Wishing you a GOOD YEAR in 2009!

The blimp over Palos Verdes Peninsula, heading South toward San Pedro.

Thank you all for your visits and words of encouragement throughout the year.

Happy New Year!

Malaga Cove Plaza at Sunset

Detail of the prettiest arcaded building at the Malaga Cove Plaza, build in 1924.
In the '60s, my husband used to go to a barber shop which was next to the corner store under the arcade.More beauty at the plaza can be seen often as it's a popular place for engagement/wedding photos.

San Gabriel Mountains

From this spot on the peninsula, a very short hike up a hill from Crestridge Road (adjacent to the Belmont Village Assisted Living), one can see all of the LA basin. The highest peak of this range is Mt. Baldy or officially Mt. San Antonio at 10,064 ft or 3,067 m.
It's a great place for a morning prayer.

Real/Fake at Getty Villa (2 things challenge)

I first thought I'd post a real vs. fake sculpture - but the museum visitors were just so "real", and the building, since it's a replica, can be considered "fake".
Join the weekly 2 Things Challenge hosted by D.C. Confidential.

Just getting a little sun in the Villa garden with pattern on pattern.
"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends..."

At the Getty Villa Museum

Abby at Simply Flowers reminded me with her post (Getty Malibu Villa) that the Villa is open and worth the visit. The 1st photo is of the newly constructed entrance, and the 2nd is of the villa's inner courtyard.

"The Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities; with Roman-inspired architecture and gardens".

Click here for more information and free tickets.

Duck! (Sky ...& Surf ... Watch Friday)

As anticipated, blue skies returned to So Cal. I had an appointment in Santa Monica this morning & hopped over to the Getty Villa Museum afterwards (more on that tomorrow). On my drive home, this United flight seemed to be landing right on top of me on Sepluveda Blvd.
I briefly stopped at the North end of the Pacific Palisades beach. The hill in background is Palos Verdes Peninsula.
And of course, where there is surf, there are surf watchers ... and friends. See some fabulous skies at SKY WATCH FRIDAY.

Merry Christmas from Southern California

Merry Christmas to all my dear blogger friends and your families who celebrate!

It's actually raining in So Cal today - these photos were taken on Dec. 15th just before the first good rain of the season. The view is from the "upper pool" area of our complex looking at Malibu over the South Bay. The rain is welcome and after the views are spectacular with the snow on the mountains.

I am cooking all day today, it's our extended family's traditional Christmas meal - very much like Thanksgiving - turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and this year, cherry pie. All the dishes are pretty easy to cook and my sister-in-law cooks 1/2 of the meal.

Enjoy your day.

"Won't you shine my way tonight?"

Christmas Tree with Palm

In a new townhome on Via Campesina, down the street from Malaga Cove library.

Could it be SNOW in Palos Verdes?

No, it's just suds in the Neptune fountain at Malaga Cove Plaza.

Joseph at CORNERS OF THE WORLD

The afternoon sun illuminated the sculpture of Joseph in the window of the charming Corners of the World store in Malaga Cove plaza.

Cloud / Nine (2 things challenge)

It was 9 o'clock at the Wimington Municipal Bldg at 544 N. Avalon Blvd... of was it?

All 4 faces were showing different times when I drove by around 6 pm. The building is a wonderful old building that I will visit again soon.

Clouds & almost 99 black birds

(at the corner of PV Dr. North and Western Ave. in Lomita.)

Join the 2 Things Challenge hosted by D.C. Confidential.

Palos Verdes Gothic (Sky Watch Friday)

Looking back up on Highridge Road from Chevron Gas Station. These were the clouds last Sunday that brought the rain on Monday.

Taken from Peninsula Center's parking lot, looking up at the Korean Church where I took the city lights show posted last week.

Fire Station 53

Fire Station 53 is located near Portuguese Bend on Palos Verdes Dr. South. I drive by there often, but this was the first time I noticed the mail box. I bet every little kid would make that the #1 stop on a tour of the peninsula.

I've also figured out that my camera has a "vivid" color setting when the selection wheel is on "P". It's taken me a year to take the advice of expert photographers (Babooshka & Abe Lincoln) and finally read the manual!

Do you read manuals first or do you start using the gadget right away & read later?

I just realized Abe is back in the hospital. Please send your well wishes his way.

'V' is for Vista (abc Wednesday)

My friend L. and I walked above the Pacific Ocean along the cliffs in San Pedro (on the South East side of PV peninsula) last Sunday. These are the tide pools at Pt. Fermin coastal access and on the horizon is Catalina Island, about 30 miles off the coast.



Join ABC Wednesday - Round3 here. Or click on the side bar for this week's anthology. Thank you, Mrs. Nesbitt.

Industrial Building at Twilight

Catalina Pacific Concrete building, 1026 Blinn Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744
The almost abandoned look of the building outlined against the early evening sky made me stop as I drove through the warehouse section of Los Angeles, just north of Port of Los Angeles. The view is from Alameda St., close to E. Grant.

Finding out the identity of the building took some doing. In the end, I found it on Google Maps. From its street view, I was able to track down the company's name on the side of the building.

LA's Best Sunset

I couldn't have wished for more color than this. LA rarely gets beautiful clouds like these to be lit up so dramatically by the sun.

The view is of the sky over the PV peninsula from Anaheim St. (next to Conoco refinery) in Lomita. I've posted more sunset photos are at my Mostly LA County site.

Color at Peninsula Center

As I browsed thru my recent posts, I thought a bit of color was needed. The background is a huge painting at Gilt Edge Framing (and original art) store and the reflection of a bit of the Center.
The sign going up the hill at Hawthorne Blvd. & PV Dr. N. caught my eye - it encourages us to shop, dine, & do business locally. The trail visible is part of many horse trails in Rolling Hills Est.

Is your Chamber of Commerce encouraging shopping locally?

Ruby's Santa

Ruby's is a modern 40's style diner & chain restaurant. The one at PV Mall is so very popular with families and teens. The food is good, the service is excellent, and the noise level is very high - great for parents of toddlers.

Ruby's Diners are located at prime locations in Southern California (3 at end of piers), and can be found in Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, & Washington State.

View from Belmont Pier, Long Beach (Sky Watch Friday)

The Queen Mary, lights of Long Beach/LA harbor, and the outline of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
See some fabulous skies at SKY WATCH FRIDAY.
Fooling with the full moon above Peninsula Center. (Hand-held with self-timer.)

Urban (or Suburban) Lights

I wish I could take a photo that would twinkle like the real thing. As Margy of Powell River Books (visiting LA this week) observed, we've been having lovely clear days & nights. The view is looking at the Peninsula Center parking lot, Hawthorne Blvd. (along the left side, with cars coming up the hill) and East over LA basin and is taken from the parking lot of the Korean Hope Church on Highridge Road.

'U' is for Urban Art (abc Wednesday & 2 things challenge)

Harbor Freeway Overture (1994) mural by Kent Twitchell in Downtown Los Angeles, along the 110 Freeway. The figures are painted on a canvas. My friend TeeJ was handed my camera and asked to snap away as I was driving to a concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. She took some nice photos.
Left panel - Julie Gigante, violin
Middle panel - First row: Allan Vogel, oboe; Rene Mandel, violin; Margaret Moores, cello. Second row: Tachi Kiuchi, former Board Member; Lisa Sutton, violin; Roy Poper, trumpet. Third row: Rowena Hammill, cello; Richard Altenbach, violin; Roland Kato, viola. Fourth row: Laura Kuennen-Poper, viola
Right panel - Ralph Morrison, violin.

Join ABC Wednesday - Round3 here. Or click on the side bar for this week's anthology. Thank you, Mrs. Nesbitt.

Here is the link to the weekly 2 Things Challenge hosted by D.C. Confidential.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

... well, as much as it can without snow and cold weather. One small section of our neighborhood goes all out with Christmas lights. Our dog Amy is OK with the penguin this year - the first year she saw it she'd bark and bark, and then try to get away as quickly as possible.

Morning View from Del Cerro Park

Del Cerro Park, at end of Crenshaw Blvd., overlooks the Portuguese Bend nature preserves (most of the brown grass area) with its many hiking/biking trails (see the PVP Land Conservancy for comprehensive info including maps), Portuguese Bend private community (the green trees area) and the homes and resort developments along Long Point. The construction of the huge & overwhelming Terranea Resort is progressing where the old Marineland used to be located.

Take-off at Zamperini Field

Torrance Municipal Airport - Zamperini Field is a general aviation airport just north of Palos Verdes. Our son has been taking flight lessons there for more than 2 years, mostly in his flight instructor's Citabria, a tail-dragger airplane. (Citabria is "airbatic" written backwards and is a great plane for getting a real feel for flying.)
Last week, our son turned 14 and celebrated with a long flight to El Mirage, a dry lake bed. As a coincidence, he and his instructor took off right by Torrance Memorial where our son was born (lower right corner of upper photo).

I've included a brief history of the airport - the above photo and the text below is from the plaques inside the airport building.

"The Lomita Flight Strip in late 1945. Note barracks in lower left later demolished for Crenshaw Boulevard. Note P-38 hardstands, oil wells (upper right), Walteria Lake (dark area, top left).

Completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in March 1943, the Lomita Flight Strip served as a training base for P-38 fighter pilots (June 1943 to April 1944) and Air Transport Command pilots (August 1944 to September 1945). In early 1946 it housed nearly 1,000 Japanese-Americans returning from relocation centers. The City of Torrance obtained a Use Permit in December 1946 and final Deed in March 1948, renaming it Zamperini Field.

Legendary Louis (Lou) Zamperini attended Torrance High School and as a junior in 1934 set a world interscholastic mile run record that remained unbroken for 20 years. Lou was the first American to finish the 5,000 meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. While attending U.S.C. in 1938, Lou set a new N.C.A.A. mile record that stood for 15 Years.

A legacy of WWII, Captain Louis Zamperini crashed in the South Pacific, was listed as Missing in Action on May 23, 1943, and was declared dead by the war department on August 28, 1944. At the end of the war it was learned that Captain Zamperini had survived 47 days adrift in an open raft and 2 ½ years as a P.O.W. in Japan."

Joint / Venture (2 Things Challenge)

Join the 2 Things Challenge hosted by D.C. Confidential.

Clouds on Saturday, Bring Fog on Sunday? (Sky Watch Friday)

Coastal clouds rolling over a ridge, viewed from Malaga Cove School.
Once a surfer, always a surfer. And if the surf or the weather is not very good, then the surfer will still go "check-out" the surf. Surfers & friends are checking out the surf (which can barely be seen due to fog) at Bluff Cove (or The Cove) overlook.
See some fabulous skies at SKY WATCH FRIDAY.

New Field for PV High Sea Kings...

... on a foggy Sunday morning. It just occured to me that I've been posting my husband's Alma Maters this week, and this is another one. Palos Verdes High School is one of three on the peninsula. The overcast day was not best for photos of the school itself, so I'll post those later.

'T' is for Tower with Tunes & Tree (abc Wednesday)

On Thanksgiving Day, we briefly visited Cal Berkeley campus.
Shown is Sather Tower which houses a set of 61 bells called the Berkeley Carillon.

"A Carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least two octaves of carillon bells arranged in chromatic series and played from a keyboard permitting control of expression through variation of touch. A carillon bell is a cast bronze cup-shaped bell whose partial tones are in such harmonious relationship to each other as to permit many such bells to be sounded together in varied chords with harmonious and concordant effect." (Ref. Berkeley School of Music)
The School of Music offers lessons: "...University Carillonist at ucbells@berkeley.edu. ... accepted each semester ... Please include ... your musical background and a brief explanation why carillon study interests you."

I would love to take a carillon or even better - organ lessons. Are there any lessons you've always wanted to take?

See other participants' posts for Terrific T on ABC Wednesday Anthology.