
Awesome Adventure: Richard Nixon Edition
Prior to a few weeks ago, if someone playing the word association game with me had said, "San Clemente;" I would've answered, "Nixon." (His house in San Clemente was nicknamed the "Western White House" pre-Watergate.) I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that most people don't associate Richard Nixon with FUN. Thus, when our good friend recommended San Clemente for a keep-the-kids-occupied-so-they-won't-bother-us outing, I was understandably skeptical. Where w

Awesome Adventure: L.A. Zoo California Condor Rescue Zone
You'll see a running theme in my recent posts: Air conditioning. Whether natural coastal cooling or the artificial kind, it's July. Stick me in a refrigerator please. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when the Little Dictator passed on looking at the animals imprisoned outside at the Zoo, so he could play in the air conditioned Condor Rescue Zone. If you are unfamiliar with The Condor Rescue Zone, it is a GREAT indoor play area. To start with, it's simply an awesome

Awesome adventure: Multi-modal trip to Santa Monica on the Expo Line
"Friends, hold my arms! For in the mere act of penning my thoughts of this Leviathan, they weary me..." Herman Melville writing about the 10 Freeway The years...No, the decades...No, the millennia that I have endured on the 10 freeway. Referring to that atherosclerotic artery as a "freeway" is a cruel, ironic joke. If you have ever suffered through a daily commute on that impacted intestine of a road, you will read about the plight of Syrian refugees and think, "At least th

Vista Hermosa: The best park in L.A. you've never heard of...
Did you know that there is a 10.5 acre park chock full of nature between Downtown Los Angeles and Echo Park? I had driven past this park dozens of times completely oblivious to its existence until I discovered it online one day. Yup, I learned from a screen about a park that I ignored in person: Vista Hermosa Natural Park I don't know about you, but after spending a few thousand hours pretending to watch my child at local playgrounds while I was actually scrolling through F