Ever wonder what the Bonaventure Hotel is like around Christmas? How about L.A.'s Fashion District?
Cathy, my co-worker/friend, and I decided to treat ourselves to a visit there the day after Christmas. Not because we thought that was the best day for bargains, but because that was the day it fit into our busy Holiday vacations. And what a perfect day it was: Traffic on the way (at 8:00 a.m.) was light; The sun was shining and the air was crisp; Despite some trepidation that we might run out of gas before finding a gas station (I thought I'd just filled that tank! Totally forgot about that little trip to see Dad in San Diego on Sunday!) we didn't; And despite concern that we'd have trouble finding a reasonably priced place to park, we didn't.
Cathy spotted a great parking lot at Olive and Olympic so I parked, hoping that perhaps we'd spot the gas station of our dreams in our wanderings, and sure enough within a block Cathy spotted our Shell Station at Grand and Olympic ('Always
have appreciated her skills of observation!)--which we made a bee-line to after our hike to the Fashion District via the scenic route to the Bonaventure.
The Bonaventure was full of Christmas cheer and good will, as you see evidenced by this kind young gentleman who offered to step out from behind the counter and take our picture as we sipped our coffee and ate our cinnamon-almond pastry, and later aided us in the art of stain removal when coffee dribbled into someone's lap.
The photographer ^
The photograph ^
Before leaving, we stopped to admire the festive decor
And after glimpsing the Hollywood sign from the glass enclosed elevator on our way up to and down from the 32nd floor, we wandered off to the Fashion District where I managed to find a velvet hooded cape I'd been coveting since last year's solo visit, and Cathy navigated us to Santee Alley, which I'd managed to miss last year, further proving that it isn't only undersea divers that benefit from being accompanied by a buddy.
Lionfish (aka Turkey Fish, Scorpion Fish and Dragon Fish) have venomous spines that cause severe pain, headaches and vomiting to humans, and death to their prey.
The maxima clam (aka the small giant clam) is a species of clam (a bivalve mollusc) found throughout the Indo-Pacific.
According to Wikipedia, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and the Melbourne Aquarium in Australia are the only facilities in the world to have successfully bred weedy sea dragons (aka common sea dragons) in captivity.
"The leafy sea dragon propels itself by means of a pectoral fin on the ridge of its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. These small fins are almost completely transparent and difficult to see as they undulate minutely to move the creature sedately through the water, completing the illusion of floating seaweed." ____Wikipedia
