LA PHIL - Shiny, spectacular, crazy and totally Disney! The Walt Disney Concert Hall is best appreciated up close and personal by guests but...some neighbors living in condos near the building say the reflections from its brilliant surfaces heat up their living spaces way too much.

Solution: Call in Architect Fran O. Gehry to find ways to reduce glare from exterior surfaces, primarily the Founders Room and the CalArts Theatre marquee. The steel used in those areas reflects more light than a duller finish seen throughout other exterior treatments. Sandblasting is hoped to be the final answer to removing gray blankets now covering areas of this architectural piece so that it may shine as it was envisioned, only not quite as much.

 

On a recent outing to Los Angeles with a friend, we hopped aboard the MetroRail Blue Line from Long Beach to escape the beach, if only for a day.  Beaches, we decided, had become as countless as the grains of sand under our feet. You wake up one day to realize you don't even notice the ocean waves. That's when it is time to add some spice.

 

If variety is the spice of life, we recommend you travel inland on the California Beach Vacation to enjoy the best of the City of Los Angeles. In downtown L.A., you can see art, architecture, men wearing ties and women wearing panty hose and business clothes by the dozens. It is all so upscale and non-beach--not a single soul appears to have sand on their toes!

 

While I took home a CD that I truly cherish and listen to often from the LA Phil Orchestra classics, my goal is to one day get up there and take in a live performance. I'll probably book an overnighter at a nearby hotel, and have told that the neighborhoods aren't great for walking around by yourself at night. Too bad! I'd really like to go and there's no one else to join me so I will investigate further.

 

Los Angeles County Population: 9,800,000  City of Los Angeles: 3,807,400   Founded in 1781  Established: Feb. 18, 1850  Land Area: 4,083.21 Square Miles  Elevation Range: -9 Ft. to 10,080 Ft.

 

Los Angeles County includes the islands of San Clemente and Santa Catalina and is bordered on the east by Orange and San Bernardino Counties, on the north by Kern County, on the west by Ventura County, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. Its coastline is 76 miles long. It has the largest population of any county in the nation, and is exceeded by only eight states. Approximately 29 percent of California's residents live in Los Angeles County. There are 88 cities within the County.  Port of Los Angeles is largest commercial port in nation with Los Angeles County responsible for 10 % of the nation's production, making Port of L.A. America's top port and important nationally for import and export of products and perishables. There are far too many points of interest in Los Angeles to include on this web but here are a few posted for your enjoyment.