Isn't it funny how when a place wants to zing Southern California a photo of a) traffic b) smog or c) some combination of the two accompanies the zing?
Or maybe it isn't so funny. It's a little played out, in fact, especially considering the fact that our metropolis happens to have all sorts of hills, canyons, and a wild and impressively gargantuan arroyo running right through its urban heart.
Not starting any wars of words here, but we want to show the zingers photos of the tree-laden Arroyo Seco and politely say: "How's them apples? This, too, is LA."
Now only LA, but historic LA. The Arroyo Seco's location -- it wends by Mount Washington and Sycamore Grove and Montecito Heights and other communities, including Pasadena -- means that several structures that have been around for a century, or longer, dot the area.
Museums of the Arroyo Day celebrates those spots, and celebrates them for free. Meaning that places like Heritage Square and the Gamble House open up to visitors but waive admission for the day.
That day? Sunday, May 19.
The free places to see? The two mentioned, as well as the river-rocky Lummis House, the Pasadena Museum of History, and the LA Police Museum.
The Scene
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The extras? Art workshops and happy people in Victorian costumes, and a change to sit in a 'copter at the Police Museum.
The arroyo? That's the common thread, of course. We'd arrive early, before the noon start, and do a bit of walking along one of our city's great green throughways. Yep, LA is dense, intense, and trafficky, but the Arroyo Seco is a huge and historic place of peaceful respite.
