Concord Massachusetts : Heny David Thoreau's Town

When you are in Concord Massachusetts the Thoreau's hometown you can witness the proud history, glorious past and thriving modern community. It was Sunday evening, the night fell early, a rather cold day for this time of the year, the town literally went to sleep, store owners seemed like they were glad to close down and go home early, a young woman sat on an empty bench in front of an empty store with an impassive look on her face bore a bored expression kept her face down took solace in her smart phone punching away on the keyboard maddeningly, next block over a few restaurant owners reluctantly kept their businesses open where a handful of locals quietly ate their dinner with a frightful look in their eyes on account of the impending arrival of Monday, the churches looked resplendent with the light thrown on them with darkness around them, a couple strolled on the sidewalk bothered by the cold; the female partner not particularly enjoying the subject of their conversation, the closed shops displayed their wares in their windows in brilliant colors, lights, shades and shadows...makes me wonder if Thoreau himself is making me write this.

A 19th century American icon and naturalist and author/poet Henry David Thoreau was born in this town and I saw the legacy of Thoreau everywhere in this town. One fall evening on a weekend I had a few hours to spare and I figured Concord makes a perfect drive. It is just a short drive up the highway Rt 126 which runs right by where I live in Framingham a suburb of Boston metro area. 

To confuse the matters there is Concord the capital city of New Hampshire which is lot bigger and well known and is not very far from Concord MA actually.

A Poem for Paris : France under Attack

On 13th November 2015,  a series of coordinated terrorist attacks occurred in Paris, France claiming the lives of 126 innocent people. My prayers go out to the victims and their families.

When you visit Paris you can't help falling in love with the city. I penned this poem to show solidarity with people of France :

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City of Light is in plight
This morning Paris is in mourning
La Seine seen silent like never before

But Eiffel tower would not cower
Champs-Elysees is for champions for ever
Cobbled stones on the streets would not wobble

The Pyrenees will stand tall as ever
The Arc De Triomphe will always stand for triumph
Vive La France! Peace & Love! Paix & Amour!

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Long Beach, California : The Other Los Angeles

Nov 2011

I was always intrigued by the way "Long Beach" was portrayed on TV, magazines and books even before I had ever seen the city. If the story line needed a setting that is hardscrabble blue collar middle class, suburban yet very non-Hollywood, then the city of Long Beach is a perfect fit. And I love the way the city name sounds.

The port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in US and one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. It is also the second largest city in Los Angeles metro area.

When the legendary luxury ship Queen Mary was retired, it made her final cruise and arrived in Long Beach, California on December 9, 1967. She has called Southern California her home ever since. The Queen Mary tours are a big attraction here.

I drove through Long Beach many times before I actually took time to stop here to see the town. When you drive from Los Angeles to Orange County you invariably drive through Long Beach. It is a city that is  mid way through two mega population centers : Los Angeles and Orange County.

Mount Washington : The place of the Great Spirit

Mount Washington : The place of the Great Spirit
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New Hampshire Oct 2015

No mountain in US has such a cult following as Mount Washington does in New Hampshire. The visitors love driving up Mount Washington, a mountain that does not even make the list of top 10 tallest in the East Coast of US. This mountain barely peaks at 6,700 feet, is not very tall compared to the giants else where in US. Just to give you a perspective, there are 53 peaks that are at least 14,000 feet in Colorado state alone. I used to live by one of those "14ers" as they call them in Colorado, and I driven up many others as well but I have never seen one fourth the crowds on Rocky Mountains as I have seen on Mt Washington. Why you may wonder? Perhaps due to the fierce reputation that Mt Washington has earned. How bad it gets on Mt Washington? Please read on..

Mount Washington registered the highest wind ever recorded in the world taking hurricanes and typhoons into account. The wind blew at mind-blowing 231 miles/hour at the summit on April 12, 1934. The bad news just keeps piling on the top of highest mountain in the North East United States. In the year 1969 a record level of 566 inches of snow fell and 50 inches of it fell in just a single day. Get this, a 100 inches of rain pounds the mountain annually. A mountain that is so notorious for erratic weather had the perfect weather when I was up on the summit. I have such effect on mountains, I surmise.

The road up this mountain is so vertical that it feels like you are driving up straight into stratosphere and your heart drops into your tummy. You try not look down but it does not help much. You can't stop because there are vehicles behind you. You can't go up because you are too frightened. You can't pull over because there is hardly any room for cars going up and cars coming down. The popularity of this mountain can be attributed to the fact that the visitors want to be able to tell everybody that they climbed this mountain and lived to tell the story. The drive comes at a price however. It is not cheap either. It costs you $28 for the driver and vehicle, additional passengers pay $8 per adult. The mountain may be steep but the fee is steeper.

Now that you are excited about wanting to conquer this mountain while still bummed about the high dollar fee, you might ask, how do you get there? Lets say you start out from Boston and head up north on the interstate I-93. About 70 miles up north after you passed Concord the capital city of New Hampshire you come across Route 49 that takes you towards the towns of Waterville Valley and Compton. This junction of I-93 & Rt 49 is a good spot to stop and fuel up. Food for you and gas for your car. There is a tourist information booth right there by the exit if you like to pick up brochures and learn more about White Mountains attractions. You get back on I-93, fasten up and get ready for drive of your life. If the Franconia area just up the highway feels like you are in Jurassic era that is just the beginning. Stay on Route 3 that takes you North East off I-93 in to the northern edge of White Mountains. At Carroll take Rt 115 East until you hit Route 2, turn east on Route 2 and you will come up on the town of Gorham. Here you have to get on Route 16 going south, you will be treated to the majestic views of the mountains all around you, about 10 miles down the road through the National Park you will see the signs for Auto Road for Mt Washington on your right.

After you finish your trip you will know more about your car than about the mountain. You will know what I mean when you try the climb. I was half way up the mountain road and stopped at a "lookout", spent a few minutes there savoring the views and took some pictures and got back in my car and turned the ignition on. Nothing. It would not start. The steep drive overheated the engine and I had to wait a little until it cooled off before I was back to the scary ascent. Keep your car in the lowest gear and keep it there through out your trip. The cars going up have the right of the way.

Do you know the Native Indians used to call this mountain "Agiocochook" means "The place of the Great Spirit". They revered this mountain in such a high regard that they never climbed it out of respect. It all changed when the early settlers decided to built the road by hand since they didn't have the modern equipment. It took them sheer determination, lots of gun powder, ox-driven carts, battling the elements, thick forests, budget issues, lots of pure muscle to carve out a path. At first horse-driven carriages were the only mode of transportation until they converted the road in 1912 for automobiles. In 1869 they built a cog railway which is still in use today and extremely popular among tourists.

If you have scaled this mountain you have been to the birthplace of legends. That's how the gentleman begins in the companion CD they give you that is extremely informative. Not sure what he meant by that but it sounded like a good way to end my story.

==Thank You==

My Halloween Weekend in Boston Oct 2015

My Halloween Weekend in Boston Oct 2015
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Upon waking up on Halloween day I figured we had a hectic Saturday. My son, daughter and I made plans to drive to downtown Boston and check out Faneuil Market, head up to Somerville to see Halloween decorations, pick up Halloween costumes on the way back home and finally accompany kids on trick-or-treating in the evening.

1. Faneuil Market : We parked near South Station and decided to walk to the famous Faneuil Market. Its a historic market with a million people milling around, a market that is indoors in a mile-long building is home to a thousand restaurants of all kinds that has people from around the world visiting this place only to pay astronomical prices for the mediocre food. Its a ritual everyone has to do it once I guess.

2. Metro : I was lot more thrilled when my kids got to try the metro trains, MBTA or simply T as it is called in Boston. Faneuil market is not very far from South Station but it takes 3 different trains to get there. It worked out pretty good because kids got to board blue, orange, red lines; got a chance negotiate the underground maize of levels, platforms, lots of steps, lots of escalators, lot of walking through subterranean tunnels. I loved it, glad my kids got a chance to experience it and they told me they had fun riding the T.

3. Somerville : We heard there was this community in Somerville and they decorate their houses with elaborate Halloween themes and characters. It was not easy to locate these houses but we persisted and when we finally got there, we were quite impressed by the decorations. I kid you not the character in the black costume with wings is a real guy who spooked the heck out of us when he actually started moving and talking when we got near him. He is a super nice guy when he is not donning the mask, I should say.

4. Trick or Treat : After we had stopped at the costumes store we got back home and it was time for trick or treat. It was a fun night of walking around the neighborhood and getting to the know the fine folks in the community and demand candy(just kidding). What astonished me was the self-control my son had over the candy. He never ate a single candy the whole evening while we were trick-or-treating. I sheepishly begged him for some candy and I ate two bars and gave my daughter one while we were walking to the yet another house. If I were his age and if I were doing the trick-or-treating in my day, I bet the bowl would be nearly empty by the time I got home.

==Thank You==