My early dreams of a visit to the legendary Hollywood studios in California (U.S.A) took a definite shape when I stepped on the Cathay Pacific flight to Los Angeles on the 5th January, 2011 morning. It was a long flight of roughly 16 hours nonstop via Hong Kong. When I landed at the Los Angeles airport it was a thrilling moment to savor. At last here I am on American soil which I was dreaming about many times in my growing adolescent years. In my younger years I was an avid fan of Hollywood movies. I could recount the names of movies of those days with the full credit titles. I have seen (in movies, that is) and read about all the stars of yesterday and had nurtured a dream to one day see them in flesh and blood I knew that it is only a vacant dream that will never be fulfilled in this life. Similarly I have read about the men and women who toiled hard over the years to make what America was from the early years to what it is today. I had developed a close affinity towards life and times of the country from the early times. Now at the age of eighty I am blessed with the chance of experiencing my dreams.

California is one of the largest states in the U.S.A. There are a large number of places to visit and it would take a lifetime to do so. After landing at the Los Angeles airport we drove a full two hours to reach home. It was a tiring journey. Ambika’s residence is a large colonial type of house. It has high ceilings with huge doorways. On the ground floor there is a bed room with attached toilet and bathroom, a drawing room besides a hall. The kitchen is squeezed in between. The floors are fully carpeted and the entire place is fully bathed in brilliant sunlight coming through six feet tall windows. A similar lay out on the first floor has three bed rooms, with bath rooms and toilet facilities and a study. There is a swimming pool besides large open courtyards around the house with well manicured/ landscaped lawns and multiple garages. The backyard is sloping from a height of over 20 feet being part of the hillock that skirts the property. With hills in the back ground and huge mountains not too distant away it lends a picturesque view of the surroundings. There are a number of such cute houses in the neighborhood. The locale is connected to the main arterial roads by well maintained roads. With traffic running smoothly on the roads it is a pleasure to drive on these roads. The main shopping centre is a little away and one has to take out the car every time you have to go shopping. Ambu drives to the college every day after dropping Sabeshan at his office on the way. The college is about 25 miles away from home and it takes almost an hour’s drive each way. We wanted to see the college so we took a ride with Ambika one evening and went round the huge campus. The campus is immaculately maintained for each faculty in beautifully constructed buildings spread over the entire campus.

After relaxing for a week we went on our first outing of note. We went on a long drive to the top of a snow covered mountain which is over 7000 feet in height and about 25 miles from home. The temperature on the top is minus zero degrees Celsius. The snow peaked mountains, a part of the San Bernardino mountain range called Forest Falls is reached by driving through awesome mountain slopes with strange rock formations which resembled old fallen temple structures. A small river snaked through the valleys. The actual falls can be reached only by foot as there is no motor way to the spot. As it was quite late we had to skip the visit to the falls and return home.

One of the biggest national parks in the south western part of America is situated in California. It is called the Joshua National Park. It is 140 miles east of Los Angeles. It is about two hours’ drive from home. Named the Joshua Trees National Monument in 1936 it was renamed Joshua Tree National Park in the year 1994 under the California Desert Protection Act. This park protects 794,000 acres –nearly three quarters of it designated wilderness-where the Mojave and Colorado deserts converge. Much of the park lies in the overlap of the two deserts. The eastern half of the park, below 3,000 feet above sea level lies within the Colorado Desert and is the habitat of the lower Colorado River valley. The western half of the park at elevations of above 3000 feet is the Mojave Desert habitat. What tells you that you are truly in the Mojave Desert is the wild-armed Joshua Trees. These wild-armed trees are not really trees but a species of yucca. They can grow over 40 feet tall at the leisurely rate of an inch a year. The tree has a long lean trunk with branches at the top where there are clusters of conical shaped leaves. Joshua Trees are protected as national monument and their destruction is a crime. These trees grow only in the Mojave Desert and nowhere else in the world. Some of the species are over 25000 years old.

We drove through miles of desert country where the only greenery was the thousands of Joshua Trees of various shapes and sizes. We stopped at the Hidden Valley which starts from the picnic spot and where we broke for lunch. The picnic spot in ancient lore was the legendary cattle rustlers’ hide out and is nestled among massive boulders. We then proceeded to Keys View. From an elevation of 5185 feet we had a stunning view of the Hidden valley, the mountain and the desert. We also had a view of the San Andreas Fault which lies in the deep valley and cuts through the desert. This fault line is the cause of many earth quakes in the region which is earth-quake prone. Here roads and trails lead you through a jumble of stacked boulders where you can use your imagination to see unlikely shapes. We then drove to the Jumbo Rocks with many massive boulders in all shapes and sizes. We could even notice a Ganesha shaped rock among them. After spending over two hours in the desert wilderness we returned to civilization (and a hot cup of Starbuck’s Coffee!) to end another tough day of sight -seeing.

California is well known for its Oranges. There are acres and acres of orange trees laden with large fruits profusely hanging in the branches of the trees which are in abundance. To call them trees is a misnomer as they are more an oversized plant of about six to seven feet high and well spread out from the ground. On a pleasant evening we drove to one of these plantations to have a close look. The fruits grow at heights of two/three feet from ground level and are reachable for even small kids. We have never seen such a profusion of this delightfully tasty fruit. We bought a few dozen at next to no price.

To cater to the needs of the large Indian population there is an entire township called Indian Village where there are shops and establishments of every description. These shops sell every item from India and are a real boon for the big Indian community. There are a few Restaurants serving food exclusively Indian cuisine for the Indian clientele. A couple of theatres show exclusive Indian movies. The town ship which is called Artesia with its neatly laid roads and sidewalks is typical American. There is even a branch of our own State Bank of India. We spent an enjoyable evening going round the place which is about an hour and a half drive from home.

The annual music competition of the local amateur Indian association was held on Sunday. Like last year Ambika and Sabeshan participated in the competition which drew about 25 participants singing old hindi film songs. Ambika sang the “Guddi” number Bol Re Papihara with Karoke accompaniments. It was well received. Sabeshan sang a song from the Movie “My name is Khan”.

On 28th March, we decided to pay the long awaited visit (an important one) to Las Vegas as our vacation is entering the end of the third month. Las Vegas is internationally known as one of America’s big gambling cities patronized by the rich and not so rich and has a number of lavish hotels and night clubs. We reached there after a four hour drive from home through mostly desert country.

As we entered the city we were greeted by a myriad of colorful lights from a number of the innumerable night clubs spread over the main city centre which is called The Strip. The roads which were neatly laid out were crammed with people of many nationalities who throng there for having a ‘good’ time. After checking into our room in the posh Club de Soleil we went out exploring the city. Las Vegas comes to life in the night and we went round the place well into the midnight enjoying the sights and sounds of the big hotels like Ceasars Palace, Metro Grand, Ballys, Tropicana, Bellagio, Paris, Mirage, Harrah’s, the Orleans, New York –New York, Planet Hollywood, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, Casino Royale to mention a few. Each of these hotels and casinos was vying with each other for grandeur and rich look. Bellagio where we spent a lot of time has several eye filling attractions chief of which is the vast spread of flower beds indoors with plants in all colors in full bloom. There appeared to be a thousand assorted types of plants filling a whole floor of the hotel indoors.

On coming out we were greeted by a magnificent water show. A large pool of water which is called The Musical Fountain features performances choreographed and set to colorful light and synchronized music greets you as you come out. Underwater pipes with 1200 nozzles are laid just below the surface. Jets of water spring from these nozzles in various shapes and heights, making the water sprout and dance rhythmically to the accompanying music. Water blasts rise as high as 240 ft. to 460 ft with each crescendo and the sight is awe inspiring. We moved on to the opposite side of the road where near life size replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe and other land marks of Paris have been constructed to capture the spirit of the great city for the night club of the same name . The Metro Grand and New York-New York Hotels and Casinos have huge replicas of the M.G.M.Lion and the Statue of Liberty. The most magnificent building of the lot, the Ceasar’s Palace, is constructed with a number of Roman artifacts of ancient Italy lining up on all the floors. There are over 700 guestsrooms per floor and nearly four thousand rooms in all spread over the six blocks of the Hotel put together. It was past midnight and I was very tired. It was time to get back to the hotel.

We have a long drive ahead of us as we have planned to visit the Grand Canyon, one of Nature’s wonders of the world today. It was early in the afternoon when we reached the place after a slight detour which took us to place called Flagstaff, America’s Mountain Garden where you can see one of the nation’s largest collections of high-country wild flowers. We were fighting against time as we wanted to capture the sight of the majestic Canyon walls (spread over several miles) before the sun set. From a vantage point upon the surrounding Canyon Mountains we had a look at the magnificent sight of the deep gorges of the mountains through which the majestic Colorado River flows. It is estimated that the Grand Canyon is around 250 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of a mile (6000 ft) at its deepest. The Canyon was said to have been formed several million years (at least 17 millions) ago. A watch tower has been constructed in 1931 from the top of which one can have a panoramic view of one of nature’s wonderful creations. The weather at the top of the Canyon is chillingly cold. We returned to Las Vegas later in the night and after food and another round of visits to the various luxuriant hotels and colorful casinos we retired for the night in our comfortable hotel.

Next on our itinerary was a visit to the world famous Hoover Dam. Situated at about 200 miles from Las Vegas the mighty dam constructed over the Colorado River near the Boulder City in the south west America stands testimony to man’s ingenuity and hard work. The unruly river was causing untold miseries to the people around year after year. The American government decided to control the river by building a dam across it which would harness the water for producing electricity while taming the unruly river at the same time. The construction started in 1931 and the Dam was opened in about 4 years’ time almost two years ahead of schedule standing as testament for man’s dedication and determination on 30th September 1936 by President Franklin Roosevelt. The construction of the dam cost about $49 million. Although the Dam was known by its original name of Boulder Dam it was rechristened Hoover Dam by an Act of Congress in memory of the President Herbert Hoover in 1945 who initiated the scheme. This massive construction of concrete and steel created a huge man-made lake called Lake Mead which serves as the reservoir for power generation for the three states of Arizona, Nevada & California. After spending a couple of hours going around the various points of the dam we returned to Las Vegas in the evening. We had a last look around the town before we started on our journey back home. We reached home well past midnight after a very long and tiresome drive.

We had planned a visit to see the College where Ambika is studying for her MBA. On Sunday the 17th April we left early in the afternoon and after an hour’s drive we reached the University campus. Nestled amidst the picturesque San Bernardino Mountains the 420 acre sprawling campus was founded in 1965 under the present name of California State University of San Bernardino. Beautifully laid lawns spreading across hundreds of different kinds of exotic looking trees give the campus the look of a botanical garden. The various magnificent buildings housing the different departments of studies dotting the campus are set around the acres and acres of greenery which provides a great ambience for studies. Around 17 thousand students of mixed nationalities are enrolled here which ranks among the best of 25 universities in California. We then went on to visit the Riverside Community College where Ambika studied for two years before joining the California State University of San Bernardino. If not as large as the C.S.U. it is much older having started in 1924 and has a student strength of around 21 thousand on its rolls. This college also has large halls for various studies. The surroundings are also beautiful with well laid out lawns and trees and flower plants of various varieties.

On our return we stopped at the Riverside town for a look at the small elegant Gandhi corner. A beautiful life size statue in black marble of Mahatma Gandhi has been erected in the heart of the town by the Indian community which has been declared open by Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Gandhiji. It was a wonderful feeling to see Gandhiji’s statue in the heart of this American town.

Last week end (30th April) we made a short trip to Lake Arrowhead Village, a tourist resort on the mountain top of San Bernardino Mountain Range. Known as the Southern Alps of California, it was a 25 miles ride from home driving through the winding roads of the mountain with an awesome view of the valley below. It was a breathtaking experience. At the height of over 5,500 feet a vast fresh water lake sprawls for about 2.50 miles. The lake is skirted by thousands of majestic pine trees all around which gives a panoramic view of the lake front. A cute village, it has a population of little over 8,000 people many of whom live in the village catering to the large number of tourists who throng the place all around the year. The population consists of predominantly white (90%), and a sprinkling of Hispanics and Native Americans. The village is self contained with a number of retail outlets of all producers of well known goods and services. There are over 700 guest rooms, hotels, cottages etc. to cater to the needs of the tourists. There are excellent facilities for boating in the vast expanse of the lake.

On Sunday (1st May) we made our long awaited trip to Los Angeles. As we did not have sufficient time at our disposal we visited only the China Town. China Town is an exclusive settlement of the Chinese population in and around Los Angeles and is inhabited by a large number of people of Chinese origin many of whom are shopkeepers. Swarms of tourists throng the place to buy Chinese curios. We took the train from San Bernardino to Union Station (Los Angeles) in the two-tier Metro Link. The train was not crowded; in fact we were the only passengers in the compartment. It was a pleasant ride. At Union Station we changed over to another shuttle train to China Town. We went round the small town centre with many shops selling many Chinese made toys and other curios. We bought a few things for Ambu’s curio collection. We left by train on our return. Ambika was taken ill on our way back which partly spoiled our trip.

It has always been a craze with me to visit the local library whenever I visit a new place. In almost all places I have visited in many years of my travels I have made it a point to spend time some in the local libraries/reading rooms. This has been so even in my earlier years in Calicut or Bangalore. In fact I should add that curiously my writing career has a lot to with libraries as being a regular visitor to the Bangalore Central Library I wrote a series of letters to the editor on the conditions and scope for improvements. And those were my first foray in newspaper journalism. Be that as it may, I took the opportunity of a free week end to visit the Lincoln Memorial Shrine one Sunday afternoon. The Shrine located in Redlands serves as a Memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. It was an old two storey structure which houses a Museum, Library and Archives besides books in all categories and also a special commemorative section dedicated to the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War that united North and South America. We also witnessed a short film on the Civil War of 1861. After going round the different sections of the Library we borrowed a dozen books for reading at home. It was a wonderful experience.

On 14th May we decided to visit San Diego for seeing the famous Flower Show at Carlsbad, a suburb of San Diego city. It was a two hour drive from home. We spent over two hours going round the flower beds spread over an acre of well designed field. There were all kinds of beautiful flowers and the brilliant colors of the flowers added a touch of beauty to the landscape. There was a separate section where roses of different hues with exotic names were on display. It is to be noted here that the flower show is not confined to a specific area. The whole city is one large stretch of well laid out flower beds, beautifully maintained lawns and well trimmed trees which lends a natural beauty to the landscape around the whole city. We wound up the visit with a trip to the nearby beach and the Carlsbad Village with its cute picturesque houses.

The town of Idyll Wild sits on top of a cluster of mountains in the San Jacinto Range at about 7000 feet above sea level. The drive from home takes you zig zag to the top. The mountain has literally thousands of fully grown pine trees towering all over the precipitous mountain slopes. There is a small town ship at the top of the mountain with people living as a self contained community. It is surprising to see people living along the slopes in small cottages built dangerously and perched precariously. I for one found it all sheer madness to find people living in such a place. We drove to this place on 21st May more for the pleasure of viewing the mountain at such a height and breathing the healthy mountain air. Adventurous young men and women come here for mountain climbing sports and hiking. There are a number of log cabins built entirely with pine/oak wood.

We made a second visit on 27th May to Artesia a small town consisting of several Indian establishments catering to the Indian population with home- made products to make monthly purchases of provisions. I also took the opportunity to visit the local branch of State Bank of India to meet the officials for a courtesy call. The Manager is a Bangalorean and is here for the last two years. Needless to say we were happy to make our acquaintance in such a far off place from home by coincidence.

Next on our list was a visit to the Big Bear Lake which we visited on 28th May. The Big Bear Lake, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, is a mountain resort community located in San Bernardino Country 99 miles north east of Los Angeles but barely two hours’ drive from home. The fresh water lake is seven miles long and approximately one mile across at its widest point. The average depth is 35 feet (with a maximum of 72 feet). There are over 22 miles of shore line. Perched atop 7,000 feet of tortuous mountain terrain with the roads winding up the slopes carved out of steep mountains the view as we drive through is breath taking. The mountains which attain a maximum of 9,000 feet at the peak, are covered with tall pine and oak trees and a wide variety of more than 20 different types of wild flowers in gorgeous colours that are indigenous to the area. The huge lake is a man made one which didn’t exist in 1845 when native Indians were running wild in the valley chasing wild bears and white men who swarmed the area, once a gold mining mecca prospecting for gold. Now there is a population of over 20 thousand who live in this area including the tourists who enjoy the climate and other tourist attractions. We had lunch at a cute little Indian restaurant named the “Himalayan Restaurant” with Indian and Nepali cuisine where all varieties of Indian food like samosa, porota, bajji, dal poori and sweets are served.

On Sunday the 29th May I finally set my foot on the legendary Hollywood amidst huge expectations. We experienced all that has been written about the Home of the Movie Industry and the Stars over the years. We walked the famous Hollywood Boulevard where stand the Kodak Theatre and Graumans Chinese Theatre cheek-by-jowl and is an extension of Sunset Boulevard. On the opposite side of the Boulevard is the famous Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame which extends from Gower street to Vine street -the entire length of the Boulevards. The unique feature of the Walk of Fame is the tablets in the shape of stars with the names engraved on them embedded on the side walks with each such star representing the movie stars, directors and other well known personnel of the industry who were part of Hollywood lore over the years. There are over 2500 such commemorative tablets of stars and the number keeps increasing.

Graumans Chinese Theatre was the venue of Academy Awards presentation ceremony for several years but was later shifted to the more classy new Kodak Theatre next door. In the forecourt of the Graumans Theatre the hand and foot prints of many well known stars of Hollywood movies are permanently imprinted on cement. I could see the names of all the famous names over the past decades. It is a popular attraction for tourists. Another attraction is the names of the past academy award winning movies over the years displayed in the foyer of the Kodak Theatre where the awards are now presented annually. We next headed to see the famous Hollywood Sign at the top of Mount Lee. The sign is visible even as you drive towards the Mount. The monument is guarded under severe security restrictions as vandalism was rampant earlier. The 350 ft giant sign is a land mark in Hollywood history and is a must for tourists. The hills around the Sign is private property and many stars live there in palatial bungalows. We had a glimpse of several star residences although we could not sight any stars. We also had a look of the famous Hollywood Bowl which hosts many musical and other entertainment programmes through out the year. We returned home after a very satisfied day. It has been a veritable day of living and experiencing a life, long gone by but not entirely forgotten of which I was very much a part of as in the 1950s and 1960s my life revolved around the Hollywood films and the stars of that era. Later on I lived and recaptured the magic with the help of my computer which provided me plentiful information about the life and times of the old Hollywood stars and their life style and work.

As we are coming to the final days of our six months’ long holiday in California we decided to take one more look at the city. Accordingly on 25th June we planned a visit to the famous Malibu Beach a two hours’ drive passing through Los Angeles. On the way we passed by the landmark areas of Burbank where MGM have their studios, Universal City, Culver City and the Walt Disney studios (Buena Vista) among others. We visited the famous Venkatachalapthy temple nestled in the Malibu Canyon. The temple constructed by the Hindu community and opened for worship in 1981 attracts hundreds of thousands devotees including non Hindus and is a major centre of Hindu worship. Built on a 5 acre property surrounded by hills and in the South Indian architechural style it lives upto the name of the presiding diety of Lord Venkiteswara, the lord of seven hills as in the more famous abode of Venkiteswara in Tirupathi in India. It also has a temple of Lord Shiva at the second tier/layer of the vast property which has a spacious auditorium where cultural activities are conducted year long and a canteen and other facities available.

After worshipping the Lord and enjoying the peace and serenity of the place for some time, we drove further towards the famous Malibu beach which attracts a large number of visitors and is home to several well known Hollywood film stars. The slopping shore line is studded with the palatial residences of the movie actors and actresses. The place is also used for the location shooting for many movies and television series.

After a quick refreshment at Starbucks Coffee, we drove back home cutting through the City of Los Angeles with its huge sky scrapers, (to arrive home by about 9.30 P.M.) perhaps seeing the famous city for the last time.

Thus ended our six months’ sight seeing tour of California, only a tiny part of our dream visit to the United States of America. America is a vast country several times bigger than India and it will take a life time to see what is all there to see here. Having taken a late step to at least see some of the land, people and places in this country, I return home to India happy, contented and satisfied.