The Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains

There is more to South Carolina than most people realize. You can drink a couple of beers every evening to kill time and enjoy the  generally good weather, but if you work a little harder, there are plenty of interesting places to be explored.

The northern part of the state lies at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The north-west is surrounded by the Chattooga and the Savannah river and their tributaries. This means that there are plenty of lakes and hidden little creeks that sometimes end up forming hidden waterfalls.

To relax for the 4th of July weekend, my sister and I set out on the road towards Issaqueena Falls. With a road map, GPS, and signs off the highway, we were able to locate these falls situated within the Stumphouse Tunnel Park in Walhalla, SC. The descend to get a good view of the falls was steep and tiring, but it was well worth it.

Issaqueena Falls, Walhalla, SC

Afterwards, we set out for Ceasar's Head, the highest peak of the Blue Ridge in SC, to pay homage to the mountains that I someday plan to hike through. As evident from the photo below, the landscape is beautiful. As a bonus, we spotted a big beautiful lone wolf.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Getting to Lake Jocassee!

Thrilled to find a fellow adventurist in my friend, Elizabeth, we set out with our kayaks towards Lake Jocassee in Salem, South Carolina.
The views after entering Greenville were beautiful! We drove through a small town called Pumpkintown (hehe). Narrow roads, cute little wooden houses, and a couple of pumpkin patches kept me happy throughout the drive.

View Lake Jocassee Trip in a larger map
There's a quaint little shop a couple of yards before the Devil's State Park - our entrance into Lake Jocassee - where we bought our snacks for lunch. Munching in the car, we gleefully entered the park...only to find out that all the spots for boat access were gone! Half- heartedly, I suggested we check out Lake Keowee's entrance, about 5 miles from there.
We struggled to find the entrance to the lake, but thanks to the iPhone, we were able to contact park manager and get the directions. When we finally got there, there was some confusion about parking. We turned around, and came back, and the spots were gone...
Frustrated, Elizabeth and I set out towards the Cherokee National Scenic Highway - the main  route to these lakes - once again. After getting out of the Long Creek Falls lane, we saw a sign displaying "Lake Jocassee Whitewater Falls". Since we had driven ~135 miles from home, Elizabeth and I were both determined to find some outlet into the water and set out to follow the sign. 10 miles into the road - no sign of the waterfalls, no sign of any body of water in the iPhone map, and low gas tank. The latter was an indication that we needed to turn around.
At the gas station, Eliza and I rejuvenated ourselves with water. We decided to go to the Devil's State Park once more before we headed home. We got there, were lucky as five spots had just been opened, and hurriedly unloaded our kayaks!

Maybe it was nature's plan to test our determination - make us struggle for two hours - before we could enjoy the divinity of the lake. White sands, beautiful crystal blue waters, and clean shores - the state of SC was taking very good care of maintaining the lake with the $2 admission fee.

We finally got down in the lake. The waters were cold and felt great in the summer heat. Jocassee is in a gorge, so towards the middle of the lake, one can feel the depth (going into about 300 feet or 91 m)! The cool breeze, light waves, and paddling with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in front of us was a profound experience. Fleet Foxes were singing in my head and I was in heaven. :) I requested, and Elizabeth sang me a funny French song. We both realized that as soon as we got into the lake, our frustrations had disappeared - as if the time driving up to it never existed.

"Fireforests" - The Majestic Longleaf Pines

Last Saturday morning, I set out for the Harbison State Forest (Columbia, South Carolina) to absorb in some landscape for my next painting. There were people with kids, bikes, kayaks, and canoes and I immediately thought to myself - "I wonder what all I have been missing out on". I started on a small trail - the Firewood trail. I decided to walk in a bit in search of a good view  so that I could sit and sketch.
It took me no time to realize that it had been a while since I had been surrounded by nothing but the "wilderness". The fine mulch and dried pine leaves on the floor, aroma of the pine trees, and being surrounded by the tall, majestic, silvery needled longleaf pines was an incredible experience. Needless to say, I could not make a stop for sketching as I wanted to enjoy the hike.
 
Amazing thing about the longleaf pine forests is that they are "fireforests". Their survival depends upon the removal of loblolly pines and others that encroach the land through annual low-intensity fires. Following germination of the seeds, the fire-resistant grass stage endures the fire. The longleafs  nurse a stunning diversity of wildlife comparable to that found in the Amazon. Unfortunately, it is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. What once stretched from southern Virginia to East Texas covering 90 million acres of land now remains in only about 3 million acres. These forests were replaced by loblollies and other pulp producing pine for obtaining hardwood and paper. They were also hampered by the southern people who did not think of fire as a useful tool in forestry.

18 Year Olds Must Travel Alone...

...and ignore all the advice from friends that goes against the idea.

I always wished to travel and explore a city and its people all alone. The idea of seeing it with only my perspective gave me the highest thrills. So my last day in CA, I took the VTA Light Rail from Dowtown Mountain View and reached San Jose Conventional City Center in an hour.
This was finally the moment I had been living for. This was it, the beginning of an adventure.
As soon as the train passed and I faced the city, it dawned on me that I was a terribly meak and little creature to be alone in that enormous city.
Regardless, I mustered up some courage and starting walking towards the sign that said "Tech Museum round the corner." I thought that this would be the start of it. So I reached the museum, got in, decided that it wasn't worth seeing even before I saw any of it, and got out. Across the street was a little park and fountain. I thought that it was a nice place to ask for directions from people. I found out that the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum was about 3 mules away but the Art Museum was just around the corner.

Did I mention that I was on foot? Also, never go to the San Jose Art Museum on a Monday-it is closed.

Then I started the hunt for a bus that would take me to the Egyptian museum. The drivers who drove the downtown shuttle had no clue. It toom me half an hour to figure out that I could probably call the number on the bus stop and inquire. FYI bus # 81 takes you to the corner of Naglee and Park Avenue where the museum is and it takes about half an hour if you are standing on the intersection of Almaden Ave. and San something street.
It was already 4:15 and I was starving. So, I decided to look for some place to eat. On the way, I saw the Guadalupe River Park and decided to go there even though my body was dead from walking in the sun. Once there, I realized that it demanded a lot more time than I had. So once again I kept on asking random strangers if they knoew of any food joints nearby. No one did.
After another 20 minutes or so, McDonald's came around the corner to save the day. So I finished my lunch and saved the cookies to munch on along the way because I was terrified.
I finally caught the train back to Mountain View before daybreak because once there, I had to walk a considerable amount of distance to catch the bus back home and I didn't want to do that in the night.
I had a 100 epiphanies and learned a 1000 lessons:

• Get a map! I thought I'd be able to find a gas station and a map from there; obviously that wasn't what happened.


• PLAN the "adventure". It sounds really cool and fun to be spontaneous and go with energy but it completely fails.


• Get a companion! So that if you give yourself false encouragements, he/she can knock the facts at your face before it's too late. Also, their brain can work when yours is scared and panicked and hungry.


• Take a cycle? perhaps?


• It would also be better to be in touch with someone who knows their way around the city.

Anyway, it was quite ironic that every who tried to dissuade me from doing such a thing in the first place had to listen to my rants of how I am almost 19, have a brain and common sense, and can talk in English!

None of that actually worked. So I hope, fellow travellers, that you see the moral of the story.

Although, I'd like to add that I was glad I did something that took me straight out of my comfort zone and forced me to put myself into situation that challenged my abilities. Also, I got to do such an incredibly stupid thing at the age of 18 and not at 48...

MV Arts and Wine Festival

Cuban jazz fusion band at one end and beautiful photography skills from the Czech Republic at the other, the Arts and Wine Festival in Downtown Mountain View just had me amazed.

I want to publish this post as a tribute to the awesome "artsy/musical" skills of my friends back in Columbia-Rachels A C K, Amy, and Walid- just because all the time I was there, i couldn't help but think how much they would have enjoyed it!

So it started with food stalls and the smell of steak was overwhelming me. I was about to throw up and ran a bit only to find some girls doing the Hula dance at the "Win a Free Trip to the Polynesian Islands" stall. And then as we moved along, every single stall started to catch my attention by fascination.

The Czech photographer was the first one. She clicked amazing pictures in cities around the world and they were just stunning pieces of 3D work...they were mostly taken in Prague, CR and Jaipur, India.
Then there were these shi metal scuptures made a little far south from San Diego in California.
And I could probably go on and on about every single experience of unique art I had today but Ill just let the pictures talk.

Foothill and Mountain View Downtown

Yet another beautiful and sunny day with nice winds :)
Mountain View gives me the impression of Charleston streets (a historically significant city in South Carolina), a coastal area with palm trees and the constant humidity, except for the fact that there are other trees too and it looks better than Charleston!
It's very refreshing to be here (and outside of Columbia). The colorful houses here make the city resemble a city one would find in Latin America or Spain. The city is also surrounded by "Los Altos" hills, which make being outside very pleasant!

Blissful in Ignorance or Miserable in Wisdom?

Which way would you rather chose to live?

Incredible India

This post is for all of my friends who have always wanted to visit India or even know about it...
And all I can ever find to say is that they HAVE to visit it to know and get a glimpse of it!

Anyhow, here's a short documentary, and one of the best ever, issued by the Tourism ministry.

All I can say is that video is quite just in balancing the act of providing a window to many different sides of this country.

So cheers to Incredible India!

Let's Go Outside...

I went to the Congaree River Park a few days ago. It's in Gadsden/Hopkins community, but at least it's a rejuvenating retreat from the same old Cola town; it's not even far away. As we started walking inside, it looked like any other place with trees and wild bushes; it wasn't just any place though, it happened to be one of the best national parks I have seen. There are very few places where you can hike in the utmost silence, save those rhythmical chirping noises that were pleasant to hear.

Although, walking towards the lake, I was glad that we had enough insect repellent sprayed on ourselves. :)

The lake, was beautiful! But the constant thunder noises compelled us to leave early and in an expedite fashion. However, we did save ourselves a lot of time for running after fireflies, catching one in an Aquafina bottle, and getting soaked in the pouring rain while running about a mile towards our car...

Besides all of that, there is a river, loads of wildlife to look for, and a swamp to carry yourself into with a canoe! If you find time and the perfect company, you should plan a trip.

As it happened, I did go on the river trail later on with four of my friends. The river trail was about thirteen miles long and wonderfully fantastic! Here are some pictures...