Yosemite trip with parents

 The decision to drive to Yosemite on Saturday morning was made in the last hour on Friday. I pinged Amruth but they had other plans.

  We started a little after 9:00 AM in our Santa Fe. We exited Tracy Hills into fog that had set in over the highway. Just enough to see through. 

  Kittu had lost all his jackets in school. And Yosemite demanded one. Also, there was some vague need for snow chains in my head. So our first stop had to be a Walmart. Had some fun using voice commands to find and add walmart stop using android auto which I don't have in my daily driver 3 series. 

   I will continue to say that the drive is what matters in a car, even though I will submit that I was amused by the tech. The snow chains would bring in some overhead and cost, and on checking latest conditions in Yosemite, decided against getting them. 

   As I caught myself off guard with the sudden trip plan, I had not had sufficient sleep. Also, I was starting to feel hungry as well. So I told the car to look for a restaurant and it found 50's roadhouse restaurant, which was an eclectic stop in the middle of nowhere. Elvis Presley and a 50's vibe defined the restaurant which as we later found was started in 2001 or so. American fare food - some exposure for my parents. Filled up a styrofoam cup  with coffee, and continued on. 

  I was not in my best driving performance. I was finding it hard to focus, and was not in the zone as I often am. At least, I was nice to let folks pass me. On the way back, in the pitch of the night, while trying to do the same gesture, the tire drove over on the edge on the right. I turned on the hazard to let the car behind pass. 

   Few days back while driving to Muir woods in my 3 series, I was in the zone, and loving the winding roads. The more in the zone I was, the more difficult it was for my mom, who tends to have nausea during the hairpins. At least, this time, headache that I had would mean less nausea for my mom, I thought, but no - she did feel a bit of nausea still but considerably less than last time. 

  Coming back to the drive up,  I stopped at view points as we reached closer to Yosemite. One of these stops happened to be the Bridal Veil fall. We stopped and took some photos and videos. 

   Our target was the Yosemite falls. We parked there and walked towards the base of the falls. As my mother had pretty bad foot pain after the snow walk we had done on an earlier trip, this time it was going to be less walking. So my parents rested on a bench from where the falls was visible, while the four of us continued on closer to the falls. We did some photo sessions, and walked back. This is bear habitat and it would soon get dark. 

   The falls had a time suspension quality to it. Makes you feel like there is nothing else you need to care about. The nature has that high on me, even now. I was happy about that. I have to go back now as I need to get to my parents and take them back to the car safe. If not, I would have stayed a little more may be. But then it would get dark, and I would be worried for myself, and I would have had to go back. What would happen if I did not have to worry for myself?

   When we reached our parents back, they were already starting to get worried about the bears, as most of the people had left already. There were campers around. 

  The good thing about Yosemite is that the road is one way, which means on the way back, we are going to see new sights. I continued to get the headache. And I found it a little difficult to drive. Divya wanted to have Chai Latte, and we stopped at a Star Bucks. I got the headache break, and had the left over lunch. Divya offered to drive. The Santa Fe has been with us for hardly two weeks now. I kept that offer for reserve. In some time, my headache lifted, and I could drive. 

    For some reason, Cliff Martinez' Drive playlist always makes it to the car stereo on the night drive back from the day trips with my parents. While "Tick of the clock" used to be my favorite, I am starting to enjoy "Rubber Head" very much. The last stretch was smooth. 

 Bijunu had pinged me "Badlapur" youtube link. This is a film he has been asking me to watch for a long time, and now is when it showed up on a platform I have access to. Watched it right after we reached home, and it did not meet expectation on the youtube watch, while it did on the second watch on OTT. There is something about the quality of sound and visuals that impact how much a films makes into your soul. It is not just the facts in the story line that makes the movie experience.