{"id":1257,"date":"2018-05-18T07:03:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T14:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/?p=1257"},"modified":"2018-05-16T17:04:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T00:04:25","slug":"trip-alma-mater-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/18\/trip-alma-mater-la\/","title":{"rendered":"Trip to alma mater in LA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The weekend after going to <a href=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/02\/to-sacramento\/\">Sacramento<\/a>\u00a0(so about 3 months ago now), J and I visited our undergraduate institution outside of Los Angeles, &#8217;cause our old dorm was having its big annual party! Woo!<\/p>\n<p>We took an overnight BoltBus to get from San Jose (Diridon Station) to LA (Union Station). It was cheap at $25\/person, but I would never do it again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It was overnight, so that we didn&#8217;t waste a day on traveling. Amtrak only has a daytime train between LA and the Bay Area.<\/li>\n<li>Going overnight also decreases the chances of running into traffic.<\/li>\n<li>It was cheap (half the cost of Amtrak, half to 1\/8 the cost of a flight).<\/li>\n<li>Lower emissions than a plane.<\/li>\n<li>The stop in San Jose was relatively easy for us to get to.<\/li>\n<li>There was a bathroom on board!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It was overnight, so we needed to sleep to have a good next day.<\/li>\n<li>The seats are uncomfortable and cramped -&gt; it was hard to sleep.<\/li>\n<li>The bus driver talked inappropriately loudly for the time of night. Pretty sure he was the only one fully awake.<\/li>\n<li>Intermittent stops were accompanied by bright lights and loud announcements, thus disturbing our sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Yeah&#8230; Only take an overnight bus if you&#8217;re a heavy sleeper and don&#8217;t mind cramped chairs. We were super tired when we got to LA. We made a multitude of plans to find a nice place to nap, but never actually succeeded in any of them \ud83d\ude41 Overall, Amtrak is a nicer experience.<\/p>\n<p>We stayed with the lovely T for the duration of our trip. Thanks!<\/p>\n<p>We visited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gristandtoll.com\/\">Grist &amp; Toll<\/a>, an urban flour mill located in Pasadena. Who knows how long it&#8217;s been there! I&#8217;ve been missing out for years D:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1351\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1351\" style=\"width: 528px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1351 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140605.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140605.jpg 528w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140605-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1351\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The front of the mill. It looks pretty desolate. We initially thought we were in the wrong place because of the industrial vibe the complex gave off. Notice the big garage door for delivery trucks. By the way, that&#8217;s a date palm shadow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1352\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140618.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140618.jpg 528w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_140618-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1366\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1366\" style=\"width: 528px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1366 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_141431.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_141431.jpg 528w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_141431-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1366\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grist &amp; Toll specializes in heirloom and locally-grown varieties of wheat and other grains (einkorn, oats, barley, rye, teff, and sesame, I think).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1365\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1365\" style=\"width: 528px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1365 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_140846.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_140846.jpg 528w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_140846-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1365\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cornmeal, too. There was a big quilt hung up in the store. You can see it here against the wall. Of course I asked about it! It turns out the owners know someone with a quilt collection, so the store gets a rotating selection of historical quilts. This particular one was from the late 1800s; the cashier even read us a blurb on it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>J and I got one bag of bread flour (and one as a gift for our host, T!) and one bag of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gristandtoll.com\/product\/wit-wolkering\/\">general purpose flour<\/a> grown by <a href=\"http:\/\/farmermai.com\/farmer\/\">Mai Nyugen<\/a>, a farmer who tries to be super environmentally friendly. For example, most (all?) of her field work is done using horses(!) and she doesn&#8217;t irrigate. Of course, the flour is super expensive (~$35\/5 lbs flour).<\/p>\n<p>We had dinner at the acclaimed Chengdu Taste, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seriouseats.com\/2015\/08\/chengdu-taste-best-sichuan-chinese-san-gabriel-los-angeles.html\">supposedly the best Szechuan restaurant outside of Szechuan Province<\/a>, China. Unfortunately, we accidentally went with some friends who don&#8217;t particularly like spicy food&#8230; I think there was a miscommunication somewhere.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1368\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1368\" style=\"width: 939px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1368 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_212515.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_212515.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_212515-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_212515-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Double-fried green beans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1367\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1367\" style=\"width: 939px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1367 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_211632.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_211632.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_211632-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_211632-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cumin beef.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1353\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1353\" style=\"width: 939px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1353 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_212241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_212241.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_212241-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180223_212241-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1353\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mapo tofu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And we went to the dorm party!!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1369\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_211342.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_211342.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_211342-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_211342-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1370\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_212051.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_212051.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_212051-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180224_212051-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1356\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_215908.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_215908.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_215908-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_215908-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1355\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_212350.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_212350.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_212350-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_212350-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1354\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_204742.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_204742.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_204742-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_204742-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And a few straggler happenings:<\/p>\n<p>The dorm now has fancy recycling bins from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terracycle.com\/en-US\/\">Terracycle<\/a>! Okay, I don&#8217;t think anyone is using them, but the intent is good. I may take my dental care waste back there to recycle it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1364\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1364\" style=\"width: 528px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1364 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_075915.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_075915.jpg 528w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MVIMG_20180223_075915-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recycling paid for by Colgate! This is a form of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Extended_producer_responsibility\">extended producer responsibility<\/a> that would help build the cost of disposal into the price of a product.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The communal projector is falling apart.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1357\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1357\" style=\"width: 939px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1357 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_235156.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"939\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_235156.jpg 939w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_235156-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_20180224_235156-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1357\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seriously, I think it&#8217;s weight is being supported by copious amounts of duct tape.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The university recently switched to different dorm furniture, casting off the old (which was much beloved!). When we were visiting, I scrounged around for bunk-bed parts. I got enough for 1 bunk bed (so spots for 2 beds, or a bed and a desk) and 1 table, plus extras for future repairs. Now I just have to figure out how to get them to the Bay Area!! I&#8217;m hoping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/\">USHIP<\/a> works out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The weekend after going to Sacramento\u00a0(so about 3 months ago now), J and I visited our undergraduate institution outside of Los Angeles, &#8217;cause our old dorm was having its big annual party! Woo! We took an overnight BoltBus to get from San Jose (Diridon Station) to LA (Union Station). It was cheap at $25\/person, but &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/18\/trip-alma-mater-la\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Trip to alma mater in LA&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1257"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1399,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions\/1399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beansproutadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}