While we were on sabbatical in California we made several trips to visit with colleagues at the UCSD (University of California at San Diego) campus in La Jolla, San Diego. It's a really nice campus, right by the ocean and the engineering buildings are much nicer than the typical engineering buildings on a college campus.

The UCSD library is particularly interesting. It's perched at the top of a hill and offers great views over the campus. A winding path, designed to look like a snake leads up to the entrance.

The campus also has lots of interesting art including this sculpture of a bear composed of several (real) boulders.

Greg gave a seminar in the Mechanical Engineering department and was given a reserved parking space. It's unfortunate that they got his name wrong :) Who is Gerg?

The UCSD campus is right next to Scripps Institute of Oceanography which is right on the edge of the beach with its own pier and a beachhouse where staff and students hang out for Friday happy hours.

The beach in La Jolla is popular with surfers and it is fun to head down there to watch them.

There are some amazing sunsets in La Jolla. It's always nice to watch the sun go down over the Pacific Ocean (or to watch the sun come up over the Pacific Ocean if you're in New Zealand!).