Getty Villa with my parents

It is always nice to have family & friends visit.  An extra bonus is that I find I finally get around to see some of the sites I've taken for granted for too long.  For example, when I lived in the Philadelphia area, I didn't go and see the Liberty Bell until I was just about to leave old Philly for good.

My parents, who live in Ft. Collins, came to visit for a few days last week.  We spent most of Weds at the Getty Villa, located in Pacific Palisades, about an hour drive from home.  I haven't been there in over a decade, so I was way overdue.   Visiting the Getty Villa is FREE, though you do have to pay $15 to park your vehicle.  Quite the bargain for a fantastic day.  

Magnificent Garden & Pool

We took advantage of several tours, including an excellent Garden Tour and an Architecture Tour. 

The Garden Tour



A close up of the beautiful peach tree (the Garden Tour) 

 The interior of the Getty Villa was impressive as well.  These two pictures below were taken on the Architecture Tour.  Many galleries and much to see.  It definitely is worth a repeat visit, and perhaps I won't even wait until I have out of town guests visiting us to return to the Getty Villa!

A temporary display of the hunter and the hunted. 

Beautiful Marble - on the walls and on the floor!  Exquisite!

So what better way to finish the day at the Getty Villa than to go to the Observatory in our beloved Griffith Park.  Magnificent views!  We Love L.A.!  We love show casing our fabulous city to our family and friends. 

My dad & mom at the Observatory.   I'm so glad they came to visit us!

 Happy Spring  !  Enjoy the beauty and wonder of where ever you are.


HALF CENTURY RIDE!

Mission accomplished!   This past Saturday, March 9th was the 31st annual Solvang Century Ride.  There was also the Half-Century ride, which was enough distance for me.  I'm relatively new to cycling and completing 50 miles was a big accomplishment. 

A happy finisher.  I'm out of the saddle 4 hours and 49 minutes later.

I achieved my macro-goal of not crashing, my medium-goal of finishing the distance, and my micro-goal of not walking any of the uphills!   Gerry did the ride, as did my good friend Kiki.  We 3 musketeers stayed together pretty much the whole time.  We stopped perhaps 4 different times, the most significant "rest stop" was at the SAG station at the 23.6 mile mark.  The SAG station was amply stocked with fresh fruit, gorp, peanut butter sandwiches, cookies and plenty of water.  

I admit I was a bit nervous before the race, and felt a bit under-trained.  I did two 25 mile training rides, and several training rides of 15-20 miles.  Fortunately, my mind is my strongest muscle and I convinced myself if I could ride 25 miles, I could ride 50!  (Actual distance ended up being 51.24 miles.)

We like the Solvang, Santa Ynez Valley.  It is always a fun get-away.  Saturday we celebrated with dinner at the Vineyard House restaurant in Santa Ynez.  We've been there before and it's always been wonderful. 

California has 21 missions and we've seen probably 1/2 of them.  Sunday we visited our favorite mission, La Purisima which is in Lompoc.  It is beautiful, well-maintained, and the grounds contain miles of scenic trails.  The visitor center and exhibit hall contain wonderful informative displays. 

La Purisima Mission - worth a visit!

Gerry feeding grass to a hungry long horn.

Sunday afternoon we stopped by our favorite winery, Babcock, and did a little wine-tasting.  Babcock has some very delicious wine.  The winery is in a beautiful setting, and the staff is very down to earth and friendly.  We always try to stop by when we're in the Santa Ynez area. 

View from Babcock of the vineyards & surrounding hillside.

All in all it was an excellent weekend getaway.  I think I like this long-distance cycling sport.  I'm already thinking about my next bicycle adventure!  Perhaps I'll plan a weekend trip to Ojai....There's a ride there in June.....

ELECTION Day in L.A. Tues March 5

This is a friendly reminder to all you Angelenos to exercise your right to vote.  Often times the primary elections in March get highly ignored.  In fact in the last 3 mayoral elections for the City of Los Angeles, voter turnout has ranged between 18% and 38 %, and that figure represents registered voters!  It is a pretty dismal showing indeed.

I found this link which provides a good deal of information on the election.  It also provides several external links and 20 references, with links as well. 

I know many people argue that it isn't a priority to vote in the March 5th primary, since it looks like an almost guaranteed fact that no candidate will receive over 50% of the vote.    If no candidate receives a majority of the primary votes to be elected outright, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff vote on May 21, 2013.  My argument is that citizens of Los Angeles should participate in the election process every step along the way, beginning in the primary.  It is lazy or irresponsible to sit back and wait until May.    

Gerry and I disagree re the logistics of voting; but we both agree on the importance of voting.  He is a vote-by-mail person while I prefer to go to the polling place to cast my ballot.  I know it sounds corny, but I love wearing the "I voted" sticker on my sleeve all day.

Please go out and vote - and encourage your friends and fellow citizens to do so, too!  Let's all show we care enough about the future of the city of Los Angles to let our voices be heard !