Around Los Angeles

 I was too tired to write anything last night, Thursday, July 25, so let me get caught up.

On Wednesday evening, I found myself on 1st Street, between the Little Tokyo Metro Station, and my hotel.   There is a block of small Japanese cafes, several of which have waiting lists at the door.   I chose one at random and had a delicious bowl of ramen with beef, and some dumplings.

Thursday morning I decided to take the Metro A train to Long Beach.   Along the way, I took a detour to stand on a bridge above the Alameda Trench.    This is a long stretch of Union Pacific and BNSF multiple tracks, leading from the Port of Los Angeles, to the rail yards North and East of downtown Los Angeles.    Much of the trench is below street level, saving many miles of grade-level street crossings.    An incredible amount of container come from Asia, through Los Angeles/Long Beach, and on into the interior of America.

in Long Beach I visited the Aquarium.   Many summer camp groups.   My favorite exhibit was an aviary full of lorikeets!   You can buy a little cup of nectar and most of the time, the lorikeets would come over and drink the nectar, sometimes while perched on the child's arm!   There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason as to which bird would feed, and which child would be favored with this experience!  

Lorikeet on a child's hand, being fed nectar.

A note to my readers in Houston:   I traveled 2000 miles to see a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron in an enclosure!    The picture did not turn out, but keep in mind, I find juvenile Night Heron in my yard every Spring!

From the aquarium, I booked a 45 minute harbor tour (cue theme music from Gilligan's Island) which showed me, I guess, what I really wanted to see - Long Beach Harbor with ships, the Queen Mary, and the biggest container port in North America.

I apologize in advance, here, but I am going to do what I said I would not do, and that is get political.

The Supreme Court recently told cities and states they can push the homeless out of various places.   While I was riding around Los Angeles, I read that the California governor has now ordered cities to start doing just that.   Aside from the lack of compassion that we, as a "Christian Nation" are supposed to have, just where the heck are all of these down-and-out people going to go?   Is this the beginning of "Soylent Green?"  Los Angeles has a bigger problem with the homeless than even Houston, who claims to be fixing the problem, until you notice they are simply relocating from downtown Houston to, say, Southwest Houston.  We went to the moon, we cured polio and small pox, and I can move pictures from my phone to my laptop and share them with you in a timely manner.    Surely we can come up with a solution to homelessness!   I just filled out a survey about my Amtrak journey.   There were several questions asking about homelessness in the Amtrak Train Stations.  It's a problem that needs to be seriously addressed.

Next rant, and this will be the last one - I returned to the Little Tokyo area of Downtown Los Angeles, about two blocks from my hotel.   The National Japanese-American Museum was open until 8:00 on Thursday, so I went in.   The majority of the exhibits discussed the mass incarceration, without due process, of about 120,000 Japanese-Americans, most of whom were born in the US, and all of whom, were quite loyal to the US.   President Roosevelt ordered this in early 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor, despite absolutely no proof that these people were a military threat to our country.   As a matter of fact, the FBI had a report in 1941 from one of their agents who had done the research, that the Japanese-Americans were fine citizens, even disgustingly patriotic.   But, our country does not have a good record of treating others, who look different, very well.   Note that the Army finally allowed a number of these Japanese-Americans to join, forming the 422nd Regimental Combat Team, and sent them to Italy and eventually Germany, where this regiment proceeded to earn more combat medals and suffer higher casualties than any other Army unit.

Japanese-American artist created these from tree limbs and roots while in a "relocation camp"

This painting, by JT Sata is featured in several places.   His drawings, paintings and photos are very haunting.

This barracks/home was disassembled from it's camp location and reassembled in the museum by later generation Japanese-Americans who were trying to achieve some closure to all of this.

It should be noted, me being of German-American ancestry, that there was NO mass incarceration or rounding up of German-Americans.   Yet, unlike the Japanese-Americans, there WERE instances of Germany-Americans landing on the East Coast with the intent to commit espionage and sabotage of American facilities, to include a plan to blow up the Pennsylvania Railroad at the famous Horseshoe Curve.

What bothers me is that I can see the attitude in America right now to blame some group for all of our problems, and expel them, or even execute them!   So far, these extremists cannot make up their minds who they hate the most:  undocumented aliens (my favorite DACA dreamert just graduated from U of Houston), Muslims, LGBTQ, I don't know, almost anyone who is not just like  ......    And there seems to be growing admiration for dictators and even fictional cannibals!    Go figure!

OK, I'm done now.

Another interesting place to visit in Downtown Los Angeles is the "Last Bookstore."    This is probably the largest collection of used books in the country.   Upon asking directions to a few sections, I was advised to go upstairs, through the tunnel of books (quite literally!) and look to my heart's content.   There are all manner of books to include an entire area where old books are organized by COLOR! if you are looking for decorative books.   The lady at the desk did her best to help me find my obscure books, but though she found mention in her computer, she could not find them on the shelves!   I was worried about finding my way back out of there, but I eventually did.    Interesting.   Worth a visit.

This morning, Friday, I managed to make it to the station to catch the 8:13 Amtrak that stopped across the street from Burbank Airport, and easily made it to the plane.   I had a pleasant, if bumpy ride back to Houston.

Burbank-Bob Hope Airport is easy to reach by train from Union Station.   Short, protected walk.

My napkin, on Southwest Airlines.   The airline was born from this drawing on a napkin, over 50 years ago.

While at a cafe in the Airport, I struck up a conversation with two young men at the next table, asking them something about the Los Angeles Angels.   They, in turn, wanted to know about this Houstonian they have heard about - Mattress Mack!    The man is known everywhere!   These guys were on their way to Vegas for a Bachelor Party.   I wished the groom luck and offered him two words to keep his marriage strong:  "YES DEAR!"   He wrote them down!

While waiting for my plane I noticed the video the middle schooler was watching next to me.   CAT VIDEOS!    They really do exist!

So, I am home, my first load of laundry is ready for the dryer, and all three bags have been unpacked!     ...... Wait, the second load has been started.

Let me load these pictures and I will say Good Night.    There is a pillow in the next room, calling my name.

I hope that my next adventure will be in early October, to New England and a number of presidential sites, museums, homes and even a few railroad attractions.  

By the way, I am certain that my misuse of capitalization will drive an owner of the MLA Style Manual crazy!   Keep in mind, I am not writing this for a grade!

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The Getty Center

 I know, you are going to tell me I live in a different world. . . . ., but that's OK, because they know me there!    I am in Los Angeles, Day Three.   I came specifically to visit the Nixon and Reagan Libraries, and to ride on Amtrak.  I met my goals, so now I am just wandering.

I came across some notes last week about transportation that might not be on the maps.   I posted a picture of the Angel Flight Funicular the other night.   Well, there is a people mover here in LA that floats on air like a hovercraft.   It runs between the parking garage and the Getty Center, basically one hill to another.   A bonus was getting to see a world-class art museum.

I took the Metro E train towards Santa Monica and transferred to the 671 bus at Expo/Sepulveda.   Along the way, we passed the LA Colessium, USC, and UCLA.   Also rode past Bel Air (not Bellaire!) and saw that gas in LA is about $4.50 a gallon!  Got off the bus, walked under the 405 and entered a very long queue in the parking lot to pass through security and wait for the people mover.   The tram looks like a baby BART (San Francisco's subway).   The tram rides on air, but was still a little bumpy in spots.  Note: parking is $25.00.    Entrance to the Getty is FREE.

You don't even need to come for the ART.    The tram ride is what us little kids remember!   And the buildings, all in imported travertine, are simply magnificent.   Everything is spacious, and the buildings link to each other.   And then, there is the view!   Hill top.   I could see in all directions, though this was a hazy day.   

The nice lady at the information desk helped me get my bearings, and I was off.    First stop was a rotating exhibit "On Thin Ice; Dutch Depictions of Extreme Weather."  The early 1600s saw some of the coldest winters on record in Holland, and the Dutch produced a lot of paintings and drawings to commemorate these years.   Saw some impressionists, lots of portraits, and my favorite room full of stained glass windows that were beautifully back-lit.   I was so taken by this that I broke down and spent $55.00 on a neck tie depicting the stained glass.   You've seen me, I have NEVER spent that much money on clothes in my life!   But this should go with all of my dress shirts!

I did not linger, my ADHD was acting up, and sometimes the crowds really encouraged me to move on.   But it was a nice visit.   

The Getty Center is an example of what people can do with their money.   In 1957, J. Paul Getty (Getty Oil) was named the richest man in the world.   When he died some years later, he left the bulk of his estate to fund this magnificent public display of art.  Wow!

Security is everywhere at the Getty.   They are nice enough, but they won't let you break rules like drinks in the exhibit hall, or defacing the art.    Someone did something in the main courtyard while I was in the gift shop, and they locked the whole place down for a few minutes.    A staffer told me this happens a lot.   Often it's someone going through the wrong door, which, by the way, I did at the Reagan Library on Monday!

Did I mention the view?

At the Getty, the languages of the day seemed to be Japanese and Italian.    I heard a lot of both.   My presence raised the average age by a good 20 years!    Lots of teens and college students.

On the way back to the hotel, I got off at Little Tokyo station, hoping to visit the museum to Japanese-Americans, but they had had a power outage.   Walked along several blocks of little ramen and sushi cafes.  And lots of  nods to Shohei Ohtani.   I may head back there for dinner.   It's just a few blocks from my hotel.

And finally, a sidewalk sign that reminded me of Susie.

I'm done.   My pictures loaded the first time, which is the first time for that, and so it's time to go have some ramen.  Really not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am having fun!