were much prettier than suburbs of some of the other cities like New York, Philadelphia or Jersey.
The second day I drove to Pasadena. Even though I hit the notorious 405 and 10 at 9:00 am on a saturday morning the roads were choc-a-bloc - something like Garden state parkway on a Monday morning. If people could inundate 6 lanes of interstate on a weekend morning, I can imagine how nightmarish it would be on a weekday morning. In 1930's LA had more cars than 41 states in US put together and turned out to be the precursor for this "road built economy". In 1928 LA had 1 car per 2.9 people, my USC friend claims that the ratio now is 1.2 cars per person - truly unbelievable !
After my 30 minutes drive, through various interstates and through downtown LA I finally landed up in Pasadena. Culver city and Palms really paled in comparison to Pasadena - it was a very posh locality set in the foreground of the towering San Gabriel mountains. If Mustangs were abundant in Culver city, Pasadena made its statement with Porches. To be really honest, I saw more Porches in 1 hour in Pasadena than I have seen my entire life. Pasadena seemed like those dream neighbourhoods, where one would settle after retiring. Caltech was small and hardly noticeable, but I did meet up with a friend and also managed to score 4 boudaries at CCG - caltech cricket ground ! I left Pasadena determined that I would come back and find an apartment in this area.
After all the work I met up with another friend in downtown LA. Being a weekend evening, the downtown was deserted and had an eerie look....surely wouldnt want to be at this place after dark. After that we drove to Santa Monica beach and venice beach, and in the meantime I got a bit of a taste of Pacific Highway (or route 1). Unfortunately we missed the sunset by 1/2 hour and even though I didn't site Pam Anderson or Carmen Electra strutting around Santa Monica in their attractive outfits, the beach was impressive. The evening was capped off with dosas at Annapurna restaurant in Culver city. The food was ordinary, but the service or should I say the server was great :)
The first thing that hit my eyes as I cruised around the Palms area was the number of Mustangs on the road( the gas prices were the second thing to hit my eyes :) ) . Rear wheel drives thrive in warm snow parched areas, and rightfully, I saw a platoon of Mustangs on the streets - the sight of people cruising around in cool looking convertibles made me regret my choice of a hard top coupe. By not converting a lot of major surface streets into freeways LA surely has made it easy for the directionally handicapped. Most of the famous boulevards run right across the county. Besides, Angelenos passed of as very patient and polite drivers, especially after one has driven in Jersey and Manhattan. I didnt hear a single honk on the road for hours. Culver city and Palms seemed like a little Mexico to me - as I tried tuning my car FM stereo, I hit atleast 7 spanish stations ! These areas were much prettier than suburbs of some of the other cities like New York, Philadelphia or Jersey.
The second day I drove to Pasadena. Even though I hit the notorious 405 and 10 at 9:00 am on a saturday morning the roads were choc-a-bloc - something like Garden state parkway on a Monday morning. If people could inundate 6 lanes of interstate on a weekend morning, I can imagine how nightmarish it would be on a weekday morning. In 1930's LA had more cars than 41 states in US put together and turned out to be the precursor for this "road built economy". In 1928 LA had 1 car per 2.9 people, my USC friend claims that the ratio now is 1.2 cars per person - truly unbelievable !
After my 30 minutes drive, through various interstates and through downtown LA I finally landed up in Pasadena. Culver city and Palms really paled in comparison to Pasadena - it was a very posh locality set in the foreground of the towering San Gabriel mountains. If Mustangs were abundant in Culver city, Pasadena made its statement with Porches. To be really honest, I saw more Porches in 1 hour in Pasadena than I have seen my entire life. Pasadena seemed like those dream neighbourhoods, where one would settle after retiring. Caltech was small and hardly noticeable, but I did meet up with a friend and also managed to score 4 boudaries at CCG - caltech cricket ground ! I left Pasadena determined that I would come back and find an apartment in this area.
After all the work I met up with another friend in downtown LA. Being a weekend evening, the downtown was deserted and had an eerie look....surely wouldnt want to be at this place after dark. After that we drove to Santa Monica beach and venice beach, and in the meantime I got a bit of a taste of Pacific Highway (or route 1). Unfortunately we missed the sunset by 1/2 hour and even though I didn't site Pam Anderson or Carmen Electra strutting around Santa Monica in their attractive outfits, the beach was impressive. The evening was capped off with dosas at Annapurna restaurant in Culver city. The food was ordinary, but the service or should I say the server was great :)
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