In the summer of 1995 I rented a 16 passenger Ford Van took 8 kids and two adults on a 30 day, 6000 mile western drive that spanned  ten states. This trip pre-dated smart phones, GPS and Google maps. I and my daughter meticulously planned the trip using Delorme Software package on a PC. Software not only helped as plan the route, it also helped us make the reservations at Best Western Inns along the route. Software also highlighted all the sites worth seeing  within a 20 miles of our main route.

Kids included  Raj-Ann, Ben, Charu, Jyoti, Arpit, Randeep, Simmi, and Navneeta (all cousins). They had to be over 9 years of age and had to be able to take care of themselves. My sister Ruby and my brother in law Mark Holt joined on this epic tour. Each person was allowed one duffel bag as every thing had to fit in the van and we planned to do laundry at least every third day.

We traveled through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Arizona; in case of Nevada and Wyoming we were in and out a couple of times.  We saw great Salt Flats, great Salt Lake,  Sundance , The Mormon Temple in salt Lake City; the Promontory point where the Pacific Central and Union Central railroads joined each other in 1868;   National Parks or National Monuments visited included : Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado national Monument, Arches National Park, Bryce canyon, Zion National Park, CanyonLands and Grand Canyon.  We stopped in the Old West town of Deadwood,  where Wild Bill Hickok and Annie Oakley are buried.  Wooley Mammoth Pit in Wyoming where hundreds of mammoths were trapped and buried in a  land slide was one of the many interesting side tours.  Visiting Crazy Horse monument was another one.We visited Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Hollywood, Universal studios and Hearst Castle. We traveled on the storied Route 66. On average we drove only 200 miles a day and made numerous side trips  to take in local sites. We visited, Winnemucca Nevada; Salt Lake City, Provo and Ogden Utah; Jackson Hole, Sheridan and Cheyenne Wyoming; Rapid City South Dakota; Sidney Nebraska; Denver, Vail and Grand Junction Colorado; Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica and San Simeon California.

I have included maps of the trips in the photos. It was a fun filled trip with Yellow Stone and Grand Canyon without the doubt being the highlights of the trip. Trip was run with a military precision and went without a hitch for the most part. It has been 21 years since the tripand kids still talk about it from time to time.

I arrived in California in early December of 1971. I finally settled down in my job at Singer-Link in Sunnyvale, California. Sunnyvale was at the heart of emerging Semiconductor industry in Northern California’s Santa Clara Valley. Later, much later, Santa Clara valley came to be known as Silicon Valley.

Having been laid off 3 times, I had become very leery of longevity of any job. I became convinced that a job is an economic arrangement; Companies will keep you as long as you are  productive and the Company is doing well and not a day longer. One should not feel loyal or attached to the job a day longer than it is still fun and satisfying. I felt that I had not paid attention to the business side of the companies. All the companies I worked for were losing out in the market place and sooner or later would not need and could not afford to pay engineers. 1971 was also a bad year overall. Vietnam War and Space program were both winding down. Between the defense industry and the Space industry, a very large number of engineers were being laid off. Singer-Link was a defense contractor and I was not sure my job would last. Though, there were no signs of any imminent danger. I had promised myself and Ann that I will not be caught with my pants down ever again. I kept my resume up-to-date and kept applying for jobs and kept going for interviews all over US for next three years. I also signed up at Santa Clara University’s early bird program for working professionals. I broadened my educational base by taking courses in software and eventually in business also for next 5 years.

My job at Singer-Link was extremely interesting. We were designing Flight Simulators for Air Force and Navy. These simulators were essentially very large, specialized computers where we implemented complex algorithms in hardware to process data in real-time to produce images that a pilot would see  on his radar screen and out of the windows. I came to be the expert in radar simulation. My knowledge of both hardware and software gave me a special edge. I applied for several patents and was granted two of them. I moved up the ranks rapidly and came to be known as real hotshot in the company. I eventually stopped worrying about losing the job as the company and to some extent Air Force came to see me as a real asset.

By early 1973, it had been 5 years since I left home and two years since I got married. My family had not met Ann. We started planning a trip to India and finally traveled to Kanpur in the November of 1973. I had changed as a person. It had been 10 years since I lived in Kanpur. Kanpur had no facilities; no hotels, no restaurants, no airport. Our house did not have a proper toilet before I left for IIT but my parents had hustled to have one done before I and Ann showed up. It was great visiting family but the trip was very hard on both me and Ann. We did take special trips to Kashmir, Agra, Delhi and Khajuraho. A six weeks trip felt like eternity. I had not taken even a week off my work let alone six weeks until then.

My bosses at Link were worried that I may not return. They sent me a telegram saying that the company will pick up the expenses for the trip and I will get a 20% raise when I came back. It was first time I saw a tangible proof that companies take care of their star performers! That was a big help as plane fares in early seventies were about same as  they arenow but salaries were one tenth in dollar terms.

Return we did! I and Ann bought our first house in San Jose on her VA benefits. Under those benefits we did not have to pay any thing down and interest was also subsidized to the tune of 1%.

Life was settling back to normal in our new house in early 1974 when a telegram came from India that my dad had passed away in a motorcycle accident. I had promised him a trip to America before I left. That was his lifelong dream. Having made the trip the year before and having bought the house I was in no position to travel back. I was glad that he had met Ann. They both had taken an instant liking to each other. I was only 28 at the time and this was a big blow but one lives by the choices one makes in life.