Some weekends were just meant for solidarity
February 27th, 2011 | Author: Alec Snavely
Okay, so here we are in week 8/9, and I and others have lived at the dorm for just about 20 weeks. That means we’ve had more than enough time to explore Irvine and get tired of it. Which, probably happened around the 15th week. Don’t get me wrong–there’s lots to do here, and it’s all really fun in it’s own aspect. But after having little to no access to a car, and small funds for going out, it gets hard to find stuff to do.
This is, at least, the position I found myself in this weekend. What was I going to do? I went to the Spectrum probably 8-15 times already, I’ve watched all the good movies to watch, I’ve gone to everything around Irvine (bowling, Disneyland, other shopping centers, Sky High, etc.). What else was there to do?
The Beach! Irvine is a simple 15 minute drive to Newport, provided you have a car or know a friend who has one. So, despite the winderly blistery wind tearing up for the closest 100 acres or so, I traveled with a friend to Newport, not to swim (please. I’m not crazy), but rather, to sketch. Yes, draw. Granted, we were only there for 40ish minutes (the wind plus the cold plus the parking meter which we had few quarters for), but it was a nice relaxing 40 minutes where I was able to enjoy not only my favorite hobby, but also the BEAUTIFUL scenery. Okay, the area of Newport we were in may have been a little reminiscent of some areas in LA, but the sunset and clouds and waves and EVERYTHING (we could see to Long Beach CLEARLY. No haziness) really made me happy that we braved the cold and did something spontaneous for a change. It made me glad I was at a college so close to the beach and Pacific Coast Highway (PCH for those who don’t know), where I could just get in a car, and drive to any beach I wanted to.
This reminds me that UCI is close to (not exactly 15 minutes away, but less than 40 minutes away) Laguna Beach, where the annual Pageant of the Masters is held. I went to this show for the first time this past summer, and boy was it impressive. The event is basically an exhibit of different forms of art that have gained respect and recognition over the past year, and many people come to look at this art and enjoy the food and activities that this exhibit holds. However, the main event is the Pageant of the Masters event (yes, what the whole thing is named after), where annual volunteers don costumes and position themselves to reproduce art. Basically, real people recreate the scenes of famous pieces of art. SOUNDS dumb, but trust me, it’s actually really impressive to see in real life. Other art shows are held annually at Laguna Beach (it’s a very art-oriented city–most of the exhibits at Pageant of the Masters were provided by people who resided in Laguna Beach permanently), but I’ve never gone or experienced them.
Just another look at my art and communities of art around UCI!
PS, the sketch you see is what I did. I got lazy halfway with the buildings, so I kind of gave up, did some waves, and then a cloud. By then we had to go, but it was good practice so I was happy.
A few others that came to mind:
Aldrich Park, I REALLY REALLY want to go play tag or sardines or hide and go seek, or capture the flag or SOMETHING one of these nights, in aldrich park. I know of a few people who have done it, and it’s supposed to be really fun
free movies!, ASUCI screens a free movie every couple of weeks, with this week’s being Disney’s Tangled, which isn’t even out on DVD yet. Sadly, I didn’t get tickets in time.
Biking/hiking There’s not a lot of area in which you can do this that is immediately close, but I know you can bike to the beach (It’d take you a while), so it’s not entirely impossible.
random adventures, Sometimes you’ll just have an urge to do something, and so will those around you, and you’ll go on an adventure. Spontaneity is a cool thing, cause things just happen, and you go along with it. I would say I have the most fun during THOSE times.
I’ll just list things off to make it easy, starting with stuff immediately close:
UTC, which is basically just a bunch of food and hang out spots
ARC, not really a “cool” place to go, but it’s fun when you sign up for intramurals and hall games or you just go with your friends. I actually go to the ARC on tuesdays to watch Glee while I’m on the treadmill, and it’s funny to see all these other people go there at the same time to do the same thing too.
Clubs, joining a club, or getting involved somehow, is really fun. I know some clubs have “families” which you get put into when you join, and then you have fun with them, and other clubs are too small to have that, so you get to meet everyone as opposed to only a small number of people. I’m not currently in any clubs and actively participating (I’m in Chinese Association and I went to a writing club once, but I’ve been so busy/distracted that I haven’t really gone back).
Clubbing, this goes off of clubs (we’re just gonna use an example club: CA), cause I know CA does go clubbing every once in a while. The clubs aren’t too close, but CA will provide rides and all that jazz. And this isn’t to say CA does go clubbing or not (I forget), but it’s easier to use an example instead of using “club” 20 times.
bowling, a lot of people go and spend a couple hours there. I haven’t personally gone, but I’ll probably go before the year is out
the beach, as I said earlier, we’re right by the PCH, so you can just coast to where you want to go
Disneyland, IF you have a friend with a car, and IF you make friends with a lot of people who have annual passes, and IF that friend is willing to take everyone, then Dland is a more than possible option for you. Even if you have none of that, and only a car, you can still go to Downtown Dland and shop/go to ESPN zone or go catch a movie.
Shopping, I have a whole post on this. there’s just LOTS of shopping or things associated with shopping (movies and food) that you can do.
Sky High, I don’t know where this is, and I only know about it cause apparently some people went one weekend when I was at home, but they built a Sky High around here. I read about it in the LA Times once (or was it Time magazine?), but that was a while ago. I really want to go though.
Miniature Golfing, This is…past(?) the Spectrum, but along the freeway there is a miniature golfing site. I think it’s a Boomers, but I’ve only passed it a few times. I also know that as you’re coming down the 91, I think you pass a Scandanavia along the way. I don’t really know, cause I haven’t heard many people talk about it, but I’m 99% sure these things are around.
LA, okay, LA is proabaly a good 45 minutes away, but if you have the time, and you’re bored, you can totally just shoot up on the 5 northbound and stop in LA for whatever you wanna do. Whether that be the fashion district, Olvera Street, China Town, whatever, LA isn’t too far off.
Other amusement parks, okay, Knotts Berry Farm and Six Flags are not close by a long shot, but again, if one day you are bored, you have the money, and you have the car, it wouldn’t be bad to take that hour-2 hour trip and hit up those really fun parks. It’s worth it, especially if you have some friends from NorCal who’ve never been, and you get to introduce them to everything.
What else is there to do for students at UCI? I know you listed a few things (bowling, Disneyland, other shopping centers, Sky High), but what are some other places kids go? What are some of the other things they do? What does the campus provide as far as student activities?
Thanks!
Greg