That can only mean one thing – we are off to some place again. First stop – Ontario, CA. Frankly, even I thought that is in Canada. But we are actually going to be in Riverside, California to check in on my nephew (remember him from our September trip there?) and then head out over the ocean tomorrow.

I really thought this was in Canada!

View from the hotel

The clock, in a nod to immeasurability of time, seems to have stopped long time back!

The gardens are well curated in Riverside

Apparently, Riverside is one of the cities with larger than average number of international sister cities. Some of them brought back memories.

Hyderabad: My trip there in 2017 to meet my second grade teacher.

Obuasi, Ghana: Natasha’s 6 months in Ghana in 2018

Erlangen, Germany: My trip there (cannot remember the year) to meet my colleague Sumithasri.

Went in and browsed all sorts of books. Even bought one on Meditations!!

Met up with my nephew in between his classes. He came last September from India to do his undergraduate degree here. That was our first trip to Riverside. Then he came to see us during the Holidays. And now the third time in seven months. Or about the same frequency with which I used to see him when he was very young and I used to go check in on my parents!!

They are a fairly tight group. We missed Phil. But Keyla, Rama, Steven and my nephew packed themselves in the rear seat of our small rental car to go have Indian food at a restaurant in the city. Indian food got two thumbs up from his friends.

There are these donkey crossing signs all over UC Riverside, when you can clearly see the students crossing the streets in plain day light!

Nephew had to go back to his classes. And our flight was still quite a few hours away. Instead of driving to LAX airport, we decided to go check out the beaches near the airport. Hit Manhattan Beach. It was breezy and cold, as California beaches tend to be. But the sun felt nice and warm.

Saw this in Roundhouse Aquarium at the edge of Manhattan Beach Pier. Learnt that these are a generally harmless kind of jelly fish (lacks the long stinging tentacle) and very common off the California beaches.

We were done with the beach. Before heading out to the airport, we thought we would grab a cup of coffee to fend off the cold. I looked up on Google maps and decided to give a pass to two coffee chains nearby and instead go to one Bluestone Lane Cafe. Just as I was entering, I told Sharmila…

“I think I remember this place.”

“How?” she asked.

“I think I met Rupa and Vishal here last time when I saw then.”

I was absolutely sure when I saw the decor inside. I also remember a barista named Sebastian who had made the most beautiful cappuccino art that I have ever seen in my life.

To prove my point, we went to my blog and located the post! Check out the surfboard on the wall in that post and the one above Sharmila. In fact, we had sat exactly at the same table!

I told the story to Paris, our barista today. And noted her accent.

“So, that accent… where is it from?”

“I am from Australia”

That was another coincidence!

“Believe it or not, that is where we are headed in a few hours!!”

“No way!”

Found out that she is from Melbourne – where Nikita spent a few days last week – and that after finishing her studies, she came to the US on a temporary work visa to explore different places and life in general. She will then go back to do higher studies.

How I wish I had the wisdom of trying out different things in life when I was young and not follow the standard route.

With some cocktails before the long haul flight begins