A couple weeks ago, we had a horrible heat wave -- above 100 for seven days straight -- and I went to the beach to escape the heat. As I drove on the 101 through the valley around 2:30 in the afternoon, the thermometer in my car read 120. I am so glad that I live on the other side of the hill. I don't care what I pay in rent, it's worth it. The Valley is notoriously hotter than the basin and the ocean is even cooler than the L.A. basin. I stayed at the beach until the last possible moment and snapped this photo, which was prettier than the actual sunset.
To finish off my trifecta of sunset photos, I attended a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Barnsdall Art Park in August. The excellent acting and superb writing (goes without saying) overcame the sparse stage. Truly, though, should there be an elaborate stage design for Shakespeare? I must say the Shakespeare plays I've seen have always been performed on a simple set.
It would have been a great evening except we sat next to some college-aged girls and they talked through the whole performance. They didn't understand what was happening and kept asking each other what was going on. Everyone around them gave them dirty looks but they didn't heed the warnings. Someone even shushed them and they didn't shut up. I overheard them deciding if they should stay for the second act at intermission. Unfortunately, they stayed.
The play was a part of a Shakespeare in the Park type of deal. One could bring a picnic on which to dine prior to the show, which is what we did. Barnsdall Art Park is on hill and we had a good view of downtown from this vantage point. The sun was setting and I liked the way the light reflected off the buildings. Now, for you Chicago snobs, downtown L.A. is not as impressive as the Chicago skyline but there's still a nobility about the skyline.
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