Trip report day 2: The next morning it was evident that temperatures had gotten down to freezing or a bit below, at least the air right over the lake: the previously unfrozen edge of the lake was covered with a thin layer of new ice, and there was a spot where meltwater feeding the lake […]
Archive for the ‘Out & About’ category
Walking in the Wallowas, part 1
Wallowa hike trip report, day 1 (July 7): I wanted a short, easy, but pretty backpacking trip, and things lined up to spend three days in the Wallowas with friends. Midday on the first day, we drove up the Lostine River to Two Pan trailhead. The plan for the day was to hike about 8 […]
Hey, lady, you want us to fix your car?
So, I had some time to kill in the Valley the other night. I was supposed to meet a friend at 6:30 for an odd little adventure: we were going to a talk by an “internationally recognized prophecy expert,” a the-world-is-ending, repent-or-perish type who we hoped would go on a wild rant about stocking up on rice, guns and […]
How to spend a Thursday downtown
First, you go see the Angels Flight Railway, the shortest railroad in the world (and probably the steepest). It’s not functioning right now, so you can’t take a ride, but you can look at it. Then, you walk across the street to the Grand Central Market. You poke around at the various stalls, looking […]
How to spend a Wednesday in West Hollywood
First, you go to the Pacific Design Center. Then, you go into the Pacific Design Center and start going up the stairs, so you can see some views. Then, you go back down and into the little brown box that is the MOCA branch in West Hollywood, to see if there are any […]
Weekend recs
Hidden things on hills, San Francisco, California San Francisco gives up its secrets slowly, but they are fabulous. Relying on Google map directions to visit friends-of-a-friend, we ended up climbing the Filbert Steps up Telegraph Hill. They rose through an improbable fairyland of Victorian cottages and exotic plants, some kind of vertical Shire tucked right […]
Who wants to go for a damn hike?
Are you sitting at a desk right now? Doing a little Internet surfing in between bouts of Candy Crush, or checking your Facebook page, or maybe even some work? Do you want to stop doing those things and go for a damn hike? Come on, dammit! It’s time for some fresh air. Here’s a view. […]
Weekend recs
This is the End, dir. Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (2013) There’s something delightful about actors playing themselves as complete assholes, and the guys (and a few girls, including Emma Watson) in this movie are truly over-the-top — cursing, flailing, selfish, obtuse, wildly egotistical maniacs. If you see one movie all year with Michael Cera […]