DAY 15, 16, 17: 11th, 12th, 13th Apr/2011

Lake Mead

Today was the pack up day, and so lots of work. When you have been at the same place for 7 days (when you are camping, that is), there is a lot of stuff that you unpack and is all over the place. To pack all of it again, and such that you can carry it on your bike, is a LOT of effort. So needless to say, this was a busy morning. We packed up, took a leisurely shower (you never know if you will have a shower the next day) and decided to leave by noon. Gordon offered to join us till China Ranch, so we had company and the detour made more sense.

The China Ranch was a slight detour (15 miles) but we had to see it. We missed it the evening before, and didn’t want to go without having at least a look at it. It was a nice ride, V and Gordon showing off their bikes and the speeds, and me clinging to V so as to not fly off! It was a neat little place – difficult to believe that such a green place can exist in the middle of the desert! We walked through the small trails, reading names of the trees .. and discussing if we had these ones in India. The date shake was amazing, never had anything so yummy.. and filling I must say (I couldn’t finish one glass). The sparrows were fairly daring, flying right up to our table to grab pieces of the date cake. Can’t blame them for loving it J. Even had a video of a sparrow eating the cake right out of my hands! This one was to be my prized possession.

By the time we reached Lake Mead, it was late afternoon, and our priority was to find a place to camp for the night, but that didn’t keep me from clicking snaps as we rode. After we set the tent up, I wanted to grab a beer. Just as we were leaving for the general store, we realized that we couldn’t find the camera! Darn! Stupid me.. I seemed to have dropped it somewhere sometime while I was clicking snaps. I had absolutely no recollection of when and how! While I was upset about the camera, I was more worried about the pictures that we lost! There was no way we could get those priceless memories back. We rode back all the way to where I remembered clicking the last snap, and looked along the roadside, but no luck. The camera and we had parted ways. (No luck on the beer as well). V was in a foul mood, and there was no point edging him right now. Back to the tent, empty handed!

The morning now had different priorities. Instead of going to Hoover Dam, it was Target Stores– to get ourselves a new camera! Today was also our daughter's 2nd b'day and I woke up missing her terribly, and also feeling guilty about leaving her back alone.  Nothing seemed to be as it was supposed to be without her :(  

Spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to talk to her and wish her 'happy b'day' but she was so not inetrested in talking to me. Why should she! After all I left her behind while I am cruising across US! (tears in my eyes, while V trying to comfort me)

The morning was spent in Walmart and Target, but thankfully we got ourselves a decent small camera. We tried to re-capture our memories in the new camera, and vowed to download them every evening on the computer – lesson learnt! Lake Mead is huge and pretty and beautiful. I think most of the US that I have seen till now has amazing natural beauty and it is difficult to say which one is better. There are mountains and lakes and the sea and the desert and the forest – they have it all, and it’s all different and all beautiful. I am running out of words to describe each landscape. I guess one word fits them all – WOW!

V spent the afternoon and early evening going for a swim in the lake, while I sat on the beach and just soaked in the beauty (and lots of sun, as my skin would show). We were now getting into the habit of eating our dinner at 7-730, like the Americans do – purely because when you are camping you want to make the best use of the daylight.

Cooked a light meal, and hit the bed early. As all National Parks, no shower here! The next morning was to be the ride to Hoover Dam, we had heard so much about!

We started early the next day, as we wanted to spend time loafing around the Dam. Clicked a lot of pictures, read about the history and the making of the dam, watched a small documentary about the same, a small tour of the power plant (while V kept whispering in my ear that Vedanta's smallest power plant was bigger than this, and I kept reminding him that this was built in 1935)

Came back from the dam in the afternoon, tired and hungry, only to realize that the stove wouldn't work - it was hell bent on leaking fuel! Thank you Coleman - this meant another drive to the town 19 miles to exchange this stove and find late lunch/early dinner. If only this had happened yesterday, we wouldn't have cared, but then it never happens the way you want it .. does it!

More riding in the freezing cold but finally mission accomplished.. a stove that worked, and cooked dinner for us to eat :)

DAY 12: 8thApr/2011

Las Vegas

This was the Vegas day, so excitement was in the air since morning (only in my head, V was happy with his book). By the time I managed to drag him to the road, it was late afternoon. It worked well for me too, as I didn’t want to get to Vegas too early in the afternoon – the fun is in the evenings, or so we had heard.

I used the morning to wash and set my hair, file my nails, decide on what to wear in the evening (:D). We reached Vegas around 6. The ride to Vegas was an hour and a half of which 30 minutes was at 36 degree Fahrenheit. By the time we reached Vegas, we were frozen rigid. This called for a coffee at Starbucks, and internet came free with it. Now, gambling vs internet was a tough choice, I tell you.

By the time we got to Las Vegas Boulevard (the casino street), it was almost 830, and life was at its best. I was anxious to get off the bike and move around, being a part of it all. We parked the bike at Riviera, and lost $4 in 30 seconds flat in the casino.

“It took us longer to get in the casino from the parking lot, than it took for the bucks to vanish”. Me no likes this place. Get the hell out of here!

“Let’s walk the street and have a look before we get down to the casinos” V was clearly trying to minimize my gambling time. If you can’t maximize your profits, minimize your losses!! Smart!

The street was buzzing, and the liveliness was infectious. I was smiling for no reason and staring at all the lights with my mouth open, like a little kid.

“Close your mouth, will you” V was embarrassed at my behavior. Damn these husbands!

“Isn’t this awesome?” I couldn’t contain my excitement

“Yeah” V was busy clicking snaps

“How much electricity do they consume in a day? Just this street?”

“Huh?”

“I mean just this one street. How much electricity do they consume in one night? In fact how much of the world’s power does America consume?”

Just then my intellectual thought process was interrupted by a few guys thrusting something in our faces. They were handing over sheets of printed paper to everyone. I realized that V had refused to accept the bunch, and moved ahead, the guys still chasing him. He conveniently decided to leave me behind.

“What’s this?” I asked more to myself and aloud to V, as I took the sheets.

One of the ‘friendly’ guys thought I had addressed him, and decided to honor me with an answer, “hot girls in your room in 20 minutes. Just call” (all smiles, as if he revealed a great secret that I was dying to know)

“Huh? I don’t need them. Thank you”

“Give it to him, will you (after you are done)”

“YOU SOB!” of course I said that in my head. Aloud, I could only say, “Just leave him alone, he is my husband”, with as much attitude as I could produce under the circumstance, as I walked on, still holding on those sheets.

Silence for the next 10 minutes.
"you want to call?" I broke the silence

“Huh? Why would I call?

“Just like that. Experiment” I tried to be a sport. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

“Shut up”

Silence again for the next 10 minutes.

 “You shouldn’t dress skimpily at such places” V broke the deadly silence this time.

“I am NOT skimpily dressed” I was not willing to take that as an excuse. Besides the cold was playing the spoilsport and I was all wrapped up (as opposed to what I intended to do)

“Not you dumbo, generally” V knows how to be diplomatic

“You want to try out the casinos” nice change of topic sweety!

“Dinner first” and so we headed to Denny’s.

We entered the casinos, lost money and came out – flat 10 minutes or less for every casino – Casino Royale, Treasure Island, Bellagio (and forget the name of a few others, that we visited in a jiffy), except Caeser’s Palace. This one I fell in love with. The walk from the mall to the casino level was something I won’t forget in a hurry. The way they have done this thing is unbelievable. The painted sky on the ceiling of this walk is so real; it makes you wonder if you have the watch set at wrong time. The stroll in this make-believe ‘lane’ made the entire trip to Vegas, worth the cold and the ride! I was a happy soul, not tired even as the clock struck 3 am in the morning! J

   

 We gabled some more, and by the time I complained that I was tired, it was already 530 in the morning. Love you Vegas! Time for the morning coffee already! Starbucks, here we come.

 That's us at the starbucks at 530 in the morning!

we spent an hour with the coffee and the internet and were dying to get back.Stopped by at Pahrump for a hearty and well earned breakfast.

As much as I hate the cold weather, it seems to be in love with me! And so on our way back, we had 35 degrees F again, complimented with 5 minutes of rain! Thank you!

Reached Shoshone at around 130 pm, cold and tired and dead! needless to say, all we did the rest of the day was sleep in our tent! And that was the end of our day 13!

The next day was also uneventful and dull, with lots of pool time and books! A trip to China Ranch in the evening only to find out that it closes at 5 pm!

DAY 10, 11: 6th, 7thApr/2011

Shoshone – Pahrump

Today we didn’t want to step out anywhere. We spent a lazy morning in the pool (a warm pool when the air was so cold – angelic), had an enormous breakfast and I whiled away my time reading a Daniel Steel novel – Going Home. By the afternoon, I was bored (those who know me will vouch that I get bored really easilyJ) and dragged V out of the tent.

“let’s go somewhere” I said enthusiastically
“Where? Death Valley? Again”
“No, it’s too hot there. Let’s do something exciting and fun” I said

<Wicked smile on V’s face>“NO. that’s NOT what I meant. I meant let’s go shopping”“Aaahh, ok.. but where?” he exaggerated the disappointment in his tone “Let’s ask Tommy for the nearest Walmart” (I am so smart)

Tommy said the nearest Walmart was in Pahrump, about 27 miles from where we were. Shoshone is an extremely tiny town with a population of maybe 40 at the optimistic. So there are absolutely no shops there. For bread and milk types, there is a Charles Brown General store that also stores beer (Thank God for small mercies!) but if we wanted anything to make a decent meal (remember my excitement about the microwave in the desert?), we just HAD to go to Pahrump. So we scooted off to Walmart. As usual, when I go to a shop/mall to purchase 2 items, I end up with 20. Don’t blame me! I am a woman, that’s what we do! So here we were, with more bags than one could carry on a bike, but glad at the fact that we could have home-cooked (read tent cooked) meals for the rest of the week. To make life easier, V also bought a camper’s stove.

“We won’t get a microwave at all camping places, we will need the stove” his logic

(OK, so now I am expected to cook EVERYDAY? Yeah right! Huh! Not talking!)

<Silence on the way back to Shoshone>

V decided to make full use of the silence and go a full turn on the accelerator. Before I knew it, the bike zoomed and I had no choice but to hold him tight (yeah I know, cheap trick!) This moment needed a snap, and I did just that. Historic moment for us – riding at 110 miles an hour, that’s almost 176 km/hr. 

I knew that we could be killed by our families of we posted thsi snap on FB, but I just had to share this one. For someone used to riding on Indian roads, this kind of speed is orgasmic.

The next day was spent mostly at the pool and cooking hearty meals, contributing to my sun burns and weight gains. The whole day had nothing worth mentioning except wine sessions with Gordon – our new found friend in the camping area. Gordon and V had lengthy sessions on American politics; and how India and US are different and similar at the same time; and how India would be the next powerful country only after china.. and .. and.. and… phew!  

DAY 9: 5th/Apr/2011

Death Valley

We woke up late, had peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast and were ready to leave for Death Valley by 930 am. By this time we were also sure that we wanted to camp in this town for a week, we could make use of this as a base camp while we did smaller trips nearby. We paid up for the week (which the manager thought was amusing, wonder why!!) and head off for Badwater, which was to be our 1^st stop. The ride to Badwater was hot, though a pleasant change from the cold that we had been battling for the past few days. The views were amazing though, at times, I wondered that “Death Valley” was a fitting name for this area. If someone was to get lost here, the chances of getting out alive were minimal. And I started imagining how many people would have died here during the Gold Rush. Man is such a greedy animal, we don’t mind risking our own lives and families for a piece of fortune. How tragic. Enough of my ‘positive’ thoughts, time to get back to the ride.

There wasn’t much water at Badwater, but I could see why they called it that. We went for a little stroll at the badwater basin, and by the time we were done, it was so hot, I felt like a roasted chicken! A picture is worth a thousand words, and I don’t think words would do justice to the beauty of Death Valley, so I shall use more of pictures and lesser words for this post.

Places we visited:

1. Badwater
2. Furnace Creek
3. Golden Canyon
4. Zabraskie point
5. Artist’s drive
6. Devil's Golf course

We stopped by for lunch at the ‘Furnace Creek Ranch’ and ordered more than we could eat. The idea of an Oasis in the middle of the desert was overwhelming, and we did get carried away with the food. I was so stuffed by the end of it that I wouldn’t mind if anyone offered to carry me back! Though no one offered L and I had to drag myself back to the bike.

 I was full and sleepy, and just wanted to get back now. We did make use of the phone booth outside the post office at Furnace creek to make a few phone calls. Our cell phone had no signal in JT, nor did we expect it to have any at Death Valley or Shoshone. So we called our families and told them not to worry if we are not traceable for another week. We were falling in love with the desert and might decide to extend our stay, who knows!

We reached Shoshone by 6 in the evening and all I could think of by now was the bed. We had an early dinner and off I went to sleep. Zzzzzzz….

 

DAY 8: 4th/Apr/2011

Joshua Tree NP – Shoshone

The day started early, as we wanted to pack and up leave for Death Valley before it’s too late in the day. Having spent 2 days at JT, without a shower, I was desperate to get out of there and find some place with water. There was a couple that has sneaked up next to our camping site late night/early morning, and were snuggled in their sleeping bags. They woke up as we started packing and patiently waited for us to leave so that they could occupy the site. As we were struggling to deflate our air mattress, attached it to the deflator plugged into the bike, this guy who had been patiently waiting, stepped forward and said, “have you tried unscrewing the valve so that it can release the air? Normally that’s much faster”. V and I looked at each other embarrassed and thankful at the same time. David (we learnt the name of the guy over the course of the conversation) and V chit chatted for a while we continued packing. David was impressed and surprised that we were undertaking such an ambitious trip! (Tell me about it). While we were at it, I used the opportunity to ask him, what they intended to do for showers during their stay at JTNP. What he told me was music to my ears. We could have a hot shower outside the park for a few dollars. Needless to say that we packed at lightning speed and were standing at the pay shower joint, before we knew it J

that's the $4 shower!

Having cleaned up and feeling much fresher, we decided to head directly to the Death Valley, and the night halt would be in the desert. having whiled away some time eating an enormous breakfast at "the country kitchen" outside JTNP, we set on the road. smaller pit stops were made at a walmart (to buy a lip balm - my skin was already sun burnt, and lips chapped), and a subway for an early lunch.

By 530 pm we were in a small town called Shoshone (the last one on California before we cross the Nevada border for Death Valley) . a signboard that said 'next services after 72 miles' forced us to stop by this town to get a tank refill, and also to weigh the possibility of actually staying the night. it didnt make much sense to ride all the way to Death Valley, specially when we weren't sure of getting a camping place at that hour.

We stopped by for a drink by 'The crowbar Saloon' and as luck would have it, there was a 'tent space available' sign right across the road. V went out to check and came back smiling. The place had a warm pool, hot showers, a microwave and a fridge that we could use while camping there. This was it. This would be where we would spend the night, and set out to explore Dearth Valley the next morning.  We chose a cozy little corner to set up our tent and it was time to relax.

The view from the tent was breath taking and I was glad that we didn't go any further that day. The stay was well earned. We had the luxory of a library too, where we spent the evening browsing through maps and magzines, while sipping on hot coffee. The microwave gave us the freedom of cooking instant meals and eating our heart out. This was heaven for me, since being a vegetarian, I was fed up of eating cinnamon rolls and french fries. Tonight, I would sleep well :)

DAY 5,6,7: 1st,2nd, 3rd/Apr/2011

LA – Long Beach – Dana point – Joshua Tree

From LA, we rode real slow, enjoying every moment of the beautiful ride. Stopped by the state beach at Long Beach, whiled away an hour or two. Then stopped by New port, had lunch, walked along the beach admiring the beautiful houses, then headed to Dana Point. John and Andrea had graciously offered that we could spend the night with them, and we gladly accepted. I was really sleepy after the time at the beach and heavy lunch, and didn’t want to look drowsy when we reach John’s place, so I coaxed V into stopping by a nice little roadside park J. V studied his maps, while I napped under a tree. Really needed it. We reached John’s house at about 5 in the evening. Andrea greeted us at the door, as John was out chasing his dog. He soon joined us. To my embarrassment, he had seen me sleeping under the tree. They played great hosts, and were generous enough to let us use the laundry (in hindsight, it was a great decision coz we wouldn’t have any laundry access for days to come). They even treated us to a yummy pizza dinner in a fancy restaurant called Selma. Mmmmm…. Thank you guys, you are angels.

The next morning we decided to use the opportunity to look around the small historic town of San Juan Capistrano (yes, 300 yrs old is historic for the US!! Tell that to Indians!!) It was a beautiful town, I must admit, and we ended up spending 4 hours there in contrast to the planned 1 hr!

We came across a small souvenir shop and picked up some scented candles and incense sticks for Andrea. I remember her mentioning the night before that she loved them. The lady at the counter was extremely helpful and she helped us pack them together into a sweet gift pack. My presumptions for the country were already changing. No, the people here did not have an air about themselves, like I always believed. They were very warm, open hearted and lovely people. And every bit as hospitable, as we Indians pride ourselves to be.
  

Time to go back, pack up and start moving, heading to the Joshua Tree National Park. Thank you John and Andrea, hope to see you soon sometime, you should plan a trip to India. You really must.

Tommy (the GPS) said JT was 196 miles, we almost fainted. It was post 3 pm when we hit the road and there was no way we could make it in time. We re-planned and re-planned but it was adamant on 196 miles. Wasn’t JT supposed to be just 2-3 hours from Dana Point? Something was obviously wrong, but we didn’t have anyone but Tommy to guide us. So we believed him, and started.
“It’s making us take all the wrong turns!” V shouted”
“Well, maybe. But it knows US better than you do!! So who should I trust?” the choice was obvious and we continued.
“No, I am sure this is wrong. I refuse to follow the directions.” This was V again, as he stopped by a fuel pump and refused to go any further till I turned the GPS off. He was already bent over his maps looking for the directions, looking all hassled up.
“Hey, wait a minute. I know what’s wrong! It isn’t Tom’s fault at all, STOP blaming the poor chap!” I was already referring to the GPS as our 3^rd partner on the trip! “Remember, WE changed the setting to ‘always avoid freeways’”
I promptly changed it back to ‘always take the fastest route’ and there it was. JT was 106 miles from where we were and we were already 30 miles off. “Let’s get going” and we were already looking for the next U-turn, relieved and all smiles.

On 29 palms highway, the winds were so strong that we thought we would be blown off the road. When you are riding at 70 mph and the wind is hitting you perpendicular to the direction of your motion with equal force, there is a good chance that you will skid off the road and move ahead at 45 degree angle!!! We had to put tremendous effort just to be on the road, moving as slow as 20 mph. This considerably delayed us, but we were focused on the road for now.

 By the time we reached JT National Park it was almost 7 pm. The sun was milder, and already scouting for the right mountain to set behind, and rest for the night. We should get going and scout for a place as well. At the Ranger Station, we were disappointed to find that all camp sites were full, but also excited at the opportunity of wild-camping or backcountry camping as they call here. We managed to find the Boys scout trail by7:45 and it was already getting dark. We had to walk a-mile-into-and-500feet-off-the-trail with the luggage (sleeping bags and the tent at the least). By now, we were walking into wilderness in complete darkness, and suddenly the idea didn’t seem exciting to me at all. I had all sorts of thoughts crawling in my head, and I must say they weren’t cool.
“Do they have animals in here?” I asked V
“It’s a desert, so I assume yes”
“What kind of animals?”
“I don’t know, it’s my 1^st time here as well, remember?”
“But you must have read it somewhere. Your biker friends didn’t tell you anything?”
“Coyotes maybe”
“Are they carnivorous?”
“hmmm”
“Will they attack us?”
“Don’t worry, I am around. Now will you shut up and just find a place to camp?” V was losing it, I could see.
“What if we are attacked?” I still wasn’t sure, he could protect us.
“If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t allow us to camp, right?”

Now this seemed like a decent explanation to keep me quiet for a while, and we set up a tent, when we thought we were way off into the desert now, and couldn’t be seen from the trail. All I wanted to do was get into the tent, and zip it up. If I can’t see them, they probably can’t see us! I tried to catch some sleep, but there was no way I could get my thoughts off those animals that were supposedly attacking us from all directions. I woke up V thrice that night claiming that I was sure there was someone outside our tent. V volunteered to step out and check but I clung to him, almost in tears, please don’t go, I am shit scared. I dreamt that night of all the possible carnivores that I had learnt the names of, way back in school.

What I felt that night is difficult to put in words and also embarrassing to accept now J but I swore to God that I wasn’t doing it again anytime soon.  

With the break of the day, it all cleared up, including my head. The night seemed silly in the daylight, as I looked around the beauty that lay in front of us. At times like these you can’t help realizing how trivial mother nature can make you feel. It was a vast desert and the beauty unparalleled. Nonetheless, we decided to pack up our stuff and go looking for a designated campsite. I had had a lifetime of backcountry camping. Despite the board that proclaimed that all campsites were full, we rode across the area to see if anyone was leaving. We were in luck and managed to catch hold of 2 guys who were packing up. I was hoping that the campsites would have some water, but there was none to be found. We offloaded our stuff and drove 7 miles to fill in our drinking water bottles. A shower was way beyond our thoughts as of now.

We spent the entire day just walking around the trails, trying to light the fire and cook some meal camping-style, climbing on some low rocks (that were accessible without the climbing gear), and drinking some beer. It was nice to be so close to nature. The only thing we missed here was a shower. We were dying to take a bath, but there was absolutely no water to use (even for the toilets, leave alone taking a shower!) As we hit the bed (an air mattress inside our tent); we were tired, and hoped that as we leave JT the next morning, we would have an opportunity to clean up. I dozed off dreaming of a nice, cozy, hot shower.

 

DAY 2,3,4: 29th,30th,31st/Mar/2011

Santa Clara – Marina – Cambrillo – LA

The day started on a disappointing note, as we couldn’t buy the camera we were looking for. We were carrying dollar cards from back home, which works at selective places, and it decided not to work at the one place we liked the camera. Anyways, we decided to start with the basic camera that we have, not good for a photographer, but decent enough for us to capture our memories.

By the time we hit the road, it was 2 pm. It was fairly late in the day to get on to the road, and we agreed that we didn’t want to go far. We were in no hurry; we had 6 months to look around the country. We exited Santa Clara on 101S. We were determined to take the highway 1, which we had heard is the most beautiful drive along the Pacific coast, but our GPS (duly christened as Tommy), insisted on taking us back to 101. It took us a while to realize that it would take us through the fastest route available, unless we changed the setting. We finally changed it to “always avoid freeways”, and Tommy let us proceed on our desired highway 1. The ride was every bit as beautiful as we had expected it to be. 

The highway was closed due to landslide around the Big Sur area, and we did see signage that said “highway closed after 29 miles”. We were greedy for the view, and stretched our luck, hoping to find a detour ahead. Unfortunately, there was no detour available, and we had to ride back till Salinas and take 101 again. L We spotted the RV park as we crossed Marina, and that would be our space for the night. At 7 pm, we camped exactly in the same town, that we had had our lunch at 4 pm! But the day was well spent along the coast. No complains there.

The next morning we started our ride late in the morning, around 11 am. The ride was on 101, so nothing worth a mention, except the hearty country style lunch at Guadalupe. It’s a small sleepy town with very warm people.

The night stay was at Motel 6, Camarrillo. All ride and no play had made both jacks sleepy, and we snored our way to the morning.

Los Angeles was the next pit stop, and we were determined to use the day at Universal Studios. We reached LA around 12 noon, and after a couple of calls, parked ourselves at a motel called Econo Inn. It’s a tough choice when you are running on a budget. Very old, basic motel; but nice, clean and comfortable rooms. No internet. Spent the day at Universal, looking around and jumping like kids. Loved it. The ‘house of horrors’ and the ‘Mummy ride’ nearly killed me, while V enjoyed my plight! Total money spent = $300, way off the daily budget, but damn it!

This was Universal studios in LA and who cares!

 

 Loafed around the Hollywood drive, after clicking pictures at the ‘walk of fame’. Unfortunately the street was closed for road repairs for that day (what luck!), hence it was much duller compared to what I had imagined in my head. Finding a parking spot was a nightmare. The public parking would cost us $10 for the motorcycle. Remember the minds tuned to convert every $ to Indian currency? Rs 500 just seemed like too much to pay for an hour!! Managed to finally find one metered parking spot and got away with paying just $1 per hour (smart me :D, pat on the back)



DAY 1: 28/Mar/2011

Santa Clara – San Francisco – Santa Clara: ~125 miles

The bike had been bought and registered; time to test it now. It had been raining all of last week, and today looked sunny. A trip to San Francisco and back should be just fine. We didn’t have luggage to carry as we were to come back to base at night. We hit the road by 11 am. No rains, thankfully, but the winds were cold and killing. I made a mental note to carry a jacket on top of the riding jacket, to keep me warm and alive. We were still getting used to the instructions by the GPS, and had to make 2 stops before we could reach SFO. There wasn’t much navigation to do, it’s just straight ride on 101S. The speeds on the freeway, of the overtaking traffic, was taking some getting used to, and we monitored ours to be close to 65mph. It still scared the shit out of me.
SFO was every bit as charming as I remembered from the last time I was here 5 years ago. Like any tourist, our 1st stop was the Golden gate bridge. The calm of the Pacific is beyond words.

After spending 2 hours here, it was time for downtown and some food. The one-ways in SFO make it extremely difficult to find your way, if you are not accustomed to the place. Looking for a gas station as the bike was low on fuel, we relied on the GPS and it took us for a ride. Literally. Stopped by the 1st café we managed to see. It was a small sandwich bar, with a country feel to it. Run and managed by a single women, it was a great place to hang out. Treat for the vegetarian me, I had a Mediterranean platter with humus and pita bread. Yummie! V feasted on a ham sandwich and coke.
We spent the evening at a friend's place with beer and maps. it was a good evening, and Sridhar (V's contact from advrider.com) came over to hand us some maps and tips for the ride. it was very sweet of him to come over all the way to help us. We had a ice evening and a couple of beers while we went over the maps with Sridhar. Before we realized it was 10 pm and time to head home.

Getting Ready

V arrived a week in advance, landing on 14th March 2011, to check out the bikes and the essential stuff that we would need for the trip. I arrived on 22nd, and the entry into the United States is something I won't forget in a hurry. I had a valid visa for entry into the country and my passport has stamps from over half the world, owing to business travel, and this wasn’t my 1st trip to the states, and therefore I hadn’t seen this coming. I requested for a 5-6 month stamp at the immigration, explaining that I would need that much time to look around the country by road. I was fairly proud of myself for planning such a thing, and imagined that the excitement showed on my face. The lady however had other plans for me. She sent me to secondary check where the gentleman (or the lack of it) decided all by himself that I was a single woman who had come to US to get married and settle down. (This, in spite of my telling him repeatedly, that I was a married woman with a 2 year old kid). I finally managed to find my way out after 45 minutes of interrogation, and almost losing my temper, and the officer calling up V to double check on all details that I had told him; only to find that the lock on my check in luggage was broken and the luggage thoroughly checked. What a welcome! I sincerely hoped that this wasn’t any indication on how the trip was going to be.
Thankfully V was waiting for me outside the airport, and I could smile. V had selected a Honda ST1300 to be our ride and we secured the deal on the way from airport to Santa Clara. One milestone achieved. The sleeping bag, tent, air mattress and the inflation pump was easy to get, courtesy Amazon.com and Cosco / Walmart. The utensils that we would need for camping and a GPS, that would keep us company for a long time to come, were also acquired from Walmart/Target in coming days.
The budget was set at $100 per day. For minds tuned to convert every dollar to Indian currency, this didn’t look so bad. But this wasn’t India, and we realized soon enough that the budget was shoe string. But if we started without a figure in mind, it could be end up in a financial disaster for us. And this wasn’t meant to be a luxury trip anyways, so we were committed to adhere to it, as tight as possible.
We were ready to start the trip, but the rain Gods weren’t pleased with us. The tires on the bike were new and had less than 100 miles on them, so it wasn’t wise to tread on slippery roads. All we could do was wait.