Nearly Four Hours A Day

I’m sure it isn’t all that much for Angelinos, but we sure were driving here. I must have driven nearly four hours a day.  That is not how I would willing choose to spend my time.  Looking at the map Occidental and Pomona seemed fairly close.  Looking at the map Pasadena didn’t seem too far away.   Pasadena is over an hour from where we were staying. 

Occidental had Barack Obama going for it.  If I had Obama for an alum I would be talking it up as well.  Fortunately the folks at the admission lecture nor the people on the tour made much of a big deal about it.  We were however shown where it was Barack had lived, back in the day.

Driving up from Pasadena to Santa Barbara were not going to drive through Oxnard.  Ok.  That needn’t happen.  But for some reason the GPS takes us up over Sunset Boulevard which grinds along into Beverly Hills before we make our way into Simi Valley.  I knew it would be a long ride.  It is a long, long ride up to Santa Barbara through well-trafficked, suburban streets. 

Beautiful though perhaps I’ve been in the sun too long.  Santa Barbara wasn’t quite as beautiful as I remembered.  Perhaps that was a different time of year.   Certainly it was.  But the hills weren’t as intimate as I remember.   We drove right past them and nine other Santa Barbra exits and headed straight to the campus.  I parked somewhere I shouldn’t have.  I talked my daughter into crashing a tour that we hadn't signed up for.  We know the routine.  No one will care.  I find a legitimate parking place and head out across the campus, trying to find her.  “Yes, I see the tower.  Stay there.”

Wednesday 8/01/18