Could I start this post by saying how much I love Saturdays? If I could cwtch Saturday I totally would! So glad it's finally weekend. Falling sick last weekend made the week feel really long but I'm feeling a lot better now. While staying in bed last weekend, I went through thousands of my old photos from all three phones I ever possessed! I usually try to write a post after I visit any cool new place but realized I never did any for my trips to Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. Both of those trips were back on back, and right after I moved to my new apartment. So, it was pretty hectic and after I got back I got busy with unpacking and then again travel... Anyway, even though I was in a time crunch, I got to enjoy some of the charming beauty of California during those trips, so thought I'd post the photos.
I went to LA in March for the Code4Lib Conference 2017. I presented a talk and taught a half-day workshop with my colleagues. Also, I'm grateful to be recognized as one of the Code4Lib Diversity Scholars. We had few meet-ups arranged for the scholars and their mentors, so all in all it was quite busy. The conference center was located at UCLA campus, so I had the chance to walk around little bit. Honestly speaking, I wasn't impressed by LA as much when I traveled from the airport to UCLA. Everyone drives in LA, so traffic is pretty bad most of the times. However, I LOVED the campus. I really like big campuses with historic buildings. It reminded me of UIUC campus in many ways. Also, Cali had one of the unusually big rainfalls this year, so it was very green, apparently that's not how it looks at that time of the year. Luckily the weather was great the week we visited and I absolutely loved how crisp and fresh the air feels there. We had lunches outdoors under the sun every day, which was really lovely! (I know I'm overusing "love" but that's how it felt)
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| En route to LA, looking over San Fransisco |
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| Lovely afternoon at UCLA |
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| Lunch time! |
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| Gorgeous library!! |
On the last day of the conference I made a quick trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Anyone who knows me should know that art museum is the first place I visit wherever I go. The museum was pleasant, they've pretty good collection. I went around the city little more but had to be back on time for my flight.
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| LACMA entrance |
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| Was pretty amazed by that water drop detail in that painting |
Oh, forgot to mention that we went out for a group dinner in downtown. LA culture and downtown area seemed very different than the other places I visited before in USA but it was interesting. Got to see a pretty sunset too (which is always a plus)!
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| Umm..? |
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| Dreamy sunset |
Immediately after I got back from LA, I had to go to Santa Cruz for an interview. That was a very stressful trip. Not because of the interview but because by water bottle decided to spill water while we were taking off and my MacBook happily drank it and died within half hour (my usual travel horrors -_-). That's whole another story but the only thing I want to mention here is that Santa Cruz is very beautiful. The beach was about 20mins walk from the hotel I was staying in, so I made a quick trip after I got back from the interview. It was really peaceful and de-stressing to be able to walk on the beach. I saw many unique plants on my way back too. I'm not moving to California but I'd love to visit again, especially San Fransisco and San Diego area.
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| Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk |
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| Pretty plant! |
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| UCSC Library |
I've to get back to my weekend activities and more travel planning now but hope to be back with new post soon!
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