When I was in Seattle last week, the conference organizers were offering a cruise around the Seattle lakes and locks. I decided to check it out – take a breather from the conference chaos, and heave a sigh of relief after my talk.

At first, I thought “locks” was a mis-spelling of “lochs,” but it’s not. The Hiram M. Chittenden locks are actually a feat of maritime engineering. Being the lazy guy that I am, I’ll just let Wikepedia do the explaining:

The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:

• To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20–22 feet above sea level^[2][3] (Puget Sound‘s mean low tide).^{[citation needed]}
• To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).^[5]
• To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.^[6] [link]
  

We started on Lake Washington on an unusually sunny day.

I only had my cell phone with me, so I apologize in advance for the small sizes, the consistent wide angles and the occasional graininess.

We went past some houseboats in front of the George Washington Memorial bridge (not to be confused with the George Washington Bridge), before going under the bridge itself.

We also sailed past a past-century oil refinery which has since been cleaned up, aestheticized by a local artist and made into a park by the government.

Did you know that if you want a bridge to be raised in Seattle, you have to give an hour’s notice? Here’s the number to call (fortunately, we squeaked through below it).

And then we were headed to the famous locks.

I noticed an interesting apparatus on the way. Have no idea what it is or does, other than the fact that it was huge (see the street-lamp to its right for comparison).

Here are a couple of shots of the locks, from the Lake Washington side, looking on to Puget Sound.

Just before we entered the Sound, there were two locals intently watching the entire crossing process.

The post-lock panorama was pretty.

We saw Mt. Rainier in the distance.

And a suburb of Seattle called Magnolia, which has no such trees (but apparently they’re working on it).

We started to see downtown in the panorama (Rainier’s to the right, a bit of Magnolia to the extreme left).

This little guy seemed more interested in me, than in the view…

Ultimately, it got too cold and windy to stay upstairs, so we went downstairs into the cabin, and got the final shot of Seattle’s downtown (with the Space Needle in the left-middle window, if you can make it out).

And then we trundled back to the conference center for more of the chaos and a helluva long day.

Well, the other day, I was having a coffee at Ritual Coffee Roasters down in the Mission (here in San Francisco). It’s one of the best coffees in town, as I’ve blogged earlier. So I walk into the restroom, and on the paper towel dispenser, I see:

I wasn’t sure initially, but that is Appu – the 1982 Asian Games mascot. I double-checked on two sites. Now, what the hell is a sticker of the 1982 Asian Games doing in a coffeeshop in San Francisco, 25 years later? That’s a question to ponder. Take a closer look:

Well, whoever put that there, for whatever reason, it definitely got my attention. And now, you’re probably wondering what that comic says on the dispenser. Well, I anticipated that, so I got a close-up of it:

Not really very interesting. Unless you’re in art school and/or an artist having a mid-life crisis. I’ll tell you what was interesting, though: The patterns the barista made on our coffees. Check them out:

Nice, no? The second one looks like a garlic or a heart, depending on where you are in life…

One section of the capital of Puerto Rico – San Juan – has cobbled streets, brightly colored buildings and beautiful sculptures. This part, called Old San Juan, shows the strong influence the Spanish had on Puerto Rico, and also has several historical monuments and forts. The old city is very small and very dense and we took a self-guided walking tour.

We started with a view of the marina, and an old sail-ship moored there.

Next, we walked by La Aduana, the old, pink Customs House, which is still used by the US and Puerto Rican port authorities.

Across the street from the Customs House, is a corner of the wall that once enclosed the old city. And there’s a watchtower there, which are the icons of San Juan, as you can see at the bottom of the pic.

From there, we walked along the wall, and passed by some old statues which precede La Princesa – formerly, a jail (and now an art museum).

The statue on the left is part of a set of three that’s displayed prominently. Although I’ve looked around a little bit, I’ve not been able to find out exactly who created them, or how old they are, or what they stand for.

Being on a limited schedule, we didn’t stop in at the museum, but its huge white wall had ornate brackets for their lamps, and there were some other travelers taking a break, perhaps.

We walked on to Raices (meaning ‘roots’), an imposing bronze sculpture and fountain. The fountain represents the Taino, European and African ancestors of the modern-day Puerto Rican. Here’s a detail.

The large city wall then turns a corner and pushing us to the edge of the water, left a narrow path to walk down on…

…but also gave a nice view of one of the city’s edges.

Going inside the wall and entering the city from the San Juan gate, we were hit in the face with a gulmohar tree sandwiched between two colorful buildings, offering some welcome shade.

Looking back, we saw the inside of the San Juan gate which looks out on to the bay (or bahia). Here’s a detail.

Taking a side-road led us up to a view of some of Old San Juan’s famed colored houses, some of which have been around since the Spanish colonial era. This view looks down Calle Sol (or Sun Street).

To the left, we saw Plazuela de la Rogativa, on which there is a statue commemorating a march made by a bishop and some townswomen to scare off the British (it worked).

Beyond the statue is a nice panorama of new San Juan, sandwiched between two watchtowers.

To the right, is a beautiful old house with a mural of Mary and Jesus.

From there, we walked up a small pathway, past the Instituto de Culturo Puertorrique?a…

…and on to Fuerto San Felipe del Morro also known as the El Morro fortress, which is surrounded by a vast field.

We got there at closing time, so we didn’t really get a chance to go in, but across the street from El Morro are two great sculptures. Again, I can’t seem to find any info on the who/why/when, but they’re definitely worth a look.

Walking away from Casa Blanca (the ancestral home of Ponce De Leon’s descendants) we passed by some colorful walls.

You turn right on to Calle Cristo and see the blue-ish cobbled path in all its glory – a trademark of Old San Juan.

At the end of the road is the Capilla del Cristo (Chapel of Christ), in front of which we saw a family having dinner in the middle of the road.

Also on the Calle Cristo is the Catedral de San Juan Bautista or the San Juan Cathedral.

On the way back to the car, we passed some locals rapt in animated conversation at the street corner.

Alas, all good things must come to an end and we too, had to say goodbye to our island in the sun.

Twiggy, the Water-skiing Squirrel (from CNN.com)

I’d show some of the photos here, but they are all copyright-protected and cannot be reproduced under any circumstances. My suggestion is go there and take a look. You’ll be amazed at what some journalists have shot.

Speaking of roots, it was great to be with mi famiglia. We were staying in this fancy-schmancy apartment that belongs to someone we know. It’s on the 36th floor of a building that’s so fancy, there are three doormen: one concierge, one guy to revolve the revolving door for you, and the third guy who puts his hand into the infrared beam in the elevator door, so it doesn’t close on you. Hey, you never know when it might close on your face, right?

Check out the view from the western living room window of the apartment.

In case you don’t already recognize it, that’s the Chrysler Building. And can you spot its more famous cousin – the Empire State Building – peeking out from behind, to the left of it?

Taken a few minutes ago…

Also, I have been reviewing the 2006 South Asian Film Festival (organized by 3rd I) for Thirsty magazine. And my reviews will be appearing in next month’s issue. So stay tuned for that. There are some good ones in there, including Omkara (2006), The Forsaken Land (2005), Sholay (1975), and more. Yes, that’s Sholay. The original one.

But before that, I just wanted to say that I dropped by Ritual Coffee in San Francisco’s Mission district the other day. And I can only say that I was completely bowled over. It is, by far, the best coffee I have ever had in my life. I’m not exaggerating. Although I do like to drink my afternoon tea, I also like to drink my morning coffee. And this one is strong, flavorful and rich. Any other coffee I have had absoutely pales in comparison. Pales, I tell you. I cannot drink Starbucks any more – that is certain.

It used to be that cashiers had a “No Cell Phones In Line Please!” sign. But we’re in the Web 2.0 world now. Take a look at the sign they have at Ritual.