Not only did our SoCal trip happen, it managed to go off without a hitch. We crammed a lot of stuff into those 5 days. Thanks to anyone who drove us, fed us, our housed us...especially the families of Kay, Kat, and Eric.

Remember when ABC was bought by Disney and they sent all their sitcoms to Disneyworld? Well...that was sorta of like this trip..but not as corny..I think. The formula pretty much works like this...same cast of characters + whole new locations = possibility for new adventures and wacky hygincs!

To put it as quickly as possible we went to (in order):
Friday - UCSD, Old Town San Diego, Mission Beach at Sunset, Kay's House.
Saturday - Hotel Del Coronado, Balboa Park, Downtown San Diego
Sunday - Erik's House, Downtown Burbank, Palmdale, Kat's House, BJ's House
Monday - Disneyland, California Adventure, Dan's House, Eric's House
Tuesday - The Getty Center.

Jeesh. Lot's of stuff. Lot's of fun. Maybe a little two much backtracking and buttsitting on the highways....but with good music and fun travel companions, hours can go by a lot quicker. It was interesting to jump from San Diego to LA to the Palmdale/Lancaster Area. I can't help but look at cities with a critical eye and compare the places I've been to find examples of what to do...and what not to do when it comes to City Planning. San Diego is..well, it has its act together and has the types of places that make me excited and hopeful about City Planning and Historic Preservation. LA is a big exciting mess of a city. Palmdale/Lancaster....LA part II minus the layer of pre 1950s development that makes parts of LA so memoreable.

Ever since I met Kat she has been the biggest civic booster of her wonderful locale, Palmdale...at the fringe of the Mojave. Now that I've finally been there, what can I say about her desert oasis? She showed us all the landmarks, including the hill where two girls got kidnapped, the mall, the bright lights of the maximum security prison, and BJ's amazing house. By coincidence...I stumbled upon the book "The Geography of Nowhere" in the library yesterday. It talks about the rise and fall of the American city at the hands of our ever growing dependence of the automobile. Flipping through it I came upon this quote regarding the future of cities when we run out of either oil or water ..."Things that were built in absurd locations, like the vast housing tracts outside Los Angeles on the fringe of the Mojave desert, may have to be abandoned."

Hmmm. But the Joshua Trees are cool! (even if Kat thinks they look like the product of earth's vomit). Which reminds me of Candice's description of Downtown LA from the Getty Center...."looks like a giant pimple on a huge face."