Down Around L.A.

San Diego, California

2010-04-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've been neglect. The truth is, I thought I accidentally deleted this blog. I'm glad that I didn't. Let me share a little bit about San Diego with you. I went to San Diego over a week ago for a little job training and was able to experience a little of the city. It is so close my trips to San Diego rarely wind up with overnight stays. This trip I stayed in Downtown San Diego and I would happily stay there again.

The trolley was right behind my hotel and for $5.00 you can have unlimited use of it for the day. I took it to Old Town and to Seaport Village. What a relaxing way to travel once you figure out how to use it and where it goes.

Approximately a two hour drive from Los Angeles, if you haven't made a trip to San Diego I highly recommend it. There are many places to go. I will even suggest that on your way home you plan to stop at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, about half an hour outside of San Diego as you head back to L.A. Check out of your room early, spend most of the day there and then continue your ride home.

Tournament of Roses Parade Preview

2008-12-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest things people from all over the United States looks forward to is the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Today and tomorrow you can actually go to Pasadena and Irwindale to preview the floats as they're being decorated. You can even volunteer to help decorate the floats. Click here for more information if you're interested.

I went for the first time and had fun taking photos and I'm looking forward to both the parade and going to view the floats after. In case you're interested and don't know, you can also view the floats after the parade. It's the Showcase of Floats and they are on view January 1st through the 3rd and if you haven't gone I'd recommend it. Leave early. There is nothing like seeing these up close and in person.

If you'd like to go see the link above for the locations. It is $7.00 and the ticket is good for entry to all float decorating locations. Parking is free and wear comfortable shoes.

The Flower Mart

2008-12-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

If you like flowers or have been looking for flowers for someone and you've never been to the Flower Mart near downtown Los Angeles, you don't know what you're missing.

Open for both retail and wholesale business you can find the largest selection of flowers and plants you could ever hope for. It's located on Wall Street between 7th and 8th Street. There are a few individual shops on the street then one open marketplace with numerous vendors with varied flowers and plants for sale.
You can buy individual bunches of flowers to create your own arrangment or purchase one of many bouquets of flowers ready to put in a vase. On my trip I spent $18.00 and had enough flowers to fill two vases. They have everything you need to create the floral arrangement of your choice and at a lower price than buying them from a local flower shop.

The visual allure and the intoxicating aroma will hook you!

Ports O'Call Village

2008-11-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

Ports O'Call Village is located in San Pedro, CA about 20 miles from Los Angeles depending on what part of L.A. you leave from. When I was younger is was a place we used to visit frequently. It's changed a little, or maybe I'm just seeing it through older eyes. It's definitely aged but still has plenty of places to eat (fast food or restaurants), places to shop, places to sit or stand and watch the boats or people watch. Always a nice place for a date giving you the chance to walk and sit and talk as well as take in the ocean air.

Ports O'Call is just a hop skip and a jump from Cabrillo Beach and The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, both of which I've also posted about in this blog. If planning for a long day you could easily hang out at Cabrillo beach then cross the parking lot (more or less), to hit the Aquarium and then hit Ports O'Call for something to eat. Maybe you'd even like to take a boat ride around the harbor or do a little shopping.

It's straight out the 110 (Harbor) Freeway near the end of the freeway. Parking is free. If you make a day out of it, parking at Cabrillo beach rarely cost me more than $3.00 for a few hours and it covers both the beach and the aquarium and donations for the aquarium is $5.00. It cost more to go to the movies for just an hour and a half entertainment. Get out, get some air, hit the beach.

Auto Show - Los Angeles Convention Center

2008-11-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

I can't think of the last time I've been to the Convention Center. My mouth dropped open when I drove by yesterday. They've really expanded and that place is HUGE! In fact, that entire center is going through major changes. It is now right next to the Staples Center, the Nokia Theatre and... well, I have to go back one day just to see all that's going on in that one area.

I went to the Auto Show that is being held there. It started yesterday and will be there through November 30, 2008. The L.A. Convention center is home to many large events and functions such as auto shows, career fairs, home expos, etc. It would be a good idea to check their schedule regularly just to see what's coming up in the future. You never know what you might stumble upon.

I took so many pictures I put some of them in a video for you to view. If you'd like to visit the auto show make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes. I was there three hours and that was without stopping to partake in some of the wonderful food I saw and smelled. Make a day of it. Adults - $10, children under 12 - free. Parking in the convention center lot $12.00 but you may find cheaper parking in the lots around the area.

Autry National Center of the American West

2008-11-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

The Autrey National Center is located directly across the street from the Los Angeles Zoo. It's actually a very nice little center with the Museum of the American West, the Wells Fargo theater, museum gift shop and a cafe. It cost $9 for an adult with free parking.

On display at the museum is art, artifacts, old clothing, and lots of clothes, guns and other items used in famous television shows and movies. On display and not pictured here are the costumes from shows like Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger, and ornate costumes of country western stars and singers.

On the weekend you can even experience panning for gold it the quaint little courtyard made to look like a small mining area complete with waterfall. If you're wondering what to do for the day and don't want to spend a huge chunk of money, this might definitely be worth a trip for you.

Los Angeles County Fair 2008

2008-09-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles County Fair opened this past Friday, September 5, 2008 and will be open until September 28, 2008. Opening day, admission was only $1.00 so I took advantage of it but believe me, what I save in admission I lost in time just sitting in my car waiting to get to the parking lot. I live down the street from the fairgrounds, not even a mile. It opened at 11:00. I left at 11:10 and it was 12:10 when I pulled up to the gate to pay for parking. Parking - General $10.00 (I think it was $10.00), Preferred $15.00 and V.I.P. $20.00).

Visiting the county fair is what you make of it. There is definitely something there for everyone and how long you stay depends on what you want from it. Usually, because I live so close, I just visit one section where all the vendors and crafters are, so I go shopping and browsing. There are about 4-5 buildings with vendors from front to back and vendors between each building.

This year my visit lasted six hours and all I did was wander around through the 4 buildings/barns of animals snapping pics to my heart's content. Sheep, cows, horses, turkeys, goats, pigs. The little ones can ride a pony or walk around in a pen and pet the little goats and sheep. There are contests, demonstrations and I even had the opportunity to watch a horseback riding game.

After leaving this area my only other interest this trip was the Home & Garden section where in one building were plants, Hawaiian flowers, floral displays and displays of ideal patio settings. Wandering through the green and shady hills are more varieties of plants and flowers and garden/patio displays to dream about or purchase.

Please click here for all information regarding the fair for complete information on all of the things I left out like the horse racing, carnival rides, game booths, food and entertainment including nightly concerts.

L.A. County Fair
Fairplex in Pomona
September 5-28, 2008

Descanso Gardens

2008-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for someplace to go, would like to take a walk among beautiful flowers and trees, consider the Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, just north of Pasadena. Of all of the botanical gardens I've been visiting, to date the Descanso Gardens is my favorite. 160 acres of nature and beautiful landscaping with plenty of ponds, waterfalls big and small, ponds, flowers, trees and more Koi than I've ever seen.

Imagine walking through a forest of trees shading you against the sun. In the midst of this forest you might find a bench to sit and soak in the sound of birds or a waterfall or small pond. Or wander along the grass paths in the five acre International Rose Garden with over 3,000 rose bushes and other plants and flower complete with benches, fountains, a running stream near a bench while dragon flies glide around looking for a spot to land.

What I like about Descanso Gardens is that unlike some of the other botanical gardens you don't have to walk past massive lawns or down long paths before you get to the next garden area. At Descanso Gardens, except for the Camelia Forest, there is a continuous flow of flowers, plants, ponds and water to engage your eyes and interest. For those who have a little problem walking you won't feel the strain of your walk because there are plenty of places to stop to admire flowers or sit and admire a running stream or pond filled with Koi.

Parking is free and admission is $8.00. Not bad for a place that has entertained me for a minimum of three hours per visit.

Walking With Dinosaurs

2008-08-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Image from www.la.com

If you like dinosaurs and want to experience something that seems to take you into the Jurassic Park movie when it comes to life size, moving dinosaurs, look into buying tickets to Walking With Dinosaurs at the Staples Center September 25-28, 2008. Tickets range from $26.00 to $89.00 depending on day, time and seat section. I can't tell you about the show or whether or not it will be worth the price of the ticket but I'll be going. I think that if nothing else, it will be worth it to see these life size dinosaurs walking around and moving.

African Marketplace & Cultural Affair

2008-08-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

The African Marketplace & Cultural Affair is a three week-end event that began the weekend of August 16th, is currently happening this weekend, and will end the weekend of August 30 and 31st plus September 1, 2008. I wish I could cut and paste the information regarding the wide variety of different music from Nigeria, Fiji, Senegal, Ethiopia and more that will take place on seven stages. There is plenty to see, plenty to shop for, beautiful hand-crafted and hand-carved items, and plenty to eat.

I only made a pit stop on my way somewhere else but I wish I could have stayed to hear the music. I did purchase a couple of things and my eyes feasted on all of the wonderful items for sale.

Looking for something to do? Check it out!!

Location: Rancho Cienega Park at Rodeo Dr. just west of La Brea in Los Angeles, California.

Hosted by: African Marketplace, Inc..

Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

2008-08-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

I found out that there was an aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier. On my last visit to the pier I didn't even now it was there so I thought, great! I love aquariums so I make a special trip, some 60 miles or so, lug my camera along and finally make it in after waiting for it to open. I paid $10.00 to park and $5.00 to get in. There was one room with two large tanks and three flat ones where you could touch some star fish. I was SOOOO disappointed. I wasn't in there five minutes so I don't even have any pictures to post with this.

Now, I understand that this is an organization dedicated to helping keep our oceans and shores clean and that maybe my $5.00 went towards a very good cause. Heck, I would have given them $10.00 if they'd said it a donation toward keeping our oceans clean. But I don't know what that $5.00 was for, at least not when they took it. The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium only suggests a $3.00 donation.

Don't get me wrong. I understand that it's non-profit and I'm not telling you not to go. What I'm saying is, don't go unless you're also going to enjoy the pier and you've already spent enough money that another $5.00 is no sweat off your nose. The kids might get a kick out of it and I understand they have events or things that they do for the kids. What I'm saying is don't drive 60 miles to visit, waste all that gas plus $10.00 for parking. You won't be happy.

At one point I nicely asked one of the people if that room was all there was. I wasn't mad and I'm still not mad now, just disappointed. My point in asking was that I just didn't want to miss another room because I didn't see it. I was told that was all there was and though it wasn't the Long Beach aquarium it was local and featured only fish off the local coast. My thought was, "It wasn't local for me."

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

2008-08-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

I headed out thinking I was going to the same little museum at Cabrillo Beach that I went to as a kid on a field trip. Wrong! The building is still there but it's an office. What is now there in another building is the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and I actually enjoyed it and would recommend it not just for something to do but for the kids.

The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is hardly as big or as pretty as the Long Beach Aquarium but to me it was a more personal experience and not as crowded. You could literally put your nose to the glass and enjoy the different fish and sea life as if they were in a huge aquarium in your house. The plus to visiting this museum is the beach is right there to enjoy so you can really just make a day of it. Another plus is it is there is only a $5.00 donation and parking for the few hours I was there was only about $3.00. For me, someone who enjoys taking pictures, I didn't have to fight or wait to see anything then I got to go outside and take pictures of the beach and birds.

There may not be as many fish as the Long Beach Aquarium but they definitely have a few things the Long Beach Aquarium doesn't have like these beautifully colored sea slugs. Again, the kids there were having a ball and I've never seen so many star fish in my life of all varied colors and sizes.

At scheduled times they open up a section of the aquarium where you and/or the kids can pet the many star fish and anemone. From what I saw, the kids love it. There is also an exploration center.

INLAND EMPIRE JAZZ FESTIVAL

2008-07-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Inland Empire Jazz Festival is coming up August 22-24, 2008. This is the 2nd Annual festival. I missed the first one last year and am hoping the entertainers this year will be just as noteworthy. From looking at the website it appears some of them are still up in the air but if you're looking for a jazz concert in the park you might want to check this one out. Its at Guasti park in Ontario, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles off the 10 fwy on Archibald, two exits before Ontario Mills.

JAZZ FEST WEST 2008

2008-07-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Jazz Fest West, formerly the Old Pasadena Jazz Fest, was hosted by Omega Events, and held this past weekend July 19-20, 2008. If you're familiar with the Old Pasadena Jazz Fest, last year it was moved to Bonelli Park in San Dimas right next to Raging Waters. I didn't attend last year but I did this year and Wow! Judging by the turn-out I can see why they moved it. I'm sure it outgrew the small park in Pasadena.

The section of Bonelli Park where it was held was huge and there were people everywhere and still it wasn't even one tenth of Bonelli Park. From this area you couldn't even see the massive lake which is sectioned off into three sections - beach, boating and fishing.

I didn't attend both days and decided to go at the last minute. I even missed the first few performances but there were plenty the rest of the day to happily entertain me and a large number of vendors for shopping and to supply anyone with hats, umbrellas, concert t-shirts and plenty to eat and drink.

The performers this year included:

The Sax Pack
Gail Johnson
Patti Austin
Fourplay
Lao Tizer Band w/Chieli
Minucci & Karen Briggs
Norman Brown with Chante Moore
Paul Taylor & Alex Bugnon
Pete Escovedo Orchestra
w/Sheila E

Marcus Johnson
Brian Simpson,
Jonathan Butler,
George Duke
Lima
Wayman Tisdale
The O'Jays

I had the extreme pleasure of watching and listening to Fourplay.

I had to post the picture below so you could see what I had to work with camera wise. The "priority" section was gated off so there was only so close I could get. This was taken from where I was sitting on the cement edge of the play area in the park. The yellow high-lighted square in the picture is the stage. Believe it or not, the picture above was taken with my zoom through the poles of the tent in the picture.

Next I thoroughly enjoyed getting front row seat at the Garden stage to listen to and watch the Lao Tizer Band and Chieli Minuccia and Karen Briggs:

Then it was back to the main stage for Norman Brown's Summer storm featuring Paul Taylor, Chante Moore and Alex Bugnon.

If you didn't get there this year, you missed out. But there is always next year and rumor has it Maze just might be there. If you go next year I'd highly recommend parking at Fairplex and taking the shuttle that made trips every 15 minutes throughout the day. It was practically car to entrance delivery whereas priority parking in the park still had you walking a ways to get into the fest.

UPCOMING CONCERT

2008-07-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

If you like rock and alternative music concerts I just received some information on a concert coming up sponsored by myAWOL. You can check out the links to hear samples of the artists and their music. The concert information is below:

July 18, 2008
The Roxy Theatre
9009 West Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
All Ages cover is $13.50 / $16.50 under 21

The featured performers are:

HAZELDEN at 8:15

REPEATER at 9:00

AUGUST HOUSE at 9:45

and headliners:

INTERCEPTat 10:30

i94 at 11:30

Click here for more information

Long Beach Aquarium

2008-07-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

I actually enjoyed the Long Beach Aquarium but wasn't that thrilled that of all the places I've ventured to this was probably the most expensive at about $21.00 for an adult to get in and I believe it was $7.00 for parking. Still, one must consider that these aren't just paintings on a wall or cars on display. These are living animals that need to be cared for, fed and cleaned up after. Let's face it that takes money so what they charge is pretty reasonable.

Fair warning: though adults will enjoy this visit to the Aquarium, each time I've been there it has been riddled with kids. Though I love kids they do have a tendency to push and shove their way into little nooks and crannies to get a view so if your patience is a little thin, don't go until you've nerves are in tact because the adults aren't always much better than the kids. Sometimes you have to wait to get close to the window to get a good view especially if you're taking pictures. For as bad as I'm making this sound, don't mind me. It's actually a great outing and you'll enjoy it.

If you're going with the kids in mind, they will love it and there is a certain joy in watching children get excited as they look, learn and try to pet a live sting ray as it swims in the open tank. Maybe they'll have fun trying to find the rock fish that look more like the other rocks in the tank than an actual fish.

My personal favorites were the jelly fish and the aviary that contained the Lorikeets. For $2 you can buy some nectar and enter the aviary where the beautifully colored little birds will come eat the nectar from the tiny cup you hold. It is a heavily misted aviary so ladies, beware of your curls.

PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM

2008-06-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

My latest little trip was to the Petersen Automotive Museum. I actually found out about this place from my sister who went with her son (my nephew) and her grandson. My great nephew loves car so he had a great time. I thought I would go and check this place out for myself. Besides, I love taking photos and I thought these classic beauties would make for some great pictures. I neither wrong or disappointed and highly recommend this little trip.

This exhibit lasts only through November 2, 2008 so if you have an interest in seeing some of the beautiful classics I'll be posting, make sure you plan to go before then.

Anyone familiar who has been in L.A. a good little while will know where this is located when I say it's located in the old Orbach's building on Wilshire and Fairfax.

The cars are absolutely beautiful! They even have some classic motorcyles for the bike fans and a Hot Wheels section including many little hot wheels on display and this life sized one:

i. CUGINI's

2008-06-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

I had a really nice birthday. I was taken to dinner on Friday and went to Benihana's. In case you don't know what or where Benihana's is, it's a Japanese chain of restaurants where they cook your meal in front of you. Wonderful food! If you've never been, you've got to go at least once for the experience. But this post is about i. Cugini's so I digress.

Image from www.rentacarinlosangeles.comToday I went to i. Cugini's. It's pronounced eee-koo-gee-nee. I learned about this place on our local jazz station 94.7 The Wave . The have a D.J. there on Sundays for their Sunday champagne brunch with a live jazz band. Man, the food is out of this world and they have a little bit of everything from cute little round waffles to octopus salad and everything in between!

Whether you sit inside where you might find the band just a little loud or whether you sit outside and enjoy the beautiful day and the view of the Santa Monica beach and the pier across the street, the food is marvelous. Even though my sister calls me a waste at a buffet because I fill up too quickly, I managed to sample everything I wanted to (and I did say sample) - waffles, egg potato suffle, onion and bell pepper with chicken sausage, garlic chicken, garlic potatoes, ham, salmon, chilled crab legs, bread. I personally wasn't interested in (even though you might me) the oysters, different pastas, omelette and other dishes they had that I can't even remember.

And yes, I had my fill of champagne, orange juice and coffee which was excellent as well. Should I mention the dessert bar? Yummmmm! Lots of chocolate!

And if you attend for a special event there is someone there to take a picture and place it a really nice paper frame it if you wish. I highly recommend taking a trip to i. Cugini's and expect to spend about $40.00 but I personally think it was well worth it!

And believe it or not, I didn't get any pictures. I was a little embarrassed and didn't want anyone to think I'd never been to a restaurant before. I think I should make a sign for myself that reads "Taking Pictures for My Blog". LOL!

VENICE BEACH

2008-06-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

When I visited the Santa Monica Pier I basically went down the street to visit Venice Beach. It is only a hop, skip and a jump east of Santa Monica.

Venice Beach is quite an adventure. If you're going to go I suggest heading out early because it can get quite crowded and finding parking is a zoo. I tried to vist Venice Beach about a month ago and was stuck probably 10 minutes getting down one block. This time I went during the week and parking was wonderful BUT some of the little stores were closed and it didn't offer the same variety or volume of people and things to see.

You'll find the touristy type of things to buy (t-shirts, beach clothing, trinkets, jewelry, sunglasses and some art), entertainers hoping you'll leave a tip or two. You can get a henna tattoo at several places along your walk, maybe watch or join a game of basketball, maybe the muscle builders are still there showing off their pecks in their own little corner. Or maybe you'll rent a bike or take your skates and get a little exercise as well.

Stroll the walkway of entertainment or venture across to the beach and enjoy the ocean view, maybe take a dip after passing the grafitti covered statues before you reach the sand. Venice Beach is definitely not just your average beach.

SANTA MONIA PIER

2008-05-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

The Santa Monica Pier is located where the 10 Freeway ends and Pacific Coast Highway begins. It's free but parking is currently 7:00. Actually, the pier isn't "all that" but it is still a nice place to go. There is a separate costs for entering Pacific Park which is located on the pier and includes rides. I didn't research whether there is an admission cost or you just purchase tickets for the rides but you can purchase them in advance online.

There are a few places to eat including Bubba Gump's at the beginning of the pier:

and Mariasol's at the end of the pier:

If you're looking for a place to go on a date, you'd like to throw a fishing line off the pier:

or you're someone who likes arcade games and a take in a few amusement park type rides, it's definitely worth taking a stroll on the pier.:

Another reason I recommed the pier is that who doesn't like the beach? If you don't like trekking across the sand your feet don't ever have to touch it. You can lean on the rail that lines the pier and still enjoy the breeze and the view:

watch the waves crashing and just enjoy a lovely day at the beach.

INDIAN CASINOS

2008-05-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

I like to play the machines once in a while and used to hit Las Vegas once or twice a year. A friend of mine was talking about the local Indian casinos and since I ventured out to visit them my trips to Vegas are minimal. Vegas is way too expensive. If you're like to do a little gambling but don't feel like taking that four hour drive let me turn you on to some of the "local" casinos.

I'll just give you a preview of the caninos I visit. For a complete list of California casinos, links, directions and more information, check out 500 Nations website.

SAN MANUEL CASINO

San Manueel is located in the San Bernardino/Highland area. I remember when San Manuel was what my friend called "the ghetto casino". It was almost smack-dab in the heart of the community, it was composed of a few building that were put together as they expanded, cramped, crowded, difficult to find parking, etc. That place is gone and a new hotel and huge casino are in its place. I miss the old casino but the new hotel/casino is something to be seen and they now host concerts of some famous entertainers.

MORONGO RESORT & CASINO

Morongo is another one that has drastically changed since I first visited. The machines are so tight, or maybe it's just my luck (smile) that I haven't been back since their grand opening but again, it's worth a visit and maybe your luck will be different. Morongo is located right on the 10 Fwy not far from Palm Springs in Cabazon on the same exit as the Cabazon shopping outlet.

SOBOBA CASINO

Soboba Casino is located in San Jacinto/San Bernardino (or maybe it's Riverside) not that far from Morongo. It is a large casino with no hotel. Though they haven't expanded since I first visited they have revamped and upgraded. It is ALWAYS crowded and they do have an occasional concert or comedian. The comedian Sinbad was there last year. They also have a huge non-smoking area in the back and if you take the little cart that will take you from the parking lot to the casino it will take you directly to the back so you don't have to walk through the smoky casino.

PAUMA CASINO

Pauma is probably the casino I have visited most. It's a smaller casino with no hotel and the odds are better than the others. I'm hoping they don't redevelop and expand. It's located in San Diego after Pechanga and Pala and before Harrah's and Valley View, all of which I'll mention following this one. All of these casinos are off the 15 Fwy and the S-16 in a 15 mile radius of each other. If you don't like the big casinos and are looking for something a little more quaint and personal, I'd recommend Pauma.

PECHANGA RESORT & CASINO

Pechanga is a monster of a casino/hotel and is another one that I haven't visited since they first expanded. For my personal taste it is simply too big but well worth a visit so you can decide for yourself. They had to expand because the casino simply could not contain the amount of people who frequented, especially on the weekend which was a complete sea of people coming, going and inside the casino. If you want a Vegas style casino/hotel without going to Vegas, this one is definitely the place to go - restaurants, karaoke, what seems like miles of casino floor. It's big and beautiful.

PALA RESORT & CASINO

Pala is another hotel/casino about 6 miles past Pechanga on the S-16 if you take the two-lane windy road through the mountains. They have a nice food court, two stages where bands may play and they also continuously hold concerts of famous entertainers. If you stay at Pala you also have the option of visiting the other casinos that are within 5-6 miles - Pechanga to the north and Pauma, Harrah's and Valley View to the east.

HARRAH'S RINCON/SAN DIEGO

Harrah's Rincon is another resort hotel/casino and they also have ongoing concerts of famous entertainers allbeit sometimes they are more often the less known or nostaligic entertainment. They've also done some renovating and expanding and can get quite crowded. My recommendation for any of these is that if you don't like the casinos when they're really crowded hit them early, before nine in the morning or hit them late.

VALLEY VIEW CASINO

Valley View is a non-hotel casino. They've just recently undergone major renovations and expandsion but personally, I miss the old casino. I personally think the machines are so tight it's not funny but again, worth the visit and trying their restaurant which is supposed to be excellent and always had a line. It's about 2-3 miles past Harrah's up the hill. I've got to say they do have the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in but what good is comfort if you're only in them for a minute. LOL!

All in all if you're looking for something to do and want to take in a nice drive, set out early and visit a couple of "local" casinos - about an hour and a half drive from L.A.

L.A. COUNTY ARBORETUM

2008-04-30T22:21:00.001-07:00

I haven't been to the Los Angeles County Arboretum since I went as a kid in elementary school on a field trip. All I remember was being on the tram, the peacocks and a whole punch of trees and plants. Its about the same but as an adult I appreciate it in a different way and I think that much like the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens it is a photographer's dream location.

There is a difference between the Arboretum and the Huntington Library in that the Huntington Library seems more funded, more manicured and they have more buildings. It is a museum/library and research center. The Arboretum is strictly botanical gardens. The truth is, I actually enjoyed the Arboretum more. First of all it was less crowded. Second, I so enjoyed the peacocks that were just everywhere. I saw more birds, butterflies, ducks, geese and squirrels than at the Huntington.

Before I even got to the entrance building there was a peacock out front that had all of the little snaggle toothed kids who just got off the bus in awe. I was in awe too and happily took a few pictures of this beautiful bird strutting it's stuff. I paid, walked through the door and didn't get a few feet before I saw another peacock perched in a tree.

If the amount of pictures I took is anything, I took 468 pictures by the end of my little adventure and a lot of them were peacocks. The tram wasn't working today. If you're going to go and you don't want to walk a lot, please call in advance and check to see if their tram is running. They were doing a lot of work and planting so roads were restricted for tram use. I walked, and walked, and walked but probably saw a lot I would not have seen otherwise.

My favorite part of the Arboretum was the Tropical Forest around Baldwin Lake. For a short while it was easy to feel that I had actually stepped into a tropical forest. The drop in temperature was immediately felt - cool, tranquil and quiet except for the squawking birds. Take a little walk with me and see some of what I saw....

I thorougly enjoyed my day out at the Arboretum. If you're looking for something to do put on your walking shoes, take your camera and venture out to the L.A. Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Its $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for the tram and parking is free. It's directly across from the Santa Anita racetrack. Get up to the 210 and exit on Baldwin. It's about 2 blocks south of the 210.

THE ROSE AWARD

2008-04-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm really touched to have been passed along The Rose Award which was given to me by Edagowa over at Black Tennis Pro. This rose award has been passed along by some lovely women that I'm going to acknowledge here:

Sojourner's Place
Opinionated Black Woman
Coffee Stained News
360 Degreees of Diversity
Black Factor
Vanessa: Unplugged

Thank you SO much for this award. In turn I'm going to pass along this wonderful Rose Award to:

Iriegal at Time To Eat Mon for always making me hungry

Raw Dawg Buffalo for keeping it real and stroking the wrinkles in my brain

A-6 Dude over at The Dry Martini for all of his great martini recipes.

Have a wonderful day everyone and thanks for making me smile.

CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

2008-04-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

I started to do the lazy thing and stay home. I mean, it was cloudy, kind of chilly and it was a perfect day to stay home, stay inside and do nothing. But at the last minute I decided to go to the 7th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles.

I'm glad I decided to go. It only cost me gas and $5.00 for parking. I met a fellow blogger/crafter who gave me a lesson in a form of japanese fabric painting called shibori. Check out her blog and the clip below:

I saw Ernest Thomas who you might remember from the t.v. show What's Happening. He's producing a rather good looking man named Une (pronounced yoo-nay), who has a CD coming out in about a week (I think), and sang the national anthem:

I didn't stay for a long time so I didn't see any of the shows or entertainment that was planned outside of the opening ceremony and the martial arts demonstration. Still, I love the vendors and the wide variety of things to see, buy and eat. I hope you enjoy my pictures of my day at the festival.

Get out and see L.A. There so many cultures to experience and so many things to enjoy.

THE LOS ANGELES ZOO

2008-03-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Image from http://www.lazoo.org

With all of the pictures I took I completely forgot to take one of the front entrance so I borrowed one from the Los Angeles Zoo website.

I don't think I've been to the Los Angeles Zoo since I was in high school on a field trip with my Biology class. The reason I specifically remember is that our bus was detained leaving because a couple of the kids broke into one of the vending machines and got caught. Just stupid!

The day was overcast and the mood of the rather cloudy day seemed to live in the animals because they were all either sleeping or lazy.

Some were complete no-shows and reminded me of the first Jurassic Park when they were taking the first tour and none of the animals were around. Thankfully it picked up and even though many were sleeping or lazy, I still got some really great photos.

Rather than do a slide show I put together a video of some of the pics. I hate that I had to leave so many of them out to narrow it down to 10 minutes. All in all, I hope you enjoy it and if nothing else, it makes you feel the need to visit your local zoo.

AZUSA CANYON

2008-03-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you like off-roading, seeing a little nature, 4-wheeling you probably know about Azusa Canyon. Take the 210 Freeway east to Azusa and head north. That's all. You head into the Angeles National Forest and pass the San Gabriel Dam. I've been up there a lot because I had a friend who did some 4-wheeling and had a sand rail. We stopped going there after a while because it got too crowded. But, it's the filthiest fun you'll ever have.

This picture is from my own personal archives and was taken at Azusa Canyon. There is always a little water there but right now there's a lot more water than usual, probably overflow from the damn after all the rain we had. Most times you can drive right under that bridge in the picture above. There is plenty of water everywhere and the mountains are beautiful and green, again after all the rain. It's a great time of the year to take a little drive and there are quite a few turn-offs as you head up the hill where you can stop and take pictures and more further up past the bridge where you can get out and take a look at the streams of water flowing down the mountains in the river beds.

Get out, take a drive and get some fresh air. Get out of the city and see what else Southern California has to see.

HUNTINGTON LIBRARY & BOTANICAL GARDENS

2008-03-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to get out and I went to the Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens in Pasadena. Well, actually it's not Pasadena it's San Marino which I just learned today. All this time I thought it was in Pasadena. Anyone in L.A. knows where Pasadena is (most famous for the Tournament of Roses Parade) and if you're going to visit L.A. and you don't know, it's about 12 miles north of downtown L.A.

There's a little too much background information to give so I'm just going to quote this from the site and suggest you take a look at the About Page. The history of the Huntington Library is pretty interesting and is actually a research and educational institution.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution established in 1919 by Henry E. and Arabella Huntington. Henry Huntington, a key figure in the development of Southern California in the early 20th century, was also an active collector of rare books and manuscripts, art, and plants. By the time he established the institution, he and his wife had amassed an extensive collection focusing on British and American history, literature, and art, as well as rare and spectacular plant specimens.

If you plan to go, make sure you're wearing your most comfortable walking shoes because there are 120 acres of theme gardens complete with an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. You can walk across the expanse of lawns to admire the fountains and statues, sit on the bench under the shade of a beautiful, massive tree, sit on a bench in the camelia garden, stop to have something to drink or nibble on at the Tea Room & Cafe. Step inside the Conservatory but a warning for the ladies. If you've got curls you want to keep you might want to stay outside. The moisture and waters spraying from the ceiling will mess up your hair.

There's Japanese Garden:

A Chinese Garden:

The Camelia Garden:

The slideshow below will give you a little more of some of the things you may see and mind you, I was there three hours walking a very leisurely pace and still didn't see everything. If you've never been, what are you waiting for? Even if you go alone, take you iPOD (I did), put your headphones on and just enjoy a beautiful day and some truly beautiful gardens. I've also got some macro shots of flowers from the gardens on my photo blog Eyes, Mind, Heart.

LAKE ARROWHEAD

2008-03-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

One of the things most people love about Los Angeles is that within an hour or two drive you can reach anything - mountains, dessert, ocean, beaches. There's Lake Arrowhead, Mt. Baldy, Mammoth, the Angeles Forest, etc. You can sail, swim, surf, jet ski, water ski, snow ski, snowboard, off-road and 4-wheel, visit museums, botanical gardens, ghost towns and numerous amusement parks. The only problem is getting there and how many people will be there when you are. If you don't leave early and beat the crowds your experience may be, well a crowded one.

I took a trip to Lake Arrowhead for the first time, packed a lunch and thought I would find a spot near the lake to sit, enjoy the view and take some pictures. Wrong! Either there simply was no way down to the lake unless you were a resident or having never been there before I just could not find it. I found one spot above the lake where I could stop and take some pictures. The rest of the time I just drove around the lake getting lost because of the way the funky roads went around the lake.

I was so disappointed that most views of the lake were obstructed by the tons and tons of rooftops of homes around the lake that appeared to go right down to the very edge of the lake. Lake Arrowhead is known for vacation rentals. I've often thought of renting one but am not sure I would do so now. It's not at all what I imagined. It is definitely beautiful but parts of it are so very dry and I can see why it is in such danger during fire season. The delightful thin was there was still snow on the grown and if you look closely in a couple of the pictures you can see the snow.

Why do we as people destroy the beautiful nature of something like a lake or beach by building homes right on it? Why do people with money have the right to obstruct the public from accessing beaches and lakes that should be open to everyone?

HOLLYWOOD

2008-03-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Hollywood in a long time and certainly not down Hollywood Boulevard. Even if I went to the Hollywood Bowl I never bothered to venture down Hollywood Blvd. again. In my high school senior days and early college years we used to hit Hollywood Boulevard a lot but it began to look run down and seedy and there were too many weird people about which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as Hollyweird.

Hollywood has been through some major changes since I last visited. It was really nice to see that it has gone through some major changes to bring it back to a representation of the Hollywood L.A. it is famous for. This picture and the one above is of the Hollywood and Highland entertainment and retail center multi-level complex opened in 2001 next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It contains over 60 shops, a dozen bowling lanes, 2 nightclubs, 26 restaurants and the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel fill the Hollywood and Highland Center but the most famous tenant is the 3,400 seat Kodak Theatre.

Disney has restored the famous El Capitan theatre built in 1926. I've seen many movies there and for some reason the one that stick sout is Mahogany with Diana Ross. The El Capitan theatre is now the host of many Disney animated movie premiers like Beauty and the Beast. Right next to the El Capital Theatre is the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store. It's located directly across the street from the Kodak Theatre.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre still looks the same though it now seems overshadowed by the Kodak Theatre and center right down the street. Still famous for the big movie premiers and tourist and locals alike still flock in front of the theatre looking for the hand and footprints of their favorite movie stars. In front of the theatre there are actors and actresses in costume - Marilyn Monroe, Chubacca from Star Wars, Captain Jack Sparrow, Catwoman, etc., ready to take pictures with you.

As you walk along Hollywood Boulevard it's not unusual that everyone has their head down reading the names in the red stars outlined with gold that decorate the sidewalks. The names of actors and actresses, directors and recording artists can be found here.

Last but not least I can't close this post without mentioning the Hollywood Bowl where for over 70 years it has been one of our locations for symphonies, opera, jazz, ballet, presidential addresses and rock concerts.

In addition to the things I've mentioned, other things to see are the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Hollywood Museum (located in the old Max Factor Building) and Ripley's Believe It Or Not. There are souvenir stores where you can buy dolls in the image of Gwen Stefani, John Lennon and Al Pacino as Scarface. Tour buses sit in wait of passengers and up and down the street are people selling maps to the movie stars' homes. The big red sign of the Virgin Record store looms over the street and there is a D.J. in each window.

Only in Hollywood can you get a real taste of Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES NATIONAL CEMETERY

2008-03-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles National Cemetery where over 85,000 veterans and their families lie at rest. I passed this place today and had to stop... felt compelled to actually drive in to the center of the cemetery. A field of white tombstones rested as far as my eyes could see and I stood in the center knowing what photos I took couldn't show how many more lay over the hills where the camera lens could not reach. 85,000 in just this one city. Multiply that by every city in this state and mulitply that by 50 states, and then include all of the vets who were buried by loved ones, like my father, who was not buried in a regular cemetery and those who never made it back home.

So many lives. So many lives. So many heroes.

THE BEACHES

2008-03-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Over all, my trip this weekend to the beaches turned out to be a bit of a bust. I did get some decent pictures so I can't complain too much but I was disappointed by how much Redondo Beach Pier had changed, traffic after I left the pier was awful and it took me way too long to get down the coast, I couldn't stop at two of the beaches because of traffic and everywhere but the pier was a zoo. So, I'm taking the almost pictureless way of introducing you to the beaches down around L.A. Though these beaches are in different cites, they are all still a part of L.A. County and anyone in L.A. knows or should know where these beaches are.

REDONDO BEACH PIER - See the post below this one.

DOCKWEILER - I drove by it but didn't stop. I used to hit dockweiler beach a lot. I've always loved the beach and ladies, if you don't know the sand is like a natural pumice on your feet.

MARINA DEL REY - Marina del Rey is more about the marina than it is about a beach. It is where most of the boats are docked. Marina del Rey is mostly known for, at least by me, for the restaurants around Admiralty Way. I attended a meet 'n greet in December at The Warehouse. Great place! I drove through Marina del Rey today, thought I'd take some pics of the restaurants but that didn't work out either.

VENICE BEACH - I started to go to Venice Beach but the one street I took toward the parking lot I knew of was backed up and literally inched for four blocks. It would have made for some interesting pics because Venice is always full of interesting things, vendors and people. I was getting a headache from traffic so I opted out.

Cool! I just found a live webcam of Venice beach. Of course there's nothing going on now but check it out during the day. I will.

SANTA MONICA - When I was a kid this is where my family always went. I will always have a fondness for Santa Monica because of the fond memories. I thought I would go the the Santa Monica Pier but decided not to go. By this time I wasn't in the mood for how many people were there. I made a wrong turn and couldn't back out so I wound up having to pay $6.00 to drive through the parking lot which was half occupied by a filming crew's hundreds of trailers. I'm exaggerating...a little.

By now I'd been on the road for three hours and was a little ticked that after all this time I had not yet put my feet in sand or been near the water so I ventured down a packed Pacific Coast Highway and found a strip of the beach past the pier where the parking lot was practically empty. Eureka! My kind of place! I paid $7.00 for parking, parked, took my tennis shoes and socks off, put my earphones in, turned on my IPOD and treked across the sand with my camera.

REDONDO BEACH PIER

2008-03-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Redondo Beach Pier is some place I used to go a lot when I was much younger. Whenever a friend and I were looking for something to do on the weekend we'd usually jump in a car and take a little trip down the coast to Redondo Beach. I'm sorry to say the pier is not what it used to be and that was evident by how empty it was. If you're looking for some place to eat with definite atmosphere or lots of seafood, I'd definitely suggest taking in the pier. It's got some shopping but nothing at all like it used to be.

They did have one of my favorite stores there even though they moved from the location I remember them being before. The kite store.

I confess - it's one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Redondo Beach. I'd been talking about buying a kite for fun but had not done it yet. I knew I would buy one before I left... and I did. In fact, I bought one for myself and one each for my grand niece and grand nephew. The store is (I think), the Sunshine Kite Company

The Pier has a Kite Festival the 2nd Sunday of March every year. I'd forgotten about it. If I'd know they would be doing the 34th Annual Festival of the Kites tomorrow I would have waited. Part of me really wants to go back tomorrow but the other part really doesn't want to deal with traffic another day. It's tempting. I've been to a couple before and it's something else to see the sky full of so many different kites.

As for the rest of the pier, it is some place to go and parking was only $2.00. I don't know if that was a flat rate or because I wasn't there that long. Again, there's plenty to eat. If you like fishing you can fish off the pier. You can take a boat ride for $15.00, there's the same huge game arcade for anyone who likes games, a few shops and plenty of boats to look at. On top of all that you can enjoy the wonderful sea air.

THE GETTY MUSEUM

2008-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

My venture this weekend was to the J. Paul Getty Museum. There are actually two museums, one in Malibu and one in Brentwood. The one in Malibu was opened in 1974 to resemble the Villa of Papyri but was closed for major renovation in 1997 and moved to Brentwood. When the museum in Brentwood was opened I'll never forget what a zoo it was. There were always reports about the masses of people flocking to the new museum. It has since tamed down but it is still really busy and many people wander through the rooms looking at the art, enjoying the outdoors.

There is a tram that will take you from the parking structure up the hill to the museum and it is the only way to get there. Admissions is free, parking was $8.00. It was overcast, cloudy and cold when I went and a heavy mist or drizzle welcomed us when we got off the tram at the top of the hills in Brentwood. I really liked that the museum provided umbrellas to use as you walk between the buildings. In the center between the buildings there is a kiosk that sells coffee, drinks and snacks. There is also a small cafe type cafeteria on the garden level with a large eating area.

There is a large variety of different types of art and I was glad I was allowed to take pictures with the exception of some rooms in which it wasn't allowed. Art has always been a small fascination of mine. I so admire the talent of the artists and the detail that does into the work. This was why I took Art History when I went to U.S.C. It's a wonderful experience to see these art treasures in person, to stand face to face with a Renoir, Millet or Van Gogh painting, admire the color intensity and realize these works of art have lasted so long.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow of the photos I took at the Getty Museum and that is will prompt you to do as I did - visit the Getty when you get a chance. $8.00 for parking is not a bad price at all to pay. I think it's a steal for a day's adventure.

Technorati Profile

CALENDAR LIVE

2008-02-28T15:51:00.000-08:00

I found this nice link that I think I'm going to start using to I can keep up with what's going on around L.A. when it comes to music. I like my jazz and I'd like to find places to sit and watch a live show from time to time, maybe get to know some of the local musicians.

It's L.A. Times - Calendar Live.

What I like is that you can put in what type of event you'd like (music, art stage, movies, etc.), what area you're looking to visit and what date. The only problem is you can only search within a 7 day time frame. It will come up with a search result.

I'm going to use this and if you're around L.A. looking for something to do, don't forget to check out this link.

LA BREA TAR PITS MUSEUM

2008-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

The La Brea Tar Pits is known for having the largest and most diverse collection of extinct plants and animals from 10,000 to 40,00 years ago.

If you remember or saw the movie Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones, the volcano erupted near the La Brea Tar Pits which is located in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles.

There is a paleontologist lab inside of the museum where you can actually watch some of the paleongologist cleaning the fossils. They are still excavating fossils.

The pond in front of the museum, which is the tar pit, contains life size replicas of some extinct animals. It still smells of tar that trapped these animals and you can see bubbles forming on the surface. The tar preserved these bones/fossils in pristene condition.

Imagine this tar pit in the heart of Los Angeles. Stand facing the tar pit and imagine none of the buildings and none of the traffic around you - just wide open land with extinct animals roaming free. Imagine them coming to this watering hole and finding it a trap from which they can't escape. Their bones are still being excavated in the heart of this city for us to view and study.

COOKIN' CREOLE

2008-02-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

Image from http://www.mystcritic.com

One of these days I'm going to get out and do the restaurant reviews as part of my re-discovery around L.A. For now I was just going to mention Harold & Belle's because I know it's a very popular spot and I've never heard anything but favorable reviews about it. But I found a website that reviews the best creole restaurants around L.A. I thought, why just suggest one. You can check out his link and get a few more places to try.

I'm going to try it myself one day... you'll see.

Note that the mystcritic.com where I got the picture gave a great review of Harold & Belle's as well. You never know what else they might recommend.

UNIVERSAL CITY WALK

2008-02-17T11:41:00.000-08:00

Universal City Walk or just CityWalk is like a cross between a shopping center and an amusement park without the rides. It's bright, colorful, entertaining, lots of shopping and lots of choices to eat. Of course, if you want the theme park it's there too at the end of CityWalk - Universal Studios. All wrapped up in one place is an amusement park, shopping, restaurants, nightclubs and movie theatre. It can be your daytime or evening source of entertaiment. It's great for a date or someplace you can go alone if you just feel like something to do or want to do a little shopping.

The cool thing about CityWalk is that you can take it all in or just take some of it in. Feel like a movie and something to eat? You can't really beat the surroundings for something different from the same old neighborhood movie theatre. Feel like some musical entertainment? Why not take in B.B. King's House of Blues?

It was a beautiful day in L.A. and a beautiful day to take a stroll around CityWalk with a cup of Starbucks or Coffee Bean, check out the stores, sit and have something to eat outdoors, all while a perfectly clear blue sky loomed above. It's colorful, it's lively, it's relaxing, it's definitely something to see and some place to go.

The slideshow below is a collection of my pictures of my day at CityWalk and hopefully a reason why you should plan to just get in your car, take a drive up the 110 Fwy and visit CityWalk.

The Disappearance of Hollywood

2008-02-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

There have been stories in the news that the 138 acres around the Hollywood sign, owned by a Chicago investment group are about to be redeveloped, bulldozed and turned into luxury homes. You can click on this link to read an article in the L.A. Times website.

Supposedly these homes are not likely to obstruct the view of the Hollywood sign but it's not the point. The Hollywood sign has always been nestled in the green hills, seen for miles for as long as I can remember, a tourist attraction. It's difficult to imagine looking towards that hill and see houses around it. It's difficult to imagine that the many people who take hikes up to sit near that sign and look out at the fantastic view will no longer be able to do it because it will be surrounded by public property.

Sadly, I'm not surprised at this turn of events. Why not just tear it down, I wonder sarcastically. They've torn down practically everything else that use to be a symbol of Hollywood. If you've watched t.v. at all you're familiar with I Love Lucy and her infatuation with movie stars and their trip to Hollywood. Gone are all the places that used to be a part of Hollywood, places that in my eyes should have been kept as historical landmarks. Old Hollywood. Gone.

The Brown Derby - how could they tear that down? How could they let someone ever change it from what the original look into something pink and clownish? It was a landmark during Hollywood's golden era known for the celebrity clientel. It's nothing but a memory for many and soon no one will even know what it was, what it used to be.

The Ambassador Hotel and The Coconut Grove - once hotel and nightclub to the stars. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in this hotel after winning the California primary. The hotel was demolished in 2006 and the only remaining part of it, The Coconut Grove club is marked to be the auditorium for a school to be built there... maybe.

Those are just two examples of the Hollywood that our city has let disappear. There are homes in historic neighborhoods in this city with rules that govern what you can and cannot do to improve the homes so that the homes remain historic and yet they've done little to preserve the historic buildings and streets of Hollywood.

When I was in high school Hollywood was the place to go on the weekend. It was great to walk the streets, hit the stores, take in a movie, check out the footprints of celebrities along the street. It's not the same. Hollywood and vine is not the same. The famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre is still there but Hollywood and the glitz and glamour of it... it's just not the same. Hollywood has disappeared. It didn't just disappear they slowly tore it down and let it go to pot.

L.A. - The Down Side

2008-02-16T23:20:00.001-08:00

I know this is a lousy picture but I couldn't get a clear one and didn't want to have an accident but I think this picture is clear enough to make a point. The downside of living in L.A. and having so many places to go is that most of the time traffic is so bad who wants to get in it? This was at about 6:15 p.m. on a Saturday! There are too many people here, they just keep building, there's no public transportation that anyone is willing to take unless they have to, and too many people don't know how to freakin' drive!

In this picture I had just passed one of those digital road signs that told me it was going to take 30 minutes to get about 10 miles. This is every freeway in each direction, the streets are no better and then you look over at the shopping centers you pass and the parking lots are packed. All you see is wall to wall cars. On one street my sister and I sat through three signals just to get down one block and then through two more just to turn left. Five minutes to clear one block!

Even when traffic is decent there are still those clowns driving 40 miles an hour when the speed limit is 65 and they hog every lane so that traffic is backed up behind them. Even when traffic should be clear, it's not.

Every piece of vacant land is being built on - another 200 unit complex or condo complex to dump another 200 cars on the already crowded roads.

Sure, L.A. is wonderful and I admit that. But the traffic is so bad it takes forever to get anywhere and it's only getting worse! Why do people have road rage? I know why.

THE JEWELRY MART

2008-02-16T22:53:00.001-08:00

If you live in L.A. and like jewelry, and I mean the "real" stuff, I doubt that you don't know about The Jewelry Mart in downtown Los Angeles. If you don't know about it, where have you been!? I worked with numerous women who loved their gold, diamonds and other stones and the only place they would get it was downtown. I have a couple of pieces. Nothing gawdy, but the prices are great and the quality is top notch. I am by no means saying you should not always be on your P's and Q's when buying here. I don't do enough shopping down there to quarantee you anything with anyone. But if you're looking for good quality at reasonable prices, I would suggest checking out The Jewelry Mart.

I had the fortune of going to specific vendors that other women at work knew very well. I can tell you the pricing is competitive because they have to be to compete with all of the other vendors in this area. To give you an example, when you walk into many of the doors you will find that there are numerous vendors with individual stalls. It's not like walking into a mall and there might be three jewelers who basically have all the same stuff. We're talking a couple blocks of jewelers from one end of the block to the next, on both sides of the stree, with numerous vendors inside each door you enter.

If you're looking for some serious jewelry at least go check out the Jewelry Mart. It's down around, and not limited to, Hill Street and 7th Street.

I thought I lost my bracelet a while back and thought I'd go in one of the jewelry stores in the mall to price what it might cost to replace it. Let me tell you, after having bought things at the jewelry mart (and again, it's not much but it's mine - LOL!), I was really disappointed with the quality and lack of selection. Luckily I found my bracelet (thank God). But I vowed that if I ever buy anything again, it's the Jewelry Mart for me.

Did I mention that, at least the last time I bought something, you could pay on it, like a layaway plan? You can afford something really nice without credit.

GRIFFITH PARK OBSERVATORY

2008-02-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

My sister and I ventured out today and actually hit three places. The Griffith Park Observatory was one of them. My sister is three years old than me and imagine my surprise when I learned she had never been there! This was a treat for me to show it to her and I was glad I included her in my rediscover L.A. venture.

I was quite surprised to find out how many cars lined the two lane road as we neared the observatory. It was crowded and people were just out to enjoy the beautiful day. Many were just standing around the railing around the observatory or on the different floors of the observatory looking out over the wonderful view of the city.

Though it wasn't as smoggy as it sometimes is, it was still a little hazy. You could see the buidlings from Downtown L.A. but on a very clear day you can actually see the ocean. It was too bad it wasn't such a day so I could have shared such a picture with you. The wonderful thing about the observatory is that even if you chose not to go in, or you got there and found it closed, it's still a worthwhile trip just to stand atop this mountain with observatory and get about a 270 degree view of Los Angeles below. Or maybe you might choose to take one of the many hiking/walking paths that you can see below. Many people did just that today.

When you first enter the observatory the domed ceiling is really quite beautiful with paintings depicting astronomers. There are quite a few displays and things to look at but the real thrill of the observatory is to catch the shows. My sister and I decided not to do that on this trip. It was quite enough on this trip just to visit the observatory, take in the displays, enjoy the beautiful day and enjoy the view.

Can you see the Hollywood sign in the distance in the picture above? It's been in the news recently that the owners of the land around the Hollywood sign are trying to sell it for development. The city is trying to raise the money to buy it back. I think it would be a shame to take away from the sign by putting anything around it.

This is the back of the observatory. You can literally walk all the way around it to enjoy that 270 degree view.

THE FASHION DISTRICT

2008-02-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

The Fashion District is located on the east side of downtown Los Angeles and stretches for blocks and blocks in the vacinity of, and hardly limited to the area around, Olympic Blvd between Los Angeles Street and Maple. If you exit the 10 freeway on Maple there is even a sign stating The Fashion District. This will include the infamous "The Alley". You can find anything here - children's clothing, men and women's clothing, suits, shoes, fabric, notions, bridal gowns, bridal fabrics, upholstery fabrics, purses, sunglasses, luggage, costume jewelry, etc. - and it's all discounted.

If you live in L.A. and you don't know this area, shame on you!

If you're planning on visiting L.A. you've got to try to make it to the Fashion District. I haven't been in a while but I just drove through it on my rediscover L.A. venture. I'm not saying it's all designer clothing and designer outlets but you never know what you might find in the Fashion District and there is a little bit of everything for everybody. And if nothing else it will definitely be an experience.

Feel like shopping? Remember The Fashion District and I'd suggest leaving early unless you don't mind being in the midst of the crowd of people you'll run into.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

2008-02-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

I worked in downtown Los Angeles most of my working years. My job prior to the one I have now, I worked on 3rd and Grand for nearly 20 years.

I remember old downtown L.A. when most of the "big" stores were on Broadway. I remember when the tallest building downtown was City Hall which is now dwarfed in comparison to other buildings and is no longer the heart of downtown. In this picture it's the smaller white building on the right that comes to a peak. I can vaguely even remember taking the trolley with my mother and the sparks from the wires which is probably why I remembered it from such a very young age. It was the place everyone went to shop and had the best movie theatres around.

Broadway now is run down and laden with nothing bus discount stores. All of the major stores moved west into places like the Broadway Plaza when malls became the new rage and building became skyscrapers. It has certain changed over the years but change isn't always a bad thing and the buildings are beautiful.

Pictured below are just some of the buildings and focal points of downtown Los Angeles - The Music Center, MOCA, the main library, Walt Disney Concert Hall. I will mention that the Water Court between the California Plaza towers is spectacular and host a string of evening concerts in the summer. There are pictures on the water court in the slideshow below.

EXPOSITION PARK - Museums. Coliseum & Sports Arena

2008-02-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

I thought the best place to start this blog was with an area of this city that seems pretty central to me. For a short while as a teen I lived in this area. I passed it most days going to work, when I visit my sister I pass it, if you travel south on the 110/Harbor Freeway you pass it and when I attended USC it was right across the street.

Exposition Park consists of parks (of course), museums, a rose garden, The IMAX Theatre, The Coliseum, The Sports Arena, and the Los Angeles Swimming Stadium. The main picture is the entrance to the IMAX theatre on the left and the California Science Center on the right.

I finally made it to Exposition Park at about 1:00 p.m., that was after stopping at Olvera Street and driving through downtown to take a few pictures from the car. They finally kicked me out at 5:00 p.m. I had a great time because I had not been there in so long and they had definitely made architectural and display changes since I'd last been. There is still construction going on as they continue to expand and though I knew that because of this time of year there wouldn't be any roses in the rose garden it was still disappointed to see the thread-bare bushes. Still, the trees outlining the garden were beautiful just the same.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

I started out at the Natural History Museum even though I had to walk through the Science Center and down the tree lined street to get to it. $9 per adult to get in on top of the $6 for parking, so far I was only out $15.00. The minute I paid and walked into the museum and saw the skeleton of the dinosaur on display a sense of nostalgia came over me and I realized how long it had really been since I'd been in that museum.

So me, my camera and my map set out on our museum adventure on the three floors of exhibits. I've got to admit that I think the Gems & Minerals exhibit was my favorite simply because they made for such great pictures. My pictures are in the slideshow below. If you notice a lack of dinosaur skeleton pictures it's because, I'm sad to report, it was closed.

CALIFORNIA SCIENCENTER

The area that changed the most for me was the California ScienCenter and they're still expanding as part of it was under construction. One side of the building is the old building. The other side by the IMAX Theatre has been "moderenized" and the interior has been completely redone. I couldn't tell you when this took place.

I didn't "play" with the exhibits so I can't give you first hand knowledge of whether or not they were fun but the place was full of kids who seemed to be having a great time and there is certain enough there to amuse and entertain while learning something in the process.

I was quite entertained by the new chicks hatching in the large incubator and the metal contraption suspended in the open between the 1st and 3rd floor which contracted and expanded like an accordion. Then there was the bicycle on the tightrope which, even though it had a safety net beneath it, you could not have got me on. There was a brave soul or two who ventured out on it as you'll see in the slidehow below.

The cost of this adventure - a donation of $5.00.

CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

My last stop was the California Afrian American Museum. I regret that after all the pictures I was able to take, we were asked not to take any photos inside of this museum because of copyright concerns. I was so impressed with the layout of the art and the art I wanted so much to be able to share my experience visually. I've provided you with the link so you can see some of the art for yourself. Please note that these the samples they have on the website are nothing compared to what art is housed inside the museum itself.

OUTSIDE THE MUSEUMS

Outside the museum are a couple of full size airplanes, one on a building and one between the walkway and the parking lot.

SPORTS ARENA & LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM

Then of course there is the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, historic points in Los Angeles. The Coliseum was host to two Olympic games, the most recent being in 1984. It is also home to the USC Trojan football games (USC in across the street from the Coliseum). It was also home to the Rams before they moved to Anaheim in 1980. My ninth grade graduation was held there and I attended several USC games and the track and field of the 1980 Olympics.

The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was at one time the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, The Los Angeles Clippers, USC Basketball and the Los Angeles Kings.

OLVERA STREET

2008-02-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

Olvera Street was my first stop in my quest to rediscover Los Angeles. I haven't been to Olvera Street in a very long time and I thorougly enjoyed my little outing. Olvera Street is a Mexican marketplace and a popular little spot in L.A. It's located across from Union Station (the train station) and the original main post office. It was just as I expected it to be, lively and crowded. The original pueblo was built in 1741 by the forty-four settlers of Los Angeles and is also known as El Pueblo Historic Monument. For more of the history of Olvera Street click here. If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, wares and a taste of history, the famous Olvera Street is the place to go. It is only one block long but is lined with authentic Mexican wares, restaurants and cafes. In addition to the authentic wares you can also find souvenirs, toys for the kids, leather purses for as low as $20. Be entertained on the weekend by mariachis and bollero musicians. If you're interested in visiting Olvera Street I suggest checking out their link for a map, directions and possible fiestas and events like Cinco de Mayo. Here is a slideshow to show you a little of what to expect.