A few weeks ago, when the midsummer heat was at its most intense and I didn’t feel like complaining, I jotted down some of the things that make living and working in Los Angeles a joy.
It was an admittedly eclectic list. I named Eli Broad, the Chamber of Commerce, the La Brea Tar Pits and Pasadena in general.
I was surprised by the response. Some took umbrage not at what I mentioned, but what I failed to mention.
For example, a colleague at the Business Journal read that column before it got published and immediately sent me a note because I’d forgotten about L.A.’s beaches and surely I’d want to add it to my list.
How could I omit the beaches? Well, let’s do this: Close your eyes and imagine soft, sugary sand. Silent breezes. Warm, inviting water.
Yeah, you’re dreaming of someplace else. Florida, maybe. L.A.’s beaches have hard, brown sand, many have a noisy highway running beside them and all have water that’s icy even in August.
Now, I must admit that L.A.’s beaches are bountiful and accessible, and they offer a quick respite from the workaday woes. You can stroll for a few minutes after work or on a Sunday and forget your cares, so long as you don’t put your feet in the frigid water. Despite their drawbacks, L.A.’s beaches are a true asset. But because of their drawbacks, L.A.’s beaches don’t quite make the short list of things I like about Los Angeles.
One correspondent pointed out that there’s great hiking all over the Los Angeles area, and I failed to mention that. One hour outside of Los Angeles, you can see bighorn sheep, he said.
Indeed, that was an oversight. It’s rare for a city to have so many fabulous hikes so close in. Some offer commanding views of the Pacific or the L.A. Basin or the Valley, or some combination. One of my favorite hikes was in Malibu Creek State Park, and we walked to the filming site of the “M*A*S*H” series, where a couple of vintage vehicles from the set were abandoned. That hike didn’t have much of a view, but rattlesnakes kept it edgy.
Several others told me what they like about Los Angeles, and I was struck by how many mentioned favorite places to eat or particular scenes or streetscapes they like. In that vein, I must add that I love the view of downtown on a clear winter day when you see plenty of snow on the San Gabriel Mountains. I should have included that in my original list.
For that matter, I should have included the great weather. Southern California is the only place in the continental United States where you can actually plan a picnic a week or more in advance.
But I was also struck by what the others didn’t mention. Things like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and even the Hollywood Sign entertainment industry icons of Los Angeles didn’t come up a single time. They’re icons cherished mostly by tourists, I guess. But admit it: A star sighting is a serendipitous little thrill, right?
A few were eloquent. I liked what Tracy Olmstead Williams wrote. The public relations executive said she is grateful for the “exquisite surprise of every once and again popping on the 10 Freeway heading east late in the afternoon and finding little traffic it shows how great the freeways were or could be.”
She went on to say: “L.A. in the summer is fantastic with outdoor, moonlight events from the Hollywood Bowl, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery movies on Saturday night, movies in the park in Pacific Palisades and star gazing at the Griffith Observatory most romantic too.”
Yes, as much as I complain, there’s a lot to love in this town.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
