Last SoCal Post

Random shots of our week and half in Southern California. Ava in La Jolla.

La Jolla Cove

About a week after this photo, some of those sea lions charged the human onlookers. I don't blame them.

Walking along Hollywood and Vine.

 

 

The Brady Bunch House. Was smaller than I expected. Everything on TV looks larger than in real life. 

The Formosa. Very famous bar and restaurant. Appears in several movies and TV shows including one of my favorites, Still Breathing. This is where Brendan Fraser meets Joanna Going (their characters).

 

 

The plane! The plane! 

 

 

La Jolla Cove

The Taco Stand in La Jolla.

Our view out our hotel window during our LA part of the trip. I loved looking out on the Capitol Records building.

The famous jazz mural. Some of my favorites on here. Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Shelly Manne, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington.

Our hotel, the Kimpton Everly Hollywood.

Had to stop at Amoeba Records. Actually, sometimes places this large with such a vast selection can be overwhelming!

 Leaving Los Angeles.

Old Hollywood

  

One of the reasons we went to LA this summer was to see Hollywood. I'm an old movie buff and I wanted to do the cheesy Hollywood things. I had heard for years that Hollywood Blvd can be pretty sketchy and that was somewhat true. Interesting characters lurk all over the Walk of Fame. But we never felt unsafe, well mostly. Our hotel, was just a block away so it was convenient to walk over. 

The Avengers!

Harry Potter Cast!

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg!

Star Wars!

Lisa Marie!

We didn't stay here but I wanted to see the legendary Roosevelt.

We always tell our son he was named after Jack White.

Humor was different back in the days. Not sure Bogie would say that these days.

 

 

In the steps of Gene Kelly!

My daughter loves this actress's name.

Ole Blue Eyes

Steve McQueen!

We originally took a lot of photos of the stars like dumb tourists. But there's just too many and who wants to look at photos of sidewalk stars? But we kept a few. Hitchcock is one of me and my son's favorite directors.

The Chavez Ravine

For a long time I've wanted to visit Dodger Stadium in the Chavez Ravine. It's a classic mid-century ballpark that's now one of the oldest in the Majors. We went on July 4th so we could see the fireworks after the game. We didn't have a dog in the fight but LA blew a lead against Pittsburgh which dampened the enthusiasm of the crowd a bit at the end.

The stadium looks great. It has been recently renovated but the lines are still classic and clean. The mid-century feel really presents a cool laid-back vibe. You can feel the history of the Dodgers running through the place. I could just imagine catching a game here throughout the decades. The 60's, 70's, and 80's were a glamorous era for Dodger baseball.

Nestled in the Chavez Ravine you don't feel that you're massive metropolis of Los Angeles. The palm trees and hills are a crucial part of the aesthetic. It's a huge baseball stadium, now the largest in Major League Baseball. And it was packed for the July 4th fireworks. My only knock on the stadium was the parking lot situation. They're close enough to the stadium and all but not well marked. I even took photos of our car's location and still was hopelessly lost for 15 minutes in the lot after the game. Also, after 60 years in that location you would think they'd have better exit strategies for getting all those cars out of the lot. But honestly, that wasn't a big damper on the experience. We had a great time. The weather was in the 60's by the end of the game. Beautiful.

 

Santa Monica Beach

So it’s 106 degrees in Dallas as I type this. So I decided to post some photos from our beach day in Santa Monica a few weeks ago. It was overcast but the temperature was perfect. After a few hours on the beach we strolled around on the Pier. Rode some rides. Ate some good food. A nice cool day 

 

What Happens in La Brea Stays in La Brea

In second grade, in Oklahoma, my teacher told us about the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. I was fascinated. My whole life I wanted to see them in person. This summer, I finally got my wish. They were amazing.