This January 14, 2024 visit to the Getty Center happened on the last day of the William Blake exhibit. Thus, crowds beyond the average jammed into the parking structure, the "three-car, cable-pulled hover train people mover," and the galleries themselves. Outside, the clear skies made for easy viewing across Los Angeles from Santa Monica Bay to Downtown.
If you look real close facing east-ish, you can spot Century City, the Park LaBrea apartments, the Beverly Center Mall, the Ninety Two Towers at the west end of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, and the downtown L.A. skyline in the far distance.
Facing west-ish, you can spot the Santa Monica Bay itself as well as the beach cites all the way down to a hazy Palos Verdes Peninsula.
A vibrant sunset appears later in the video with an array of colors certain to give you a pause, a tingle, perhaps even a meditative moment.
Of course, people watching figures prominently in this brief glimpse of the Getty.
Watching the sunsets from Westward Beach at Point Dume in Malibu can prove to be a genuinely ethereal experience. The "point" at Point Dume marks the top of the Santa Monica Bay crescent shape. Standing on the beach, one can see a northern coastal view not possible from most of the shoreline within the crescent. Add to this a fog covered mountain range and a sunset worthy of a painter's brush, then you'll find yourself in a little taste of paradise.
I have frequently driven a self-guided tour from Santa Monica, along Pacific Coast Highway to Topanga Canyon, to Mulholland Highway, into Ventura County, and stopping at Point Mugu. My return trip usually includes a drive along Westward Beach Road just south of Zuma, a jaunt through the residential areas of Point Dume, and a reacquaintance with Pacific Coast Highway to facilitate the drive home.
California Historical Marker on the site reads:
NO. 965 POINT DUME - On November 24, 1793, English explorer George Vancouver, commander of an expedition to determine the extent of settlement of the northwest coast of America, named this rocky promontory, Point Dume, after his Franciscan friend, Father Francisco Dumetz, at Mission San Buenaventura. Point Dume is the western terminus of Santa Monica Bay and has been an important landmark for navigators since Vancouver's voyage in 1793.
I recommend frequent visits to Point Dume. Check out the cove where the final sequences of THE PLANET OF THE APES (1968) were filmed and where the beach was clothing-optional in the 60s and 70s. Watch out for tides if you're wearing street shoes.
Driving Old Topanga Canyon Road 9/14/23 Real Time ASMR Meditations
This 9/14/23 drive begins at the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Old Topanga Canyon Road. The vehicle travels northbound till reaching Mulholland Highway.
Driving Old Topanga Canyon Road 9/14/23 High Speed ASMR Meditations
This 9/14/23 drive begins at the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Old Topanga Canyon Road. The vehicle travels northbound till reaching Mulholland Highway.
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