by Tim Tevault
Staff Writer
As the year comes to a close, and when finals are all finished and wrapped up, students are unwillfully subjected to a huge amount of free time. To help cure themselves of this, ULV students are planning a variety of things. If one were to listen to what many students are conversing about, one would realize that summer plans are brought up more often than not.
“I’m doing a lot of things,” said freshman Casey Oliver, who will be traveling to Seattle for the baseball All-Star Game. She’ll also be taking a road trip to Northern California with some friends.
Traveling is also on the mind of sophomore Cori Padilla and freshman Tammy Rudin. “I will be traveling to the East Coast to check out medical schools,” Padilla said. Rudin however will be heading to the Caribbean on a cruise.
Freshman Kingsley Yen has also been bitten by the traveling bug, although he is going away for different reasons. Originally from Taiwan, he is going home to help his family with their business.
If money is not an issue, there are many places to travel around California and Nevada. Amtrak and Greyhound offer trips to places like San Diego (home to the World Famous Zoo and Sea World) and Las Vegas (home to various casinos and resorts) for under $75 per roundtrip ticket per person. Driving would probably be cheaper, but considering the rising prices in gas, these rates are not too bad. Student discounts may also be available to those who qualify.
To help beat the heat, students may want to pack up the car and spend a day at the beach or mountains. Both are great ways to beat the heat. The beach (i.e., Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, Venice) offers a great deal of sunshine, shops and water, while the mountains (particularly Big Bear) can offer shady spots to relax.
Although, not everyone wants to beat the heat; they would rather relish in it. For the sun lovers, Southern California has many things to do. For starters, there’s the fun-packed (not to mention people-packed) amusement parks. Places like Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios offer plenty of attractions, rides, shows and it is all under the sun.
A division of theme parks made for the summer are water parks. Raging Waters in San Dimas, Knott’s Berry Farm’s new Soak City in Anaheim and Wild Rivers in Irvine feature thrilling waterslides and pools. This is a great way to cool off while soaking up some rays. Be careful though; the aforementioned parks’ admission prices are on a rise. The theme parks have all topped the $40 mark for adults, while the water parks both charge over $20 for regular admission.
If theme parks won’t do, there are historic cities to make a day trip out of. Hollywood, for instance, can take up a full day, whether it be by visiting the Walk of Fame, taking a tour of movie stars’ homes or checking out Mann’s Chinese Theatre. Other great towns to check out might include Santa Barbara, Palm Springs and Chinatown.
Shopping is also on the agenda for many students. Luckily for shop-a-holics, La Verne is a suburb of Los Angeles, where shopping is essential. Places like Ontario Mills, the Block in Orange, Universal Citywalk and the Irvine Spectrum all offer a variety of stores and restaurants, along with movies and arcades for entertainment.
As well as theme parks people can indulge in a summer concert festival of their favorite bands and singers. The Vans Warped Tour comes to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on June 29 and will feature such acts as Less Than Jake, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Rancid, 311, Pennywise and The Vandals. For more information on the line up and ticket prices go to warpedtour.launch.com.
The Hootenanny festival will be at Hidden Valley Ranch located behind Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and Wild Rivers it will features Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion and John Doe.
L.A. radio station KIIS-FM 102.7 is hosting their annual Wango Tango concert at Dodger Stadium on June 16 and 17. The line up includes the Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, the Bee Gees and Christina Aguilera. Tickets can be purchased at www.rickdees.com.
Musical artists such as *NSYNC, Dave Matthews Band, Destiny’s Child, the Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Radiohead and Depeche Mode are also on tour. For more information about ticket prices and locations call Ticketmaster or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Of course, not everyone has the money to travel. For the financially lacking student, a job is recommended to help bump up the financial quotient, as many people are doing. Many places are hiring or looking for extra help during the summer, especially malls. However, for a more fulfilling job, one could apply at a summer camp or volunteer.
Something else to help pass the time away is summer school. ULV is offering four separate summer sessions, lasting through the whole summer. For a cheaper alternative, local community colleges Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), Chaffey College Rio Hondo College and Citrus College are also offering various summer sessions.
