Free Extra Post! - Cool Clouds!

My corny Friday thing is to do "Food Friday," which is below.  However, I saw this slideshow on mammatus clouds, and since it may not be around long, I figured I'd post the link.  I taught about mammatus clouds the last few years.  (Eight years, but who's counting?)  The link shows some photos from a rare appearance in Canada of these clouds.  They get their name because they are supposed to look like a cow's udders (or mammary glands.)  Now you're sorry you asked!

So go to this link and see more of these unique clouds!

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/curious-clouds-roll-in-after-storm-slideshow/

Food Friday

Best Croissant in Los Angeles - Round Two

To review, our first two entries were from La Dijonaise in Culver City, and Delice Bakery on Pico.

Next on the to-do list is Contestant #3: Urth Cafe in Beverly Hills.

Hopefully you will go when there isn't a line like this.

These croissants are not made on site; I've seen them arrive early in the morning.  They seem to be quite fresh, though, and later in the day, they run out.  The chocolate ones are our target.  They are third from the left.  As a side note, two to the right of those are the ham and cheese, which are excellent but very filling.

Here is the croissant ready to be consumed.

The Urth croissant is quite good, and very consistent.  It has a harder outside than the other croissants, giving it a bit of a crunch.  The pastry inside is more on the chewy side. Chocolate-wise, it's not the chocolate chips of our first two contenders, but a more solid chunk of chocolate.  Many would consider the drizzled chocolate on the top a plus, but I would say it's a drawback as it gets all over your hands.  It looks cool though.

Although good, I'd say Urth currently comes in last, though it's kind of like being in the Olympics: to even be considered is an honor.  I would not say no to an Urth croissant!


Now we move on to Contestant #4: Amandine Patisserie on Wilshire near Bundy.

Inside it feels very much like a European cafe.  I'd never been here or even heard of it; it came recommended from Chowhound (a food website.)

In case you are wondering, I am not eating multiple croissants and coffees per day.   Here is the Amandine croissant on its own day.

This was the flakiest and most airy croissant so far.  Also the smallest, which might be good or bad depending on your viewpoint.  Chocolate inside was tasty, though there was not too much of it.  The outside crust was crusty, if that makes sense, but not hard like the Urth one.  While the lightness of this croissant makes it top notch, and it is the perfect size (not too small, not too large,) it loses points because when you eat it, it flakes apart. Nevertheless, I can see why this one is highly ranked.  I would put it in 2nd place behind Delice at this point; I guess because I like heavier more chocolaty croissants.

So the current winner is still Delice on Pico near La Cienega.  More contenders next week!

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Another Hike Sunday

Did you know......

There is another hike this Sunday?

If not, you should check out the Hiking Page in the sidebar.

Quite a few people are interested in going this time, so join the party....

Long Lost Bike

This is the only surviving photo of the long lost bike: the Schwinn Super 7 Cruiser.  Not to be confused with an actual classic Schwinn, this bike was made in 2001.  I bought this new in 2001 and rode it until 2009.

The bike was made to look like an old Schwinn, but had Shimano gears, 7 of them.  It was heavy like an old Schwinn, and had a coaster brake.  Riding it down the bike path at the beach, it got comments every single time.

Sadly, one day in 2009 I rode the Super 7 to Starbucks.  Returning with my double tall no whip extra hot easy mocha (I used to drink one of those every day), I went upstairs to set down the coffee, leaving the bike parked on the sidewalk.  I must have become distracted and forgotten I'd left the bike down there.

The next morning, I went to get the bike and.....wait, where IS the bike?

Did I leave it in the hallway?  Uh-oh.  I left it outside?  D'oh!

Maybe it's still out there!  It isn't?  How could that be?  Could someone have taken something that wasn't even theirs?  Who would do such a thing?!  ;)

For months afterward, whenever I saw someone riding any kind of bike even faintly resembling the Super 7, I would slow down the car and stare.  Wait, wait...THAT IS IT.  THAT GUY STOLE MY BIKE, um...oh wait....that isn't it.  Although even driving away I would still eye the person suspiciously.  Maybe they had altered the bike to avoid detection.  This was of course either entertaining or annoying to anyone else in the car at the time.

I went through the 7 stages of grief (or some of them anyway) and arrived at Acceptance (assuming that is a stage - as a guy the only ones I know are Denial and Anger.  Oh....I am just kidding here!  :)  )

The Super 7 would never be found.

I resolved to get a new Super 7 Cruiser.  But.....turns out they only made them that one year, in 2001.  Since that time, Schwinn has been sold, and now makes bikes cheap enough to be sold at Wal Mart.  The Super 7 is another bike I search for, but ironically, unlike the actual classic Schwinns, I have never seen a single one for sale anywhere.

1000 Page Views!

Wow, I have 1000 page views already!  And only 800 of those are me editing it.  Actually, the tally doesn't count one's own views (or robots) so that's pretty neat.

Mural Monday

It's our first mural submitted by someone reading this blog.  This one is not in L.A., though, it's in Washington D.C.

Submit some Murals!  Each Monday I will put a mural on the Mural Page.

Food Friday

Welcome to Food Friday.  OK, I know "Food Friday" is so cheesy (pun not initially intended, but I'm going with it now).....but each Friday I will have something about food.

We will start with Part One of the QUEST FOR THE BEST CHOCOLATE CROISSANT IN LOS ANGELES.

Our first contender is the esteemed La Dijonaise in Culver City.

The croissants here are often very fresh.  If you are lucky, they will pull it from the tray yet to be placed in this display case.  However, today I was not so lucky.

Here is the croissant all by itself:

Review of Crossiant:  This croissant is a different animal when it is fresh - quite amazing in that circumstance.  Today's was still quite tasty, but had a little bit of a chewy, bready texture as opposed to the preferred light and airy.  I feel they are not putting quite as many chocolate chips inside, so that has brought them down a peg in recent years.  Still, at one point I felt this was the best croissant around, and it still holds up.


Now it's time for Contender #2:  Delice Bakery on Pico near La Cienega.

This place is cool because it feels very French inside.  So much so that they have French radio piped in, I assume from France or maybe Quebec or something.

The croissants here are almost always guaranteed fresh.

Here is the croissant in its bag, waiting to be transported to where it shall be eaten.  (Peet's Coffee.)

Ready for consumption!

The croissant here is amazing, mainly because of the chocolate.  The pastry itself is very fluffy, with a perfectly crisp crust.  It's a filling croissant and extremely satisfying.  I don't want to say best yet, as there are many more competitors, but....best so far!

More competitors next Friday.  Please suggest an awesome croissant if you know of one!

Next Hike July 1

Doesn't that trail look inviting?  Of course it does.

The next hike is scheduled for Sunday, July 1.  This hike is similar in length and difficulty to the last one.  Like the last one, it is also in the Palisades.  The picture above is from the upcoming hike.

Hiking is a great excuse to get together.  Or, getting together is a great way to force you to hike.  Either way, you should come out and join us.  Email me and (if I know who you are) I will give you directions!

Go to the Hiking Page for more info on hikes in general, and dates for the other hikes.

International Surfing Day

Did you know it was International Surfing Day?  I didn't either, until I got in the water down in Sunset Beach.  Not the one near Gladstone's, the one in Orange County.

There were only two guys in the water, a far cry from the mobs up here.  (Look closely you can see them.)  One of them told me we were surfing right in front of his house.  I thought about mean locals and such, but he was friendly and proceeded to tell me it was International Surfing Day.   The waves were nicely shaped but not too large.  The water was noticeably free of the trash one normally encounters at Santa Monica.  It was also FREEZING, for this time of year anyway, which is weird as it's further south.

The guy must have had great local knowledge, because the second he and his buddy got out, the waves stopped, like someone had turned off the power.  However while they were in, the three of us had plenty of waves to share.

Sunset is a tiny little town, one of the few places around here where the houses are on the sand without a bike path or something in front of you.  There are also cool sand dunes which remind me more of the east coast.

The beach is very large and on weekdays unpopulated.  Perfect for flying kites.




















They still have Sesame Street style trash cans; this is sort of the archetypal "trash can" in my opinion.

Sunset also features this huge tower, which I remember at one point was for sale for A MILLION DOLLARS, which seemed outrageous at the time.

In Santa Monica, a welcome sign like this would have a modern looking silhouette of a lifeguard, a life guard stand, or a tilted umbrella.  It would feature a stylistic font, and it would scream cool and hip.

In Sunset, the welcome to the beach sign has a cartoon crab.

Schwinn Speedster Search

The Schwinn Speedster is my favorite old bicycle.

I like these bikes because they are inexpensive, are comfortable to ride, have three gears, and have a little bit of style.   Unlike other Schwinns, they have chrome fenders.  Like any Schwinn from this time period (basically before 1982), they were made in Chicago.

Schwinn Speedsters are constantly for sale on craigslist, but they are never the exact kind I'm looking for, which is:

 - 26"

 - blue

 - 3 gears that work

 - the original two-tone "S" seat

 - still has the chrome fenders

 - has not been repainted

 - the bike works as is

This one, for example, would be perfect.  Except it is green, and it is not a 26" frame.

This one has the right color, and the right seat, but no gears, no fenders, and it is also not 26."  

This one is 26", but is green, has no gears, and is missing the original seat.

Each day, I search craigslit, but I have yet to find the exact bike for me.  Many times I have been tempted to buy one that is red, or doesn't have the original seat...but I am holding out for the perfect Schwinn Speedster!

Summer Reading Begins

I apologize for this terribly fuzzy picture showing what page I'm on.

So I have embarked on my summer reading.  My first book is London Calling, which of course has made me have the Clash song stuck in my head all day.

Before I begin describing this book, I'll tell you that I had an embarrassing experience.  I went to the Beverly Hills Public Library to check out this book.  I did not have my card, but no problem, they could look it up.

Well, it turns out I owed them $35!  Again, no problem - I'll pay right now.

While the guy was ringing me up, I asked him, "So, is this a book that was never returned?  I feel bad if so."

"Oh, you returned it, it's just overdue fines."

"Really?  So how long was it overdue?"

"Well the book wasn't overdue very long, but the fines were overdue for, let me see.....four years."

Four years!

That means I haven't checked out a book in (at least) four years?  Shame on me!

Anyway, back to London Calling.  This book surprised me right away because I thought it would be set in London.  But it was set in New Jersey and Boston (even mentioning the Green Line there!) so that made it familiar.  As did its description of a private school with clashes between "legacies" (kids paying) and "scholarships" (kids who have parents working there or go free.)  The heroes are of course the scholarships!

Another neat moment was the description of a "real world dream" which for the main character was having a dream where the dream is taking place in the same room you are sleeping in.  Thus you don't actually know if it is real.  I haven't had that happen too often, but when it does, it is pretty scary/disorienting.  Interestingly, the character also describes simply ordering himself to wake up if the dream is too scary, which is another thing I sometimes do.

Well....don't want to give too much of the story away.  London does come into play, and I'll be honest I did feel things got bogged down once it got into details about World War 2. But I'm not a war buff so if you are it might be your favorite part.  There is a fairly creative mystery the author has created, and I imagine it's a great way for kids to learn a little history.

Well, that is my long-winded summer reading story.  Part 2 I will put in the summer reading section whenever I finish it.

Slick

   If If there were comments here, we could play "name where this seal is located," but since I don't have that turned on, I'll have to tell you the story of Slick.


Slick is a seal situated at the foot of the Seal Beach Pier.  I used to live in Seal Beach, and the lore I heard was that if you passed by Slick, you were required to rub his nose for good luck.  As you can see, his nose is discolored due to all the rubbing!  (I took this photo of Slick yesterday!)


Now I am quite certain that the plaque underneath Slick used to say "Slick," but it now says "Seal."  Which I find funny because it is quite obvious that it's a seal, but I guess it was unclear.


It's probably a good idea to get some luck before heading down the pier, as it's the longest wooden pier in California.  And it feels like the longest wooden pier when you walk down to the end.  But that's not why you need good luck, unless you are REALLY out of shape.  You need good luck because it's prone to catching fire.  I think in the three years I lived in that town, the pier caught on fire three times; one of those times I was surfing to the north of it when the smoke started!


Anyway, if you're ever in Seal Beach, be sure to rub Slick's nose.


Here is a video I came across of really large waves crashing into the Seal Beach Pier; hopefully not too frightening for poor Slick!

Seal Beach Waves

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