The lunar eclipse and Los Angeles sunrise from Griffith Observatory

Saturday’s lunar eclipse ended up being probably the coolest thing I have ever done in Los Angeles.

Despite the 4:00 am wake-up call, I managed to grab some coffee and a few layers of clothing before heading off to Griffith Park to witness a complete lunar eclipse from the Observatory. It was, of course, PACKED with people, so parking was pretty crowded and I ended up lugging my tripod, camera, and all the other necessities about a mile up the windy road before arriving at the Observatory lawn. News crews, Angelenos, and tourists crowded the area, but I some how managed to find an okay spot to test out my new Nikon DSLR.

Somehow, I managed to catch a few decent shots – although I am by no means a professional photographer (in fact, I’m hoping to sign up for a class next spring). Although it was frustrating I couldn’t get a great shot of the shape of the actual moon as it was eclipsing (the clouds diffused the light and I didn’t have much of a lens for it), I had to try and not condemn the point-and-shoot photographers for using their flash when taking photos of the moon (yep), thus interrupting my own images.

The crowd and flash photography aside, this was one of the coolest things ever. By around 6:00 am, you’d seen everything the eclipse had to offer, so it was time to move to the other side of the Griffith Observatory to snag a good spot on the balcony for nighttime Los Angeles skyline photos, and to watch the sun rise. I am happy to report that I now officially feel like a true Angeleno. And if you haven’t done sunrise at the Observatory yet, better put that on your LA bucket list because it is a required activity.

Click here to check out the full Flickr set (including shots from the sunrise) from our early morning adventure!

Echo Park Community Parade in photos

We hate to admit this is only our second Echo Park Community Parade that we’ve been able to attend, but so far it’s our favorite!

There were over 60 entries in this year’s parade, themed “‘Tis the Season.” In addition to local schools, drill teams, cheer squads, and elected officials, there were a few Echo Park businesses and organizations participating in the parade lineup. Amongst those were The Echo Park Time Bank, Edendale Library Friends Society (ELFS), The Warehouse and The Classroom, Mi Alma, 826LA, and others. Maryanne Hayashi of the Central City Action Committee was accompanied by three generations of her family – her daughter, grand-daughter, and her two-year-old great grand-daughter!

Community members that have greatly contributed to our Echo park were give special recognition as ambassadors. Mitch O’Farrell from Eric Garcetti’s Office was honored as the Grand Marshal. Parade Ambassadors included Holly Calhoun of the Echo Park Farmers’ Market, the Echo Park Improvement Association, Masa of Echo Park Bakery & Café, and Albert Torres of Recreation & Parks.

And, as parade committee members told me today, everyone was a winner! All entries received a trophy for participating. It would have been hard to pick any winners, all the entries were fabulous!

Check out our photos below:

December blows into Echo Park

While the wind storm last night didn’t exactly do any damage to our rental property, we struggled to sleep most of the night, worried the roof was going to blow off, or the windows were going to explode, or something was going to come tearing down Sargent and Scott into the new care.

The “my roof is going to blow off” worrying aside, the incredibly bursts of wind versus crappy rental windows, doors, and overall framework was borderline frightening. And it ain’t over yet – high winds will spur up again early tonight through Friday morning, with 60-80 mpg gusts in the mountains and coastal areas. 40,000 residents are estimated without power in the eastside, Atwater Village, and other neighborhoods in northeast LA, and while we’ve got power at home there’s no Time Warner cable or Internet (how are we going to live?!).

Delilah Bakery's new overhand took a beating

Pictures are popping up all over the social media networks, with businesses and residential homes sustaining quite a bit of damage. Delilah Bakery’s new patio awning took a tumble, but they are still open today. Masa Bakery & Cafe lost its sign last night, thankfully not landing on anyone outside the restaurant after dinnertime (the sign is carefully tucked away behind the restaurant, but don’t think Masa has closed down as it’s still open for business!). Just don’t go to Griffith Park – these crazy Santa Ana’s closed down the park due to fire danger.

Don't let the missing sign confuse you - Masa is still open!

Related articles:

Eastside gets windwhipped. The Eastsider LA, December 1, 2011.

High winds give scare to Echo Park residents in 100-year-old home. LA Now, December 1, 2011.

Windburn in Atwater Village: Palm frond-ocalypse. Atwater Village Now, December 1, 2011.

What they found at the bottom of Echo Park Lake

Photo from Above The Lake blog

We’re a few months into the Echo Park Lake rehab project, but besides the torn up sidewalks and construction vehicles, you wouldn’t really be able to tell the lake had been drained after the recent heavy rains. In addition to a few photos by Angelino Heights resident Steve (who took the above photo and posted it on his blog, Above The Lake), we have the official list from the city of what (and how many) was found in the lake after the draining. We’re not really surprised they found a couple of guns, but a telephone booth?! Check out the list below:

Park Trash Cans – 20
Construction cones – 36
Shopping Carts – 7
Portable Stereos/Boombox – 3
Pay Telephone – 1
Skateboard – 6
Parking Enforcement Boot – 1
Toilet – 1
Glass bottles – Hundreds
Model Boat – 2
Frisbee – 20
Weapons (guns) – 2
Office Chair – 6
Miscellaneous toys, Trash, Debris – Hundreds

Of course you can’t count every single thing, and once they start dredging the lake, they’ll probably find more items in the muck.

Check out more photos of the Echo Park Lake rehab project on our Flickr set.

Along Glendale Blvd.: A thriving world of art you’d never know existed

Shandu One sculpts amongst his favorite graffiti pieces in La Fonderie

This weekend, the community along with the Echo Park Improvement Association (which I am a member of) will start a major cleanup of Glendale Boulevard, an almost blighted entryway to our beautiful Echo Park neighborhood. Throughout the planning process, we’ve been slowly discovering these amazing businesses located along the thoroughfare that you would honestly never know existed. Forget the recycling centers, empty lots, and graffiti-covered buildings. Here we are lucky to have places like La Fonderie located in Keystone Studios, an exciting world of LA’s best artists inside a huge brick building on Glendale Boulevard.

You probably recognize the building on Glendale Boulevard by the big graffiti/mural by JR (now infamous in Echo Park). But I got the idea for this article from friend, real estate agent, and EPIA chairperson Darren Hubert. He and Josh Post – the Echo Park resident who started and organized the Glendale Boulevard cleanup – visited as many businesses as possible one day, hoping to encourage everyone to contribute to the day of cleanup. Granted, I had read about the art space in a The Eastsider LA article when it first opened in June of 2009, but I really had no idea what was really going on these days.

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Photo: A rooftop view of Echo Park

Photo by Arturo Rivera

This awesome photo was emailed to us by Arturo Rivera, taken from a rooftop in Echo Park. Nice view from up there!