Five Days in Southern California

Cal State Long Beach campus

From March 15 through 19, I made my annual trip to visit Galen and his family in Huntington Beach CA.  This year was special because Galen is on sabbatical.  As much as I enjoy sitting in on some of his physics classes at Cal State Long Beach, I looked forward to spending some time with him exploring parts of the area and we don't have time for during the academic year.

Shortly before I left, however, I had a chance to hear Galen talk about physics and some of the current issues in this fascinating field.  He was interviewed by the university's local access television channel.  Those of you who saw this were, I think, as impressed as I was.  It is clear that Galen is not only an accomplished physicist and Professor but is someone who takes joy in facilitating other people learning about this discipline.  If you didn't watch it, you can do so below.  Or click here to go to the YouTube channel and watch it.

I arrived on Thursday and the very next day, Galen and I took off to visit downtown LA and its excellent museums.  Fortunately Galen check before we left and learned that tickets were required for entry to the Broad Museum.  Although the tickets are free, none were available for a visit until the following Tuesday, the day I was leaving.  We changed our plans and decided to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits which are on the same campus.  After 33 years in Rochester, I have lost my ability to accurately gauge travel times.  When everything is 20 minutes way, you forget about big city commutes.  Our two hours on site ended up requiring close to three and half hours in a car in often harrowing traffic...and this was not during rush hour.  It is no wonder that people stay in their own areas.  In fact, the only effective way to experience downtown LA and environs is to stay overnight.

Excavation in one of the tar pits

Once we arrived, we decided to spend our two hours going through the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, leaving LACMA to another trip.  The tar pits began roughly 50,000 years ago, 65 million years after all the big dinosaurs went extinct.  Because the petroleum deposits here are less than 1,000 feet below the surface, the petroleum in the form of asphalt seeps up to the surface.  Natural gas bubbles up through the surface water of the Lake Pit.

At the end of the Pleistocene Epoch about 11,000 years ago as the last ice age was ending, the La Brea Tar Pits began collecting a variety of animal, insect, and plant life that became trapped in the tar.  "Since 1906, more than one million bones have been recovered representing over 231 species of vertebrates. In addition, 159 species of plants and 234 species of invertebrates have been identified. It is estimated that the collections at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum contain about three million items. Our current Project 23 excavation may, when completed, double this number."

While one might expect to see giant animals like this American Mastodon, we were not expecting to see fossils of dung beetles let alone dragon flies.  But there they were!  The image to the right is a fossil of a dragon fly.  It turns out that asphalt is an excellent preservative once it is extracted and the fossil cleaned up.

We actually got to see that process in a unique exhibit in which technicians were cleaning and preserving fossils inside a glass enclosed area.  We could get up close and observe the work on the tiny little pieces.  You can click here to see  video of that work.  You can see more images of our visit to La Brea in the Google Photos album by clicking here.

We stopped in Long Beach near Shoreline Village for a late lunch.  When we got back home, we found Henry beginning his preparations for dinner.  Henry is a philosophy major at Long Beach and has gotten into food preparation.  Last year I enjoyed the world's best hamburgers.  This year he found a recipe for deep fried hamburgers.  He had selected his cut of meat at the market, hand ground it, and separated them into precisely measured three ounce balls.  These would eventually emerge as very thin, deep fried hamburgers complete with home-made mayonnaise.  This video gives an idea of the process.

The next day Henry, Galen and I went to see They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson's documentary about World War I using actual movie film shot during the war.  It is a technical achievement with a strong message about the men (and now women) who do the actual fighting.  Try to find a screening if you can.

That night we attended a Scout  Court of Honor.  A year ago I would have written a BOY Scout Court of Honor but as of February 1, girls can join those troops which decide to admit them.  Huntington Beach Troop 568 was the first in Organge County and thus in the nation to take this step.  This is important to us because granddaughter Maggie became a member and if focused on going all the way to Eagle.  She has to complete this by her 18th birthday which is two years and two months from now.  It will require discipline, commitment and hard work but my money is on Maggie.  You can click here to see a video of her induction as a scout along with 12 other girls.  It was a long night but the pot luck dinner was excellent and abundant.  You can view more photos of the induction and life in general in and around the Huntington Beach Pickett's in this Google Photos album.

Robert and Galen

The next day Laura made a big meat ball ans pasta dinner which was designed to tempt Robert to Robert knew what was at stake.  We had a great dinner getting caught up on his progress on a degree in statistics at Long Beach State.  He has a part time job--as does his Mom, Laura--working as a tech at a neighborhood veterinarian clinic.  Galen and I stopped by on Monday to take him to lunch at one of his favorite spots, Huntington Ramen.  First time I had ever heard about a ramen restaurant.  Turns out they are scattered all over at Huntington like dandelions in a Midwest lawn.  They are everywhere.  I followed Robert's recommendation and had a tasty and, for me, an unusual meal.  Well worth repeating.

Views from Crystal Cove State Park

That morning Galen and I planned to drive up to Lake Elsinore and view the magnificent California poppies which happened to be in profuse bloom.  Unfortunately, that didn't work out.  Galen learned that the area had been closed due to over whelming visitor traffic over the weekend.  The parking and shuttle service was woefully inadequate foir the crowds.  People took to parking their cars anywhere including the should of I-15 and then just walking into the poppy fields disregarding any paths or trails, crushing poppies with every step.  I learned that one crush poppy now means up to 30 fewer poppies next year.  Here is a New York Times story about this in case you missed it.  With Lake Elsinore closed, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and hike along some trails over looking the Pacific Ocean.  The views and color were not as dramatic but we had a restful time with each other without all the hassle to trying to get to poppies.  You can see more photos of Crystal Cove State Park in this Google Photos album.

Last but certainly not least, I was able to spend some time with Thomas who is heavily involved in music including marching band, orchestra and jazz band (his favorite) at Marina High School.  He is interested in pursuing chemistry in college, following in the footsteps of his other grand father, Ken Gash.

We look forward to several graduations in Orange County over the next two years.