An obituary for an unknown Indian...at X’ mas.

Why would anyone write an obituary for an unknown person?
That too, during Christmas.
This is such a tale.
Those who know Thodupuzha - won’t disagree with anyone who might say that, finding a parking in this small town is a matter of plain luck.
On a drizzling day in September I went to the Margin-free store, to buy a pack of coffee powder; after ‘lucky-parking’ the car in front of Saira Gift Shop - opposite to the grocery store.
I had no pockets - as I was wearing ‘mundu”. Plus, my shirt was of a brand that comes with no pockets stitched on.
While checking out I declined, a carry bag, because I don’t like to take plastics home and also because the store charge ₹ 3 for a bag. ( Luckachan – my childhood friend and Mercy - only half a Merry X’mas greeting to you !!! )
Kerala is a strange place, here you pay for the package in uppity stores while the common vendors give it for free.
Waiting for a gap in the traffic flow - to cross the busy street with an open non- folding umbrella, a wallet and a phone, and the car key dangling on the little finger and the instant-coffee catering packet sans a carry bag, I reached the car in rain and fumbled a bit to press the unlock button. In the melee the purse slid off the hand to the rainy tarmac. I drove off home.
Other than some cash, it had my driving licence, a couple of debit cards and two credit cards - one of which was international card , that just could be used by anyone anywhere as it did not have the two factor authentication feature of one time passwords.
Luckily, I became aware of the loss, as I reached home. A person was waiting to collect some money. We searched the car thoroughly and afterwards, the only place to look for – logically - was the street from the store counter to the parking position.
I immediately hot- listed 1 credit card over phone, but the 2nd one could not be.
I drove back to the store without even an iota of hope to find the wallet. A friend and I went to all the nearby by shops on both sides of the street to see any of them had a camera with a view panning the area of interest. But there was no luck as in every store camera range ended at their entrance door.
So I went home and transferred all the money in one account of the lost debit card to the next card’s account and then went to the second bank to withdraw all the cash in it. Even as I was entering the bank I got a phone call. It was from a friend who was currently out of town, asking me if I had lost my purse.
He directed me to Saira Gift Shop in front of which the car was parked. Its owner Mr Ismail had called him, because he knew we were mutual friends. Thinking that the wallet was there I drove back to town.
Earlier, as we went about the stores checking out the cameras, we had been to Saira too. Its owner Ismail, knew me and was of immense help. One of his employees named Tomy had seen a homeless women living on alms, pick up the wet wallet from the parking area. As it was public space he did not interfere.
He could recognise her as she was regular around the bus stand area. Ismail sent Tomy with me to look for the women and we drove around the streets several times trying to locate her. The consensus was, she might have gone back to her place as it was a rainy day. While we were riding around we got a call from Ismail. He had made some inquiries of his own using his contacts and traced the lady to a shop in the private bus stand.
We reached the place - to happily find the wallet and its finder, an elderly woman, from Andra Pradesh with a smiling face. She solicited money on the street and spent the nights on shop’s back-veranda, so that night patrol would not beat her with cane.
The lady had already handed the purse to the shop’s staff. This shop was where she used to entrust her daily earnings, so as to keep it safe from money snatchers - some of whom were people from her own native place.
All my cards and money were inside. I did expressed my special appreciation befittingly and this women from Kadapa, Andra Pradesh in turn blessed me by placing her hands over my head and said something which I couldn’t understand.
I was also baffled a bit because this poor lady had done an honourable thing but the stores people had not called me even though the address tag in the wallet had my phone number. It was Ismail’s efforts alone that traced the wallet.
………………………………………………………….
Yesterday - I took the extra effort meet her again - because it is Christmas. To reach the shop in the bus stand one has to walk a bit. Parking the car at the Lions Club I walked to the store where she kept safe custody of her daily alms.
But there was sad news. She had died in Kadapa a few days before.
Taken aback I asked what happened.
A little after the wallet incident she fell down in pain. Some folks took her to a nearby hospital. The ECG had some variation and so they referred her to a hospital with that facility. Then she went back to Andra Pradesh and came back some days later – completing magic-remedy treatment by a local quack who gave her protective black thread to be worn on her arms and votive ash. She felt very fit and was working again. But soon she went back home again and then they heard she had died.
How did you know I enquired? Two times a week she used to call her home. As lady had developed a good reputation, people used to help her. One nice person used to offer his phone for her use. She maintained good contacts with her home and used to take the money home twice a year. She would reach Kottayam by bus and then take the train to Kadapa. As she did not return by the usual time they called her home. One lady employee at this store can speak Telugu and that helped.
As a human being I feel sad for her and for thousands of other such anonymous souls. I tried to estimate her age. Seventy or seventy five? Or perhaps much lower than that to about my age. Who knows? The punishing life had given her a beaten look. But she had a glowing good heat and was certainly a woman of honour. She had returned a stranger’s purse the best way she could.
In one convoluted manner I am also glad for her. I am glad she was with her family when she left.
Had she lived I could have made her smile once again – even if for a brief moment.
………………………………….
Friends, wish you all - peace joy and happiness.
Merry Christmas.

Journal of A Road Trip... Part 4.

 .
Day 1. Oct 7.

Flight 93 Memorial. A photo blog.
Other than the background on the  hijack; the pictures and captions  tell the story.

...............................................................................................

 To continue with the blog -  far away from Atlantic shores,  where we started in the morning   - we are  now in  western Pennsylvania - and  heading west  down Route 30,  -  on way  to our first  destination, the United Airlines Flight 93 Memorial.

 

This  is Route 30.

Approaching  the the turn to the Memorial.

We have been on the road from early morning. And a few  more miles to go. As you can see on the cars console it is 4:50 pm. This means the museum of the visitor center will be closed at about the time we reach the place. But the other parts of the center will be open. In long road trips such adjustments cannot be completely avoided.

An approach road to the left will take us to the place.
A little ahead, the brown board of the road sign to the memorial  appears.
The solid double yellow narrows to create the turn lane. 
These solid double line makes the roads very safe. As per rule, drivers cannot cross it and nobody enters it even in a very remote village road.

The turn-lane markings on the tar means,  if you are turning,  you have to enter it,  so that car behind you can pass straight ahead, as you wait your turn. By providing dedicated turn-lanes at junctions like this the speed of traffic is maintained. Here the car in front, is not taking the left, so it runs at the speed allowed  for  the road.  At a time  2 or 3 cars can wait in the turn-lane.

In American roads white on green is the colour for direction road-signs. 
But tourist attractions like museums, memorials or national parks are white on brown.

After taking the left, two and a half  miles down the rural road, you arrive at the Memorial.

..........................................

This is a photo blog and so I have added many pictures, after the background story.

This memorial tell the story of tragedy and bravery - but more so - of the dignity and honor of  ordinary men and women, when threatened and  humiliated to the extreme ends.
It also tells how proud nations remember their people.
 
On the morning of September 11, 2001, four  jet planes were hijacked in coordinated attempts. Three
hit intended targets. The fourth one came down in a very remote village near the small town of Shanksville.

 The aircraft was a Boeing 757 that could carry 182 persons. There were 44 people on board.

Flight 93 was the regular daily morning flight,  United operated from Newark Airport to San Fransisco, a cross country flight. Though the flight was to depart at 8:00 AM, due to heavy runway traffic, it remained on the ground for more than 40 minutes.

This delay was to change the history of  a small village as well as that of a country. It also made cataclysmic changes to the world order. Wars were waged, dictators toppled and misery sowed. But has anything good happened out of it? Nobody knows.

Some say countries like India has some reprieve. When Air India, Kanishka was  blown up or many were killed in  Punjab and other  places and we pointed out to some democracies, the support some groups had in their country, a few nations, especially some countries in Europe  used to tell us it was a law and order problem rather than terrorism. Now that they have had a taste of the  same medicine the outlook has changed significantly.    But the tragedy is that it is the common people that suffer. Will  a day ever arrive when human race will live in peace with itself ?

"Loko samastha sukhino bavanthu. " Oh ! Let the whole world  remain ever happy. 
Prayer of Lord Budha.

By 8 am  all other air crafts involved, took off from different airports at the appointed time. Meaning  flight 93 was not synchronized with the other 3. Because of the delay, the forty passengers and crew members aboard were able to discover what had happened to other flights in Manhattan and in Washington D.C.,  while they made  phone calls to family and friends during hijack.


The attackers of UA 93  had stormed the cockpit and killed the pilots. One of them, who had undergone  pilot training took control turned the flight in the direction of the capital city.

As the plane was only a quarter full,  they forced all the passengers to the back of the aircraft, for  better control. This decision ended as a mistake on the part of the hijackers.

Immediately on take over the pilots has switched off the auto-pilot system  but  the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder were recording all what was going on. Meanwhile the passengers at the back switched on their mobile  phones called home  and  learned about the attack on twin towers and Pentagon.

The plane is turned to Washington few minutes after the take over at 9: 28. 

In half an hour it hit ground (from a map exhibited at the memorial)

As Flight 93  reversed over Ohio towards  the east, they were told by the hijackers via the intercom  in broken English:  “Sit down, keep remaining seating. We have a bomb on board. So sit.”


But passengers had an idea what their attackers had in mind.  They assessed the gravity of that problem and the  intention of the terrorists.They put together a plan to fight the terrorists and defeat their goal. In a coordinated attack they moved swiftly to the front and  pounced on the one who was  guarding the locked cockpit door.

Tom Burnett was one of the four men who lead the effort to retake control of the plane. He had several conversations with his wife Deena. In the final call, Deena told him of the strike on the Pentagon.She had earlier informed him that the World Trade Center had been hit.

“It’s a suicide mission,” he told her. “We have to do something. I’m putting a plan together with several people,” he said. He told her they were waiting until the plane was over non-populated area, when they would attempt to take it back from the hijackers.  Tom told Deena to pray, and said : “Don’t worry, Deena. I’ll be home for dinner. I may be late, but I’ll be home.”

With this new information from Deena - attacks on Pentagon, the passengers and crew became a team and decided to take action. Later,  from  the people of those  phone conversations a lot of what went on board was revealed.

One passenger named Todd Beamer, along with others discussed many options and after a voting among them, decided to crash the cockpit door and take over the plane.  Beamer could not call home due to somereason  and so wanted to call with  palne's passengers phone using credit-card. Due to the prevailing situation he was immediately connected to a  high  officer of the phone company named  Lisa Jefferson. Beamer told her that the group was planning to  jump on the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground, before it reached Washington.

He told  Lisa, "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them." Just after this, Lisa heard the voices of Beamer clearly talking to his gang ,
 "Are you ready? Ok. Let's roll."

After his death Beamer became an American hero and the  last two words spoken by him " Let's roll." has now become a popular quote in the US.

The cockpit voice recorder captured the sounds of crashing, screaming, and the shattering of glass as the passengers rammed the food cart on the door. The cry  of pain  of  the hijacker standing outside the cockpit, is recorded,  meaning he was attacked.

 The last recording of flight data was at 10:03 AM.


Irrespective of  Shanksvile being a very remote area the first emergency team arrived at the crash site by 10:06.
.........................................................................

Click on the photos, to enlarge it.

The first sight of the Memorial as you come up to the flat top of the hill  -where it is erected.

These are 2 maps of the Memorial, so that the readers  may have a better idea of the topography of the place. The first one gives the final flight path of the plane in relation to the field.

The arrow is the  flight path. 

It crashed at 7'O clock - white patch. 

From 3'O clock, going west is US 30 Highway and then the road to the memorial.

I downloaded the second one  from Google Maps Satellite View and  edited it with MS Paint to point out the 4 important locations at the place.

 

The memorial consists of 4 areas.

A) The visitor center on top of a hill, ( pink circle ). The first part of the flight path & the high walls are here. It also  has an exhibition section, which we missed and parking space.

B) Memorial plaza, where the remains of the passengers are buried and the remembrances are held - (green circle)
C) the crash site-  maintained as a grass field.  ( yellow circle )
The marker stone -  spot where the plane hit ground. (yellow arrow.)
D) there is a semi-circle road ( white arrow) for cars from point A to B,  In this map this road begins  at 11 o'clock and goes to 6 o'clock.


The memorial has a simple design. Two high parallel walls with a small gap. Through this gap a black marble path passes to a balcony. This walk way is the exact  flight path of the plane,  as it came down to crash.

The final flight path is marked on ground with this polished black granite stones.

At he end, there is a balcony from where you can see the field where the plane hit ground.

The flight path goes through the gap in the walls.

On the path are a few markers. This one - for the time when the first plane 
hit the Twin tower in New York.  
As I am writing this caption, I regret that  this photo was cropped  by me for better viewing -  otherwise another temporary marker placed by the setting sun through the gaps of the side wall, would have accentuated the one for the twin tower. 

The flight path to the over-look balcony at the end  goes between the twin walls.

From the balcony you get a wide view of the crash field.

On this balcony at the top of the hill there is a glass wall with this inscription

As you look down, ( under the letter 'A' of the second sentence ) you can see the last few meters of the flight path, that  again goes  between parallel walls to a  gate to the crash site and  beyond that over the grass to the stone that marks the spot.

From the top of the hill you have to take the road down to the bottom  to reach Memorial Plaza (green ring) . It is at the edge of the crash site - the final resting place of the passengers and crew who died that day. Here is the flag and the cemetery.
A short walk from here will take you to the Wall of Names and the brass gate.(yellow ring).

At each spot if you dial, the shown moble number,  you can listen to the detailed recordings of the story of each location.

Memorial Plaza at the bottom of the hill. 
It looks towards the crash site. Remembrance services are held here.

The visitor center and the balcony on the top of the hill, as seen from the Plaza at the bottom.

Under their Flag they rest. Cemetery of heroes.

 

You have to walk a few meters from the memorial plaza 

to reach the 'The wall of Names' erected next to the second stretch of  flight path at the foot of the hill.

It is made of white granite stone. There are 40 stones  for 33 passengers and 7crew. 

Here, the  first one is Todd Beamer' name,  who lead the passengers to take the cockpit with the call "Are you ready, Let's Roll".

u

The last section of the black-granite flight path.  

On its side is the polished white granite "Wall of Names".   

The brass gate to the crash site is closed, So you cannot walk to the stone block. 

Only Family members  are allowed to visit it.  Others have to see the rock from a distance.

A 17 tonne stone block  is placed to mark the impact point. 

The surrounding area is planted with wild flowers and weeds.

The visit to the memorial is touching.

We took a picture on the grass.

........................................

We get back to the car and drive off.

 Has to drive 135 miles more to reach our hotel. 

This is Pennsylvania. Will have to cross into Ohio 

to reach the town of Wheeling, 

where we will stay for the night. 

End of  Day 1.

 At the hotels parking lot, the odometer reads 485 miles /  775 km  

in 9:30  hours.

A: will be for daily trip and B: the cumulative. 

It was  about 9 pm as we reached the Comfort Inns & Suites in Wheeling. In long road trips it is best to rest well at night. So choosing a good hotel is worth the investments. So also in a new city the best way to find a good place for food is to  ask a local.   

Ruttenbucks Bar & Grill was recommended to us by the hotel receptionist. He said it was his favorite. And quite close too -  just about 300 meters. We walked to it. That also means no taxi back.

    

 

Rutttenbucks has the looks and feel of a hunter's ranch: 

not to speak of good food and drinks.

And also a small birthday cake. 

END of DAY 1.

Journal of a Road Trip. Part 3.

To Flight 93 National Memorial.

We have now traveled 60 miles from our home to the Bridge in 1hour 15 min.

From the bridge we have 300 miles / 500 km miles to our next destination which can take 5 hours if ridden non stop.  Then again ride 135 miles  further in two and a half hours to reach our hotel. That means the car has to cross  New Jersey and the entire length of the big state of Pennsylvania and then 12 more  miles to Ohio to reach  our hotel Comfort Inn & Suites in the Town of Wheeling.

We have selected Wheeling for the halt tonight as it fit comfortably by distance to tomorrows destination; Dayton Air force Museum  and next day's  halt at Danville, which again is well seated for day after tomorrow's stop at Lincoln Home.  Having decided to move fast during the initial days of the journey we will take the Interstate Highway 70- the fastest option.  

At the middle of the bridge you leave New York and enter New Jersey. Continuing  further on I 278 we re-enter I 95 on which we began our journey to New York city. Then using  I 276 we shall  get on to I 70 and ride fast and  non stop to the first place of visit., The total distance to be covered today is 500 miles/800 km.


We stop for gas ( petrol). Interstate highways have no shops or petrol or anything. As Americans say, there is no nothing- on it's sides except the intermittent exits to and entrance from towns and cities the highway way passes.That is why these roads are fast.

Pedestrians cyclists  and slow moving vehicles are not allowed. But as it goes through forests and wilderness you have to look out for deer and wild-life crossings. There will be ample road signs. Hitting one at 70 or 80 miles can be dangerous. But wild life is seriously protected in this country and allowed to roam free in its habitat. Humans are considered as the trespassers. In Yellowstone we along with hundred of cars waited patiently for a herd of wild buffalo to get off the road. No horns or shouting, the only sound was the clicks of the cameras.

Stopping on the sides is not encouraged except for emergencies. If you stop then hazard lights has to be on. And  you can expect police to stop by, asking you if you need help. So speed limit of 70 means you will actually move 70 miles every hour you are on the road.

Road Traveled, Day 1

We need petrol.  Using google maps to find a convenient town ahead, we take the exit to it. On the exit ramp speed comes down to the town's speed limit - usually 35. Towns as usual, will have shops and services, for the locals. They also expect some highway traffic to come in, which is good for business.

There will  be numerous gas stations. These gas stations - next to each other has different prices-  that are exhibited on high electronic boards for every on to see from far. Price per gallon can vary and it is wise to look for cheaper ones.  I wonder who would fill up at 20 to 30 cents higher for gallon,  from adjacent pumps. It belies logic. Yet all pumps have ample business. People have good purchasing power and may be they don't care.

We drive into one that offers lower price. All most all pumps also have something like a super-market, the size of our "More" or " Reliance fresh". Additionally it may also serve some  food and coffee and stuff like that. It has rest rooms ( toilet) too.

A typical highway exit from interstate.

We fill up gas,  go to the rest room  and grab some snacks. We also take some ice and ride off.  As we get back on I 70,  to our surprise fifty minutes have gone. That rings an alarm bell. We have cut our time so fine that if such stops re-occur our total plans will go awry. We have decided to avoid night driving. Today we were  expecting to be at our hotel by 7 pm.  Now it will be 8.  As sun sets early in winter we have to now ride  more than 2 hours with the lamps on. If we stop, two times a day, in 16 days we would need 32 hours extra meaning  a loss of about one and a half days. If such variances are continued to be allowed our tour design will have to be recast.

A village gas station with its store and price board. National flags-  it is everywhere- just like religious icons in India.

So a decision was made. It was Mathew's idea- military-precision stops.  One will fill up. Another  will buy what is needed, and another go for ice or anything else, and only if necessary would one take extra time. From then on we could cut down the stop and re--entry time by half.


On and on  we went on, on I 70.  Then at Bedford  we interchanged to US Route 30 to go to the village where the jet came down on 9/11. US Routes are also good roads, but compared to Interstates  they are the poor cousins - with regard to its speed and design. Routes haves reduced speed limits and stops and lights in towns.

US 30 has some history.  Before the Interstates were built in 1950's ( to provide mass employment to Americans who returned from II world war ) the Routes were the nation's chief motor ways.  Route 30 on which we are riding now was one of the longest cross continental roads of America from 1913 on wards. Its old name was Lincoln Highway. Like most things in this country it was a private enterprise. The road begins in San Fransisco, California and ends at Times Square in New York. Even though the routes remains today, some part of the Route is upgraded and forms part of  interstates and run concurrent.  Other parts were later upgraded and remain as routes and we are on one such stretch. The century old Lincoln Highway.
--------------------------------------------
Road trips are part and parcel  of American culture. As early as 1910 when cars began to be  common  - old horse trails were converted into motor ways. Now people could go longer and faster. They began to travel for fun. While researching for this trip I read about old US routes and road trips on it.

In 1916,  Emily Post was commissioned by Collier's magazine to cross the United States on the Lincoln Highway and write about it. Her son Edwin was the driver. Her story was published as a book, "By Motor to the Golden Gate". It made her a famous and the story was a hit, inspiring more people.

In 1919, author Beatrice Massey, and  her husband traveled across the America on the Lincoln Highway. When they reached Salt Lake City, Utah, instead of continuing on the  Lincoln Highway  they took the more rough and remote route around the north end of the Great Salt Lake. Owing to the severe hardship of that  trip  the couple had to abandon their road trip in  Nevada.They paid $196.69 to load   their car  on a train to travel the rest of the way to California. 

Beatrice Massey wrote in her 1919 travelogue - here is a passage.

"It Might Have Been Worse: You will get tired, and your bones will cry aloud for a rest cure; but I promise you one thing—you will never be bored! No two days were the same, no two views were similar, no two cups of coffee tasted alike...My advice to timid motorists is, "Go".

Americans - go they did. And to this day they do. May not always be, cross country. But road trips are a part of their culture. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are passing through picture post-card villages of rural Pennsylvania. Fall is here. All the leaves are now glowing red  or bright yellow. Extremely beautiful landscape. In few more days they will all fall. The peaceful village life gently goes by.

This peace was shattered on the morning  of September 11, 2001. One of the jet liners, hijacked and turned to  Washington DC was brought down  by the passengers, before it reached the intended destination. During hijack they had called home to say good byes and learned of the attack on the twin towers, over mobile phone. Both the pilots were already killed. The passengers and crew decided to fight the hijackers. As in such situations a leadership evolved.  And fight they did. The memorial is erected in honor of those brave passengers and crew who perished in a beautiful field.

Photo, of the first image of the crash at the Memorial.

------------------------------------------------------------
Journal of a Road Trip .. Part 4... to be continued....

Journal of a Continental Road Trip Part 2.

Journal of a Road Trip . Part 2

We began the trip from my son's apartment in Norwalk.
To be exactly on the Atlantic coast we had to drive some extra miles. So we drove to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge in New York. The bridge is built above the mouth of River Hudson, as she joins the Atlantic. When a ship passes in, under the bridge it enters New York Harbour's upper bay - where Statue of Liberty stands.
In the days of ocean travel she was the first to welcome millions of poor immigrants from Europe, to the 'new world' as they arrived on ships.
I mean people like Jack in the movie "Titanic". They were landed on an Island in the harbor and thoroughly examined for disease or mental illness or criminal records before being allowed on boats to the city.
And those like Rose, arriving First Class, had special arrangements, at the city's West Side wharf. There was no bridge during those days. 

 Verrazzano bridge has  6 lanes either way.  It is about 8 am. On a working day the lanes would be bumper to bumper traffic. Speed limit is 55 miles /88km. Today we have the bridge almost free of cars.



While on the bridge one can see the Atlantic on one side and the cities on the other.  Ships either entering or leaving   are all over the waters.

  The New York harbor as seen from the bridge.  New York and New Jersey are  2 cities devided by a river called Hudson.  Both  are different States and  busy hubs of marine transport,
 On the left of the picture is New Jersey Port. Right is Manhattan of NY,  home of the sky scrapers like Empire State Building and Freedom Tower.
If you have very good eyes you can  find in the yellow box  Statue of Liberty.

High above the waters for tall ships to pass. America used to stun the world with its amazing works in the 20th century. Now it is the turn of countries with new money. China UAE etc. Like spoiled children bankrupting the the legacy of their parent's hard work, they squander the wealth on wars and infighting.



Verrazzano was completed in 1964. It has a length of 4,260 feet ( 2 km) and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. Being a double-decked suspension bridge and as situated across the entrance to the New York harbor it is built very high over the shipping channel ( 70 meter above water or about the height of a 22 story building). While on the bridge you can sea the Atlantic ocean to your left and New York City sky-scrapers on the right.
The morning was a little cold - 8 degree Celsius- as the weather usually is at this time of the year. It was a sunny day. Being a Saturday- an office holiday, road to New York was not busy. Skirting the East River in Manhattan we rode down the FDR Drive and took the Hugh L Carey Tunnel to cross the river under its water and came up in Brooklyn. Turning right from I 478 to get on I 278, we could see 3 miles ahead, the bridge - the starting point of our trip across this vast country.
We have the geographical areas of, the Eastern States the Mid West, the Great Plains, the Rocky mountain and the the Pacific Coast to cross. Setting off 3 three weeks earlier would have been good. We could escape road closures in the Rockies, but we had good reasons for the delay.
............................................................................
What is the best time to make a US road trip? Or more generally- for a visit ?
Some would suggest Spring (April, May) because of the blooming trees and flower beds all around; not to speak of salubrious weather. But in spring you should also expect an odd rain (they call it thunder-storm). Spring really is a good time to visit USA and oh boy, doesn't the Americans know how to decorate their towns and countrysides in spring?
Yet others would choose the summer( June,July, August). It is the holiday season of the Americans, as schools are closed and almost all the families travel with kids to some place or other, road trips or otherwise. Yachting and sailing has a lot loyal following. You can see family cars towing boats on trailers along inter-states and Routes on their way to the sea or lakes.
In summer all attractions - and America has a lot of them - are chock-a-block with travelers, local as well as foreign. Some 20 years ago Japanese were the biggest crowd. And the biggest shoppers too. Then it was the turn of the Chinese. Nowadays you could see a lot of Indians among-st them.
Irrespective of the crowding , I personally would suggest summer, for visiting Indians- at least to the first time visitors - as you would be comfortable with the weather - even as the country remains at its beautiful best, and all the attractions are open.
Fall (autumn is always called Fall owing to trees shedding leaves) and Winter, - though quite different as they are from summer - has its own peculiar charm. But trees - except evergreen pines- will have no leaves and the landscape looks gloomy and bleak. Beginning mid October temperature comes down rapidly and by Thanksgiving you would need real warm clothes. The north of the country is white by Christmas.
In my humble opinion, for a seasoned traveler mid September will be a good time, for two reasons , the weather in the comfortable 20 Celsius (70 F.) and when schools reopen in the first week of September, the swamping tourist hordes will all have moved out. But the down side is, you get only 3 weeks of this fall window.
We could not make the road trip in September . One of my younger cousins was getting married at the end of September in Kottayam, while at the end of October we had an invitation for a wedding of a grand-niece, in Queens, Long Island. As it is always good to keep the vacations short or contained to a calendar month (over-stay being a bit boring) and because of the weddings, we had only one choice, October. But then, for us it had a significance, that the trip actually coincided with the birthday.
Yet my preference for the September window would not have been practical for another reason too - Mathew, one of the travel companions was expecting September to be a bit busy with work. So October - it was. Tickets booked , medical insurance purchased, and credit cards replenished and most things tied up at the home end - we are ready to go.
I feel it will be useful to mention a few things about medical insurance . America is one of the most expensive places for medical attention. A troubling tooth could significantly deplete your purse. It is wise to get a dental and physical check up, preferably from doctors who are your personal friends - as they really know what you want.
Here I would like to mention my younger friend Dr. Maneesh Scaria ( a traveler himself ) for his kind services, medical prescriptions, advises and an open ended offer to call him any time of the day if there was a need. And on previous occasions, some complementary medicines too - for a contingency.
A few years ago I had to travel in Europe with a sore throat and was disheartened that that i would miss some good European wines and beers, unavailable in India even if you are willing to pay. I am thankful Dr. Paul ENT who came up with some really good quick fix and also told me to call anytime.
It is wise to be prepared. An MRI would most likely cost you 3 times what they charge in Europe and several folds higher than what they charge in India. A few years ago our senior friend Ln. T K Rajan chettan, was in hospital for 5 days in California due to common fever and if I remember correct the bill ran up to 55,000 dollars plus. For less than $ 200. you can buy insurance.
So any one visiting should procure a traveler's medical insurance. It is not that expensive either. Though you can buy it here from an Indian insurance corporation for about Rs, 3,000/- per person of 51 - 61 years age to cover $ 5,00,000- (and some what cheaper for younger persons ) I advice you to buy it from a US insurer as I have heard that Indian ones are not cash-less payment in US hospitals. What good is an insurance if you have to pay a hefty price upfront and try your luck to see the insurer will honour your claim subsequently.
The US company issued insurance for $ 1,000,000/- (1 million) for a month for both of us was $ 308.76 ( about Rs. 19,700) Though the difference is not insignificant, my advice again would be to go for it. Even if you may not use it ( more happy then, as one should be) you will have peace of mind, a condition precedent to enjoy the trip. With a little bit of online research anyone can select the insurance company and the policy that he may need, easily and pay with Indian cards.
It will also be prudent to keep yourself in good condition with an appropriate regime of strength and endurance to exercises, beginning at least a month before the trip. The better you feel the better you enjoy the trip.
..........................................
Our plan is to ride the first one third of the trip in 3 to 4 days, and use the remaining 18 days for the the last part.
The reason is that we would be spending more time in new places. So from the several possibilities we decided to restrict our stops to three places, till we reached St. Louis. If you look on a US map you can see that this city is situated some what short of the geographical center of USA. New York to St. Louis is about 1000 miles, while coast to coast is 3000. If one travel on the fastest route - by I 70 West ( I 70 means Interstate 70 ) one could be there in 15 hours if one rides non stop.
Inter State highways are engineering marvels that the rest of the world has adopted, including India. As country of auto mobiles, it is America's life line, and had been one of the prime reasons for the economic dominance of the country after the second world war. More on these roads later.
Fastest to St Louis and then on wards - keeping out of Inter-states- we would take slower motor ways called US highways and Routes, that go through small towns and villages.
We had only three stops up to St Louis. Flight 93 Memorial, Air Force Museum in Dayton and Abraham Lincoln Home in Springfield.
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks. The memorial was made to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target by fighting the hijackers. It is off I 70 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania,- a small detour.
The National Museum of the US Air Force is the official museum of the Air Force, located at Dayton, Ohio. The museum has one of the world's largest collections with more than 360 top of the line aircraft and missiles on display. Perhaps the best of its kind in the world. It attracts more than 1 million visitors each year. To do some justice to the displays , it requires the very least, half a day. If there was time I would have spent the entire day or even more. I have some really special war plane exhibits to look for.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois is where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861. By this time Lincoln, who was born in a wood cabin was a rich and famous lawyer. His house was one of the best in town and as he was running for the election he was living here in style. He became the 16th President of the United States. The presidential memorial includes the old home and surrounding streets preserved as it was in 1861.
And as I said we were on our way.
-----------------------------
Journal of a road trip Part 3............ to be continued.

A Continental Road Trip. Part 1

Why a road trip.
 
As I was turning 60, there was the usual talk of a special evening  party.
Mostly for people who are not much enthusiastic about food.  A good drink... perhaps OK  ...may be......... 
They will have to sacrifice an evening to make me happy. A few will have to travel to be here.
So I vetoed it.  But the family wanted to make it a special event - anyways.

So  my nuclear family came up with a different activity to mark the occasion. A cross continental road trip.This long road trip was essentially my son's idea. I found it appealing.

So we both spend a good amount of time to research the viability of the project. A lot of planning went into the effort. This blog is a journal on those efforts and its execution.



In any such journey safety and security is of prime concern. Ease of executing it is another consideration. Availability of medical facilities and police protection  cannot be ignored when you travel as a family- in contrast to adventure tourism.

Though one can travel trans-continent in several countries, the US meets these two concerns quite admirably.  Australia is another continent that  fit the bill in all regards. We chose the US as we are   familiar with life there. Plus we have good extended family support too.

Having said that it should be mentioned here that all road trips have certain pros and cons. Pros first.

You are in command.
You control your itinerary, departure time, arrival time, and stops along the way. You don't have to obey train time-tables or airline routes as you plan your trip.

You can change your plan.
If you don't like a particular place, you can just drive to a newer attraction, or you can stay longer at places you chose.

You can see the real life.
Taking a road trip allows you to get off the beaten path and see actual communities and natural wonders- not just the sides of a train track or inter-state highway. Riding through the countryside is a great way to relax and find out what is the life really like in a particular area. As we traveled through the extremely rural and sparsely populated farming heartlands of America, like the North & South Dakota, we gained a deeper insight into another side of US life- a world apart from the life the cities.



Experience local food.
You can stop at a restaurant,  try new food, local beer or wine (after finishing the driving for the day)  or if pressed for time swing through a drive-through KFC or MC Donald. Or eat a take out meal in the car.

Carry most of what you need.
You can pack anything that fits into the trunk (boot) of the car or even inside-  like blankets, warm clothes,  snacks, fruits or a cooler (ice box) for drinks pastries and ice creams. Ice is available free, outside of every gas station ( petrol pumps). You don't have to pay extra to bring the items you need like in an air plane.  We carried 4 suit cases, cooler, fruit trays etc.  that met most our needs and a lot of other stuff that the van became a small house for us.

You Can Save Money
Generally cars are the cheapest mode of transport in the US. If  time is more important than money, then flying might be your best option. Taking the train might be a slightly more  expensive  but better choice for city-to-city travel ( say New York to Washington DC) as you can save airport  time and security hazels. Here trains are mostly used for transporting good long distance.  Passenger trains are few and only available linking major cities and its suburbs. Trains  do not serve villages and far flung out regions. Buses are almost non existent except in cities. So for common man cars are the only and the cheapest option.     So going on a road trip can be a less expensive way to travel, especially if you're traveling with two or more persons. Taking three people somewhere by car is less expensive than buying three round-trip airplane or train tickets.

Having said that traveling by car can be expensive in certain situations. For a lone travelers in particular, taking a road trip might not save money, especially when you factor in gas ( petrol  is called gas-  short for gasoline ) tolls, parking, meals and hotels along the way. Flight will be a better choice for long trips. More on this down the passage.

Irrespective of  all what is stated  here,  road trip has some limitations.

Driving Takes Time.
Driving is one of the slowest ways to travel between two points, especially between  far cities with good rail and airline service. If you are planning a city-to-city trip, you can save time by taking the train or flying to your destination.

But for us this was  a special trip - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Northern states. The vastness was itself  the attraction. Plus from St Louis onwards - an approximate center point of the country - we chose a historic theme for our journey to follow.

You have to do all the work.
From route planning to navigation to spending hours behind the wheel, it's all your duty. Since we had decided to avoid the inter-state highways  ( fast-traffic four/six -lane highways that avoids villages and cities for speedy transport  ) as much as possible and stick to two lane country roads through villages, we required more time to go from point A to point B. As we had decided to drive as far as possible during day-light we needed to plan our trip to reach a particular town, so that next days target location could also be efficiently completed.

Parking can be tedious.
In cities especially (city centers called 'down town', finding parking can be difficult. Heavy city parking rates are not fun to deal with, either. If you are careless and park beyond the time of the parking  meter,  cars may be ticketed ( police fine to be paid later) or towed away.

Bad weather can affect your trip.
Getting stranded in a snow-storm or flood is not a good way to enjoy any trip. And  we had our share of uncertainties for snow in the Rocky Mountains - where the renowned  Yellow Stone National Park is situated. Yellow Stone was a one of the most pertinent points of this journey and we had dedicated two days for the natural wonder. Missing it would have been  certain to  leave behind  some broken hearts.
Even before we left India the Park's web site showed some roads were closed for the winter. As we began our trip we kept  listening to  Yellow Stone Radio's  daily broadcast over internet  and the news was disheartening.  The park itself is as  big as some US state. Several roads remained closed on account of snow and reopening in October was not a bright prospect.
Yet  this story has a happy ending, and for that you will have to wait for the future  posts, way down the series. But we did miss another  land mark. Rainier Mountain outside Seattle was closed due to snow. But it was the last  day and we were eager to go back after 16 days on the road.

Your  car could cost you money or trouble
Fortunately we faced neither. But it may break down while on the road, far away from reliable mechanic support.
Hiring a car is common in America for travelers and business men. There is a huge industry built around it, at all airports and cities. Hire, is generally cheap, say $ 30 to 40 per day for a mid size car. But sometimes  it can be expensive too.
Our original idea was to take our own car.  Initially the trip was designed like a father and son adventure, with Jessy joining us at the beginning and then at the concluding part, from Yellow Stone onward. We thought the entire trip would put too much strain on her.  As Mathew has a BMW Sports it was considered as the fit and ideal car for the trip. We decided to ship the car back through professional transporters  and fly back from Seattle.

When Jessy expressed the desire to come the entire way we had to redesign our logistics. Now we needed much more  space for her to relax and even sleep flat bed. Mathachan  researched  to rent a big and spacious Mini Van - Chevrolet Grand Caravan.   The problem is that you are hiring it on the Atlantic coast and returning  it on the Pacific - point to point distance of  3000 miles or 4800 km.

Mini vans themselves are a bit expensive to hire not to mention returning it across the nation. Other than the hire the company charge you for insurance, third party liability, adding a second driver & unlimited miles for trip.  All inclusive, a 16 day hire could easily set you back by 3000+ bucks if you get a good deal. In contrast the return flight fare for 3 persons from Seattle to New York was only $ 500 with $ 25 extra for each luggage. So traveling by car isn't always the cheapest way to go.

So the road trip began on my 60th - October 07.
16 day later on Oct. 22, the car was returned to Seattle Tacoma Airport car rental return area -
 after covering 5880 miles. 9400 km.
The 3 year old car was received with 31,000 miles on the odometer.
We returned it shy of 37,000 miles.
In a fortnight we drove 0ne sixth of its mileage.
It almost became part of the family. For two weeks it was a second home for us.
Each night, in different cities, we slept in 15 hotel rooms.


Though we began our journey in the state of Connecticut.
and traveled  through the states of  -
New York - New Jersey,
Pennsylvania - Ohio - Indiana- Illinois-
Missouri - Kansas - Nebraska -
South Dakota - North Dakota -
Montana - Wyoming -
Idaho-  Oregon -
and ended the trip in Washington -
we considered our journey to have begun on the Verazzano Narrows Bridge New York  where Hudson River meets Atlantic and deemed it ended on the Astoria Megler Bridge where the mighty Colombia river meets the Pacific.

Other than the new experiences gained,  Jessy and I have another small reason for happiness.
Our son makes a living on the other side of the globe.  Like all sensible parents we  also understand that ultimately your children has to find their own space to live grow. and progress.

He is a good company and it's interesting to spend time with him. So when for 16 days I was with my family -  sharing a close private space enjoying our time and thoughts, visiting known land marks -  and discovering new places, what better way can there be to cherish a mile stone of  60 years.

What has 60 years taught me?
Once I used to think I had the ability do many things right.
And I achieved certain things that I focused on.
Now I realise, they were just blessings.

I also believe in Karma.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Journal of a Continental Road Trip. Part 2    ........ to be continued

A Caribbean Tragedy.

St. Martin is a very small and beautiful island nation - just a tiny speck in the Atlantic. Tourism is the main industry. The island is split between France and Holland. A couple of days ago hurricane Irma had been very cruel to the tiny Caribbean Island.

 Tourist friendly paradise.with tropical monsoon climate like in Kerala. Keralam with its much higher resources and population could have been a better place if we had the will and commonsense.

Almost invisible - tiny St Martin. Its Dutch name is Sint Maartn.  

The arrow  head points to its location.

October 2016 we were in St Martin for vacation. One can arrive from New York in less than 5 hours. The island is also a mecca for people who love airplanes. Princess Juliana international Airport’s runway-end is at handshake distance from the beach. Large crowd gather here to see planes land and take off, so close that jet blast from large jets could sweep one into the sea. That is the fun, though it can be dangerous at times.

We spent 3 days here. Happily, Juliana is a busy airport. Although we went sightseeing the main activity was the waiting for the arrivals and departures and enjoyed every bit of it.

                                           To get around, on arrival, we hired a Hyundai I10 car 

              mainly because it was made in India; 

Jessy has an i10 and small  cars are suited for St Martin .

We selected the hotel that was right close to the beach and landing strip. It had a canopy bar were one could buy excellent food and beverages, and wait for the planes. Young smart boys and girls are the waiters and they please you with their service. By second day they knew what brand of beer my son and I preferred and that Jessy didn’t take alcohol and so pleased her with delicious fruit juices. Excellent tourist friendly ambience.

 The Sun Set Grill & Bar is placed right on the beach close to the runway end . Sitting here one can see approaching air crafts far out from the horizon flying in low . As it comes in for the touch down tourists leave the tables to stand in the sand right beneath the aircraft.

 The grill had a board to inform the patrons of the coming arrivals. The staff update the chart frequently. We were waiting from 9 AM for the highlight of all landings- KLM Jumbo from Amsterdam - the first entry in this list.

 Sea breeze and good food make the plane spotting a delightful experience. Food in this grill is not cheap though. They charge at nearly US rates.

 Checking ' Flightstats" for the next arrival.

The bar displays an arrival departure time board for its patrons.
The most glamorous and waited for arrival/departure is that of KLM 747 Jumbo jet from Amsterdam. It operates thrice a week and as the huge bird appear as a speck far out in the sea, a huge cry of approval emanates from the multitudes that throng the beach. When the blue bird finally fly over the beach it is hardly 30 meters above you. Imagine noise and turbulence such a landing evokes. That is Maho beach of St. Martin.

 InselAir comes in, rather at a higher altitude - to the disapproval of the crowd. We like every one else inadvertently wave to all arriving air crafts. After the touch down of each plane, a big round of applause goes around. Then most go back to the bar till the next one comes in.

 Here is the queen of all arrivals. The majestic KLM 747. The sound the 4 jet engines, the the flying sands and the jet blast that throw the people into the sea is incredible experience. Sadly KLM no longer flies a 747 to St Martin now. It is replaced with a more profitable 777.

 KLM is flying back. Entering the run way for take off. These dare devils holding on the fence is doing themselves no service. We moved out of the path of the blast, yet were trembled by fury of hot jet engine. Those in line on the beach were thrown into the sea. At the end of the run way is a mountain - part of which you can see.. So the huge bird takes an unusual immediate left, seconds after lift off. In order to limit the photos I am forced to discard it.

A week later, KLM replaced their Jumbo Jet with a smaller and more economic aircraft. It was international news. We were lucky to see one of the final 747 landings in ‘Sint Maarten’ - the Duch name of the island
This week that beach was taken by the sea when hurricane blew. Irma has caused wide spread damage in the Caribbean islands and Cuba.
When it reached USA, CNN, BBC & MSNBC and all major networks gave 24 hour coverage. But the strong Category 4 storm had ravished several Caribbean nations and Cuba before it reached America. Not much was heard about it - at least on the Indian beam of these news channels. I wonder what has happened to the people and their property.

We should stand with the friendly poor people of the archipelago. They are hardy lot and has rebuilt and sprang back after several previous hurricanes. So will they this time too.