My routine from every Monday to Friday is the same.Sai gets up in the morning and leaves for his office by 6.30 a.m. and comes back by 7.30 p.m. For a number of weeks after our arrival I used to get up at 6 a.m. but since the first week of Jun I have started getting up at 5 .00 a.m. as it has become very hot to go out for a walk any time after 7 .00 a.m.
Once I get up, I brush my teeth and sit down for Omkaram/Suprabatham and do my Jyothi meditation. After that I go for a walk for one hour, going around the beautiful Mill valley which forms a part of the prestigious Marin County, where the Rich and the Famous in San Francisco stay. The local officials of Marin County look after this wonderful suburb and they have a big role to play in keeping the Mill Valley so beautiful.
In the first few weeks I used to go for a half hour walk only but nowadays I go for one hour walks so that I can cover more and more new areas and enjoy San Francisco’s beauty.
The early morning scenery when the Sun has just started rising, is fascinating and wonderful .The Bay Area is more like a hill station like Simla or Darjeeling, with clouds hovering on top of the hills. The setting is ecstatic. In a few areas, there are small lakes too in between the houses where small boats are anchored for boating (reserved for the week ends) and ducks and swans swimming nonchalantly, fearlessly and calmly. Once I saw a deer walk majestically along the roadside from parks specifically maintained.
The houses are beautifully designed, majestic, exquisite, elegant, princely and beautiful and are mostly built of wood .The electric poles are also made of wood. No multi storeyed apartments as San Francisco and the Bay Area are earth quake prone.The green plush lawns in front of the houses are beautifully maintained and the watering is done by automatic sprinklers. Flowers of rich colours adorn the houses and the hedges are green and beautiful. I frequently keep changing my area of walking. Yet, no matter where I go the scenario is the same.
You really start wondering whether you are on earth or in Heaven. Many a time I start chanting Om Sri Sai Ram as I walk along the roadside and marvel at His Creation. While walking along the empty roads I sing the following “Baba Love” Bhajan and enjoy His Omnipresence .My morning walks are therefore always an exhilarating experience.
Baba love, Baba love, Baba love, Baba love, Om Baba love.
He smiles at us, through flowers and trees, nature’s love sweet harmony
There is quiet all round except for the vehicles which are zipping past close by on the
Freeway at 80 to 100 miles per hour but that too is a dignified uniform sound of the tyres rubbing against the concrete road, no horns, no screeching, and a continuous flow of cars moving along in a disciplined manner to their respective destinations. The roads are meticulously clean and I really do not know as to when the road maintenance people come to clean the roads as they do a wonderful and silent job, but then the penalties are also heavy. If you throw rubbish on the roads you may be fined 1000 USD!
Except for one or two Harley Davidson motorbikes, there are no other two wheelers and the ubiquitous Auto rickshaws (Indian style) on the road at all. But plenty of cars along the 10 lane Freeway,early in the morning .On side roads you may find a few cyclists .Very few pedestrians also.
Incidentally pedestrians are supposed to walk only on the pedestrian paths and cross the road where there are proper pedestrian crossings with red/green lights. At road crossings there are STOP signs where there are no red lights but the motorist is expected to stop for a few seconds , even if there are no cars in the vicinity, which incidentally everybody does .
They are very strict about car parking. A minimum of 2 dollars for 2 to 3 hrs to an upward figure of 17 to 25 dollars per hour in commercial places is to be paid for car parking, either on the roadside or on multistoried buildings constructed for parking alone. In most of the places the payment is completely automatic and the credit/debit card is to be used.
Because you do not have the kind of population that you find in India, here every body does his job himself, like filling the petrol in the car. Very few pay by cash. The credit/debit card is put inside the slot in the petrol pump and then you have to fill in the petrol yourself. There is no attendant to full up petrol in your car. Incidentally there are more number of cars than the population in the US! And people just do not believe in rail travel, which is a sorely neglected segment - only air and road travel.
The laws are very stringent and they enforce it too .The common man is always worried about how not to get a ticket from the Police and he simply dreads these officials who are positioned along different locations on the Freeways / roads on cars / motorbikes .They are very well equipped with walkie talkies and lap tops which are connected on the wireless to their Centralised data base.
If you are over speeding and a cop catches you through his Radar, he will overtake you and ask you to stop. You are supposed to stop. Otherwise he has powers to shoot and even kill you! Once you stop you are supposed to keep your hands on the steering wheel only and if you don’t and make suspicious movements he is once again authorized to shoot.
If nothing untoward happens and he demands your license you give it to him .On the spot he will enter your particulars on his Lap Top and within seconds he will get a complete history of your driving on to his screen including the number of times you have been booked for over speeding, your date of license, age, accidents etc.If you are booked 3 times for over speeding you may lose your license. He then gives you a ticket which you are supposed to pay by going to Court .And the courts are very effective .If you do not pay up your penalty the Court can pass orders for arresting you within a few days !!
You can be booked by the Omnipresent Police for drunken driving , for not wearing your seat belt, for parking beyond the authorized timing,( even if you have paid for it) ,for not halting at a red light or a STOP signal, or for not allowing a pedestrian or a cyclist to pass over an authorized crossing !As a pedestrian you can be booked for jay walking i.e., not walking on pedestrian walks specially constructed or crossing the road where there is no pedestrian crossing or crossing the road when the pedestrian crossing show red lights.The penalty could be as high as 200 USD.
The Art Festival which started today will end tomorrow. We went to see how the artists begin their work and we plan to come back again tomorrow to see as to how they finish their work. Added to that, there was music and festivity in the air. There were two rock bands playing some excellent music and there were a number outdoor snacks stalls. Entry was free. 
From the Italian Street Painting Festival we went to Betty's place in Petaluma for Barbeque. We all sat outside in the garden and the food was grilled in an outdoor grill on charcoal. We had Tofu hot dogs(vegan), some excellent potato salad without eggs and fudge pudding. Betty's neighbor Mike joined us. We had a homely dinner as though long lost friends had gathered again!
