Starting Off on a High Note in Sunny California

Just finished up a trip to Claremont, CA at Pomona College, a liberal arts college outside of LA visiting my cousin Scott. There are 5 colleges there, each with their own specialties and they work together as a joint campus. Pomona is the largest of the colleges and the oldest having been built in 1887. The campus is gorgeous, with buildings designed in a Spanish meets classical style and I've spent most of my time walking around it, taking in the sights and enjoying the surreal amount of sunshine. In a 2 hour flight I was transported from winter to summer and my body has very much enjoyed the Vitamin D intake. It's like Prozac is in the air and has made it really hard not to have a good time. I forgot how much I missed and loved the sun!

Saturday, when I got in, I was taken on a tour of the campus, then had dinner at the Pomona cafeteria which looks like something out of a Harry Potter film. There are tall ceilings, dark wood paneling and enormous chandeliers. The food was tortellini with vegetables and red sauce grilled right on the spot and it was delicious. I had no idea college could be so luxurious! The students who attend it are very lucky and most of the day Scott shrugged his shoulders, understandably as I ooed and awed over things most college students would think of as normalcy, and ranted about the wonder of the sun that was drugging me with excitement. That night we hung out with some of Scott's friends then went out to a Blues dancing pajama party where I learned that I know no where near as much as I thought about blues dancing. It was fun but I was exhausted fast and had to crash in Scott's dorm where he insisted on sleeping on the floor, for my behalf. He's way too nice of a guy :)

Next day I woke up early, took a self guided tour around the campus again and took some photos which you'll see on here later. Then Scott and I were off to LA were we went to the Getty Center, an art museum spread out over several modernly designed buildings (of which we were reminded often of during the guided architecture tour)perched on hilltops at the edge of LA providing beautiful views looking all the way out to the ocean. Pictures below :





J












The art was amazing and both enjoyed the experience. We actually saw Keanu Reeves touring around one of the buildings. I kidded around with Scott that we should look out for celebrities while we were in LA but I didn't actually believe that would see someone! That really made my tourist experience.

After tiring of Baroque paintings and old photos of California, we drove to Venice beach in just enough time to watch the sunset, but not in enough time to escape the evening cold. We attempted to find dining on the beach but soon gave up, not finding anything decent and affordable. Eventually we stopped in a place titled Hurry Curry that we found on our way back to the freeway which we felt was too cleverly named to pass up.

That night I lodged with Scott's friend Kristin, who I ended up staying with for the next two nights as well. Turns out she has done a lot of Couch Surfing and stayed in Portugal for a couple months so she had a lot of recommendations for me. Apparently Portugal is one of the cheapest countries in the EU and has a high English speaking population. I'm now considering detouring that way in my travels. Sounds like a fun place to be and why not! I set up my Couch Surfing profile recently so if anyone reading this also has a profile, I encourage you to find me and we can exchange recommendations. It sounds like a great system and opportunity! If anyone isn't familiar with the Couch Surfing Project look it up at www.couchsurfing.com.

The next few days I spent wandering around the campus and the nearby city of Claremont. Did some sketching, reading, jornaling, exploring and mostly general relaxing. This afternoon I arrived in Riverside after spending a bit of time touring around the Pomona Artist's Colony and taking the Metro Link over which is like a light rail train that runs on the old rail lines. After arriving in Downtown Riverside I had some coffee at the old train station that has been converted into a cafe called the Coffee Depot, which is apparently the largest coffeehouse in America, and waited for Will to get off work. I am now staying with my friend Will who I met at the 2004 Rainbow Gathering and have seen several times since over the years on various traveling adventures. He is a soil scientist working at a lab/farm here and so far we are having a great time chillin, talking and eating vegan sushi. Will is a great, albeit vegan, chef so I'm sure I'll be experiencing lots of great dairyless meals for the next few days. He also has many fun things planned, so I have exciting things to look forward to!

There are more pictures and words to come soon.
I send my love to all of those who care enough to read entirely through this lengthy description of my travels because I know I can be a bit long winded. Any and all recommendations as to what to include/exclude in these entries are welcome. I want to make this something enjoyable to read so let me know what I can do better.
Take care!

- Kim