Donnelly Oceantics: JUNE - CALIFORNIA 2014

Kids, grandkids, museums and food. City life can be fun.

Shawn & Chloe & Butterflies

We got a day with son Shawn and almost five year old Chloe, our granddaughter. We took off for Exposition Park and the Butterfly Pavillion at the Natural History Museum.

A12 spy plane from 1962

Next door is the Science museum, we’ll save for another time

We reserved our butterfly spot and visited the great museum while we waited. Gorgeous building, the exhibition rooms are architectural delights.

I love the coffered ceiling and arch

Behind us are not dinosaurs, they are skeletons (we are the dinosaurs) with Chloe

Aren't museums great for kids?

Shawn was convinced I would get lost in the mineral exhibit but we were all enchanted

Time for the butterflies, we headed to the outdoor pavilion where we got to spend 30 minutes with the flowers and little winged creatures.

The butterfly pavillion

The tree at the entry was filled with plastic butterflies

Then there were the real ones

Everywhere!

Two, orange on purple like they know how stunning they are

I can't show them all . . .

So, I try to get two at a time

Our 30 minutes was up. It was just right. Chloe has amazing stamina but we all needed a little food and as most museum cafes, this one was great.

Mac n Cheese with tickles

We returned to the parking lot via the rose garden in place since the 1920s, a time when LA was still a beautiful town.

I was afraid they had taken out the rose garden, they have added so many buildings

It is still here in all its glory

1927 - 2014

The fragrance was incredible even in bright sun, can't imagine early morning or evening

Is she eating the rose? No, she's kissing it

Zapped from walking and sights, Chloe grabbed a car nap before going to dinner. What a great kid (says Tutu).

Car nap - the freeways are good for something

Actually we had no traffic between Orange County and LA on any of excursions thanks to time of day travel and the Sig Alert phone app

Very nice, what can I say?

Grinds: oysters

Donnelly boys can still eat

In Pasadena with Ian

Since Ian and Stacey had goofy schedules while we were there, we had separate days with the two of them, meeting up at night to grind and tell tales. Ian went with us to Pasadena for a museum day. First the Southwest Museum which I had not been to since the 80s and then to Norton Simon (we see that one every time we watch the Rose Parade).

Few people I know are familiar with this museum but it has been housed in the same building for decades. I hadn't been here since the early 80s. It did not disappoint.

No comment

A tongva ti'at

Plank canoe of the original Californians

Sculptor: Gerardo Hacer

I was so fascinated with this entry piece and asked so many questions they finally called the curator down to talk to us. Apparently there is a strong community of canoe paddlers from pre-Spanish days that still gather with their canoes.

After lunch at an ordinary vegan restaurant, our next stop was the Norton-Simon Museum. I remembered the Dutch tulip drawings but it turned out to not have been a permanent exhibit. The Rhodin's are still out front and the Degas still inside.

The Asian exhibit

A bronze Shiva (1200) inside with a stone Buddha Shakamuni (1100) outside

A. Giacometti Tall Figure IV

Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor who did portraits and then elongated them until they were

sometimes destroyed

Ian in the background taking a picture of Diego Rivera's Cala Lillies

Hollywood with Stacey

Gil and I read lots of detective stories and some of our favorite characters operate in the LA basin. So we took a Hollywood day with Stacey who navigated. We checked out Mulholland (E-W) and Laurel Canyon (N-S) finding the neighborhoods of homicide detective Harry Bosch and private eye Elvis Cole.

Hollywood sign (upper left in the smog)

The sign was designed and installed in 1923 as Hollywoodland,

the “land” soon fell off in a mudslide. In 1978 the landmark was replaced.

The LA skyline (in the smoggy background)

Freeway and Hollywood bowl below

The hills and canyons are filled with pricey homes, coyotes,

and fringe people trying to survive

Tourist town

Grauman's Chinese Theater

1953 just after the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was made

Marilyn did two things here - she stepped with her toes and then the heels (so her foot looks small) and she took off her diamond earring and put it in the cement as the dot over the I. That didn't last long so they have put something shiny and less valuable in its place.

Every day and particularly every night, there are regulars that dress in costume and pose with tourists for tips. There are several Spider Men, Elvis, etc. and it is a mecca of petty crime (purse snatching, drug sales, etc.)

A new star is born

I maxed out of this scene rather quickly - you know, fun for about 5 minutes

Stacey, Sharon & Gil

A portobello panino dripping with cashew sauce and rooibos tea

What are you grateful for?

Half the fun of the city is the food and we got to visit the LA Café Gratitude on Larchmont. Soooo good.

The Desert

During the week while the kids were working we made a quick jaunt to the desert. We stopped in to see my brother-in-law John in Hemet and then went on to see Gil’s mom and brother Michael in Arizona.

Gil, Michael, and Mama Eunice

Nice visits

The best thing about the desert is the sky

We got another day with Ian and he suggested we go to the memorial garden to “see” Gil’s brother Leo, Jr. That was very nice and then we just took a drive to Lake Arrowhead. We learned that the car is a good place to visit without the distractions of computers, phones, and TV :)

Ian and Gil having a quiet moment with Leo, Jr.

It was interesting to read the epitaphs of all these soldiers

Lake Arrowhead

Nice drive, nice visit

Lots of activities, really busy water

Back at Ian and Stacey's house we had a whole day for serious farewell grinds and visiting with the grand dogs.

Grilled veggies and pineapple with prawn and scallops on rosemary skewars

Then there was the green salad with fresh strawberries plus the lime-cilantro jasmine rice

Oh yeah, Donnelly style

Sharon with Gaia and Gil with Lucy, both rescue dogs

With everyone back to work we decided to visit Venice beach on our way to the airport. We walked the nicer canals, home to fictional cop Shane Scully before Café Gratitude in Venice. Yum.