California oddities

So, there are two weird things that have struck me while here this week.

1) The hotel I am staying at (Staybridge Suites - nice) has exit signs high on the walls but also down near the floor. In fact, there are many more exit signs near the floor than those high up. I am guessing this is so that in a fire if you're crawling along the floor you can see the signs. Good idea. I have never seen this before, so I am wondering if this is some zoning thing or if the hotel chain does it at all their hotels?

[Click pics to enlarge.]

2) All the nearby hills are cut through with various drains, I am guessing to help carry away the runoff during the mudslide season (as opposed to the wildfire season, which is now). I was walking to the restaurant last night and noticed this one running up the hill toward a parking lot. It would seem normal in that situation, something to help drain off the lot. But if you click on the pic and look at the top of the ditch, you'll note it's closed off. And there are no other pipes or ways water can enter that I could see. So the drain would simply drain itself! Very odd, and I still don't have an explanation.