The New and the Old

First of all, I’d like to mention that I’ll be at Passion & Prose this Saturday, in Long Beach, California. Should be a fun event.

Some relatives who live out of town have just bought a second residence here in LA to be able to spend more time with family. My husband has been helping them get things together before they return next time, and I went with him earlier this week to see their new condo.

The condo is located in the area of Los Angeles called The Miracle Mile. Why? Well, Wikipedia says that it was a very prominent and wealthy area at one time. It’s less of a miracle now but still quite nice. One of its amenities is its museums.

The day we visited was Presidents’ Day, so we were able to visit LACMA--the Los Angeles County Museum of Art--for free. It consists of about eight buildings and pavilions, each filled with amazing artwork.

Of course I have to say that my idea of what constitutes art may be like my idea of what constitutes comedy, which tends to be different from most people. Even so, the few buildings we walked through impressed me. We saw exhibits that included décor from the 1930s through the 1960s, plus some stuff that was a lot more modern and new, including a kinetic art display of moving vehicles on Los Angeles freeways in traffic jams! Art? Well, maybe, but it was definitely amusing.

I do have to admit, though, that I was much more impressed by the La Brea Tar Pits next door, which I’ve visited a lot more often. Partly it’s to see the model mammoths lifting their trunks as they mire down in the very real tar, including a pond with boiling asphalt pits that bubble in concentric circles on the surface. Well, actually it’s methane gas escaping that causes the bubbling, but that’s a little less exciting.

One reason I go there more is also that a number of very special pet adoption events have been held on the Tar Pit grounds over the past few years. Dogs are always allowed on the grounds, too, as long as they’re leashed. I hope their owners keep them far from the water, though.

Yesterday, Monica blogged about a number of things including an inspiration for a murder to write about thanks to a venue for water aerobics that she visits in her real life. Lots of creatures have died in the Tar Pits and fossils are still being found. I’m not sure I’d want to befoul the area by having a murder committed here, even a fictional one, but maybe someday....


What places in your area, museums or historical sites or otherwise, do you like to visit most? Why?