Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Temple at Christmas

https://www.facebook.com/LATVC

While on our tour of Los Angeles, we started wanting to use a bathroom. Jen and Steve were actually looking for a stake center, but then we found that we were right near the Los Angeles temple.

This was kind of cool for me. When I was on my mission in Fresno, we could go to either the Los Angeles or the Oakland temples, because it was about the same distance, but everyone always went to Oakland because the traffic around Los Angeles made it take longer. (Fresno now has its own temple.) Without any prior expectation of seeing it, here it was.

We went into the visitors center, and though we felt somewhat guilty only coming for the bathrooms, Elder Ashton told us that we were not the only ones to do so, which I totally believe.

While we were driving up, I saw some statues, and I was confused because it looked like a nativity scene, and I wondered if it was always there. As we parked and got out, I noticed lights on the bushes and realized that this was Christmas decorations.

That threw me off. It felt really early for that. Part of that may have been the warm weather, though if you live in the area you probably get used to that, but also, it was only November 9th. However, there were Christmas decorations everywhere else we went, and by the end of the week I had Christmas carols playing in my head.

So, instead of writing about our trip in strict chronological order, the next few Saturdays are going to focus on Christmas things. It is the season, and I saw some pretty cool things.

The temple grounds were really lovely. The decorations were good, but it was clear that the landscaping would be beautiful at any time of year. I would have liked to see how it looks lit up at night. That happened last night, November 28th.

At the visitors' center they are friendly and helpful, and will not make you feel bad if you only use the bathrooms, though there are other things you can do. There are films you can watch, and there is a peaceful feeling inside.I think the combined peace and beauty is something that would be good for anytime, but especially appropriate around Christmas.

Many of the plants were unfamiliar, so I would love it if someone can tell me what the tree with the large tapering fruit is. I saw others in the area, so it is probably native, but it looks completely unfamiliar.

The Los Angeles Temple, and the Visitors' Center, can be found at 10741 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

Los Angeles: The Apple Pan

The Apple Pan is an old style lunch counter.

Our guide Steve told us that it went up in the '40s, and nothing has changed since then. That seems to be about right.

Soft drinks are still served in paper cups, which feels like it goes back to the days when you got sodas at drugstores, but provided with metal stands so you can set them down.

Some cooking equipment has probably been modernized, but the old cash registers are still there, providing a good reason for the restaurant to be cash only.

Also, there is a classic feeling to the food. I have hamburgers every now and then, but it has never been followed by banana cream pie before. Actually, it's only the second time in my life that I have had banana cream pie, and this was much better than the one I had then.

Relatively small in size, the restaurant consists of a U-shaped counter (with old fashioned stools) surrounding the cooking area. That doesn't provide a lot of sitting room, and with good food and pretty reasonable prices on the burgers, they were quite crowded. They do a brisk to-go trade as well, which probably helps alleviate some of the crowding. (Soft drinks are provided in cans and bottles, so that is not a problem.) Still, I think you need to sit at the counter at least once.

We were pushing our luck with a party of five, but through patience we were able to end up mostly near to each other, which allowed my sisters and I to share fries and pie. I said the prices were reasonable, and compared to other restaurants in the area, that is true. At $7.75 for a Hickory burger with cheese, that isn't even too bad compared to some fast food prices, and for a better quality burger. However, it does add up, and given the portion sizes, three orders of fries and three pieces of pie would have been way too much food, but you still need to try them.

The hamburger and sauce were good. As you can see from the picture, it does have more lettuce than is really necessary, but extra lettuce can be removed - maybe this is how they accommodate people who love lettuce. The fries were fine, but the weakest part of the meal. Perhaps some hickory sauce on them would not have been amiss. The pie was excellent, generous with bananas, topped with a delicious cream that wasn't soggy or overpowering, and it was arranged beautifully. Try the pie!

This location opened in 1947, but I noticed menu items that referenced 1927 and 1945, so there is a sense of an even greater continuity. Beyond that I did eavesdrop some and one of the patrons was talking about when his father would come, and pointing out the cooks who had been there that long. This is a place of tradition, and it's kind of nice to find.

The Apple Pan is located at 10801 W. Pico Blvd, right across from the Westside Pavilion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_Pan

Long Beach: The Queen Mary

 

http://www.queenmary.com/

We visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach as part of our last vacation.

We thought it would be interesting, and there were ways in which it was. For its sheer size, getting a look at the anchor and the engine rooms and the sense of what it took to run the ship is interesting. We had a nice sunny (though smoggy) day, and you can see a lot from on deck, where there was a cool breeze blowing. (Inside the ship it is pretty stuffy.) We also had wonderful company, so we had a good time.

Bearing all of that in mind, the ship is overpriced. There are various packages, but there are a lot of add-ons. For example, we chose one tour, and we ended up choosing the historic tour, which may have been a mistake. The other option was the haunted tour, but those seem better at night.There is another package with both, and then you can add on going to the submarine, or different exhibits. The Bob Hope exhibit was included with the one tour, but the Princess Diana exhibit would be separate, and it just doesn't feel like a good value, especially if you look at the prices for the various night attractions.

I do think it's cool that they have a theater on the ship and still have plays. The idea of having it as a hotel is interesting, but usually staying on a ship is less comfortable than on land, but you do it because you are going somewhere. I'm not sure that it makes sense.

That's not to say that it was a horrible experience. If money were no object, I might be tempted to combine an overnight stay with a paranormal investigation and really give it a shot. Money is an object for most people though, and this one is not the best value out there.

The Ten Oldest Buildings in Portland

This was another thing we did locally. I know it was also in 2011, because the pictures were in the same photo file as the Allure of the Automobile exhibit.

An article had appeared in the Oregonian in 2010. There is a link, but the print article had photos of each and a map:

http://www.oregonlive.com/O/index.ssf/2010/02/portlands_oldest_buildings_dow.html


I thought it would be fun to check out, but it took us a while to get around to it. All of the buildings are on the West side, and fairly close to the river, but they are in two clusters, one South and one North. Because of this, it is not practical to visit them in chronological order, or you will be going back and forth a lot.

Mainly, I love Portland and I love history, and it wasn't a bad way to spend some time.

The most frustrating thing about this is that I don't think I still have the paper we used, and the linked article does not include the addresses, which were underneath the pictures. Therefore I can tell you only one addess, of the Hallock McMillan Building at SW Naito and Oak.

See if you can guess which historical building has had a kind of shell built over it!

The Allure of the Automobile

http://specialexhibitions.pam.org/allure/

I'm still reviewing some past activities, but this week and next week's posts were local. This is an exhibit we attended in 2011.

There are a few ways in my family where I am the odd one. One is that I am not into cars.

It's not just the not driving thing. I am amazed sometimes at my sisters' abilities to recognize different models and know things about them. I don't see them reading car magazines, but it feels like they might. I can have gone places with people multiple times and still have no idea what they drive. I just don't notice. Sometimes I will notice something that is kind of extreme. For example, I noticed the first time I saw a Scion Xb, because it was so boxy.

All of this made the Allure of the Automobile exhibit at the Portland Art Museum a good fit for us. My sisters love cars, and I can appreciate the unusual ones, and this was a normal meeting ground.

Some were a little boxy. Many of these models were from fairly early in the history of manufacturing, and had come from other industries. So, looking at one really chunky car and seeing that it came from a company that also made refrigerators kind of made sense, but it also made sense to see a car from the '50s that looked like it could rocket to the moon.

Some of them also had interesting pasts, like having belonged to Steve McQueen.

So this was an exhibit that all of us could enjoy, and that leaves me open to visiting other automobile exhibits should the opportunity present itself.