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EAST LOS ANGELES | 4:56 p.m. Saturday | Luis Montoya Sr., left, celebrates his birthday in the yard with family, including son Fredy, 24, center, and daughter Jacqueline, 24, right.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Will Southern California ever see another summer like this one? We hope not. But we want to remember it, so on Aug. 8 and 9 we sent 12 photographers to document a single weekend.
Not to hospitals and testing centers. To backyards, parks, barbecues, beaches, a drive-in movie — refuges where Angelenos can turn away from the pandemic, if only for an hour, sometimes with great care, sometimes in risky denial.
The weather was mild. At Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains, the temperature reached 93. In Santa Monica it dipped to 63.
On Catalina, 331 private boats arrived at moorings in Avalon Harbor, Descanso Bay, and Hamilton Cove.
The Dodgers, playing before a cardboard crowd in Dodger Stadium, lost to the Giants Saturday, then beat them Sunday.
From Long Beach to Malibu, L.A. County lifeguards made 61 ocean rescues and estimated beach attendance at 1.2 million.
Meanwhile, that weekend L.A. County Public Health officials counted 4,434 new COVID-19 cases and 61 deaths.
But lives were beginning too. Judging by the county’s birth rate in recent years, about 650 Angelenos were born during those 48 hours.
—Christopher Reynolds
MANHATTAN BEACH | 5:27 p.m. Saturday | Joi K. Madison watches the horizon for waves at El Porto Beach.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
AVALON, SANTA CATALINA | 5:42 p.m. Sunday | Snorkelers explore the seascape at Casino Point Dive Park.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
LONG BEACH | 11:14 a.m. Saturday | Scooter riders zip past an ice cream truck at Alamitos Beach.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
LONG BEACH | 12:35 p.m. Saturday | People and dogs crowd Rosie’s Dog Beach.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
LONG BEACH | 12:53 p.m. Saturday | Players gather for pickup basketball on a court at Junipero Beach.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
LYTLE CREEK | 1:31 p.m. Saturday | Alina Rendon, 3, front, Adriel Rendon, 10, Mia Rose, 2, and Venessa Gaona, 17, walk along a stream at Lytle Creek in San Bernardino County, about 25 miles northeast of Claremont (and the L.A. County line).
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
LYTLE CREEK | 1:34 p.m. Saturday | Orlando Miranda, left, and his sons Osvaldo Miranda, 2, and Carlos Luna, 9, play in a stream at Lytle Creek, about 25 miles northeast of the L.A. County line.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
LONG BEACH | 3:16 p.m. Saturday | Children look out the window of a tour boat as it departs for a harbor cruise.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
BOYLE HEIGHTS | 3:32 p.m. Saturday | A street vendor sells raspados (shaved ice) in Mariachi Square.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
LONG BEACH | 3:46 p.m. Saturday | A woman navigates a swan boat in Rainbow Lagoon.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
MANHATTAN BEACH | 4:32 p.m. Saturday | Surfers practice yoga before surfing at El Porto Beach.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
MANHATTAN BEACH | 5:06 p.m. Saturday | Rahzizi Ishakarah rides the 1-foot swell at El Porto Beach.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
LADERA HEIGHTS | 5:11 p.m. Sunday | A man fishes as others enjoy a shoreline scene in Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
HOLLYWOOD HILLS | 6:15 p.m. Saturday | Faa Kinoshita leans on her husband, Atman Akhtar, both of Highland Park, as they relax at Franklin Canyon Reservoir.
(Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
ELYSIAN PARK | 6:40 p.m. Saturday | Keith Hupp, left, and David Lopez watch from an overlook in the park as the Dodgers play the San Francisco Giants. They are listening to the game on the radio.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
LOS ANGELES | 6:51 p.m. Sunday | Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts makes a catch against the Giants to end the game at Dodger Stadium.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
BOYLE HEIGHTS | 7:16 p.m. Saturday | Keven Lopez, 16, plays basketball solo at a court near South Pecan Street.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
SAN PEDRO | 7:27 p.m. Saturday | Two people climb on the remnants of house foundations at Sunken City, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean near Point Fermin.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
BOYLE HEIGHTS | 7:39 p.m. Saturday | Ramon Vuenrostro, center, and Antonio Mendiola, right, play handball at Pecan Recreation Center.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
GLENDALE | 9:18 p.m. Saturday | Elsbeth Steele and Chris Williams of Cypress Park watch “National Lampoon’s Vacation” at the Electric Dusk Drive-in atop a former Sears parking garage.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
GLENDALE | 9:24 p.m. Saturday | Moviegoers watch “National Lampoon’s Vacation” at the Electric Dusk Drive-In atop an old Sears parking garage.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
VENICE | 10:43 a.m. Sunday | Ocean Brown, 8, of Huntington Beach, gets airborne at the Venice Beach Skate Park.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
AVALON, SANTA CATALINA | 8:57 a.m. Sunday | Beachgoers snorkel with garibaldi, California’s state fish, at Casino Point Dive Park.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
VENICE | 11:35 a.m. Sunday | People make their way along the bicycle path in Venice Beach.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
VENICE |12 p.m. Sunday | Masked and mobile, cyclists make their way along the bicycle path in Venice Beach.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
MARINA DEL REY| 2:11 p.m. Sunday | People and pet paddle harbor waters.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
LADERA HEIGHTS | 2:53 p.m. Sunday | Hikers take in downtown views at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
AVALON, SANTA CATALINA | 3:17 p.m. Sunday | As seen in an aerial view, dozens of boats are moored in the turquoise waters of Catalina Harbor.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
AVALON, SANTA CATALINA | 3:25 p.m. Sunday | Paddleboarders ply the waters of Avalon Harbor.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
SANTA MONICA | 4:07 p.m. Sunday | Ekaterina Pokrovskaya, of Las Vegas, strikes a pose for a photographer on the Santa Monica Pier.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
WEST ADAMS | 4:16 p.m. Sunday | Chef Armond Keys, owner of Bootsy’s BBQ, works the grill at his home as he prepares for diners to “get a taste of the smoke.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
SANTA MONICA | 4:16 p.m. Sunday | Montey Taylor, 7, top, and his cousin Darryl Bing, 12, make the most of a sandy beach.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
SANTA MONICA | 5:25 p.m. Sunday | Gabriela Short of West Hollywood and Julio Escobar of Culver City dance to salsa music at the beach.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
ECHO PARK | 6:04 p.m. Sunday | A group of friends meet for a painting session on the grass.
(Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
GRIFFITH PARK | 7:16 p.m. Sunday | Karissa Green, 30, of Dallas, strikes a pose on the ledge of the Griffith Park Observatory as the sun sets.
(Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
SANTA MONICA | 7:32 p.m. Sunday | People take in the view as the sun sets beyond the Santa Monica Pier.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
SANTA MONICA | 8:04 p.m. Sunday| Diana Mazariegos and her husband, Jonathan Gomez, of Riverside, embrace at dusk on the beach by the Santa Monica Pier.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
