Visiting Venice

The previous weekend, we explored the westside of LA, and took a walk around Venice, California. Back around 1904, there were about 16 miles of canals dug in this area. Today some of these canals still remain. We noticed that many of the residents along the canal seem to have a boat.





This is a view from the Venice Beach pier. However, Hikaru was anxious to get off the pier and putting his feet into the sand and water. He was looking forward to going to the beach all morning.



From a two-year-old's perspective, happiness is being at beach...



Uh-oh... A big wave came along, and Hikaru fell into the water. We forgot to bring a change of dry clothes for him, so Hikaru went home in his diaper.

Downtown Monrovia

Hikaru insists on carrying our bag of hot tamales, as we walk down Myrtle Avenue in old town Monrovia, CA. We picked up the pork and chicken tamales from (of all places) a nut and candy store.

Date on Olvera Street

Yesterday, I had a lunch date with my wife on Olvera Street at La Luz del Dia -- which as some great Mexican food, especially the corn tortillas and carnitas. It might be like the food grandma used to make (if I was Mexican), and it probably hasn't changed much over the many years. We sat at a table outside, and enjoyed the warm sunny day after a week of some "freezing" temperatures here in LA-LA-land.

For the people reading this blog who don't know Los Angeles, Olvera Street, it is the oldest part of downtown. The oldest standing adobe house in LA (built in 1818) is located here. It is somewhat touristy. But all generations of LA school kids have probably visited this place. It's a nice gathering place. Olvera Street is adjacent to Chinatown, and within walking distance from Little Tokyo and many downtown city and county government office buildings.

A group of "senior" musicians often play and hang out here. In addition to Mexican food places, a gallery displays the work of a few artists. There are souvenir stands with Mexican leather bags, shoes, sombreros, key chains, and t-shirts that say things like "Chicano Warrior" or "I'm Mexican, not Hispanic".

As you might guess, we were "Hikaru-less" on this day. Mommy took a day off from work, and dropped Hikaru off at his grandmother's house, so we were "free". Folks who don't have babies probably don't understand all the subtle implications of such moments like this brief hour together, but it felt pretty good -- like we were "single" again!

Sense of Place

This is one of my 5 am walk thoughts that I'm still trying to "place". It's our "sense of place" or "home". There are places where we feel very much at home. There are other places that are alienating and difficult to tolerate, even when it's familiar. It could be geographical and social, but what is it in a "place" that evokes our feelings of belonging?



The photo above is from the San Gabriel mountains in the Angeles National Forest (just slightly north of Los Angeles). For some people who prefer a dense urban environment, it could bring feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation, since there might not be another human for miles around. For me, I enjoy nature and being outdoors, so I could feel "comfortable" here, even though I don't live here. So what provides us these feelings and preferences? Is it our childhood upbringing and memories? Maybe.

This morning while walking down the road, the moon emerged from behind some clouds. I heard the familiar sound of tree branches and dry leaves rustling in the cool winter breeze, the sound of a distant freight train, and a neighborhood dog barking. Memories are associative, and these are the same sounds I've heard all my life growing up in Ohio. Even though this California, and it isn't Ohio (of course), I could feel like it was... it feels "like home".

Choosing where to live isn't always a rational decision, and it's sometimes based on how one feels in a place; how we feel about our neighbors and neighborhood. Our present area of residence is quite nice, but isn't the most tidiest of places -- with a few roaming stray cats and dogs, occasional graffiti, and someone's old shoes hanging by the laces over the power line. Some people keep their yards neatly trimmed, but some have miscellaneous auto parts used for lawn decorations. It's not Beverly Hills, or a planned housing project, but there is diversity. In our neighborhood, people are likely to speak Chinese or Spanish, as well as English.

Our neighbors are the type to hammer away at some home construction projects, dig in their vegetable garden, or work on their cars. There's a drummer down the street who practices every evening, and every morning we hear a rooster crow. During my morning walks, most people will say "hi" or "good morning", even the guy who searches the trash cans looking for recyclables. This is presently "home" for us, and we got used to living here. We probably wouldn't feel so comfortable living in a yuppie upscale area, but we have nothing against yuppies.

Some days after we first moved to our house, I was eating breakfast, and I noticed with surprise that the basic placement of items in our kitchen (stove, sink, refrigerator, cabinets) were in the same locations as in my childhood home. It made me wonder if that preference for our house and home was made in my subconscious mind to mirror something from my past.

I'll probably have to figure this out in some future blog entry... Please excuse the rambling thoughts.

Tall Ships

Today, we took a brief family stroll around Long Beach, California. I took a few photos below as we watched some tall ships set sail from the dock at the Long Beach Rainbow Harbor Marina. I guess, these ships are mostly for recreational and educational use, and it looks like fun!



(Clicking on the photos will give you larger image.)

Hikaru Goes to Caltech

Hikaru went to college today. Here he poses for a photo at the Mudd Geophysics and Planetary Science Building at the California Institute of Technology. If an earthquake hits LA, this is a place to find out more about it.



It is during the holiday break, so it was very quiet this morning. Not a whole lot of students in sight today, as we take a stroll down this corridor and to the Olive Walk.



If you're bored over Christmas and New Years, and looking for something to do, there are plenty of job opportunities being posted...



This is the Guggenheim Graduate Aeronautical Lab. Note the airplanes decorating the sides of the doors.



In the photo below, we look up to see a few oranges on the trees.



There are many fountains of knowledge on campus. The water makes graceful parabolic arcs in this fountain at the Beckman Institute.

A Mission Statement

If the Christmas holidays seems to lose their meaning at the shopping malls, maybe it's because one has lost sight of the main mission. We have a local neighborhood mission called the "San Gabriel Mission" or "Mission San Gabriel Arcángel". It's part of the famous chain of missions founded by Junípero Serra in (Upper) California. This Sunday afternoon, we took a family stroll in the area.



The original mission was found in 1771 (in Montebello), but it got wiped out in a flood in 1776, so it moved to this location five miles away. We wondered why this particular place was chosen. Could it be that San Gabriel has better Chinese food than Montebello?



The photo below is a Christmas tree on the mission grounds that was decorated with what appears to be aluminum pie pans. Quite fascinating. At least it will scare all the pigeons away.



Hikaru gets very excited. Here he points to the sights and the lights.





We also discovered this mysterious "map" imbedded in the sidewalk which might unlock the secret route of how the Spanish came to California. Could this be from the Piri Reis or Zheng He? Please note: Just kidding here. All the tiles were created by local school kids and placed in the walkway around the mission.