Spring Break. It’s upon us. One short week from now and we’ll be face-to-face with Spring Break Junior Year. This is a very special Spring Break. The one that is destined to be a road trip. A college tour road trip to be precise. And if you’re related to a junior-soon-to-be-senior but still just a freshman-turning-sophmore, buckle up because we’re not doing this particular trip again two years from now. You’re our designated notetaker. And ChattyG recommends “One trick that works shockingly well” (specifically for teenage boys and college tours)… good thing it doesn’t know how skeptical my teenage boys are of it… her? Them? I don’t know.
Have each of your sons give the campus a 1–10 score within 2 minutes of leaving. Don’t discuss it until the end of the trip.
Nate’s new job.
I’ll never forget this particular trip my junior year. Diane piled Sarah, Alesia, and me into the minivan and took us south. I mostly remember Cal Poly, Pepperdine, and UCLA. At UCLA, we stayed with Sarah’s sister Chrissy and attended one of her pre-med classes. I remember a huge fishbowl auditorium with a tiny little man at the bottom wearing a Lavalier mic. I didn’t understand a word. In my defense, it was pre-med. And he was speaking Chinese.
That night we went to a great party where I remember seeing Urkel and dancing with the younger brother of Kevin from The Wonder Years, possibly known by some people as Ben Savage from Boy Meets World. These incidents may have been on this one road trip or during a handful of college visits. Will we ever really know? No, we won’t. I’ve accepted that many things are no longer knowable.
The other standout memories from this roadtrip were that we met the girls soccer coach at Pepperdine and stayed at the round hotel at the bottom of the hill next to the 405. It’s been transformed into a modern boutique hotel called Hotel Angeleno, but remember it being a Holiday Inn. We ate dinner that night at a place with a menu featuring all cuisines– you know, like the Cheesecake Factory but not. It had a page for Mexican and a page for Italian and a page for American and a page for Asian and I distinctly decided, then and there, that a restaurant with everything is a restaurant with nothing. Good, that is.
This year’s trip will also likely feature a Holiday Inn or two– I’m partial to the Express and their pancake machines– they’re a hit with the Club Soccer crowd. Our plan is to drive all the way to San Diego and stay the night in Carlsbad. Specifically for donuts at The Goods. We choose colleges based on their vibes and proximity to world class pastries… I’m kidding!
No I’m not.
So here’s the plan:
Of course we’ll be stopping in Little Tokyo because, that’s who we are. Then we’ll work our way home and hopefully manage to still have a three-day-weekend.