Summer Outdoor Entertainment 2015

Summer in L.A. is all about the experience and not so much about the money. Grab your friends and a cooler, a blanket, and a picnic. You'll find plenty of summer events and low cost al fresco entertainment all over town. Levitt Pavilions - free concerts during the summer in Pasadena and Los Angeles  FREE CONCERTS: Some of the best things in summer are free. Look around you're own neighborhood. You'll find free concerts, film screenings and theatre in parks, shopping centers, museums, and other nooks and crannies that have a patch of grass or some asphalt to setup a stage and some seating in...

El Paso BBQ in Tarzana

Good ol' American BBQ is often a matter of taste and style. Do you like it sweet, smokey, spicy? Do you prefer it Kansas, Missouri, Texas or Southern style.  And these are just a few of the variations out there. 

Cooking methods, sauces and rubs all play a role.  But I think the most important foundation for great Q is the quality of the meat.

The key to the food here is quality. The ribs are succulent, the brisket and the steaks are tender, salads are crisp and fresh.

Winter on the Central Coast: Elephant Seal Mating and Birthing

Head up the coast to a natural habitat for local elephant seals.  These gigantic creatures (males with faces only a mother could love) can weigh up to 2000 lbs and females log in around the 1500 lb range. Volunteer docents are available and eager to explain what is going on when you are visiting. Elephant seals can be seen here all year long but they are actively mating and giving birth during the winter months. It is totally FREE to visit and enjoy. Take a camera and binoculars.

This is a mother and her two day old pup I saw in December.

The Elephant Seal Rookery located on Hwy 1 (PCH) is approximately half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco which makes it an ideal weekend getaway from either city.

Charles Phoenix Presents: Bob Baker's 90th Birthday Party and Puppet Show!

Bob Baker is an L.A. institution who will celebrate his 90th birthday Feb. 9th at his famous Marionette Theatre downtown.  Five years ago I attended his 85th birthday and it was a fantastic event. Charles Phoenix makes a great host.  This isn't a kiddy show, it's a show for all who appreciate all that Bob Baker has been to this city and a rare opportunity to see and even meet Bob Baker and some of his antique puppets.  There is very limited seating to this very special event, so I highly recommend that you get tickets asap.

Join Charles on February 9th (Bob’s actual birthday) for a very special evening of celebration at the legendary Bob Baker Theater, now in its 55th season!  Cake and ice cream will be served in the colorful party room following the historic puppet show performance and birthday celebration. Festive attire is highly encouraged! Ticket link for the celebration. More info about the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre at www.bobbakermarionettes.com/ More information about Charles Phoenix at www.charlesphoenix.com PS: The following weekend is a holiday weekend for many (Presidents Day) and Palm Springs is a great weekend getaway destination. Charles Phoenix will be in Palm Springs on Saturday, the 15th, doing a live slide show performance celebrating Palm Springs area landmarks, Googie, mid-century mod, themed-environments, and more at the Palm Springs Art Museum (More Info.) When I visit the area I love to ride on the Aerial Tramway

Winter is a Beach

in Southern California so is summer for that matter. Surfers wait for a swell sunrise at Seaside Park in Ventura. The park is located across the street from the Ventura County Fairgrounds which hosts a weekly Flea Market on Sunday as well as many other special events.  Both are located a few blocks from old downtown where you'll find plenty of antique and other shops, eateries, and Mission San Buenaventura. 

There's always plenty to do in this area - check out what's going on now: Things to do in Ventura 

More information about visiting the City of Ventura

Ventura isn't the only beach to go to of course.  Basically any beach will do.  A couple of our favorites (because there is more than just the beach) are:

Paradise Cove in Malibu - this is a particularly beautiful private beach that has many amenities including a cafe.  It is so wildly popular on summer weekends that it causes major traffic problems on PCH.  However, a fine day in the winter is a great time to go there.

Venice Beach - always fun to go for the boardwalk scene. As the sun sets try the rooftop lounge at the Hotel Erwin - enjoy poke tacos, your favorite beverage, a comfy couch, and a spinning DJ with your view of the setting sun.

Newport Beach - a great place to get out on the water.  We went on a whale watching cruise there last summer and the trip did not disappoint.   

INSIDE, OUTSIDE, UNDERGROUND ART ON THE EASTSIDE by Andrea Kirk

The Cypress Village Tunnel in Highland Park, one of many pedestrian underpasses throughout the L.A. area that were deemed dangerous decades ago by the city and so locked up for decades, has a new life thanks to some creative community effort. It has become an underground art gallery. I went to see this public art space as it was preparing for this Saturday's opening reception for a new exhibition featuring Shepard Fairey posters along with other art lining the walls of the 100 foot long tunnel and was greeted by Luna George (the project manager) and SEL(one of the artists) who were busy preparing the new exhibit.

Tasty Pastry at Les Noces du Figaro by Andrea Kirk

This expansive French Bistro seems like it was just dropped from the sky into the middle of the 600 block of  Broadway in Downtown L.A.  I spotted this place early on a Sunday morning and decided to stop in for breakfast (they open at 8am). The pastries were as good as they looked. It is next door to the Palace Theatre and a couple of doors up from Clifton's Cafeteria (still being renovated).  They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a full bar, lounge and outside dining area.  Plus the walk up counter where you can order pastries and other items to go.

Lunch at Bear Pit BBQ by Andrea Kirk

Lamb sandwich on garlic toast

The Bear Pit has been around forever and draws a big crowd for their wood smoked meats with tangy "Missouri" style sauce. They even have lamb and duck in addition to typical bbq pork and beef.

Their sandwiches on garlic toast are very tasty - my favorite is the lamb. The chicken is my favorite for dinner - it is crispy and smoky and they don't sauce it up - you can add the sauce yourself. Use their regular sauce though, I like it better than the sweet sauce they serve with the chicken.

Sawdust on the floor, wooden tables and an outdoor patio provide the old school bbq joint ambiance.



The crispy quarter chicken makes a great light lunch.  The half chicken dinner is my favorite thing on the menu here.  It is basically wood smoked chicken that is finished in the fryer. I don't know any place making anything like this.

The Bear Pit
10825 Sepulveda Boulevard,
Mission Hills, CA 91345
(818) 365-2509
Website

What's to do Nearby:
San Fernando Valley CALENDAR
Mission San Fernando Rey De Espana
Nethercutt Museums

GEE WHIZ! RIDING THE AERIAL TRAM IN PALM SPRINGS By Andrea Kirk

One of the things I've always wanted to do is ride the tram from Palm Springs to the snow covered peaks above. The idea of sitting around a pool in the hot desert until baked well done (about 5 minutes) and then heading up a mountain in a matter of minutes and throwing a snowball to cool off was quite compelling. 

But when planning the occasional trip to Palm Springs I'd always forget about including the tram in the schedule. I always remembered of course as I passed the road leading up to it at the Palm Springs Visitor's Center on the way into town. By then it was too late to mush the schedule around to accommodate. 

Finally I took a trip with a friend and we had nothing in particular scheduled except fun and relaxation. On the way into town we saw the sign and off we went.We were so excited. We bought the tickets, got on board, waited for take off admiring all the granite and the views at the bottom. The tram starts going up, we are on our way. We both looked at each other: OMG we forgot we are AFRAID of heights. What were we thinking! What are we doing! We ran to the door... too late. We didn't just leave our fingerprints on the steel handrail, we left impressions.

Then we started to calm down. The gondola is completely enclosed. There is plenty to cling to (for sissies like us) and plenty of windows for people who want to actually see the view they're paying for. Did I mention the tram car rotates? Sigh of relief, we could hide and not look. To further enhance our illusion, the gondola seemed to be hardly moving, in fact it really felt almost like standing still (smooth, silky, stillness). A standard elevator seems like a herky jerky rocket to Mars in comparison. We felt less doomed. 

We continued up the mountain. Gee it doesn't look very high up. We relaxed and started enjoying the view. We were almost half way up at this point and it was FANTASTIC!

When we were almost at the midpoint we spotted the downward tram. Cool, we'll wave as they go by!

The downward craft passed us before we could raise a hand. It was zip lining to hell! We tried to remain calm.

At the top we stepped off and went immediately to the bar. Drinks in hand we spoke the unspeakable. We had to go down. Did you see how fast that thing was going!!! So we did the only thing we could do. We walked around on some of the trails, had a snack, took in the views and finally set our jaws, squared our shoulders and boarded the down tram. It felt just as slow going down as it had going up - until that blasted rocket to Mars zipped by!

Hot or cold, warm or cool, this is a very fun thing to do if you are in the Palm Springs area. Don't miss it.

Story & photos - Andrea Kirk

MORE INFORMATION:
Palm Springs elev approx 500'
Mountain Station elev 8516'
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
WARNING! No matter how hot the desert is, it will be much cooler or even cold at the top! 
San Jacinto peak is more than 10,000 ft above sea level
Mount San Jacinto State Park and MORE about the park and the tram
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument .