<p>By the time you get your luggage, I think the Sunday night rush will be mostly done. Take the 210. Pasadena is a nice stop, and there is a Courtyard by Marriott in Old Town near the restaurants. You might also enjoy wandering around Caltech. Oxy science students have a favorable 3-2 transfer program with Caltech, and Caltech students often take classes at Oxy and participate in their orchestra. I agree that I do not know of good hotels around Oxy - look in Pasadena or downtown Glendale unless Oxy says otherwise. For an inexpensive, but pretty nice (if old-fashioned) place near Caltech, try the Saga Motor Inn.</p>
<p>We visited Oxy a couple of weeks ago and stayed at the Best Western Eagle Rock for a few nights. It is NOT fancy, nor is it in the greatest area, but our room was clean, had wireless internet and we had no problems whatsoever. They also have a free continental breakfast. There is a mini fridge & microwave in the room, and a grocery store about a block away. The TV was nice, and they let us use a DVD player with a deposit that they refunded when we returned it. It’s just a few minutes from campus, and easy access to freeways. We drove from there to Claremont one afternoon, and it didn’t take too long, maybe 40 minutes. One evening we drove into Pasadena for dinner, around 7:00 and there was still a lot of traffic, so beware of that.</p>
<p>For the Seattle to LA trip, Alaska flies nonstop to Ontario, but Southwest stops in Vegas. Alaska is where I always look first. You might be able to get the Walla Walla leg included in the Alaska Horizon booking for less than you might expect. I second the suggestion to fly direct to Burbank if possible for the Oxy visit. It’s really close.</p>
<p>That said, LAX has worked out fine for us while visiting Claremont - you just need to allow for a lot more flex in your schedule. If you are public transit people, you could take the bus from LAX to Union Station, and then the train to the Pomona campus. I understand the train keeps commuter hours, so your options might be limited.</p>
<p>If you’re brave enough to use priceline, you can get ridiculously good deals on 3* hotels around Ontario. If you’re flying in and out of Ontario, it would not be crazy to just stay there the whole time, and time your commute to Oxy to beat traffic. I have used Hotwire for Claremont hotels because I know you can book the Sheraton Fairplex for under $70 if they don’t have an event at the fairgrounds. It shows up as a 3.5* hotel in East Los Angeles area - you don’t know the name until after you buy, so you have to assume you might get something different. But this one is pretty predictable, and it’s a really nice hotel for parent and child, since it’s a suite setup with a comfortable pullout couch. And the desk clerk hooked us up with a terrific burrito place that locals frequent.</p>
<p>Have a fun trip!</p>
<p>The drive to Walla Walla is nearly an hour shorter from Portland, but you will have fewer choices as far as flights/prices. I love the Portland airport and am beginning to dislike Sea-Tac (although the construction is nearly over!) . If your kid is turned off by large expanses of ugly scenery, the drive is slightly better from Seattle. Or, from Portland, once you have oohed and aaahed at the wind-surfers on the river at The Dalles, suggest your kid loads a DVD into the laptop and misses the next 2 hours… Leave 84 where 82 splits off and go N to Umitilla. Follow the river up to Wallula Junction and head East on 12. About 30 minutes after you leave the 84, point out that you are in a beautiful canyon along the river. From there on it it’s pretty. Point out all the windmills on the ridges. Whitman-owned land generates lots of green energy. As you start into winery country, mention the beautiful steep rolling hills - actually a wind-blown deposit of ancient volcanic soil.<br>
Get off the highway at Pine St and stay at the Holiday Inn Express. The Marcus Whitman is overpriced. Avoid the WallaWalla Inn on Main like the plague.</p>
<p>We did a similar trip last year, with a variation. </p>
<p>I would suggest getting a hotel in Claremont for both nights, as you are jamming a lot to do on Tuesday. This will give you more time to check out the other four colleges in the consortium. </p>
<p>We drove over to Oxy from Claremont at around 9 on a Friday morning and traffic wasn’t bad at all. There is a carpool lane on the 210, which makes the morning/afternoon traffic more reasonable. (You do need to change lanes to get to the correct offramp, so pay attention to the upcoming offramp signs.)</p>
<p>Definitely fly into Ontario, it is so much simpler than LAX.</p>
<p>If you had more time, I’d second the notion of checking out Pasadena/CalTech, and the areas around Oxy, I don’t think it’s a good idea for this trip.
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In your case, I’d allow for more time in Claremont, since a CMC student is very likely to be taking courses at the other Claremont Colleges. They all have a different feel, and it’s interesting to see them in person…</p>
<p>Wow again, so many helpful responses! Thanks everyone.
I’m heading off to bed in a minute, and only have time to respond to a couple of posts - will respond to others in the morning. I’m very grateful for all of your help.</p>
<p>Karen Colleges, I was thinking the same thing about maybe needing more time in Claremont to walk around the other campuses (especially since our flight out on Tuesday is not as late as I would have preferred).
Might try to head from Oxy to Claremont in the afternoon on Monday (depending on when daughter thinks she’s seen enough of Oxy). </p>
<p>Oregonianmom, when you drove from Oxy to Claremont in the afternoon (and it only took around 40 minutes) – was this on a weekday, and do you remember around what time it was?
I don’t mind <em>some</em> traffic, but hate the thought of being stuck in a stop-and-go mess, crawling slowly along for a couple of hours…</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone – good night.</p>
<p>About 40 minutes is what it took for us as well to drive from Claremont to Oxy. We were trying to make the last tour of the day (3 pm or 3:30 pm, I don’t remember now) and we got there with plenty of time to walk around on our own. Do allow more time for touring the Claremont colleges. We went there with the main goal of checking out Pitzer and CMC, but when DD saw Scripps and Pomona, she got stuck at these two.</p>
<p>I second the Holiday Inn Express in Walla Walla: nice, clean, and had a decent free breakfast.</p>
<p>My H and D visited Oxy and the Claremont colleges in the same day. They did a day trip from Santa Barbara so that included driving two hours. Granted she was not really interested in Oxy so it was just a stop and get out and walk around. I would stay in one motel for all the nights. I would rather do a little driving versus moving motels for such a short visit.</p>