October 2, 2005

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  Saturday, October 2nd, was our first "Monthiversary", but because of Elizabeth's "bite" we were prohibited from seeing each other until Sunday, and Liz "treated" me to a "date" which lasted all day, and was most enjoyable. It started at about 9:30am when I delivered these two monkeys to Elizabeth, her "Monthiversary gift". I searched through many many stuffed animals at Toys R Us until I got just the right two animals, which I thought looked a perfect complement to her bedroom. Liz got me a Betty Boop collectible of Betty on a motorcycle with my initial.

  
  

  

  
  

  The early part of the day was spent at Puente Hills Mall, where we ate a wonderful early lunch at Oba Oba, which is a Brazilian buffet style restaurant. The meat, which was served from skewers, never seemed to stop coming, and our meal segued into a movie date. We saw the new David Cronenberg film, "History of Violence." After the movie, Liz drove me to Little Tokyo, near the Civic Center in downtown L.A. , and since I had my camera with me, I took some photos.

  
  

  

  
  

  First we walked through an outdoor "mall" where we later had "boba" and some Japanese ice cream. (Of which I forgot the name. Liz will remember. She treated me to these new delicacies.) Then we visited the Japanese Museum, which was an eye opening display of the abuse of the Japanese Americans in World War Two, with a scale model of the Manzanar Concentration Camp.

  
  

  

  
  

  Next we walked North on 2nd street, on which the new CalTrans building, across from City Hall, was very impressive. I got lots of photos of the building, including this one of the sun reflected off the north side. They were filming a movie ( a regular occurance downtown) and had the street blocked off. But that didn't stop me from getting photos.

  
  

  

  
  

  This shot is right next to City Hall, and shows the "signpost" to Los Angeles' "sister cities" in other parts of the world.

  
  

  

  
  

  City Hall is always a "photo op" and is the oldest "skyscraper" in the city of Los Angeles. I got right up to the building, and shot a series through the tree branches of the Magnolias planted in front. For one shot, I actually got on my back lying down to get the whole facade in the shot.

  
  

  

  
  

  I thank Liz for suggesting this shot. She has a good eye. We were standing in the forecourt of the old Los Angeles Times building, and this is a reflected shot of the City Hall Tower from across the street in the marble doorway of the Times building.

  
  

  

  
  

  Here is a shot that is reminscent of when City Hall was still the tallest building in town, looking up past the Cal Trans building on the right, and a parking structure that is undergoing renovation on the left. I like the lines in this photo.

  
  

  

  
  

  St. Vibiana's was the large Catholic Cathedral for many years in downtown L.A., until it was put out of commission by the Northridge earthquake, which did irreparable damage to the interior. The little contemplation garden to the left of the cathedral was locked up, and this is a shot through the locked gate.

  
  

  

  
  

  Another shot of City Hall from one of the open malls in the Little Tokyo district. The Space Shuttle commemorates an Asian astronaut from the Challenger disaster, and looks like it's about to skyrocket into space.

  
  

  

  
  

  In this last shot, we see the "friendship knot" at the entrance to Little Tokyo. All together, our "date" lasted for most of the day. We walked "around town" for a while, and Liz pointed out one of the best parking deals for all day parking in the city. A most enjoyable day, and we both can hardly wait for next weekend, when hopefully, my love will be completely healed, and we can spend more time together. She also sent me a nice ecard in celebration, and will be "sleeping" with her new pet "monkeys" tonight.

  • 9:24 pm
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