Dates: Tuesday, May 26th OR Thursday, May 28st, 9:30am

Location: Online!

Tuesday - You are with Tara today! Her link is in the e-mail!

Thursday - Same link we always use, also in the e-mail!

Thank you for a wonderful semester!

The end (of the semester) is near! It’s been 17 lovely weeks, so let’s take a short stroll down memory lane! Remember, questions this week come from class and the readings! 

• Oregon Trail (Thursday only)

A technical glitch got us off on a bit of a crazy footing! Our speaker realized too late that Zoom wasn’t an option, so we talked about the California Gold Rush and how settlers streamed across the continent on the Oregon Trail!

• Southern Caregiver Resource Center

This is always a great and informative visit. This organization does so much good for our community, especially those in caregiving roles. We talked about the importance of nutrition and maintaining our health, especially if we are caring for others. 

• Knox House Museum

What a fun visit to a museum most of us didn’t even realize was there! Many of us have passed the yellow house on the way to the courthouse but never gone in. What a fun way to see the history of El Cajon! I loved the pictures of what is now Parkway Plaza and the preserved fashions upstairs!

• Joshua Tree National Park

A rescheduled visit, it’s always fun to talk to Park Rangers and learn from them. We talked about desert animals and plants and their adaptations to the harsh desert climate. The Joshua Tree, the namesake of the park, is so unique with its spiny leaves and popcorn like blooms. 

• Family Search Center

A fascinating trip to learn about our own personal histories! Though run by the Mormon church and volunteers, no religious affiliation is required to visit this search center to access ancestry sites and create a family tree. They offer many free services, including picture scanning and video tape conversions. Even those old slides you might still have can be scanned and converted to digital items! 

• U.S. Army Museum - Women & the ENIAC

While the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ did a good job of highlighting the women computers of NASA for many of us, there were many other women powering science with math and programming knowledge. We learned about the women who worked for the U.S. Army as computers (doing math) and then moving to work with programming the ENIAC machines, the early computers. 

• Quattrone Center

Well this was a blast from my own past, as we got to chat with one of my high school classmates about the legal system and the Center’s work to ensure the fair administration of justice. We got a crash course in the appeals system and how complicated navigating the legal system can be!

• National Speleological Society

Caves! We went ‘exploring’ in caves with Caver Dave, which was so interesting! He talked to us about the rules of cave exploration (remember, never go alone and know your ‘squeeze rate’). Some of the cave pictures were stunning with how alien the formations can seem. The science and exploration being done in caves is truly amazing. 

• A pivot with Tara

Though we were supposed to be in person at Speciality Produce, Jury Duty and the common cold had other plans. You all graciously joined Tara and Luree for some online tours about the San Diego theater scene!

• Jewel Cave National Monument

Another cave exploration class! This time we ‘traveled’ to one of the largest cave systems in the world in South Dakota. With just one small entrance, we have mapped just over 220 miles of cave passages, but that only represents about 5% of the entire system! 

• Watch Duty

We learned about this app from the San Diego Red Cross and many of us have been using it since then! We got to talk to one of the original people on the Watch Duty team to learn about how they got their start and how they have expanded to meet the needs of the public and the firefighting community in the face of wildfires. 

• Voyageurs Conservancy

What a stunning park to visit! We got to talk about Dark Skies and the Voyageurs National Park. Often, when we think of conservation and protecting the environment, we think of air and water pollution. But light pollution also impacts an ecosystem! We talked about ways parks and other places 

• Hearst Castle

Another visit to the castle on the hill! Some scheduling issues meant that we had to wave off TRACON (see what I did there) and we returned to our old standby, Hearst Castle. We talked about the ancient art that Hearst collected to fill his old-world style palace. My particular favorite was the sarcophagus! 

• Specialty Produce

We finally made it! And what an interesting and delicious trip! There were so many fruits and vegetables that I’ve never heard of! Their team travels the world in search of different produce to bring back to San Diego. Though they mainly supply local restaurants with the freshest and difficult to source produce, they are also open to the general public. I know that I’ll keep my eye on those ice cream bananas!

• Point Lobos State Natural Preserve 

A day at the beach is never a bad day! We got to Zoom in with our ranger and see the lovely coastline that makes up Point Lobos. Though we remained on top of it, we were able to discuss the Monterey Marine Protected Area that protects the waters and life off our coast to prevent ecological destruction and overfishing.

• Toastmasters

What a fun way to end! We got to hear from a local group that meets to improve their public speaking skills and build confidence. While most people have a fear of public speaking, this group aims to help people not only overcome that fear, but to improve their speaking abilities and confidence. With dozens of groups around San Diego to choose from, it’s a great group to meet and connect with people. 

I hope the review has helped!