tucson!

I headed off from Sarah & Vince's place toward Carlsbad, where I met up with Cherie, yet another of "my kids" from Chinese Independent Baptist Church of Oakland.  I briefly met her family before the two of us headed out for lunch and some good time catching up on all those years since we'd last seen each other.

cherie and me at lotus cafe on the pch

After lunch, I continued south to Christine's place in San Diego.  There, I returned JD's longboard and then Christine and I headed down to Pacific Beach to surf a 3-5 foot south swell.  I was fully outfitted with one of Christine's boards and one of JD's old wetsuits and his booties.  I caught a few waves but was unable to fully stand up - got to my feet but wasn't balanced enough to let go with my hands.  Too bad... but it was still a ton of fun!

all smiles to be out on the water

at the left edge of the sun glare is christine riding the wave all the way in

After a delicious fish taco dinner with Christine and family (she decided I needed the COMPLETE San Diego experience), I headed on to the Peterson's house to spend the night and get the stuff I'd left there to take to Tucson with me.  I had the house to myself as they had something come up and left for the weekend. Sunday morning I packed up my car and visited Chinese Evangelical Church of San Diego with Keith, Deanna, and family before taking off on my drive to Tucson.  I got so close to Mexico while in California that my phone actually thought I WAS in Mexico - I got a text message: "Welcome abroad!  To call U.S. dial..." with instructions and rates for everything.  Shortly after I crossed the border into Arizona I took advantage of a "Parking Area" off the side of the freeway.  Not a "Rest Area," not even a "Picnic Area" (they have those, too), but simply parking. Good place to stretch my legs.

looking south from the parking area, standing next to a memorial for a military plane crash

looking north from the parking area, pretty mountains

Further along, I saw my first saguaros.  As far as I can remember, this was the first time I'd seen them other than in photos or paintings.  They are stunning.  The saguaro forests are incredible, acres and acres of desert with scrubby brush and saguaros sticking up all over the place.  Photos don't do it justice.

i stopped on the side of the freeway to take this shot

My next stop was the Sonoran Desert National Monument, simply because I noticed the moon rising and it seemed like it might be a good place to stretch my legs and take more pictures.

sure does look like a desert!

moon rising over the sonoran desert

My last stop before arriving at my destination was Picacho Peak - there was a gas station there and more beauty.

picacho peak

picacho peak near sunset time

Finally, after dark, I arrived.  My host/ landlord Jamie was there to welcome me, and I was able to move all my things from the car and settle in to be ready to start the next day at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Tucson.

this is the house

this is my room - bathroom through the open door on the left

the rest of my week off...

I got through Tuesday in my last post.  Wednesday I got up lazily, did some laundry, and took Sarah and Vince's dog Chang for a walk.  I decided I really didn't need to drive anywhere until my dinner plans.  A phone call or text from a friend convinced me otherwise, that I really ought to check out Griffith Observatory.  After finishing a blog post, I finally dragged myself out and up the hill.  Griffith Park really isn't too far from where I was staying, so it didn't take long to get there at all.  I was quite surprised to find it teeming with people - there were some buses, but there were also a lot of private vehicles.  The parking lot was completely full, and I ended up parking a little way down the road.  It was too crowded to enjoy the inside of the observatory, but walking around outside and admiring the view was worth it.

approaching griffith observatory

painting inside the main dome

foucault pendulum under the dome

panoramic view from the roof of the observatory

I went back to Sarah and Vince's for a little bit before heading out to meet Greg and Joan for dinner in Korea Town.  I forgot to mention that I had started off Monday morning with some dental work by Greg.  He's one of "my kids" from CIBC's high school group that I saw a few weeks earlier.  We had a good time getting more caught up on each others' lives.

joan, greg, and me after dinner at kobawoo

Thursday was another lazy morning, then I headed to downtown LA and wandered a bit, taking in the Walt Disney Concert Hall (by Frank Gehry) and the garden/ park on its roof.  I then headed back by my car which I had parked near Q Pop - a shop owned and operated by a high school friend, Chris.  I stopped in and did some more catching up after years of not seeing each other, met his girlfriend Miki, and got to check out the shop.

walt disney concert hall from across the street

looking up from the rooftop garden/ park

with chris in his shop, q pop

I suddenly realized I was running late (and my parking meter had expired!) so I hurried out to get to my next appointment.  Fortunately, there was no parking ticket!  I fought traffic over to Biola University in La Mirada to meet up with the two daughters of my good friend Bruce from Tahoe.  Jordyn is a senior and Lauren is a freshman at Biola, and it was great to spend a little time with the two of them.

lauren, jordyn, and me on biola's campus

I spent the evening with Sarah and Vince and family, with a large part of the time reviewing neuroanatomy with Sarah to help her out with her physiology class AND prepare me for my fast-approaching neuro rehab rotation.  The next day, I also spent a good portion of the day with Sarah.  We studied in a cafe for a while, ate lunch there, then headed back to Griffith Park for a short hike to an overlook.

sweeping view including downtown la

sarah and me with downtown la in the background

After the hike, we picked her kids up from school and headed back to their house.  From there, I went to Irene's.  Their kids were busy watching a movie, so Irene, Joe, and I headed to Noodle World for dinner.  Since Joe had been otherwise occupied the other times I visited, it was nice to have him join us for dinner.

irene and me after dinner

I didn't have too much packing to do since I had moved a bunch of stuff into Sarah and Vince's storage and have just been living out of a bag for the week.  So Saturday morning I was able to sleep in and enjoy breakfast with the family before heading out on my way to Tucson!

vince, sarah, me, and the kids

enjoying my week off

I had a busy, fun week in LA.  Monday I went to West LA to meet my friend Peter and his son for Japanese BBQ lunch.  We lived in the same dorm building my sophomore year at Cal, and had at least one class together as Architecture majors.  Peter now does web design, graphic design and art - check out some of his artwork here.

me, g, and peter at beard papa's

I had thought of going to the Getty Center in the afternoon and possibly meeting my classmate Hope again, but found out that it's closed Mondays.  Instead I went to Hollywood and met her on Hollywood Blvd on the Walk of Fame.  We had fun checking out the stars on the sidewalk, trying to find a view of the HOLLYWOOD sign up on the hill, people-watching, and just hanging out.

just one of the characters walking around

we "met" shrek in front of madame tussaud's wax museum

if you look closely above k hope's head, you'll spot the hollywood sign

For dinner (because clearly meeting up with two friends wasn't enough for one day), I met up with Debbie and Judy.  I parked at Debbie's office in downtown LA, then Judy picked us up and we went to Little Tokyo.  Knowing Debbie and Judy well enough, I chose to not finish my dinner, leaving room for dessert (and enough leftovers for two days of lunch!).  We went to Bottega Louie, which is known for their French macarons.  We split a plate of beignets and raspberry compote, then Debbie bought a baker's dozen of macarons each for Judy and me.  My subtitle for Debbie: Keeping Friends Fat and Happy for Over Twenty Years!

overflowing table of japanese food

beignets with raspberry compote

a beautiful box of delicious macarons

judy, debbie, and me - fat and happy!

Tuesday, I met up with Michelle, a friend from Tahoe - she used to work with the USASA competitions.  We went on an adventure to the Getty Center.  We started out parking at the LA National Cemetery and walking a half mile or so to a bus stop.  We then took an LA Metro bus to the parking structure of the Getty Center.  It took close to an hour, crawling along at a snail's pace.  From there (saving the $15 parking fee) we took the train up to the museum.  We browsed through the art indoors and wandered the terraced outdoor spaces, taking in what we could see of the view - it was overcast and very hazy.

our adventure began at the cemetery parking lot

i enjoyed 'irises,' the one van gogh - his brushwork is amazing!

some of the outdoor spaces and the view beyond

our chariot arrives to take us back down

Of course the sun came out when we left the museum!  While we waited for the bus to take us back, we encountered an interesting woman - turns out she's a PT from Nova Scotia who teaches at a University there.  She was in LA because her husband, a UCLA Architecture grad, had been invited to speak at his alma mater.  AND she is a personal friend of Stephen Wolf, one of Emory's more distinguished PT faculty members.  The bus ride down was a relatively speedy ride of just over 1/2 hour!  As we headed back to my place, we stopped for Sprinkle's Cupcakes near Rodeo Drive, and Michelle pointed out all sorts of famous landmarks as we passed them, particularly through Hollywood, her stomping grounds.

And the rest of the week MIGHT fit in the next post!

it's a wrap!

That craziness I mentioned at the end of the last post: NO JOKE!  My last week in the clinic was ridiculous.  My CI and I worked side-by-side, each with a full load of patients, and were unable to see all the patients each day Monday through Thursday.  I can't imagine how stressed she must be right now if it's anywhere near as busy as it was then.  Fortunately, it calmed down a bit on Friday, especially since we had to take the last hour or so for evaluation time.

Even with the hectic schedule, we somehow managed to finish on time (4:30) on Wednesday.  Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, there was enough daylight left for me to head out and skate.  Despite the fact that it was chilly and foggy, I went back to the Silver Strand Bikeway, this time heading north from the free parking I found when I first went to Silver Strand State Beach.  I turned around at the end of the nature preserve on the bay side of Silver Strand State Beach where I walked with Belinda and her parents back in February.  Carrying the board, I wandered through the preserve.  Photos can't show how many rabbits (both Black Tailed Jackrabbits and Cottontails) there were!  I spent 15-20 minutes walking about a quarter of a mile because I was so entertained by over a hundred rabbits - frozen and hoping I wouldn't see them, boldly continuing their grazing, or scampering away behind the bushes.

heading north on the bikeway

there are 7 rabbits visible in the picture, but there were SO many more!!

It got colder and foggier than when I started, but I decided to go check out the Imperial Beach Pier anyway.  I had seen it from the Strand since my first visit, but hadn't seen it up close yet.  I drove into Imperial Beach and parked near the water, not knowing exactly where to find the pier, and found myself just under half a mile away.  The pier was really pretty through the fog, and I got to watch some pelicans diving into the water for food and a couple intrepid surfers hitting the break next to the pier.

"spirit of imperial beach" right next to where i parked

imperial beach pier through the fog

scuplture as i walked back to my car - the white spots are water drops,
the fog was so thick!

It turned out that was my last opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in San Diego - we were at the hospital working until 7 pm on Thursday.  After decompressing a little bit back at the house, I then had to fill out all my evaluation forms - FOUR of them!  I was so beat after that day that I put off all packing until Friday.

A group of therapists went out to lunch to celebrate my last day, then Friday afternoon I passed my evaluation with flying colors.

lunch at taco salsa with andria (PTA/ COTA), michelle (PTA), deyanne (PT, my CI),
alexa (PTA student), blessie (OT), narola (OT), and anne (PT)

gift for deyanne - one of my favorite photos i took of san diego on a canvas tote bag

I headed back to the house to start packing before going to meet Kendra and her daughters for dinner.  We'd seen each other at church 3 or 4 times but the night before I left is when we finally found a chance to hang out.

kendra and me at barnes and noble after dinner at california pizza kitchen

kendra's daughters at barnes and noble

I stayed up till 5 am packing, then was packed up and in the car heading north for my week-long break by 9:45 the next morning.  My first stop was in Carlsbad to catch up with Lemee, a friend I'd met at USASA (snowboard) Nationals in 2010.  I also got to meet her beautiful huskies.  We went to lunch before I continued on my northward trek, ending in Los Angeles at my old roommate Sarah's house.

lemee and me after enjoying a healthy lunch at the naked cafe

I was supposed to have dinner with cousin Queenie that evening but she was unable to make it.  It turned out to be a good thing since I got so tired I was no longer safe driving by the time I got to Sarah and Vince's house.

Sunday morning I visited Newsong in Irvine again, and went out to lunch with John and Keith.  This time we went to the Shake Shack by Crystal Cove State Beach.  Sandwiches were good, sweet potato fries were good, milkshakes were excellent!  All this in the clear sunshine with a view of the ocean.  After leaving our table for the next customers, we lingered a while to watch pelicans diving into the ocean and enjoy the sunshine and view.

keith, me, and john with our tasty lunches

My next destination was Christina and Loc's place - I arranged this since I knew from my last visit to Newsong that Christina and family also attended and didn't live too far from there.  It was fun to catch up for a bit before they headed off to the next appointments on their busy schedules.

christina and me with her youngest

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Venice, wandering the canals.  I'd heard there were canals like in Venice, Italy, just hadn't seen them yet.

just like venice, italy...  but completely different

Before heading back to Sarah and Vince's, I met my classmate Hope in a Starbucks parking lot in Marina Del Rey.  It was fun to hear firsthand (if only for a few minutes) how much she'd enjoyed her time in California - her first clinical was in Oakland.

hope and me in the starbucks parking lot

And I'll finish up here since this post is getting long.  I still have more adventures to report!