Lolling and Laughing in La La Land

LA is Just So......

Crowded.  Insane.  Vain.  Valet Parking Dependent. Traffic disordered. VERY self absorbed.  And still we go.  We hadn't seen son #1 (Justin) since Christmas and since he appears to be working four jobs (ah, that Gig economy) odds were he wasn't going to head to Mexico anytime soon.  So off we went to see him and a host of our other old and new West Coast friends.  After a day of adjustment and condo cleaning (ahem), we picked up our friend Alex Jones -- so many Alex's in our lives-- at Burbank airport.  Comparing LAX to Burbank is like a journey from hell to heaven.  Having scooped her up in no time we proceeded to concentrate on making the most of our 48 hours together.

The Way California Used to Be

I had stumbled upon an article that intrigued me about Crystal State Park just south of Newport Beach.  The 2,400 acre park includes three miles of shore but, most interestingly, 46 old California beach bungalows that have been/are being restored to their original design.  When you walk into this place you expect to see teenage Beach Boys jamming or Gidget and Annette Funicello splayed out on blankets with their transistor radios next to them.  The bungalows were built in the 1930s and 1940s and existed as a private beach community until 1955.  I'm not sure what happened then but I guess the State bought it.   Everything just went to hell for about 40 years and then they started renovating the cottages being careful to make them period authentic and the first ones were redone by 2006. Now you can rent them!  I want to do that! The cottages range in price per night from about $180-$250 but they also have private rooms and hostel arrangements.

So, after we had taken the ferry to Balboa Island for brunch we ambled on off to Crystal Cove.  In addition to the bungalows they have The Beachcomber Restaurant that overlooks the Ocean and some of the Cottages.  We spent a couple of hours people watching (and perhaps drinking) while waiting for a table.  People watching in California is especially diverting.  Crammed with seafood and libations we retreated to the condo girding for our trip down the freeway to San Diego the next day.

Newport Harborside from Balboa Island.

Alex Jones as we waited for the short ferry ride to Balboa Island.

According to the sign the "longest Ferris wheel ride in the world".

Some of the beautiful flowers in bloom on Balboa Island.

A strange looking colorful plant that we had never seen before. Horticulturists can you identify?

The Rawlins-LaFerta house by architect John Lautner, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A Balboa Island sand castle (not on the National Register of Historic Places --- yet).

 A very zen statue for a very zen place.

Some of the eclectic cabins of Crystal Cove.

San Diego -- The LA Alternative

While I struggle with trying to like LA (not yet) I just LOVE San Diego.  Since Justin was working his multiple jobs we decided to take a few days and head South.  This worked out well because we could drop Alex off to see her Mom in Laguna Beach (lovely town, lovely Mom) and catch our friend Al (not an Alex) on our trip back to LA.  Highly efficient.  You may remember our last, very disappointing stay in an Air BNB in Tequila.  Well, I rented another one in San Diego.  BINGO! This one was our reward for not bailing on Air BNB.  The pictures will tell the tale but it is probably the best we've ever experienced.  A beautiful Craftsman cottage redone by an artist and perfect in every regard.  It even had a "napping room".  It had a broad front porch which overlooked a striking, mature succulent garden.  You could sit on the porch sipping a wine and watch the world pass by while still enjoying a sense of privacy.  The University neighborhood was excellent too.

Pictures of the Craftsman cottage which was our temporary abode while in San Diego.

The nap room.  That's a view of the garden through the window.  Looks like a painting, si?

Deirdre deemed this the most comfortable chair in the world and wanted to take it with us, but it wouldn't fit in her suitcase.

The outside gardens were as spectacular as the inside of the house. This prickly pear cactus was taller and longer than I am.

A beautiful view from the porch, which still allowed privacy.  The owner also had a poetry post in front of the house with changing poems from time to time.

I Hate It When It's A Travelogue

And then we did this.  And then we went there.  I hate it when we degrade to that but Michael has some super pictures so I'll just try to provide a skeletal explanation to support them.

Hotel del Coronado -- Lovely place ruined by buy out by huge (forget which) company that built barrack style lodging next to the lovely hotel (still probably $700 per night).  Very expensive drinks but beautiful view.  Many people discussing business which made us SO glad we don't do that anymore.

The del Coranado bridge from San Diego.

The Hotel del Coronado.

The classic tower of the Hotel.

A stained glass window of the hotel.

The San Diego skyline at night.

The ship with the number 41 is the USS Midway.

The San Diego Zoo  --  Generally, my advice is don't go to a zoo if you are over 50.  You have seen all the animals before.  It just makes you feel jaded and usually it is really hot and they are sleeping. However, because it is the BEST ZOO IN THE WORLD, we went.  It was really hot and most of the animals were sleeping but the Gorillas were phenomenal and the baby was a riot and that alone made it worth the $50+ -- almost.

The flamingos are one of the first things you see on entering the zoo.

A little cooperative grooming by these monkeys.

The one polar bear seems to be whispering to the other polar bear.

The silverback gorilla in pose...

and repose...

while youngster looks on.

An agouti...

and two African penguins (one of which is wearing his name tag).

As we were riding the introductory shuttle, the drive stopped to show us this brown bear "pleasuring himself".  Really.

This raptor spread its wings for me.

The San Diego Zoo has many aviaries with fascinating birds.

This Nubian ibex is leaping up...

and this one is preparing to jump down.

Balboa Park  --  OK.  A little more detail on this one.  Despite having spent a fair amount of time in San Diego on business and pleasure, neither of us had been to Balboa Park.  Well, the zoo is in the park but we hadn't been to the main part.  Silly us.  Very cool. Bigger than Central Park.  They held two expositions there -- The 1915-16 Panama- California Exposition (when the Canal opened) and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition.  The second one was held to boost the local economy during the Depression.  The buildings (Spanish Renaissance Style) are magnificent and, well, the whole place is magnificent.  I, of course, gravitated towards the weird.  In Atlas Obsura I found out about the Zoro Garden.  Here goes:  "Originally constructed for the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16 the stone garden was destined for a more titillating purpose as San Diego prepared to host the 1935 Pacific International Exposition. In advance of the spectacle, a sideshow promoter by the name of Nate Eagle and his partner Stanley Graham were miraculously given the green light to install a "nudist colony" for the public's enjoyment.  Curious attendees were admitted to the open air theatre for a mere 25 cents, whereupon they found live actors paid to play the role of "nudists" sunning themselves, performing faux-religious services or playing volleyball.  The women wore G-strings or nearly invisible stockings to slightly enhance their natural figures, while the men wore loincloths.  Prominent (read sketchy) holes in the surrounding fence allowed cheapskate voyeurs the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the display through the cracks."  They (read the uptight people) tried to shut it down but since there were no specific laws pertaining to this specific type of nudity it enjoyed a multiple season run. Now it's a butterfly garden.  Boring...

Moving on from there we made our way to the Museum of Man which was featuring an exhibit on Cannibalism.  You may remember that no matter where we travel this issue always arises with a bunch of cockamamy excuses for why people eat other people.  I thought we'd put this issue to rest once and for all by just finding out EVERYWHERE they did it and why and then I'd just pay no attention to it from then on.  We arrived only to find that someone had rented out the whole exhibit for a private event.  What kind of person rents an exhibit on cannibalism for a party?  Oh well.  We were forced to go see things like Japanese Gardens and other tame but beautiful displays.

The San Diego Parks & Recreation Department building--- a lot fancier than your average Park & Rec building.

The Casa del Prado in Balbos Park.

The ornate entrance to the Casa del Prado.

The architecture of the buildings in the park is fascinating.

The ducks and ducklings were hanging out in the pond in front of the botanical garden.

A view of the pond looking toward the botanical garden...

and away from the botanical garden.

Some photos of plants and the interior of the botanical garden.

While roaming through the park we came across this interesting shaped bubble...

and these children trying to pop the bubbles...

created by this giant bubble maker.

One of the formal gardens in the park...

and two photos of the interior of the Japanese garden in the park.

These colorful beams were in the Prado restaurant..

along with these colorful plates.

This statue in the courtyard of the Casa del Prado...

and this statue in the park recognized the contribution of the original inhabitants of the San Diego area.

This giant tree stood out among all the other trees in the park.

A recreation of the original Globe Theater, in which performances are held on a regular basis.

A poster advertising the Cannibals exhibit. You can imagine Deirdre's joy at seeing this and her disappointment at not being able to tour the exhibit.

San Luis Rey Mission  --  Headed North once more to LA we stopped at the Mission.  You know, it was a mission (jaded again).  However, scenes from Zorro (one of my all time favorite TV shows) were filmed there so that made it a worthwhile stop.  Then on to lunch in Oceanside with college pal Al (and his friend Steve) and a valiant fight through the freeway back to the condo.

The church of the Mission San Luis Rey...

and the mission garden...

with the oldest pepper tree in California planted by Fr. Antonio Peyri in 1830.

Statues in the graveyard of the mission...

and one of the oldest headstones in the graveyard.

Scenes from the Zorro TV series were filmed at the mission. This plaque beneath a bench in the graveyard commemorated the actor who played Zorro...

and there was a poster in the mission.

The interior of the mission church, which is still active today as a parish church.

The Virgin of Guadalupe was recognized at the mission.

Some of the beautiful mission garden flowers...

and an unusual cactus.

The very photogenic Oceanside Harbor...

and the Oceanside pier, which extends for a quarter of a mile.

The house in which the character played by Tom Cruise lived for the movie Top Gun. It now sits abandoned behind this chain link fence with a poster for the movie on the left.

Me, Steve, Deirdre and Al at Hello Betty's in Oceanside.

Winding Down

We're hitting the home stretch now. Lunch with more college era pals -- Tim and Jane.  Always have about an hour and a half and cram as much of life events into it as possible until the next time.  They swear they'll come to Mexico....

Croatia Revisited  -- We became fast friends with Suzette and Barb on our Croatia cruise -- in part because they immediately grooved on the idea of visiting the Froggy Museum featuring 500 stuffed frogs.  Many Aperol Spritz and multi coursed meals later we were bonded at the hips.  So, off to dinner we went at Suzette's.  It is so great when you meet people and just click.  And then you wonder if you would click in a different setting.... and you do.  Met Barb's husband, ate WAY too much and extracted promises of a visit to Mexico.  For sure.

The Garden of Flowers and Fragrance -- The fragrance may be sewage.  LA decided it would be cool to build a Japanese Garden right next to the sewage facility and use the treated water to nurture the garden.  Now there's a BOLD idea.  But it works.  And I only smelled sewage once -- a little. That drought sure made them inventive....

This pergola covered with wisteria immediately attracted Deirdre's attention.

The wisteria is actually a legume native to Japan, Korea and China.

Despite being located next to a water treatment plant, these photos reflect the beauty and tranquility of the garden setting.

Sunday In the Park  -- You know our thing about "if you want to really know a place, visit it on a Sunday."  Well, it was a gorgeous day and we headed to Echo Park.  The photos will tell the tale.  We learned that there is a goose who has fallen in love with a retired man and when he walks each day the goose walks with him.  He is very protective and has gone after pit bulls if he thinks they pose a threat.  The man drives a motor scooter to the park and sometimes the goose tries to fly home with him next to the scooter.  The guy has to bring him back and they have to cage him up.  Ain't love grand?

A picture of the boat house from which you can rent the swan pedal boats.

The Canada geese had recently hatched their goslings...

and this protective parent was telling the duck to stay away from the young goslings.

This turtle took advantage of the sunny day to bask out of the water.

The wet lands of the park are designed to filter the pollutants from the water.

The swan boats were out in full force...

as well as the many people enjoying the sunny weather.

This person even strung up a hammock to relax and read in the park.

It seems even Echo Lake Park has its own "borracho", who was putting on quite a show by shaking his booty to some imagined tune.

From this view it looks like a tranquil park in a suburban neighborhood...

but these views show how close it is to downtown LA.

Fly Me To The Moon -- Michael was very excited about going to Griffith Observatory to photograph the full moon casting its beams over the expanse of sprawling LA.  He convinced me this would be fun. Clearly every single other person in LA  had the same thought.  We were caught in bumper to bumper traffic ascending to the observatory for about an hour, the parking lots were full and there were so many clouds that the moon was not observable.  Other than that it was pretty much fun.

OK.  Finally.  Done.  I didn't think we'd done that much.  So, one more week and we are off to Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.  The weather does not look promising and I have just ordered duck shoes.  We will keep you posted.  Take care.