I Am a Tourist - A Trip to Pacific Palisades

In Southern California, you can go on vacation any day you choose and be a tourist for a day.  Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to get in the car and drive to someplace not too far away to "see what we could see!"  When you drive the usual routes between home, stores, gym, university you can lose touch with what is changing in other parts of the city.

We had not been to Pacific Palisades for a long time so that was our destination.  We took the 405 freeway to Sunset Boulevard and then headed west.  Driving through Brentwood and passing Doheny Drive reminded me of my days in the early 60's when I commuted to classes at Mount St. Mary's College. Wide, winding streets with homes set far back from the roadside, often hidden from view by high walls or hedges, hint of a life that is different from mine.

Pacific Palisades itself is a little village.  We treated ourselves to a stop at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and I enjoyed sipping a Chai Latte while we walked the surrounding streets.  We stumbled on Village Books, a small independent bookstore that was quite active. There is something about a bookstore that makes you instant friends with others who are browsing the books.  One woman was searching for something engaging and we began to compare favorite books.  I was thrilled to see her purchase one I recommended...The Handyman by Carolyn See.

The highlight of the day was a hidden treasure that Jay introduced to me when he made a sudden right turn while we driving on Sunset, taking us up a fairly steep grade to what ended at Will Roger's State Historic Park. I had heard of the park but had never been to it.

There nestled in the hillside was a huge expanse that used to be the home of Will Rogers and his wife, Betty.  It was delightful.  Will died too soon in a plane crash in 1935 and after the death of Betty, in 1944, the house and property was bequeathed to the State of California.  The house is now a museum and even though we were not able to take the tour of it,

Standing in front of the house

we peeked through the windows and tried out the rocking chair on the patio.

The grounds are spacious with hiking trails and paths.

Walking up to the horse stables, we saw young girls who were there to practice dressage,

saw families flying kites with their children in the large lawn area,

and tried to imagine the games and even airplane landings that used to occur on the large polo grounds.

There is also a small Visitor Center highlighting the events in Will Roger's life.  He was quite a versatile man, known for his wit and pithy sayings.  As we read some of his quotes we couldn't help thinking how they still applied today, maybe even more so.  Like these:
       All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that's an alibi for my ignorance.

       A fool and his money are soon elected.

       Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

       Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.

and especially this one:

      Everything is changing, people are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.

Just another wonderful day in Southern California!!