Rollerskating and Bonsai and LA
I stopped in LA and stayed with my friend Trina for a few days while I was on my way down through California headed to the Desert Hearts festival. One evening, we got some food at a restaurant her friend Hether worked at (I forget the name!). We had some really tasty veggie food and a lovely drink Hether made for us that she described as “a hug but on the inside” - some sort of Chai-adjacent concoction that was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. We hung out for a bit and Hether invited us to join for rollerskating the following night.
That next day, Trina and I were talking about Polaroids and she dug out her old Fuji instax wide and, after popping in some fresh AA batteries, we were excited to see that it still worked! I threw on some of my festival clothes and we went skating and she took these fun shots with it. I really liked the little rainbow scribbles pattern on the carpet there too. It felt really nostalgic.
Another afternoon, Trina took me to the Huntington Gardens over in Pasadena. I really enjoyed the sunshine, coming from one of the coldest and dreariest Seattle winters in a while. I always feel 100x better emotionally after spending some time in the sun.
There was a large Bonsai garden that we walked through. While we were walking around it, we stumbled upon a guy who was talking to his friends about the Bonsai who really seemed to know a lot about it (he had a Bonsai sensei and everything!). We stopped and listened in to his “tour” for a bit. He was really excited about which trees were “out” today — I didn’t realize they changed which trees were on display, but it does make sense that they can change it up given that they’re all in these little movable display pots.
The one on the far left is apparently the grand-tree of a famous bonsai lineage. I forget the name of it, but I think I remember it being a tree descended by one by Peter Chan, author of the Bonsai Bible. The guy pulled up a wikipedia page for it, which I thought was awesome.
That last photo is Trina’s dog Fozzie chasing her neighbor and bff Luna. They stopped by one afternoon while I was there and I think that pic pretty much sums up the experience, haha 🌪🌪.
Overall, I really enjoyed LA. Trina was a lovely host and friend and I would definitely visit again. The city is enormous and I felt like I got a taste for only the tiniest sliver of it.