Another Day in DTLA!
Audrey and I had the best day going to DTLA with my friend Megan. The only tragedy was that my FitBit ran out of battery just as we were walking out the door. Since we had a train to catch, I couldn't wait around for it to charge. *D'oh!* But oh well. I know I'm getting the steps. So what if they are not tracked for a day and so what if I loose my 1st place standing in this week's challenge. Slight tragedy but not enough to ruin my day or my attitude!
We picked up Megan and then headed to the North Pomona train station to catch the metrolink to Union Station.
When we got there, we headed over to Grand Park. We wanted to do the outside stuff while it was still a mild temperature and then save inside stuff for when it got hot (which it was supposed to). On the way to Grand Park we saw:
1.) This really cool bridge that we walked under.
2.) The Triforium! Awesome! Jeff first showed me this amazingly kitchy sculpture back on Memorial Day 2011. I love how strange and colorful it is. Audrey thought it was a spaceship!
3.) Millard Sheets mural on a bank (Jeff would appreciate this)
4.) There was a small Farmer's Market on the sidewalk just past this mural. We stopped to sample some fruit and had to buy some to enjoy. Megan got a plum and Audrey got a peach (which she later shared with me).
When we got to Grand Park, Audrey played on the playground. She likes going down the big slide. We also had fun making music with the xylophones.
We didn't stay there too long because Audrey knew I had mentioned the water fountain so she was excited about that. So we headed up the hill to the water fountains. This was Audrey's favorite part. She liked splashing the best. At first she was pretty timid (you'll see in the video) but never cling-y. Megan and I had a Starbucks drink (brilliant place to have a Starbucks!) and watched the mayhem that was the Grand Park fountain!
The only thing that got her out of the water was a snack and the promise of more food to come as it was time to head over to our dining location for lunch. On the way, we saw the following:
1.) This building, which has Italian influences. The man who built it in 1917 wanted his penthouse/office to stand out from the rest of the building (and it still does!)
2.) Look at these HUGE bottle of Eu d'toilette! Why would anyone ever want to have that much of one kind of perfume on hand?!
3.) Audrey liked this car. She said, "Wow! Look at that cool car!" and then she started giggling. I asked why she liked that car so much. Her response, "because it has a bike on top of it!" (so easily amused!)
We ended up at the Nickel Diner. Megan wanted to check out this place and this ended up being her favorite stop of the day. The Nickel Diner is well known for their homemade pop tarts and donuts as well as tasty breakfast foods. I shared a mac & cheese (with pepperjack cheese) with Audrey. The pepperjack was a little spicey for her but she was a good trooper :) We also tried the homemade pop tarts - Megan got cherry and I shared a chocolate banana one with Audrey. I also had some old fashioned rootbeer. It was good eats!
Our next stop was right up the street at The Last Bookstore. O.M.G.... I died and went to Heaven! (Just kidding) This was MY favorite stop on our trip. I loved this bookstore, especially because it was a used bookstore and man did they have an extensive collection! We started in the book section where I read half a dozen books to Audrey and then let her pick one of those for me to buy for her. She chose "Uni the Unicorn" :) Then we went upstairs where they not only had more books but also a ton of art made from books! I loved that part and I loved that I got to see the book tunnel, which was one of the pictures I had seen on the internet that made me instantly swoon for this store. Here are some pics:
Audrey loved the red books so I took her picture next to them. She also loved looking out the window from upstairs. We tried to get her to yell "Hello down there!" to the people below but she would have none of our tomfoolery!
After the bookstore, we headed back towards Union Station. We wouldn't make the next train in time so we had almost an hour to kill. We decided to stop at Olvera Street for some cool drinks. We ended up getting snow cones - very refreshing! The heat of the day was beginning to wear us down. We sipped our snow cones in one of the plaza areas and people watched until it was time to hop on the train to go back to Pomona.
Until next time.... bye bye, L.A.! We love you! :)
We picked up Megan and then headed to the North Pomona train station to catch the metrolink to Union Station.
When we got there, we headed over to Grand Park. We wanted to do the outside stuff while it was still a mild temperature and then save inside stuff for when it got hot (which it was supposed to). On the way to Grand Park we saw:
1.) This really cool bridge that we walked under.
2.) The Triforium! Awesome! Jeff first showed me this amazingly kitchy sculpture back on Memorial Day 2011. I love how strange and colorful it is. Audrey thought it was a spaceship!
3.) Millard Sheets mural on a bank (Jeff would appreciate this)
4.) There was a small Farmer's Market on the sidewalk just past this mural. We stopped to sample some fruit and had to buy some to enjoy. Megan got a plum and Audrey got a peach (which she later shared with me).
When we got to Grand Park, Audrey played on the playground. She likes going down the big slide. We also had fun making music with the xylophones.
We didn't stay there too long because Audrey knew I had mentioned the water fountain so she was excited about that. So we headed up the hill to the water fountains. This was Audrey's favorite part. She liked splashing the best. At first she was pretty timid (you'll see in the video) but never cling-y. Megan and I had a Starbucks drink (brilliant place to have a Starbucks!) and watched the mayhem that was the Grand Park fountain!
Click to view The only thing that got her out of the water was a snack and the promise of more food to come as it was time to head over to our dining location for lunch. On the way, we saw the following:
1.) This building, which has Italian influences. The man who built it in 1917 wanted his penthouse/office to stand out from the rest of the building (and it still does!)
2.) Look at these HUGE bottle of Eu d'toilette! Why would anyone ever want to have that much of one kind of perfume on hand?!
3.) Audrey liked this car. She said, "Wow! Look at that cool car!" and then she started giggling. I asked why she liked that car so much. Her response, "because it has a bike on top of it!" (so easily amused!)
We ended up at the Nickel Diner. Megan wanted to check out this place and this ended up being her favorite stop of the day. The Nickel Diner is well known for their homemade pop tarts and donuts as well as tasty breakfast foods. I shared a mac & cheese (with pepperjack cheese) with Audrey. The pepperjack was a little spicey for her but she was a good trooper :) We also tried the homemade pop tarts - Megan got cherry and I shared a chocolate banana one with Audrey. I also had some old fashioned rootbeer. It was good eats!
Our next stop was right up the street at The Last Bookstore. O.M.G.... I died and went to Heaven! (Just kidding) This was MY favorite stop on our trip. I loved this bookstore, especially because it was a used bookstore and man did they have an extensive collection! We started in the book section where I read half a dozen books to Audrey and then let her pick one of those for me to buy for her. She chose "Uni the Unicorn" :) Then we went upstairs where they not only had more books but also a ton of art made from books! I loved that part and I loved that I got to see the book tunnel, which was one of the pictures I had seen on the internet that made me instantly swoon for this store. Here are some pics:
Audrey loved the red books so I took her picture next to them. She also loved looking out the window from upstairs. We tried to get her to yell "Hello down there!" to the people below but she would have none of our tomfoolery!
After the bookstore, we headed back towards Union Station. We wouldn't make the next train in time so we had almost an hour to kill. We decided to stop at Olvera Street for some cool drinks. We ended up getting snow cones - very refreshing! The heat of the day was beginning to wear us down. We sipped our snow cones in one of the plaza areas and people watched until it was time to hop on the train to go back to Pomona.
Until next time.... bye bye, L.A.! We love you! :)