By Emma Grace Howlett ‘25
Last weekend, I found myself on an uncharacteristically spontaneous expedition to Los Angeles with my friends. Our day began with an hour-long train ride to LA’s Union Station, a grand, commanding building with arched, painted ceilings. The yellow ochre walls glowed golden, afternoon light streaming in through a wall of high glass windows. After taking our fill of pictures, but assured by our friend from New York City that it was nothing compared to Grand Central Station, we stepped out through the heavy wooden doors. With a spirit of adventure and a vague sense of geography for guidance, we found ourselves on Azusa Street, which was packed to the brim with Mexican vendors. Fun fact: I learned in my history class later that week that Azusa Street was the site of the first Protestant revival!
We next stumbled upon another piece of history: the oldest house in LA, known as the Avila Adobe. Now a free museum, the adobe is staged as it would have looked in the 1840s. We were most impressed by the original marriage license hung on the wall, which consisted of only a few handwritten sentences.
After a fifteen-minute walk, we reached Little Tokyo, the largest Japantown in the United States. We passed the iconic Little Tokyo watchtower, and sat by a peaceful fountain while nibbling on matcha flavored rolls. Finally, we satisfied our hunger with some flavorful Japanese noodles. We slurped up steaming bowls of udon at an outdoor restaurant and laughed when the wind from the cars whizzing past blew our tablecloth up. On the train ride back to campus, I watched the colorful sun set and reflected on the spontaneity and adventurousness of the day.
While an L.A. adventure added variety to my life, you don’t need to ride a train for an hour to have a fun weekend at Pomona. I regularly fill my weekends with on-campus events like improv shows, soccer games, movie nights, and picnics on the Quad. Oh, and homework too!