I have lived in the bay area for decades and there are a lot of firsts in the last few months, thanks to a small virus that has turned our lives..
Went up to Mission Peak in Fremont for the first time a few weeks ago. This morning got to go up to Mount Umunhum for the first time. Have heard a lot about this peak and the views from so many of my friends, and finally my wife pushed me join her walking buddies.
It took close to an hour for us to get to this parking lot which was already at 2300 feet elevation and from there we hiked 9 miles to go up the summit, walk around and come back.
It was extremely foggy and windy when we went up and there was no visibility when we were up there, but it was nice talking to friends and walking.
The fog started clearing as we were on our way back.
Two of us slow walkers were engrossed in our discussion of south Indian classical music that we missed a turn and ended up walking an extra kilometer till we realized we were on a different path. We were sure the rest of the group would be mad at us for being late but looks like they forgave us.
There were amazing views on the way back down.. (especially on that wrong path where the two of us got lost!)
Stongly recommend it. The slope was not as steep as the final stretch of misison peak, but this one is also unrelenting.. you are constantly walking up a slope without much flat terrain to catch a break. Very doable in foggy weather!
There is a Tamil saying "poovodu serndhu naarum manakkum".. "the string with which you tie the flowers into a garland, also gets to smell good because of its closeness"..
My wife has become an avid hiker and thanks to her push and encouragement I am also seeing a few places that would have otherwise stayed on the "one day I will also go there" list..
2020 is the year of staying at home. Deepavali is a stay at home festival for the morning but in the evening, you go see all your friends and relatives and join them in the firecracker fun..
This year it has been a muted affair. The gatherings are smaller and we meet only people in "our bubble" which is a good thing.
We did have new clothes, great eats and some sparklers! San and me teamed up to make a lot of sweets and savories (and she got some guidance from our neighbor on some sweets and they reminded me of my grandma cooking with her aunt Ambulu when we were kids.. they would spend days planning before the cooking started!). We did go solo on some items..
She sparkles better than those sparklers..It was a good thing I adjusted an almost underexposed shot and realized this was actually a good thing!
This is the first Diwali without jr. being present at home. That was constantly in the back of my head and I am not sure how many years it will take for me to realize that you cannot expect to see kids for Diwali or take that for granted anymore! Given every now and then I manage to go to India to celebrate with my parents, know that the kids will come back home after they grow up to celebrate.. maybe more often than I did.
The little one knows of my secret plan to keep her closer to home and continues to roll her eyes everytime I suggest colleges within a 20 mile radius.
Life comes full circle.. What I did to my parents, my kids will do to me. Good news is that I am already in the "brace" position.
It is my sincere wish that we get over COVID soon in the coming year! People are still dying and folks are still denying the truth and reality. Diwali or Deepavali is literally the triump of truth over lies, light over darkness.. knowledge is the true illuminator!
May knowledge and facts make a comeback after this Diwali !!
For someone who is staying at home, we have done a good job dressing up at every opportunity..
Still don't know how my wife is able to handle Jr.'s being away so calmly compared to me. Either she is made of different stuff or she is faking it really well. Have some things to learn and understand.
Once again, wishing you all a wonderful Deepavali/ Diwali!!
