First Stop: San Diego

Aloha from the road everyone. Paramacharya and Rajanatha collect some photos, catch their breath and begin wrapping up the first stop. Let's take a look.

After a 5.5 hour flight we are greeted at the airport with loving smiles

We immediately sit down with the Visswanathans and catch a quick homemade meal before going to the hotel down the street. Paramacharya gave a quick summary of what to expect for the monk\

s trip. '

The first stop with our Southern California group is to see the USS Midway. This ship and it\

s innards was a great time to experience a fraction of what it was like to be a WWII soldier. '

Dasan Mahadevan, our tour guide, shows the hall ahead. Dasan knows the ship well and was able to steadily guide the group around. Steady as she goes, look alive and let\

s get a move on! were some of the things we heard. '

One of the many small rooms with hundreds of switches and buttons to control different parts of the complex ship

The entire room with Sheela Visswanathan heading to the next spot

Afterwords the group headed down to a nice Mexican restaurant, where every item could be made vegetarian or vegan. Impressive.

Day 2 saw the group at Safari Park, an extension of the San Diego Zoo. Paramacharya begins to explain the plant species behind him.

Our first sighting was this large exotic bird sanctuary. The park really is mostly a conservatory, meaning they keep many different species of animals in order for breeding programs to help preserve the lineages.

A close-up of this enclosure\

s inhabitants'

Across the pond, literally, is another bird paradise

As we start to make our way onward a few friends walk alongside Paramacharya to understand a little more about who these visitors were and what was this \

siddhanta shravana\' they speak of. '

Now begins the bird feeding. Chudika Mahadevan is the daughter of a bird lover and the birds can sense it.

Ravi Visswanathan takes my feeding cup as I take on the role of photographer

Paramacharya does quite well with the birds and just sits and waits for them to land. One at a time, please.

Ravi starts gathering more attention from the birds

Ok, now your just showing off. Chudika attracts three birds and doesn\

t even have more food to give. '

One of our favorite and unusual sightings was the lion enclosure. This giant king of the jungle was only inches away from us, separated by a thin layer of glass.

You see them on tv and don\

t really think much of it. Seeing a 400lb lion in real life is a whole other story. It was breathtaking. '

We all hopped on a safari vehicle and strolled down a giant African enclosure. We soon came upon giraffes eating from the trees.

These loving-looking creatures were about twenty feet tall

In the evening we had a satsang with the group and listened as the traveling swami told tales of adventure and the Saiva path

Here is Shailesh Trivedi, Mayuran and Amanda Muttulingam talking with Paramacharya before dinner

All ended with dinner made by the hands of our amma Trivedi and amma Visswanathan

Paramacharya, Amanda and her daughter sharing a story or two

Rajanatha had a chance to talk with a college student who found us through the visit page on our website. Whitney reached out to us and was seeking guidance. Paramacharya, without knowing who she was, pointed her out of the satsang crowd and handed her his only copy of the Guru Chronicles audio book.

Here are some shots from the events

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