The numbers so far...

92 - number of days since starting this adventure

2,446 - number of miles driven (not counting commuting)

2,136 - number of miles flown (pittsburgh to los angeles)

8 - number of different grocery store chains i've been in (safeway, kroger, publix, whole foods, trader joes, food lion, wegman's, giant eagle)

9 + 1 - number of states + the district of columbia i've been in

9 - number of places i've slept (6 beds, 1 couch, 1 air mattress, 1 floor)

Sheep herding

Last year in the fall, my mom and I found sheepdog trials near Charlotte and we had the day off, it was beautiful outside and we decided to check it out.  It was so cool.  I felt like I was in the middle of the movie "Babe."  So when she sent me this video last week, I could not believe it. 

How in the world do they get the sheep to work in such intricate movements?  And tolerate those light vests?  I can't even make my cat get off the bed!!!?

My own personal leap day!

This is my favorite day, and it happens only once every 4 years!!!

So excited for the opening ceremonies!

Celebrity sighting

So my time out and about in LA has been pretty limited since I've been fairly busy either working, driving or sleeping.  But today, I had my first (and probably only) celebrity sighting of the trip!  Just walking along the corridor of the hospital, there we see this famous face...

And she looked good!  Jamie Lee Curtis is a huge supporter of children's hospitals across the country and she must have been taking a tour of the brand new hospital building at CHLA.  Totally bizarre to see someone famous in the hospital of all places!

Work

Morning commute

Don't tell the California Highway Patrol (or my mom) that I took this shot!

Hike in Griffith Park

In an attempt to avoid the awful rush hour traffic in LA, I've been trying to find workout/shopping/eating opportunities near work between 5 and 7.  Griffith Park is only about 5 minutes from the hospital and provides the most amazing views of the city, the Hollywood Sign and the Griffith Observatory

You drive up this long and winding road to the top of the mountain, and from there you find tons of trails going up and down, providing amazing views.

Too much smog to see the Santa Monica beaches (in fact, I think this shot is towards Downtown, not West towards the beach), but perfect views of this iconic place...too bad I left my real camera in Pittsburgh, or else I would have much better shots!

Not too shabby for an after-work workout!

Sunsets

I might have lived in Florida for a year, and yes I might have seen my fair share of picturesque beach scenes. But there is nothing like a west coast sunset...

Los Angeles!

Well, I made it to Los Angeles about a week ago and I've been going non-stop ever since!  If you can get past the awful traffic, it's a pretty amazing place!  I'm staying with my aunt and uncle in Huntington Beach and  working at Children's Hospital Los Angeles in the Medical Genetics Department.  It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to work in the morning, but the free rent is worth it!  I did research in the same department while I was in college, so it's nice to at least be a little familiar with things.  The hospital itself is brand new and beautiful.  And the weekends are great because I have time to explore and hang out with family.  I'm trying to stay up in LA near work until about 7pm in order to beat some traffic on the way home. So I'm trying to find interesting places to run and cool stores to check out in order to kill some time between 5 and 7.  

Photo of the day

The Cathedral of Learning

@ University of Pittsburgh