US travelogue 3

I haven't contributed to my blog seriously for a long time now and many travelogues are pending. I have come out my hiatus and managed to write about my trip to US which happened
about a year and half back. Many things have happened and changed after that. Its amazing how time flies. So here it goes...

This was my third time to the US. In the past I hardly got to see US. I had gone to San Francisco once and thanks to my friend, she had taken me around to as much places in this city as possible.
This trip was also an official one. On day one, one of our US colleague took us to San Fancisco to the places I had not gone before. We were a big group this time. We went to pier 39. It is a fun place. So many things to see and do. This place is bustling with life. We saw the chopper bikes and the biker groups. They are characterised by flashy decorated bikes and they themselves have similar tatoos done all over their body. The bikes are huge or should I call them super bikes and yes they make a lot of noise. Some things which I found interesting was a cap shop. I have never seen such a huge variety of caps. If you get a chance please visit. I took a lot of pictures with some interesting caps. One shop was selling a nice variety of bath salts. That would make a good buy. After this day, it was a rigorous work schedule and once our work was done, on weekend we decided to drive around and do some sight seeing.

Saturday was spent shopping in Gilroy. This place is famous for its factory outlets and the deals are generally good. I bought myself a nice branded dress for a steal. It was raining and the best part is I saw two rainbows near each other. I thought this was a rare sight to see. See the picture to believe it.










The next day, we drove to a place called Mystery Spot. The drive to this place is very good. You will come across deer crossings and the road goes via a forest area. I did get a glimpse of deer but I would have loved to see deer cross the street in herds, the way buffaloes used to on the Ruksun street [Some memories just dont go away. You want to treasure them :)]. Mystery spot is an amazing place to visit. It is located near Santa Cruz California. If you like to watch mysteries and experience them in real life, this is the place for you. One request, pleasse do not read on this place prior to y our or else the element of fun and will vanish away. You have to experience it to believe it. The phonomena demonstrated by the tour guides (and by visitors using levels) include two people standing on opposite sides of a level surface who appear to change height as they switch positions and a ball that appears to roll up a plank. At the site, an old shed appears to have lost part of its foundation and is slanted and oddly angled. Additional claims of mystery are the growth patterns of trees and their branches within the Mystery Spot, the lack of animals such as dogs, rodents or even birds inside the compound (visitors are not allowed to bring their dogs on the tour) and the distortion of magnetically calibrated measurement devices such as compasses or even GPS devices. It is amazing to experience how u stand tilted in a house which is tilted itself and can climb steps made on the wall without needing any support because you feel anti gravity. All the explanations will be available on the net but please dont read them. Experience it and enjoy it. I give it a "Must See" tag.

Next we went to the 17 mile drive which gives a fascinating view of the Pacific ocean as we drive. I tried driving a car for the first time. Since my visits to US have been short, I never drove there before or even attempted it. I have promised myself that in my next visit I should be driving a car confidently.

In this visit to US, I had decided that I will do some sight seeing. So once I was free from my office work and it was time to go back to India, I decided to take a day off from work and visit LA. This was my first visit alone to a city in a foreign country. I had never done any flight bookings or hotel bookings on my own till then. Its not a big deal but it feels odd for the first time. I reached LA called up the hotel helpline number (there was a extension number given to which you can call from the airport). The hotel pick up van will take you to your destination. This place is tourist friendly and I was able to make reservations for the LA city tour and tour of the universal studio from my hotel itself. I stayed in Travelodge. This place is decent enough and was safe.

LA city tour included The Santa Monica beach, the hollywood sign, Garaumans Chines theatre,
Walk of fame, Kodak theatre (venue for the oscars), ride in beverly hills, rodeo drive and its shops where you can only dream of buying things, the shop in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts is thrown out. We also went to a market place. I forget the name but it was farmers market or something similar where we saw Bruce Willis. This place is frequented by movie stars...I mean the restaurants near by. As usual I was the unlucky member of my bus tour who missed him.

Next day was a trip to Universal Studio. I will put this as a must see. I will do a special mention of the king kong. Its worth meeting him. Take the train ride which will take you around the studio. The LA trip was very nice but when you are alone you cannot share your excitement with anyone. I knew I should have someone with me with whom I can share everything and no trip should ever be alone again.