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We started off our Sunday with brunch at a new restaurant in our neighborhood. Le P’tit Laurent is a tiny French bistro, which opened a few months ago in a space formerly occupied by a bar. The restaurant hasn’t even finished painting its exterior, but there is always a line out the door for dinner. Fortunately, we awoke early this morning, and beat the brunch crowd by just a hair.

The food was wonderful. I had a Croque Monsieur , and Jeff had a ham and Gruyere omelette. We will definitely try this spot for dinner. Its a welcome addition to our neighborhood.

This afternoon, after we had finished a ton of little errands, we hopped across the hill to wander through the Castro Street Fair. This street fair has all the arts and crafts of a typical SF festival, but with all the color and pulsing music you would expect from the Castro.

I’m really drawn to this simple image I shot somewhere along my trips this week. Its similar to other shots I’ve done with this same theme…the hectic blur that is life.

When I visit the LA civic center Federal Building, I always park across the street at the Los Angeles Mall, a lonely, isolated shopping center from the early 1970s.

During my numerous visits, I’ve noticed the odd art sculpture at the street-level of the mall. I’ve never stopped to examine the structure…only rushed past it to get to a meeting or grab a quick bite in the sad food court.

But on this visit, I circled the structure, and tried to figure its purpose. There is no explanation of its odd concrete and glass form…just a small metal plaque at its base with the name “Triforium”.

So, I looked up an article on the Triforium, and its creator Joseph Young. The sculpture was dedicated in 1975, and is noted as “the world’s first public sculpture to integrate light and sound by use of a computer”. It is also widely ridiculed for its nearly $1 million price-tag, its frequent technical failures, and its leaking pools…which have been turned into flower beds (the lavender in my photo above). Its planned lasers and motion sensors were never realized due to cost overruns.

Still, this quirky feature of the mall is by far its most interesting. Its a reminder of the vision of a lively after-hours Civic Center, which has become overrun by cheap stores and vagrancy.

The good folks at Garmin decided to replace our faulty GPS unit, and just in the nick of time. I really tested Emily on my trip to LA this week. In fact, as I sat on I-5 (pictured above), Emily’s lilting British voice was welcome company. (Jeff has dubbed her “the new Emily”, quoting from The Devil Wears Prada.)

It was Emily’s job to route me from Bob Hope Airport, to the LA civic center, to the Santa Ana civic center, and finally to John Wayne Airport. Along the way, I ignored her to take short cuts, inserted intermediate food stops, and took several wrong turns. Emily kept with me…patiently “recalculating” at every turn.

The one upside to my “traffic time” was catching a few odd building signs along the way. You can vote for your favorite:

1. First (and my personal favorite) was the permanent sign for a Swap Meet, with a temporary sign underneath announcing a weekend tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. (This reminded me of a classic scene from Spinal Tap…”I’ve told them a hundred times: put ‘Spinal Tap’ first and ‘Puppet Show’ last.”)
2. Then, there was the sign for the “Taco Bell Discovery Science Center”. That’s just frightening…it must be where they invent new combinations of meat + cheese + tortillas.
3. Lastly, a rather sketchy sign for surgical supplies. Its more about the quality of the sign and building…so I actually snapped a shot of the sign (below).

Well…at least his airport.

For several years, I have been flying from San Francisco to various LA destinations via the tiny Bob Hope Airport…formerly know as Burbank-Pasadena Airport. This has got to be my favorite airport, because 1) it sits smack in the middle of LA and 2) it remains small enough that that there are never more than a couple of people in line.

And let's not forget 3) its not LAX…which is the exact opposite of convenient. Of course…LAX actually flies to lots of places.

But SF to LA? Bob Hope ROCKS!