In America

Hilly, green , scenic with views of Oakland and SFO cities' buildings and bridges. I am well past the zoo appreciation age, but Oakland zoo was surprisingly working it's charms. The Gondola ride with Amruth's family was interesting enough with the spectacular views from the sky ride. It got even more exciting as the conveyor stopped midstream. Suspended in the sky. Technical glitch. Resolved in 10-15 minutes. Tension had not surfaced. As we walked through the man-made platforms built across hills, we could see animals roaming the hills. It was as if they were in the wild and we were in cages for our protection. The guilt that accompanies every zoo experience when watching a caged animal for our amusement was not here. The spirit is better at the Oakland Zoo.  The jaguar though small in size looked really handsome with it's bold clean striking patterns. The habitarium building saw Niya and Riya wearing naturalist gear and working through clues, and gaining some ...

The afro-american cable car driver. Kittu, Divya, Niya, Cinish sitting on the outside bench facing the road. Carlos (Latin guy with 3XL shirt size) standing facing me. One more standee. The driver asks Carlos. What is your name? Carlos. I have seen many afro-americans who are able to entertain the crowd with loud interesting conversations. Our driver was doing the same. Driver (to the chinese girl on the road): This is Carlos here. Carlos, say hi to her. Carlos: Hello miss. Miss: Hi Carlos, nice to meet you. Driver( to the crowd in the train): This is Carlos here. He is from Mexico. Lady passenger in train(bit stout, about 35 years old):  Hello Carlos. I am Veronica. I am also from Mexico. Driver(to me): Do you know this guy's  name? Me:Yes, Carlos. Train, about to take left turn. Driver: Carlosss....    ( to the rhythm of the train movement) Elderly lady signals to the driver. Driver stops the train. She gets onboard. At a later stop, she gets do...