Sticking to the Point

Playdate :: part one

M and A drove me to D's home by the beach.  They've never met you see, and since I consider D a close friend, it was high time everyone met. M and A planned a trip to the boardwalk, while DeeZee and I were heading east, our destination the neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

We chose Silver Lake first, because we couldn't find parking in Los Feliz; it was a holiday and the cafes and restaurants were packed. Interestingly (or not), we ended up in a part of Silver Lake that the mister and I are really interested in. Cute and with a good elementary school, this neighborhood its houses feel right for us. (We'll see if the economy and the housing market support that when we're ready.) We ate lunch here, which despite the reviews, was really good.

Our appetites appeased, we headed out for our raison d'etre (or at least our reason for getting together), to shoot. And shoot we did! There is amazing graffiti and street art in Los Angeles; we found a lot of lovely, gritty art on a small stretch of Sunset Boulevard West and a booth on my list to visit.

48 hours :: in a post that feels like it will take 48 hours to read

Typically when we do our Los Angeles vacations, we fly Saturday to Saturday. I'm not sure why we deviated, but this last trip had us flying on Friday afternoon. Not even 24 hours, but a world of difference in my opinion (M disagrees), it was nice to have a full weekend this trip. (And it worked out nicely because M's cousin P, flew down for a visit from the Bay Area.)

Always a packed itinerary, this time, we mixed it up. We had a few days on either end where we did nothing and stayed local.  The rest of the trip was spent on the east side of town, (with an overnighter down south), not our typical west side outings.

P arrived Saturday morning and after lunch at our favorite Mexican joint, we went downtown.  I love my hometown. A shell of what it once was, Manhattan Beach has become this swanky little town, that I still love, it's just different. (if you scroll through the wiki link, you can see how much it's changed).

I think it was a fantastic place to grow up. I love that it was a sleepy community with modest homes and bungalow style cottages. I rode my bike everywhere. I spent my summers on the beach and most of my teen-aged angst was spent gazing out to sea, in the parking lot, to the right of the pier.

first row: H & poppa
2nd row: miss A, the mister and P

At the end of the pier, we saw people pointing and laughing, "look at the dolphins, they're so cute".

Last time I checked dolphins were gray and even-colored.  A good zoom lens tells a very different story.

there weren't any gruesome stories about surfers being attacked, so it's safe to assume that the predatory nature of the killer whale is only dangerous to other fish.

On Sunday, me and the rest of Los Angeles, had the bright idea to head up to the Griffith Observatory. (seriously the parking was heinous, yo.)  We met my friend R and her family, hoping to see a show at the planetarium (not a chance with the crowds) and instead roamed the museum and grounds.

Peeps, let me tell you, the Griffith Observatory and the surrounding grounds are the bomb. As you ascend, swank-ass houses line the winding road. On your left you pass the sublime Greek Theatre, my all-time favorite venue. You continue to climb and then you spy the observatory on the hill, noting  the Hollywood sign in the background. And you are surrounded by woods. Except you're in the middle of Los Angeles. Totally inspiring. Totally my favorite place to hang out; I can already see myself when we're living there in one thousand, four hundred and sixty days, but whose counting?

isn't this cool? i haven't a clue what the exhibition is actually about, all i know is the blue is electrical current.

Next up, my playdate with DeeZee.