December Holiday Travels in LA

 December

Holiday Travels in LA

 

     I arrived in LA at night on Wednesday   Dec 4^th at night. The weather was much warmer that Seattle and that was enjoyable.  We went to Trader Joes for food and then to friends place in Studio City. I could not of choose a better time to start my vacation with the The New Moon in Sagittarius on Dec 2 at 11 degrees in aspect to my Sun in Virgo bringing inspiration and expansive energies for my holiday vacation.  Also the ruler of Jupiter is in Cancer transiting my 11^th of friends, along with Uranus the planet of change. I definitely felt free to express my poetry, meet and made many new friends. I have read that a Sagittarius New Moon provides us with a broader perspective, giving us the opportunity to examine our higher knowledge, belief systems and visions to determine how we want to make plans for our New Year.

     On Thursday I went to my favorite restaurant: Café Aroma in Studio City for an outdoor Patio lunch. In the evening I went and read my poetry at the Soap Box Sessions in Encino, not far from Studio City, http://www.spreadthesoap.com/soapbox-sessions/.   Their was a great mix of musicians, comics and poets. Also energetic audience and supportive MC Jason Brain

     On Friday I went to Santa Monica for a weekend beach getaway at Santa Monica Youth Hostel. Friday night is always a blast at the First Friday Venice art walk with the stores, outer booths, food carts and Christmas parties.

     Santa Monica has an amazing Farmers Market with Fruit in December like juicy persimmons and a weird mix of cauliflower and broccoli.

     After the delicious treat of many samples I wanted to go to the Getty Museum but it was just too windy.  I decided to just go to Whole Foods and get some lunch and bring it to the Barnes and Noble coffee area. It was quite an adventure to share my poetry with a TV producer and his family. I hope we can stay connected and I keep my eye out for his show on Alligators on Animal planet.

On Sunday I went to Lake Shrine Self-Realization Fellowship Temple where I communed with the Paramahansa Yogananda and many other saints. This is very much a spiritual pilgrimage to the  Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in the hills past Santa Monica. They have beautiful garden area where you can walk around a large pond with swans and many spiritual statues.

In the late afternoon I performed at an open Mike at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice CA It was a youth oriented open mike. I show up at the end and performed two poems. It was so beat when I performed Landscape of sound with a drummer and poet. named Julio Rodrigurz. 
Wow that connection with music and poetry feels so high. http://www.marcymoonstar.com/performances/LandscapeOfSound.html

     I decided to stay and listen to a group show of poets: Tongue in Grove, organized my Cathy Colman. Also at the end of my poetry tour in CA I was part of an open mike in there hall. I was a very serious group and reading but I did get an introduction as a poet who lives in Seattle. This is very, very supportive place for poets and I wish there was some way I could live in Venice Ca   http://www.beyondbaroque.org

When I got back to LA and my friends place in Studio City I decided to go to the La Zoo where I saw a giraffe family, a tiger and a family of Apes. Here are some pictures I took at the Zoo.

  

     And I do not want to forget going to the Story Salon at the Art Parlor in Studio City with my friend Dori who is a poet and a storyteller. They are a wonderful group and I miss them.

     I had an unusual adventure on the Sagittarius full moon. I did not realize The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is closed on Tuesdays.  I was upset because it takes a long time on the bus in LA. I was lucky this nice lady make the same mistake and she and her son drove me to the town of Pasadena where I meet Andrea and I gave her an astrology reading in exchange for some ice cream and I even got a ride back to Studio City. What a great gal and a new friend. The Moon occurs in Gemini with the Sun in Sagittarius is off the charts mutable and challenged me to be more versatile, adaptable and flexible after the mishap at the museum. The up side of this full moon is we can receive and disseminate information. And being the flexible Virgo I am, I was ready and open to meeting new people and have new experiences.

 I also went to Stories bookstore on  West Sunset Blvd where they have my poetry books. I was happy that they sold all the books from last year and bought more of my mini : check out my website for more information and to buy the books.    .http://www.marcymoonstar.com/books/Mini-Books.html   After the books I went to the newly remodeled Eco park.

 

     The next week on a Thursday I went to the Downtown L.A. Art Walk where there were many interesting art galleries and even a strange performance with Grub von Krampus, The European Yuletide Devil. www.krampuslosangles.com  The panting is called Sanctuary by Robert Reynolds. 

 

Rapp Saloon Poetry Reading at the Santa Monica Youth Hostel MC Elena Secota on the last Friday of my vacation was a supper night for performing my poetry. I was very relaxed and Sean Hill said I was a fire cracker when I accidently asked to perform during his feature set because he said he would play drums to one of my poems. I performed "Birth Yourself"

 
     I finally got to the Getty Villa on the last weekend of my vacation. The Museum is Pacific Palisades not far from Santa Monica. The weather was delightfully warm. I Always enjoy seeing the Aphrodite’s statue and getting my picture taken with her. This time I made a film about loving myself ; all of who I am. I am not quite ready to share the video.

   
  I also went to the Venice Canals and walk around and around the canals with the sunny shinning and the Holiday decorations.  In reflection I felt like a kid in Santa’s village in the real Venice possibly.

     The last night of my vacation I saw Saving My Banks to top off my stay in LA with my friend Agnes. It was a very touching and playful movie about the making of Mary Poppins with Walt Disney and the author P. L. Travers.

     All in all this was the best of my Los Angeles Holiday Vacations. I do enjoying my everyday living in Seattle but LA is happening place with the Arts and with weather.