From West to East: A Road Trip Journal (Part 3)

Taking a Quick Stop on the Pacific Coast Highway (Carl)

This is the third in a series of posts on a summer trip; see the second.

In Fort Bragg, the first thing we did was eat a substantial breakfast, since we had missed supper the night before. We ate at a curious Wizard of Oz themed restaurant called “Eggheads,” complete with a yellow-brick road (of linoleum tile) running through the center of the building. We asked the proprietor what had prompted the theme—had the young Judy Garland frequented the coastal town? Were the pots and pans castoffs of the Tin Man’s suit? As it turns out, the answer was rather more mundane: Eggheads’ bathroom is difficult to find. Those wanting to make the trip must go through the dining area and kitchen, exit into a lot behind the building, and hang a left around a corner before finding the small cottage hiding the commode nestled between a few sheds and next to some old gardening equipment. The circuitous route defeats expectations so soundly that, about thirty years ago, management decided to create a prominent trail for customers. When a dull saffron floor tile was chosen, the yellow brick road was born—and all of the many allusions to the Wizard of Oz which thereafter sprung up on the menu and storefront.

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From West to East: A Road Trip Journal (Part 2)

Carl on McClures Beach

This is the second in a series of posts on a summer trip; see the first here.

In the afternoon we were off, driving up the west coast without any real plans; we knew we wanted to be in Seattle in four or five days, but that intervening time period was ours to spend as we wished. From a quick glance at the map, we thought that Point Reyes, a national coastline a few hours north of the bay area, Continue reading

Beauty of Munnar

The hill station Munnar lies 1600 metres above sea level, making it the perfect summer resort of the British Administration in South India before independence. Now famous for its tea plantations Munnar retains its colonial charm. With its sprawling estates, rolling hills, sparkling waterfalls, picture postcard hamlets and undulating valleys, Munnar has all the makings of an idyllic holiday destination.

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Mapping Africa’s Glaciers

The Guardian recently ran this piece, whose surprise starts in the title (glaciers in Africa?) and continues on from there:

Ptolemy thought they were the source of the Nile and called them theMountains of the Moon because of the perpetual mists that covered them; Stanley claimed to be the first non-African to see their icecap; and the many thousands of subsistence farmers who today live on the slopes of the fabled Rwenzori mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo fear that warming temperatures are devastating their harvests.

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Where Waters Meet


We were recently traveling by houseboat from Kumarakom across Lake Vembanad, the largest backwater in Kerala, toward Cochin and therefore the Arabian Sea.  This route requires passing through the Thannermukkom Bund, the largest mud regulator in India.

This barrier essentially divides Vembanad in half  – separating the brackish waters that flow from the Arabian Sea from the sweet river water that feeds into the lake.  For six months a year the dike is left open, particularly during the monsoon season, but historically the gates are closed on December 15th to assist agriculture in the Kuttanad District, where farming is done below sea level.

Like many areas of the world with significant geographical elements that effect both country and culture, the watery landscape is defined as either north of the bund or south of it. These discriptors are as elemental as global coordinates for people in the region.

We’d made this journey from North to South last year when the gates were still open, but this second, opposite journey required negotiating with the gatekeepers in order to continue our passage.

Even without understanding a word of Malayalam the process was fascinating. Continue reading