Here is an example of a single day microcosm of the diversity of Los Angeles. In the morning we visited the oldest McDonald's still in operation on the planet (out of some 20,000 McDonald's worldwide!), located in Downey. It was built in 1953. The original McDonald's was founded in San Bernardino California in 1948 and was a barbecue restaurant serving over 100 different barbecue recipes. This particular restaurant was the third ever and has … [Read more...]
Running around seeking Cemeteries and Farmers Markets, Los Angeles
With such a plethora of activities offered in Los Angeles on any given day, I tend to focus narrowly into specific destinations or activities. During these past few days it was cemeteries and fruit markets! Forest Lawn is the "mother" of all cemeteries in the Southland. They operate several locations around town - but none is as large or prominent as Forest Lawn in Glendale. Acres of graves and green are surrounded by residential and urban … [Read more...]
Travel Massive Meetup, Los Angeles
Travel Massive events are excellent venues for meeting other travelers and or those working in the travel industry. Mary Ann of JetSetExtra recently started these Los Angeles based events up again in January - a talk by someone in the travel industry is given followed by networking. These meetups are held in cities around the world - visit www.travelmassive.com for more details. The venue was the Roof on Wilshire … [Read more...]
Press Conference for our Favorite Boxer Andre Ward and Serious Vehicle Troubles!
I headed out on the 10, East to Ontario, California recently to help cover a press conference between at the time two undefeated boxers, Andre Ward (26-0) and Edwin Rodriguez (24-0). A friend and I have been following Andre's professional career for some time - he took America's last gold medal for boxing at the Olympics and has had a stellar professional career so far. We've run a fan site promoting his career since his 10th professional fight … [Read more...]
LACOT Meetup, Luxe Hotel, Los Angeles
I made the mistake of trying to go south towards the Sawtelle district (craving Ramen) around 5pm on a weekday. Barrington was backed up as far as I could see in the northbound direction - after turning around at some point, it took me 30 minutes to go 1/3 of a mile on surface streets and then on Sunset before pulling into the Luxe Hotel entance. Traffic is so intense in this part of town (combined with the major 405 construction project … [Read more...]
IMPROV-ing it in Hollywood
Driving through Hollywood numerous times I've always wondered what it would be like to stand in one of these "sidewalk lines" late at night. Lines for nightclubs, lines for dark signless establishments with tough looking large people in front, lines for comedy shows, lines for Improv and lines for bars. I was standing in one of such lines this evening - in front of the Upright Citizens Brigade waiting to see the Swarm, 4 gentleman who perform … [Read more...]
A Busy Day in LA
Got up early to go shopping at the relatively new Farmer's Market in front of the Autry Center - it is one of the smaller Farmer's markets in town but this time of year there is always good fresh fruit - especially grapes. Oh and the Homeboy Bakery is always there with their fresh bread (reformed gang members). Heading across the street - I spent 90 minutes at the LA Zoo - arriving right as they opened and raced to the back of the park to beat … [Read more...]
Basking in the Warmth of Santa Catalina Island
Catalina provides the calm, quiet and the rural contrast to the urban 24/7 hum of the city of Los Angeles. The Ying and Yang of urban versus rural environments, if you will. Catalina is world's away yet still within the confines of Los Angeles County. In reality the island is only approximately 50 miles away from the extreme contrast of pulsating clubs and the craziness of late night parties on Sunset or Hollywood Blvds. We conveniently stayed … [Read more...]
Oaxaca and Huatulco Mexico Tourism Dinner, Los Angeles
I recently attended a Oaxaca promotion dinner at Geulaguetza restaurant - an authentic restaurant serving Oaxacan cuisine surprisingly located in the heart of Koreatown Los Angeles. One of our contributors and photographers Michelle Yam recently went on a trip to Huataluco along the coast in the state of Oaxaca and invited me to this dinner. The presentation was to promote tourism to the region, inspire and excite us about the wonders of … [Read more...]
Gogobot Travel Salon Recap – Los Angeles
I was invited to a Gogobot (a social community for travelers) sponsored event by Kat @travellingreek - who I met at a TBEX event in downtown at the Biltmore a few years back. This event was held at NextSpace in downtown Culver City - this is a creative work environment/community that is open to members at any time. This "travel salon" featured four well regarded travelers - Andrew Bender, who writes the Seat 1A blog for Forbes Magazine, Sara … [Read more...]
