Improv and Riverside shenanigans

It's been a busy week for us!


I've been hard at work in the gardens

Last Monday, Mitchell's lab group decided they were going to Costco for some things, and we tagged along for the experince. It was very different to anything we've been to before and is definitely the place to go for snacks and baked goods. We all got some muffins to share and after the others had paid for their goodies, we went around to the front to the food hall and got some Costco pizza which I remembered as the best, and cheapest, pizza in California, and it did not disappoint. However, we didn't eat in the food court, because it was all shut off for covid safety, instead we drove to a nearby park which Quynh really liked. We sat on picnic benches under a very pretty gazebo and chatted until it got too cold for the Californians. 

So much cheese!!

Saturday was Mitchell's first American Improv show! It went really well and it was so energentic I was exhausted by the end, and I was only in the audience. We'd only invited a couple of friends to this one, because Mitchell didn't know how good it would be, but I think they're all coming to the next one. It started quite late and is about an hours drive from us so we didn't get home until nearly 1am!

Sunday was a busy day, it was one of the group's birthday, and she wanted to go on a small hike and then out to lunch. I found a park close by which we hadn't been to and had some trails around it. It was very pretty with a small lake and fountains by the nature centre. 

We started on some trails and then decided we wanted to try and make it to the top of the mountain. There wasn't really a path up to the top, just some rocks and ground which wasn't covered by plants. It was very steep and while we made it to some sort of peak, it wasn't the top and we decided to slide back down instead. 

Mitchell and Laura
Me and Mitchell made it a bit higher

It didn't take us too long, but this seemed to be about what Laura wanted for her birthday as we were finished just in time for lunch. We went to a cafe just around the corner (by which I mean it only took us 3 minutes to drive there) which served huge breakfasts all day. The meals were made even bigger by the fact that they accidently brought us double the amount of muffins we ordered! 

We then went to Andrea's for a little bit as she lives close by, and then went into Downtown Riverside for the lunar festival.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, the city had put on another big festival with market stalls, food and a stage with performances throughout the day. We saw people making animals out of sugar, traditional Vietnamese caligraphy and selling silk clothes and art. They also had an entire street closed off just for food stalls. There were a lot of generic foods (for the area) like corn and churros, but there were a few interesting Asian places. We got some steamed buns and dumplings which were very soft and very tasty, and then bought an ube bun to take home. Ube is a Filipino tuber like a sweet potato and used in a lot of desserts because of the bright purple colour. That was also pretty tasty, but so huge we still have some for tomorrow! 

Andrea about to steal our buns

While we were eating, we also saw a fire dance display. The dancer started with ribbons and silks, but throughout the performance worked her way up to bigger and bigger fire sticks! 


Also this week, we went to the DMV and got California drivers licenses! We've been driving on our UK ones since we've arrived, which is ok, but only for a limited time. Although no-one, not even the DMV, seems to know what this time limit is, so we thought it best to get them. It's pretty simple and the whole process (permit, theory test, practical test, IDs) only costs $39 with three free re-takes. We went for processing and our theory test just after Christmas and booked our road tests for this week. We had to bring insurance and registration documents, as everyone does the test in their own car, and a California licensed driver. Which meant when I picked Mitchell up from work, we also had to take Andrea with us. It was very kind of her to come with us and I baked her some cookies. We both passed with no problems and will get our IDs in the mail in a few weeks!  

Here's us celebrating by squinting in the sun

It was a pretty busy week, but now I get to plan what we're doing this weekend for my birthday! I'm not sure what yet, but ice-cream will definitely be involved.

Your favourite Californians,

Emily and Mitchell

xxxxxxxxx


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