Bay Area Adventures: The Walt Disney Family Museum

Back in 2009, I faced a (mercifully) brief stint of unemployment.  2009 was a tough year to be unemployed, and I was determined not to let it sink my spirits.  At that time, I had a friend who worked at Disneyland and could get up to 3 people into the park for free everyday.  So after I had done my depressing rounds of job-applying every morning, I would drive down to Long Beach, pick up my best friend Hillary, and drive over to Anaheim to go to Disneyland (she was a bartender and worked nights). In the 8 weeks or so that I was income-less, I enjoyed the luxury of going to Disneyland about 15 times.  It got to the point where I could have walked around the entire park with my eyes closed, I rode every ride (seemingly) a hundred times, and made some really awesome memories with my best friends.  I can look back on that bleak period of my life with fondness (mostly because my unemployment ended with an awesome job at Paramount Pictures!) but also because it was filled with Disney-happiness, and not depressing days of joblessness.

My Disney love affair certainly didn't begin at the age of 22, but it definitely taught me, through adults eyes, how Disney can bring joy to everyone.  So when I moved up to the Bay Area, I was intrigued to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio - especially because the museum wasn't just a collection of Disney works, but was actually dedicated to telling Walt Disney's own story, from his humble beginnings all the way through to how his legacy changed- and continues to affect - American pop and entertainment culture.

My friend Jess and I visited the museum on a typically misty day last fall. Admission was a bit pricey at $20 each, but we quickly learned that the content and quality in the museum were well worth the price tag.  The entrance lobby was framed on all walls with cabinets filled with the various prestigious awards Disney has won - dozens of Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, etc - an impressive sight (Google tells me the total of awards displayed is 248, pretty amazing).  The first exhibit after leaving the lobby was about Walt's grandparents and parents, and their lives in Ireland, then Canada, before bringing their children into the United States.  The next hall showed artifacts from Walt's childhood growing up in Missouri, including his brief (underage) stint in the Army during World War I.

As Walt came into adulthood, so did his artistic visions, and soon we were walking through halls full of early sketches of Mickey Mouse, followed by walls full of iPads playing different Mickey Mouse cartoons.  Soon we were seeing exhibits on the early Disney feature films, complete with a nice little viewing area to watch Fantasia (we took a few minutes break, just enough time to watch the classic "Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene).  All of the exhibits were multi-media - large TV screens, iPads, interactive displays, framed sketches and hand-written memos and other correspondence, collections of artifacts - and in every direction there was something interesting to see.

We walked through different exhibits for each of the feature films, then turned a corner and walked down a long spiraling ramp, and at the bottom of the ramp was a super awesome to-scale diorama of Disneyland.  Jess and I totally geeked out over the model, and it brought back all those memories of my many trips to Disneyland as a kid and as an adult.

After the Disneyland diorama, there were a few more exhibits, mostly focusing on his plans for Walt Disney World.  And lastly, we walked through a very somber but powerful display -  a collection of stories including a Peanut's comic strip, comments from the President, and other pop culture figures in response to Disney's death in 1966.

After we exited the last exhibit, we headed up to the gift shop to look around, where we learned that every month the museum features a different "matinee" of a classic Disney film, which was included in our admission.  That day's show was "Bambi," which I was actually quite interested in seeing since I hadn't seen it in probably over twenty years.    For a film that has probably 10 lines of dialogue in the whole feature, the artistry and emotion were incredibly powerful! It's definitely a classic for a reason (ignoring the fact that hearing the mother behind us explain to her young son what "happened" to Bambi's mom was one of the sadder things I had experienced in a long time!)

In the end, I had a blast at the museum.  I have always loved Disney as an artist and a cultural icon, and this museum totally did him justice, while only slightly pandering to the Disney-philes.  I would highly recommend a trip!

Museum from the front

A wall of iPads showcasing different Mickey Mouse cartoons

A huge collection of Mickey memorabilia

A range of Pantone paint colors used in Sleeping Beauty

Stills from Song of the South (the banned, racist one!)

A still from Lady and the Tramp

Early Cinderella character sketches

Disneyland diorama from above

Disneyland diorama

30 Before 30: Take a Pottery Class

Clockwise from top: The studio is full of shelves of student work in every stage of production; getting my hands dirty attempting to make a mug; my perfect final bowl; posing on the wheel

There are several items on my 30-Before-30 list that are art-related, due mostly to my late grandmother, who was an artist.  Even into her 80s she was enthusiastically trying her hand at new media, and years after her passing, she still inspires me to push myself artistically. Though she was waaay more gifted than I will ever be, I've always loved having such a great artistic role model. So when my friend Emily and I signed up for a 6-week wheel pottery class at Higher Fire in downtown San Jose, I was enthusiastic to challenge myself.  Little did I know how much of a challenge it actually would be. 

Watching experienced potters create these amazing pieces just out of a lump of clay is really amazing, and also really misleading.  There is a finesse involved that is not apparant, and the learning curve is deceptively steep.  The first two classes, where we learned how to "throw" the clay on the wheels, were two of the most frustrating classes I have ever taken in my life.  I was definitely near tears at one point.  As someone who has been generally able to pick up art basics in the past, I could not understand why the basics of pottery were so difficult for me.   Luckily, our instructor, Jonathan, was incredibly understanding and encouraging.  He placated us by confirming that yes, the learning curve is steep, and that we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves. 

After six 3-hour classes, I successfully made a bowl.  Yes, a bowl.  I mean, I made several bowls and cups, but they never made it off my wheel before I somehow destroyed them.  So much for giving away Susan Originals to all my friends for Christmas this year, hah!  Regardless, I am beyond proud of myself that I was able to successfully throw, bake, glaze, and fire this bowl. I feel more accomplished in this than many other things in my life, because during the first class, I was convinced I would never get it. Emily and I both are looking forward to taking another series of classes in the future, and hopefully by that time I will be able to make a vase, or even a mug!

Bay Area Adventures: The Painted Ladies

As anyone who has been recently unemployed can attest, mid-day reruns of the deliciously cheesy 90's time capsule that is Full House are the bomb.  When I first moved up to the Bay Area and was job hunting, I especially loved that the opening credits (complete with fantastic 90's fashion and hair styles) showcased my new surroundings.  

Along with panoramic shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and trolley cars, the opening credits also show the family tucking in for a lovely picnic in front of their amazingly picturesque San Francisco home.  That row of houses so prominently featured is known collectively as "The Painted Ladies" and, though they could serve as San Francisco's Cultural Museum, are actually private residences.  While in San Francisco a while ago, I made it a point to take a walk and see these Painted Ladies.

The Ladies are located adjacent to Alamo Square Park, and the whole area looks basically the same as it did in the mid-90s Full House montage.  Except, in 2013 there were more Asian girls taking selfies, and less families in bright colors enjoying picnics. 

We took a quick walk through Alamo Square (it was a really lovely day) and then around the block to see some other, just as impressive, houses in the neighborhood.  It was a nice 30-minute adventure, and mostly served as a real-life introduction for me to some of the beautiful home architecture San Francisco has to offer.

Full House Season 5 opening credits, circa 1992

I appreciate that the owners have kept the houses the same colors throughout the years

Bay Area Adventures: Muir Woods State Park

Back in March when I learned my international friend Bernadette was coming to visit, I was determined to show her something she'd never seen before.  Yes, we took her to the Golden Gate Bridge, but we had three more days and I wanted to do something new for both of us.  I decided to take her to Muir Woods State Park, located over the GGB in Marin County, north of San Francisco.  Besides being a beautiful nature area full of hiking trails and even beaches, Muir Woods is also home to the southernmost forest of Redwood trees in the US.  And since Redwood trees only grow on the coast of California, this is the southernmost Redwood forest in the world.

As someone who was born and raised in Germany and had just spent the last few years of her life in New Zealand, I was sure Bernadette had never seen a Redwood before, and was excited to show her these incredibly amazing trees. Now, I'm not really a "nature freak" per se, but something about the Redwoods just totally fascinates me.  As my Grannie would say, some Redwoods are "older than Christ," and you have to respect and admire anything that can literally live over 2,000 years.  Not to mention grow as tall as 30 stories high while also smelling amazing.

In high school a friend of mine sent me a postcard from the actual Redwood National Forest (located about 8 hours north of SF).  The postcard itself was made out of a very very thin piece of Redwood bark, and to this day, more than 10 years later, it still smells faintly like Redwoods. I was not disappointed to be greeted by that exact smell when we got out of the car and entered Muir Woods.   

We walked through the grove of trees on a raised deck-like path.   Bernadette and I both took a million pictures of the gargantuan trees, and took several deep deep breaths of the deliciously fresh air.  After we turned back, we happened upon a group of tourists and a guide, who was leading a "tree talk." We listened for a few minutes and my nerdy self was loving it.  We learned some really awesome trivia, most notably 1) Redwood bark can grow up to 2 feet thick, thus being a natural defense against predators and 2) The bark secretes tannin, which is a natural bug repellant.  So while many trees will secrete sap, and thus attract insects like termites and even birds, all those little pests leave Redwoods alone.

After we got back to the car, we drove down to Sausalito and spent the afternoon walking on the boardwalk, and treated ourselves to some fresh seafood.  It was a lovely day, and San Francisco did not disappoint with another sunny day for my visitor!

We entered through this gate, but it turns out we should have gone through the gift shop to pay an entrance fee.  Whoops.

Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, and even these pale in comparison to some of the bigger ones found at Redwood National Park

Me and Bernadette on one of the many bridges along the path

My pup Sunny exploring Sausalito

Sausalito beach sculptures with the San Franciso skyline in the background

30 Before 30: Buy a Mini Cooper

The other day, I fulfilled a huge goal in my life thus far, and bought a car.  And not just any car - my dream car, a Mini Cooper hardtop.

I have been lusting after Minis for years.  Every time I saw one on the street, my inner voice would squeal "miniiiiii!!!" and I even test drove them several times over the years.  I was smitten.  As every male close to me in life kept reminding me, it certainly would have been more "practical" to get an economy car like a Honda or a Toyota, or really any Japanese car with 4 doors and a large trunk, etc.  

But whatever.  I'm not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a car that someone else wants me to buy.  I know that in just a few short years I will have to buy that practical car (especially if the twin prediction comes true) and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life regretting the fact that I didn't take advantage of the one time I could buy what I really wanted.

So I saved for three years, I worked really hard to get my credit score up, and I wrote the biggest check of my life.  And boooyyyy does it feel good to have bought myself exactly what I have wanted for years!  :)

30 Before 30: Donate 100 Things to Goodwill

Clockwise from top: garage mid-clean, perfected closet, SUV full to the roof with donations

As anyone who knows me can attest, I discard clothing almost as quickly as I acquire it.  Of course I hold on to classic (read: expensive) pieces, but I am certainly not one of those sentimental types that holds on to my 8th grade Fun Run shirt for the memory of it being "fun."  So I really don't understand why I thought donating 100 things to Goodwill would take me years to accomplish.  This was by far the easiest item on my list, aided by a recent move and a hunger for spring cleaning.

When I was preparing for my big move up north, I moved out of my apartment in LA months before I actually moved.  I spent the interim at my parents house, with my things in storage.  But while packing up, I filled my dad's 4Runner with things to donate.  Those don't even count in this tally.  When I got around to unpacking said items 6 months later in my new home, I thought I had done a really good purge.  Boy, was I wrong.

While unpacking, I piled up almost 50 pieces of clothing I no longer wanted.  I put them in a box, and put that box in the garage.  When Ronny and I decided we didn't want something that we had duplicates of, we threw it in the garage.  So it comes to no surprise that by the sixth month of this habit, we could barely step foot in our garage.  We decided it was high time for a clean-out.

Of course the weekend we picked to do it was the hottest weekend of the year thus far, so we postponed and I instead did another closet re-org and purge.  I collected up 27 more pieces of clothing to get rid of, and am beyond happy with my newly organized, perfectly clean and functional closet.

When the Garage Takedown Weekend rolled around, we got to work.  At this point, we had both been so lazy with our move-ins that the donations were mixed in with "things we want to keep but don't have a place for," so we spent the whole morning sorting.  We built up a big Ikea shelf unit to store some of the smaller things and sports equipment, and filled plastic bins from my move with all of our seasonal decor, hobby supplies and bulk household items.  Our "donate" pile took up half our carport!

A lot of the donations came from the fact that when 2 people move in together, they both have stuff, and duplicates aren't necessary.  We compared who had the better pots and pans, etc, and the 2nd set got donated.  Here is an almost-total tally of what we donated:

77 items from my closet
12 items from Ronny's closet
4 throw pillows
2 floor lamps
1 DJ mixer
2 metal queen bed frames
1 mattress pad
1 large mirror
2 metal wastebaskets
7 misc Christmas decorations - mini tinsel Christmas tree, strings of lights, window decor
20+ misc kitchen item duplicates - pots, pans, entire silverware set, stove-top cooking utensils, can opener, etc

And I know there was more, Ronny started loading the car before I could finish counting.  So by my record, the overall total came to at least 129 items.  Not to mention the dozen or so items we are donating to Sweet Home Rescue, the shelter from which we adopted our pup.

I am encouraged by how easily I reached my goal.  I hope that the items we donated will help out a family in need somewhere within the Goodwill network.  And from now on, I am definitely going to try to spend my money in a more constructive manner and not buy stuff I will so quickly and happily discard mere months later.

Bay Area Adventures: Baker Beach

When my favorite international friend Bernadette informed me that she was moving from New Zealand to Germany, I immediately realized that this meant one thing: A California stop-over!  So I convinced her to book her flights and come visit me for four days at the end of March. I was just as excited to see her, as I was to use her as an excuse to get a jump-start on my Bay Area Adventures list!

When she had lived in LA previously, Bernadette had taken a whirl-wind weekend trip up to San Francisco and did most of the touristy things - Alcatraz, Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square, etc.  So when planning our itinerary, I asked her what she hadn't done and would like to do.  She was so polite and European about it, when she said "Well, we did all these things but it was so foggy, we didn't even get to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  So... I guess, if we could maybe see that, that would be really cool."

Luckily for her, I am still obsessed with the GGB myself and took this as the prefect opportunity to finally take some of my own touristy bridge pictures. I knew of a great place with an amazing bridge view, and with a bit of research (asking one friend who lives in the city) I learned that the place I wanted to go was called Baker Beach.  So we made Baker Beach our #1 SF stop for Bernadette's visit.

The few times I have been in San Francisco have been pretty difficult (to say the least) driving/parking experiences, and since this was literally the ONLY thing Bernadette requested, I was scared that we would make it all the way to Baker Beach only to find no parking within a 2-mile radius.  So we left extra early and took the scenic route up to San Francisco.  We got to Baker beach around 11:00 AM (had to give the fog some time to burn off) and of course, there were dozens of parking spots in the closest lot. We parked and walked along the eucalyptus-lined path, turned a corner, and saw THIS:

Taa-daaaaa!

Not even a wisp of fog!  Bernadette was beside herself, and I tried to play it cool, but I was loving it too.  Even Ronny knew how lucky we were to be seeing the bridge in all its glory on such a beautiful day, especially in March. What an amazing view of a world landmark!  I had never felt more excited to live in the bay area than I did in that moment.

So we took our shoes off and started walking along the beach, taking pictures of the majestic bridge as we walked.  And then we started looking around.  Despite the stunning view in front of us, we were surrounded by another view entirely: a decently-sized crowd of naked men.  Because, naturally, the beach with the most amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge in all of San Francisco WOULD be a nude beach. 

With naked men to our right, large families (with children!!) taking family photos to our left, and the Golden Gate Bridge in front of us, I realized then that I - and my foreign friend - were having a true San Francisco experience.  But of course, she is European and it wasn't even that big of a deal to her.

Overall, I was blown away by the view at Baker Beach.  I've seen hundreds of pictures that friends have posted of them standing in this exact spot, but seeing it in person was really special.  It was easily worth the drive, and I look forward to showing more touristy friends the beach - except this time I will warn them about all the nude men!

Please notice the naked men sunbathing

The panoramic postcard shot

Me and Bernadette in front of the GGB!

He allowed me to take one touristy picture, good thing it was the perfect one!

Bay Area Adventures: Another New List and a New Life to Go with It

In the four months that I've lived in the Bay Area, I have experienced a complete lifestyle change.  Besides being unemployed for the first two months, I have realized that I have moved to (though technically 9th largest city in the United States) the 'burbs.  San Jose is big, yes, but it is truly nothing like Los Angeles.

LA is a metropolis, and I wasn't expecting for it to be similar to San Jose.  But I guess I never realized just how busy my life was in Los Angeles.  I would go to dinner/movies/activities almost every night of the week, and then make plans to jet set somewhere on the weekends.  San Jose, though full of cultural diversity, inexpensive Asian food and more tech companies than I ever thought existed, is also much more relaxed, kid-oriented, and uneventful.

However, I have very happily and willingly traded that busy city life in for evening dog walks, The Voice marathons, and pho for dinner at least once a week. And general maturity, I guess. And though my bank account sure is grateful for this slow-down, my adventurous spirit is not.  I took a few months to settle into my new home, my new job, and my new life, and now I am ready to get back into my most favorite hobby: exploring.

With the help of my dear friend Betsy (who made me a long list of inexpensive activities for me to do once a job I had been interviewing for before I moved fell through, and I was facing unemployment) I have compiled the following list of things I want to do in the Bay Area.  I don't really have a deadline on when to finish, and I'm hoping along the way that I learn all about my new home, and share it all with you!

1. Winchester Castle
2. Santa Cruz Mystery Spot
3. Jelly Belly Factory
4. Alcatraz
5. Santa-Con
6. Walt Disney Family Museum
7. Baker Beach
8. 17-Mile Drive in Monterey
9. Ghiradelli Square
10. Coit Tower Stairs
11. The Painted Ladies
12. Angel Island
13. Mountain Winery wine tasting & concert
14. Stanford University
15. Bike the Los Gatos Creek Trail
16. Napa/Sonoma Wine Tasting
17. Oyster Shucking at Tomales Bay Oyster Co.

18. San Francisco Ice-cream pilgrimage

19.  Muir Woods State Park

20. Pacific Pinball
21. Charles Schulz Museum
22. The Gilroy Garlic Festival
23. Monterey Bay Aquarium 

30 Before 30: A Color Run

If something is advertised as the "most fun anything on Earth," I will probably try it.  So it was no surprise that when I heard of The Color Run - advertised as "the most fun 5K on Earth" - I was determined to do one.  Even though I had only moved up to the Bay Area weeks prior, I traveled back down to Los Angeles in early February to do the 2013 run with Barbara and Marsha.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to do the LA run was because it was held at my beloved Dodgers Stadium.  The course consisted of twists and turns around the huge stadium parking lot, with four different "color stations" along the way.  We would go under an arch of colored balloons (first blue, then orange, yellow and finally pink) where volunteers would then cover us from head to toe in coordinating colored powder.  It was a bit unfortunate that they started with blue and orange, as those colors ended up looking brown for the majority of the race.

Marsha was smart and brought us all red hats which not only protected our hair, but helped us spot each other in the huge crowd.  They said 10,000 runners registered for the morning race, not to mention 10,000 more for the afternoon shift.  It was a bit crazy, but lots of people got really into it with full outfits, tutus, rainbow socks, wigs, and everything in between.

For $40, it was definitely worth the experience (and the cute free shirt), but it's probably not something I will do again.  The girls and I had a blast (not to mention a little exercise!), but the process of getting clean after the fact wasn't so fun!  Barb had green-tinged hands and I had blue between my toes for days!

30 Before 30: Get my Tarot Cards Read

It's fun to be a skeptic of psychics and clairvoyants, but it's even more fun to be a believer and to be totally blown away.  I've always wanted to get my tarot cards read, just to see how close they could come to the eventual truth.

My friend Barbara and I went and got our tarot cards read the other day.  It was a last-minute decision and I didn't even prepare questions, but had a great time sitting back and hearing what the psychic had to tell me.

She gave me 5 separate readings, each of which I picked 12 random cards out of a deck of about 50.  Each time, she was excited and happy to tell me that everything in my life was super, super positive.  Lots of good things coming my way (yay!!).  She had asked me if I had moved or relocated lately (yes!) and she told me that it was the absolute best decision for me and this new location was where I belonged.  She asked if I was looking for a new job (yes!) and said she saw big success coming to me in my job search, specifically that I would find a job I LOVE at a big, industry-leader company.

She also knew I had an older brother who was a Taurus who traveled a lot and loves to fly.  Like seriously, how could she know that?!  She said that my brother looks over me and I'm lucky to have such a great relationship in my life.  Awww, thanks Broski!

I loved all the positive messages, and she even gave me pretty specific times as to when I would get a job, get engaged, and have kids.  Not that I will hold her to the dates, but I am excited to see if she's right!

With all this positive news, it was a completely wonderful experience.  The psychic said that she really enjoyed my reading because she rarely gets to deliver such positive, good news!  I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if my future was filled with negativity or uncertainty. 

However... She also told me that if and when I decide to have kids, I will have twin boys.  Lord help me.

UPDATE:  She told me I would find a job by the end of Pisces, which ends March 20.  I was giving a job offer on March 14 and signed the papers on March 18!  She said the pay would be great (it is) and that it would be an industry-leading company (also true)!

30 Before 30: A Broadway Show

After living in Los Angeles for five years, you would assume I had seen lots and lots and lots of plays.  The sad truth is, however, I barely saw any.  I worked in Hollywood and went to lots of movie screenings, and saw some live improv theater, but never saw a Broadway-caliber production.  After seeing basically all of my friends at one time or another check-in on Facebook at this play or that theater, I became absolutely determined to see a big musical play production before I became a 30-year-old grown up. 

Being a life-long fan of South Park (it debuted when I was 11, which means it has been airing for more than half my life), when Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced they were developing a musical play called The Book of Mormon, I was intrigued.  When it won 9 Tony awards including Best Musical, I was set on seeing it. 

As part of my Christmas present, my boyfriend bought us tickets to see The Book of Mormon at the Curran Theater in San Francisco on December 29, 2012.  A day after he bought them, our $80 tickets were selling for $400 each, but since he knew how much I wanted to see it, he didn't sell them.

The theater was old and majestic, with a very intimate feel.  We sat up in the balcony but still got as good of an experience as if we were in the orchestra section.  The play was hysterical, the music was catchy, and it was overall a fancy and fun experience.  I hope we will be able to see many more Broadway-style plays in the future, and one someday actually on Broadway!

30 Before 30: A Pro NFL Football Game

The very first thing I did after finishing my Los Angeles list was promptly move from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.  It was a decision long in the making, and I'm sure that the majority of the items on my 30 Before 30 list will now have a Bay Area slant.  I've never been one to be afraid of new experiences, and look forward to all the amazing discoveries I am sure to make in the Bay Area! 

Of all the items on my new 30 Before 30 list, I'm sure seeing a pro NFL football game is the one my boyfriend was most excited to help me with.  Before I had even finalized my list, he had bought tickets to the San Francisco 49ers game vs. the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park on December 30, 2012.

We tailgated beforehand with a large group of his - and now my - friends.  Fun was had by all, and since this was the last regular season game for the Niners, a win was crucial for a favorable playoffs position.  The air was buzzing with anticipation.

After a slow first quarter (not a single first down) and a few missed field goals, the Niners were able to pull it together, and beat the Cardinals 27-13.  I very much enjoyed seeing the "behind the scenes" goings-on of a football game that would have otherwise been filled with commercial breaks.  As we all know, Los Angeles hasn't had a pro team since 1995, and I am excited to be a part of a football fanbase for the first time in my life.  But don't worry, my heart still belongs (and will always belong) to the Los Angeles Dodgers!

A New List: 30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30

As my LA List has finally wrapped up, I am itching to start a new goal for myself.  My boyfriend had a great idea of making a 30 Things to Do Before he turns 30 List this year for his birthday, and he inspired me to do the same.  I tried to make the list ambitious, but also do-able, knowing that in the next 4 years before my 30th birthday I will be working a lot, trying to save money, and being a mother to this guy.

Without Further Ado:

1. Visit 4 new US cities
2. Visit 3 new states
3. Visit 2 new countries
4. See 1 Wonder of the World
5. Do a Color Run
6. Visit Yellowstone National Park
7. Donate 1 gallon of blood (that's 8 pints)
8. See a Vegas show
9. Buy a Mini Cooper
10. Go hot air ballooning
11. Go to Redwoods National Park
12. Take a Pottery class
13. Read 10 classic literature books
14. Go to Mt. Rushmore
15. Go to a pro NFL football game
16. Make a pysanka
17. Visit Yosemite
18. Go to a Broadway show
19. Get my tarot cards read
20. Ride an exotic animal
21. Donate 100 things to Goodwill
22. Visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
23. Visit 5 more MLB baseball parks
24. See the Northern Lights
25. Take a glass-blowing class
26. Go on a 1,000+ mile road trip
27. See Paul McCartney in concert
28. Buy a pair of Louboutins
29. Take a watercolor painting class
30.  See a volcano, glacier or geyser in person.

It's going to be a fun four years!!

#7: The Sprinkles Cupcake ATM

After living in Los Angeles for five years, I'm sure I've used the phrase "only in LA" more than once, as the only way to possibly justify all of the ridiculous things this city has to offer.

"Only in LA can you take a 70s themed fitness class from Richard Simmons."

"Only in LA will you see Leonardo Dicaprio in an Anthropologie." (this made my life)

And truly, only in LA is there an after-hours ATM for cupcakes.

Yes, CUPCAKES.  Because Angeleos have such tough lives that sometimes the only cure is a cupcake fix at any and all hours of the night.

And the cupcake ATM doesn't dispense just any old cupcake... it dispenses LA's boutique cupcake  du'jour, Sprinkles Cupcakes.  One could argue that Sprinkles is single-handedly responsible for the country-wide cupcake craze, and for good reason.  They are really amazingly delicious cupcakes.

Now don't get me wrong, I love me a good cupcake, but I have never quite found myself NEEDING a cupcake after 8pm (especially when there is ample fro-yo available, hello!)  But I am apparently in the minority with that thinking, as there is a line for the Cupcake ATM every single night.  I quickly learned this when my friend Kaio and I popped by the ATM at around 9pm on a Thursday in December to buy myself a novelty cupcake and check this final LA oddity off my bucket list.

I could hardly believe that there was a line, but as we waited ever so patiently while two guys five people ahead of us bought literally a dozen cupcakes (made 12 times worse by the fact that you can only purchase one cupcake at a time), we started conversations with the people in line with us.  Two young girls behind us, the must have been high-school aged, were particularly enlightening.  They both said that they were "like totally addicted" to Sprinkles cupcakes, and they come to the ATM - and wait in line - almost every single night.  They also told us that this long line we were complaining about was actually "like totally short in comparison to most nights."  A dad in front of us with his tween-age daughter told us that they waited in line, in the rain, on the ATM's opening night... FOR THREE HOURS.  I have never felt so out of place in my beloved Los Angeles, except for maybe the time I accidentally stumbled upon Skid Row during dinner time.

So anyway, after about 30 minutes of waiting, Kaio and I finally made it to the front of the line and it was time for me to order my cupcake.  Of course they didn't have the flavor I wanted (lemon, the best cake flavor ever to exist... though it is worth noting that they DO sell doggy cupcakes for your furry friends) so I settled on vanilla, knowing I would be giving it to my mom as an early "thanks for feeding me for a week over the Christmas holiday" gift.  Of course when I swiped my credit card it didn't work, and after four attempts, as I'm breaking out in a sweat knowing there is a huge line of people behind me waiting on the bozo who can't get her credit card to swipe, the in-the-know girls behind me told me to swipe down to up, and it worked.  They obviously had this down.  I selected my vanilla cupcake, and waited with anticipation as I saw the robot ATM arm reach up and grab the box, then ever so gently place it in the recepticle, which then spun around and TA-DA my cupcake was in front of me.  Not to mention that it was (naturally) about half the size of an in-store Sprinkles cupcake, but whatever, here I had a $4 cupcake in a cute little box delivered to me via an Automated Teller.

When I gave it to my mom the next day, I insisted that after ALL the work I put into it, she had to share it with me (I'm a great daughter, I know).  She said it was the best cupcake she'd ever had, and I thought it was pretty delicious too. 

You can see all the boxes of cupcakes behind the cute pink mesh

Who waits in line for a cupcake machine?! I do.

My excitement is barely contained after waiting in line for 30 minutes!

My cupcake is on its way!!

#16: Santa Anita Park Horse Races

The first year I lived in LA, I technically lived on the Westside.  I say "technically" because, though Westchester is considered the Westside, it is much closer to the ghetto than the beach, and is most famous for being the "Home of LAX."  But anyway, for a weird 6 months of my life, I lived in an apartment right under the flight path of planes flying into LAX.  It was only after I moved in that I realized this apartment wasn't actually in Westchester, but Inglewood.  And as I mentioned in my Watts post, if you know a city's name from a mid-90's gangsta rap song, it's probably not the ideal place to live.  I like to think I built up tons of street cred (I didn't) but the one thing I did learn about Inglewood is that it was home to a huge ghetto horse track and casino called Hollywood Park.

I always wanted to go to Hollywood Park, if simply to revel in how misleading the name was.  Hollywood Park sounds pretty legit, a classy place where stars go to classily bet on horse races, but no, it's definitely in the ghetto whose most famous former resident is Ice Cube.  And the naturally shady aspect of horse racing could only have been intensified in such a setting.  I was fascinated.  But as soon as I moved out of the ghetto and into the 'Hills, I realized that maybe I should just try to be fabulous, not ghetto fabulous, and go to a legitimately classy horse race park instead.  I think it goes without saying that my move to Beverly Hills was a life upgrade in more ways than one.

So, a few years later, I finally made it out to Santa Anita Park in Pasadena, host of the Breeders Cup and other actually meaningful Southern California horse races.  My good friend Marsha - a veritable horse expert - agreed to go with me, and I can't stress how much better the experience was going with someone who knew what a "thoroughbred" was.  I certainly had no clue.  We even wore pretty dresses and fancy hats, just to add a little extra something fun.

General admission cost I think $7, but we paid $20 each for the fancy eat-lunch-while-you-watch-with-a-TV-at-your-table seats, which was definitely worth the extra money.  We were able to sit under an awning, which would have been essential on a hot day, but was EVEN more essential as it was a bit drizzly that day and we didn't want to ruin our fab horseracing dresses.

After we walked around the stadium and checked out the parade of horses about to race, we made it to our table to order lunch and a bottle of wine, which we leisurely consumed over the next four hours. Marsha spent a good part of our afternoon teaching me the different types of horses, and how to read the stats pages.  She also taught me to correct terminology associated with horse racing, such as "trifecta," "superfecta," and the differences between "winning," "placing" and "showing" (basically fancy ways of saying first, second, and third).  She was so patient with me and taught me about the science and speculation behind what people "think" makes a good racehorse.  It was truly fascinating, and she saved me lots of googling.

There were 8 races that afternoon, and we sat through the first five trying to guess the trifectas - basically which horses would come in first, second AND third in the race.  Trifectas have a big payout, something like 50-to-1, and needless to say I didn't correctly guess a single one.  As the sixth race approached we finally finished our delicious lunch and decided to place some real bets.

I bet on a superfecta, which guesses the top 4 finishers, in any order.  Marsha placed three separate bets, for a specific horse to win, a different horse to place, and yet another to show.  I got 3 out of my 4 for the superfecta, which was "close but no cigar" but Marsha actually did correctly predict which horse would place.  Of our total $12 we bet (high rollers, I know) I think we got $5 back.  I was hesitant to bet much more, simply because after 6 races having not even guessed correctly once, I just knew I would just be throwing my money away. 

We sat through the next two races before deciding to head home.  We had spent about 4 hours at the track, and had a blast.  I learned more than I ever thought I would about horse racing, horse breeding, and horses in general.  Marsha was totally in her element and I had a truly fabulous (non-ghetto) time, that I'm sure I would NOT have had at Hollywood Park!

Me, Marsha and our hats checking out the Winners Circle, where the jockeys walk around the horses before their races.

Horses racing towards the finish line, right in front of our seats

Enjoying a late afternoon lunch at the races :)

#41: Bike the South Bay Trail

When I first moved to LA, I worked in Venice Beach.  Every Monday, a friend and I would meet up on the Venice Beach boardwalk, get sandwiches, and eat on the beach.  Even in the middle of winter, the boardwalk would be crowded with bicyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders, all mixed in with a very eclectic mix of people walking around.  And I could never figure out... who are all these people crowding the boardwalk at noon on a Monday in the middle of December?  As I was on my all-too-brief lunch break, I was very envious of these people and their apparently laid back life-style that could afford them a boardwalk bike ride on a Monday.    

Four years later, I have learned that everywhere in this city is crowded in the middle of every day, because millions upon millions of people don't actually have traditional jobs, or any job at all.  Plus, the Venice Beach Boardwalk (and the bike path, locally known as "the Strand") in particular are very popular tourist destinations.  Well ok, I was still super envious of all those seemingly laid-back people biking along the beach, and vowed to eventually set aside a day to take a beach cruiser ride along the boardwalk for myself.

With a little research, I learned that the Strand is actually called the South Bay Trail, and runs all the way from Will Rogers State Beach in Malibu down to Torrance County Beach.  The entire trail is 22 miles long, which is entirely too long for a leisurely day ride. Plus, like I really want to ride my bike to Torrance, come on.  So I decided to focus on the best beach areas - Dockweiler State Beach to the Santa Monica Pier, which clocked in at just under 10 miles each way. 

My friend Marsha, who is always up for relaxing adventures (not an oxy-moron as one may think) and I headed out to rent some beach cruisers on a perfect Sunday afternoon.  We rented our bikes from Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey, and once we got fitted with our sweet bikes (Marsha with a seafoam green beauty, me with baby blue) we set off on the Strand north towards Santa Monica.  

The first 20 minutes of the ride consisted of going around the Marina, through all the boat docks and then down Washington Blvd towards the ocean. Along the ride, I learned that Marsha had never been to the Venice Beach Boardwalk, so when we arrived at the beach, we decided to walk our bikes along the main thoroughfare so she could soak in all the unique, quirky, and frankly amazing people-watching Venice has to offer.  We walked past the Venice Art Walls, which are a group of walls that graffiti artists are allowed to paint over any way they'd like. We passed dozens of booths selling locally-made wares, the Venice Beach Freak Show (home to several 2-headed turtles, amongst much more!), groups of rollerbladers performing choreographed dances, and even talked to the World's Greatest Wino.  After getting lost for a few (20) minutes, we parked our bikes outside Zelda's Deli, one of the best sandwich shops I have ever eaten at.  We feasted on amazing panninis, bottled Coca-Cola, and fresh-made mini donuts.  This is one of my most favorite meals in all of Los Angeles.

After the Venice Boardwalk, we continued north, with the beach on our left and awesome people-watching on our right.  We passed the Venice Farmers Market, the Santa Monica Traveling Rings, several amazing kite fliers, and eventually made it up to the Santa Monica Pier.  It was literally a perfect Sunday weather-wise, so the pier was full of people.  We decided we didn't want to carry our bikes up 2 flights of stairs just to walk them along the pier (Marsha and I both have already experienced the pier several times) so we instead opted to take the tunnel under the pier and kept on riding.  

After a few more minutes, we decided to turn around because we realized our butts were getting sore from the bike seats, and we still had 10 more miles to ride.  We cruised back through Santa Monica and Venice, and stopped at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants on Washington Blvd for a margarita break.  Two delicious peach and mango margaritas later, we hopped back on our bikes and continued down to Marina del Rey.  We kept heading south past Fisherman's Village, down to the Ballona Creek trail (where the LMU rowers practice) and all the way down to Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey.  Many people may not know Dockweiler by name, but if you've ever taken off in a plane from LAX, you have flown over Dockwieler.  

After we had gotten our fill of the late afternoon breeze and the loud jets taking off overhead, we turned around and headed back to Fisherman's Village to return our bikes.  Our all-day rental came with a free scoop of ice cream (a business after my own heart) which we enjoyed while watching the seals and pelicans play around in the water.  

Overall, we had a blast.  It was the perfect, laid-back, slow-paced touristy day I had always wanted.  Though I am so, so happy that I eventually moved away from the Westside and now only visit occasionally, it was great to experience everything again, but this time from a beach cruiser. 

The map of our journey.

Photo op in Venice!

The bike path with the front-row ocean view

Preferred method of transportation from now on: Baby Blue Beach Cruiser

Yachts in the marina, Marina del Rey

The Santa Monica Pier

Ballona Creek tributary leading to the ocean in Playa del Rey

# 29: Catalina Island

In a recent issue of LA Magazine, they listed 50 "great" weekend getaways.  In classic LA Mag fashion, about 45 of them were completely infeasible without an unlimited budget and a private jet.  But one of their suggestions caught my eye:  a ferry trip to Catalina Island, conveniently located just 20 miles off the coast of Long Beach.  I mentioned the idea to a friend, who was appalled that I had never been to the island.  She had, in fact, been there so many times that she had lost count of how many times she had thrown up on the Catalina Express ferry.  (I made a mental note to suggest the trip to some other friends instead).

Then, not a few days later, my dad called me out of the blue, to suggest a family trip to Catalina! I was so surprised and excited.  Moments later, of course, I realized that the only reason he suggested doing something fun was because my brother was coming into town.  Of course.  But either way, this was even better.  Because instead of driving to Long Beach and then taking the ferry, we could take my brother's SUPER convenient plane and fly there ourselves!!

I am not a huge fan of flying, and though I've flown in my brother's plane several times, I'm always a bit nervous.  However, this flight was awesome. We flew right over LA, and I was able to pick out all the landmarks that I knew from 10,000 feet above.  After we flew over Long Beach, we banked west and circled over the island.  When I spotted the runway - literally a small strip of pavement on top of a mountain - I died a little inside.  But, I fully trust my brother's piloting abilities, and he landed us at the "Airport in the Sky" with no issue.

Once we landed, we took a shuttle from the airport down into the island's only town, called Avalon.  The drive through the interior of the island was beautiful, but slow due to the tiny narrow road and numerous hairpin turns.  But we were able to see a majority of the island, which visitors that come via the ferry wouldn't even have access to.  We even saw a few of the notorious wild buffalo that roam the island, but our shuttle driver told us to be sure to stay faaaar away from any buffalo ("They aren't cows" he admonished).

Once we made it down into Avalon, we rented a golf cart and got exploring.  Most people on the island don't have cars (not much room) so golf carts are treated like normal cars, complete with having to obey the stop signs.  I don't think I've ever seen any golf cart on the Paramount lot actually stop at a stop sign.  But anyway.  Our first stop on the island was the botanical gardens.  After meandering through the brief paths of indigenous and endemic plant species, we headed to the top of the hill towards a large cement structure.  Upon reading the signs, I learned that it was a memorial to William Wrigley Jr, of Wrigley gum and Chicago Cubs fame.  Apparently, he bought the island from a struggling development company in the 1920's and turned it into what it is now.  He is responsible for paving the first roads, building the first hotels and attractions, and providing basic power and infrastructure to the island.  For the trivia-curious: Wrigley used the island for the Cubs spring training location for over thirty years, and the Wrigley family deeded the entire island to the Catalina Island Conservancy in 1975, who now controls 88% of the island.

The memorial was, for the lack of a better word, incredibly ostentatious considering the location and the laid-back lifestyle of the island.  But, he funded it himself, so it would make sense that the memorial would seem incredibly over-the-top and out of place.  After we walked up and down the memorial, we drove around to the back side of the island, to see the Wrigley Mansion, which is now a very beautiful (and I would assume, very expensive) hotel overlooking the entire bay.

We wound our way back into town (after several photo-op stops, thanks Dad!) and drove past the famous Catalina Casino.  There were lots of signs informing us that the casino is not a "real" casino, and that the word in Italian means "large meeting space" and was initially built as a dance hall.  Now it's the island's only movie theater (playing Hope Springs, a little bit behind the times!) and on the 2nd floor is the world's largest circular ballroom.  The building was built - as well as much of the town - to mimic Monaco.  My dad, who has been pretty much everywhere in the world, could attest to its similarity... though I think no one would be surprised that Monaco was a bit grander.

After all the driving, we were starving and settled in for water-side dining at Armstrong's seafood, followed by ice cream and fresh-baked waffle cones from Olaf's.  As anyone who knows me knows, it was the perfect lunch.  We finished the day off by some gift shop shopping, and a final stroll around the main dock.  By the time we were getting ready to leave, the Catalina Express ferry had come in and the town had quickly become incredibly crowded.  We were happy to take the next shuttle back to the Airport in the Sky and take a leisurely flight back to my parent's house in Camarillo.

Overall, it was a great day, made especially memorable by being able to spend time with my family.  The weather was absolutely perfect, the flight was smooth, and the adventures were awesome!! 

My brother, Captain Dave. 

The heart-stopping view of the airport.

Island view off the wing.

Family portrait (the plane is my brother's baby, therefore part of the family as well) 

My first view of Avalon. 

The main path in the Botanical Gardens, with the Wrigley Memorial in the background. 

Full grown (about 7 feet tall) aloe plant.

Me and my brother inside the Wrigley Memorial. 

Avalon and a partial view of the harbor.  

A fuller view of the harbor and the casino.

The Catalina Casino/movie theater/ballroom

Harbor/town view from the other side of town. 

Overlooking the harbor and some really lovely houses.