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.