Universal Studios Hollywood

I hadn't been to Universal Studios Hollywood since I was an undergraduate in college.  What a difference sixteen years makes!

When I last visited with my brother, the Studio Backlot Tour was the only real ride, and even that was very different from any other theme park in the world.  The rest of the day you could spend watching stunt shows and other performances, but there were no roller coasters or other big rides.

Since then (like that other theme park), Universal Studios Hollywood has brought over the best ideas and rides from their two Florida Parks.  The result is a great way to spend a day.  It's still a lot lower key than a Disney adventure--which isn't a bad thing.  The Backlot Tour is still the gem in their crown--and with recent updates including a ride through the 3D jungles of Skull Island where Kong battles dinosaurs it is still a favorite of mine.

Yep--he's still terrorizing Amity Lake

This time I went with my Mom, who was visiting during her Spring Break.  I splurged on the "Front-of-the-line" passes.  These helped a bit with the lines to the attractions, but their main benefit was the extras you receive with the shows.  Most of the shows had a short Q-and-A session with the actors where they describe some of the behind-the-scenes parts of the show.  Lots of fun!  Also, there are nice reserved seats for these shows, so you don't have to worry about getting there too early.

Meeting the cast of Terminator 2:3D

Pepperdine

Last week I gave a talk in the Natural Science Seminar series at Pepperdine University.  Located on the hills above Malibu, they have a spectacular view of the Pacific.

The view from Pepperdine

The invite came from Tim Lucas, who got his PhD from Duke in 2006. I had run into Tim a few months earlier at the Joint Math Meetings in New Orleans. The talks at Pepperdine run from 12:00-1:00. So I gave the talk and then we headed out to their cafeteria (with big windows opening on to the ocean.) A great way to spend the day.

ElecTRONica

The movie Tron came out when I was 10, and (in between Star Wars sequels) quickly established itself as my favorite movie.  

Almost 30 years later, Tron legacy has his the theatres, and the Disney marketing machine is in full swing.  Hooray!

In California Adventure, that means the southwest part of the park has been turned into ElecTRONica.  After night falls, a DJ spins up and the End of Line Club comes to life.  Even more fun, they have recreated Flynn's Arcade--complete with all the working video games I loved as a kid.  Sure, there are lots of ways to play those old games nowadays, but nothing beats the thrill from dropping a token (and they are all 1 token to play) into a cabinet, then dropping it again in to the other slot because one slot isn't working, and then flying that ship/lasering robots/blowing up monsters until the cows come home.

Disneyland at Christmas

I love the Disney parks.  They at once appeal to the small child in me, and to the Operation Research trained adult in me--so many people moved efficiently through so many queues--it brings a tear to my eye.

This was the first year that I hit Disneyland at Christmas (Disney World I'd been to before).  The park is transformed by wonderful lights, but even better, the Haunted Mansion now becomes The Nightmare Before Christmas (go Tim Burton!) for a month.  As one of my all time favorite movies, I'd been looking forward to seeing that for a long time, and it did not disappoint.  Everything about the ride is transformed, from the opening line to the final entreaty to return.  The detail and number of things to watch for is amazing.

Decked out to the nines in giant icicle lights, Cinderella's Castle doesn't look half bad, either!

Yosemite in winter

This was the second time that I've been to Yosemite in winter and it was equally gorgeous this time around.  I was there four nights altogether with my folks and the weather was scary for a while but in the end cooperative.

It rained the first day out, but by the second day that had turned to a lovely snow that blanketed everything.  The morning hike to the Lower Yosemite Falls was about as far as you would want to go with that much snow falling.  By the next morning, the sun was shining on all that snow, and made every glade and meadow into a beautiful tableau.  First we took an early morning tour with a photographer from the Ansel Adams Gallery, then headed off to Mirror Lake.

That night we saw the Bracebridge Dinner--a combination seven course meal and medieval Christmas pageant.  It was wonderful, great performances and amazing food.  This took place in the main dining hall at the Ahwahnee Hotel, a grand fixture of Yosemite Valley.

The next day the sun was again out, and we headed up to the overlook for Vernal Falls.  That proved to be significantly steeper a hike than to Mirror Lake (although roughly the same distance) and so by the end of the day we were happy just to stay put for an hour and try to get some sunset pictures from the middle of the valley.  By this time, though, the clouds had rolled in, and fog enshrouded all the major sights.

So the next day we took to the higher elevations, leaving the valley and heading to Tuolumne Grove, where some of the Giant Sequoias stand tall.  These trees can live to be thousands of years old and are very impressive up close.  The clouds continued to linger throughout the day, although the sun peeked through more at sunset this time.

Our final morning in the valley the skies cleared and the sun shone full force on the Upper Yosemite Falls, giving a wonderful rainbow across the water.  El Capitan and the tunnel overlook were also clear as a bell, and made for a great final few hours in Yosemite.

A nice day

It is a gorgeous day outside.

It sometimes surprises me how good that can make me feel.  And of course, having a nice sunny day means all sorts of other things are happening.  Where I live is next door to one of Claremont McKenna's practice fields, and today the track and field people are practicing the hammer throw.

That is just fun to watch!  For those who haven't seen it, the hammer is the event with the 16 pound ball attached to a chain.  Watching the throwers spin around and around and just heave that sucker as far as they can reminds you of when you were a kid and just threw things to see how far you could (see also: skipping rocks.)

It doesn't hurt that I know one of the throwers.  He's been in my probability, statistics, and Monte Carlo methods courses and is an all around good guy.  I wish him luck on the field as the season begins!

Thanksgiving

Nothing beats a Thanksgiving with friends!  

This Thanksgiving, Asuman, a professor in my department had myself and two other families over to her house for a great turkey dinner.  With eleven people involved, this is more like a day long party than anything else.  After polishing off a variety of tasty dishes and desserts, we went up to Mt. Baldy for a hike afterwards.  Then those with the skills hit the Backgammon boards, while the more stuffed people like myself just chatted away the afternoon and evening.  I know what I'm thankful for:  wonderful friends that make life that much sweeter.