Museums Around Town

Posted on January 29, 2012 by jamiegall1930

Over the weekend, my huni and I decided to explore Exposition Park.  It was an area I hadn’t quite gotten to since arriving in LA, and he’d never been there.  I convinced him to spend a day there.

I let him sleep in a bit on Saturday then we hopped in the car.  Unfortunately, as we were headed there, there was also a major game happening at the Coliseum so cars were everywhere and the parking lot was as full as could be.

Our first stop: California ScieCenter

The first thing that caught my eye was the giant sign showcasing the IMAX theatre.  The first thing that caught his eye was this:

He had never seen one in person before, and he spent quite a bit of time admiring the beauty in front of us.  This is when I told him about the Shuttle they would be receiving by the end of the year.

We walked closer to the Science Center, and as photographers, loved the opening area around it.

We explored the exhibits there for about 2 hours.  The biggest and most interesting exhibit for me was their EcoSystem’s displays where they branched it off into the different zones.  They had various activities in each zone area.

One thing we also noticed about the California Science Center is that it was very much geared towards children.  However, the cost to the museum is FREE every day.  The hours are 9am to 5pm.  However, there are special exhibits throughout that cost extra from riding a bicycle on a wire over a net that looks at the ground below to the hurricane stimulator.  They also have an IMAX theatre, and it does costs to see the movie playing there.

After walking through the science center, we walked the path next to the Rose Garden.  The Rose Garden was closed during this time of the year,but we still admired the beautiful trees surrounding it.

I then convinced my love, David, to go to the Natural History Museum.  I would pay.  It’s 12 dollars for adult admission. Youth 13-17 are $8, and Children 5 -12 are $5.  Children 4 and under are free.  However, I did find out the first Tuesday of the month, admission is free except in July and August.  September every Tuesday is free admission to offset July and August.

We were completely blown away.  The Los Angeles Natural History Museum had one of the largest dinosaur bone displays I had ever seen.  They also had a very beautiful exhibit on gems stones.  It was gorgeous to walk through and to see the different kind of gems that come from the rocks around us.

But the thing WE were so impressed by at the museum were their mammal exhibits.  They positioned the animals in amazing scenes, and did a great job for the photographer in anybody with those scenes.  You could take a picture, and feel as if you were coming home with a piece of artwork or even a painting.

They had 3 beautiful galleries filled with these gorgeous exhibits.  The museum also had an upstairs, but unfortunately because of the time in the day we ran out of time.

But one thing’s for sure, of all the museums in LA, The Natural History Museum has become my favorite, and I will be visiting there again.

After wards, we took some fun pictures out in the grass.


Categories: Art, Life, Photography | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

What MAKES a LIFE?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by jamiegall1930

We’re all living, but we all have different approaches to life, and to living.  There are those that prefer to go out on the town and be surrounded with friends whenever possible.

There are those who start a family, raise their children, and their family is what truly encompasses their lives (which, to me, family is always #1)

Then there are those who are homebodies, who don’t like the night life, as much, but would you consider them to not being living a life?

Life is how you choose to live it.  How you choose to make it in the world.  Life is based on decisions you have made throughout the years.  Although, often times, things happen that you truly have no control over.

I’m curious about you, my readers, in how you choose to live life?

For me, let me share with all of you in how I live mine.

One thing I’ve always loved about life is travelling and exploring new areas.  So, when I moved to LA, it was like I truly hit the jackpot.  As I researched all that was available my list only grew bigger and bigger.  A year and a half later I look back on that list and realize I’ve hit almost everything.  It was quite simple: I wanted to hit the majority of museums, botantical gardens, and anything related to art in this town.  Those were my loves, what I truly enjoyed.

LACMA is still my all time favorite museum in LA, and I’ve been yearning to go back there to see the huge “Metropolis” exhibit.  Where, Chris Burden, designed a racecar course that literally looks like a vast and moving city.  Over 500 cars move at once.  And I promised a dear friend I would check it out in person to see it, on behalf of him.

The other thing is when I first moved to LA, I was literally petrified of driving anywhere in this city because of all the cars around at any time of the day wherever you went, wherever you drove.  I wasn’t use to that in my streets of Minnesota.  But,overtime, and with the help of my job where I was in my car driving throughout the entire city, I learned the streets of LA, and the freeway system, and ironically, know the city better than my SO who’s been living here for over 10 years.

But the other part is that I finally tracked down my passions in life: photography, art, wine, writing and travel.  Since moving down here how have I encompassed all these things into my life?

Well, I joined photography groups that got me out shooting in the city to explore, visit, and see the city in an entirely new way with photographers that are a hell of a lot better than myself.  But, through this, I’ve learned so much, improved on my photos, and began to look at photography differently.  In the beginning, I had no idea how to shoot night photography, or how to do long exposures.  I even refused to own a tripod,but that all changed.

As far as Art goes, the first 2 months I lived down here, I got one of my photos put into an art exhibit then I figured out how to drive downtown to see the exhibit.

It’s the sailboat shot.  It’s still my all time favorite picture, and one of the first sunset pictures I took when I was down here.

As for when I discovered my love of writing: I browsed the writing jobs every day on Craigslist, applied for many, but received an awesome opportunity where I occassionally cover events around the Los Angeles area.  I’ve done play reviews, event reviews, but it’s opened up my way of viewing Los Angeles differently.  I’ve also had a few other opportunities where I get to take a more in depth view of this city, and I’m truly fortunate for those opportunities.  One thing I realized is that you just have to put yourself out there.  It’s not always easy for me, as I’m an introvert, and have social anxiety, but I push myself through it.

My love of wine was found while out here.  And through the help of twitter I’m continuing to learn about new wines, and I’m hoping to visit some wineries this upcoming year within California.

And, of course, travel.  Since moving out to California, my travel bug has been put on hold because there’s just so much to explore in this state alone.  But I’m hoping to branch out into other areas of California this upcoming year.  The first stop: Temecula.

So, tell me again, how are you choosing to live your life?

 


Categories: Life | Tags: , | 15 Comments

Blogging is TAKING over my life!!! ahhhhhhh

Posted on January 25, 2012 by jamiegall1930

So.

Are you like me?  Are you constantly reading up on other blogs?  Are you looking to read informative articles to ask yourself how to improve yours?  Are you addicted to twitter in hopes with connecting with other amazing women and bloggers?

Well, here’s the question: How do you Balance it all?

The last few weeks, my routine has looked like this:

Alarm Goes off, I groggily wake up, hop on my laptop and write my blog post.  I post it to my tribe to share with other amazing ladies then I read their blogs to comment and support.

I then head off to work for the day.  I concentrate on work throughout the entire day where I don’t do any networking, blog work at all.  It’s strictly about hitting my stores.

I come home, I make myself something to eat then I hop on my computer and catch up on more blog reads.  This is the time I browse blogs, comment, read, and share and connect with others.  This can be a 1/2 hour, a hour, up to 2 hours.  If there is a twitter party happening that night, I join in, otherwise I turn off and watch a little TV.

I am grateful for the nights I have something going on.  It gets me away from my addiction “my computer.”  And I enjoy a bit of life.  LOL

I realize that “Blogging” is literally taking over my life.  So, how do you keep your blog going without it taking over your life?  Any tips and advice are appreciated =)

 


Categories: blogging | Tags: , | 18 Comments