Around LA

The day was supposed to start with a second surfing lesson for Ari. As the pictures show, the surf was too strong for a beginner! The instructor stopped the lesson after a few minutes and offered to reschedule or refund the lesson. Tomorrow is another chance.

Next, Greg suggested to visit El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the original settlement of Los Angeles. There were a lot of things to see, including a public square with native dancers, a Mexican market and excellent Mexican food for lunch. Tamales were a holiday special, which Greg enjoyed.

After lunch, we took a quick walk through Union Station to see the Art Deco architecture.

Although Ari wanted to see the Hollywood sign, the afternoon continued to be foggy, so we returned to the beach to walk from Santa Monica to Venice. Santa Monica is charming, but Venice is overwhelming: an assault to one's senses of smell and hearing from incense, weed, music and more. The one charming oddity of Venice - Muscle Beach - was unfortunately quiet this afternoon. It was a relief to return to the relative calm of Santa Monica.

Finally, the fog began to lift, so we took another cross-town drive to Griffith Observatory. Many others had the same idea, and it was mobbed. We eventually found parking, walked to the summit just before sunset, and took a few pictures. We even saw the iconic Hollywood sign - mission accomplished!

Since we were just a bit north of Koreatown, we stopped for dinner at Parks BBQ. Ari was impressed that it earned a Michelin star, and the food was as good as we remembered. It was worth the 1+ hour wait.