Travels and thoughts

After a relaxing two days at Napa Valley, with plenty of wine tasting, we were ready to set forth for our new adventure... Yosemite Valley.  We aimed to have an early start. The route was straight to CA 120. The journey time was 4 hours, and with rest, we knew it would take us almost 5 hours to reach Yosemite. We wished to reach our destination before the sunset. The slow, gentle slopes of Napa Valley gave way to the mountains and forests of Stanislaus. The road journey through the woods was winding and spectacular. Many sharp bends had to be navigated with caution. Driving between the towering pine and fir trees was beautiful beyond belief. Stopping by at various viewpoints, we made our way to the Air BNB for the night.  Yosemite is a national park operated by the U.S. National Park Service. It was established as a park in 1890. The park is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and is famed for its incredible cliffs, deep valleys, waterfalls, rivers, and anci...

The year 2020 was bizarre; who would have expected a minuscule virus unseen to the naked eye to completely dominate our lives. My travel, which I took for granted year after year, had come to a standstill. What kept us sane was our yoga and zoom calls with family. It was the month of November, and my mind wandered to travel. It has been a year since I saw my children. By now, I had summoned the courage for 13 hours of air travel to visit the USA. The constant reassurance by Emirates airlines on Instagram helped, along with the newly installed HEPA filters on the planes. We reached Chicago, to be greeted by SanchitRam. A quick ride by Uber brought us to his compact and comfortable house. A warm meal awaited us. A sense of pride crept into me that my young son managed his home well. This year luckily, Arvind joined me for a holiday.  After a detailed look around the house, we had thoughts on rearranging the furniture to make the house look more spacious. We continued our home isolati...