Going on vacation takes many forms. If you’re traveling independently, taking a tour or staying on a ship for a cruise, you have your own room, cabin or suite, but when you’re visiting friends, you stay with the host family and become a part of your friend’s life and may join in on his or her everyday activities. That’s what I did.
Marilyn has found the ideal exercise; she goes three times a week to Water Aerobics! Those of us who live in warm climates usually have access to a pool and in California, one of the requirements for a high school diploma was to pass a swimming test. Other friends and family of a “certain age” – on Medicare- find that this exercise gives a good workout but is also kind on the joints. Since it was going to be a warm day, I was happy to join her.
The class was filled with seniors of many sizes and shapes, all working on becoming fit. As we danced to the hits of the 60s, I noticed a great enthusiasm among the participants.
After our exercise, we went back to Marilyn’s to have a lunch composed of leftovers with a few additions, including California’s state fruit, the avocado, then continued on our afternoon activities.
California was born as a car culture, and getting us out of our cars is not easy. I love public transit and find it fun to explore the various train and metro systems at home and on trips, so we decided to take the metro. Our destination was MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, to see a photography exhibit.
We started our journey at the South Pasadena station.
Step one: buy a ticket. Buying tickets at a new automated machine is always a challenge, as we pushed the wrong buttons, didn’t have the right change..did it over and over until we got it right. Good thing we weren’t pressed for time. The price is reasonable: a senior traveling during non-peak hours can use the system for 35 cents – surely cheaper than buying gas (at almost $4 a gallon currently) and paying for parking. We started our journey above ground, then the light rail turned into a subway as we transferred. The photo below is courtesy of the internet, since I didn’t want to take my phone out at a busy station. It was enough to follow the lines and get on the right train. Our destination: downtown Los Angeles .
The area we were visiting is called Bunker Hill, an urban renewal project that began in the 1980s and continues to this day. Gorgeous Art Deco buildings from the 20s and 30s mix and mingle with modern glass monsters, soaring to the sky. It’s a frightening mix of design, and almost freaky to realize that we’re looking up to see the top of an ultra modern high-rise in the middle of an earthquake zone. Each building, old or new, has a unique theme and design, yet they all coexist together.
Imagine being a pedestrian on a street corner!
We meandered in the second building in this photo series to get a better view of a lovely older structure. This is the Edison building, built in 1931, as an Art Deco masterpiece of its time by Alison and Alison. The fourteen story building was one of the first all-electrically heated and cooled buildings in the United States. It is on the corner of Fifth and Grand. Originally the home of a utility company, there are seven types of marble as well as limestone in the lobby; the mural by Hugo Ballin is entitled “Power.” It has been modernized and even has free wi- fi, with comfortable lounge chairs. It’s the perfect place to take a break before we walk up the steep hill. The first two images above and the four below were taken from online sources.
Our destination was MOCA, next door to the Omni Hotel and a few blocks away from Disney Hall, at First and Grand, the vibrant concert hall funded by the family of Walt Disney. No, it doesn’t have Mickie Mouse ears, but it does have a unique design, created by one of the geniuses of contemporary architecture, Frank Gehry, a resident of this fair city. The stainless steel structure with curving lines is one of the city’s 21st century landmarks. Compare that structure with the Los Angeles Public Library a few blocks away on Sixth and Grand, like a beautiful aging dowager among a sea of young shining skyscrapers and you can understand why Los Angeles architecture is so fascinating . Next trip I’ll take a historic tour of downtown. I did a tour of Disney Hall – highly recommended- a year or so ago, but there’s still so much more to see in the neighborhood .
We got to MOCA an hour before its extended hours closing, in time to see three photographers from their collection. I wanted to see the work of Brassaï, a 20th century Hungarian-Frenchman who spent the evening hours exploring Paris after dark. Like Toulouse Lautrec, he was fascinated with colorful café clientele and their unusual habits. He roamed through bars and brothels, capturing the essence of their experiences.
The last photo here, of the blonde, is by Diane Arbus, another photographer who also seeks out unusual people for her street photography. This lady almost seemed “normal,” as compared to other images in the collection but something drew me to her.
We decided that we were hungry after all our viewing, so we left the land of superstructures and headed by cab to Chinatown for a small dinner of egg flower soup and mu shu chicken, then took the Chinatown metro back from there. It had gotten cool and windy in the later hours so the soup and hot tea were especially soothing.
I have one day left. My short flight home leaves at 2:00 but I still have another neighborhood to visit, and a trip to my favorite brunch place. We try to cram a lot of activities into each visit, which isn’t hard to do in such a diverse and fascinating city.