Trains

I have had a lifelong love of trains. I love everything about traveling by train. I am so happy to be somewhere with legitimate short and medium distance travel opportunities by train. Metrolink trains connect commuter areas in and around LA with several trains running around rush hour times. Further afield, frequent trains run between LA and San Diego and LA and San Luis Obispo. Less frequent routes connect LA to Seattle, Chicago, and New Orleans.

I love how relaxed train travel is. There are no security lines to go through, you can bring anything reasonable on board with you, you can be escorted to the platform by friends/family, and they only recommend you arrive 30 minutes before hand for long trips and 15 minutes early for short trips. They don't even check your ticket until you are sitting on the train on your way.

On the train! Nice roomy seats and it is so clean it shines!

The biggest complaints I hear about Amtrak are the delays, but I've ran into no worse delays on a train than while flying. Plus when there is a delay on the train, you can walk around, go get some coffee and a muffin in the cafe car, and go to the bathroom, unlike being stuck strapped in sitting on the tarmac for an hour.

I do love the aerial views from the plane, but trains offer unique views as well. Most trains run through areas you never see from a car. They run through remote areas with nothing around for miles. They run directly through small towns. They run within spitting distance of people's homes. You have a reprieve from billboards, fast food venues, and gas stations that line interstates and get to glimpse a better picture of the local geography and culture. And on the LA to San Diego route you travel directly along the beach!

View from train! I had to get an off center photo with the window frame in it to prove just how close the train runs along the beach.

Then there are also the beautiful old train stations. LA Union Station is great (just be prepared for the large residency of homeless folks). San Diego downtown station is quaint and pleasant.

courtyard at San Diego Santa Fe (downtown) station

Burbank Peak

Having a small apartment means that while I love to be at home, it is probably unwise to spend the majority of my time-off inside. We have a big balcony with a sweeping view, but it's just nice to enjoy other scenic vistas from time to time.

View of Lake Hollywood and back towards coast from Burbank Peak trail

A few weekends ago we hiked to the top of Burbank Peak. This is in Griffith Park although it is a more recent acquisition to the park purchased in the last few years to save it from development (thank goodness!). It is a steep hike, but fairly short in duration, so perfect for a day when you just have a few hours. Parking is on the road near Lake Hollywood and trail access is at the end of Wonder View Drive (check out a good description here: http://www.simpsoncity.com/hiking/griffith/burbank.html).

It is a pretty quick trip up, but you should definitely stop frequently to admire the views back towards Hollywood and the coast as you hike up. Also plan to spend some time at the top to admire the views and just enjoy the cool breeze. There is shade from "the wisdom tree" which is an interesting curiosity since there are very few other pine trees nearby.

Wisdom Tree at the top of Burbank Peak

Sadly, our hiking is probably on hiatus until Fall when temperatures drop. Summer hiking in chaparral/coastal sage scrub is not the best since the vegetation is dry and there is no shade from the sun. We'll replace hiking with bike rides towards the coast where the temperatures are nice and cool.

Shrubby vegetation along trail

Balcony Garden: June Gloom

I still have a lot to learn about growing vegetables in pots versus in the ground. In ground plants thrive with infrequent deep watering. The potted  plants seem to prefer frequent shallow watering. So far the strawberries are still a definite winner. The basil has also thrived. The rosemary oddly enough looks a little crispy. The squash has flowered so we will see how it does bearing fruit. The pepper plants are a bit leggy, but look like they are doing just fine. My poor tomato plant is resting in peace. It was still producing tomatoes, but they were tough skinned. I probably won't do tomatoes again since they are such water hogs. If I did, I would steer clear of the Husky Cherry Red (too husky for me). I am planning to replace the tomato plant with something flowery, but am still unsure what to choose.

strawberry, basil, rosemary, squash, peppers, and empty tomato pot in the far back

basil bouquet after a much needed trim

All growth has been very slow this month and I'm sure June Gloom is a factor. For those of you not from the area, June Gloom is a term to describe morning cloudiness and cool temperatures that commonly occur in late May and early June. Low clouds formed by the marine layer come on-shore along the coastal areas of Southern California overnight and typically remain in place until mid-day. Some days the overcast skies persist the entire day. Our balcony faces south-east, which means the morning cloudiness cuts out most of the 6+ hours of sunshine my plants would normally receive. It was sunny today at 9:30am, which is the earliest in a long time. June Gloom is also good to know about if you are planning a vacation to the area and want to enjoy the beach sans jacket and cloudy skies.

Cat Litter

I’m never sure whether to call our apartment a studio or an efficiency. To me they are the same thing. Is there really a difference? Some sources indicate that efficiencies are smaller than studios while others use the two terms to mean the same thing.

Regardless, our apartment is small. I love it, but combining small spaces with pets offers some challenges. When we had a 3 bedroom house it was easy to keep the cat’s accoutrements separate. The litter box was in the guest bedroom (unless we had guests). Odor throughout the house was never an issue. When we moved to a one bedroom apartment, we had an incredibly spacious bathroom with a linen closet that had a separate lower door with raised lip that was perfect for containing a litter box out of sight. Odor was never really an issue there either. However, when we moved to LA and into a studio apartment, odor was occasionally an issue. 

Our litter box is in the coat closet (which needless to say doesn't have coats since we live in a mild climate). It is the blue box right next to the front door in the floor plan here: http://laapartmentliving.blogspot.com/2013/02/our-apartment.html

Looking toward our front door. Litter box is in the coat closet to the left.

Litter box setup (Rubbermaid bin with hole cut out, hook for scoop, old shelf  bracketed to wall as divider)

Best part of the setup is that when you open the front door to come in, you can't see it. When you close the door and walk away you can't see it from the kitchen either, so it is largely out of sight.

For many years I have used corn based litter (typically “World’s Best” brand). It clumps great, produces little dust, and was fine for odor control in the larger environments. It does tend to track a lot, so that plus occasionally failing on odor control led to seeking out other litters. Here’s what we tried:

• Clumping Clay Litter: So much dust! Epic fail for small spaces (always made me sneeze). Odor control was decent. Tracks everywhere.
• Silica Crystal Litter: Minimal tracking and minimal dust except when pouring it in the pan. I was suspicious of breathing in the dust for what it might do to my lungs. Odor control was great for solids, but since it just absorbs liquids, it gets a faint odor from that after several days.
•  Pine Litter: Best of the bunch! Good odor control. Minimal tracking. No dust. Not to mention it is cheap and they sell it at Trader Joe’s. We've switched to this litter.

Year Round School

In junior high we had one year of "year round" school. I think they were running it as a pilot to see how it went. To my knowledge, it fell flat on its face. School sports and inter-school academic leagues were likely a big reason for that at the junior high and high school levels. Unless every school in your region goes along with it, coordination becomes a nightmare. Parents and teachers alike also complained that it made planning difficult if one child was in year round school and another was not. Also, there aren't a lot of camps or other activities to sign the kids up for when they get two weeks off in the middle of a random non-summer month. Personally, I recall liking year-round school since an entire summer off got rather boring.

Fast forward to now and I feel like I have become a huge proponent of the traditional school calendar. This issue came to light recently because I ride through a couple of school zones on my way to work. Parents dropping their kids off are a rough bunch. They have little patience for cyclists or other drivers. Why they don't just let their kids walk or ride their bikes to school is beyond me (these are junior high and high schoolers). I have been eagerly awaiting the end of the school year so I don't have to navigate the maze of parents in their over-sized SUVs.

When Memorial Day came and went and the students were still there I looked up the school calendar. Turns out they are on an 11 month school year calendar (July off). I was bummed out for selfish reasons, but then I started to feel bad for the kids. Elementary age kids need unstructured play time to develop creativity and life skills. High school kids need time to decompress from the stress of endless tests and paper writing. Also, how are kids from non-wealthy families supposed to save for college if they can't work over the summer? I think summer vacation is more than just a holdout from our agrarian society days; it is an essential part of producing kids that can think for themselves and entertain themselves.

LA in a Few Words

I found this article before I moved out here: http://www.newcolonist.com/lafewwords.html.

I can't recall if this is where I found it, or even if this is the original source (no dates and no authors make me wonder if this is a "cut and paste" operation from an original source). I couldn't find it elsewhere, though, so hopefully this is legit and original. Regardless of whether or not it is based on legit interviews, I read it with eagerness while researching what LA was like before moving here. Now that I've lived here 5 months, I'll answer the same questions.

If you were to describe Los Angeles in one word, what would it be?

Large

If someone told you they were moving to Los Angeles, what advice would you give them?

Live close to where you will work and learn to embrace transportation modes other than the car. You will love life so much more for it!

If a tourist had one hour to spend in Los Angeles, what one thing would you tell them to see?

Walk around wherever you happen to be, but don't judge all of LA based on that area. Each area is unique, but since you can't possibly experience much of anything in an hour, at least savor where you are at.

What's the best thing about Los Angeles?

The creativity and wealth of ideas. Whatever your niche interest, you are guaranteed to find like-minded people here. 

What's the worst thing about Los Angeles?

The urine smell in certain areas. It doesn't rain very often, so the smell from both homeless humans using the sidewalk and non-homeless dogs all using the same green space gets a bit too potent. Litter is a close 2nd for me, but that is much more easily solved.

If you had the opportunity to move, would you? And if so, where would you go?

Not right now. If I ever did move, it would probably be to either another vibrant, large city or to a completely rural area.

For the most part, I find I agree with the interviewees. Many of my answers are very similar or even the same. While they were almost unanimous on the best thing being diversity, my answer jives well with that and is just a more specific area of diversity. The fact that I seldom if ever drive is probably the biggest player in traffic not being my answer to the worst thing about LA. 

Public Transportation

I frequently hear that "you can't live in LA without a car". Maybe that was the case 20 years ago, but not so today. It is a myth that really needs to be debunked.

Los Angeles has a good light rail system. It is currently undergoing expansion to extend to Santa Monica and there are more expansions planned for the near future. It doesn't connect every area of the city, but you can move reasonably efficiently between major hubs for less than $5 a day. Depending on traffic, it can be faster than driving.

Above ground light rail (Culver City Station)

LA subway (Universal City Station)

I haven't used the bus system extensively. In fact, we've primarily used the Culver City bus since it connects several areas near our apartment. It is pretty typical for a bus system in that it is slow since it can stop at nearly every intersection. However, they run frequently enough to make them viable. We often use the bus to go to dinner on Friday night just so we don't have to drive or find parking.

A few tips if you are new to area (or just now weaning yourself off of a car):

• Get a TAP card. These store money or passes and work on all light rail, LA buses, Culver City buses, and a handful of other adjacent city buses.
• You can take your bike on the train and most buses have the bike racks in front. Select rail stations (usually the park and ride ones) have bike lockers that can be rented for $48 a year. Having recently had my bike stolen from a station bike rack, I'd recommend springing for one or taking your bike with you in the train and locking it up near your office. 
• Get the Los AngelBus app (free!) if you will be taking the bus (sadly only covers LA city buses, though). It tracks buses using GPS so you know where your bus is. It also shows stops with route and bus numbers and gives you a time estimate of when the next several buses will arrive.
• I've traveled alone on LA public transport and never felt unsafe. That being said, use street sense and keep your possessions in hand, don't bring out expensive electronic gadgets, and don't travel alone late at night. Most snatch and grabs seem to take place on station platforms, so leave your cell phone/iPad put away until you get on the train (most people use them once seated on the train).

Public transportation in Los Angeles gets a thumbs up from me! If you are coming here as a tourist you can definitely benefit from a more relaxing experience by going car free. Light rail links you from the airport or Union Station to Pasadena (Rose Bowl), Universal City (Universal Studios Hollywood), Hollywood theaters, downtown, MacArthur park, Expo Park (California Science Center w/ space shuttle, Natural History museum, USC), Long Beach (Queen Mary, aquarium, beach, Grand Prix), Culver City (Sony Studios), and many more wonderful and off the beaten path places!