The Sunday Secret Sauce

It’s a well-known fact that I keep a running list of countries and natural wonders to visit right at my fingertips. Less known, however, is the local list – also at my fingertips – of reborn neighborhoods, attractions and architectural wonders I have yet to see in my own city. LA is sprawling and ever-changing and I like to keep up, keep it fresh, and be an explorer in my own backyard.

So what did I cross off that list recently? The newly opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Miracle Mile, when we finally ventured down to view the Oscar collection and the impressive almost-rooftop views. 

A few weeks ago we also journeyed down to Inglewood, setting eyes on the unique design of Sofi Stadium, the new(ish) home of the Los Angeles Rams. (Alas, no, I did not have the 100K for a Super Bowl ticket .) Another day, off to Pyramid Lake, finally spending time lakeside between mountains in person instead of just zipping by on “the 5” with all the trucks on the Grapevine. 

We make a habit of regularly having “feet on the ground” in places like Leimert Park, Mt. Washington, West Adams or Sierra Madre, uncovering obscure, real-neighborhood treasures. I just love it.

Do you need to have an inborn exploratory curiosity for these quests? For sure, it helps. But the secret sauce is the no-traffic, free-parking SUNDAY in Los Angeles. 

It’s a common tale. I have friends in Santa Monica – technically only 13 miles from my North Hollywood home in the depths of the Valley – yet years will go by before we ever think of getting together, since everyone knows it’s an often unpleasant 50-minute drive to cover those 13 miles, if you’re lucky. Los Feliz people are never itching to zip over to Culver City; Woodland Hills folks don’t pine to visit locales in Lincoln Park – not worth the headache or the gas. 

And it’s not exclusive to Los Angeles. When I lived in Cleveland, friends from the East Side and West Side rarely had the inclination or time to meet up. Don’t get me started on the boroughs of Manhattan!

But when you play your magic Traffic-Free Sunday-Morning Card right, possibilities unfold here in LA. You can create fun, zip-around itineraries you’d never dream of stringing together any other day – and shorten that list, baby!

Do I have a list-making issue? I guess that’s another essay. Anyway…
I first noticed this phenomenon one Sunday a few months ago. We were visiting our favorite quaint neighborhood, South Pasadena, to see the leafy lanes and Craftsman bungalows. But in the moment, I decided to next go see the grounds of Will Rogers State Park for the first time – deep, deep on the westside of LA, a completely inane journey by most people’s standards. Half an hour later we were wandering Will’s famous living place and horse stables – a westside treasure we’d rarely considered.

There’s something fun and freeing about hitting 65 miles an hour on the 110 or 405 in Los Angeles, tearing through places normally clogged with idling cars, idling dreams. The fun is in the speed and freedom, zooming from Eagle Rock to Marina Del Rey, reflecting on what life in LA could be like when you’ve got time on your side.

Two Sundays ago it happened again. We were sitting there minding our own business in Descanso Gardens, one of our favorite sanctuaries in the La Canada/Flintridge area of LA, late afternoon approaching. And suddenly, a wild hair. “Hey, let’s go down to the USC area. I want to see that new funky museum George Lucas is designing!” I exclaimed. 

“Um… okay,” said my always-willing and adventurous travel partner/prisoner, Eddie – gotta love him! – and we were off!

But first, on the way, couldn’t pass up beautiful and unique Silverlake without circling the reservoir, seeing the homes clinging to the hills, the walkers and joggers (and their dogs) out enjoying life. I adore the bohemian energy that still exists in this former Edendale of 1920’s LA. And oh yes, wait!, then we HAD to also go a few blocks to see the views of downtown from that one particular angle at Echo Park Lake to observe the hordes of Latin and hipster families picnicking and frolicking. 

Did we ever make it to the working construction site of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, you might ask? Indeed we did, but after first driving down the wide, palm-lined Rampart Boulevard to see the once-old-money apartment buildings and residences near the old Bullocks Wilshire building. Then being distracted by the unexpected enormous Victorian-style homes and mansions off of Hoover near USC, now being used as student housing. We parked the car – (AGAIN, secret Sunday sauce of no paid parking hassles) – and wandered the block, commenting on architecture, the passage of time.

Would outsiders ever guess such architecture existed in Los Angeles? Hell, how many Angelenos even have a clue about places outside of the bubble of West Hollywood or Beverly Hills?

We did finally view the raised, futuristic-looking Lucas Museum of Narrative Art site (looking like a cross between Avatar’s Pandora and a Millennium Falcon or spacecraft from The Mandalorian).  But not before circling the historic Shrine Auditorium where Eddie and I had both, in varying decades, worked at Academy Award ceremonies. What a superb historic building.

We got to spy the old Colosseum used in the 1984 Olympics, the funky new(ish) Banc of California soccer stadium, and even stop to wander the enormous and beautiful Exposition Park Rose Garden – a place full of childhood memories for Eddie. His beloved mother used it as a “free entertainment” place for a single mother raising kids on a budget. And yes, it’s still free… and entertaining.

We finished up the evening near the Music Center Plaza fountains and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Gardens, watching the sunset. Glorious fun! All because of the omnipresent “I want to check that out someday” list, and the willingness to get off the butt and take advantage of a Sunday.

As I close out this writing, it’s just occurred to me — this “discovery” of mine may not be news to the 9- 5, normal-job-working set. “Duh, Joe, when else are we going to do this stuff? On a Tuesday at 2:00 p.m?!? Thanks for the tip!!!” And so I say to you, LA is its own weird animal – the love/hate relationship is real. For me, these jaunts are a must-do practice for sanity’s sake – to deliberately remind myself of all the unique positives the city has to offer… on a Sunday.

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I tinkered with including all my favorite off-the-beaten-path places in Los Angeles and Southern California here. I adore introducing tourists and hardened Angelenos to things hiding in plain sight… but that’s for another essay someday soon. Stay tuned.