Thankful Me

A blue and white "JEOPARDY!"  sign on a tan building, with a sign labeled, "The Alex Trebek Stage" to the left of the doors I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the seventeenth post in the series.  I didn't decide to participate in the A to Z Challenge until mid-to-late March, so I was pleasantly surprised that free tickets to Jeopardy! were still available for April tapings. If you want to be in the studio audience, this is the link I used for tickets. I invited a friend to join me just days before the taping, and she was able to get a ticket, too. We drove down to Culver City together and then it was "hurry up and wait" until the time for the recording. First we sat on benches in the parking garage. Benches in the garage, with banners advertising...

  An accessible sign for Placerita Canyon Heritage Trail shows the trail map in relief and has information in English and Braille I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the sixteenth post in the series.  I have driven up and down the 14 Freeway many times, but I had never taken the exit to Placerita Canyon State Park and the Oak of the Golden Dream until just recently. How I wish I had known about this beautiful park when my own children were little! I will definitely be taking my grandchildren here.  Admission and parking are free, and the park is located a mile or so off the 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita, California. It's only a mile out of the way, but you find yourself in a wonderful little wilderness, and feel like you are much farther from civilization. Because I forgot that...

  A stuffed burro stands in front of a Olvera Street sign I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the fifteen post in the series.  Before Los Angeles was a sprawling metropolis, it was a simple town of 11 families. Olvera Street is a pedestrian street that honors that humble beginning. The day I chose to visit happened to be a rainy day, but also (unbeknownst to me ahead of time) the day of the Blessing of the Animals. Even without a special event, Olvera Street is worth a visit to learn more about the history and culture of the early area. It is free to visit, and many of the museums are also free. Local shopkeepers and restaurateurs would be more than happy for your business, however, and I can vouch for the food!  Many of the little shops were closed due to rain  A colorf...

  The tan rectangular Nethercutt Museum shows no indication of what is inside I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the fourteenth  post in the series.  If you have an automotive enthusiast in your traveling party, have I got a museum for you! The Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California has an impressive collection of cars, along with a few musical instruments scattered here and there and a couple of train cars out back. (Sadly, I forgot to go out and see the trains.) The Nethercutt Museum is free to tour; the Nethercutt Collection, which is just across the street, does have a fee to enter so I will not be reviewing that today. Parking is ample and free.  The museum is self-guided, with informative signs at each vehicle and display, but I did have a docent approach me and ...

  Sign on side of road reads, "Musical Road Ahead" I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the thirteenth post in the series.  In the Antelope Valley, there are two musical roads. One is in Palmdale, on R. Lee Ermey Avenue (Ave. N), and the other is in Lancaster on Avenue G. The William Tell Overture plays in Lancaster, and makes me laugh every time due to off-key rendition and particularly its sustained flat note at the end. The Marine Corps Hymn plays in Palmdale, and if you drive the road at 45 mph, it sounds pretty good. I would suggest combining the musical roads with another attraction in the area, such as Blackbird Airpark.  Here are two videos, the one from Lancaster taken almost 10 years ago, and the one from Palmdale taken a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

  A western (blue belly) lizard performs push-ups on a fence railing I love to read Ten Things of Thankful lists other bloggers contribute each week. Some items are big, life-changing thankfuls, but often, it's the small, everyday things that contribute to the sense of gratitude. Much of my list this week is of the seemingly insignificant variety, but nonetheless, I'm thankful for the small things that make me smile.  1. I'm thankful for lizards. Granted, sometimes their scurrying startles me, but they aren't going to hurt me. I have seen SO MANY lizards this spring. I don't know if their abundance is a result of a rainy winter, but I'm going to assume so. In any case, their posturing displays amuse me. (Can you imagine the female lizards saying, "Wow! Look at how strong he is! And he has such a cute blue belly!") 2. I'm thankful for hummingbirds. They are keeping me busy refilling their feeders, but they are so fun to watch. Just as I've seen ...

  Statues of two mammoths watching another one stuck in the tar pit I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the twelfth post in the series.  Though the museum at La Brea Tar Pits typically charges an admission fee (there are some free days, so check their website if you are planning a visit), the outside area is free to visit and, depending on the age and interests of your children, the outside areas might be the favorite parts anyway. I recently went to La Brea Tar Pits (and Museum) with my grandchildren on a free admission day, and we ending up spending more time outside than in, and since the outside area is the only always-free area, that is what this post will focus on. La Brea Tar Pits fascinates me. It's smack dab in Los Angeles, with high rise buildings all around. The tar ...