AVID Field Trip - Day 1

Early on a Thursday morning in October of 2011, I boarded a charter bus with a group of students from San Dieguito High School Academy (SDA). Located in coastal, Northern San Diego, CA, SDA is among the oldest schools in the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD). Forty-eight students, four chaperones and a bus driver embarked on a memorable journey. Our trip would last three days and take us to nine plus different institutions of higher learning.

SDA has an interesting personality that is reflected in the students, teachers and administrators. I graduated from Torrey Pines High School (TPHS) which is just a few miles down the 5 freeway. Back in my day, TPHS and San Dieguito High School (SDHS) were primary rivals in sports and academics. I should clarify something; SDA and SDHS are the the same physical school, same place and same buildings. The school's character has changed over the years. I digress.

Back to the field trip, we hit the road in the twilight hours. Students had blankets and pillows to snuggle up with for the hours on the road to follow. The bus was a nice one with big padded seats and DVD screens.

We arrived at University of California, Irvine (UCI) after an uneventful and quiet trip. The students were sleepy I think.

UCI is a nice campus; it has a friendly ambiance and a slightly quirky character. The anteater, their mascot, and chant "Zot, Zot, Zot!"express this eccentricity. I have a fondness for UCI as I am a UC graduate myself as were my parents.

UCI has impressive buildings and open spaces with trees and fountains.

After the tour at UCI, we hit the road again heading for Cal State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Not a long drive by distance, but we hit some traffic through Orange County. Awake now, the students were more energetic than the earlier bus ride.

The CSULB campus greeted us with a prominent view. The fields spread out before us as our bus came to rest across the street. The athletic fields are extensive, capable of simultaneously serving many teams. across the fields in the distance is the exclamation point of the visual presentation. The pyramid shaped gymnasium is an impressive facility, inside and out.

The gymnasium audience seats retract for extra space during practices.

Students enjoyed listening to the tour guide's description of the campus.

Following CSULB, we headed for Pepperdine University. Located in beautiful Malibu, the trip took us on a long ride through Western Los Angeles. The third and last school of the day, Pepperdine offered astonishing views from the various patios on our tour.

Pepperdine is a prestigious university with a distinguished history. Character and life experience development are important aspects of the curriculum. There is a significant Christian influence on the fibre of the school. One campus requirement is attendance to convocation. Appealing to many faiths, the convocations address diverse subjects such as "how not to date a jerk".

Our tours concluded for the day, we boarded the bus again to go to the hotel. Riding to Ontario (CA not Canada) meant a long trip through rush hour traffic. Fortunately, we more than qualified to use the carpool lane.

The hotel greeted us with a couple of neat treats!

Custom SDA cookies and an artfully crafted swan-towel!

After the long day, we grabbed some dinner at he large mall accross the street and tucked in for the night. More colleges awaited us the next day!