Monday, January 25, 2010

Gateway to Yosemite


For a few weeks I am working in Merced, California, in San Joaquin Valley. The town is lovingly called the "Gateway to Yosemite" because of it's close proximity to Yosemite National Park. With around 60,000 residents, the town boasts a courthouse museum (pictured here), an airplane museum, and some fun restaurants. So far I have tried out Big Bubba's BBQ and plan to visit Sam Cafe, where Sam serves Thai, and also Cool Hand Luke's Steakhouse. Raley's grocery store is the local Whole Foods equivalent. This time in a smaller town than Los Angeles in California has allowed me to meet another type of place. Here agriculture is a major industry. As I drive to work I pass cows, sheep, and goats, as well as fields of what looks like grapevines. The views and quieter days are a welcome departure from life in the big city. Stay tuned for pictures of local attractions in the upcoming days.

Yosemite National Park





Some photos from this past weekend's winter wonderland in Yosemite National Park.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Curds in Cali

Today on a drive to Northern California, I stopped at Bravo Farms in Traver, CA. They purported to make cheese curds. Upon tasting for myself, I found the Cali curd tastes much like blocks of cheddar. A WI cheese curd is a squeaky morsel, a CA curd a torn block. The woman at the check out counter explained the taste of the California curd by saying California requires the cheese to be pasteurized. Whatever it is, WI curds still reign.

Take for instance this link to a Wisconsin Cheese Curd map you can follow to find curds across the state.

I will continue to search for California curds.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

My Neighborhood



The neighborhood where I live in Los Angeles sits at the foot of Griffith Park, one of the largest parks in a city. There are miles of hiking trails there, including one close to the Hollywood sign. But it's a well kept secret that one can go on an urban hike right down my street through the streets of the neighborhood. The hill at the end of my streets has a series of around a dozen public stairs going between houses and up the hill. Following a trail made by the Sierra Club takes 1 to 2 hours. It's tough work but offers the reward of beautiful views of the city. I will post pictures from my walk one day soon. For now, enjoy this picture of a mural and stairs in the neighborhood where I like to end my jogs.

Have a Drink with the Dinosaurs




A week ago I found what Men's Journal has deemed the #1 event in the country where to hook-up. It will surprise you to hear, that event is the First Friday "Drink with the Dinosaurs" event at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum across from University of Southern California. (The museum is nestled amount an air and space museum and rose garden - can you say Smithsonians??) The event boasts drinks, food, special tours, special discussions on science topics, and some pretty hip bands. They also bring out the finest of seating, including a covered wicker chair for two. The ambiance, among gems and dinosaurs, couldn't be beat. You can gather from the description above that the idea behind First Friday is for the museum to stay open late the first friday night of each month and reach out to a demographic who enjoys bands and wine on Friday while learning about natural history. Guess that's me!!






This year's First Friday theme surrounds natural life in Southern California. January's event that I attended was about SPIDERS. A specialist took guests on a special tour of the live spider exhibit in the basement - impressive! And we sat in on a discussion with a spider silks expert pictured here. She taught us about how spiders create tons of different types of silk (web/glue, etc) and showed us how it comes out of the spider's spigots on their bottom sides. After these learning experiences (enjoyed with a bottle of Corona in hand) we watched the local band TuneYards and Atlanta-based Atlas Sound (lead of Deerhunter). After touring the gem room, we hopped on the bus to get home.

While on the bus we learned about even more reasons why it's fun to live in Los Angeles. In the Los Angeles newspaper about local events, we saw Pee Wee Herman is making a come-back and playing at LA Live (a hip area downtown). (Little known fact, Pee Wee Herman gets his haircut at the same place I do, so I already knew he was making a come-back.) But really, First Friday at a Natural History museum? You really should plan your trip to visit me on a First Friday of a month.

Art Walk


I have been finding more and more things to love about Los Angeles.

Thursday evening I walked downtown Los Angeles with crowds of art revelers. Around 25 art galleries stayed open until 10 pm for people to look at the art, talk to the artists, drink wine, and eat cheese. The buildings themselves in downtown Los Angeles offer something historically fantastic to look at. The people also add to the night with their eclectic Los Angeles clothes. I even ran into a friend from my neighborhood which made me feel quite at home in my new city. The art walk takes place once a month. I will definitely be in attendance again.