Denver: Quick Family Visit

Friday, December 6-Sunday, December 8

Mr. E and I headed to Denver for a quick weekend visit to A and family. I'm so glad we could make the trip, given all that had been going on with her mom's health. We had planned to meet up with her at the airport upon arrival and give her a ride home, but our flight was delayed so she got a ride from a friend and we just headed to our hotel, Residence Inn Highlands Ranch, after we picked up the rental car. Luckily, there was a nearby spot with sufficient food choices for both of us at the Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, so we had an easy spot for takeout dinner given the relatively late hour.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at our hotel before meeting up with A, R, F, and C at a nearby holiday craft market. Mr. E joined the boys for some chatting and browsing to give A and me some time alone to catch up. We had some beverages and snacks from the food trucks and then headed to local favorite spot to pick out their Christmas tree. Mr. E and I took a pause to grab lunch and then joined the family at their house to watch the tree trimming festivities. Since I needed some time for NYU final projects homework, we headed back to the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon before rejoining everyone at F's basketball game in the early evening. He did great! Several baskets and some awesome defense, too. Then we placed a takeout order at the Japanese restaurant near their house so that Mr. E and I could pick up dinner for everyone on our way back. We gathered in their cozy basement to eat and watch sports before Mr. E and I returned to our hotel for the evening.

We had enough time on Sunday morning for the family to come to the hotel for breakfast before we needed to go back to the airport for our return flight to Sac. No delays this time, so we were home with the kitties by mid-afternoon. A quick visit but so very important to be there with A and have time with her in person to support and grieve.

Our Second Month in Evanston: Sac Travel, Cultural Events, Family Thanksgiving (long post!)

Friday, November 1-Sunday, November 3: Back to Sac!

I flew from PDX and met up with Mr. E when he arrived at SMF on Friday afternoon. We had a quick weekend in Sac because we had purchased tickets several months ago to the annual Feast for WEAVE fundraiser, which was on Saturday, November 2. It was SO weird to be in our townhome without the kitties!!! Just didn't feel right at all!!! Neither of us had expected to feel that way, but then we realized that the only other time we've been at home without any feline fur babies is when we've recently had to bid farewell to one of our kits. Definitely an important consideration for future back-and-forth visits.

We managed to fit in an impressive number of activities during our 2ish days in Sac. I got my hair cut on Saturday morning (hadn't been able to find anything acceptably affordable in Evanston -- I just refuse to pay $40+ for my short hair!!!) followed by Book Club at an unusual mid-day time on Saturday and then an afternoon pedicure at my favorite eco-salon, Nature Love. Then we met up with friends E & C for the WEAVE event at Mulvaney's B&L. Sunday was the birthday of friend and fab kitty auntie S, and we were able to gather our monthly brunch group for that event before Mr. E and I headed back to the Midwest on a late afternoon flight. 

Cultural Events & Other Happenings Throughout November

For the rest of the month, we enjoyed really settling into our new home and getting into a new routine. I tried out the Northwestern Wellness Suite for a massage and found a great chiropractic practice, Wellness Revolution, thanks to a recommendation from a neighbor of M & L. I was able to make morning appointments that coordinated nicely with my swim workouts at the Y and definitely benefited from the dry needling treatments. Yay!

We hosted M & L for dinner one evening as a thank you for all of their assistance as we made this transition to our new apartment, and we had a great time chatting with them and playing games. They even brought us an amazing multi-piece charcuterie set as a house-warming gift. Mr. E spent time with his family and other friends during some of the weekend days while I was studying. 

We took advantage of several cultural events and performances during the month, starting with a Saturday evening choral concert, Literary Greats, by the North Shore Choral Society at the Presbyterian Church just a few blocks south of our apartment (we can see the steeple from our kitchen windows). The next afternoon, we caught the final amazing performance of Until the Flood by Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.

The following week, I attended an evening talk by Cara Romero at the Block Museum, which was really intriguing and inspired me to learn more about her work. I just found out that she and her partner will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Crocker in Sac later this year, so that's definitely something I don't want to miss. I also met up with one of my NYU instructors in person for coffee later in the week, which was such a nice way to make a stronger connection instead of just seeing her recorded video lessons each week!

Throughout the month, Mr. E and I toured a few more condos with L to get a sense of the options and what we really prefer. I'm so glad we started with a rental, because that really helped me better understand the type of unit, building, and directional orientation that I would want in anything we purchase. And we're not in any hurry, so it's good to be particular. If we end up just staying in this rental, that's absolutely fine and better than "settling" for something not as ideal.

In the middle of the month, we went to a matinee of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theatre. I first saw this dance company back in 1993 when I was living in Portland, OR, and have been a huge fan ever since. During other visits to Chicago over the years, Mr. E and I never managed to be there at the right time for a performance, so I was thrilled that the company's fall show was during the time we were in Evanston. And it was just as amazing and enthralling as I had remembered. Can't wait to go again! After the show, we took the train to meet up with Mr. E's mom at her condo for dinner. I hadn't seen her since the early October weekend for his dad's photography show, so it was nice to have some quiet time with just the three of us to chat.

The next week, I attended a Monday evening talk about Sudan at the Evanston Public Library. A couple of days later, Mr. E and I walked through some light snow flurries to the Evanston History Center to hear a talk about the history of football in Evanston. Not typically a topic I would seek out, but the speaker was very engaging and it was pretty fun to hear about the evolution of the sport and the role that Evanston played. At the end of the week, we attended the opening night party of the annual Holiday Bazaar at the Woman's Club of Evanston and then hopped over to the First United Methodist Church to hear their Festival Choir's concert of Handel's Messiah Part 1. I always think of Mom when I hear this music, because she loved the Messiah and sang it multiple times with various community groups.

That weekend, Mr. E spent Saturday with M doing errands and watching the Badgers while I worked on my NYU final projects. Then we wrapped up our month of cultural events with a matinee performance on Sunday afternoon of Antigone at Northwestern University. I was familiar with the play from my undergraduate theater studies, but I don't think I'd ever seen a performance of it. Both Mr. E and I really enjoyed the show and the interesting treatment of integrating various aspects of Korean culture into the production design and presentation.

The next week led us into Thanksgiving. Mr. E's aunt and uncle from the Bay Area and cousin with two kids from SoCal flew out for the family gathering. His mom, aunt, and uncle came up to Evanston on Wednesday evening to see our apartment and meet the kitties, and then we went out to dinner at Trattoria D.O.C.. Mr. E had rented a car for a few days so was able to drive his family back to his mom's apartment in downtown Chicago. On Thanksgiving day, we went to a matinee of Moana 2 at our local AMC and then spent time packing, planning, and organizing for our upcoming return to Sac. The family gathering for the holiday was at 7pm at Shaw's Crab House in downtown Chicago, so no one had to host or worry about making anything. Sometimes that's the best way to holiday! On Friday morning, we met up with M for brunch at Lucky Platter, one of Mr. E's favorite breakfast spots in Evanston (my first time). Then the rest of the day was full of laundry and packing.

Saturday, November 30: Final Coffee Kiosk Visit + Return to Sac!

When I headed out for my morning walk, the temperature was 15 degrees but felt like 1 degree due to the wind. Brr! I was so bundled up! But I didn't want to forego a final walk by the Lake before we headed back to Sac for the winter. Mr. E and I both braved the cold again to get our yummy Americanos at the Arrington Lagoon coffee kiosk (see previous post for link). Then we did our final cleaning and packing, bundled the kitties into their carriers, and headed to O'Hare to return the rental car and catch our late afternoon flight home to Sacramento.

I wasn't sure what it would be like to fly with both kitties, but they did great overall! They joined us in the United Club pre-flight, and their new carriers fit under the seats just fine, with Louis XIV at my feet and Marlene with Mr. E.

We had to plan carefully for this trip and change up our usual packing strategy, since each cat counts as a carry-on, meaning we could only have one other personal item for each of us instead of our usual roller board plus personal item. I needed some extra space anyway, to bring back a few pairs of shoes and some clothes, so we checked two bags. We couldn't sit in the Exit row with our in-cabin pets, and we also needed to make sure we got a window and middle seat since we've learned over the years that the aisle seat in some planes doesn't have as much under-seat storage capacity as the other seats. But we managed to figure out all of the logistics, including the removal and carrying of each cat through the TSA screening process! Very helpful and reassuring as we plan for future transitions between our two home bases.

Our First Month in Evanston, Part 3: Starting to Get Social + Some Travel

Photography Show, Film at The Woman's Club

One of the reasons we timed our initial foray into life in Evanston for October and November was for the show of photographs from Mr. E's dad as a belated celebration of his life and work. Mr. E's sister did most of the logistical planning and arrangements, and Mr. E was able to help out more with supplies and set-up during the weekend. The premiere of the show was on Saturday, October 5, and quite a few of the S family members flew in for the occasion as well. Mr. E rented a car for a few days so that he could help with transportation. I spent the morning doing homework for my NYU classes and then grabbed a ride to the show with M & L. In the evening, a bunch of the S family gathered for dinner at a favorite restaurant in Oak Park. It was a really lovely event, and I'm pretty sure that Mr. E's mom was very pleased by the turnout and support she received from her colleagues, family, and friends.

On Tuesday, October 8, I attended the screening of a documentary film, Discovering Catharine, at The Woman's Club of Evanston and very much enjoyed the presentation. However, the opening remarks were a bit lengthy, and the whole event was rather tardy, so I opted not to stay for the post-film discussion. But I did grab a couple of bags of Smart Pop to take home!

Friday, October 11-Monday, October 14: Travel to Austin for Family Time

I flew to Austin on Friday to spend the weekend with J as a way for us to have some sister time together to celebrate and remember Mom on what would have been her 90th birthday (10/14/24). We went to the show MJ: The Musical on Saturday afternoon and then stayed at a stylish boutique hotel in a 2-bedroom 2-bathroom suite overnight so that we could have our own time and space. The weather cooled enough in the evening for us to sit out in the garden with some snacks and wine as we talked and reminisced about Mom. On Sunday morning, J went to her yoga class while I worked out in the room and did a short swim session before we met up for breakfast and coffee. Then we stopped for pedicures at the salon near her house before regrouping with the rest of the family.

Monday, October 14-Wednesday, October 16: Travel to NSPA Pre-Conference in Salt Lake City

I worked part of the day from J's house on Monday before heading to the airport for my late afternoon flight to SLC. On Tuesday, I went to the NSPA Pre-Conference session focusing on AI for scholarship providers, which was an interesting perspective on how AI is already being used by students and organizations and offered some considerations for future uses as well. During my walk from my hotel to the conference site, I passed by the Residence Inn where we had stayed with the kitties during our cross-country drive from Sac to Evanston just two weeks earlier!

Badger Games, Local Events, Remembering Loved Ones

Mr. E joined his friend M to watch the UW Badgers play Northwestern at the nearby stadium in Evanston on Saturday, October 19. So convenient rather than traveling up to Madison for the game! I was able to spend the day working on homework, meal prep, and Quicken updates. I also took a break to check out some of the local clothing stores. 

On Sunday, October 20, Mr. E and I strolled south to check out the Main/Dempster Street Fair, which was celebrating the re-opening of Main Street after some renovation work. This day was also the one year mark of my Mom's death, so we made sure to remember and celebrate her throughout the day as well.

Monday, October 21, was Calypso Day, so I pulled out her book and put it on top of the electric fireplace to honor and remember her. We miss all of our four-legged friends who have crossed the rainbow bridge, but we also cherish their memories and the time we were lucky enough to spend with them, even if it ended too soon.

Mr. E headed up to Madison on Saturday, October 26 with his friend M for an overnight visit since the Badger game was in the late afternoon. I was able to meet up for coffee in the late morning with my friend R, who lives in a northern part of Chicago. So great to catch up in person rather than just our monthly check-in via Zoom! I also visited the Block Art Museum on the Northwestern Campus when I had time for a break from my NYU and Spanish homework.

Wednesday, October 30-Friday, November 1: Travel to ATA Conference in Portland

I originally registered for this conference thinking I'd be on a nice short flight from Sac to PDX but decided it was still worth exploring even though the trip from ORD was a bit longer. I stayed at a hotel in the Pearl District and was able to walk or take the light rail to the Convention Center for the conference. I met up with a few other NYUSPS students, including some I'd met during last year's in-person J-term class in NYC. I'm still at such a beginning part of my encore career in the language professions, but it was helpful to get a sense of what may be available for future opportunities. And I was pleasantly surprised to find Kiva among the exhibitors, as I've been a fan of that organization for years and didn't realize that they have a whole volunteer program for translators and editors. I'm hoping to join their volunteer team to gain some experience as I continue with the MSTI program over the next couple of years.

Our First Month in Evanston, Part 2: Exploring Our New 'Hood

October: Finding Our Way

So the next priority after furnishing the apartment was starting to explore our new neighborhood and finding the most important destinations: (1) gym, (2) library, (3) coffee shop, (4) grocery store, and (5) wine shop. No problem! 

(1) We joined the McGaw YMCA, which is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The Y has not just one but two indoor pools. Woo-hoo! I prefer the "warm" 4-lane lap pool (82 degrees) over the "cold" 6-lane lap pool (77 degrees) and was able to get my ideal reservation time of 7-8am almost any day that I wanted. Even our first week, I went to a Thursday evening yoga class, which became my regular habit, and swam laps on Friday morning. Yay! 

We also have a great workout area in our apartment building that was very convenient for Mr. E for his weight workout or running if he didn't quite have enough time for the round-trip walk to the Y. 

I settled into a routine of getting up at my usual 6:15am time so that I could get in a bit of an extra walk around the neighborhood, usually to the Lake, before heading to the Y for my lap swim time. This also gave me an opportunity for some amazing views of sunrise over Lake Michigan.

(2) The Evanston Public Library is one block away. I got my library card as soon as I could!

(3) I began a weekly habit of trying the various local coffee shops on my way home from the Y on Friday mornings. Newport Coffee, Collectivo Coffee, Patisserie Coralie, and Mensch's Deli were all nearby options. Based on previous experience, I skipped the Peet's next door to our apartment, but Mr. E and I did take advantage of our perennial favorite Starbucks that's a few blocks farther away, on the same street as the Target. However, our favorite spot for sure became the newly-opened coffee kiosk at the Arrington Lagoon, right by the Lake. Yummy Americanos for a great price along with tasty pastries (blueberry muffin, cinnamon scone) soon made this into a regular weekend morning stop for us, followed by a stroll along the lake shore.

(4) I already mentioned that Whole Foods is literally next door to our apartment building. And Target is three blocks away (we can see it from our living room). For additional options, we have a Jewel Osco (aka Safeway) six blocks away with a Trader Joe's just across the street. Easy to get everything we need using bags or backpacks or the collapsible red canvas wagon that Mr. E procured from Amazon.

(5) One block farther south of TJ's is Binny's, the Midwest equivalent of Total Wine or BevMo, so we have an easy spot for wine and alcohol purchases as well.

The ease of having everything within walking distance is just so perfect and exactly the lifestyle we were looking for and hoping for. In addition, there are numerous massage options around -- I tried one local spot as well as the Wellness Suite on the Northwestern University campus -- and I found a fabulous chiropractic practice that's a 15-minute walk and easy to coordinate for a visit on my way home from my swim workout. 

What else? Oh, right, the Woman's Club of Evanston is a block away. I'm thinking I may join the Club once we get a better sense of when and for how long we'll be making Evanston our home base. There's also the Evanston History Center near the Lake, not to mention all of the venues on the Northwestern University campus, such as the Block Museum and the Virgina Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts. More details to come about the various cultural events we were able to attend during our initial foray into life in Evanston!

Our First Month in Evanston, Part 1: The New Apartment

October: Setting Up a New Apartment From Scratch

We both took the day off on Monday, September 30 so that we could take advantage of having the rental car to procure essential items (furniture!) for our new apartment. 

Our first stop was the brick-and-mortar Wayfair store in nearby Wilmette, where we found quite a few pieces to help furnish our apartment: mid-century modern TV stand, side tables, carved cabinet for the entryway, four counter stools for the big island, two grey of fice chairs for our future workstations (TBD), hanging storage units for the closet, kitchen supplies, and two floor lamps (that we ended up returning once they were delivered because we didn't realize they were actually bronze rather than brushed chrome due to the showroom lights!). Oh, and an electric fireplace. So not a necessity but so awesome to have! We still talk about and miss our gas fireplace in the Madison apartment, and we figured a little extra light and warmth would be very welcome for the Midwest climate. Oh, and Louis XIV rather likes it as well, even though we don't let him jump up on top.

Most of the Wayfair in-store purchases weren't available on-site, but we did manage to bring home with us an awesome blue elephant lamp and some of the kitchen organizers. And a really cool poster featuring a map of Chicago. Our next destination was Kohl's to look for some small kitchen appliances. Fortuitously, there was a Ross located in the same shopping area, and we decided to browse there first to see if we could find anything on our list. We lucked out with two folding TV tables and two comfy padded folding chairs (since we still didn't have any sort of dining table) along with a small velvety lavender storage ottoman and some other kitchen utensils and equipment.

We were hoping to find a bed that could be delivered the same day, but no luck. One of the odd things we learned is that mattresses now are ginormously high -- 12 inches seems to be the standard -- and our sheet sets don't fit that type of size, so we kept holding out for something smaller. We finally settled on something that seemed reasonable at the American Mattress store just a few blocks from the apartment. Another challenge was the amount of time for anything to be delivered -- sometimes 4-6 weeks -- yikes! The staff person told us we could get this mattress within about 2 weeks and that they could provide us with a "loaner" in the meantime within 2 days. We figured that would have to be good enough. Unfortunately, the promised delivery window wasn't accurate and we didn't end up getting the mattress until about 10 days before we returned to Sac at the end of November! Thank goodness for the loaner mattress in the meantime, or we would have been stuck on the airbed from Evan's mom that had sprung a leak...!!!

Mr. E had found a local furniture store that was going out of business during his mid-September recon visit, so Affordable Portables was another destination for us the next day, and we found a great mid-century modern table and chairs set. Also a fabulous rug with a great pattern. Quite an unexpected find on both counts and great values! And since we still had the SUV, we were able to take it all home with us (table, four chairs, bench). The table is expandable thanks to a built in leaf so can accommodate up to six people quite comfortably. We put the kitty beds on the bench right next to the window, and the fur babies were very pleased with their new sun-filled perch.

Other stores we checked out included Crate & Barrel, CB2, and some local furniture shops. We ordered a few items from West Elm but ended up cancelling the bureau due to a delivery delay as well as the stacking end tables since we decided to use the side tables from Wayfair in the living room after finding bedside tables at West Elm that actually did arrived in a timely fashion. 

Wayfair and Amazon were definitely our go-to spots for additional furniture and kitchen stuff. We ordered two side chairs from Wayfair since we like the ones we have in Sac along with a headboard, standing desks, and mid-century modern low bureau. We ended up returning some pieces that didn't live up to expectations. And during the first few days of deliveries, our apartment was very well furnished with lots of boxes! Louis XIV was of course helpful as always...

Once we had the two side chairs and the TV stand, we could comfortably relax in the living room as we continued to search for a couch. Mr. E got our TV at CostCo, and we used one of our laptops to connect to our Xfinity account to access additional entertainment options.

One of the primary challenges with the couch search is that we needed something in a fabric that wouldn't entice the kitties to scratch. We learned that lesson the hard way with some side chairs in Sac that we had to cover with sticky tape to protect them from Louis XIV! Our solution was found at Bob's Discount Furniture, where we purchased a moderately sized sofa with storage ottoman and four throw pillows in a color and fabric that work perfectly for our home. And later, we returned to Bob's to purchase the small grey sofa that converts to a double bed for the office space since Mr. E often needs to sleep in a separate room.

A final finishing touch was ordering a triptych of The Great Wave from Wayfair to hang over the couch. We also found a big print of a Paris scene at TJ Maxx for our bedroom as we started to fill in the walls with artwork. The first piece to be hung, however, was my Mom's painting that I took down from the wall at Silverado after she died.

In addition to all of this shopping by car, we made numerous trips to the Target just a few blocks away from our apartment for other items that we realized we needed -- floor lamps, sheets, storage containers, yoga mat, kitchen utensils, etc. Mr. E had already done quite a bit of advance purchasing when he made his trip in mid-September, based on the lists we'd made, so that started us off quite well. And it was really interesting to set up a new household from scratch and realize what we really didn't need to have and what we felt the lack of. Good lessons to keep in mind for the future (and to help purge some stuff back in Sac, too...)!

Road Trip with the Kitties!

Friday, September 27-Sunday, September 29: Sac > Salt Lake City, UT > North Platte, NE > Evanston, IL 

As I wrote about in my previous entry for our July 4th travels, Mr. E and I decided to sign a one-year lease on an apartment in Evanston, IL. Our lease officially began on September 1st, but we didn't fully take occupancy right away since (1) we were in Hawai'i at the beginning of the month and (2) I had three solid weeks of work travel for my Finish Line college site visits. However, Mr. E's mid-month trip to Chicago while I was in the Inland Empire served as an early recon visit so that he could take care of the move-in checklist, confirm everything was ready, and get us set up with some necessary supplies to ease our arrival process with the kitties (e.g. airbed from his Mom, small kitchen appliances, basic dishware, utensils, and glasses, etc.).

Our big adventure of the cross-country road trip with the kitties started the morning of Friday, September 27. I had purchased new carriers for the fur babies that are backpacks for airline travel and that have a collapsible extension for more space during car trips. We had gotten them early enough that they kitties could get used to having them around the house, and they even started to use them as napping spots! Definitely a good sign...

We rented an SUV for the trip, since we don't need a car in Evanston and we weren't sure our beloved 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid would be able to make the trip anyway. Also, we needed some extra space for the kitties in the back seat as well as to bring some necessary items with us to the new place. Luckily, the two carriers fit perfectly with the expandable parts open so that the kitties could be safely belted in for the trip.

Overall, they did pretty well during the three days of 10ish hours of driving, although Louis XIV occasionally got a little antsy. And they were both amazingly adaptable to the hotel rooms, having no problem using their litter box or finding their travel food and water. I packed a "go" bag for them with all of the necessary supplies, including a new water bowl that finally outwitted Marlene so she couldn't push it around! Marlene even snuggled on the hotel bed with us when she wasn't curled up on a pillow on the couch.

Our first overnight was at a Residence Inn in Salt Lake City, UT. We managed to get the kitties into the room with no problem and without paying any additional charge (shh... don't tell...). We had a very large one-bedroom suite with a full kitchen, which was plenty of room for all of us. Mr. E found a nearby Thai restaurant for takeout dinner, but we struck out on procuring any wine (umm... yeah... Utah... didn't think about preparing for that in advance!).

Breakfast in the hotel lobby the next morning was sufficient, and then we loaded up the car again with our travel bags and the kitties and set off for our next overnight destination of North Platte, NE. We passed lots of rolling fields of hay and quite a few windmill farms as well.

We had a slightly shorter drive for this leg of the trip, so we got to the hotel right around sunset, giving us a bit more time to find dinner and get the kitties all settled. Louis XIV was particularly fond of the bathtub in this hotel room.

The final day was our longest drive yet, especially given that we had a time zone change, but we arrived in Evanston right around when we had anticipated, just after 7pm. We unloaded the kitties and their supplies first, and I got them all set up in the powder room while Mr. E brought up the rest of our stuff and parked the car in a guest spot in the parking garage of our building. 

The next door Whole Foods was still open, so we were able to pick up some dinner there, although we had to eat it on the airbed that we had pulled out into the living room because there were no lights in the bedrooms and no other place yet for a meal! The kitties made themselves right at home on the familiar Badger blanky on the airbed.

A good start to our new adventure of having a home-away-from-home. And we learned that we'll definitely take one more day if we ever do that drive again, just to avoid feeling so pressured to drive such long distances each day.

Catching Up: September College Site Visits

Time to catch up on my blog posts as I've had quite a bit of travel over the past few months! September was packed with work travel for Finish Line college site visits. I managed to pack 17 trips into three weeks so that I could see the last five Central Valley colleges and all 12 of the Inland Empire colleges. It was a bit of a whirlwind but so very worthwhile to meet up with program staff in person and see each of the campuses. 

For most visits, I spent about two hours on campus, talking with program staff, touring the campus, and sometimes meeting Finish Line scholarship recipients or campus leadership. The intent was to keep these visits mostly informal and focus on strengthening my relationship with our college contacts, and it was such a pleasure to meet people whom I've only ever talked to on Zoom for the past four years!

Tuesday, September 10-Thursday, September 12: Central Valley

I picked up a rental car on Monday afternoon in anticipation of my 7:45am departure on Tuesday, since my first visit was scheduled for 9:45am at Columbia College in Sonora. The weather was nice enough for a brief stroll around the lagoon, which was mostly shaded thanks all of the trees on campus. From there, I headed south to Porterville College for a 2:45pm visit. Given the rising temperature and lack of shade on this campus, we opted to forego a tour and spent the time talking and connecting. I drove a bit farther south to Bakersfield to my hotel for the two nights of the road trip.

My first visit on Wednesday was at 9am at Bakersfield College, the largest of the colleges participating in Finish Line. I got to meet all of the main program contacts from Financial Aid along with other staff from Student Services, the Transfer Center, and the college Foundation. We took a golf cart tour around the campus before I headed east for my 1pm visit at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest. I learned that they have one of the largest service areas of any CCC thanks to their other satellite campuses. Rather windy conditions from the campus location perched above the valley, so I was glad that our campus tour was mostly inside! I headed back to Bakersfield for the night. So nice to stay at the same hotel for the entire trip!

My final visit was on Thursday morning at Taft College at a rather luxurious time of 10am, so I could get some work and studying done before being on the road all day. After a lovely conversation with the program contact, we joined a few other staff who support the program for a quick lunch. Then I headed to downtown Bakersfield to return the rental car, summoned a Lyft, and got dropped off at the Amtrak station for the trip back to Sac. I had to transition to a bus connection in Stockton, but it was still much nicer than driving the 6ish hours back home. My train arrived in Sac at 8:05pm, and the kitties and Mr. E welcomed me home. 

Sunday, September 15-Thursday, September 19: Inland Empire #1

Mr. E left for Chicago the morning of Friday, September 13, giving us about 12 hours together with the kitties, most of which was overnight sleeping time! I had a late afternoon flight on Sunday down to Ontario in SoCal in anticipation of starting the first round of my Inland Empire site visits on Monday morning. My first hotel for two nights was in San Bernardino, since that was convenient for the first four colleges on my itinerary.

First up on Monday at 10am was Victor Valley College, which included a conversation with their President, a walking tour of the main campus, and a drive out to tour the Regional Safety Training Center as well. My Monday afternoon was spent at San Bernardino Valley College with a meet-up at 2pm. This visit included a brief meet & greet with the college President, a more extended conversation with their data lead, a golf cart campus tour, and a comprehensive tour of their amazing new Applied Technology Center. 

Tuesday started at 9am with a visit to Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. I got to see their Public Safety Training Center and learn about their signature paramedicine program in addition to other parts of the campus. The next visit was to Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree at 1pm. The program contacts there presented me with a lovely hand-made blanket by a local artisan, and the small size of the campus allowed for an easy walking tour. The rest of my afternoon was spent on the long drive to Blythe, which is just a few exits from the Arizona border. The clearest radio station during the end of the trip was out of Quartzite, AZ!

Wednesday began with a 9:30am visit to Palo Verde College, the easternmost CCC in the state, which actually does draw students from nearby Arizona as well. The campus is perched at the top of a hill and has expansive views of the surrounding valley. Another long drive back west took me to College of the Desert in Palm Desert for my 2pm visit. This meet-up ended a little early, and then it was back to San Bernardino (but a different hotel) for a final overnight.

My trip ended with a visit to Barstow Community College at 10am on Thursday. The small campus was charming with a surprising number of trees and flowers throughout the grounds. Of course, anytime I think of Barstow, I always think of the lyric from the Sheryl Crow song: "I used to drive up to Barstow for the night..." !!! 

I headed back to the Ontario airport to return the rental car and spent a couple of hours in the airport lounge catching up on work and studying and enjoying some snacks and beverages. My flight back to Sac arrived just before 6pm, and since Mr. E had returned from Chicago on Wednesday evening, he and the kitties were all home to welcome me. And this time we had more than 12 hours together before the next travel!

Sunday, September 22-Wednesday, September 25: Inland Empire #2

I took the same Sunday afternoon flight to Ontario as the previous week, and for this trip, I was able to stay at the same hotel in Moreno Valley for all three nights. So much nicer to be able to unpack and settle in a bit!

Monday started off at 10am at Moreno Valley College. The campus has multiple levels, including a central courtyard area on the upper level that hosts different events, including a Farmers Market. My afternoon visit at 2pm was at Riverside City College, where a golf cart tour allowed me to see more parts of the larger campus.

My first visit on Tuesday was to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga at 10am. I got a little lost on the campus due to all of the construction but eventually figured out how to find the meet-up spot. This was one of the visits that included some Finish Line scholarship recipients, and it was amazing to hear about their experiences, their dedication to their studies, and how the Finish Line funds have made a difference in their lives. The afternoon was my visit to Norco College at 2pm, which included a rather large group of staff from various departments that are somehow involved in the program along with one student who shared her story as a complement to the recorded video of other students. 

My last college visit was on Wednesday morning at 9am at the Menifee Valley campus of Mt. San Jacinto College. The campus has several new buildings, including a beautiful new stadium, and also hosts its own student health center, was is rather unusual for a CCC. 

With no afternoon site visit on the schedule, I headed back to the Ontario airport and repeated my routine of rental car return + work/study in the airport lounge. My flight was a little earlier than the previous week, and I was very glad to be home with Mr. E and the kitties after the three successive weeks of multi-day work travel!