We were driving back from Los Angeles. It was a bit of a drive. Made longer by the infamous LA traffic snarls. We were very close to Riverside when I casually looked up to the mountains and was immediately hit by a very unfamiliar sight. There seemed to be an elephant on the edge of the hill!

Go figure!!

After some internet research, I realized that it is a giant, 30-foot-tall statue of a mammoth made of rusted iron. It was installed there in 2003 as a billboard for the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center.

She picked a few for herself too!

Sharmila has been following this artist – Joe Cariati – for a couple of years. He is into the craft of glass blowing and apparently is fairly well known in glass blowing circles. She always has wanted to visit his workshop and pick up some of his creations. Last couple of visits to the SoCal area, we could not do so.

This time, we had made an appointment and showed up after driving for a couple of hours. I do not understand art, but I was fascinated by the engineering and science of the fire kilns and how they were creating those perfectly shaped glass pieces. We also met Joe’s wife – Austin – who is also a glassblower. We further found out that Sharmila and Austin went to the same school!

The artist – Joe – is in the back of the shop facing us.

We were busy having dinner with my nephew and his friends when I looked outside the window and saw this robot pacing up and down the street. Totally cool!

Of course, a few of us rushed out to check it out. The robot would walk up to strangers, and if you extended your hand, it would clasp it between its palms to greet you. And then take leave and amble away!

BTW, the three that rushed out of our party of six? They were the only Computer Science majors (current and long past) at the table.

Took my nephew to check out UCSD. He has been thinking of applying to transfer there. Went to see the famous library architecture there. The weather did not make a very favorable impression. It was extremely hazy.

This is in Dana Point (Doheny State Beach). It was cool but the sun made it feel really nice.