Through the support of Los Angeles Walks, I’ve been helping to organize a 4-walk series in which we’re making our way around the original border of the City of Los Angeles. This past weekend, about 50 people joined the trek down the eastern border which I co-lead with the amazing urban planner James Rojas. Continue reading
Before I fully dive into the new year, I always reflect on the last one, listing accomplishments, milestones, challenges, disappointments, etc. While these reflections remain private, I did want to document here some of the historic and/or notable places I moved through this year. This is definitely not an exhaustive list but just a few highlights to remind myself how I spent my 2018.
Built in 1875, Rapp Saloon was the first brick structure in Santa Monica and was designated a historic landmark 100 years after it was built. More info via the Santa Monica Conservancy: http://www.smconservancy.org/property/rapp-saloon/
Sharing this post I crafted for the Arboretum Library’s Instagram:
On March 10, 1841, poet Ina Coolbrith was born. In 1915, she was crowned California’s first poet laureate which is the same year Luther Burbank named his Crimson Eschscholtzia for her Continue reading
Elysian Park Plaque along Portola Trail
On August 2, 1769, Gaspar de Portola’s expedition camped alongside the LA River and named it in honor of the feast day “Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula.” On this day, 245 years later, I stepped deep into the Los Angeles river for the first time, kayaking down the river in the Sepulveda Basin. While the river has lost much of its original beauty, this stretch makes one forget all the concrete further down and imagine how it must’ve looked when Portola first laid eyes on it. Continue reading
When I approached 
the Police Academy’s Revolver Café (drenched from the pouring rain), I wondered, “What strange lighting they have…” And by strange, I meant “what very very dark lighting they have.” Disoriented, I wandered into the darkness, as a couple of male voices yelled “Welcome to the party!” Continue reading
One highlight of Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles was speed dating along Metro’s Red Line. I’m not much for speed dating but couldn’t resist experiencing our transit system’s attempt at playing cupid. Kudos to Metro for its innovative thinking around the role of transit in a city. Continue reading
