Hooray For Hollywood!

Miss M. overlooking her new surroundings from the hills of Occidental College
on our first evening there...

(click! to enlarge all the following photo's)

Well, it has finally happened: we are now officially 'empty-nesters'!

Last week we escorted our youngest to Occidental College in Los Angeles, a 2 hour 15 minute flight from here. For the Europeans among you, that is a distance equivalent from Amsterdam to beyond Madrid! 

We flew in Wednesday evening and made sure to visit campus before the sun set. We had never been there before (I had never been to California period) and this was only Miss M.s second visit. What a fabulous place!

A huge campus with lots of beautiful buildings, wide pathways, gorgeous views and yes, wait for it, palm trees!  <wink>

Moving in day wasn't until Friday, so on Thursday, after a big shopping spree at both Target and Ikea, we drove down to Santa Monica beach to get some of that true California feeling. It was there alright! I loved seeing the 'Baywatch' lifeguard huts lined up along the waterline and of course the palm trees in the back ground. What a glorious place to visit!

"Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be, yeah!"

On the way back we decided to drive back via Beverly Hills and Hollywood. A major mistake because the traffic was just crazy (all traffic in the L.A. area is crazy by the way), but it was fun to have at least have seen the famous sights...

Move in day went very smoothly. Thank goodness it was cloudy that morning, because it is rather hot down there. We found out that Miss M.'s roommate is straight from Beijing, China, so that will be interesting. The room is old but big with plenty of storage space. No a/c I'm afraid, so we made sure we left them with a standing oscillating fan to keep them somewhat cool. That afternoon the Orientation program kicked in so we went off and did our own thing, while Miss M. started making new friends and get to know the campus better. When we met her again shortly before bedtime, she was a changed person already: so Happy with life!  {smile}

Saturday morning we picked her up early from campus and had breakfast at Auntie Em's, just off of campus. We drove up to the Griffith Observatory just in time (major crowds upon leaving). We walked up and when we looked back we saw the Hollywood sign right there! (fun!)  Unfortunately the marine layer that drifts in from the Pacific Ocean was still going strong that morning and so we couldn't see downtown L.A. very well, but it was still a great view from way high.

Squinting, since the sun was just starting to break through...

But then yes, it was time to say our adieu's... We made it short & sweet, no lingering. We ended up meeting each other twice more on campus which was rather funny, but then it was really time to go! We did drive up into the Angeles National Forest for an hour so before our flight left and it was spectacular:

All in all we had a wonderful time together and I can only smile when I look back on it all...

This girl fills my heart!