Jacob Hashimoto’s “Gas Giant”

Hey, this post is going to be few words because the pictures are going to speak for themselves.

Did you know there was a MOCA exhibit in Beverly Hills? On Melrose to be more precise? Because I sure didn’t until I discovered this exhibit. This exhibit will just take your breath away. Hand made kites, hung up by a sting…I can’t imagine the time it took to create this.

Downstairs is all black and white, then you go up the stairs and *bam* the most spectacular vision. Even if you aren’t a museum nerd like I am, you will have the appreciate for the patience and vision Mr. Hashimoto had to create this masterpiece.

If I’m correct, this is a permanent exhibit? But don’t quote me on that. This is the MOCA at the PDC Art Catalogues, be sure to check their sight to make sure you see it in person! Until next time, I hope you all have a great day!

The Sunken City – San Pedro

Eep! I’m so excited to tell you guys about this place. It’s quite fascinating and it’s been a place of interest of mine for quite some time.

Long time ago they (don’t ask me the real date) a cliff gave out and a street in San Pedro was lost. The houses that use to occupy this street are nowhere to be found but remnants of the street are still there.

You look to your left and you see what used to be the street, look to your left and you see what used to be a sidewalk, now heavily decorated by streetart patrons. This is what I would imagine the world would look like if a huge earthquake destroyed LA and everyone was left to fend for themselves.

If you ever wondered why you should have the land surveyed prior to building on it…well, here you go. When you go down to the bottom, the rocks are asphalt, smoothed out by the waves crashing into it over the years. The part of the cliff that fell, provides a contrast to the cliff that remains intact. This place is fascinating, I wanted to spend more time here because pictures can not do it justice.

I’m so glad I finally came here (I didn’t realize how close I was after I went to the Korean Bell of Friendship). Well, thanks again for joining me on this journey, until next time! I hope you have a great day.

Old Muscle Beach – Santa Monica

One of the things I truly enjoy about LA is the fitness/health culture. No one stares at me with a look of disgust when I tell them I’m Vegan, nor do they try to talk me out of my daily workouts. I live in a city who encourages fitness (now if it’s for the right or wrong reason, that’s another story). Blah blah, commentary, blah blah…I introduce to you, the Old Muscle Beach located in Santa Monica.

I love this place. It’s like a big jungle gym for adults. How can you not love that? Every one take turns on different apparatuses. This place has rings, ropes, bars and it looks like someone sets up a tight rope. The fitness level of the people here is inspiring. I caught myself staring at this one guy who started off on the tight rope, then climbed up a rope with lightening speed, started doing pull ups at the top…without any fear. I could not stop watching him (didn’t hurt that he was an absolute babe).

I want to become a regular here, master all obstacles. Eventually I’d love to see the Muscle Beach in Venice but that one seems intense, I’m not in that great of shape yet. One of these days…I’ll be hanging out here until then. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great weekend and I’ll see you guys on my next adventure.

No One Dates in LA

I went to a comedy show towards the end of last year and there was this hilarious female comedian ranting about how hard it is to find a decent guy in Los Angeles (which I think it goes both ways because I have heard several dating disasters from my male friends). She asked a couple in the audience if they were from LA, in which they replied “no”. She then proceeded to tell them that she knew because no one in LA dates.

In my almost year and a half as a LA resident, I have been on…2 dates? I also think that everyone just wants me as a friend so I may have unknowingly went on a few dates that I’m not accounting for, but that’s besides the point. My first date was horrible. He was what I imagine as the typical “LA Bro”. Trying to talk to him was like pulling teeth, I would ask questions because I wanted to know more about him only to be answered with one word and no prospect of expanding on the topic. I asked him what his hobbies were, he told me “Martial Arts and Pool Parties”…are you fucking kidding me? How can you classify Pool Parties as a hobby? For one, that’s a “hobby” that’s only available for half a year, and two…IT’S A FUCKING POOL PARTY!

Date two was great. He was your typical LA go-getter. Hustling every day, working insane amount of hours. We went on two dates, we talked about normal date stuff, and maybe some non-typical date stuff (we both would talk about how we didn’t understand how people were in relationship, how we were both pretty selfish with our personal time because we both work a lot). He was great, but I think we both saw that we both were too busy to be able to fit into each others lives. No harm, no foul. Maybe it just wasn’t the time for us, but he gave me hope that not all LA men are monsters.

In my early twenties, being in a relationship was all I could think about. I loved the feeling of belonging to someone. Now, though I miss the companionship and the level of comfort that having a boyfriend brings, I’m strong and emotionally self-sufficient that I’m in no rush. I welcome the possibility of being in a relationship, but I won’t be sitting around waiting for someone to appear.

The Old Zoo at Griffith Park

Let’s go back to a time when technology didn’t exist and we weren’t familiar with the term “animal cruelty.”
Welcome to the former location of the LA Zoo.

I’ve been wanting to explore this hidden gem for awhile. This zoo was operational from 1912 to 1966. If you saw how small this place was and how small the “living space” for these animals were, you’d understand why they made another zoo and closed this one down.

The actual area is quite small, and some of the places I got to explore, look liked they were supposed to be gated off but people had gone in and broke through the gates. I was excited, because then you got to go in and see where they held these animals captive. The staircases were amazing, completely filled with graffiti now, but I just imagined what a zoo keeper back then would look like going up and down to feed the animals.

The Zoo has been turned into a picnic area (seems like an LA thing to do), so it’d be perfect to picnic at the The Old Zoo and then head up to the Observatory and watch the sunset. That’s it for now, thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you guys again on my next adventure.

Watts Towers

Ever look at something and wonder, why? Hey, me too. Kind of what I thought when I first discovered the Watts Towers existed.

Simon Rodia created this, now LA landmark, on his off time for 33 years. He apparently wasn’t well liked by his neighbors who would let their children vandalize his work. He left his masterpiece and moved away, only to die 10 years later.

They perform tours every half hour. The tours are small groups so make sure to get there early to guarantee a spot. Unfortunately, I did not make it into the tour group but it was still fantastic to see this in person.

There isn’t much around the Watts Towers, but if you’re in the area, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. Thanks for stopping by, I’ll see you guys on my next adventure.

Korean Bell of Friendship

Hooray! It’s been a while since I crossed something off my LA Bucket List but here we go!

Located in San Pedro, this bell probably has one of the nicest views. It’s breathtaking, and a little nostalgic. For a second I forgot where I was and felt like I was in San Diego. There are times, when I miss San Diego (friends, family, always seeing the ocean) but I don’t regret the move to LA at all.

Back to the bell. The bell is struck five times a year: on New Year’s Eve, Korean American Day, 4th of July, Korean Liberation Day and every September in celebration of Constitution Week. This bell is so massive (according to Wikipedia, this bell and the one it was modeled after is one of the biggest bells in the world), I’d love to hear the sound it makes when struck. Probably would send shivers down your spine

Apparently there is a “sunken city” very close to this bell and I missed it. So I’ll be going back. Sorry for my lack of posts, I’ll get better at it. I promise. See you all next time!

Urs Fischer at MOCA

Ever since I saw the ads for this exhibit go up around my neighborhood, I’ve been dying to check it out. This exhibit runs until August 19th so you all have some time to make it before it goes away.

MOCA describes Fischer’s work as “fluctuating and unpredictable” and it really was. One room you had mirrored boxes with images printed on them. Images ranging from soy sauce, a calculator to a staple gun.

The following room had a house made out of bread, oversized raindrops and a cat looking at an oven. Kind of reminded my of my cat (although my cat doesn’t look, as so much tries to hide in cramped spaces).

What I like so much about MOCA is that if you buy a pass for one, you can visit the other one too. It’s about a 20 minutes walk, close to Little Tokyo. The Geffen was filled with clay sculptures. Apparently they had about 1000 patrons come in and build items out of clay. Walking through, it felt like you were walking in the ruins of an old city. My favorite was the gigantic Jabba the Hut and a bowl of ramen.

I’m such a museum junkie. I love to see what people come up with. Occasionally contemporary art gets lost with me, but I have an appreciation for those who think outside the box. The Stanley Kubrick exhibit is ending this month at LACMA, and so I cant wait to see what they replace it with. Well, thanks for stopping by, and I will see you all next time.

Cobb Estate

I’m going to start by telling you that I got yelled at by a lot of people for doing this hike. Not because it’s dangerous, not because I’m not fit, but because I decided to do it alone in the middle of the day when the heat was a killer.

They may have been right. I got lost, really lost. I had to back track twice, but hey, I’m here and writing this post so it couldn’t have been THAT horrible of an idea right?

I’m not exactly sure what the story of the Cobb Estate is, it seemed like a hotel at one point, then it was bought by the Marx Brothers. You hike about 3 miles, and then come to a fork. Make sure you go right, don’t go left like I initially did. You won’t really see anything but signs about an old railway that ran along the mountains.

When you actually get to the remains of the Cobb Estate, it’s awesome. The stairs are still there, the foundation still there…you just imagine what it looked like and how great of a view the guests had when they stayed here.

I was a little bummed that I got lost because I originally wanted to get up to Inspiration Point, but I’m going back this weekend to get there. I’m not going to get lost, I actually know my way. So I guess you’ll know what my next post will be.

This hike should have been only 6 miles but with my detours, I wound up hiking 10 miles round trip . I ran out of water by the 2nd mile and food by the third. If this was a survival situation, I would have been a goner (Bear Grylls I am not). This weekend I will be more prepared. Well, until next time, hope you guys have a great day!

Angels Flight Railway

Welcome to “The Shortest Railway in the World”. With a reputation like that, I knew this was one place I had to add on my LA Bucket List. If it says anthing with “_____ in the world”, hook line and sinker…I’m in.

Located in Downtown LA on South Hill Street (for bottom entrance) and South Grand Avenue (for upper entrance), you can take this baby one way for 50 cents, round trip for a dollar! Who says you can’t buy anything with a dollar anymore? Give your glutes a rest and let Olivet or Sinai (yes, the cars have names) take you up.

At the very top you are greeted with a panoramic view of Downtown and the gorgeous California Plaza. Standing up at the top, I felt like I lived in a real city. A city with a past, a city with history, a city with diversity and culture. Things that I found lacking growing up in San Diego. You look at the buildings and they mirror a time that once existed but holding their own in this modern age.

There’s so many things to discover about this city, and everytime I cross something off, all I can this is just how much I’m starting to fall in love with LA. Why did I spend so many years despising a city that I hadn’t truly gotten to know? LA gets a bit of a bad repuation for being superficial, materialistic and overpopulated. But if you can look beyond that, you’ll see what I see and find a place for LA in your heart like I have. Well, until next time, I hope you all have a great day.