For the first few weeks, I just stayed in Pasadena and took pictures of CalTech's campus, which is beautiful as I've said before (and is evidenced by the rose to the left). Obviously that isn't all that I've done, since I'm here for work, but I didn't really have any adventures. The only time I left was to go to Altadena to get my NASA badge at JPL, which I don't need because I'm working on CalTech's campus, but had to do anyway. That was an adventure because without a car or a real employee badge, it is exceptionally difficult to get back to Pasadena. Google Maps didn't help my predicament by claiming a hiking path is a route I could take. No. That little adventure made me never want to return, but I know I will have to at the end of the summer. 
Back to the issue of my disliking the area. The visual appeal of CalTech does not outweigh how much I don't like everything else, even though I really like all of the flowers and the turtle pond. Really, this is the desert, these things shouldn't be here. There is also too much sunshine for me, and I have to a lot of sunblock.
Even though there are palm trees everywhere, I still wish there weren't so many people. There are too many people here. Too many people that have the most vapid conversations I've ever heard. A nice example: I was at a Mexican restaurant and ended up listening to a group of women discuss hair extensions. Before I continue with my bad attitude, I should state that I really like the work that I've been doing and the people I've been working with. Thankfully, not everything is bad. Recently, it's been improving, but that might be because I knew I was leaving to go observing.
After three weeks, I finally left Pasadena for real. I went on a hike in a park in Malibu. It was high in the cliffs and there was little shade, but there were the remains of a failed reservoir and a failed homestead. I really don't understand why this region is populated, but at the same time this was a nice place for a short hike and hardly anyone was there. The breeze from the ocean was glorious and the view was amazing (except for the houses and road in between the cliff and the ocean). On the way back to the car, there were a lot of fire engine sirens and we spotted smoke coming from just behind one of the nearby ridges (picture on the right). We watched the smoke for a while. Four helicopters came to monitor or drop water. A forest fire was something I hadn't seen in person before. 
The smoke started going down as the fire was contained, so we moved to the beach. The waves did a fabulous job of drowning out the traffic noises. Unfortunately, I was the only one that wanted to go swimming, and I wasn't given enough time to, so I didn't. It is really exhausting being in the sun all day, which wasn't the last time I'd have that revelation in the course of a week.After these outdoor "adventures", I had dinner in a very crowded Santa Monica and got really sick afterward. That was something.
The next day I went to the Huntington Library to sit around and read all day. The thing about the Huntington Library is that it's actually a bunch of themed gardens, museums, and a library. I had been there last summer, too, but I seem to have neglected to write about them, as well as my visit the Getty Museum which has some fantastic art and also beautiful gardens. I think both of those happened when I returned to LA at the end of June after observing. There's a wonderful desert garden full of succulents (right) and cacti, which is my favorite. Last summer, the early closing time wasn't anticipated, so much of the gardens were left unseen because a lot of time was spent in the museums, so I saw more of the gardens this time. Although they're beautiful, I can't help but lament yet again that Pasadena should be desert. 
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