Pacifying Highway 1

Our vacation started late Thursday night when 4 people in 3 groups were to meet at San Francisco's touristy Fisherman's Wharf. It was convenient to meet straight at the hotel, considering the weeks of cold, snowy desolation and long hours of flight, work and minor jet lag preceding the trip.

While 3 of us reached within minutes of each other the fourth person unfortunately adventurous took a few more hours to make it to a good night's sleep. After a bad, hurried dinner of an uncooked cold pizza and fried calamari, the 3 of us, early birds hit the sack--enamored by the green, blue flowy pastels of Sheraton decor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d81375-r58689249-Sheraton_Fisherman_s_Wharf_Hotel-San_Francisco_California.htmland or maybe by the sheer incidence of being among beloved friends.

We were to wake up early next day pick up the car and start the much anticipated vacation.

And after changing our initial plans of picking up the car at the airport (we didnt realize how far Fishermans Wharf and SFO airport would seem like on a cool rainy morning) we walked a few blocks closer to the pier at a smaller pick up location and got bombarded with meanness and surcharges. Our reluctance was all but subdued with the sunroof on our cute SUV that was just enough for all 4 of us, our luggage and our high spirits.  

The gloomy sky gave in almost immediately....the drizzle morphed into heavy shower of big raindrops just as we finished our breakfast at the pier http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60713-d1524623-Reviews-Boudin_Sourdough_Bakery_Cafe-San_Francisco_California.html and got into the warm car seats.

Wading through the rain and traffic and getting lost in unfamiliar loops we finally hit southbound Highway 1 near Pacifica. The first view of the roaring ocean was well, as if I've never seen the seas before. The wet sand, the moist skies, the rushing water, the foamy rocks were all new, fresh, all the fatigue and sleepless disturbing days right before the vacation were melting away, the enthusiasm, the young nights strangely feeling worth it...and we were just getting started.

We were at a traffic light, reading aloud everything we saw on the road in casual banter...One of such obscure signs promised spicy Pakistini food and as we rolled down the window, the smell of batter-fried hot snacks, filling the wet air as if hypnotized me into pulling my car in their driveway.

Let just say the food wasnt as good and the much-needed restrooms horrible but the dhaba feel on a rainy long drive was almost essential in shooting our excitement right through the now-shut sun-roof.

But the excitement, the spicy snacks and the ice tea did not put a cork on our bladders, now dancing to the rhythm of rain. We found a nature-stop closeby, one--where the two others in our group enjoyed a closer view of the ocean.

And off we were on a couple hundred winding miles, stopping every few to enjoy the sea, the snacks, the signs and the locales. Wildflowers, artichokes, gnarly trees and cherry blossoms lined our drive wherever we drifted away from the ocean. The scenery suddenly gave way to art stores, touristy shops, fudgerys and chocolate houses as we hit Monterey. What a lovely downtown, the downside-- everything closed at 6 pm on weekdays. We got to our hotel at 5 and by the time we could unwind, freshen up and get over the huge beautiful window overlooking monstrous waves lashing at Lover's Point, it was getting dark and the city almost died on us before we could take a wink.

Good, we bought some beverage and a pack of cards...we spread out and set up shop right after our breezy dinner @ PassionFish http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g32840-d360674-r58991730-Passionfish-Pacific_Grove_Monterey_Peninsula_California.html#UR58991730

We will skip until the next morning because the narrative has to be 1st hand here (and I had allegedly drifted off to another land (of sleep) during our card game)

So, next morning, the first to wake up, jerk the snooze off and run out with the camera was me, closely followed by 1 and then 2. Luckily enough Pacific Grove being on the peninsula, allowed the Sun to rise over the water even though we had no expectation of watching sunrise-on-water on the Pacific (of the Western Hemisphere).

The sky was lighting up from behind the trees. The water splashing looked almost gelatinous and pale. The city, the waves and the feathers of the flying pelicans was glowing alike in the first rays of Sun. Times like these make me want to become a morning person....-click, zoom, click, click, snap.We had dispersed with our thoughts and our cameras into the horizon, only to come back later to the brave 3-some that decided to get their feet wet. Hello, Pacific. Hello, freezing toes.... 

Hanging their flipflops and jeans out to dry we went for a wholesome breakfast @  Austino's Patisserie . The quiches, the beakfast sanwiches, the marinaded artichokes were all glorious, second only to the yummiest desserts I have had in a long, long time (and I always, always have dessert).

As much fun, was evading the parking police as our meter hit expired. It was time to start another long drive.

This time headed on the 17-mile designated magnificent stretch from Monterey to Carmel. 

 

We stopped at all the overlooks and looked over every stop.

We met the seals and the sea lions basking in the sun in the distance, friendly Nutty and his squirrel friends, Mr. Bone-Beak-in-the-Stone-house, Ms. Haughty Pelican with an itch problem and Little Miss Yellow-eyed Black Bird.

Closer we got to Pebble beach, the more the stale smell of 'overrating' reached our nostrils. We agree our view of Carmel was much clouded much by the Pebble Beach lint, but to us Carmel looked more than the proclaimed quaint and arty. It was also very touristy, very artificial and very costly. The lunch at Flaherty's was hearty, heavy, delicious and costly, just how vacations were supposed to be.

Back to Pacific Grove we spent all afternoon and evening strolling Cannery Row--the "downtown" of Monterey. Being a glass artist I had long before wanted to check out Sand-to-Glass. This artist had an unique way of tight filling sand to make sceneries... sometimes he's even use dusted glass and fuse them to make plaques, glass fusing and sand art is difficult enough. Imagine combining them.  Whoa Physics!

Then there was this shop selling items that changed into brillian colors when you walk out in the Sun, using the Sun's UV lights. Hello ingenuity....or atleast that's what you'd say if you just got out of a town of eternal hibernation and frozen in time and temperature, Dunkirk (or Stillwater)!

Needless to say, we didnt buy any of the spectacular items. Tired and still full from the heavy breakfast and lunch, we retired early, but not before we got some Mochi from the nearest Traders Joe (thanks to my friends who introduced me to it, I never pass up an opportunity to try some good Mochi).

We were advised by some friends we made on the trip (not our wildlife friends, but the ones less hairy, English-speaking kind) that we should definitely go to Big Sur. That the Pacific Coast Highway was nice but the nicest was Monterey to Big Sur.  So we tweaked our plans last moment to drive down to see some of the most magnificent coastlines. Rocks, ridges, blues, greens and the Sun and an aimless drive with old friends-- music!

3 hours south, we turned back, stopped at Pacific Grove for a late lunch at Fisherman's Grotto. Enjoyed the good food and great views before we hit the road for San Francisco.

After checking into our downtown hotel we headed straight for the Sunset on the Golden Gate bridge.











The cheesy tourist-ambience was killing us, so we trudged our way up to the Marin headlands after multiple mistaken loops and getting lost we reached there after the sun was down.  But the sky was beautiful, now the color of water that Big Sur had.
We stayed there until late, Golden Gate Bridge looked more like a string of cheap golden beads hanging low beside a smoky skyline of a bustling city.

That night we dined at Fisherman's Wharf at Alioto's, ordinary but tourist-priced food, only exceptional dish--the calamari. 

Our touch on San Francisco remained perfunctory with a cruise (Red and White Fleet: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60713-d653292-Reviews-Red_and_White_Fleet-San_Francisco_California.html), some Lombard St. walking http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d106232-r58998952-Lombard_Street-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998952, some Fisherman's Wharf http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d108678-r58998192-Fisherman_s_Wharf-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998192, some great sushi (Maru Sushi: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d1468768-r58998701-Maru_Sushi-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998701) and a lot of lazing at the airport. 

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As my husband says its good to leave some things in the to-do list for next time, so spinning your glass wheels becomes easier! Until next time....let the shadows of vacations past keep you warm and let Purple here on your shoulder keep you fuzzy :)

-Void-

The wings are dry and the wheels are frozen :(

Kerala-- Debatri Chatterjee

The trip plan was:

Cochin- 1 night

periyar- 2 nights(wild life reserve)

Allepey- 2 nights (Back Waters) (i think 1 night is more than enough. but staying at a house boat is absolutely must)

Varkala beach- 1 night(can be avoided)

kovalam- 2 nights.

Shob gulo jayga tei it is best if you stay at the KTDC(Kerala Tourism) hotels. They have the best locations.

Cochin- nothing much to do, but since the flight reaches there at about 12-1 in the afternoon, there is no point going anywhere else that day. you can take the boat ride on Vembanad Lake like we did. it will take you to old cochi, jew town etc. we liked the trip all together. just lazing around.

The Ktdc resort is The Bolgatty Palace. it is a heritage resort. little expensive but amazing.

Periyar- the day you reach here, just roam around in the town. you can do spice shopping if you want. we went to see this marshall arts show(Kalahri) . it was really nice. you can also go for Kathakalli shows.

The next day take the early morning boat ride in the wildlife sanctuary. its upto your luck how much wildlife u will actually get to see.

There are 3 KTDC hotels: Periyar House(budget hotel), Aranya Nivas(Moderate), Lake Palace(luxury resort situated in an island within the lake.)

In Periyar please make sure u stay in one of these three hotels. the others just have nothing in the name of location.

Allepey: Make sure you reach here before 12 pm. and check in directly in a house boat. Please do not stay at a hotel. its a total waste of time and money. these boats start to sail at 12 pm . They serve amazing local food for lunch. u will love it if u are experimental with food. please make sure to have karimeen(a type of fish) its somewhat like pomfret but sweeter. its yummy.

stay over night. there is nothing to do after sun down except have your own party in the deck of the boat.

Varkala- its a new beach. very picturesque. but the beach is full of jelly fish. u cant stand at one place for long. not very pleasent experience. i was constantly scared of getting bitten by jelly fish.

I dont think there is a KTDC hotel here, we stayed at Hotel Hinustan Beach Resort. very well located, absolutely on the beach.

Kovalam- Amazing. this place is just amazing. please spend atleast 2 days here. on the first day we took a day trip to kanya kumari. its about 4 hrs drive. came back by evening. in kanyakumari, the last boat which take u to Vivekanada rock starts at 4. so if u want to visit the place, make sure u reach early.

In kovalam just laze around in the beach. bathe in the sea. go to the light house. take keralite spa if u want. basically just relax.

stay at the Samudra resort(KTDC). There is also a Uday Samudra resort which is a 5 star hotel, dont get confused between the 2.

In all these place it is best if you do the booking well in advance. the people are very warm and hospitable. try to keep kovalam at the end of the trip, as it is the most relaxing, and is just 12 kms away from trivandrum airport.

Food is very different. I personally loved there local food as i am very fond of coconut. at all the places, try to stick to the local small resturants for your meals. they are cheap and authentic. At a good hotel, try their Appam with Chicken stew. its very tasty. Also the porotta with korma(veg or cicken) is good.

In Kovalam have lots and lots of Prawns, squid and fish. they are absolutely fresh and delicious. they add this fresh pepper to most of their food, which turns out amazing.

you can also go to Munnar. though i personally am more fond of hill stations with snow view, so was anyways not too keen on Munnar. but its nice.

Kumarakom is also a very expensive and upcoming place. but its almost same as alleppey.

i think i gave too much details. just because i enjoyed the trip very much. loved the place. i can also send you some snaps if you want.

if you are planning to visit in Dec/Jan, i think now is the right time to start bookings and all. otherwise you will not get reservations.

--
Debatri Chatterjee
9818579148

O- HI- O

A 12 hour getaway drive along Lake Erie,New York-Pennsylvania-Ohio-Pennsylvania-New York

Grape Vineyards on Route 5 , Westfield NY

"Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt"

Useful links: http://www.concordgrapebelt.org/eventcalendar.php

http://www.chautauquawinetrail.org/

If you can make it to Mazza, definitely try their Ice Wine. Beer enthusiasts, drop by their distillery for a tour.

Hundreds of bikers

near Erie, PA. Proof of nice weather... summer's almost

here... yay!! (its an old post...now is more like summer's almost gone...where have all the bikers gone ?!?)

this picture is a perfect description of our day. awesome-twosome time. the car, the lake, the drive, the conversations. but yeah thats about it. nothing bloggable.

Some old farm in Ohio, on the way back from Sandusky, OH.

And finally the sun goes down.

the day flew by fast, the scary tiring journey back. no conversation, no halts. just get me home and thats all I care.

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Being Happy @ Happy Valley - Being our guest at State College, PA!

On an US Airways flight from Buffalo to Philadelphia last year, I was very surprised to come across an article on State College, Pennsylvania or Happy Valley as we know it. Known to many and unknown to yet more, this little town is in the middle of nowhere and as we like to point out, still at the center of everything (including the Centre County). But I will not get into the geography or weather discussions in here, nor about the where-to-stay details. You can find enough of that information online (or US Air magazines!).And if you look well enough, you might be able to grab a copy of Ken Hull’s Going Local www.goinglocalpa.com/ … it is the most comprehensive information that you will get about the area. And I will by no means even try to encroach on his expertise! (Look out for his new book!)

I will also not reiterate that Happy Valley ranked 19^th in the '50 best places to live' or that it received honorable mention in best music scenes throughout the country by the Rolling Stones magazine. Chances are you’re not moving here and if you don’t live there, you wont be coming ‘to’ State College to listen to the bands performing, no matter how many names, big and small have their roots in the Centre County soil... my 2 cents on this topic: if you hear some much-heard-of musician from Broadway or Tennessee or Guatemala or India playing here, don’t act surprised. (that is a picture of Penn State President Graham Spanier singing on College Ave withe the Blue Band....again dont act surprised!)

Another disclaimer I would furnish here is that often times you might feel I am talking more about Penn State than State College. The line of difference is very narrow and insignificant in most places, if present at all… State College, the name, the establishment (both demographically and economically) have all either are born or evolved from the presence of the flagship campus of the Pennsylvania State University. And as they say you can take out Happy Valley from Penn State (other commonwealth campuses) but you can’t take out Penn State from Happy Valley.

“If God is not a Penn State fan, why is the sky blue and white?” and many others like this, stampede shirts and cars of the local Penn Staters. Too blunt? Well that’s how it is. Nowhere else have I seen such blatant pride. Pride of everything, for everything. Yes, we were in the Big Ten but we were not the top one historically, yes we are a school with a decent ranking, top research, good funding, new buildings….yes we are good, old, big, great, premier, pioneer but we know that there are people, teams, universities, institutions, associations, ahead of us in most of these

areas. And in good numbers. But not enough to demean our pride. And we instill this same feeling in every new soul that enters the system. We teach them to be proud of who they are and to strive. And with this pride comes a sense of oneness or belonging. Even for people like me, who are tied in a gazillion ways to another culture and heritage as far removed from Pennsylvania as it could be… even we are proud of this kinship.

The 38,000-something population of State College probably does not take into account the hundreds of Penn State aspirants and goers that come from all corners of the globe. If you stand for a couple minutes in front of the Pattee-Paterno library any given school day, you can hear at least 6 different languages whiz past you… often time each representing a country a culture you’ve been completely unaware of :) so if I can use one word here, I would use eclectic. For more information on “internationality” of the town, visit http://www.international.psu.edu/about_office/mosaic.html

What I plan on doing here today is throw in some of my own anecdotes, favorites and lessons of what-to-and-not-to-s and display some of my own reasons of loving what I call home in the

United States… the following is a short list for a short stay at State College as our guest:

1. Creamery on a Sunday (or game day) and check out the line. When you eventually get to the front of it, order Keeney Beany or Peachy Paterno, read up on the creamery and history for more! Remember NOT to be blasphemous enough to ask for mixed flavors. even those who ask twice if State College is the name of a town, have heard of the creamery and the rule that the Penn State Creamery does not mix flavors. (Picture: Graduate students taking a break from scooping Creamery fun...who's to say its blowing 40 degrees we're all warm for our FIG Tailgate Fall '07)
2. State Theatre, Downtown State College. Catch off-beat movies, shows and fun stuff for tickets and schedules go to www.StateTickets.org
3. Herwigs, Austrian Bistro… (this should be the #1) have you ever been intimidated by the cook, teased by the owner and hit with a stick by the staff and force-fed sauerkraut because it’s heart-healthy? Bet not, unless you’ve been here. The first time I went to this family-owned/ cooked/ operated/ staffed place, the son came to me and said (in the most evil way) ‘smile, so people outside think you’re liking it here’… what took me back the second time? ---well the food to start with and the best customer service! Force-feeding I tell you…feels like being at home. as scary as it is, when you can’t pronounce half the menu, they add to it but not taking your order unless you do it the right way. So I start ‘reisen’ and then move to “that rice and pork thing” and the eyes start rolling…

They have this rule that if you don’t finish your food

i) you will be beaten with a red stick (big one), or
ii) you can be given a take out box for $32, or
iii) Charged double if you ask for a half portion.

For someone like me who eats dessert first,
I have fallen in trouble more than once and my experiences have included being fed (literally by the spoonfuls) by the owner… he said I could forego the beating for not finishing sauerkraut if I took the spoonful from him. If that doesn’t feel like family, tell me what does? ...Well, sitting at their big family table might! If you come with a big group of family or friends or are a regular, visiting alone (for me alone means 2 in this town), you are entitled to that. To top it all, the food is so super good, you want to try everything—the dense chocolate cake, the sausages, the potato salad, the veal, the ranch dressing and the pork. Just writing gets me drooling.
(now back to the list)

4. Walk on Allen to see the pig, with her babies…crouch down to take a picture with them and
hug them on my behalf.

5. Sit at the College-Allen bus stop, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, read the Daily Collegian and listen to the drummers play….Any other day? Sit there, feed the squirrels

6. Drive on blue course drive in fall





7. Also drive from Bellefonte to the tiny State College airport (SCE) and see the planes take off right off the road…
8. Appreciate the wall murals on College Avenue near Pugh Street.


9. explore the alleys and small roads parallel to Atherton and Burrows from Easterly Parkway to downtown and marvel at the gardens you pass
10. sip coffee on the IST bridge and enjoy the sway when a big vehicle on 322 B zooms under you
11. Visit the artists’ co-op shop called the Gallery Shop in Lemont, its right beside the Art Alliance of Central PA and has been exhibiting the best of its class since 1968.
12. go to Penn’s cave

13. Buy Penn state gear from family clothesline.

14. Drink a mocha at Webster’s with double shot espresso and munch a chocolate cookie, you can also try a variety of tea there…while enjoying old books, live music, local art and great conversation.

15. doze off on the hub lawn on a warm sunny morning and startle up with “we are….penn state” shout from group of people running around the huge lawn (probably with no shirts on, unlike the one in the picture)

16. buy fresh goodies and flowers from the farmers market on Friday afternoons


17. Do the downtown fall festival and a hay ride around town.



18. Do the Art Crawl on your own: the Palmer Museum of Art, the HUB-Robeson galleries and the Artisan Connection.
19. Walk around campus and read the blue and white signs of the ‘first-s, biggest-s and best-s’ of Penn State and imbibe the history of the first calorimetry to animal husbandry.
20. Squat in front of the Pattee library and people-watch
21. ride the blue-loop (the white-loop, the red link and the green link are good too…but the blue beats ‘em all)
21. scream your lungs out at the homecoming parade, collect as many goodies as you can
22. dance your @$$ off at the next Thon
24. drive to Raystown lake to see the sun rise at 7 point

25. Have ice cream at Meyers on S. Atherton. (its okay to ditch the creamery once in a while)

26. walk around town during arts fest

27. Check out the stone tower near Sackett and Hammond (not that towering) made of stone from different times and places (?)

28. Walk from Willard to the Hub and sit on the benches hiding under the trees.
29. click a picture at the alumni center with the metal statues

30. munch a warm walnut brownie at the Deli

31. Sit outside @ café 210 on St. Paddy’s

32. try your hands at painting your own pottery at 2000 degrees (on college)

33. Go for a free movie at the CAFÉ series in the Music building—they show what you won’t find anywhere else… from rare documentaries to independent movies from Taiwanese to Czechoslovakian, CAFÉ is about Critically Acclaimed Film Experience.
34. Spend one whole hour watching the fish in the HUB aquariums


35. catch an off beat lunch (stir fry buffet....)at the Green Bowl on Beaver.

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