Culture Around the Corner

I know a thing or two about what’s going on around Southern California. In fact, I generally know what’s going on, when and where--whether I want to or not.

I know Arcadia from Alhambra from Altadena. I know LACMA is closed on Wednesday; that on Thursdays and Fridays, the Getty requires reservations only until 4 p.m.; and that Fridays are better than Saturdays for public rush tickets. This isn’t a boast. This is a job hazard of working in Calendar Weekend.

And yet, Los Angeles and environs can be overwhelming, even once you’ve got your brain around the area. Surveying the options of activities here can be like looking out the window of an airplane flying into LAX. Suddenly a region that seemed manageable stretches on and on.

Normally this is the time of year to adopt resolutions, some activities to improve one’s health or well-being. This year, I’m resolving to do more. That’s not only good for my well-being, it’s also good for the cultural health of Southern California.

To be specific, in 2001 I resolve to:

Do something historic. A confession: In the 12 years I’ve lived (off and on) in Southern California, I’ve never been to any of the region’s historic missions. What can I say? I didn’t grow up here and go on school field trips.

I have excuses. The San Fernando Mission was closed when I moved to the Valley after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The San Gabriel Mission--the fourth of the 21 in California--was closed when I first moved here after the Whittier quake of 1987. Before there’s another earthquake, I’m heading out to see both of them.

For those who did hit the missions in grade school, lots of other historic sites hold interest as well, such as the Leonis Adobe, home of Miguel Leonis, the Basque immigrant-turned-smuggler-turned-shepherd who eventually became the “king of Calabasas.” The Banning Residence Museum also has allure as an example of 19th century life here. Docents from the Los Angeles Conservancy lead fantastic walking tours, mostly in downtown, for a taste of early 20th century life. I’ve checked off the Art Deco one; the Broadway theaters tour is next.

Do something dramatic. We’ve all heard the rumor--or is it an urban legend?--that there is more theater in Los Angeles than in New York. It’s hard to believe, until you start counting all the little theaters. It’s impossible to quantify, really. L.A. probably has more productions of the off-off-Broadway variety, but New York’s huge Broadway shows and mid-sized off-Broadway productions greatly outnumber L.A.’s.

Thus, theatergoing here requires paying attention in a way that those of us too used to multiplex moviegoing find difficult. Yet it’s worth the effort. Major productions often stop here on their way to New York, and some companies in Southern California are developing award-winning new plays.

Slipping into that I’ll-catch-it-on-video mind-set is deadly. I’m still kicking myself for not seeing “Dinner With Friends” at the Geffen Playhouse last October--not to mention two years ago at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. Of course, “The Lion King,” now at the recently renovated Pantages, is on my list, for pure spectacle’s sake. So is “Contact,” coming to the Ahmanson in July. And, I swear, I will make the drive to the La Jolla Playhouse. Sure, theater tickets are expensive, but they’re cheaper than a flight to New York.

At the same time, I don’t want to forget about the hundreds of shows in 99-seat theaters. I know as well as anyone how hit-and-miss that can be, but there are reliable companies. As for the rest, that’s what reviews are for.

Buy tickets now. Part of my job in Calendar Weekend involves dealing with listings--trying to fit as many as I can on a page, scanning them for errors or omissions, figuring out where to list something like a bagpipe festival and barbecue. Music? Leisure?

Besides eyestrain and the aforementioned mastery of museum operating hours, what this job gives me is a serious case of ticket regret. By the time I read in a listing that some hot new singer is going to be at the House of Blues, there’s a good chance the concert is sold out.

The irritating thing is that I knew that singer was coming. But it was so long ago and I didn’t want to buy concert tickets for something five months away. Who knows? I might have won the lottery by then and moved to Tahiti.

I hereby vow that when I say to myself, “I’d like to see that,” I will immediately pick up the phone.

Excuse me while I call the Pantages.

Try something new. When I arrived in Los Angeles, I thought Taco Bell actually served Mexican food and that I would never, ever, eat raw fish.

By the standards of my Midwestern roots, I’m now a pretty adventurous eater. Still, whole cuisines have gone practically untried. Persian. Ethiopian. Moroccan. Zagat’s assures me that there are at least five Moroccan restaurants just in Los Angeles, including a new one in my own neighborhood.

I’m starting with Korean, and I’m going to the source: Woo Lae Oak in Koreatown. I figure that the best place to try something new is at a restaurant that comes recommended. Thus I avoid the problem I had with Mexican food: I didn’t like Taco Bell, and therefore too many years passed before I discovered the joys of mole, enchiladas and the perfect carnitas burrito from Yucca’s taco stand. And what the heck, if I can eat raw fish, I can eat raw egg.

Stop and smell the roses. Yes, the botanical gardens at the Huntington are wonderful. Every out-of-town house guest is promptly shuttled to the Huntington to see the magnificent cactuses, the bonsai, the bamboo stand bigger than my house. I have a membership at the Huntington for just this purpose.

But I don’t think it would be any sort of botanical infidelity for me to, say, go to Descanso Gardens once in a while. Or the South Coast Botanical Garden. Or maybe, if I could take a day off during the week, I could make it to the Virginia Robinson Gardens--the oldest estate in Beverly Hills, with a 6.2-acre garden with four waterfalls. It’s open by reservation only, Tuesdays through Fridays. (See what a curse this job can be?) And while I’m in the neighborhood, I might finally make it to Greystone Park too.

By the same token, I love Griffith Park. I consider it part of my extended backyard--the part that I don’t have to mow, weed or water. But it wouldn’t kill me to try out the miles of trails in the Angeles National Forest or Point Mugu State Park or Chino Hills.

Get in my car. There are a great many downsides to living in a region addicted to automobiles, but the ease of getting out of town is not one of them.

I bought a Thomas Guide to all of California. It’s time to use it. Day trips or overnighters, even just into the next county, provide a much better answer to the inevitable Monday morning question, “So what did you do this weekend?” than “I saw that Nicolas Cage movie.”

Owning a guidebook to your hometown should cause no embarrassment. Personally, I keep at least four L.A guidebooks on hand, not counting the ones that are specific to museums, architecture and hiking. I’m adding a few more, perhaps “101 Hikes in Southern California” or “Country Roads of Southern California.”

I’ve put off a trip to the scenic--and often filmed--Vasquez Rocks, right off the Antelope Valley Freeway. San Diego County and I are almost complete strangers and, heck, Amtrak can get me there for about $22. You can pay that to park on the Sunset Strip in one night.

For Mother’s Day last year I took my visiting mom to Newport Beach; it was probably my third trip to Orange County in five years. Yet with some guidance, it was a perfect weekend away. The beach was sparsely populated, the walk around Balboa Island charming and the dinner ranks up there with the best meals I’ve ever had.

And on that topic. . . .

Fight geographic snobbery. I am as guilty of this as anyone. The root cause, I believe, is laziness. Each of us likes our little pocket of Greater Los Angeles because, well, we don’t have to drive too far to get there.

Sure, I’d rather chew glass than take the 405 on a Friday night. That doesn’t mean there aren’t worthwhile reasons to travel on that side of Los Angeles. Likewise, I have a hard time convincing my friends who live in West Hollywood that, really, truly, it’s less than a 20-minute drive to my home in Silver Lake. Yes, on surface streets.

I got my comeuppance on this point recently when I called Yucaipa to ask some questions for a Best Bet I was writing. Actually, the woman I spoke to was in Oak Park, which, I’m told, is sort of a suburb of Yucaipa. Now I don’t know Yucaipa from Kalamazoo, but I had ideas about San Bernardino--or, really, gross generalizations about the whole Inland Empire.

Then the woman on the phone described for me the apple ranch in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. She said the leaves were changing colors and, a little farther up, they’d had snow. This particular apple ranch had a cafe and gourmet food shop, a nice place to warm up after a stroll. Yucaipa, here I come.

Go to the Statue of Liberty. Not literally. It’s easy to overlook the biggest tourist attractions in your own backyard. I have hit the area’s biggie--Disneyland--but I’ve sort of never quite actually made it to Universal Studios Hollywood. When visitors ask if it’s worth the $41, I don’t know what to tell them. I’ve never pedaled that bike that makes me fly like Henry Thomas in “E.T.” Ditto the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

Likewise, there are those of you out there--and you know who you are--who haven’t made it to the Getty Center since it opened, oh, three years ago. Go on. Go. You don’t need reservations on weekends, and it’s open 10 to 6.

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Where to Start Getting to Know the Southland

Looking to make the most of living in Southern California?Considering starting at any of these places included in the Cover Story.

* San Fernando Mission, 15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd., Los Angeles. (818) 361-0186. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $3 to $4; free for ages 7 and younger.

* San Gabriel Mission, 537 W. Mission Drive, San Gabriel. (626) 457-3048. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $2 to 5; free for ages 6 and younger.

* Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. (818) 222-6511. Open Wednesdays through Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. $.50 to $2 donation.

* Banning Residence Museum, 401 East M St., Wilmington. (310) 548-7777. Tours Tuesdays through Thursdays at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 p.m.; Fridays, self-guided tour only, 10:30 to 3:20 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 p.m. $3 donation; ages 12 and younger, free.

* Los Angeles Conservancy Walking Tours. Meet at Olive Street entrance of Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A. for most tours. (213) 623-CITY. Tours of Union Station, 7th Street, Little Tokyo, Art Deco buildings, Pershing Square, Broadway theater district and other areas. Saturdays, 10 a.m. $8. Reservations required.

* “The Lion King,” Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (213) 365-5555, (714) 703-2510. Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. 2 p.m. matinees on first Wednesday of each month. Ends Oct. 1. $12 to $77; VIP tickets, $127.

* “Contact,” Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A., [213] 628-2772. Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 29 through Aug. 26. $40 to 75. Single tickets go on sale in April.

* Woo Lae Oak, 623 S. Western Ave., L.A. (213) 384-2244.

* Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge. (818) 952-4400. Daily 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $1 to $5.

* Virginia Robinson Gardens, 1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills. (310) 276-5367. Tours by appointment only, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. $3 to $5.

* Greystone Park, 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 550-

4796. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free.

* Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Road, Agua Dulce. (661) 268-0840. Open daily. Free.

* Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood Freeway at Lankershim Boulevard, Universal City. (818) 508-9600. Open daily, hours vary. $31 to $41. Free for ages 3 and younger.

* Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, Shoreline Drive and Aquarium Way, Long Beach. (562) 590-3100. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. $7.95 to $14.95. Ages 3 and younger, free.

* Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. (310) 440-7300. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Parking, $5. Parking reservations required all day Tuesdays and Wednesdays and until 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.