#231: The Brewery Art Walk

pic from breweryartwalk.com

The Brewery is having their semi-annual Art Walk this weekend (March 31st and April 1st) from 11 am - 6 pm.  Admission and parking are free! The Brewery Art Walk is located in Lincoln Heights at the old Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery Company. In 1982, the industrial space was converted to a rental space where artists could live and work. The Brewery is now the world's largest artist in residence community, and their twice yearly art walk is your chance to peek into over one hundred of these artists' studios featuring costumes, jewelry, painting, installations, photography, ceramics and more.

Joyce Dallal 

pic from breweryartwalk.com

The last time I went to the Brewery Art Walk was years ago, so I think I'm due for another visit. See you there!

Brewery Art Walk

#230: Bungalow Heaven

When Brad's parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago, they mentioned wanting to see Bungalow Heaven, a cozy neighborhood in Pasadena that has the largest collection of Craftsman-style homes ("California Bungalows") in the country. These homes were built between 1905 and 1925, and because of their historic significance, the neighborhood is included in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
























I have to admit, I had no idea what Arts & Crafts style architecture was before our visit. The name brought to mind popsicle sticks, Elmer's glue and colored glitter... Needless to say, I couldn't have been more wrong. It turns out that the Arts & Crafts style is a departure from the ornate Victorian aesthetic to a more simple, nature-oriented design. It emphasizes fine craftsmanship over mass production, incorporating locally crafted wood, metal and glass work.

Perhaps the most well known Craftsman house in Pasadena is the Gamble House, which was built for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company.  I still haven't gotten around to visiting this historic house. You can beat me to it--they offer public guided tours on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and the weekend. Click here for more info.

Want to visit these homes yourself? For 364 days of the year, you can only drive around and admire the outside of the houses in Bungalow Heaven.  However, one day a year--this year it's Sunday April 29th--you can take self-guided tours inside eight of the houses. Docents will be around to answer any questions you may have. One of the eight houses even offers a "Living History" tour in which actors pretend to be homeowners of the time.  Click here for more info about the 23rd Annual Bungalow Heaven Historic Home Tour.


Bungalow Heaven

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#229: Beverly Hills Farmers Market

For the past four Sunday mornings, I've been making the 30 minute drive to the Hollywood Farmers Market (#139) in order to get some of the best kiwis, seafood, and grass fed beef I've ever tasted. I was all gung-ho in the beginning, but by the fourth Sunday in a row the $5 garage parking fee, long drive and crowds soon started to wear on my patience. So I did some online researching and found the Beverly Hills Farmers Market. It's the same time on Sundays as the Hollywood Farmers Market: 9 am to 1 pm. Parking is free. There were hardly any people there. Oh, and it's 5 minutes away from my house :)

 pic from BeverlyHills.org

The downside is that the market is significantly smaller than the Hollywood F.M.. However, it still has some of the same items as the larger markets. I spotted vendors selling:

- eggs and free range chicken 

- fresh (not frozen) seafood 

- hummus and cheese 

- Dave's Gourmet Korean food

- tacos

- grilled meat / sausages 

- crepes 

- a few vendors selling exclusively organic produce

- paninis

- homemade jerky

- flowers and plants

There were also four tables to eat at, and while we were eating a band was setting up to play.

I read on Yelp that in May there's a guy selling the most amazing organic cherries at this market, so I've got to keep an eye out for that in a couple of months!

 pic from BeverlyHills.org

Have you been to the Beverly Hills Farmers Market? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

Beverly Hills Farmers Market

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#228: The Automobile Driving Museum

On a sleepy street in El Segundo just a block from the Boeing headquarters, you'll find the Automobile Driving Museum (ADM).  If you're a fan of cars, you've probably already been to the Nethercutt Museum (#106) and the Peterson Automotive Museum. Compared to these larger, more well-known museums, the ADM seems tiny. So what makes the ADM special? The fact that you can actually ride in the cars!  

The perfect car for the golf enthusiast

Brad and I visited the ADM last Sunday. After paying our $5 donation, we walked around the large warehouse space that houses all the vintage cars. One of my favorite cars was this stunning old ambulance:

I bet this beauty had no problem stopping traffic

Another one of my favorites was this guy:

You can fry eggs on this 1982 DeLorean 

On Sundays, the museum gives free rides in some of their cars. The cars that are available to ride in change weekly, so check on their website for the schedule.

One of the museum cars waiting to take visitors on a ride

One thing that surprised me was seeing how massive the cars were back in the day. Today's SUVs are ants compared to these mammoths:

Forget about parallel parking

When viewing most of the cars in the warehouse, you have to stay behind the yellow line and can't touch them. However, there was one car on display that had a "photo op" sign on it, so Brad took the opportunity to unleash his inner speed demon:

One of the things I love about vintage cars are the diverse hood ornaments.  They're like the cherry on the ice cream sundae:

We had a great time at the ADM. There were a lot of friendly docents walking around ready to answer any questions we had. There was also a small museum store near the entrance. 

Street parking was free and easy to find. The museum was not very crowded, and it didn't take long to see all the cars since it was just one big warehouse space. I would definitely recommend going on Sundays to take advantage of the car rides.

Check out the license plate :)

Have you been to the Automobile Driving Museum? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

The Automobile Driving Museum

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#227: Lake Hollywood

Whether it's from behind, inside a cave, or on horseback, the sight of the Hollywood Sign always makes visitors and locals stop in their tracks. If you're looking for a lesser known spot to admire the sign, Lake Hollywood is the perfect place. When we went on a Saturday afternoon there were hardly any people there and parking was plentiful, making it a great place to escape the traffic of the city.

Lake Hollywood is a man made reservoir holding 2.5 billion gallons of water. The dam was completed in 1924. Check out the awesome bear heads decorating it:

There are three gates to the lake: the North Gate, Tahoe Gate and Weidlake Gate. We took the narrow sinuous roads up to the Weidlake Gate and parked on the side of the road (there's also a dirt parking lot that was empty when we went). Since the bridge/dam is at the South end of the lake, we didn't have to walk very far. If you park at the other gates, it's about a 3-4 mile walk down to the dam and back. 

Note that the West side of the lake is closed to the public so you can't do a full loop around the lake. The best view of the lake is on the dam. On the rest of the path, you can only see the lake through fence and trees. So if you don't feel like walking much for your million dollar view, definitely park at the Weidlake Gate.

Have you been to Lake Hollywood? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

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#226: Placerita Canyon Nature Area

One lazy afternoon I was watching How the Lottery Changed My Life, daydreaming about what I would do if I won the lotto (even though I never play!). There was a SoCal guy on who said he dreamt the winning lottery numbers the night before. He never played the lottery in his life, but decided to try the numbers and ended up winning millions of dollars. Talk about a sweet dream! 

The original California lotto winner was a man named Francisco Lopez y Arbello. Like the guy on t.v., Francisco also had a prophetic dream before his big "win." Back in 1842, Francisco fell asleep under a big Oak tree on his brother-in-law's property and had a dream that he was surrounded by gold and was very rich. When he woke, he picked some wild onions near the tree and was astounded to find that attached to the roots were flakes of gold! Francisco's dream led to the first discovery of gold in California! 

Mural depicting Francisco Lopez y Arbello's discovery of gold

You can take a short stroll to the site where it all happened, dubbed The Oak of the Golden Dream:

The Oak's home is in Placerita Canyon, a well kept nature area in Newhall with lots of trails for all ability levels. 

We started our hike to the Oak at the Nature Center which is filled with live and taxidermy animals. 

 

There was one cage holding about four feisty rattle snakes: 

Initially we wanted to do the Waterfall Hike (1.5 miles roundtrip) but the woman at the Center told us that the waterfall didn't have water running this time of year. Instead, we went on the Heritage Trail and the Ecology Trail. 

Plenty of trails to choose from!

The Heritage Trail is a short leisurely stroll past the old Walker Cabin, ending at the Oak of the Golden Dream. Along the way, there's a mural that depicts the history of Placerita Canyon.  The Heritage Trail is good for families with strollers because the trail is concrete and level.

Walker Cabin

Plaque at the Oak of the Golden Dream

The Ecology Trail was a pleasant .65 mile dirt loop that start and ends at the Nature Center.

View from the top of the Ecology Trail

I can't wait to go back to Placerita Canyon once the rain starts and the waterfall is flowing. It was hardly crowded, and the trails were clearly marked. Be sure to pick up a map and trail guide at the Nature Center before you head out!

Have you been to Placerita Canyon? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

Placerita Canyon 

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#225: The Skirball Cultural Center

Driving to work, I'd always hear the Skirball Center mentioned on the radio. I had no idea what it was, but the name sounds like Skeeter Ball, which made me think of arcades. Turns out, the only thing that Skeeter Ball and the Skirball have in common is that they're both fun for kids.

The Skirball Center is a museum and performance venue in one. It hosts music, comedy, film, talks and theater performances and also features exhibits and a cafe. Last weekend some of the museums in L.A. were having free admission, including the Skirball, so Brad and I checked it out.

Pearls of Wisdom: End the Violence

The Skirball's core exhibit is called Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America. It traces Judaism's roots all the way to life in America. The current rotating exhibit is called Women Hold Up Half the Sky which encourages visitors to take action on behalf of mistreated women and girls around the world.

Mosaic floor from an old temple

One thing that we didn't get to see which I was disappointed about was Noah's Ark, an interactive playground for kids. It was sold out when we got there. To avoid this, you can buy tickets online in advance.

Noah's Ark
pic from Familyigloo

A replica of the largest Jewish temple in Germany

Women Hold Up the Sky exhibit

Places to write notes to women in peril around the world

We enjoyed our tour of the Skirball, and I would definitely recommend it for families--It seemed that most people there had babies or kids in tow. The grounds are fairly large, and it is nice to walk around the buildings and admire the architecture. General Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and full time students, $5 for children 2 to 12, and free for children under 2.  Exhibits are free to the public on Thursdays.

Have you been to the Skirball Cultural Center? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

Skirball Cultural Center

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