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Los Angeles in 10 Days (21 images)
At the end of March, I headed out to Southern California to visit my boyfriend over my spring break. I had a dreadful cold for a few days before (and during) my trip, and wound up looking like a certain red-nosed reindeer for a few days into the trip, but despite that managed to have a wonderful time. Dan (my boyfriend) planned out a lot of the itinerary, and I didn't really know what we were going to go do until we went to go do it.
First up was a trip to Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. This time was much different than my previous experiences with Descanso, in that SoCal had experienced a lot of rain before my arrival and plants were actually in bloom!
1.
Cherry trees in blossom! Needless to say I was very excited. (Dan took this picture... I think hanging around me so long has given him a bit of the photography bug).
2.
He's also a bit of a ham for the camera.
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4.
Tulips in bloom, just in time for Easter!
Up next was a trip to the California Science Center over in Exposition Park. It's a neat little place -- free admission, you just have to pay for parking -- with a lot of interactive exhibits. Great for kids.
5.
Dan at the other end of one of the exhibits on sound.
6.
The Air and Space Exhibits are in a different building and are worth the walk (through the Rose Garden, which was unfortunately not in bloom yet). There are also a lot of interactive exhibits here.
Next was the Los Angeles Zoo. I LOVE this place. I was a member at the couples level when I lived in SoCal, and I can tell you, if you're a zoo person, you definitely get your money's worth.
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New to me -- Gorillas! (They were still building the habitat when I left SoCal.)
9.
The bears were actually out and active (a rare sight -- usually they're sleeping in some corner of their habitat).
Another notable place to visit is the Huntington Gardens, in Pasadena. The grounds are HUGE, and they have a variety of gardens in different styles. My personal favorite is the Japanese Garden. In addition to the botanical beauty, there's usually an interesting bit of wildlife to see.
10.
A little green heron after catching his lunch.
11.
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Lizards were also plenty abundant.
Knott's Berry Farm is a good alternative to Disneyland.
13.
Those roller coasters are killer.
Also in Exposition Park is the LA County Musuem of Natural History, which, contrary to its name, has a lot more exhibits than just histories of th natural world.
14.
Dan and the bear.
We spent a golden afternoon at Griffith Observatory, newly renovated.
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Guess we should've gotten dinner before heading up the park.
And of course, a trip to LA wouldn't be complete without a trip to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. We managed to spend an entire afternoon wandering between the two, soaking in the local culture and meeting its various inhabitants.
18.
Friendly neighborhood Willet. He hung around us for an hour, just watching.
19.
This guy walks on broken glass for the tourists. He has an amazing patter down, and encourages audience participation by bringing some people into his sidewalk space, dressing them up, and making them do pointless things.
20.
21.
Thanks for looking/reading -- I know this was very image heavy (debated splitting it in two). I wound up more enthusiastic to share than I thought I'd be. For the images and places I left out: http://queequeg.smugmug.com/Vacation/483120
First up was a trip to Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. This time was much different than my previous experiences with Descanso, in that SoCal had experienced a lot of rain before my arrival and plants were actually in bloom!
1.
Cherry trees in blossom! Needless to say I was very excited. (Dan took this picture... I think hanging around me so long has given him a bit of the photography bug).
2.
He's also a bit of a ham for the camera.
3.
4.
Tulips in bloom, just in time for Easter!
Up next was a trip to the California Science Center over in Exposition Park. It's a neat little place -- free admission, you just have to pay for parking -- with a lot of interactive exhibits. Great for kids.
5.
Dan at the other end of one of the exhibits on sound.
6.
The Air and Space Exhibits are in a different building and are worth the walk (through the Rose Garden, which was unfortunately not in bloom yet). There are also a lot of interactive exhibits here.
Next was the Los Angeles Zoo. I LOVE this place. I was a member at the couples level when I lived in SoCal, and I can tell you, if you're a zoo person, you definitely get your money's worth.
7.
8.
New to me -- Gorillas! (They were still building the habitat when I left SoCal.)
9.
The bears were actually out and active (a rare sight -- usually they're sleeping in some corner of their habitat).
Another notable place to visit is the Huntington Gardens, in Pasadena. The grounds are HUGE, and they have a variety of gardens in different styles. My personal favorite is the Japanese Garden. In addition to the botanical beauty, there's usually an interesting bit of wildlife to see.
10.
A little green heron after catching his lunch.
11.
12.
Lizards were also plenty abundant.
Knott's Berry Farm is a good alternative to Disneyland.
13.
Those roller coasters are killer.
Also in Exposition Park is the LA County Musuem of Natural History, which, contrary to its name, has a lot more exhibits than just histories of th natural world.
14.
Dan and the bear.
We spent a golden afternoon at Griffith Observatory, newly renovated.
15.
16.
17.
Guess we should've gotten dinner before heading up the park.
And of course, a trip to LA wouldn't be complete without a trip to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. We managed to spend an entire afternoon wandering between the two, soaking in the local culture and meeting its various inhabitants.
18.
Friendly neighborhood Willet. He hung around us for an hour, just watching.
19.
This guy walks on broken glass for the tourists. He has an amazing patter down, and encourages audience participation by bringing some people into his sidewalk space, dressing them up, and making them do pointless things.
20.
21.
Thanks for looking/reading -- I know this was very image heavy (debated splitting it in two). I wound up more enthusiastic to share than I thought I'd be. For the images and places I left out: http://queequeg.smugmug.com/Vacation/483120
0
Comments
My Photo Blog -->http://dthorpphoto.blogspot.com/
Cuong
Strange that 15 showed up when none of the others did (it was in the same gallery as some of the others). Anyway, they should all be fixed now.
Time to clean my monitor, too. I had to look closely to tell what was dust on the screen and what was dust on the picture. Spring cleaning, here I come!
Wild Westhampton
I couldn't bear #14
#13 could use some livening up
Your subject on #8 looks like he was just monkeying around.
...Cool & fun series, thanks for sharing!