Alright Alright Alright!!!
It's been a while since I returned back to my blog. Although it doesn't mean that I wasn't writing. I have poured my thoughts into pages upon pages of a ten-year old diary, with an extremely fluid fountain pen. The joy of a pen running smoothly over high GSM paper is something else. A computational fluid dynamics engineer would say that the flow of the ink from the cartridge to the paper was laminar. That's the kind of obsession that has kept me away from typing my thoughts in.
So what brought me here today? A memory from a time that had genuinely scared me.
In my life, I have been through some really tense situations without getting flustered. Those tales are long and each one deserves a blog. This one happened in a remote Bavarian village in the state of Washington, US. The place is Leavenworth, a Christmas holiday destination, known as an idyllic town, nestled among snow-capped mountains. A beautiful winter wonderland.
My wife and I had been checking out this Bavaria-themed village since quite some time. On Youtube, we would watch the live feed of a street view camera which overlooked a town square, decorated with trees draped in LED lights. The village resembled a Bavarian village surrounded by snow covered peaks. I wondered how such a place came into existence in such a remote corner. Luckily, we got a chance to explore this village on our own. In our recent visit to Seattle, we were meeting our cousins in Bellevue, Washington. We finally had an opportunity to visit this village.
We left for Leavenworth from Bellevue in the morning. It was a grey morning, with a drizzle, every now and then. As the weather report read, the mountain didn't come out that day, which is a colloquial way of describing the weather in Seattle. If Mount Rainier is visible, then you may expect a bright day ahead. It looks like this picture below, from my cousin's apartment, which is a pretty sick view to have.
The bus was delayed, so we passed our time going through pamphlets of other cities and townst o visit in Washington. Apart from Leavenworth, we loved Portland, Oregon's vibe. Although American marketing is on another level, so be careful of what you are getting sold on. The bus stop was having a really dull morning that day, but neither the weather, nor the ambience could dampen our spirits. There was a lady struggling to get the right tickets for her travel. We were busy planning the day at Leavenworth, while also trying to keep an eye out for our boarding call. As soon as the bus came, we took our place by the windows. A quick attendance, and we were on our way. The bus took an hour to get out of Seattle. We were glued to the window screen, alert, not to miss anything extraordinary. Though the architecture in US rarely stands out. Despite us peering out to catch anything exciting, we could only appreciate the uniformity and standardization of American establishments. Having travelled to some of the corners of the US, we weren't surprised. It was a good time to catch some sleep.
As soon as we got out of the city, we were hit with the views we were waiting to catch. Washington and its beautiful natural beauty popped up. Leavenworth is nestled in the Cascades mountain range. So we came prepared to gaze at the beauty of its snow-covered peaks. The drizzle gave way to snow as the bus rumbled through the interstate. The snowflakes occasionally landed on our screens before melting into a drop. One turn after another, we snaked around hills and valleys for the next couple of hours. Finally, we climbed down a little valley where our destination lay. The last leg of the journey was us mostly thinking about food. We had finished our cakes and were getting sharp hunger pangs.
The bus reached a deserted parking lot. We got down, looked around. There was no snow anywhere. Where was the winter wonderland we came searching for? Surely, we will find some spots as we move into the village, we told ourselves. I swung my backpack and we started walking towards a huge concrete building. It must be a place to get some refreshments for the rest of the trip, we thought. As soon as we walked in, we were back in the US. The thing about American standardization is that you will find the same convenience inside a store, no matter which corner of the country you are in. We quickly grabbed a couple of bites and got out to explore the village. The village is entirely walkable, which is what we love to do when on a trip. With a physical map in hand, I lead the way into the town. About half a km later, we finally start noticing the cute village springing into life. There is some music playing from the other end of the road. The beautiful buildings built for tourists to experience a Bavarian villager's life are decorated with Christmas lights. The trees are draped in LED lights in various colours. The snow has been neatly shovelled off walk-ways and I could see very few tourists around. Suddenly, we realize that we are standing at the same spot in front of the camera, which gets streamed live on Youtube twenty-four by seven. So many people around the world would be watching us now. We looked into the public camera and wave at it. It goes without saying that no experience can be adequately captured in a camera every. This is what an AI will never get. The ability to be truly present in the moment, soaking everything in. The cascades with with snow covered peaks are looking down upon you, as though they are watching us in a little show of their own making. We wasted no time and got to explore the town.
There was the nutcracker museum, various bakeries, many cute souvenir shops, many pubs, cafes and eateries, and what not. We couldn't hold out on food any longer, so we went to have lunch in a beautiful restaurant on the main road, called Gustav's bar. Inside, the restaurant was done in thick oakwood, almost entirely.
I helped myself to a nice draught beer, because I was in faux Bavaria. We loaded up on a delicious burger, a sandwich and fries. After a sumtuous meal, we spent the afternoon exploring the village, completing our checklist of things to do, or food to eat. It was a lovely afternoon. Whenever we got tired, we found an empty bench to soak in everything the place had to offer. Leavenworth is notorious for being overcrowded with tourists, especially in the winter. Thankfully, our timing was impeccable. It was as if the entire village had put up a show only for us. 
 |
| The display outside the nutcracker museum. |
I tried to take better pictures. Unfortunately, my skills as a photographer are limited. Rather, I felt guilty whenever I took my hands out for a picture. The place is so beautiful that you wouldn't want to waste even a second trying to capture it. Some things are meant to be experienced in-person. We were loving every moment. It was cold, yet cosy. We were strolling, hand in hand, feasting our eyes on anything that looked cute, and more importantly, overwhelmed with gratitude for this experience. It was like our honeymoon all over again. A couple of hours of enjoying a hot beverage, crepes, local snacks and some souvenir shopping, we heard a loud bell followed by some chimes. The music, which we had heard when we got to town at the start of the day, was playing out nearby. It was that of an Accordian (a wind instrument with keys), but instead of an actual player, it was an extremely elaborate cuckoo clock, with figurines dancing to the music. Some of the tourists gathered around this clock along with us. An extremely ornate clockwork performance featuring reindeers, dancers, dwarves, and several other miniatures lasted about 5 minutes. Before we could get enough of it, these little mechanical miniatures returned back to the cuckoo clock.
Where is the scary part in all of this?
The cuckoo clock reminded us that we should be preparing to leave. The lights had come on, and our ride back to Bellevue was from a location few kms away from where we were. We still had time though. We said our goodbyes to each of the little shops we went into. Once we made peace with saying goodbye, I opened Uber, tapped for a preferred cab, and waited. In the meantime we recounted our experience to each other. A few mins elapsed, but we didn't get any confirmations. I changed my preferences and tapped the book button. The mountains were getting cloaked by the clouds. A slight drizzle had started. I checked my phone again. No confirmation yet. I made my preference even more generic. This time, I stayed on the app screen. The loading bar was slowly progressing across the screen. In another min, it had completed the scan yet no Uber drivers seemed nearby. I start to worry.
About 30 mins have gone past, but not a single ride has been confirmed. Both of us are on multiple apps. My calm demeanor had turned into a frantic wait. I was starting to get worried, although, I tried hard not to show it on my face. My wife was still assured. But as more time elapsed, I was beginning to panic. Unlike any of my previous experience I didn't have a guaranteed plan B. We had to return to Bellevue that night, because our flight out of Seattle was the next morning. From Seattle, we had a flight back to San Jose, following which, we had a flight out of San Francisco to Bangalore via Heathrow. We were literally going to travel half-way around the world and each leg was planned back-to-back. I should have accounted for any unforeseen circumstance, I told myself. But right then, I couldn't miss my ride back to Bellevue, surely.
While I was panicking, my wife remained cool as a cucumber. Somehow she was quite composed, to the extent that she was unbothered. I invoked my cousins' help to see if they could book a ride on our behalf, but even they couldn't. Almost an hour had passed. We barely had 30 mins left to reach the pickup spot. I calmed myself down and started a google search for any local cab providers in Leavenworth. Three or four options later, I finally connected with a person, a real human and not an automated voice. In no time, I explained the urgency of my request. He patiently heard me through and promised that he will be there to pick us up in 10 mins, in his pick-up truck. With almost no time left, we had no option but to pray dearly that this guy, in the middle of a small village, would show up in his pick-up truck and drop us. Every second passed slowly. Can we make it?
The lights had turned on everywhere now. We had our credit cards, so finding a decent place to stay was not an issue. But to make it in time for all subsequent travel, felt like threading a needle from a yard away. About twelve minutes had already passed. No sign of the cab driver yet. I called him for the seventh time. Click.
"Hello, Partha. Where are you?"
"We are right next to the crosswalk, under the traffic lights. Look towards the Leavenworth town sign"
"Got you. Wait right there"
He turned his car right around, and in doing so, must have broken at least a couple of traffic laws. As soon as he pulled up, we jumped to the back seat and asked him to race away. I started to call the shuttle service to check their ETA. The customer service agent had answered but he couldn't be sure of the ETA of the shuttle that was meant to pick us up. We completed the payment before we even got down. Another ten minutes later, we were at our pick up spot but we were five minutes past our designated pick-up time. Did we miss the shuttle? The pick-up truck cab driver wished us luck and sped away.
When we looked around we were in the middle of nowhere. Not a single soul around. It was an empty parking lot with a couple of parked vans. The parking lot was next to a highway crossing. It was already dark now. Apart from a few lamp posts in the parking lot, we could only see a church at some distance. It was a beige building built like a Georgian cathedral, with conical mounts over cylindrical structures, giving medieval vibes. Yet, there was no sign of any shuttles or vehicles coming our way. In the US, people are on schedule, to the minute. What if we had missed our ride? At least Leavenworth had some decent options to stay. This no man's land has nothing around. Even the church looked quite spooky, to say the least. We were better off in Leavenworth in that case. I made sure I saved the pick-up truck cab driver's number, in case we had to call him back.
The night had truly settled in. I was glad to have my wife's company but at the same time I felt responsible for our safety. It was almost 20 minutes past our pick-up time. The operator of the shuttle service had not yet confirmed the exact location of the shuttle when we called her. We waited under a lamp post. From afar, a car pulled up into the parking lot. It surely wasn't a shuttle service. When it rolled in, a window rolled down and I could see a muzzle. It was a guy with his pet dog. I trust people with pets. After a moment of hesitation, I went up to their car.
"Hello. We are waiting for a shuttle back to Bellevue. You wouldn't be the service provider by any chance, right?"
"Hi, you are right. I am here to walk my dog. Are you guys waiting for a shuttle service"
"Yes, we are. I am not sure we are waiting at the right place though."
I read out the location to him, which he confirmed was correct.
"I guessed we missed our ride back home"
"Ohh that's bad. Where do you have to go back?"
"Bellevue"
"Okay. That's quite far from here. I hope the shuttle shows up still. Otherwise, you should probably head back to Leavenworth"
My heart sank. I picked up my phone to call the cab driver back. But instead, my phone rang.
"Hello, Partha?"
"Yes, yes, please tell me."
"I am so sorry to keep you waiting. But I have good news. The shuttle got delayed on the way. I spoke to the driver. He should be pulling in to pick you up any moment now"
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I couldn't tell you how relieved I am." It felt like I was Sandra Bullock from Gravity, where she finally tunes in to an amateur radio station from the decommissioned Tiangong Space Shuttle. In the movie the amateur radio operator had a dog too.
"I am glad." the customer service person's voice cracked. "It is quite unusual that our services get delayed by even a couple of mins. Looks like you are in luck."
My face showed, that an immense weight had been lifted off me. I looked at the curch far away, and thanked God for keeping us on track with our schedule. In a few minutes, a headlight turned towards us. I had never been so happy to see someone come for us. The shuttle rolled in in style. The shuttle driver apologized for the wait, confirmed our names, and opened the huge sliding door. First, my wife got in, followed by me. We found individual seats one behind the other. All the other seats were taken already. The door closed, and we rolled out of the parking lot, almost immediately.
Even though I was relieved, I was not entirely at ease. The shuttle was warmer inside and it was pitch dark. Immediately after we left the parking lot, the snow came. Through the tinted screen we could see that the cascades had kicked up quite a storm. The trees were pitch black, with only the snow reflecting off the moon light. The cars racing down the interstate showed a glimpse of how bad the weather was. I was all alert. In a shuttle with five other strangers, for a journey that would take at least 3 hours, I was in no mood to let my guard down. My wife took a small nap, and I cajoled her into it. The shuttle raced through the darkness. I kept on checking the maps to track the progress. On the window, I could only see the snow swirling swiftly with the wind whenever a car crossed us from the opposite side. I didn't even blink once. After an hour and a half later the speed of the shuttle reduced. I could see a semblance of a town from the window, before it finally pulled up into the parking of a refuelling station. My wife's got up when the huge doors slid open.
"Alright folks, we have stopped for a break for 10 mins, not a minute more. Do not be late. There will be no waiting."
We got out, stretched our legs, and walked into the convenience store. Both of us were hungry now. After a quick bathroom break and a quick snack run at the store, we made it back to the shuttle. The last leg was not terrifying anymore.
A couple of hours later, we were in Bellevue. We made it. My cousin brother was at the bus stop to pick us up. The Leavenworth trip was finally over. Was it worth the drama? I guess so. My wife says that a little bit of drama does make a trip all the more memorable. I couldn't agree with her more.
No comments:
Post a Comment