It is always surprising to find something new and different right under your nose and realize it has been there all along. We have been visiting our family in LA for several years have driven up and down Venice Blvd more times than we care to think about. Carol at one time noticed the Museum of Jurassic Technology and after wondering for a bit put it out of her mind. Yesterday Carol, our daughter-in-law Miriam and I were wondering what to do with some spare time with Avtalyon in tow. We decided to head over to the museum to see what it had to offer. We first checked out the web site to see if it seemed interesting. If anything it left us with less idea of what we might find, but it intrigued us enough to venture in the door. Once in it took us over two hours to extract ourselves. I will not try to describe everything, check out the link above for much more detail.
Experience in Los Angeles
The displays cover a range of subject matter from sculptures in the eye of needle and microscopic mosaics of butterfly wing scales to the history of trailer parks and trailers in the Los Angeles area. On the top floor is a tea room with complimentary tea after 3 PM and a rooftop garden and columbarium. The interior is a rabbit warren of small rooms, the lighting is dim and many hands on exhibits were out of order, seemingly permanently. It is a place to study, to be amazed and to meditate. If you are ever in Los Angeles with a couple of hours to kill and you are anywhere near the museum definitely consider spending some time there.
On our way to the house from the RV park in Malibu we have driven by Topanga Canyon Rd many times. In fact several years ago we were forced to drive it in the dark and rain when The PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) was closed by threatened rock slides. We had never driven it in daylight and so we elected to stop at Topanga Beach and carry our lunch out on to the beach to watch the surfers. As we ate and watched I noticed some large bodies beyond the surf line. There was a pod of whales passing by. We were too low and did not have binoculars with us but given our location and the time of year they must have been grey whales migrating north. There were also dolphins playing in the water between the surfers and the whales.
We drove up and over Topanga Canyon Road. It is an steep twisty road that climbs over the Santa Monica Mountains. Eventually it brought us to the 101 in the Valley. Leaving the wilderness of Topanga Canyon for the rigors of 4 and 5 lane freeways required an instant adjustment of thought process. Eventually we connected to the 405 which brought us back to Pico and the house on Alcott.
As I write I cannot help thinking about friends in Rochester who are recovering from various procedures. Lorraine, if you get to read this, know we are thinking of you. Lisa, I have seen Scott’s postings on FB and want you to know we are thinking of you too.