California trip, June 22

This morning, we had a good breakfast at the Comfort Inn before starting our trek to the University of California, Davis, where we wanted to check out the city and campus known for their terrific dedication the the environment. Davis has made a commitment to preserve natural habitats. The 400-acre City of Davis Wetlands is unusual in that it depends on storm water and treated waste water runoff as its source of water. The wetlands environment draws more than 80 species of wildlife, including migrating waterfowl and songbirds, and also provides a recreational outlet for Davis residents, who utilize the open spaces for wildlife viewing, hiking, and biking. The city's focal point is the University of California Davis, with 30,000 students. As we exited from the freeway, we saw two buildings which immediately caught our eye and constitute the newest addition to the campus. The first is the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, built by the architectural firm of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, based in Portland, Oregon. The building cost $100,000,000, and its grand opening was in 2008. It is the new home of the Department of Viticulture and Enology and the Department of Food Science and Technology. The construction was funded by a donation of $21,000,000 from Robert and Margrit Mondavi and was the single most substantial private donation UC Davis has ever received. The North and South buildings, Sensory Facility and a new student vineyard comprise the impressive ocher-colored and glass complex. The North Building houses the Department of Viticulture and Enology. The South Building houses the Department of Food Science and Technology as well as both departments' counseling offices. These buildings include research space and instructional space. The Sensory Facility is shared between the two departments and includes instructional kitchens and sensory research areas, as well as a lecture hall seating 60. Phase 2 of the building campaign, now completed, includes the August Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory. The Institute houses several independent research centers tasked with providing useful research and extension services to California winemakers and farmers. Also included is the UC Davis Good Life Garden, planted in 2008. Most of the produce is donated to the Gunrock Pub, chancellor's events, and the Food Bank of Yolo County. What an incredible facility! And if that building weren't enough to dazzle the mind, diagonally across from it was another magnificent building, the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, a 1,800-seat multipurpose performing arts venue serving the Sacramento Valley. It was designed in 1997 and features, along with the performance hall, an entry drive, a one-acre park, landscaped open space, a 722-car parking garage, and a 900-car parking lot. Boora, the architectural firm, planned, programmed, and designed it. It too was astounding, and had a wonderful overhanging entrance canopy like the Winspear Opera House. In the square was also the newly finished and admirable Bueller Alumni and Visitor Center, and we went in and through an art gallery and watched as various students were called in for scholarship interviews. A garden (the Vanderhof Quad) linking the Bueller, the Mondavi Arts Center, and the Gallagher Center of Business Management, featured lovely plantings and a fountain wall which set off the quad to its best advantage. We spent a thoroughly delightful morning photographing those buildings and grounds and then drove through downtown Davis before gassing up Maureen's car, Wanda the Honda, and proceeding on to Mountain View, where we arrived at about 3:00. Laundry and the tedious little jobs that had to be completed post-trip were completed, and after that we had a late lunch. Then we got to the serious business of packing more of Maureen's china and glassware. For a brake, we went to Target to buy more packing tape; to Milk Pail for lychee nuts, apricots, grapes, cherries, marzipan, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, red-leaf lettuce, and black currant juice; and then to Trader Joe's for three empty wine boxes which are, by the way, great for packing glassware. We had dinner when we arrived home: hamburger patties without the bun, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, baked sweet potato and yam wedges, and cherries and a bit of Ritter Sport marzipan for dessert. A varied and great day, with many different activities to keep things interesting and humming!