Cloudy Day

Believe it or not, it was cloudy in LA today.  I have pictures to prove it.. a day which didn't require sunglasses.

Early this afternoon I drove into the Hollywood area for another leg of the LA Modern Architecture tour. Remember that? I've done a few of them before..

Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House

Gates to the Ennis House patio overlooking Hollywood

Lloyd Wright's Samuel - Novarro house. (Now owned by Christina Ricci)

Somehow I got lost in Thai Town, which is part of Hollywood.  I parked my car to stop at a coffee shop, but as soon as I turned off the ignition, my eyes were opened to see just what type of neighborhood I was in.. The car in front of me had the back window completely broken. There was trash everywhere, multiple homeless men walking all around, buildings with gates over the windows and doors, and several other signs that would suggest it would be safer for me to just stay in my car.

Needless to say I just decided to keep driving and find my way out of Thai Town..

Once again I'm amazed by the civil engineers and architects of LA.  These roads are narrow and windy throughout Hollywood's hills. And the houses are boldly jutting out of those hills as if the way "normal" houses are generally constructed is foolishly obedient and safe. 

Llyod Wright's Taggart House

After the tour I stopped at Silverlake Coffee Co for lunch.  During my lunch I used their free wifi to plan my trip North in two weeks.  Then I got nostalgic and sad as I looked at pictures from the last 4 months.  I can't believe how it flew by, and how full it was.  I've enjoyed LA so much. I am sad to leave, but so excited for a new place. 

We work the next three days, then we're off to Vegas...!!

what a wednesday

Wednesday we started off with a morning hike at the Upper Los Virgenes Open Space.  

Another beautiful blue sky morning.

After a routine stop at Jamba Juice we went to the Getty Museum.

Erin felt the same sentiment, that the museum itself is more captivating than it's contents.  

On the way home from the Getty we did one of the LA Modern Architecture tours through Santa Monica.  

Quincy Jones' Nordlinger House

Frank Lloyd Wright's Sturges House

not sure.. I just took a picture because this house is cool.

Unfortunately we left Santa Monica right at rush hour.  I thought the PCH would have less traffic than the 405, the main highway, but it turned out to be just as slow.  So we decided to park the car for a little bit and catch the sunset on the beach. 

Access to the beach was through this tunnel which ran under the road... and smelled like unpleasant things.  Erin and I didn't discuss or mutually decide to, we just ran through it.

Mitch?!

 

The sunsets at about 445pm here. We made our way back to Woodland Hills, but I stopped at Topanga Overlook.

In the evening we went out for a late dinner and drinks for Ashley's birthday.  

I'm glad she was born, and glad that she got me out to California :)

LA Modern Architecture - Silver Lake, CA and Valley Vineyard

My Uncle (on my mom's side) gave me a gift the other day.  He got me an app through itunes called, LA Modern Architecture.  It has 6 tours through different parts of LA that highlights famous houses built in a Mid-Century Modern style in the 40s and 50s. 

The app has recordings that you can listen to while you look at the houses.  There's also pictures and history about the architect and the people they built these unique houses for. The tour I went on today was in Silver Lake, CA.

This neighborhood is beautiful.  There are Modern houses, Victorian houses, and Spanish-style houses.  It's like people just build whatever they want..and make it fabulous.

Some of these houses weren't on the tour.. but I stopped and stared at them anyway.

The geography of this area is really cool, too.  The streets are narrow and really steep - worse than Pittsburgh, if you can believe it.  At one point I had turned on the wrong street, which was incredibly steep the and top of the road had only private gated-driveways.  So I had to do a three point turn in limited space.  There was also street parking, which congested this narrow road even more.  Every time I switched to reverse the car, it would lunge forward a good couple feet because of the pitch of the hill. Eventually I found myself almost nose-to-nose with a BMW. I had to back up or else I would have been eskimo kissing the front of this car, and only a tow truck (could they even get up this street?!) would be able to separate us. 

Enter panic and profuse sweating.  

I borrowed my grandfathers two-footed driving technique used for off-roading.  With one foot hovering over the gas and the other holding my break, I had to rapidly take my left foot off of the break and immediately hit the gas with my right. Car lunged forward, but somehow had enough horse power to switch gears and reverse back up the hill.

Resume sight-seeing.

This evening I went to Valley Vineyard church, which is close to my apt.  One of the doctors I work with invited me, and told me they have a Sunday service and a Wednesday night meeting.  Because I worked Sunday, I wanted to go tonight. The people there were so friendly.  It reminded me so much of home.  I was very comfortable.  For those of you I grew up with, it reminded me of home group in the 90s - when all of the adults would talk and laugh, and most importantly support each other and care for one another. Then watch Home Improvement after.

Tomorrow I'm going on another adventure.. join me?

:)