On Sunday, my brother David and his wife Shirley drove into Los Angeles for a quick visit with me. They live in the Philadelphia area, but this year planned a driving vacation of the Southwest. They flew out of Philly on Saturday morning, getting out of town ahead of the arrival of the hurricane. After enjoying a visit to the dam, and a few other Vegas charms, they drove to L.A. I expected the drive would last a bit longer than David anticipated, so I wasn’t too surprised when they arrived well after the target time of noon.
David had said that he wanted to see the Reagan Library, so after they had rested a bit at my apartment, I got into their rental car with them and we headed out to the far reaches (otherwise known as Simi Valley). The day was lovely and so the whole of the Greater Los Angeles area was showing off for them.
I will admit that the location of the Reagan Library is indeed spectacular. It is beautifully designed and brilliantly placed. I, rather stupidly, did not recharge my camera batteries the night before, so I ended up taking only three pictures during their visit.
Shirley
I had hoped to get more of the scenery in the background, but I was happy enough to get a picture of Shirley.
Inside there were live-sized bronzes of President Reagan and his wife, obviously positioned for visitors to pose with. So David did that.
Because we had arrived rather late in the afternoon, after we’d seen about the first quarter of the museum, the museum employees recommended we go straight to the Presidential airplane pavillion. And it was worth it.
First, you come to the end of a corridor, and there is this huge chamber, one wall of which is hundreds of panes of special glass, giving an incredible view of the valley outside. And in the middle of the space (carefully stationed on well designed stanchions) is the 707. It’s the first airplane actually built to be the Presidential aircraft, rather than just converted to that use. You walk all the way around the chamber, in order to enter the plane by the front door. You can look out the cockpit, and the view of the valley with the slight upward angle of the placement of the plane gives you the impression of having just taken off. Very well thought out. You then work your way through the body of the plane, past the President’s compartment and the First Lady’s, and on through the rest of it. We have gotten so used to the images of the larger 767, being in this one surprised you with its near-claustrophobic conditions.
It was nearly closing time, by the time we got out of the plane. But David and Shirley were happy with the whole. We where gently shephered out by the employees, along with the other straggling visitors in the museum.
Once outside, we took some time to admire the building and the view.
Exterior of the Reagan Library
This is only part of the complex. That seeming flat, free-standing pillar in the background is actually a section of the Berlin Wall.
After enjoying the views and the now-cooling breeze, we got back in the car. I guided them to the Topanga Canyon Blvd, and we then traversed its length from the 101 down to the ocean. In all the years I’ve lived out here, I’d never driven it, so the drive was new to me as well. A twisty, turny route, to be sure, but lovely. And now I understand the desire of the canyon residents to protect its current state and discourage further development. The natural beauty is worth protecting, but the canyon is also so narrow and steep, it is difficult to imagine how it could be developed without destroying the very thing that makes it desirable, its beauty.
I had made reservations for us at Gladstone’s on the beach in Malibu for 7 p.m., and we arrived at the beach about 6:30. After my brother indulged his photographic impulses, we waited a bit for our table – a booth by the window. Happily, our dinner was accompanied by the slow drawing-on of sunset, with the seabirds cavorting on the waves, dive bombing into the incoming tide. It delighted Shirley and David, and I was happy I’d had the idea for it.
And the food was great too.
It was dark by the time we finished dinner, and so they drove me back to my apartment. They needed to get to their hotel east of downtown, for Monday morning, they would head out on the I-10 on their way to Sedona, Arizona and the rest of their trip.
It was good to have the time with them. The last time I’d seen them was in 2008, when I visited the East Coast. I wish they could have stayed longer. But it was good enough to be sure.
I’ve been in a lot of discussions in the last month or so about the Green Lantern feature film that was released this summer. And since I’m one of those people who sits in the crossroads of comics and movies, I hear a lot from both sides of the reactions: film folk who consider it a mess and comics fans who are happy with just seeing GL up on the big screen.
