The Best Last Los Angeles Hours

I loved that it ended like this. On our last morning in California, Hubby suggested we drive to Santa Monica and rent a four seater bike (the kind with 2 long bench seats, one behind the other, and the striped red and white canopy over top), and ride from Santa Monica to Venice Beach and back. We used to roller blade that stretch all of the time. Now with children, we needed more wheels to make the trip. We exited Wilshire Boulevard from the 405, crossed over Ocean Boulevard, down to Pacific Coast Highway. We sat gridlocked in a traffic jam, and quickly realized there wasn't enough time to pedal to Venice Beach and back before our flight. Hubby made a few turns, and headed east on Sunset Boulevard. We needed a Plan B. I called my sis, who was following in the car behind us, and she suggested a great plan. Didn't I want to show my kids the UCLA campus? We traveled a few more miles down Sunset Boulevard past Brentwood, and into Bel Air. The mansions were what they have always been, unreal. We found parking in the North Village of Westwood, pulled out the stroller, and started walking toward Westwood Plaza, on campus.
These buildings never cease to impress me. They were under renovation and closed when I started at UCLA. They opened midway through my undergraduate years. They have been in countless movies. If you have ever seen a movie with a college scene, it was probably filmed here. The Nutty Professor (I and II), American Pie 2, Legally Blonde, Old School, How High, Minority Report, and Van Wilder were all filmed here. You might also recognize scenes from Alias, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and House, to name just a few. These are the main buildings in the quad.

Royce Hall: This is where my gradutation was held.

Arches at Royce Hall

Powell Library: I used to "study" here a lot before I met Hubby. Then I quit boy watching! After our classes he would meet me outside at the right corner. Most of his classes were at Moore Hall, behind Powell.Moore Hall: Almost all of Hubby's grad classes were here. I took at least a third of my classes here.

Our family was in dire need of a restroom. We had been in the car a long time, and just walked up Bruin Walk. We jumped in an elevator at Kerckhoff Hall. My sister said, "HEY, let's take a picture!!! It's a UCLA elevator. No one will ever know it's not the exact one you met in!" But I know. FYI...Hubby and I met in an elevator in 1996. I was starting my junior year and he was starting his PhD program. I had just returned from a UCLA summer study in Italy. I had sworn off all boys, claiming Jesus was my only boyfriend. That lasted less than 10 days into the first quarter of school when I met Hubby. (UCLA is on the quarter system, not semester.)

Kerckhoff Hall: This is where the gorgeous coffee house is located, with stained glass, and a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop inside. I spent a lot of time here when I was involved in student government. The offices are all upstairs.

I tried explaining to Son1 that we were at Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Marcelle's old school. He thought I was nuts. "No, these are all castles!!" I laughed. I thought that, too when I was a student. The architecture is such a departure from anything Southern California.

Bruin Walk is the main path that bisects the campus.

The three alums, and hopefully some future Bruins!

The Bruin Bear sits in the middle of Westwood Plaza, in front of the Wooden Center, and just past Pauley Pavillion. When I was a freshman, my sister came up for Little Siblings Weekend. She is 11 months younger than me and is a whole six inches taller. Some little sibling! That's the weekend I got this idea we should jump on the bear and take a picture. I have that photo stashed somewhere. Why not try again? We tried to hoist Son1 up there, but having babies has aged us. And that bear is pretty slick. We couldn't get him up there! So we settled for a photo in front instead.

Our last stop was Ackerman Student Union, hoping to buy some souveniers. I thought I lost Son1 in this busy and huge place. I hit the frantic panic button and then he popped out from behind some Hawaiian shirts. I should have known.... We left the campus and walked down Westwood Plaza. We had big food plans in mind. We passed my very last campus job. I worked for the assistant director of the neuropsychiatric hospital, managing data for his grants.Our food plans went a little backward. We started with dessert at our favorite place, Diddy Riese. The line, as usual, was out the door. Some nice people moved so I could take this picture of the family. Back in the day, cookies were 25 cents. Now they are up to 35 cents. Today an ice scream sandwich is a whole $1.50. Hello? This is Westwood! See why the line is out the door? You choose from 10 varieties of cookies, and then choose 1 of 12 different Dreyer's ice cream flavors for them to heap in between, like a small softball. They they round down the ice cream across one cookie. They are amazing! Over the years anytime Hubby traveled to Los Angeles he always brought me back Diddy Riese cookies! They are soo good.
Son2 bit his sandwich right out of my hand as soon as we bought it. We knew he needed his own. I ordered double chocolate cookies with nuts and cookie dough ice cream filling. Son2 kept chomping, so we shared mine, in addition to his. Forget South Beach! I could behave at our next stop!

We walked across Broxton Avenue, and through a back alley, and took the short cut to In N Out. We devoured our In N Out like the first time this trip, and all of the other times over the last several days. There was no better end to our trip.

Son2 and my sister bonded like two birds of a feather. She entertained him the best, spoke his screeches the best, and responded to his giggles.

All good things must come to an end, though. With three hours until flight time, Hubby ran back up Gayley Avenue, found our car, and picked us up in the back alley of In N Out. We all jumped in, and dropped my sister back at her car. On the short drive, Son2 commanded her attention.There was the smallest sense of sadness, and a sense of longing to stay. From the back row came cries from Son1. "Please don't take me back to Hawaii. I don't want to go. I want to stay in California!" But for now, California was not home.