Matthew's web log

We had been discussing taking a short vacation for awhile and finally on Saturday sorted out the details. After living in California for 10 years, I was finally off to visit our neighbors to the south- we were heading to L.A. We left Monday in the early evening to drive most of the way at night (since I-5 is an efficient, yet boring road). We made it past Bakersfield and were within about an hour of our destination by the time we grabbed a hotel for the night.

Waking up on Tuesday, we enjoyed our included breakfast at the hotel. While watching the news, we hear that the Grapevine is snowed in and that I-5 is closed. (The Grapevine is the name for the mountain pass that we need to go through to get to L.A.). Fortunately as we finish breakfast, the news reports that the road is open and we decide to just go for it. We luck out in that there is no traffic and a scenic snow dusting on the ground makes for a pretty drive.

We arrive at the Getty Center around 10:30am and are surprised how crowded it is. I’ve been wanting to go to the Getty for awhile. The architecture is interesting as is the art collection. It’s a lot bigger than I was expecting and we spend most of the day there. Mr. Getty made his money in the oil business and then died and left his estate to from the center. It’s now one of the richest art institutions in the world with several billion dollars in endowment. As my dad would say "you can do a lot on an unlimited budget". There aren’t that many superstar paintings, but it certainly is a worthy museum.

L’ connects with her friends that we’re staying with and we plan to meet for dinner. We get to the deli early which allows us to get some items at the nearby store. It was nice to finally talk with L”s friend and to meet her husband & kids who did not attend the wedding. We’re beat by the time dinner finishes and follow them back home to get some rest for the big day that follows.

The full photo album is here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/SouthernCaliforniaDec2009/index.html