How to explore Los Angeles from home: Week 3
I am starting my fifth week of #saferathome. My third week in showing you how you can explore Los Angeles from home. It has felt long and short at the same time. It feels eerily quiet, except for the sound of sirens and this songbird that has parked itself in our alley. A perfect location for its song’s echo to amplify its loneliness. I hope it finds a buddy soon.
I kind of thought that my house would be cleaner and I would have written the next great novel by now. Are you feeling the same way?
Having Zoom happy hours with friends is both comforting and weird. There are people that I am on my iPad with that live within walking distance from me. There are other video calls that I am doing that I am not sure why we haven’t done sooner, like family reunions and drinks with friends in Canada.
I miss my hair stylist.
Anyway, I digress. I hope you are hanging in there. The #saferathome order is having a positive impact on this city. If you miss Los Angeles, even if you live here, these are seven more ways to explore Los Angeles from home.
Table of Contents
Day 15
This week I am switching things up. I usually feature a tour on Mondays and flora & fauna on Wednesdays. Since super blooms tend to be time-sensitive, I thought I would let you know that the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve has a live cam set up for you to view the amazing colors of California native plants. Next year, I need to see it in-person. Until then tune in throughout the week to the link below.
California wildflowers bloom in April and early May.
Website: https://www.parks.ca.gov/live/poppyreserve
Day 16
Local and iconic Los Angeles artist Ed Rusha set to document this city in Hollywood Boulevard and Some Los Angeles Apartments. This video shows his documentation of Hollywood almost 20 years apart. This was Google Maps before Google Maps. This would be perfect to do again right now because of the clearer Los Angeles streets. Do you recognize any of these places from 1973 and 2002?
Day 17
Today is tax day. Usually, I would be at work and then hit one of the bars in the 1933 Group that offers tax day drinks annually to help soften the blow of paying taxes or in celebration of getting money back. Here’s to hoping they survive the storm.
These bars do not offer tours, but this distillery in downtown Los Angeles does and lucky for us it is up on YouTube. Lost Spirits Distillery offers an Alice in Wonderland immersive experience/tasting room. Occasionally they host a dinner series.
Also marking this as must go after the Safer at Home Order is lifted.
Day 18
Los Angeles is filled with neighborhoods that have their own personalities. There are areas of town that big box and corporate chains haven’t seemed to have touched. Which is great–it means one of a kind stores that cater towards great gift-giving. Today you can support a Los Angles business like Poketo in the link below. It may be one of the few places you can get a puzzle right now.
Website: https://www.poketo.com/
Day 19
Since reading David Ulin’s book Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, a group of friends and I have embarked on an annual Urban Hike. These hikes have started with us abandoning the train at a certain stop and then walking through neighborhoods for miles. It is interesting watching the neighborhoods change, flipping back between residential and commercial, concrete and more nature-focused neighborhoods. This first hike explored places mentioned in Sidewalking. LACMA, the Grove, and sites scattered throughout mid-City. Ulin has a lengthy interview with LACMA director, Michael Govan, and his idea of the museum-as-community space. This week LACMA began demolishing its buildings to start building its new not community-friendly buildings. I need to read that interview again for its insight.
Buy the book.
Day 20
Sometimes the best things happen due to happenstance. Check out these candid photos from a teen photographer who ended up capturing the Los Angeles rock scene in the 1970s
Article: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmepp8/this-teen-took-candid-photos-of-the-70s-biggest-rock-stars
Day 21
I asked friends what their favorite movies set in Los Angeles were. There is a lot to choose from. The one that came up over and over again was this film. Not only is it a great movie about Los Angeles, but there are also a lot of unexpected performances.
Check out Decider.com for where you can stream The Big Lebowski.
Have I inspired you to visit Los Angeles? If you live here, your own city once SaferAtHome is lifted? Are you looking for some Los Angeles focused Zoom virtual backgrounds for those endless work from home meetings? Check out my Facebook page.
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