Los Angeles Zoo - Gorillas, Orangutans and us

A trip to the zoo is well like a barrel of monkeys -















Hilarious and ticklish to watch.





The Western Lowland Gorillas - a family canoodle here.


An amazing rainforest setting for the Orangutan's
































































Who has the best time....well, maybe I did.

Legoland - All aboard

A special trip to Legoland marks the school year end...









and despite the early departure and FULL day, it was a blast!

























































Most everything is built with Legos, and they have quite a sense of humor about
it....





Geared for lots of kids, we careened around boats, sky cruises and rolling roller coasters.

Hollyweird and Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Hollywood gets thousands of visitors daily...



Weird and full of irreverence....it is well worth a trip.


















Grauman's Chinese Theatre to Ripley's both buzzy tourist traps...



















































































Lady Gaga in Candy...
























Strike a pose - then lights flash....







it'll appear against the wall.








A Siamese Piglet....




















































































































Be proud....





Wear it loud!

Los Angeles Festival of Books

It's a annual event...LA turns out for books at UCLA.


While turnout for the vendors has dwindled, with an obvious nod to recessionary times, the independents came out in a strong way.









I got to see two speakers. Bill McKibbon, an environmentalist
who is pushing for 350.org (350 parts per million of Co2) in the atmosphere.








Sebastian Junger spoke about Afghanistan and told of life in the military there. He wrote the Perfect Storm, he said because he need to recupurate from a gash in his leg.

And for the ladies, (mostly) Alice Waters of Chez Panisse gave a demo on making a basic vinagrette...add more vinegar to about one half proportions.

Some titles are rather fun...


Nascar appeal makes
Math fun!













































The day is full of things to discover and be part of a community, which LA has in fits and starts.