The information presented on
this page does not fall into any of the other categories within this
article. As items on
this page grow in length they may be moved to their own page within the
entire Los Angeles article. Click on the links below for each section.
Alpine Village - is located at 833 W. Torrance Blvd in Torrance -
just south of LAX near where the 110 and the 405 freeways intersect.
This "Bavarian" village is open 7 days a week. There are a number of
shops in the complex, even a traffic school! A highlight of a visit is
the Alpine Market with their large selection of imported items including
chocolate, wine, beer, pickled items and a deli with Bratwurst, sausage
and lots more. A highlight of a visit on Friday-Sunday evenings during
most weekends in September and October is the big Oktoberfest
celebration. German beer, German Bands and German food for everyone!
For those swap meet fanatics - a year round swap meet is held every day
in the large parking lot next door to Alpine Village. They are usually
open 5 days per week - call 213-770-1961 for more details. Visit:
www.alpinevillagecenter.com
Casinos
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There are no Indian Reservations within the city of
Los Angeles so any casinos you may find do not have slot machines,
rather their focus is on card games, blackjack, poker and bingo.
We have visited the following two casinos.
Crystal Cathedral
is located off of the 22 freeway in the heart of Orange County at
12141 Lewis St. You can also easily see it driving by on the 5
freeway and it can also be accessed via the 5 freeway. This is not your usual "cathedral" as you can guess
from its name. A tall shining spire greets you as you enter the parking
lot (free parking). In the same grain as a drive in fast food restaurant
the Crystal Cathedral offers drive in prayer, or as it is titled on a
sign, the "In Car Worship Center". How many cathedrals have a box
office. You can find one here, available to sell tickets to a wide
variety of events including ministries, annual celebrations, seminars
and conferences. The cathedral is also famous for its nationally
televised "Hour of Power".
You can either take a self guided tour of the cathedral and grounds or
reserve a free guided tour ahead of time. If you decide to explore on
your own, allow at least 30-45 minutes to walk the grounds. Unique
religious statues of significance are scattered around the property.
Click our thumbnail photos below and visit:
www.crystalcathedral.org
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| The tall spire |
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Incredible carving |
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Marble statue outside |
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The Crystal Cathedral |
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Hand in statue |
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| The inside of the Crystal Cathedral. |
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The center of the Crystal Cathedral. |
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Yes, they have a box office! |
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The "in car" worship center - parking lot.
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A wonderful statue outside. |
Graffiti
- There is a never ending battle between law
enforcement and those who "tag" various urban locations within Los
Angeles including freeway overpasses, parks, bridges, along the LA River
and any number of buildings. It is always interesting to see Graffiti
tags high up on overpasses in locations that are extremely difficult to
reach. Graffiti is a major problem within certain communities in the Los
Angeles area.
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Los Angeles
River -
When you stand solitary on North Main Street next
to the railroad tracks above the Los Angeles River all you feel
is a deep sadness as you look down on a river that has
been dramatically altered in a relatively short amount of time.
You look down on a dirty river that now flows dark, a concrete
river juxtaposed with brightly colored graffiti where those
entrapped by the city, drugs, gangs and poverty territorially
cry out with their markings. Electrical lines, bridges, rubble
and old fences all decorate the banks of
what was originally the lifeblood of Los Angeles. If
you do not happen to be on North Main Street, any of a number of bridges
in this area will afford one the same views. Close your eyes and think
back 100 years to a time when this actually was a natural river, with
trees and grass growing along its banks. Or, if your imagination has
been corrupted
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beyond hope by the scene that lies in front of you,
simply
Click Here to see a picture of the LA River taken in 1900.
For more information visit the Friends of the Los Angeles River:
www.folar.org or view
this very informative film here:
www.plasmatic-concepts.com/lariver/movie.html and for restoration
projects visit:
www.lariver.org
Looking to take a tour of the LA River? Visit:
www.deliriousla.net/lariver/tours.htm
Two photos below of the Los Angeles River were taking
immediately north of downtown
Miracle
Mile is a fancy very urban section along Wilshire Blvd.
The main reason it received its name is because of its meteoric rise to
fame from an area that used to be farming fields. Today there are many
tall fancy buildings that line this part of Wilshire. Several museums
are located here including the
LA County Museum of Art, the famed
La Brea Tarpits
and the Petersen
Automotive Museum. In
addition the Screen Actor's Guild has its headquarters here as well as
other business connected to the entertainment and film industry. As you
drive Wilshire towards downtown next to and just past Miracle Mile, you
can drive through a very nice old neighborhood and sometimes avoid some of the Wilshire traffic. This parallel road (West 8th Street) runs next to
Wilshire for a few miles.
Oakley Headquarters
- for something a little bit different and probably out of the way, make
a trip up the "bunker" or Oakley Headquarters located at 1 Icon Parkway
in Foothill Ranch (Orange County, South East of Irvine). Visitor parking
is available across from the entrance - lots of other parking is
available below headquarters (below the hill). The main building and
entrance looks like one giant machine! Did you know Oakley was founded
in Orange County with their first product being rubber type bicycle
grips for BMX bikes. Innovative sunglasses soon followed and the
innovations have continued not only with sunglasses but with watches,
shoes, backpacks and other apparel.
Several stores are available here including one for women. Looking to
design part of your own sunglasses - use the computer aided design tool
to create your own colors and designs for the frames. Once you are
satisfied with the design a machine nearby (under the supervision of
Oakley employees) prints your design. You can even have this machine
print out your name or other words on the lower part of one of the
lenses.
This looks like a "fun" company to work for - with a focus on innovation
and excellence. Hey, there is even a dirt narrow and windy BMX track in
the back of the building. Kids come up here to have some fun - well
maybe some grownups too!
For more information about Oakley, visit
www.oakley.com/about
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Skeletons in the
Closet
is located at the Los Angeles County Coroner's office at
1104 N. Mission Road east of downtown right next to the 5
freeway. Visitor parking is to the side of the main building -
be sure to get a free visitors permit pass from the secretary
located in the main building to put on your dash.
Skeletons in the Closet is a fairly hidden gift shop located
behind room 208 in the main building. Only the small words "gift
shop" are written on the smoky non see through small
window. The small shop carries a variety of morbid type
souvenirs ranging from the very popular floor mats that contain
an outline of a body (these are crazily popular around
Halloween), to clothing, mugs and much more! As they say at this
shop, "we're dying for your business".
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This is certainly not a gift shop your going to find in
the tourist brochures - its well hidden away and you have to know about
it to find it. Can't make it to the Coroner's office? They sell their
products online as well and you can request their mail order catalogue.
For more information visit:
http://lacstores.co.la.ca.us Proceeds from sales benefit the
Youthful
Drunk Driver Visitation Program
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Wine Tasting
- San Antonio Winery is located fairly close to the 5
freeway east of downtown at
737 Lamar Street. This is a historical winery founded in
1917 at a time when there were many wineries in and around Los
Angeles. Today they are the only bonded winery within the city
of Los Angeles. They have a healthy advertising budget and you
may see their signs around parts of town including nearby
Chinatown.
They make a wide variety of wines, all affordably priced. They
own vineyards on California's central coast including around
Paso Robles, Monterey and then also in Rutherford, Napa Valley.
All of their wines are priced very affordably from just a few
dollars to $50. As of our latest update, most of their wines are
in the $7 to $20 range with a |
production of wines to satisfy many different
palates. They make a wide variety of sweet wines also.
San Antonio Winery has been family (Riboli Family)
owned since day 1. When we were there the original owners nephew, 87
year old Stefano who came to America from Italy in 1937, was helping
with the tastings. He comes to work every day is known as "the boss" and
is a great source of information about the local history of the area,
anything related to wine - and he loves to meet and talk to people.
Besides their complimentary tastings, San Antonio winery also offers
tours, food and wine classes, holds special wine festivals and runs the
Maddalena Restaurant on site, featuring cuisine from
northern Italy.
For more information visit:
www.sanantoniowinery.com or
www.riboliwines.com
| Heading up to No Cal to do some
wine tasting in Napa? |
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| Dave has personally visited and
tasted with over 650 commercial wine producers (wineries) in
the Napa Valley. Click on the graphic above or visit:
www.napawineproject.com |
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Crystal Casino & Hotel is located off of the 91 freeway in
Compton about 10 minutes from LAX and or downtown Long Beach. Address:
About
Dave's Pick