I have a love affair with the many staircases cut into the hillsides around my home. This one rises up a mere two stories, a short distance by the standards of this neighborhood.
I've never climbed these stairs because the gate's always locked, accessible only to the residents of the apartment building above. I fear I'm destined to never discover the mysteries that dwell at the top of the gated stairs.
The owners of this market proudly proclaim their heritage via this beautiful wall mural located on Santa Monica Blvd. Oaxaqueño means they're from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. I walk past this mural a couple times every week and each time I admire the beautiful patterns on the woman's dress.
These sort of wall murals are found all over Los Angeles and, interestingly enough, usually are respected as a tag-free zones. But as you can see , not every building is so lucky. Perhaps this small food stand should get a huge mural painted on the side. That way maybe the taggers will stop writing "BONK" on the side of the building.
El Coyote is one of those restaurants I've never been to but have driven by a thousand times. At night it's always packed. Throngs of people stand outside, waiting to get in. The line to valet park considerably backs up the eastbound traffic on Beverly Boulevard. And just when you think the traffic couldn't get any worse, a bus comes and jams things up even more.
But during the day, it looks downright abandoned. It's supposed to be authentic "California Mexican". Maybe I'll try it one of these days.
I plead the fifth as to any knowledge of who was simultaneously speeding and taking pictures on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. And the gas prices on that sign used to seem outrageously expensive. Now they just seem normal.
The Griffith Park Observatory is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. It's only ten minutes from my house so whenever I want, I can zoom up the south end of Mount Hollywood and watch the last remaining remnants of light fade from the city below.