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
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
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.
Canal in Venice, CA
Another canal, over the top houses
Very quaint
Cafe Gratitude in Venice
YUM!
