Redondo Beach Bike Ride

a great place for a leisurely bike ride...this bike trail stretches from temescal canyon (north of malibu) and winds through santa monica, venice beach, marina del rey, and then down through redondo, manhattan, hermosa and on to palos verdes. the entire ride is 44 miles (one way). one of these days i've got to do it. so far, i've only traveled about halfway. i think my favorite part is when you're near LAX and the planes fly so close overhead--you forget how huge planes are until you see its underbelly and it is roaring above you. i like to imagine all the happy people on their way to hawaii...


this is a power plant in redondo. it is also a landmark for me because it means my ride will soon be over...



this is opposite of the power plant--a quiet beach that is filled with surfers during the early morning. last weekend there was a surfing camp so there was a lot of paddling going on out there.

happiness.

next time i ride this path i'll take more pictures. and maybe tell more stories about the interesting people i've seen here.

Union Station bike ride

a great way to spend my birthday. union station, downtown los angeles.


the old ticket counters are now closed since the station is mostly used for metro, but amtrak still chugs through this station. one of these days i'd like to take the train from l.a. to seattle. it's supposed to be a gorgeous trip.


not the best picture, but i was trying to be discreet and act like its normal to take pictures of the ceiling. after taking this picture, i looked over my shoulder and realized my group had moved on. (we were getting a historical tour of the station's roots.) thankfully, they were just outside the front door. that would have been a short adventure if they had disappeared. ha

who knew this was set on top of bunker hill? it was hard to imagine the hill we were standing on was surrounded by victorian houses one hundred years ago. most of those victorians were relocated to angeleno heights (to be explored later in our ride). this hidden stadium plays host to free summer concerts...something to check out sometime. here's some more information about
angel's walk.


a very unusual railway on the very top of bunker hill. this railway used to haul people up to the top of the hill for a dime. i wondered why, if they had leveled bunker hill to make it have more space on top for development, did they not move the dirt over to this side to diminish its cliff-like appearance. this railway is trying to re-open...but as our guide explained to us, it has been in the process of re-opening for years. we'll see. he promised us that the ride up the hill would only cost a quarter. there is inflation, after all.


a picture of the railway. note, to the right of the frame, the trees and grass? that's the roof park of a retirement community. it looked so peaceful!

i unfortunately didn't take any pictures of angeleno heights. at that point, i was starting to wish i had frozen my water bottle the night before because it was well over 100 degrees and we were out there in the sun. i wore the right clothes and didn't feel physically terrible, but was pretty thirsty and trying to not gulp down all my water at once. anyway, that's my excuse. we stopped at the fire station and learned about the victorians (houses) there and the return of the trolley. its funny, because downtown has buses, metro, more buses and trains. and our guide was passionately telling us how much this area needed the trolley back. not that i'm against trolleys, but how about installing a few metro lines that go to the beaches? why has this not been done? i'd have to take three buses and lay aside 2 1/2 hours to get to the beach from where i live and its only 25 miles away. hmm



this part of the ride was most stunning to me. a beautiful park right outside of the city! the site of this park is where one of the big transits used to be. it wasn't difficult to imagine the railyards as the tracks still pass through on one side of the park...and to think of all the people who stepped off here and looked for the first time at los angeles. (granted, they weren't seeing the skyscrapers that now pierce through the sky.) we were told that back in the day, when there were price wars to get the settlers out from the midwest, sometimes it would cost one dollar for a ticket from st. louis to union station. amazing.


this park is open to the public...it would be nice to bring friends out there and have a picnic or party or something. maybe on a cooler day. ;-)

Update on My Birthday Ride

the birthday ride was incredible. i will definitely be joining this group again and hopefully, by then will have convinced some friends to get their own bikes and come along, hehe...i'll post pictures tomorrow and give an update.

right now, i'm a little blurry-eyed from all the biking this weekend. zzz

Ride the Rails Birthday Ride

[what i'm doing for my birthday. thanks for the bike, dad. :)]

All Aboard! A fantastic bicycle journey of the most landmark rail and trolley lines throughout Downtown Los Angeles is traveling your way on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 9:45am. Bicyclists of all ages and skill levels are invited to join this leisurely paced ride as we tour legendary locations in both Hollywood films and history books. The League Certified cycling instructors of C.I.C.L.E. are partnering with M.T.A., Angels Flight Railway Foundation, Angeleno Heights Trolley Line, and California State Parks to bring riders an intriguing, one-of-a-kind ‘Urban Expeditions’ enjoyable to the historian, bicyclist and film critic alike.

Known as the ‘Last of the Great Railway Stations’ and the backdrop to hundreds of films, the architecturally ornate Los Angeles Union Station will be the first stop on this bicycle trip. Next stop- Angels Flight. Hailed as the ‘Shortest Railway in the World’, Angels Flight, built in 1901, has triumphed through redevelopment and tragedy for over a century. Riders will also celebrate its re-opening this year with the original cars, Sinai and Olivet, after a 12 year hiatus. Traveling right along, we head to Angelino Heights for a look at the Victorian Queen Anne architecture and oldest trolley line in Los Angeles. Second to only Bunker Hill, Angelino Heights is the oldest district in Los Angeles. Angelino Heights was connected to downtown L.A. along Temple St. by a small cable car line and later an electric streetcar. Last stop is the Los Angeles State Historic Park, home to many things including the Southern Pacific Railroad’s River Station in 1875 which packed a waterwheel, Pacific Hotel, freight yard, passenger station and much more on the once river-front property.

This ride is a recreational social event open to all skill levels. The ride will begin at Union Station located at 800 N. Alameda St. and wind through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles. The pace of the ride is relaxed, and please take note that this ride does contain moderate hills. The ride is lead by experienced cyclists. The ride will end at Union Station. Riders are reminded to bring water and have their bikes inspected for safety.‘Ride the Rails’ is a part of Urban Expeditions program, a monthly ride series of community-focused bicycle rides aimed at getting people out of their cars and onto their bikes for a cleaner, greener city. The Urban Expeditions series is made possible, in part, with support REI.

Where: Meet at the fish aquarium inside of Union Station (at the east end of the station, past the train concourse, towards the MTA building) 800 N. Alameda St.

Who: C.I.C.L.E., M.T.A., Angels Flight Foundation, Angeleno Heights Trolley Line, Inc., California State Parks, and You!

When: Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 9:15am. Ride tour starts promptly at 9:45am.

How: Free!

What to Bring: A bicycle in good running order (please have your bike inspected and tuned at least once a year at your local bike shop). All participants under 18 must wear a helmet and be escorted by a parent or guardian. Children under age 9 should be on a tag-a-long, bike trailer, tandem, or other safe child-carrying device.

Note:Please walk your bike through Union Station upon arrival and departure.
More Info: Contact http://www.cicle.org/ or call 323.478.0060
About C.I.C.L.E.C.I.C.L.E. (Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange) is a Los Angeles based nonprofit organization working to promote the bicycle as a viable, healthy, and sustainable transportation choice.

Onesies for Alex

introducing...

onesies for alex

watercolor waves

trees

and fish...

Grandchildren Weekend memories

wow. last weekend, i was rummaging around trying to find a book in one of the boxes in my closet when i came across a little container filled with stones and pebbles and shells. 'i wonder if this has in it what i think it might have,' i thought. i took out some of the rocks and there, sitting on the bottom was a large flat stone, which i picked out on the side of the road in coronado...20 years ago last weekend.

our grandparents had treated all of the grandchildren to an amtrak train ride from san diego to santa barbara and at the end of our weekend, we all picked out flat stones and wrote our names and the date on them. mine says, "Jennie, June 11-12 1988" on the back. it is so incredibly surreal to think that was 20 years ago. i can still remember looking for the perfect rock.

as you can see from the picture below, rocks have commemorated many things for me...pictured above is the rock i wrote on when i was hired for my first job and rocks from colorado and ohio and california and russia. i've had many of them for years and can't remember where i first picked them up. :)

Sweet Alyssa

a video of my sweet niece, alyssa. aaaaahhhh, she's so cute!!!! :)

For My Sister on Her Birthday

for jo-jo on her birthday.

A Life Without Books...

“A life without books is a life without a soul.”

Modern Education

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
--C. S. Lewis

Manhattan Beach

my favorite place in the world...manhattan beach.