A 32 mile bike ride along the American River

C.A.L.I.F.O.R.N.I.A - Absolutely LURVE this place :)

When I was applying to colleges in US for doing my MS, I always hoped I would get into some college in CA. And I did....Thank God for that :)

Couple weekends ago, I went for a 30+ bike ride along the American River Bike Trail. This was something that I had wanted to do for a long time, having lived in this area for close to 10 years now.

This bike trail is arguably one of the most successful and beautifully paved bike paths in northern California. Also known as the Jedediah Smith National Recreation Trail, the American River Bike Path is nearly 100% separate from vehicle roads (a mile or two shares the road).

Until now, I had done portions of this trail but this time I completed the entire stretch from Old Folsom to Old Sacramento. Sooper FUN!

We started from home at 7.45am, and got to Karen's bakery in Old Folsom at 8am. I met with few colleagues from Intel who were all going to ride together with me, and then got ready with the bike and gear (helmet, sunscreen, etc). Here's me and my bike :)


We started the bike ride around 8.45am....and one of the first views was of Lake Natoma area. I could not resist stopping here for a picture of the view.



The weather was purr-fect for biking that day. I was feeling great as well.

We saw many animals (like a peahen n its babies) and birds along the way, and some late spring flowers blooming as well.

We passed by Nimbus Dam, which is fantastic, and then through so many parks - Sacramento Bar, Rossmoor Bar, Ancil Hoffman Park, Goethe Park, Fair Oaks/Watt Area - along the way.

We took a long break at my alma mater - Sac State (California State University, Sacramento). We took our bikes up on the Guy West Bridge (a pedestrian-only suspension bridge modeled after the famous Golden Gate Bridge in SFO), and enjoyed the view. I used to live on the other side of this bridge for 3 years while I was in school, and would walk this bridge several times a day to go to school. Felt so nostalgic!



By this time, we had covered a distance of about 20 miles, and my toosh was hurting really bad coz I was wearing regular shorts and not proper bike shorts with gel pads. I was really debating whether I should go further or take the train back home. But the idea of turning back did not feel good. So my friend Andy asked some fellow bikers on how the trail was until the end, and they encouraged us by saying that it was very easy and doable.

So I borrowed Andy's jacket and used it as my toosh-cushion and continued the ride.



From here until the finish, it was a breeze in terms of riding. Yes my butt did hurt, but other than that, everything was fine.

We passed by Discovery Park, which is spread across 300 acres, and where the American River meets the Sacramento River. There were lots and lots of people enjoying various activities in the park, which was a sight of delight!

We also saw a beach (which I never knew existed here) where folks were enjoying water activities and sun bathing.



At this point, we thought we had reached Old Town Sacramento, but it was nowhere in sight. I have been there several times before, but never via the bike trail, so we were kinda lost. We asked a guard about the directions and he said we had still 2 more miles to bike (phew!) before reaching Old Sac. So we pushed ourselves to get there, and met Joan (our bike trip lead) on the way. She had come looking for us (so nice of her :)).

We finally made it into Old Sacramento....and I felt soooooooooooooooo relieved!!!!

As you would imagine, I was starving by now. So I ordered a Farmers Market crepe with pesto, tomatoes, avocados and cheese - a classic Californian crepe....and enjoyed my meal outdoors on the patio with the bike parked on the side, while observing swarms of people strolling by and shopping around.

I could not resist buying a pound of salt water taffy from the candy store across the street before walking to the train station.

The 45-minute train ride back to Old Folsom was so relaxing....the ticket inspector came to check the tickets (which only happens once in a blue moon) - not once - but twice - the second time she didn't even ask for our ticket...just smiled and passed by :)

I would love to do this ride again with few more friends, and improve upon my time from my first attempt! Yes, I won't forget to buy a pair of good bike shorts before my next attempt :)

Here is a map of the trail in case you are interested:



My next trip this weekend is to the Channel Islands National Park in Southern California, where I am going to try sea kayaking for the very first time :)

I Love SUMMER and I Love CALIFORNIA!

Jungle Jim's International Market

I was visiting Cincinnati, Ohio a few weeks ago. My sister started her internship there with Proctor & Gamble so I had gone with her to help her settle down before she started work.

As is common with settling in any new place, we were running around shopping for things. A friend introduced us to this unique grocery store called "Jungle Jim's".

This place is a food lover's paradise. It has food and grocery available from all different parts of the world.

The store is huge. For first timers (like me), you definitely need a map for shopping around.

The first section we visited was the produce. I was amazed at the variety of fruits and vegetables available out there. I was seeing some fruits for the first time in my life :) And I found some Indian tropical fruits like lychee (which I bought) which are not readily available here in the US. We also saw all Indian vegetables and sugarcane available here.

Then we went to sections of grocery for each country. There was a rickshaw hanging up in the air (see pic below) in the Indian grocery section that caught one's eye right away. We spent more time in this section as we had stuff to buy, and I was amazed at all the stuff that was out there. You really don't need to go to an Indian store for your needs - nothing was missing.

Just like the Indian section, there were sections for all different countries like Spain, Italy, France, Greece, etc etc.

The store carries more than 40 varieties of rice and 78+ different olive oils. Almost all of the fine chocolates from different parts of the world are available here. I also found a variety of teas and coffees available.

The prices were also comparable to other stores in the area.



There was also one sooper cool section where they had little gadgets for day to day things - see the pictures below :)






Here is the link to the store in case you want to know more.

All in all, neat concept and a one stop shop for all your grocery needs :).

Do visit the store if you are in the area!!

Pictures from my backyard....

As most of you already know, I just moved into a new home which has a sooper cute backyard.

We are still unpacking boxes and settling in, but I've already started enjoying my backyard.

Here's is a picture of the first flower - a daffodil - in our backyard :)



And last nite, lightning lit up the sky in Sacramento area like fireworks. I have never experienced this kind of lightning in my entire life. It went on for more than 2 hours, and I was able to capture the image below :)



It was scary as well - 2 people were killed with the lightning and several homes lost power. So I was cautious but could not resist snapping a few pics :)

I am looking forward to planting roses and starting a small vegetable garden. I also want to plant a fruit tree - I've heard peaches and citrus (oranges, lemons) grow well in California.

This summer is going to be FUN!!!!

A fun quarterly event

My team at work had a quarterly team-building event today. Since the economy and hence our company is not doing too good, we decided to have a low cost quarterly.

What did we do?

We gathered at a park close to work, and played kickball and few other games.

We were about 18 people, and we decided to form the teams based on our birth dates. Odd number birthdays on one team, even birthdays on the other. Its a good way to do it - if you think about it - and we were able to form 2 teams of 9 people each :)

The weather was just sooper today - little cloudy, with pockets of sunshine and pleasant with a slight breeze.

Both the teams played a great game - the odd team won....and all of us got a great workout as well. Our group manager made a funny quote when he came to bat - "I don't have any skills, but I have guile :)".

We then moved on to play basketball, frisbie through the hula hoop, and then had BBQ lunch. The conversation at lunch was great - we talked about anything and everything EXCEPT work!!!!

Our last quarterly was planting trees at a middle school - and that was fun as well. We did it as part of a volunteering activity that our group had to do this year.

We typically spend a lot of money of quarterly team-builders. What struck me is that all of us had the MOST FUN at these last 2 events than the past events.

Sometimes it's not the amount of money you spend, but its the kind of activity you choose that makes a difference. There was so much interaction today amongst all of us, there was great team spirit...we were outdoors, and we got some exercise as well.

It was a great way to spend half a day with colleagues.

A big thanks to our admin for putting this together!!!! Looking forward to similar events in future.

I don't have pictures/videos yet, but I will post them as soon as I receive them from the team. Some of them will be hilarious and interesting :)

New Home

I wanted to share a good news with all of you.

My hubby and I are in the process of buying our first home together. We have closed the deal and will get the keys in a couple of weeks.

As you can imagine, I am sooper kicked :) It's an exciting phase of our lives....

I have so many things to look forward to in this NEW house - I will have a GAS cooking range for the FIRST time in my life in US. I've only had ELECTRIC cooking ranges so far in ALL the apartments I have lived.

The rest of the kitchen is also sooper nice - granite counter top, beech cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

We have a decent size lawn in our backyard, and I plan to put a swing out there.

I look forward to doing some gardening, now that I will have my own garden. We already have few plants including rose plants out there....we will add some more.

The house has 4 bedrooms, and I am planning to use one bedroom to make my home office. That's one thing I've always missed - having a desk with an LCD monitor and a comfortable recliner office chair in my house....mainly due to lack of space. No such constraint any more :)

I'm also dreaming of reading a book while sipping coffee by our fireplace.

I could go on and on and on......

Hope this house brings us good luck and a good future ahead :)

Here are a few pictures of the house....Enjoy!

An eventful Mission Peak Hike

Summer is here :)

I am the happiest in summer. I love it when it's still bright when I leave work to go home. I enjoy my outdoor patio lunches. I also love the 3-4 hours of daylight after my work day for outdoor activities. In general, I like warm weather.

Summer is great for hiking as well. My first hike this year was Mission Peak (2517 feet), a 6-mile round trip with a 2000+ feet elevation gain. A friend and I decided to hike Mission Peak last Sunday. We initially planned to start around 7-8am, but it was very chilly when I woke up that day, so we decided to start a little late, at around 9am.

I got busy doing some chores and I was finally able to leave at 9.30am to pick up my friend and reached the trail head around 10.30am.

We started hiking at 10.45am, and were exhausted in the first half mile or so. We both thought we couldn't make it to the top. I haven't been doing much physical activity in the last few weeks so I expected this hike to be tough.

We were slow and steady...we took a couple breaks on the benches along the hike, took some pictures, and enjoyed some stunning views of the south bay. The spring flowers were gorgeous. There were cows grazing, and squirrels running around. The breeze was cool and it wasn't too hot.

We finally made it to the top in about 2.5 hours - and the view was worth all the effort.

We rested for a few minutes, again took some pictures, and then started hiking back. We lost our way for the first mile or so, but found the trail to head back and enjoyed the rest of the hike while taking some shortcuts (they are easier when you are hiking back :)).

Now comes the eventful part :)

We reach our car and I cannot find my car keys. We search for it everywhere and the keys were not there. I could have left them in the car trunk or lost them on the hike. We called AAA (roadside assistance) and they came and opened the car for us, and the keys were not there in the trunk.

So I buzz a friend to come pick us up, and check with a policeman passing by whether its okay to park my car here for couple days (he said yes, it would be legal).

Now Mission Peak is about 100 miles from where I live - I was visiting the bay area and decided to do this hike. So I don't have a spare car key with me. And my house is locked (Hubby and I are out of town)so I had to figure out a way to get the spare car key out of my house AND find someone to bring it to me. OR - I would have to drive home myself and get it :(

After a few frantic phone calls, heated discussions/arguments, and LOADS OF LUCK, I found someone to get the car key from my apartment (with the keys from the office), AND also found someone to bring it to me the SAME DAY.

I was starving by the time I figured all this out so we went to an Indian restaurant and pigged out :)

I finally got my car keys late in the night on Sunday, and picked up my car.

In all this mess, my friend and I never discussed our hike experience :) But we had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Enjoy the pics :)

A hug....

A hug is a handshake from the heart.

I have mixed feelings today. I am sad, as well as happy.

I gave a long, warm, caring, loving, and belonging HUG to a friend who needed it the MOST.

Her dad passed away suddenly yesterday in a car accident.

When I went to see her, I was very nervous. I cannot handle such times. I am confused what to say, what not to say.

She is not a very close friend, but I don't think closeness matters much in such situations. I wanted to be there for her.

Her daughter opened the door for us, and asked us to wait for her. She came down the stairs with tears in her eyes. She was a wreck.

She came into my arms, and cried on my shoulders for a long time. I hugged her tight, and murmured a few words of support.

We then made her sit on the couch, gave her some water to drink, and then just let her speak.

She shared some pictures of her dad with us, and also shared a recording of her dad singing Navratri bhajans which she happened to record just recently over the phone. It was good to listen to it. I had never met her dad but it didn't matter.

I spent about 4 hours with her. We spoke about so many things. And when we were ready to leave, she was smiling. She came out the door to see us off, and said she would go for a walk in this gorgeous sunny weather. She also helped us pick some lilies from her neighbour's front yard.

I don't know how it is to lose a parent. I cannot imagine the sorrow of her loss.

But I am happy that I was able to comfort her for some time, and be there for her when she needed me.

A hug is worth a thousand words!

May his soul rest in peace. And may God give my friend the strength to cope with this loss.

Hug someone today...and if you don't have anyone, hug yourself! It will do wonders :)