Road trip 051510

Just came back from a short road trip today and thought I'd blog about it while it's still fresh in my head. I got up at around 7am (was supposed to get up at 5am - next time for sure) and drove to Lake Mathews - around 1 hour south-east of Pasadena. The lake was beautiful with different shades of blue and green. Today was especially nice because it was quite foggy and the lake looked almost surreal.

Lake Mathews

I then drove further east and came across some outlet stores in Cabazon. I decided to go in and take a look. I have to say that there were some heavily discounted clothing stores, but I was good and only got a couple of t-shirts. I have decided to wear conservative clothing in summer such as t-shirts instead of singlets. No matter what, people still reach quick conclusions about you by what you wear (I am guilty of doing that too!) and I should dress appropriately for campus. Also as a bonus, I don't have to worry about applying sunscreen on my back which was always such a pain!

After that I thought about going to Palm Springs, but it's all desert and I don't like deserts where everything seems dead - I like mountains, lakes and lush forests much more. Anyway, I checked my always helpful iphone and decided to cut down south across Mt San Jacinto via 243 and 74 to Lake Hemet. Driving up and around mountains is always nice and soon before I knew it I was already 6000ft above ground level (or was it sea level?). Along the way, I saw many people on motor bikes wearing what looked like skiing goggles and they looked rather strange...can't quite explain why but they looked like they were from the 60's. Also, I thought I saw an ant eater by the side of the road and was about to grab my camera, but upon closer examination it was just a wheel cover. So yeah, there were many random car parts on the road which lead me to be cautious for my tires when I saw a shiny thing just ahead across the road. As I swerved around it, I realized that it was actually a snake slithering away! Soon I arrived at Lake Hemet, there were so many campers there and their tents were literally side by side covering the entire east end of the lake! I think this defeats the purpose of camping not to mention I can't take nice photos with all the campsites in view. So yes, I was somewhat disappointed about that.

Driving on 243 (San Jacinto)

I then headed back home while the sun was setting. Overall, it was quite a nice drive. (I'll get up early to catch sunrise next time - I promise!)