quintessential quotes-travel

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.”

– Mohammed

Image of the Santa Monica Mountains-Leo Carrilo State Park

Day Trippin-The Inspiring Watts Towers

Nuestro Pueblo (Our Town), The Watts Towers by Sam Rodia.

Construction Worker by day and Artist by night!

Ever since I saw the Watts Towers on a lecture slide in my undergraduate Art Survey class, they haunted me. They seemed so mysterious. Was it a sacred site in an urban jungle, I wondered what was Simon Rodia, the artists inspiration and how could he spend thirty four years of life on this colossal Sculpture. It kind of blows me away, his clarity of vision and his mastery of persistence.

Also, Simon was totally ahead of his time as the Watts Towers are completely Up Cycled. The Watts Towers are created from bottles and odds and ends. Rodia transformed others peoples "garbage" into ART. Maybe that is why he called in Nuestro Pueblo, Our Town, the sculptures were really bits and pieces from and of every one in the community. His work was essentially community ART reach. It is also curious, how when the Watts Towers were finished, he gave his ART and his land away.

The Watts Towers our a short trip only around 13 miles from Downtown LA. The neighborhood is unserved and at times could be a little sketchy. It reminded me of parts of Oakland or Richmond, it is really not that bad.

Next to the towers there is quaint little community Art Center. It was cute on the day we went they were having a piano recital. We got to see several community youth nervously play. It was wonderful to feel the pulse of the community.Also,the gallery had some great art exhibiting.

Simon Rodia had a big dream and he made it happen! Get inspired by the Watts Towers, it is definitely worth the trip!

Simon Rodia Watts Towers on Google Maps

quintessential quotes-travel

"The best and most beautiful things in the world

cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." -Helen Keller

Snow Monkeys (JAPANESE MACAQUE),Yudanaka, Japan 2009

Check out where the snow monkeys spa! Live Cam

"What is the best thing on the menu?"

What is the best thing on your menu? This is a Donism.

Since, I met Don eleven years ago, every time we go to a restaurant he always asks this question to our waiter/waitress:"What is the best thing on the menu?" or "What is your signature dish?" or "What is your favorite thing on the menu?"

This inquiry works magic as I have seen that 9 times out of 10, he gets a really tasty meal. I found that this strategy is really useful. Also, you connect with your waiter/ress and you usually get the best food in the house! Try it, next time you sit down in a restaurant. Instead of hemming and hawing about what to choose, ask some good advice from the wait staff who are "in the know."

Speaking of "What is the best thing on the menu?", a couple of weeks ago when I arrived back in LA from my SF intense Take5:ARTbreak Day marketing meetings, we stopped at the Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica for some nosh.The restaurant was booked, so we ate in the lounge area. I, with my paint splotched,brown hoody on, clicked my Keen's and said I am not in San Francisco anymore. The scene was so stereotypically LA. Girls in really, really short skirts with stilettos and boys talking about how many flat screens they had. It really was good people watching though and kind of a culture shock. But we asked our waitress, "what was the best thing on the menu?" and she suggested the sweet English pea soup.

It was the best pea soup I have ever tasted!!!

We will go back to the Wilshire Restaurant; the food is really good and the ambiance is awesome. And we did spot a cool fireplace in the dinning area, amongst all the bling.

The Big Boy image is from our weekend journey camping to Joshua Tree (that is another post). On our way we had to stop for some food and Big Boy brought back nostalgia from my days of growing up in Wisconsin. Don, as always, asked our waitress "what is the best thing on the menu?" and par for the course, he happily devoured the "Big Boy" hamburger.

quintessential quotes-travel

“Half the fun of the travel is the aesthetic of lostness.”

– Ray Bradbury

The Loot! CSA's in SoCal

Food for thought-thought for food!

We finally committed to joining the Slow Food Movement and to receiving our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box filled with some delectable and edible loot!! This week we tried the CSA from the South Central Farmers in Los Angeles. I was kind of bummed to findout that the farm in South Central was closed down and now the Farmers have to travel two hours to Bakersfield to toil their crops. The closure of the farm was a really bad government decision and was really bad for the whole community. Having a farm in the urban jungle was idyllic and healing for all. I am sure it is missed.

Here is a documentary about the South Central Farm. For fourteen years the farm thrived.

What is a CSA?

Local Harvest is an amazing national resource for CSA's and you find one in your local community. Here is what they have to say.

Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Getting fresh and seasonal vegies and fruits is really a win, win situation for consumers, farmers, and the environment!

Today we had to pick up our South Central Farmers produce box at a residential house in Santa Monica. Like most CSA's they will not deliver it unless you have fifteen neighbors, who want to participate. So, they provide pre-existing pick up and drop off locations. We arrived at the house and no one was in site. We rang the doorbell and then saw that it was self service. The box was very light and we opened it up it was so beautiful. Yummy! The array we received was awesome! Don and I each had an orange and that was delicious. Now I have to get creative with my cooking.

Anyone know a good recipe for Fava beans? I will keep you posted on what I create from these amazing vegies. Intuitively cooking seasonal "slow" food is good for your body, soul, and your pocket book.

If this has made you epicurious, remember you can find a CSA in your neighborhood at the Local Harvest.

Thanksgiving and Gratitude!

quintessential quotes-travel

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
Joseph Campbell

Photo from an amazing campsite in Big Sur, Kirk Creek Camp Ground.

Love this place!

Camp Kirk Creek,Big Sur on Google Maps.

Point Dume' for the Sunset, Malibu

Point Dume' at Dusk (the in between)

Point Dume' State Preserve is an amazing sanctuary.

"It features headlands, cliffs, rocky coves and vast beach access. The beach is presently operated by Los Angeles County, which also operates Zuma County Beach. These facilities are noted for swimming, surfing, scuba diving and fishing. Point Dume is a perfect place to watch for California gray whales during the December - March migration period."

It is a beautiful drive and is only around eighteen miles from Santa Monica on the PCH. To get to the beach you walk through this beautiful field of coastal foliage. As you approach the cliff, one breathes in and one breathes out, letting the internal aaaaah commune with the universe. The vista is just breathtaking. Dolphins are dancing in the surf and the pelicans are just so spectacular. To get down to the beach you descend on these rickety worn wooden stairs. This place is so lovely for a picnic, beach lounging, or an afternoon walk. And YES! there is no garbage to be seen. The only scar is there are these hideous water pipes from the mansions above that hang down from the cliffs. Oh, and there was a ship wreck on the beach; a small sailboat.

This time we decided to ascend to the top of the park to see the sunset. In the background are luxurious mansions, where many well-known entertainers live, like Julia Roberts and Bob Dillon. After moving to LA, I have decided to take the word "Star" or "Celebrity" out of my vocabulary. I think the actor, James Woods, said it best when he stated, "Celebrity - I don't even know what that means. Obviously it's the same basic word as celebration, but I don't know what's being celebrated."

The hike up is pretty easy and when we arrived at the top "aahhh" or shall I say "Carpe Diem." What a breath-taking sunset! I have to say once again, I love pelicans. I love how they dive into the sea and how they glide inches away from the water. They are just the coolest creatures. Primal is the best word to describe them. They seem ancient. No wonder the Alchemists used the Pelican in their symbolism.

Don and I have made a ritual of applauding to the sunset and its grandeur as it slips under the horizon. I first experienced the applause for the sunset when I was in Key West. Everyone gathers at the pier in Key West and watches the sunset and over the years they have adopted a tradition of applauding at the sun's finale. I thought that it was so cool; what a great way to celebrate life! So I have adopted that simple ritual into my day-to-day life.

If you are looking for an amazing day trip to another world, Point Dume is the place to BE.

Oh yeah, on our way back we stopped at Pavilion's grocery store (Safeway with a fancy name) in Malibu for some food and who did we see? The entertainer, Shannen Doherty, buying a sack of potatoes.

A day of breathtaking communion with nature and some E sitings.

What else can you ask for in LA?

Check out Point Dume on Google Maps

quintessential quotes-travel

A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”

Moslih Eddin Saadi

Image from Santa Monica Beach

Lunch in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue

Today we took a walk to Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. To get to Montana it is lovely to take the Pacific Palisades Park walkway. It has a beautiful vista, which overlooks the ocean. The park has a good vibe and has some amazing coastal foliage and is a sweet spot for loungers, dog walkers, personal trainers, joggers, and fitness groups.

The walk crosses Montana Avenue. As you walk up the avenue you there are lots of small, high end boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. Honestly, Montana Avenue aesthetically is just an OK street. Personally I feel it lacks in character, in comparison to other shopping districts around the world. The beauty is its location, as it is a stones throw away from the Ocean. It also has a reputation, as well known entertainers are often spotted on this street.

Our first stop was at the yogurt shop Menchies. I always loved the concept of eating dessert first. Why not? The place is totally self serve. You pick your yogurt flavor or flavors and then doctor it up with decadent candies and fruits. My inner child was activated and I had to restrain myself from going nuts with all the abundance of treats. It was delicious.

We decided to eat on the go. As we were strolling, we had a random interaction with a lady who was carrying two coffee cups across Montana Avenue. Now that is a challenge! She looked very frazzled as she was trying to cross street and when she got to our side, she said to us, "Thank God you all are walking. You are my witnesses (if she got hit, she had implied), folks just do not stop around here." I have to say, she is totally right, folks driving in LA and Santa Monica rarely stop for anything. One has to always be on the uber defense, while walking, biking, and driving in So Cal. Interesting coincidence, today in the Huffington Post there was an entertaining and helpful article called How To Bike From Echo Park To Venice Beach Without Dying. The stereotype is very true; the car culture has turned folks into supremely crazy and self-serving drivers.

We continued to meander our way up the street and then decided to eat lunch at Cafe Montana. The ambiance is very nice. It has an open feel with floor to ceiling windows, great for people watching and great for feeling like one is in a fish bowl. The service was good. I ordered the eggs Benedict and Don had a chicken sandwich with buffalo mozzarella. The food was decent, but not amazing, and it was over-priced.

.

But this experience did spark a philosophical discussion about napkins. What does the way a person handles a napkin tell about that person? I am so curious, I feel it could this be another form of self-analysis. Check out our napkins. Which is the lawyer's and which it the artist's? Ha! I would say mine is a sculpture.

Overall, our afternoon walk on Montana Avenue was a pleasant adventure.

Happy Earth Day

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together."

All things connect.

~Chief Seattle, 1855

Do something good for yourself and the Earth today!

Images from Palisades Park in Santa Monica.

quintessential quotes-travel

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
St. Augustine

Day Trippin-The Lake Shrine

If you are looking for a day retreat from the chaos of daily life, the Self Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is the place to BE.

"COME INTO THE SILENCE OF SOLITUDE,AND THE VIBRATION

THERE WILL TALK TO YOU THROUGH THE VOICE OF GOD"

-- PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA

Don and I kept driving past this interesting building in the Pacific Palisades, I had thought it was a Baha'i Temple. One day on one of our day adventures, we decided to check it out. This place is a sanctuary. The site induces reflection as one slowly walks around the lake. Breathing in the beauty of nature, the subtle signs, and exhaling the constraints of daily life. Don and I spent just one hour at this sacred site and I left with a sense of internal unity and peace. The Lake Shrine is definitely medicine for the soul.

Here is a little history:

The Lake Shrine was opened to the public on August 20, 1950, coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda's work in America.Paramahansa Yogananda designed the Golden Lotus Archway (above) as a "wall-less temple." In India the lotus flower is a symbol of divine unfoldment--the awakening of the soul to its infinite potential.

It seems fifty years later Deepak Chopra has followed in Paramahansa footsteps.

Indulge in the clarity of your own reflection and your internal solitude at the Lake Shrine. It is so close and yet so far. As you are driving west on Sunset Boulevard on your way to the PCH, make a short stop and breathe.

Why not?

OM

Self Realization Lake Shrine on Google Maps.

quintessential quotes-travel

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

Henry Miller

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem LA is a travel log of our adventures in Los Angeles and beyond. In October 2010, we moved here from the San Francisco, Bay Area and we have a lot of unknown territory to cover. Since, the beginning of our relationship, which was over ten years ago, we have had the philosophy that the time we spend together should be a mini adventure of seeing or learning something new. We both love to travel and have traveled extensively around the globe.

The concept of Carpe Diem or living in the moment came naturally to us; we thought to ourselves, why not take the way we experience a new country and begin exploring our proverbial back yard. Hence, Carpe Diem: LA.

On this Blog we will explore Day Trips, Camping, Places to eat, Amazing Nature Hikes, Cafes, and Local Inspiration, and much more in Los Angeles and beyond.

Every day is a new and precious life Experience!