Visiting Legoland

Our family made its first visit to Legoland in the city of Carlsbad in northern San Diego County this weekend. Although the park has been open for almost ten years, we just didn't have a reason to want to visit because of the distance from Los Angeles and the fact that Legoland is aimed at children. But our children are getting older and more able to enjoy this kind of amusement area (not just for younger kids) and my wife's friend invited us to join them, so we made the trip down together.

My wife's friend's husband remarked that the signage for Legoland is really minimal--one simple directional sign at the freeway exit, and a few more directional signs leading you to the park. Unlike amusement parks like Magic Mountain or Disneyland, you can't see the park at all from the freeway, so unless you know that Legoland is an amusement park located in northern San Diego County, you'd probably drive past it. It's almost as if they're not trying to get passing motorists to want to stop by on an impulse, but only people who have planned their visit in advance and know they want to visit Legoland.

As you might expect, most visitors to the park during our visit were parents (or grandparents) with their children. Once you enter the main gate, you pass by some Lego-themed stores and into a central area. The park is fairly well-themed, with areas related to dinosaurs, medieval times, pirates, archaeology in desert-like areas (a la Indiana Jones), and other child-friendly themes. Unlike parks like Knott's Berry Farm or Disneyland, you walk around the park in a pretty tight circle at Legoland, and there's no way to cut between themed areas or ride a train or monorail and get an overview of what's there.

On the plus side, some of the more popular rides have benches along the waiting areas and play areas with Lego blocks on the side for children who don't want to wait in long lines. My friend also commented that the rides and attractions at Legoland seem more interactive for kids, at least more so than Disneyland, where the visitor is a more passive spectator as the 'show' goes on around you.

There are a handful of thrill rides, including smaller roller coasters and thrill rides with height restrictions. But there are lots of gentle rides and some more imaginative attractions like an elevated car that goes around a hillside near the entrance with bicycle pedals for the riders that will go slightly faster as you pedal.

The prices were fairly comparable to other major amusement parks in southern California: adult admission for the main Legoland park was just under $60, with children (3-12) and seniors ten dollars less. Legoland has also recently opened an aquarium next door called Sea Life which serves as a 'second gate' (like Disneyland's California Adventure or the water parks next door to Knott's Berry Farm and Magic Mountain) with a separate admission fee.

Or you can buy an annual pass for just Legoland for $115 for adults and $89 for children.

Amusements on the Santa Monica Pier

Our family went to Santa Monica just before Labor Day weekend. We spent some time walking around the Third Street Promenade and visiting the children's sections of the bookstores there.

Then we drove to the Santa Monica Pier and parked for $8 in the lot on the north side of the pier. There is a small amusement park on the south side of the pier called Pacific Park. In addition to some larger rides for adults and families (like a large solar-powered Ferris Wheel, a fairly tame but large and noisy roller coaster, bumper cars, and a large dragon swing), there is a smaller area on one side with about six to eight smaller rides for younger children.

On the weekday we visited, the all-day wristband for children was $10, and we got a 15 percent discount with an online coupon. Our kids had a lot of fun riding the biplanes (like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland), the miniature trucks (they have steering wheels, but you can't steer), and the swinging submarine. The bumper cars also have a separate space with little bumper cars for smaller children, although our preschooler son couldn't figure out the steering.

Separate from the amusement park is the historic Looff merry-go-round, which is very reasonable at $1 per adult, with one child under 6 free with each paying adult.

Children's picture book art exhibit at downtown's Central Library

I was at the Los Angeles Central Library in downtown Los Angeles this week, and went upstairs to the Getty Gallery display area. The current exhibit is called "Children Should Be Seen- An Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art."

It is a collection of the original artwork used for influential and award-winning picture books during the last fifty years. If you are a fan of such books as Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat and Mo Willem's Knuffle Bunny, the exhibit is a rare chance to see the actual sketches side-by-side with the artwork used in the books.

Being a fan of children's picture books, I enjoyed looking at the various styles of artwork, from realistic portrayals of children in historic periods to whimsical and untraditional artwork to art using techniques like collage and scratchboard and found objects.

The exhibit was organized by two art museums on the East Coast, and according to the press release, is the first United States exhibit devoted to the image of the child in contemporary picture-book art. It opened on July 1st, and will only run about two more weeks until September 14th.

In praise of the mosquito

I heard an interesting piece on NPR this morning praising the bane of summer picnics and camping trips (and source of destructive plagues and epidemics throughout human history), the mosquito.

According to the radio piece, an interview with nature writer David Quammen, half of all mosquitoes are harmless to humans (male mosquitoes are content to pursue females for sex, while females are the bloodsuckers). Females are such voracious suckers of blood because during their lifetimes, they will lay some 2,000 eggs, requiring vast amounts of protein which come from animal (including human) blood.

In addition,

Have you ever wondered why, even into the 21st century, there are still large tracts of equatorial rainforest that have somehow survived human exploitation?

Who or what has defended those last outposts of ferns, butterflies, beetles and ants from humankind?

Quammen says while there may be many explanations, certainly the lady mosquito deserves credit. Every time human settlers stepped into those areas in serious numbers, they got bit, then they got sick, and then, until very recently, most of them backed off.

In other words, the lowly mosquito serves as a check on human destruction of the global ecosystem, preserving those vital rainforests from being wiped out by human activity. As my high school biology teacher liked to say, what is good for humans is usually bad for the ecosystem/environment.

In the radio piece, Quammen also talks about a German old wives' remedy for mosquito bites, having a pig sleep in the same room. Female mosquitoes are naturally attuned to the best sources for blood, indicated by an elevated body temperature. Because the pig has a higher body temperature, the mosquitoes would aim straight for the pig, leaving the humans alone. Which helps to explain why certain people (like me) seem to be such a favored target for mosquitoes.

Although it doesn't lead to a obvious remedy, it's nice to understand a little more about how the world around us works while we suffer the mosquito's biological makeup.

ALA Anaheim

I had the chance to go to the ALA Conference this past weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center across the street from Disneyland. Here are some photos I took there:



The conference, which is more often held in places like Chicago and New Orleans, had a beach and surfing theme this year. It seems to me that the more natural theme would have been Disneyland, Mickey Mouse, and Splash Mountain, but maybe that didn't fit the image that the ALA wants to project.














Although, one of the more popular events, the Book Cart Drill Team World Championships, makes it seem like the profession is trying to loosen up its image and not take itself so seriously in the minds of the public.



This team is from Austin, Texas, and was the runner-up to a team from Santa Monica, California.

Camp Snoopy

Last weekend our family took a small vacation to Orange County and Knott's Berry Farm. After meeting my wife's parents and her siblings in Westminster for Mother's Day lunch, we spent most of the afternoon at Downtown Disney, the shopping and dining area next door to the Disneyland theme parks.

We went into the Rainforest Cafe and looked at the theming, and then spent quite a while in the Lego store which is pretty elaborately decorated. We then took a break and spent a half hour inside the Grand Californian hotel, the Disney hotel which tries to follow the theming of the classic lodges of the western National Parks like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. We then checked out the merchandise in the giant Disney Store at the east end of Downtown Disney before heading back to our car.

We drove to Knott's Berry Farm (in Buena Park, a few miles northwest of Anaheim), where we stayed the night at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel, which was formerly a Raddison Hotel but was purchased a few years ago by Cedar Fair, the Ohio-based theme park company, so that they could sell hotel and theme park packages. Because it was the off-season and we stayed on a Sunday night, the room was just $59, a real bargain as far as hotels close to theme parks in Southern California. The hotel is just down the street from the main entrance and shops, a five-minute walk from the entrance.

The hotel has one wing of rooms with the Snoopy theme, with the Peanuts characters decorations and a personal visit by Snoopy himself. I considered upgrading our room, but there is not discount on the Snoopy rooms (I believe it was $135). While I was checking in, Snoopy made an appearance outside the hotel, and my wife and kids got to take some photos together. I overheard a porter saying that Snoopy is in the lobby/restaurant area during breakfast time, so the themed room did not seem cost effective.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool and jacuzzi area, which was fairly nice (especially because there were only three or four families there). After dinner, we walked around the various shops outside the park which sell all kinds of food and merchandise, including Disney memorabilia, Knott's Berry Farm jams and preservatives, and a Snoopy-themed store.

Monday we spent all day at Knott's Berry Farm, from about 10 AM until about 4 PM. With a discount coupon from Burger King, we paid $29 per adult ($49.99 full price), which is a really good price compared to Disneyland ($66 after the latest price increase). Disneyland doesn't do any discounting except for promotions like the 2fer (spend one day in Disneyland and one other day in California Adventure for the price of a one-day ticket).

If you've never been to Knott's Berry Farm, their Camp Snoopy area, which is for kids, is a lot of fun for young children. The rides are not elaborately themed like the dark rides in Disneyland's Fantasyland (Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, etc.), but then again, the rides in Camp Snoopy are just rides. I don't think any kids will have nightmares from riding them like might happen on Snow White or Mr. Toad. I am sure that children who really love the Disney films enjoy being immersed in the experience of the worlds of their favorite movies, but I also believe that children don't really enjoy many of the rides and attractions at Disneyland until they are about age 6 or 7.

If you have smaller children and can go to the park on a non-summer and non-holiday weekday, you might be able to not wait more than two or three minutes to go on any ride. I won't say anything about the summer, when I imagine the park is both crowded and less fun. There were times on our visit when our family had the whole ride just to ourselves.

Of course, you don't get the fantastic shows and parades at Disneyland which are fun for younger children as well (like Fantasmic or the Parade of Dreams). There is a stage show featuring the Peanuts characters (alas, no Snoopy, though), and the Mystery Lodge is a Native American show that reminds me of the earnest quasi-educational attractions that Disneyland had when I was growing up (like Mission to the Moon and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln). They also have Native Americans performing dances and music.

The other thing that I like about Knott's Berry Farm is that it feels authentic in a way that Disneyland does not. The Ghost Town is based on real buildings that Walter Knott helped to restore in Calico (Ghost Town) near Barstow, and if you take the time to walk around and explore the exhibits and buildings, you can get a sense of a real Western town. Across the street is a life-sized replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were drafted and signed. The Knott's version of Independence Hall has a free historical show that also has that old-fashioned Disneyland feel to it.

This authenticity is eroding a little each year as Cedar Fair tries to emulate Six Flags Magic Mountain and build another roller coaster or thrill ride somewhere on its property, and take out a little bit more of the park that the Knott family had built up before selling out to Cedar Fair about ten years ago.

Another park that I recommend for families with young children is closeby to Knott's Berry Farm. It's called Adventure City, and it's a relatively small amusement park with minimal theming. It has mostly smaller rides for children, but also a miniature train ride, merry-go-round, stage show, and a couple of small roller coasters. Adults and children are the same price, but the cost is lower ($13.95). You see a lot of birthday parties held at Adventure City.

Silver Lake Reservoir being re-filled

The Los Angeles Times had a story in today's edition about the city beginning to re-fill Silver Lake Reservoir on Wednesday.

The reservoir got its first drink in months when officials turned on the water Wednesday to start the 20-day process of refilling its 600-million-gallon, clay-based shell.

The emptying of the reservoir began in January. Water officials said the action was necessary to eliminate contamination by bromate, a carcinogen formed by the interaction of sunlight, chlorine and natural bromides in groundwater.

Workers had spent the last few weeks cleaning the clay shell of debris and other matter.

The empty reservoir revealed hundreds of golf balls, articles of clothing and even one wedding ring -- a simple uninscribed gold band -- which is now being worn by one of the biologists who helps maintain the water.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Terry Schneider said the goal is to replenish the basin for the summer demand of drinking water.

[An earlier post about the controversy about proposed changes to the reservoir and how the facility will be used in the future]

Photograph by Ken Hively, Los Angeles Times.

It's Jacaranda Season in Los Angeles

It's that time of the year again in greater Los Angeles. Time for the annual blooming of the jacaranda trees.

I blogged about the same topic about two years ago, and I don't have anything new to say:

I remember reading this about the cherry blossom season in Japan: even though the trees bloom for only a few short weeks and then the trees are bare the rest of the year, the sudden appearance of delicate pink blossoms make spring throughout Japan especially memorable.

I'm not trying to claim that jacarandas are the Los Angeles equivalent of Japan's cherry blossoms. But it makes the late spring in the city somewhat special in a city that many people like to claim has no seasons.

These photos were taken this morning in different locations in Los Angeles. Enjoy!

The Americana opens in Glendale

I passed by the Americana yesterday on opening day, but I was too busy to go inside.

Tonight, however, my wife had planned an evening at the Americana with our kids, and we invited my mother to go with us. We left Los Feliz around 5:30 to go to Glendale. We drove up Brand Boulevard, but decided that traffic going into the Americana parking lot was too heavy, and ended up parking in the Galleria parking lot.

So unfortunately, I can't say anything about the ease of parking at the Americana, or how much time you can park before you have to pay (although I expect it is similar to the Grove, where the first hour is free, and with a validation at any store, you can park for an additional two or three hours without charge).

Parking information update (2008/05/05): Here are the parking rates, from the concierge at the Americana. First hour, free. Second hour, free with validation. Second hour without validation, $3. Any additional hours or portions therof, $2 per hour.

Parking information update 2 (2008/05/08): Here is the validation policy at the AMC movie theaters, from the guest services window at the theater. Four hours, $2 with validation when you buy your movie ticket.

The sidewalk on Brand Boulevard between the Galleria (JC Penney) and the Americana was packed, and it was even more so inside the shopping complex. We saw the two-car trolley go by, and our kids wanted to ride, but the line to ride the trolley was probably fifty or sixty people long. Instead we headed to the fountain and the park in the middle of the complex.

I think the obvious comparison is The Grove next to Farmer's Market. And I have read that the physical space is larger at the Americana, though there is less retail space at the latter. Rick Caruso and his team have had several years to think about what made The Grove a success, and how they wanted to design their next version of the Carsuo shopping experience.

If the fountain at The Grove is a miniature version of the fountains which Steve Wynn built at the Bellagio hotel casino in Las Vegas, the Americana's fountain (covering two bodies of water, separated by a small waterfall, with the lower lake encircling a massive gold sculpture) is, in my mind, five or ten times more impressive than the Grove's.

In addition, there is a small park on one side of the lake, with benches and lawn chairs overlooking the lake, plus a small playground which was a natural magnet this evening for young children.

The trolley also improves on the trolley at the Grove. The Americana's version has two cars in tandem circling the inner streets of the complex, instead of going back and forth between two points at The Grove. The trolley also passes along Brand Boulevard for about fifty yards, which gives riders something else to look at (and a chance to be envied by vehicle and pedestrian traffic).

As I mentioned, the volume of people walking through the complex (quite a few of them much more stylishly dressed than you might otherwise see around downtown Glendale) was overwhelming. I don't follow fashion much or know much about various retail stores, so I won't try to compare the two shopping complexes on that point. Our family was there just to spend the evening out, and we spent almost all our time watching the fountain, at the playground, or in the Barnes and Noble (which is laid out almost identically to the one at The Grove).

Having lived in Glendale for five years within walking distance of where the Americana was built, I have mixed feelings about how Glendale will inevitably be changed by having a popular shopping destination right in the middle of downtown. Glendale always had a small town atmosphere for me despite the Galleria and traffic congestion. I realize that the city leaders wanted to compete with Burbank and Pasadena for the local consumer's dollar, but how will Glendale's character change from entering into partnership with Caruso Lifestyle?

One-year anniversary of Griffith Park fire

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge will be helping to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Griffith Park fire this coming Thursday, May 8, at 10 AM.

The ceremony will take place just north of the Greek Theatre, and will also include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri, and Los Angeles Fire Chief Douglas Barry.

From Councilman LaBonge's website:

Please help us recall the monumental effort made by firefighters, park rangers and others who protected Los Feliz residents, the historic Merry-Go-Round, the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theatre during the devastating, 1,200-acre fire.

In related news, a benefit concert will be held at the Greek Theater on Wednesday, May 28th to help support Griffith Park's fire recovery. The show is an environmentally-themed concert featuring hip-hopper Ludacris and hard rocker Tommy Lee in a concert called Battleground Earth: Ludacris vs. Tommy Lee. The concert doesn't appeal to me personally, but I hope that it is successful in raising money for the recovery effort.