Campus Visit Recap: USC-Marshall

I apologize for how long this has taken me to write up. Things are very hectic, both at work and with life, so blogging got put to the side for a bit. I should be posting more frequently, so no worries! First post today will be a write-up of my trip in general. I'll post the school specific info in the next one.

My flight to LA left Cleveland at 7AM...needless to say, I got zero sleep, but I slept on the flight, so it was OK. I also got some reading done (The Mailroom...highly recommend it). Landed, got a cab (expensive!) and checked in to the hotel. That first Saturday I walked around the city for a bit, saw some parks and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, then went for a nap...and promptly woke up 16 hours later! Oops!

Sunday I took the subway (first time on the subway, believe it or not. Thanks to the Aussie kid who was searching for the same train as me) to Hollywood and Highland. I spent a good bit of time walking around Grauman's Chinese Theater - I was actually there the day Charlton Heston passed away, so I got a picture of his hand prints with flowers all around it. I saw the characters, walked up and down the walk of fame, and took some pictures of random stars and stuff. Ate a good lunch at the Pig N Whistle and learned an important lesson: California loves avecados!

Sunday night I ate at LA Prime, and spared no expense for myself, as I was dining alone. Evian water, a few glasses of riesling, chilled jumbo shrimp in a mango salsa, a perfectly cooked piece of filet mignon with sauteed shrimp, cappuccino and creme brulee. It was basically a perfect meal. Afterwards, I went downstairs to the rotating bar and had a $15 martini, then bed.

Monday was USC day, and I'll cover that in a separate post. Quick thoughts: I loved it! That night I had dinner, watched the NCAA championship, then woke up early and caught my flight back home. Total cost of trip, including hotel, airfare, meals, cabs, and shopping: $1500. Eek!