Southward Sojourners {one half of the jaunt}

Not talking philosophy! An experience that I have been encountering of late after my superannuation! I am one hundred percent convinced that Age is just a number-As the years add up so does the age! But what really matters is the freshness in the heart – the more I am in amid of youthfulness, the youngness prevails in me!! This was a natural phenomenon when at work place. Post that, now it is in the stage of restyling the life pattern and also all said and done, I do not have the time to get old!!

Contrary to the previous generations, the mid-twentieth century borns exposure to and knowledge of the latest technologies are no lesser than our offsprings and the upcoming generations- I am sure you’ll agree to an extent on this. This gives us a platform to be mostly at par with our children’s wavelengths. The only deterrent is ‘the physical age factor’. That aspect would diminish if we leave our wisdom to take an upper edge, to pave the way to merge with not only our next generation, but the ones to come as well! This would be evident in the ensuing pages as I write down my experiences during the one week I spent with my near and dear ones. I am aware that in the recent blogs I have been swaying a bit on generalities over and above to recording my expeditions-probably I am coming of “age” (??!!!!) to share a message or two!!

Even as the thought process of the road trip was on, Gowri and I were very sceptical of us joining it considering two factors- One: our return to India was planned for the first week of April and Two: we wanted the children to enjoy the vacation with their friends and did not want to be thorn in their fleshes. But it was not to be- Pavithra & Sathish redefined “love & persistence” along with Akshaya,Sudarshan and the little one Adhrith (our newfound bonding in North Carolina) and ultimately, we jumped on the bandwagon- a decision we shall ever cherish.

After a night’s halt at The Sudarshans, we left eightish for our first destination for the day- the Myrtle beach in South Carolina in the iconic Chrysler SUV.  It was dawn of spring in the northern part of the globe -the vernal equinox occurred a week before! The climate was a mixture of chill and warm. After a three hour drive on the serpentine road we were on the outskirts of the South Carolina’s famous beach town – the whole topography changed as if we were watching a movie scene-so swift was it! In a sharp contrast to the dry surroundings on the highway, here we were entering a road of fantasy. Both sides of the roads were adorned with colourful festoons, towering hotels &  Airbnb , tons of mini golf courses, umpteen restaurants & bars, beach attired(!??!) fun-loving people, blaring of music, mini theme parks, sky wheel and what not! We could feel assured of the lots of funs that the place was going to offer us!

To fuel ourselves, we lunched at the Fuddruckers- the American Burger chain -a National Brand. At any point of time not less than half a dozen diner wait in the queue. The bun is freshly baked, vegetarian patties made on order, the variety of fresh salads at the topping bar for dressings of our choice and the lip-smacking cheese sauce : believe me, I helped myself an extra scoop of it like bathing the idli with kutty vengaya sambar at our own Ratna café! It was a filling meal.

From there, we proceeded on to Wonderworks, a science focused indoor amusement park. The weekend getaway crowd was thronging the place. The upside mansion was the eye catcher. Viewed from outside this upside-down indoor amusement park with inverted fake palm trees and a roof, looks like the structure has really been turned over, gives more surprises in the inside-the space is full of quirks & oddities and the mansion is full of wonders. Even the overall glancing will make one qualmish- the sofa set, the flower vase, the table, chairs-everything hangs from the ceiling (??!!).With the roof at the feet and the ground above the head the weird experience flips us upside down and pumps in the adrenaline ! To add to the excitement is the Inversion tunnel- While walking through, it is impossible to stand up straight!! The movement tricks the sense of balance in an amazing way! The concept is that the building is upside down so this is the first attraction you come to in the building and you must be inverted upside down to experience the rest of the attractions right side up. I was all wobbly- the loss of equilibrium and disorientation effect was in full bloom with the pseudo force taking the upper hand.. We were caught unawares!. It was an exciting twenty five meters walk – at the time of writing this I wonder how confused the child Adhrith would have been. As far as my understanding goes it may be just a hanging bridge in the room surrounded by a rotating cylinder completed with lighting gimmicks -not so sure. The first exhibit was the Hurricane Shack- the power of forceful winds would push us out of the cabin if we do not hold us securely on to the poles. What if such force builds in a closed space- will it not split the place to smithereens? That is the beauty of technology-  first thing-it has the speed of first degree storm, secondly, the pattern is like a curved aerodynamic tunnel, the walls taking the brunt of it. Many such unique exhibits are strewn all over the three storied complex and we couldn’t be happier with the wacky fun things. Sathish tried his hand (nay..legs!!) to compose music in the giant piano- the floor is the keyboard. Every time as he was going ahead, our little fella’ Adhrith would run across the floor- a new symphony was created by both of them! Yet another awesome display was the nail bed- theoretically I know the explanation, but now I practically experienced it. To recapitulate, sharp nails does not penetrate the skin if a person lies down on the metallic bed since it has lots of points that are close together — there’s a lot of surface area for the body to cover. Hundreds of nails support the weight of the body uniformly instead of just one so the body does not exert enough pressure on one single nail to puncture the skin. It was how   Bheeshmachariyar was laid down in the bed of arrows created by Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war as narrated in the epic Mahabaratha; it was then he recited the powerful Vishnu Sahasranama in praise of Lord Maha Vishnu to Yudrishtra. Huge life-sized bubbles are yet another attraction for the young and old alike. The mansion is full of wonders and is a combination of education and entertainment-‘edu-tainment’!

It was over three hours we spent inside the upside structure.. the outside world was bundles of merriment and jollity. After the normal quota of the day’s(!) ice cream, we treaded along the entire length and breadth of the park and it was getting late for us to check-in the hotel, but not before our little friend feeding fish from the boat in the middle of the lake. The bridge over the lake separates the area for self-paddle & rowing boats and the high performance speed boats. It was an amazing sight to watch the skipper manoeuvring the motored boats with ease without slackening the pace. Tourist helicopters were hovering over at very frequent intervals. The soft music from the giant wheel rink was very soothing to the ears.

We checked in the VIII floor suite- the rooms were amazingly big and neat- what separated us from the mighty Atlantic Ocean was the Beach-the panoramic view was astounding. We couldn’t wait to hit the golden sand-after quick change in the attire, we were off. The cricket kit was in handy- had fun filled moments in the beach- the water seem to be very cold-the boardwalk is one of the most happening places in the sea front. Scores of people were enjoying their first outing to the beach front on the dawn of summer! We had an amazing home cooked dinner in the room, which was complete with the kitchenette, cutlery and crockery.

Viewing of the sun rise from the room was absolutely phenomenal. After a quick breakfast, we were ready for the events slated for the rest of the day. Stuffing the car with our belongings we were off to our next destination not before going to the game room ‘Escapology’- I did not even have an inkling what it was about; later in the lounge came to know it was like a treasure hunt game; thought it was kids game; wondered how it was going to suit my ‘age’. After a few minutes wait, we were guided to the rooms by an usher who explained to us the rules of the games and after she left, the dark room was automatically shut- it was a straight lift from Indiana Jones movie- gave a creepy feeling. The clues were hidden in different places with riddles to find them out- some were in fluorescent markings, some plaques, big iron cask and what not. I was so very thrilled about the entire thing. We were running out of the stipulated time of 75 minutes- had to complete the puzzles and ‘escape’ from the room- that is the whole thing about it. At one stage, Adhrith and I were playing with the rubber snakes and reptiles that were lying in the corner knowing that somebody will solve the clue! With a few minutes to spare, the rest of the family cracked the codes and we ‘escaped’ from the dark rooms. I have become so addicted to the game- I have been pestering my children to take me to an escapology outlet in York Town near to our home in Virginia!! The lunch was at ‘Hot Tomato’- an authentic Italian restaurant.

Enroute to Savannah, we stopped at the historical and oldest city of South Carolina- Charleston which has played a prominent role in the Civil war of America. The city has cobblestoned streets and the great attraction are the horse drawn carriages. A unique market place beautifully laid is the centre of attraction – looked more like shops in the annual fair. The walk along the waters and the colonial houses is one memorable incident- just across the waterway is the Morris Island fort from where begun the Civil war of America. The night stay was at an Inn in the outskirts of the State of Georgia.

“Precise writing”–condensing a comprehension to one-tenth of its length- in the English examinations during School was never my cup of tea! That fault line in the basics still remains in me. How much ever I try to be brief on describing, finally I end up with a narrative elucidation. Realising that, I am releasing these pages from my diary in two parts!!

Till I lace up for the next I am winding up this bit now and will catch up with the remaining part of this jaunt sooner….

J.Ram