Approaching Los Angeles in late December, the weather clearing.
Joshua Tree National Park
The best time to visit a National Park is when you can, even if it’s Christmas and half the world seems to be in line to escape the everyday, even if the only restaurant you can find for Christmas dinner is Jack in the Box taken back to the hotel’s breakfast room. Of course, heading back into the park in early morning (how else could we capture a photo at Skull Rock?) is amply rewarded with magnificent landscapes unspoiled by traffic and fellow humans lost, as we are, in their own thoughts. Another park, living up to the otherworldly hype.
The Huntington, Pasadena
The Huntington Library, Museum and Gardens in Pasadena is one more major institution of which we had virtually no awareness, but that merits much more exploration. We had time only to scratch the surface of the, frankly, astonishing gardens and none to explore anything else. While Joshua Tree at times seemed so pleasing to the eye that it must have been designed, rather than simply nature left to its own devices, the Huntington gardens were a continuous delight of showing how nature can be displayed to astonish.
Floats from the Rose Bowl Parade, Up Close
Fulfilling Amanda’s childhood fantasy, we joined 150,000+ of our closest friends to wander among the Rose Bowl Parade floats the afternoon of New Year’s Day. Over the course of the afternoon, her skeptical companions began turning the conversation from never again to if we do this again this is what we need to do. The San Diego Zoo was our favorite, although the dogs and cats on the pet food float were incredibly cute. And, the up-close look gave a whole new level of appreciation to the artistry involved in such an ephemeral production.
An LA freeway at the magic hour, on our way home.