Cruise ship departing on an ocean journey (most likely for Baja California) from Port of LA on a recent Saturday afternoon. The view is from Mantis Street in San Pedro. The little tower at the tip of breakwater on the right side is the Angel's Gate Lighthouse. 
Alex is a really nice young man who works at the Malaga Bank in Rolling Hills Estates. He always has a smile and is very helpful in solving any problems. The bank is small, local and financially solid.
"Marineland of the Pacific was a public aquarium and tourist attraction located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast above the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles County, California, USA that opened in 1954. Millions of people visited Marineland before it closed in 1987." (Ref. palosverdes.com/rpv/marineland) The link has lots of old photos of Marineland. The property stood idle for a long time and now is being turned into an architecturally uninspired resort.
I remember going there in early spring of 1971, with my best friend in 7th grade, Marina Beccera (sitting). I recall a very long drive from Northeast LA and much cooler weather by the ocean. I also thought it strange to have dolphins and whales perform for us. Do you have memories of Marineland or other similar attractions?
Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay under the direction of Frances Steiner performed their GALA SPRING CONCERT last evening at the intimate Norris Theater in PV. The pianist Robert Thies played a wonderful rendition of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54, and the orchestra did Beethoven proud on Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op.92.
After the Grieg Piano Concerto, Schumann's is my most favorite. With only 450 seats at the Norris, the COSB season tickets sell out quickly (previous subscribers and benefactors are the first to get seats) but we usually luck out and get tickets by being on a waiting list.
I do like seeing a talented, competent, and stylish woman in charge.
"The 163-acre Forrestal Nature Preserve, with some of the best remaining native wildlife habitat and hiking trails, is located on the south side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes." PV Peninsula Land Conservancy
On a recommendation from two friends, last Thursday I attended the LA Opera's performance of Wagner's Die Walkure, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (partially shown on the right). Everything about it was exceptional, even for an uneducated Wagnerian like myself (luckily, the 'supertitles' make the plot understandable). The production, designed by Achim Freyer with costumes by Amanda Freyer, was other worldly and a modernistic spectacular. And I heard the incomparable Placido Domingo (as Siegmund) in person, for the first time.
The absolutely amazing main cast (1st row, left to right): Eric Halfvarson (Hunding), Anja Kampe (Sieglinde), Vitalij Kowaljow (Wotan), James Conlon (conductor - as one audiance member said, "They are so lucky to have him!"), Linda Watson (Brunnhilde), Placido Domingo (Siegmund), and Michelle DeYoung (Fricka). An interesting review of this new production (with a photo of a Ride of the Valkyries scene) can be found on LA Times Blogs - Culture Monster - LA Opera - Valkyries. (More photos from LA Times are here: Walkure-photogallery).
This post requires some work on your part - if you don't mind looking at reptiles, please click on the photo to enlarge and let me know what you think it is. When I took the photo, I thought it was a turtle, but it may be a snake.
Harbor Park is located at Vermont and Anaheim St. in City of Wilmington, adjacent to Palos Verdes. the lake is a bit lower than the road and surrounded by trees, so it cannot be seen from the road and is well worth a short walk to the water. While in college, I spent a Saturday on the lake, practicing canoeing before a trip down a calm section of the Colorado River.
The program:
From Central Park
THE bull on Wall Street
Lady Liberty with the morning sun
Cell phone photographs by my son, I.C.B., taken during the spring break trip to Washington DC and New York City with 60 of his intermediate school classmates. They really packed in a lot in 6 days. They were dropped off by the tour bus on 5th Avenue for an hour and told to go check-out the restrooms in the Trump Building.
An orchard near Pearblossom, CA in the Antelope Valley on the east side of the San Gabriel mountains. There aren't many orchards left in this region but some still give color to the dessert in the spring.
"Launch" site is near the upper trailhead of the Burma Road trail at the Protuguese Bend Reserve. We walked a narrow path off the main trail to see the view and lucked out to find a parasailer ready to take-off. With a sublte whoosh sound, the sail filled and he was off. I didn't realize how much gear they carried on their back, sort of like a turtle shell.
Long Point can be seen in the distance, where Marineland was once located and is now being developed as a huge resort.
The ladybug is enjoying what I believe is a non-native plant at the Portuguese Bend Reserve, previously shown here. When I helped out removing invasive plants from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Orange Co. last year, I became more aware of how the non-natives can push out the native. Here is a good brochure offering native landscaping options - Cal-IPC: LANDSCAPING-So Cal
Here is a beauty in orange that is fully contained next to the post office.
UPDATE: Los Angeles Theater, 1931; S. Charles Lee - architect; 615 S. Broadway; "A Baroque motion-picture palace. Twin Corinthina columns frame the central notched arch. Above, a varied skyscraper is provided with pinnacles and other sculptured forms. The interior grand staircases and rich decorations is as French Second Empire as the street facade. Probably the finest theater building in Los Angeles."
THE Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. (Photo by my son - I.C.B. - with his cell phone.)
At Dana Point last Sunday, "M.M." - an attractive, stylish and very nice woman - was kind enough to let me take a photo of her fun sweater.
Today I hand over the blog to my son who is taking photos with his cell phone of his spring break trip to Washington DC and NYC. He 'picture-mails' me daily updates - I sure love modern technology. 
Here is a commercial space that was very nicely converted from an old Safeway supermarket to a Montessori School. The closed Golden Lotus restaurant will soon reopen as a Trader Joe's market. Below is a view showing the edge of the Golden Cove shopping area and a wide section of PV Blvd South.
'Z' from Based in Villigen - Wanderweg reminded me of all the wonderful trails all over Switzerland that we enjoyed walking on some 20 years ago. So last (overcast) Sunday, Amy & I took to the 'wanderweg' of Portuguese Bend Reserve Trails (brochure & map) that starts right by Del Cerro park at the end of Crenshaw Blvd. It's got horse, bike & walking trails and it overlooks the coastline.
Abalone Cove thru wild mustard. The trails do lead all the way from the top of the bluff to the water.
Ever since I moved to PV in 1986, Longs Drugs has been my favorite store in the neighborhood. It just had more charm than other drug stores close by. The drug store will still be operational under the CVS logo and floor arrangement. Of the 3 stores on the sign, only Bristol Farms Market is still going strong - I guess it's just a sign of the times.
For City Daily Photo Theme Day, I wanted to show something that is very Southern California-ish. Well, heavy commuter traffic can count as a fitting subject with the bonus of being nicely reflected by and above a YELLOW bumper. 
