The Younger Self

 I go back to thinking about my younger days, when I see some photos from that era.. and I have tons of them. Some memory is associated with many of the pics. In the U.S., we travelled a lot by car- gas was cheap, and we had the urge. Some pics from that era.. 

Petrified Forest National Park Arizona

 One of the many impressive sights in the U.S. was the

 

Petrified Forest- a place where logs-turned-into-stone are lying around, in various sizes and shapes, broken or unbroken. Very well-maintained, with a visitor centre, like all their parks. 

Nearby was the Painted Desert, layered formations in different colours, that give you an impression it's painted. Seeing it in the snow just added the whites.

Memorable Outings USA- Part 2

 We had a car, and we drove. 

New York city and Niagara. Helped by a couple of cousins who lived up North, we managed a drive to New York City and saw its sights, including the WTC twin towers later destroyed in 9-11. We climbed to the top of one and shot pics too. Traffic in NY is as bad as Bangalore traffic. Liberty Island was also covered, and so was Wall Street.

We also managed Niagara Falls, and saw it from the Canadian side also. Maid of the Mist, a boat ride, also was a nice experience. The town had a lot of Tulips, for some reason. 

Another cross-country trip we made was via Dallas, and Arizona and New Mexico, to Los Angeles (L.A.). A friend showed us the sights including a shabby Hollywood (suburb), the studios-Universal was good, NBC studios so-so because we had seen CNN studios in Atlanta earlier. Disneyland in L.A. is smaller than the Florida one, but Knott's Berry Farm (another amusement park) was nice. We also went to see Spruce Goose, a big plane parked somewhere, and Queen Mary, a cruise liner converted into a Museum. Also a Sea Park with Sea Lions and Dolphins doing shows. 

On the way back, we went to San Antonio, where Anil's uncle lived, and enjoyed a trip to the Riverside Walk with him. We also went to Las Vegas for the first time, and enjoyed losing a little money-we didn't have much as students anyway. The place is electrifying, with Neon and glitter at night, and the casinos are unbelievable. Entertainment shows are great too- later, Alcazar in Pattaya came close.

Circumnavigating the U.S.

Actually it was a road trip, that we first undertook in 1986 as students, and went across the U.S. from the East Coast to the West and back. On the way, we stayed with friends in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and San Antonio, Texas.

Some places on the way that were significant, were the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. This (Petrified Forest) has logs of wood that have turned into multicoloured stone logs due to embedded minerals. Later, I discovered similar petrified logs in India in Mandu, near Indore (in a badly maintained park). Here is a pic from Mandu.

There was also a meteorite crater in Arizona that we went to. After a visit to the Lonar crater lake in Buldana district many years later., I realised this (Lonar) was more impressive. In Los Angeles, we went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and NBC studios where The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was shot every day of the week. Also saw Hollywood (nothing much to see), Beverly Hills where the stars live, and the Star Walk (they have their names carved in the walkway). It was a great experience, with Kiran, a friend, as our local guide.