Best Politics, Art, and Outdoor Sports

Cal State Fullerton. It's the one, and the only. Learn how to insure other people's art works (and get them to loan them to you in the first place) and write up prospectuses and didactic wall texts in your very own, cute-as-a-button gallery! Perhaps you'd like to focus on traditional women's art forms, such as knitting? A-okay! Or maybe you'd rather go and find a junkie Beat artist and have a fabulous retrospective? You get an A!

Old Camp is nestled among stands of maple and live oak, a mountain hideaway at the terminus of Santiago Trail. Once a haven for hunting parties ascending the mountain's slopes, it now serves as a rest stop for those who have made the eight-mile journey from the trailhead at Modjeska Grade Road. The long, steady incline of Santiago Trail provides a great workout, whether ascending by bike or foot. For most of its length, the trail hugs the top of the ridgelines before finally dropping down into Old Camp in the last half-mile. An option for a shorter loop presents itself 3.7 miles from the trailhead: a sinuous single-track path veers south from the main trail, dropping precipitously to Live Oak Road, just above Cook's Corner. Named Vulture Crags on topographic maps, many mountain bikers simply refer to it as "The Luge." True to its name, it is a fun, challenging alternative for returning to Santiago Canyon. The trailhead is at the summit of Modjeska Grade Rd., one-half mile from the intersection with Santiago Canyon Rd.

The best art parties are thrown by Jorg Dubin—who is himself a former pick for Best Artist! God, he must really be good. Anyway, last time, he and his young protégé Jeff painted naked chicks (no, really, painted on naked chicks) while a large assortment of folk stood around, drinking wine (which was plentiful) and eating bruschetta (which had been donated). Sometimes it's just a few people for cocktails. At others, you might catch a glimpse of the Mystic Order of their fez club. That's a party.