Being a part of the Information Technology bandwagon, I have always been fascinated by Silicon Valley, the leading hub for all high-tech innovation and development. So when my friend Sandy moved to San Jose for a few days, I needed no further excuse and immediately planned a weekend visit.
Landing at San Jose airport, I met my engineering room-mate after almost 3 years. We had loads to catch up. Had a fantastic time refreshing college memories…Rourkela days, ragging, Checkpost, Backpost, Sector 2, NAC Market, Ambagan, Radhika, Madhuban, JAM, Thunder, Hexagon…
Renting a car, four of us - Sandy, two of his colleagues and I, set out to explore some of the attractions within 100 miles. The most breathtaking of them was the 17-Mile Drive, a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The road hugs the Pacific coastline for the most past and passes through famous golf courses, sprawling mansions and scenic attractions.
We stopped by at the Lone Cypress, next to a very beautiful golf course. The most photographed tree in North America, a Western icon, it stands on a granite hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This tree is to the Monterey Peninsula what the pyramids are to Egypt, what Eiffel Tower is to Paris. A 250 years old legacy, the cypress has been scarred by fire and for the last 65 years, it has been held in place by half-hidden steel cables.
As a species the Monterey Cypress grows naturally in no place on Earth but around Pebble Beach and Point Lobos making it a rarity. We spent some time in the 5300 acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees before proceeding to Pebble Beach Golf Links, Bird Rock and McAbee Beach. The drive did clarify one thing for me; the Pacific Ocean is not so pacific after all.
