College day![1] We head north, I think, out of L.A. anyway and
blessedly in the opposite direction of the five solid lanes of traffic going
towards the city.
First stop, the quiet streets of Pasadena and the California
Institute of Technology, the tiny University with a massive reputation in the
science world – fewer than 1000 undergraduates but counting 72 Nobel laureates
among its alumni to date. There is
absolutely nothing doing here today, not a student in sight, although they are
setting up for Admitted Students Day and possibly graduation so there are some
busy-looking admins running around. Caltech
is a compact campus with lots of fabulous mid-century modern architecture
scattered about, and water features: fountains, lily and duck ponds, and reflecting
pools (including the oh-so-cleverly named Gene Pool). This watery business seems to be a thing on
Cali campuses, and is so different from our frozen tundra that I can’t even
really process it yet. We walk by dozens
of labs named after no one we’ve ever heard of (which is not saying much, but
they are probably all of the very-famous-you’ve-never-heard-of-them
variety. And certainly mostly male.) and
possibly the swankiest Faculty Club on the planet. Peter notes that the WW1-era artillery piece
we see is probably the cannon that MIT stole and put on their dome, and it
makes us respect those krazy kids downriver even more. Apparently there is a good tradition of
pranking at Caltech, which I suspect is a plus for Peter.
Next stop the lush and plush campus of Pomona College, where
we hear a presentation from an admissions officer and take a student-led
tour. I’m shocked, shocked at how fancy
it is, and Bill reminds me that I work on a fancy campus. I work on an OLD campus, dripping with
history and tradition, but at this time of year also mostly mud and not at all loaded
with fountains and sunny courtyards and pools lined with palm trees. Here we actually gather round the fireplaces
(or we would, if they worked) to get warm, whereas at Pomona apparently they
all go to the room in the Student Center with a gas fireplace when the
temperature dips below 60. I also work
on an exceptionally well-endowed campus but Pomona sure seems to go out of its
way to ensure that no student ever wants for anything, be it books, or piano
lessons, or trips to the beach. Our
super-enthusiastic tour guide Brendan from Minnesota led the entire tour walking
backwards, with his fly open, and was a terrific salesperson for this magical
place. Pomona seems like a place Peter
might like but when I remark that California is a very long way from
Massachusetts he just says Yes. Yes,
with glee? Yes, with reservation? Or just yes, it is. You never know with that kid.
Izzy’s dining dream is realized with lunch at In-N-Out
Burger. Wow, these are cheap! And pretty good. But we’re told later by natives that we
revealed ourselves as greenhorns by not ordering from the secret menu. How do you know about the secret menu, we
ask? You just know, apparently.
Heading back to L.A. we take a long break at the Huntington
Library and Gardens, and spend our whole two hours there wandering among the
absolutely stunning gardens – we never even go inside! We know that this is one of the world’s great
research libraries, and now that I see the location I wonder once again at the
folly of choosing a dissertation topic that took me to Mississippi and not here. We hear tell there’s a Gutenberg Bible in
there, and a First Folio, and many fine representations of European and
American art from the 15th to the 20th c. But the extensive gardens capture our
attention, as we wander from cacti to lily ponds to about five hundred
different kinds of roses to Japanese and Chinese gardens. The whole complex is really something,
although in this moment you do wonder where ol’ Henry Huntington got his money
(well of course, railroads, like most 19th c. magnates) and then you
think about how he might have treated his workforce, and who actually did all
that planting and building. But then
your family might suggest not particularly subtly that you are a downer and you
might also just be mesmerized by the view over the Chinese lake, so that’s how
that ends. Bill’s cousin Barbara feels
that a visit to the Huntington is really the best thing anyone can do when
coming to L.A. and environs, and she may not be wrong.
Dinner tonight is a festive affair with four Almarios, four
Laskins, and two Pizer-Wongs. Much
Japanese food is eaten and we are all delighted to get to spend some time
together.
[1]
It has happened! We have toured a
college and lived to tell the tale. And,
I think I managed to not embarrass Peter.
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