Alexis and Lillian Travel the World: Riverside Edition

Dawn over at Mom-A-Logues has the coolest thing going on and we got to be a part of it for the past week.  Her daughters "flat me's" are traveling around the world, visiting one family at a time in hopes to see how many different places they can visit in one year. 

The girls arrived in the middle of Homecoming week at school, so they were greeted with a lengthy stay at Arlington High School.  They experienced ninth grade language arts and read Edgar Allen Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" with my classes, along with many hours of event prep for the pep rally, football game, and dance.

That part wasn't very interesting, so we took the girls on a tour of Riverside! 

 

It's October which means fall weather, apple season and pumpkin picking (who cares that it is 95-105 degrees outside), so our family make the short drive to the Oak Glen Apple farms.

 The Winesap apples were ready for picking, so after stopping at Riley's Apple Farm we had a short apple picking lesson.  Andrew enjoyed picking apples for everyone.

 We enjoyed an apple together after picking them fresh (dirt and all).

 We enjoyed the farm life too.  The girls took a trip on the wooden wagon!

After Oak Glen, we visited some of the most important Riverside locations.

 

Our first stop was to the California's Citrus State Park. 

The City of Riverside can thank the naval orange for its origins (those green things are oranges in the process of growing--they have a few more months to go).

In 1873, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forever changed the history of Southern California when it sent two small navel orange trees to Riverside resident Eliza Tibbets. Those trees, growing in near perfect soil and weather conditions, produced an especially sweet and flavorful fruit. Word of this far superior orange quickly spread, and a great agricultural industry was born. An effort to promote citrus ranching in the state brought would-be citrus ranch barons flocking to California. The second "gold rush" was on and Riverside was born.

 

Next up was the palm tree and rose lined Victoria Ave. 

 

As I was thinking about where to introduce the girls to this street came to mind quickly because of its beauty.  The palm trees here can be see all over the city (including one in our own back yard.

 VICTORIA AVENUE owes its existence to the vision of Mathew Gage, a jeweler from Ireland who moved to Riverside in 1881. He developed the Gage Canal which brought precious water to the citrus groves in Arlington Heights. His vision introduced the many varieties trees and plants along Victoria Avenue.

During the spring of 1892, the grading of Victoria Avenue began and the first trees were planted. Riverside’s pioneer landscape designer, Franz Hosp, was responsible for the master plan—a masterpiece of roadway design which proved to be almost as appropriate for automobiles as it was for the horse and buggy crowd.

 

Next stop: California Baptist University, my alma mater. 

 

Riverside has been named Most Intelligent Community two years in a row and part of that is because of the city's multiple universities.  In addition to CBU, Riverside is home to University of California, Riverside, La Sierra University, and Riverside Community College.

 

Our last stop of the grand Riverside tour was the Historic Mission Inn.

The Mission Inn’s rise to greatness began in the late 1800’s, when wealthy easterners and Europeans flocked to Riverside in search of both a warmer winter climate and to invest in the area’s profitable citrus industry.  By the 1890’s, Riverside was the richest city per capita in the United States. The consistent influx of tourists to Riverside made Frank Miller, the Master of the Inn, recognize the dire need for a grand resort hotel and the Mission Inn was born. 

On our way in we talked (literally, they said 'hello' and 'good boy' to us) with the macaws, Frank Miller's favorite things.  Inside the main lobby, Andrew took the girls to President Taft's chair (1909).

 We showed off several of the beautiful courtyards and tall cathedrals--although it was more fun to look down and yell at the people trying to relax at dinner time (we didn't stay long).

 

Of course, they've also spent time at home with mom, dad, Andrew, and Reese (the dog).

 

On a silly side note: Andrew loves Lillian's flat-me; he's become quite attached and is sad to see them move on to another city.