Experiencing L.A. on Memorial Day

The Los Angeles National Cemetery is located in Westwood, less than a mile west of UCLA. Over 80,000 Veterans - including 10,000 from the Civil War - are buried here.

Above, the northern edge of the cemetery with the Getty Center in the distance.


Every year, several thousand Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Scout leaders and parent volunteers assembled for the annual Memorial Day Weekend placement of flags at every Veteran's grave.

Two years ago, my son (at the time a Webelos Scout) and I were there to participate and help.

Waiting for things to begin.


Scouts from all over Los Angeles were there to help. There were Scouts from as far away as the high desert community of Lancaster. After introductions, an opening prayer, and a flag salute we went off to different parts of the cemetery.


A Scout Leader giving my son further directions.


Each boy read the name of the Veteran out loud, placed an American flag in the ground, observed a brief moment of silence . . .


. . . . and saluted.


One of the 80,000 Veteran's grave markers, in this case from World War I.


Rows of flags with Scouts and parents in the distance. My son and I feel very privileged to have been part of this, and it gave us something significant to talk about on the way home.

Within a hour, the entire cemetery was decorated with thousands of American flags. In the distance, the office buildings along Wilshire Blvd.


This is not original with me: 


"If you can read this, thank a teacher. 
If you can read this in English, thank a Veteran."


Happy Memorial Day.

View Los Angeles National Cemetery in a larger map

© 2012 www.experiencingla.com - originally posted 5/29/2010

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Experiencing L.A. - "Upper Deck" View from Santa Monica

Two years ago this month I had a doctor's appointment at the Santa Monica Medical Plaza, at 15th & Arizona. I expected a routine visit.

What I didn't expect was the view.

Wow, nice. Glad I had my camera.

This is looking northeast towards the Los Angeles communities of Brentwood and Westwood. 


A close up of the same location (click on any of these photos for a larger view). 

On the left is Brentwood, and on the right, Westwood. The hills in the distance are part of Beverly Hills and Hollywood - and in the far distance are the much larger San Gabriel Mountains.


Barely visible in the distance are the snow capped mountains, to the right. 

As an aside, later that same month (April) my wife and kids and I were at a conference in the local mountains, which had just received six inches of snow. We stopped at the beach on the way up and were in the snow about two hours later. Our kids were able to play in the surf and two hours later play in the snow.


From the same office tower, this is looking south toward the Pacific Ocean, with the western edge of Catalina Island - about 40 miles away - visible in the distance.


Turned out the doctor wasn't in that day - I had to reschedule. I had a few minutes, so I took the elevator up to the top floor for (in my opinion) an even better view. This is looking up Arizona Avenue, which runs between Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvds through Santa Monica into West Los Angeles.


Another close up looking the same direction. On the right side of the photo, just above the last tall building, you can see the Hollywood sign. 

As I've blogged previously, I was constantly reminded how fortunate we were to live in this area. It also was a reminder of the responsibility that comes with that. As the pastor at my church said many years ago, "if God has blessed us economically or materially, we shouldn't feel guilty - we should feel responsible."

I think it's easier just to feel guilty. Responsibility implies actually doing something.

Jesus said on multiple occasions "to whom much is given, much is expected."

I - and others on the westside of L.A. - honestly have been given much. And it was (and is) challenging thinking what that means in terms of investing my time, my abilities, and my resources in the lives of others. There were certainly lots of needs and opportunities. We hope that in a small way our lives made Los Angeles a better place for others.


A few more shots: this was looking north towards Brentwood is the massive Getty Center.


Looking northwest towards the community of Pacific Palisades with the Santa Monica Mountains and Topanga State Park in the distance.

Here's a final wide angle shot. Towards the right are the office towers of downtown Los Angeles, about 15 miles away.

The Santa Monica Medical Plaza is only about 10 or 12 stories tall - but it's a great location if you'd like a view of Santa Monica, the Pacific Ocean, and metro Los Angeles. 

Here's a final link to a previous post with a map of metro Los Angeles. 


View Arizona & 15th Street, Santa Monica in a larger map

© 2012 www.experiencingla.com - originally posted 7/4/2010


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Korean + Mexican + Westwood = L.A. Taco Truck Experience

A couple years back I was in Westwood Village (next to UCLA) when I spotted one of the "speciality" Taco Trucks that have popped up over Los Angeles in the last few years. I'd heard about these things, and wanted to experience one for myself.


Bool BBQ is more than your standard Taco Truck. They specialize in Korean BBQ Tacos. 
I like Korean food - I like Tacos. So, this being Los Angeles, why not try a Korean Taco?




I actually settled for the Burrito al Carbon with Korean BBQ Beef (2nd item on the menu). It was one of the best - maybe the best - burrito I've ever had. Mmm.




In addition to standard can sodas, they also have "Pure Cane Sugar Mexican Coke." There's actually a market for Coca-Cola made in Mexico and sold here. I decided to do my teeth (and my pocketbook) a favor and stick with I bottled water I had with me. 

Apparently, these speciality Taco Trucks have loyal followers. But how do you find them? Two choices: Twitter, or this new website I found:www.findlafoodtrucks.com 


From their site: What up Bro? How you doing girl? You hungry for that food truck grub? Of course you are. Well,www.FindLaFoodTrucks.com is the easiest way to figure out where your favorite trucks are. As you probably already know, LA has experienced an explosion in gourmet food trucks serving every type of food, including mexican, korean, bbq, contemporary american, desserts, ice cream, and various fusion cuisines. Who has the time to go to a bunch of different twitters and websites to figure out where they are? Luckily, you have us. We track all the trucks twitters right here, so it is quick and easy to figure out which ones are close to you. 

 
Not everyone is in love with these gourmet food trucks. A local restaurant owner confronted me while I was deciding what to order at Bool BBQ, loudly stating: "They don't have a restroom! Where can you wash your hands? Where can you sit? Why don't you thrown your trash on the sidewalk when you're done? Everybody else does. They don't pay taxes! They don't pay rent!" 

While no body likes confrontation - I think he has a point. The Los Angeles City Council recently voted in favor of the Taco Trucks. Great for the owners (and workers) on the trucks, as well as Angelenos looking for a cheap bite to eat. 

Not so great for the restaurant and fast food owners, who do pay rent, who do pay taxes. Although, I would guess that the Taco Trucks do pay taxes - but to what city? They're mobile: so how is this tracked? 

A better solution (in my non professional opinion) would be for landlords to think about lowering their rents. Places like Westwood are already awash in vacancies. Empty storefronts don't help anyone.

How about the city making it easier for restaurants and small businesses to thrive alongside these mobile food trucks? Shouldn't the city be encouraging - rather than discouraging - entrepreneurship?

I'm probably not going to "track" these mobile food trucks - either on Twitter or on the web. On the other hand, if I see Bool BBQ around lunchtime in Westwood, I'll definitely skip a sandwich at Subway and be back. 

(originally posted 9/26/2009) © 2011 www.experiencingla.com

Another Walk Up Pico, Part I

Last May I took yet another "urban hike," this time up Pico Blvd from Santa Monica into the heart of Los Angeles. I parked my car at Ocean Avenue, a block from the beach, and started heading inland. There was free street parking, but only 'till 9am - so my time was limited. 

I had walked along this exact same stretch of Pico Blvd. the week before (here's the link) only this time I was up and out even earlier - I started walking at 5:45am. (I've purposefully tried to avoid posting photos of the same things from the week before.)

One exception is Rae's Restaurant at Pico and 29th Street. 

Rae's is an old school diner, and has been used for dozens of movie shoots, TV shows, and commercials. Love the "cash only" sign next to the register. 

Sunrise featuring Santa Monica Mountains, the office towers of Century City, and the obligatory barbed wire. There's something about this photo that just says "Los Angeles."

Store front at Pico and 30th. Beautiful, unique tile work. Neon that says NEON. 

Normally a Der Weinerschnitzel Hot Dog stand wouldn't catch my eye, but a loud and cheery fast food chain seemed so out of place in this part of Santa Monica, I had to take a photo. This part of town has gotten so "hip" and gentrified, the bright yellow roof stands out as a monument to another era. 

In contrast, Unurban Coffee across the street fits right in. Small, independent coffee shops, stores, and restaurants are found all over Santa Monica. If everything is "unique," then is anything really unique? 

Walking under the Santa Monica Freeway, I crossed over from the city of Santa Monica into Los Angeles city limits. You honestly wouldn't know unless you were looking at a map. There definitely isn't a sense of "leaving" one city (Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood) and entering Los Angeles, aside from - perhaps - a different style of street sign. 

I came across this fire hydrant a block or so east of Bundy. 

I love how the paint pours into the curb. Fun, creative. It's in front of "Little Village Nursery School" - makes sense. Did they get permission from the city to do this? Probably not. In some ways, that's what makes it so great. 

Sunrise on Pico. I'm not sure what it was, but there was something very special about this moment. 

Looking back west. The Santa Monica Freeway overpass is visible in the distance. It was honestly a very beautiful morning. In an hour or so, these streets would be jammed with traffic, but right now it was very quiet, very peaceful. Here's a link to the same stretch a week before.

Don Antonio's Mexican Food near Pico and Barrington. Love the 60's era signage. I think it's moved from "tacky" to "classic."

This stretch of Pico has some amazing street trees, sycamores to be exact. To those of you from other parts of the country, large street trees may or may not be a big deal, but these trees are amazing, especially in such an urban environment. 

The Apple Pan restaurant near Pico and Westwood, another old school restaurant here on the westside of Los Angeles. It's gotten rave reviews on Yelp and other sites. I wanted to take my kids here - but they said "no way" (too bad for them!). 

The Westside Pavilion - West L.A.'s answer to the suburban mall. Yes, there's a parking structure in the back. It's got the usual suspects in terms of retail stores you'd find at most malls. And like most malls, I try to stay far far away - although I'm pretty happy with the shoes I bought at Nordstrom. 


On a similar walk the week before, this is where I stopped and took the bus back. I was on a roll and still had plenty of time to keep going. How far could I walk, and still catch a bus back to my car before 9am? 

Billboard on the side of what looks like a 1960's era medical building. These are all over the city - in some cases, multi-story ads actually cover the windows.  

While I was in High School, friends of mine and I played golf a couple times at Rancho Park Golf Course. One online reviewer commented: "Friendly, fun, cheap, charming and consistent. Nothing like it in L.A. or any other big city I've lived in."‎ ‎ Nice. This is at the corner of Pico and Patricia Avenue - There's another entrance off of Motor Avenue. 

The bell tower of Saint Timothy Roman Catholic Church, located on the corner of Pico and Beverly Glen Blvd. 

Across the street, and on the same corner is Crown Car Wash. Like Don Antonio's Mexican Restaurant, I think this  has moved (or is moving) from "1950's tacky" to "mid-century classic."

Le Lycee Francais. Nothing quite says "French" like "elephants."

Located next to the Lycee Francais, on the corner of Pico and Kerwood, is the Carl Jung Institute. OK, what in the world is this? According to their website, the institute is "a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and dissemination of the view of C.G. Jung." O-Kay . . . Apparently, there are similar institutes in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston. 

On the next block, and to my left, the office towers of Century City. The tall building slightly to the right is the corporate headquarters for 20th Century Fox. Former President Ronald Regan maintained an office here after leaving the White House, and it was the office building featured in the 1988 film Die Hard (hence, I refer to it as "The Die Hard Building").

To my right, and through a fence, a view of the very beautiful Rancho Park Golf Course. 



View Larger Map


Above: the first five miles. I still had lots of time before I had a had to catch a bus back to my car.  More in Part II next week. 

.© 2011 www.experiencingla.com