NorCal

Surflining up the coast.

Surfliner Route

Itching to discover California, I was able to figure out my way to head up the coast. Cali isn't the best when it comes to navigating public transportation. There are spurts of metros and buses in cities but the farther away from a city you are the harder it is to get around, almost impossible.

California is a car culture, "California was designed for cars; nearly all tourist facilities, shopping centers, and workplaces are built with the assumption that everyone at least has access to a car." Luckily, Amtrack can help you travel pretty far up and down the coast. It's navigating how to get on and off the train.

Source: http://www.caldrive.com/intro.html

Amtrack's Pacific Surfliner was actually the best possible way to see California coast. It was one of the most memorable, beautiful train rides I have ever been on. It treks literally right along the coast of California. Riding along side the ocean for long stretches. It was an gorgeous experience to see the waves crashing in for miles while your on a train, a once in a lifetime experience. All the passengers around me stirred when the waves looked like they could almost touch the train.  Then we coasted through beautiful undeveloped landscapes with the occasional city in between. California is so big and pristine the landscape is so different from anything I have ever seen on the east coast.

I never thought a train ride could be so purely scenic and pleasant, even though it was a 5 hour long ride. And that was just the train, after I arrived in San Luis Obispo, I had to take a 3 hour bus ride the rest of the way, to finally arrive in the the second-most densely populated large city in the United States after New York City, San Fransisco. It just buzzed with excitement.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco

Berkeley, it was worth the wait. 

Berkeley is a really interesting academic university, set up perfectly for that intimate campus feel, yet so close to San Fransisco you can see it. That is you can see it most of the time when it's not cloudy. Grey May and June Gloom do exist in San Fransisco, either that or it could just be the fog from the mountains. The temperature is also a LOT colder than sunny Long Beach, California. Something I was not so fond of.  The days were pleasant but at times almost too hot then plummeting at night getting incredibly cold.

The school has so much to offer. Which helps explains it's impressive reputation. What I loved the most about Berkeley was that it instilled in it's students that any thing is possible.  If you put enough effort and brain power into what you are truely passionate about will happen.

           Co Ops

The Co ops offered at Berkeley are a really neat alternative for housing. I wish more schools offered them. They are nonprofit and student run making housing affordable for students that want to live near campus.  Respectively, housing for students should not be as expensive as most schools make it.

The Co op is a great opportunity within itself to  be a part of you're living community and to get an experience that is one of a kind, as well as resume worthy. Talking to one of the residents, they told me someone landed a job as a chef at a high end restaurant based on their experience at preparing community dinners for the co op . There are other job positions such as the events coordinator, putting on entertainment for a large amount of people is not an easy task and takes a lot of coordination and skill.

There are ups and downs to a co op, the students have to maintain the building therefore the students had a lot more respect for what type of a mess they made. However, it is housing run by college kids meaning not everyone's standard of clean is the same. Regardless puke, clogged toilets and backed up sinks do happen. Each resident must sign up for work shifts at the co op to help maintain the ability for the co op to function, at the same time keeping the price of the co op low. These jobs range from dish washing, bathroom duty, hallway vacuuming, to cooking for the whole co op during the school year. These jobs increase the amount of respect the students have for their living community, not taking their living arrangements for granted. Yet it is one more thing to balance under the pressure of school.

I personally loved the dynamic of the co op, it was very open and easy going. Giving the students the freedom and responsibility including a big influential voice in how they would like to live. While helping to develop and great opportunities and learning experiences during your college experience.

On top of it all the co op I stayed in was very eco-friendly they had recycling, trash and composting cans readily accessible in the kitchen.  The obtained their basic food supplies (ie flour, sugar, eggs, milk, soy milk, oil, spices) in bulk from wholesalers and local community farms. The students have access to all of these basic cooking necessities making cooking even more affordable and eco-friendly while supporting the local community. 

The Co op facilitates the students to unleash their creativity, allowing them to paint the walls of their rooms and hallways. Promoting all forms of self expression and limitless aspirations. The paintings set an overall relaxed artistic tone that kept your humor and childhood in check. Relieving the stress that a top rating university can have on a student.

San Fran

We took a long long walk to to see the golden gate bridge. I made the mistake of wearing shorts, silly me I thought I was in California during the summer. I heard they can tell who the tourists are by who wears warm weathered clothes on the bridge. It was FREEZING on the bridge as we walked towards it, the farther the temperature dropped and more more the wind blew. The bridge is an extremely iconic land mark and a large tourist attraction known across the world. Yet it is the one site in the world that the most people commit suicide at. "The deck is approximately 245 feet (75 m) above the water. After a fall of approximately four seconds, jumpers hit the water at around 75mph. Most jumpers die from impact trauma on contact with the water. The few who survive the initial impact generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water."

It intrigues me that this simple structure draws in so many people from all over the world with one-way airplane tickets to commit suicide, however 83% are Bay area residents.  "The typical jumper is a 40-year-old, single white man. More students hurl themselves over the railing than any other occupation." The fatality rate is 98% the ones that do survive usually land feet first in the water and usually survive with server injuries.

The Bridge a documentary filmed by Eric Steel captured 23 suicides on film in 2004 that occurred at the bridge within a matter of months. The documentary features the families, loved ones and spectators of the victims that ended their lives at the bridge.  The approximation of the total number of suicides committed at the bridge are 1,400 to 1,500.

The good news: "The bridge is fitted with suicide hotline telephones, and staff patrol the bridge in carts, looking for people who appear to be planning to jump. Iron workers on the bridge also volunteer their time to prevent suicides by talking or wrestling down suicidal people." I find it intriguing that the iron workers of all people are the ones luring people off the bridge. It takes a lot to save a life especially when people are trying to take their own. Why are the iron workers the only ones with this responsibility? Because there is no one else.

More good News: The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has been trying to raise $50 million for construction of a suicide barrier that district board members approved in 2008. Despite engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition of cost, aesthetics, and safety. Fortunately the suicide prevention barrier should be in place by mid-2014. But it makes me wonder what will happen when it's in place. Will it just become more or a challenge or will is completely change the world renown suicide pit.

Sources: http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-01-05/bay-area/27010980_1_bridge-rail-foundation-highway-and-transportation-district-suicide-barrier ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge#Suicides

On a less depressing note we also visited the fisherman's warf, Lombard street see photos below:

super cute yet super smelly!

Alcatraz

Lombard Street

View of the whole San Francisco area

Beautiful beaches known for the surf but also great whites! No bueno.

Botanical Gardens at Berkeley

Map of the Gardens

I decided to explore the Berkeley area, not only Telegraph street and the fire trails in the hills of Berkeley but the popular botanical gardens Cal has to offer. 

Redwood Forrest

Back to the LB

My visit at Berkeley was a lot of fun and quite pleasant but the ride back was pretty tiresome and long. Unfortunately I wasn't on the Surfliner on my way back, so the train ride wasn't as pleasant. I was hesitant to go back after a week but my wallet was hurting after a week and I really just missed the warmth and surf of the beach.

Cali Swagga

To backtrack as to how I decided on California. All of my jobs and internships fell through this summer. Every. Single. One. You can bet my morale is slightly crushed. Not only did those jobs in NJ fall through, so did my potential jobs at the Californian Aquarium.

Leaving Suburbia

I didn’t need any more of a reason to leave Montgomery. Living with my aunt on the other side of the United States sounded like the best way to  open my eyes to the world around me. It's big, and there's a lot of it and a lot of people in it. All different types of geography and personalities. All co-existing, with different landscapes and lifestyles.

Everything falling through on me was probably the best blessing I could have ever received. I’ve finally had time to do ‘me’ and be selfish, independent, curious, I will cease to ask questions out here. And it’s never felt better. 

I want to find my passions, I want to find out what makes me different from the average Jane walking down the street. I'm looking for a sign or a direction to go in. While observing how people on the West Coast do this whole "life" thing.

On top of it all there was also no better time to become close and get to know some distant family. 

The first week in Cali, I worked like a dog trying to find a job. Anything. I was about ready to do anything for something. I was able to work on my interview skills and my resume a lot, but nothing in the way of jobs. That's when I started thinking, maybe this is meant to be. I need to explore more schools and my passions out here. I don't want to have to miss out because I have to go to work. Lastly I want to relax, let go, and define myself.

Home- block and a half from the beach =]

So what now? I have no job. 

What do I want to do with my time here? My aunt is paying for my food at home and letting me stay with her. I couldn't ask for a better aunt. I have a whole summer to kill. To make it better, I have no job and a small savings account. Life couldn't get better. lets live it up.

 Purifying Body and Mind

This summer my aunt is trying a "vegan experiment", eating vegan inside the house for most meals. However when we eat out, we can have the choice to stay vegan or not. I'm game. I was trying to be a vegetarian at home just because of how unhealthy meat is these days unless it is grass fed and/or free range. 

Vegan is healthier and more eco-friendly than vegetarianism. It has also been a cool experiment, its really not that hard if you have time to cook and enjoy eating at home or bringing it with you. The meals have been surprisingly delicious. I have also discovered some foods I've never heard about. The only difficult part is taking vitamins to supplement your diet and eating enough protein. 

I am looking for some clarity out here and being a vegan is maybe just what I needed. I want to be able to give back to my body after a whole school year of stressing, cramming and being confused. I want to clear my thoughts and learn how to slow them down with yoga. I want to also try to be as active as possible with my free time.  California is a beautiful place to explore.

Cali Surf

Being in Cali for the summer meant one thing to me, surfs up. It is my goal to learn how to surf (well) and to do it as much as possible because I am so close to the beach. I got a neighbor to lend me a board within the first 2 weeks. I'm psyched! My uncle's cousin Eric, also offered to take me out to Huntington, also known as Surf City USA.

The small dilemma is that I don't have a car. My aunt has a Honda Civic and I don't drive stick nor does a board fit gracefully in a Civic. But we've been creative about solving this problem. Making surf very possible.

The surf out here is sick. My only regret is not surfing earlier in my life. I've surfed with some young kids and they just make me so envious that wasn't me as a kid. I've also surfed with some older people who didn't pick it up until later in their lives but religiously hit the surf as much as possible now (I hope that's me when I get older). 

Waking up at 6:00 am to surf and squeezing (meat packing) into my wet suit

         

Waxing up

Lovin' it.

After the first day of some huge surf at Huntington I was already dreaming of catching the perfect wave and how it would feel like beneath my feet. "The surf is never the same, which makes it difficult to learn" Eric told me, "it takes a lot of practice, you have good days and you have bad ones... when you're just learning, you can catch the perfect wave, which can just make your day."
 

The LB

Long Beach is an great city. 
 

Located in Los Angeles County in Southern California. It's the 7th largest city in California. It's so different from any of the cities I've seen on the east coast. I still can't put my finger on it, maybe it's the beach or maybe it's how spread out the city is. All I know is that it's quite beautiful.

 It has a Mediterranean climate meaning that it's warm and beautiful almost every day. In June it can get pretty overcast in the mornings but that usually burns off around noon time. It almost never rains here, such a drastic change from the Garden State. It's very dry here though meaning you can get dehydrated an sun burnt very quickly and not even know it. The sun just evaporates your sweat before you see it appear on your skin.

The other thing that shocked me was the nights can get really cold. It's not like hot humid summer nights in Jersey where you lay in bed sweating to the covers with the fan on and all the windows open. You need to carry a jacket or sweater if you plan on being out past after the sun sets.

 The Golden or Oil State

Oil-Condo Island

The other thing that I still have trouble getting used to are the oil rigs. They try to pump oil out of every nook and cranny out here. Not far off the coast, there are 2 fake oil islands. They even disguised them with fake condos and made waterfalls on them so they don't seem to be that much of an eye sore.

 Long Beach is also well known for the Port of Long Beach one of the biggest sea ports in the US. This explains the high air pollution rates. The freight boats release mass amounts of bunker fuel as well as the trucks and rail systems that carry the freight inland release even more diesel-pollution.

The other very upsetting part about Long Beach is the breakwater. In the 1950's it was put in to protect the US Pacific Fleet. Unfortunately this makes surfing in Long Beach impossible. I read in one of the Local Newspapers that Long Beach used to be well known for it's incredible surf before the breakwater was built. It's a surfers worse nightmare yet it keeps my aunt house safe from flooding so there is a small upside to this devastating fact.

Yet the breakwater does help lead to even more pollution in Long Beach. It traps all the trash and debis that run off from the sewers in Los Angeles all he way to Long Beach. "This runoff contains most of the debris, garbage, chemical pollutants, and biological pathogens that are washed into storm drains in every upstream city each time it rains."  The Los Angeles river bed is also paved to prevent flooding this just inhibits even more trash to be directly poured into the ocean. Which explains a lot of the trash in the beach. Locals know not to go in the water right after it rains because the water can be so polluted.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Beach,_California

Minus the downside of the pollution and lack of surf, I have been really enjoying Long Beach. I am so close to a lot of things which makes not having a car not as much of an issue. It's an extremely bike-friendly community. They have bike lanes built into the roads and bike racks all over the city. I am super close to the beach and not far from 2nd street which makes shopping easy. I don't need a car to get much and I'm loving having zero emissions.