remembering LA and pictures...

here we go:

Kent, Marisa and I, in front of the Getty Museum, with the view of LA

Mountains on the left, beach on the right. Amazing.

LA skyline





Hands and feet in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater











And look who was posing for pics on Hollywood Blvd...

he said, "Dahling, give me your money."








depiction of "The Last Supper" at the Wax Museum







Trumpet Lily trees in Kent and Marisa's backyard. my pictures really don't do them justice.



























and Jef, the wonder dog, ever waiting for us to return and trying to remember that he knows me.

I realize now that I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did. No pictures of Olvera Street, where all the amazing Latino/Hispanic wares for sale/ethnic food and general alley o' culture was. I had authentic taquitos with beans and spicy guacamole sauce from Cielito Lindo. not the thick guac. we think of, this was thin and spicy and they pour it over the whole plate. YUM! and I also had some Jamaica (ha-micah), drink made from hibiscus tea -very refreshing, and some Horchata (or-cha-ta), a starchy rice milk with vanilla and cinnamon - reminded me of iced chai, very tasty. None at the famous Bicycle Casino, where I spent St. Patty's Day and actually left with more money than I started with for once. And none from Venice Beach, with the plethura of eye candy and just general cross section of culture that it is (probably because it was soooooo crazy windy that day...I had shoes and socks on and STILL ended up with sand between my toes. THAT windy!) I will pass along the warning that Kent and Marisa gave me: watch out for the Jamaican guy on rollerskates playing his guitar for tips...if he sees you watching him or even looking in his general direction he will follow you around, even into stores, until you give him a tip. you will literally be a captive audience.

My favorite picture opp. that I think I missed were the 4 Japanese ladies I saw on the subway when I was headed downtown to Hollywood. They were headed to meet their friends for lunch, they said. They kept chatting the whole way, covering their mouths when they laughed, as is so endearing of older Asian women. When they got off the train, they linked arms and headed off with the excitement of four teenagers on spring break. Yeah, that's the picture I should have taken.

I definitely want to go back, visit the Museum of Tolerance, eat more awesome food (we did eat at the famous Mulberry Street Pizza - YUM) and just experience more culture, more of LA. That seems to be most of what there is to do, beyond the normal touristy stuff, just experience all the culture there.

It was surreal, like most of my life right now, in that I really didn't feel that far from home. Maybe because my brother and sister-in-law were there. Maybe it's because we're more connected as people across this vast and beautiful country than we think. I do often forget how beautiful our land is, until I fly across it again and am reminded that indeed, "This land is your land. This land is my land." Truly it had to be made, by someone, just for you and me. And maybe, just maybe, home isn't a destination where we are always longing to return to, but a place within us where we can always find rest if we just abide.