The final day...

After a discussion about family and politics and world order over buffalo wings and oreo sundaes with my cousin Kiran in Cleveland, we're up and I'm ready to drive us to Philly. It's weird - the trip is coming to an end, but as Hasan said yesterday "it's only the beginning of the middle of our lives together". That's a nice way to think about it.

It's been historic and magical the past few days. Ever since we drove past Denver Sunday night - the night before the Democratic convention, we've been eagerly awaiting the speeches Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. As we drove into Iowa City, we didn't want to get out of the car and check into the hotel because we were listening to the Kennedy tribute and speech on the radio. Then we wanted to rush and get food and get settled before Michelle Obama gave her speech. Listening to it on the radio felt like a throwback - like days of old when families would gather around the radio to listen to presidents. We were amazed and re-endeared to Hillary Clinton upon listening to her speech. I am finally starting to believe again that Obama could be our next president after last night's speeches by Biden and President Clinton. But I am very cautious - I realize that once the Republican Convention happens, I probably won't believe again. We've also been listening to Rush Limbaugh and Fox News on this trip - when you hear those people, you realize there are just enough people that - let's face it - don't want a black man as president. I've been sort of feeling like one of my missions in moving to Philadelphia is to help elect Obama since Pennsylvania is a battleground state. You know what I'm going to be doing for the next few months during my free time! Anyways, this whole week has felt magical for us. Can't speak for Hasan but the idea that we're coming together this week to start our lives and our family and this is the very week that Obama was nominated as the first black candidate makes me tear up - I feel like it would just be so amazing if I could actually say to my children (and believe it) that someday they can be president. I was tearing up yesterday looking at the audiences and seeing so many Indians in the delegates. I was tearing up yesterday realizing there is an Indian as a governor of a US state (Louisiana). It honestly feels like a different time than when I started elementary school in Houston, Texas and they just assumed I was Mexican because at that time, you were either black, white, Chinese or Mexican - that was it. They actually tried to put me in the ESL (English as a Second Language) class - but my mom wouldn't have it!

Anyways - Philly, here I come!

The Windy City...

…was windy. As I asked my friend Tanu, is it always windy here? Her reply was Yes. We arrived in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon and decided to stay in the River North neighborhood. We found the hotel through my car’s built in city guide, not knowing anything about Chicago. (My only visits to Chicago were when I was in grad school and I was involved in a sports tickets business and used to attend Chicago Bulls games…when Jordan played – what a time!) Yet again, as has happened so often during this trip, serendipitous choices have treated us so well. The River North neighborhood was wonderful to walk around and we happened on a great place to enjoy something to drink and some tasty goat cheese before we headed off to the Wicker Park area to meet Tanu for dinner. It hasn’t been often during this trip that we’ve stopped to “get dressed” (makeup, jewelry, ironing, etc.) as we’ve been “roughing it”. So, it was lovely to be in a great neighborhood and have a romantic moment. We drove over to meet Tanu at a restaurant called Rodan – ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Chicago. I had a yummy Thai shrimp curry dish – one of the best I’ve ever had.

Dinner with Tanu was one of those experiences that you treasure. The food was good, the conversation funny, the atmosphere urban and lively. But that wasn’t it – it was the remembering that good friends survive thick and thin. It was reconnecting after 2.5 years and picking up as though we’d never left off. It was seeing someone at a place in life you’ve been in before – working full-time and going to school full-time – and being so proud of them. It was telling stories that each of us had forgotten but weren’t hard to recall and be thankful for the experience. It was riding around in my car playing music loud and remembering all the times she and I would drive around South Beach (Miami) and dance in the car with the windows rolled down. Most of all, it was seeing a face and hearing a laugh that I hadn’t realized I missed as much as I do.

After dinner, Tanu took us on a drive around downtown Chicago – which is really beautiful at night. (No, Wendy I didn’t take pictures of the city - I promise I will when I have a digital camera!) One of the things I noticed about the city is the big wide streets, especially downtown. I love that.

It was hard to say goodbye – but we are looking to have her visit us in October. What a treat that would be.

And now we’re off to Cleveland to see my cousin Kiran. The trip is almost over, and that feels bittersweet – I am ready to start this new phase of life, sign our lease on our new place, and so on. But this road trip has been so amazing – far better than I could have ever imagined.

Oh – a random note I’ve been meaning to share. Did you know that all the rest stops in Iowa have wireless internet??? That’s sooooo 21st century, and it totally makes sense. I can’t believe Iowa of all places has that. We didn’t stop to use it, but it’s nice to know it was available in case my phone failed!

Across the mountains and the plains

Since Saturday, we've been in Utah, Colorado, Nebraska and now Iowa.

Utah was just amazing. I think one of my most favorite moments was stopping along the 70 somewhere at a vista point and just seeing God. Seriously. When you see the absolute magnificence of these huge canyons and mountains, I think you can't help but feel the spirituality of this planet, and conversely your own smallness. It was JUST amazing - the rocks were so red, and green, and brown, and white, and so on...you just can't imagine so much earth was carved by so much water. I had to run to the edge of the vista point to look down, to take pictures - all the while Hasan was trying to get ahead of me to scout for snakes and other creatures. He's my Emergency Erwin (safety expert) :)

I'd love to put up the pictures now - but our only digital pics are the few we took with our phones, which don't come out that great. Yes, we're still in the film camera age - but we've decided to save up for a digital camera now...finally!

We arrived at Arches National Park in the early afternoon - it was a 100 degrees! We quickly went into the Visitor Center to change into lighter clothing. As I walked out of the restroom and into the heat, I felt like I must be doing something right in making this move cross-country if I am seeing temperatures like this. I absolutely LOVE hot weather. It felt invigorating. Anyways, after the drive on the 70 in Utah, I kind of wondered whether this Arches National Park would be much more than what we'd just seen. But my friend Matt had suggested it, and we were there, so might as well go in and check it out.

Oh my God. What an AMAZING place. I highly recommend anyone who has a chance to check this place out to do it. Again, I was just amazed at what nature had carved out. How millions of years of rocks were right in front of me, in such strange formations, surviving such harsh elements for so much longer than humans. I was so awed. Even when we hiked up close to the arch formations, I just couldn't believe it was real. At one point, we were driving up the path, and there was this rock formation that looked so precarious that I sped up to pass it. As though this set of rocks, that have been there for so long, would suddenly drop on me - sounds silly, but the formations ARE pretty precarious. See this one.

My favorite formation was something called the 3 Gossips. Ha!

We're still talking about how beautiful Utah and Arches was. Thanks Matt for the recommendation!

We stayed the night in Moab, Utah. Moab is a small lively town that was obviously built up for tourism to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We just happened to be there the weekend of a motorcycle gathering/convention. I think the experience would have been a lot more pleasant had there not been the sound of motorcycles constantly buzzing and whirring by. And looking like we do, it's not the most comforting feeling when a group of rather menacing-looking motorcycle riders pull up to the gas station and stare at you. It's even worse when they start talking to you about where you're from. I was happy to be out of there. Although we said it's a town we'd like to come back to - when we know there is not a motorcycle convention.

On to Colorado on Sunday. More beautiful driving. And yes, Matt - we saw the Kum n Go. Even stopped at one to eat lunch outside next to the Colorado River. Can you imagine - THE Colorado River that cut the beautiful canyons and mountains we hiked the day before. It was just so cool.

One more thing I'll say about Colorado - they have more cops on the highways than all the other states we've driven through - COMBINED. Driver beware. No - we haven't been pulled over yet.

We stayed Sunday night in Sterling, Colorado. Not much to say about it. Drove Monday through Nebraska and into Iowa. Saw a lot of this - which is beautiful and contrasting to the mountains of California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. But I think it'd be boring if I had to do it again. There are NO cities in Nebraska - even Lincoln is a small town type of thing.

We made it to Iowa City, Iowa last night and happened onto a really cute college town here. University of Iowa is here and the town surrounding it is really cute. The fraternity houses are so gorgeous. It's weird to look at college students though - they still haven't grown into their bodies, so their heads are out of proportion with their bodies. And everyone is pimply-faced (although I am not one to talk about pimples right now). Ha!

We're up and off to Chicago today. I'm so excited - I get to see Tanu who I haven't seen in almost 3 years and who was a great friend in hard times in Miami.

Our route

Here is our route - today we are leaving Moab, Utah and on our way through Colorado.

Music in Utah

Waking up in Utah, amazed at the number of big gas-guzzling trucks that make this cross country trip. There were just endless Ford and GMC trucks parked at this Best Western motel when we pulled up late last night. I don’t know how they afford the gas. I don’t know how the environment will take it…it won’t, I guess.

I wanted to share a lovely memory from last night. A few months ago – in February – Hasan and I had one of our “date nights” which really was time we set aside to be on the phone together and not talk about business of life. To just enjoy each other. So we decided to reminisce about 80s and 90s songs that we loved. Well, I had made a playlist on my Ipod while we were having this date. And last night we listened to this playlist again for the first time on the final miles into Utah. Hasan was so happy to hear these songs – who doesn’t love “What have you done for me lately” by Whitney Houston or “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi? Anyways, one of the songs was Back to Life by Soul II Soul. And that took me back to a time when I was a teenager and I came home from being out with my friends and my mom was so excited to play this new song she found and loved for me on her stereo system…it was Back to Life. I remember how much she loved hearing the bass kick in for that song on her new Nakamichi system. She would play it over and over again – that and Blame it on the Rain by Milli Vanilli and some song by New Kids on the Block that I can’t remember. And then I realized that is something I get from both my parents – a love of music. I have nice memories of making cassette tapes of classical music with my father. I have lots of memories of my mom playing music REALLY loud on her system – she loved her bass back then, and I love it now as well. It’s nice once in a while to think of the things that we get from our parents…once in a while!

We're off to Arches National Park on the east side of Utah today. Can't wait to see it!

We're off!

Friday August 22, 2008

I wanted to write this yesterday but our stay at Yosemite was so nice that spending time looking at a computer seemed dumb. So, yes – we’re off! We left yesterday morning after spending the previous evening watching my niece Tallulah as her parents Wendy & Ben celebrated their 7th anniversary – congrats!

(Isn't she gorgeous?)

I always feel like it’s a privilege to spend time with her and to love her as much as I do – AND I got to watch Hasan put her to bed when I started getting scared that she was crying so much when I tried to put her to bed (good thing to know about him). When Wendy, Ben, Hasan and I were talking when they got home, I realized that me and Wendy (or at least just me) are sort of pretending our impending separation due to my moving is not happening. We talk about it in passing or about superficial aspects, but I can feel neither one of us wants to say goodbye. Starting to cry thinking about it…

Anyways, so we left and drove down to the Googleplex (corporate headquarters) to have lunch with my cousin Bablu. We got to eat a famously free and fabulous Google lunch (from several Google cafes) while watching Googlers bicycle around the Googleplex. It was yummy - thanks Bablu!

Started the drive to Yosemite and in Tracy, CA I fell in love with Hasan again. My thoughts on feeling “in love” are that it’s a temporary thing – like any emotion – that ebbs and flows. Looking for that all the time in a relationship is like looking to feel happy or sated 100% of the time in life – it’s not possible. So when it comes, I treasure it. We were at a gas station and I had stepped out to dump some trash from the car while Hasan used the restroom. I had taken the printed directions out of the car with me to organize them, and it was so windy that the papers started flying out of my hands. I started running after them, so worried that they were going to be gone, that I would end up being unorganized on the trip (yes, my car has navigation – but I believe in backups), that I might get run over if I pay attention only to these pieces of paper instead of the cars driving around me, that the guys filling up their cars were laughing at me while I ran after them, which then reminded me that I had ran after these papers while leaving the car unlocked and unattended. I had gotten a few of them back but decided to walk back to the car, plotting how to deal with the lack of printed directions on the walk back. I got to the car, intent on being positive and not pissed off or nervous. Just as I walked up to the car, I heard Hasan call me and I turned around – frowning, he says. You know what….he had the missing papers! I don’t know how he did it, but I swear I felt like Cinderella. He had all of them and I just couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. I felt like Cinderella and he was my prince. It was magic and I fell in love again.

On to Yosemite…what a great drive. As we neared the park in the mid-afternoon, the road got mountainous and curvy – apparently something Hasan had never experienced. He got very nervous. I asked him what I could do make him feel better, and his reply was “DRIVE 15 MILES AN HOUR!” That’s when I knew it was a good time for us to switch and him to drive. The drive into and in Yosemite was so spectacular. We stopped shortly into it and joined some others at a beautiful vista point. Here’s Hasan ensuring that a note I had written on that tree was carved in for life.

Ours wasn’t the only note on the tree – but hopefully it will stay there for a long time.

We had a fun time trying to find a place to stay – ended up at a nice place called Indian Flat RV Lodge. No bugs, nice bed, great bathroom. Had chicken strips and hamburgers for dinner – quality road trip food of course, and went to bed.

Today was the day for the scenic drive and stops through Yosemite. We were blessed to drive through there in the summer when the road that goes all the way across is open. We took pictures with Half Dome, took a dip in what Hasan likes to Tallulah Lake (actually Tenaya Lake), and so on. The road – Tioga pass – takes you on the highest point that automobiles are allowed to cross in California…nearly 10,000 feet! That’s pretty amazing.

And now we’re just about to finish barreling through Nevada. Let me tell you – on this ride through Nevada on the US 6 – you see NOTHING but mountains. OK, mountains and deer and cows and horses and coyotes and jackrabbits and desert and other such things. A deer even crossed the road in front of us - and just stood there. Seeing as how I don’t want a deer to mess up my beautiful new car, I was quite thrilled when Hasan slowed down to pass the menacing Bambi lookalike. Sometimes this terrain is beautiful to me, sometimes it’s ugly and drab, and sometimes it’s endless. I’ll be glad to be out of Nevada and into Utah tonight.

Stay tuned!