Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades

The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, one mile north of Sunset Boulevard, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is about 28 miles from the heart of Thousand Oaks. The most direct path is the 101 south to Old Topanga Canyon Road, though you can also take other arteries like Malibu Canyon and Kanan to PCH.

The Getty Villa is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the other being the spectacular Getty Center in Brentwood.

The Getty Villa houses the J. Paul Getty Museum’s extensive collection of over 44,000 Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD, including the Lansdowne Heracles and the Victorious Youth. More than 1,200 of them are on view in 23 galleries devoted to the permanent collection. An additional six galleries present changing exhibitions, often featuring works from other institutions.

Main museum at the Getty Villa

The Family Forum features hands-on activities that encourage shared learning and discovery for children, while another interactive installation, the TimeScape Room, helps place the collection in an historical context.

On a personal note, this place is stunning, Pristine, well maintained, peaceful. The grounds take you back to how the Romans may have lived. Although my younger son in 3rd grade was not particular engaged during our first visit, my 6th grader had learned about the Greek and Roman Gods in school and found many of the exhibits quite interesting. There's also a cafe and gift shop.

Due to the severe drought this was not filled with water, but is beautiful nonetheless

Located on a pristine 64 acres, the Getty Villa is modeled after the Villa dei Papiri, a first-century Roman country house, the Villa is an airy, sunlit environment, featuring mosaic floors and colorful trompe l’oeil walls and paintings. Its four gardens and grounds are planted with species known from the ancient Mediterranean, creating lush and fragrant places to stroll. There is also a 450 seat outdoor theater at the Villa.

You'll notice that these many of the antiquities on display have damages incurred for various reasons (they were outdoor displays thousands of years ago).  This adds to their aura.

The UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in Archaological and Ethnographic Conservation is housed on this campus. The collection is documented and presented through the online GettyGuide as well as through audio tours.

Admission to the Getty Villa is free of charge but requires advance reservation with a timed ticket that you can obtain at www.getty.edu, or by calling (310) 440-7300. There is a parking charge of $15 per car; $10 after 5pm for evening events. 

Open Wednesday–Monday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Closed Tuesdays and on major holidays (January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day).

Outdoor amphitheater has an authentic feel to it

Train Rides at Griffith Park

The Griffith Park & Southern Railroad has operated almost continuously since 1948.  GP&S Railroad, 4400 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles (near Los Feliz and Riverside) and Travel Town Railroad, 5200 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, Forest Lawn exit from the 134 Fwy.) are open 364 days a year, closing only on Christmas Day.

If your kids are Thomas the Tank Engine fans, then this is a no-brainer half day excursion.  We visited GP&S over a Memorial Day weekend and the kids could not get enough of the 1 mile mini-train ride, traveling over 2 bridges, a tunnel and a mini-Western town.

Travel Town is a 3/8ths of a mile track that does 2 loops, so you do get 1/4 of a mile more ride for your money on the GP&S track.  Both rides are $2.75 per person as of March 2018 ($2.25 for seniors over age 65). GP&S also has a simulator ride, pony rides and concession stands.  Travel Town also has a railroad equipment history museum as well as dozens of old-time railroad locomotive and cars.

For more information, visit www.gprah.com or call 323.664.6903 (GP&S) or 323.662.9678.

Pics and vid from a trip to Travel Town in April 2011.

King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas

The 588-acre King Gillette Ranch (26800 West Mulholland Highway, Calabasas) is situated adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park. This scenic parkland at the lower end of the Las Virgenes Valley is a haven for larger mammals of the Santa Monica Mountains and offers a rare unspoiled view of California’s rich archaeological, cultural, and historic resources, including a Chumash settlement, and nationally significant structures designed for razor magnate King C. Gillette in the 1920’s by Wallace Neff, architect of California’s Golden Age.

View of King Gillette Ranch from Inspiration Point, south of the Gillette Mansion

A short, somewhat steep roughly 1 mile hike from the parking area south of the Gillette Mansion leads to a knoll with 360-degree views—including the famous rock formations of Malibu Creek State Park. This is referred to as Inspiration Point. You will love the spectacular views from up there.

View from Inspiration Point west towards Malibu Creek State Park.

Other activities include strolling, bicycling, photography, and picnicking. King Gillette Ranch is owned and managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority in cooperation with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area unit of the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and California State Parks.  More information at lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=670 or call the Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center at 805.370.2301.

Directions from the Conejo Valley: Take Hwy 101 (Ventura Freeway) to the Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon exit. Head south on Las Virgenes Road and continue to Mulholland Hwy, about two miles. Turn left onto Mulholland Highway and immediately look for the King Gillette Ranch entrance on the right.

McCrea Ranch Visitor Center in Thousand Oaks

Opened in 2011, the McCrea Ranch Visitor Center is the former family home and ranch of Western film actor Joel McCrea and his wife and family.  McCrea Ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Center provides a variety of interpretive, educational, and cultural programs for the community, while preserving the unique history of this property through the Conejo Recreation and Park District. At some point and as funds become available in the future, the Visitor Center will be open to the general public. Visit crpd.org/about_us/community_partners/mccrea_ranch_visitor_center.asp for upcoming events at McCrea Ranch or call 805.495.2163.

McCrea Ranch is located at 4500 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks, near the bottom of the Norwegian Grade.

The Woolworth Museum in Downtown Oxnard (CLOSED)

Although the vintage items in the Woolworth Museum still reside in the building as described below, the museum is generally not open to the public at this point.

What is believed to be the only Woolworth Museum in the world is located in the Woolworth Building (circa 1950) at 210 West Fourth Street, Oxnard (4th and A Streets). This small, unique museum contains all sorts of nostalgia associated with the F. W. Woolworth Company, one of the original "five and dime" stores. Woolworth closed its stores in 1997.

The Woolworth Building is a 16,800 square foot building completed in 1950 that was completely redeveloped in 2003. It is now occupied by office tenants.

Many of the old items in the museum exemplify what Woolworths used to sell. Other items relate directly to this building and the people who worked there, including two managers and a woman who worked here on the first day that the store opened in 1950. There are souvenirs from the Woolworth Building in New York, which was the tallest building in the world when completed in 1913.

There is a collection of books related to the Woolworth stores. There are several items from old lunch counters, including dishes and menus, as well as some items that relate directly to the pivotal civil rights sit-in that took place at a Woolworth lunch counter in 1960.

Photos of various Woolworth stores from 1878 through the 1960s are seen throughout the building. There is a working antique dial pay-phone, a take-your-own photo booth from the 1940s and games and vending machines from the 1930s through the 1960s.

There is a vintage cash register, like those found in most stores in the 60's and 70's, displayed so visitors can push down "No Sale" so that the cash-drawer pops open with the familiar ch-ching, bell ringing and all, and the wooden drawer can be examined and closed.

Also seen is a 1959 Cavalier 96 Coke machine, which dispenses ice cold vintage coke bottles...at a not quite as vintage price of $1.25.

So stop by sometime! Just walk in. No attendants and no entrance fees. The museum is typically open from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm Monday to Friday and 9 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday.

For more information and pictures, visit www.thewoolworthbuilding.com (not functional as of 8/6/18).

Throwback time seen in the men's room

Heritage Square Oxnard - Historic Tours

Visit Heritage Square in Oxnard for an information-filled tour of the historic structures of Heritage Square and learn more about Oxnard. Docent led tours are $5, $10 for a family of four. Every Saturday 10AM - 4PM and every Sunday 1PM - 4PM, weather permitting. School and group tours available by appointment. The tours are approximately 45 minutes long and include 3 interiors and 8 exteriors of the 15 structures on this block. Tours start at the Heritage Square Visitor Center at 715 South A Street, next to the water tower.

More information at www.heritagesquareoxnard.com or call 805.483.7960.

Santa Barbara Historical Museum

Founded in 1932, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum houses a collection of over 80,000 objects and artifacts of significance relating to Santa Barbara’s past. Constructed in 1965 by the Santa Barbara Historical Society, the Museum is the primary repository of Santa Barbara’s collective cultural heritage and ethnic diversity. Visitor see a wide array of unique paintings, objects, photographs, furnishings and textiles dating from the 15th century. Santa Barbara’s rich past is represented with artifacts from Chumash, Spanish, Mexican, “Yankee” and Chinese cultures. The Museum also hosts three to four special exhibitions a year in the rotating Sala gallery.

The Gledhill Library contains rare literary and visual documents, including 70,000 historic photographs. Two early 19th century buildings, the 1817 Casa Covarrubias and the 1836 Historic Adobe are adjacent to the Museum.

The Fernald Mansion, a fourteen room Queen Anne Victorian located at 414 West Montecito Street, is currently closed for renovation.

Admission is free, $5 donation suggested. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-5pm, Sunday 12-5pm, and is closed Mondays. Free guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.

The Museum is located at 136 E. De la Guerra Street, on the corner of Santa Barbara St. and De la Guerra. Visit www.SantaBarbaraMuseum.com or call 805.966.1601 to learn more.

Carnegie Art Museum - Oxnard (Closed July 2019)

The Carnegie Art Museum (CAM) was closed effective July 1, 2019 as a result of a $9.2 million shortfall in the fiscal year 2019-20 City of Oxnard budget. City Council opted to close the Museum as a result of the shortfall.

CAM Cornerstones will continue offering exhibits and programs at the CAM Studio Gallery, behind the Museum on the right-hand side, facing Plaza Park. Updates on exhibits will be posted via social media, email newsletter and at www.carnegieam.org.

The Carnegie Art Museum is run by the City of Oxnard.  It was originally built by Andrew Carnegie, who donated $12,000 in 1906 towards the construction of the building to be used as a library for the area. Its Neo-Classical (1900-1920) architecture and grand scale preserves the prevailing taste for classical forms during the first decades of the twentieth century. Its strict Greek Temple facade in the Doric Order with interior Ionic columns are graphic documents of a young western town's striving for recognition. Its Greek architecture was in fact the choice of Oxnard's first mayor, Richard Haydock. It was designed by Los Angeles Architect, Franklin Burnham.

The Carnegie collection is Oxnard's municipal art collection which began before the Carnegie Building was used as a fine arts museum. The collection began in 1924 when members of the Art Club of Oxnard decided to purchase "Desert Bloom" by California landscape painter Katherine Leighton.

In addition to its traveling and special exhibits which change every month, the Museum has a permanent collection of over 1,500 art and ethnographic objects. Over 600 are paintings, drawings, prints and photographs primarily by 20th century California artists.

The museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, Sunday from 1-5pm and is closed on holidays. For more information, visit www.carnegieam.org or call 805.385.8157.  The museum is located at 424 South C Street, Oxnard.

Point Mugu Missile Park in Port Hueneme

Click the image for information regarding the Naval Base Ventura County "Missile Park" open to the public from sunrise to sunset daily.

Red Tile Walking Tour in Santa Barbara

The Red Tile Walking Tour in Santa Barbara is an informal, 12 block walk in the downtown area that will take you past a variety of Santa Barbara historical landmarks. It was originally developed by the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce. The walk is summarized below but visit Santa Barbara Car Free website at www.santabarbaracarfree.org for additional details and a printable map.

1. Santa Barbara County Courthouse (Built in 1929)
2. Public Library
3. Santa Barbara Museum of Art
4. Hill-Carrillo Adobe
5. El Paseo
6. Casa De La Guerra
7. Plaza De La Guerra
8. Orena Adobes
9. Presidio Avenue (the oldest street in Santa Barbara)
10. Lugo Adobe
11. Santa Barbara Historical Museum
12. Casa Covarrubias
13. Rochin Adobe
14. El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park
15. El Cuartel (second oldest surviving building in California)
16. Main Post Office
17. Lobero Theatre

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley is a California Historical Landmark, Ventura County Cultural Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a historic designation from the city of Simi Valley. CLICK HERE to learn more and to see more photos here on CVG.

Serra Retreat in Malibu

The Serra Center sign as seen from Pacific Coast Highway

The Serra Retreat is a Catholic retreat and conference center located in the hills of Malibu on a 26 acre knoll, across the street from the Malibu shoreline. The location, since 1943, has welcomed church groups, schools, non-profits and other organizations a quite space for retreats and workshops.

Courtyard area facing the Pacific Ocean

During the week, the public is allowed to visit the grounds between 9 am and 4:30pm for personal prayer and reflection. No reservations are required. You must stop at the guard gate, located on Serra Road at PCH, about a 1/4 mile east of Cross Creek Road, obtain a guest pass, then slowly drive up Serra Road, for about a mile until you seen the turnoff on to the Retreat on the left. The actual address of the facility is 3401 Serra Road, Malibu.

Parking pass received at guard gate

There are no public restrooms at the facility and dogs are not allowed, nor or picnic lunches. This is a place for reflection, not to mention taking in the great views. There are a number of benches to reflect as you look down below as you enjoy paths and walkways and enjoy the gardens and sights. There is also a stone lined labyrinth for walking and reflection. 

Labyrinths are always cool, both to look at and to walk.

You can get married here too, with two locations to celebrate after the ceremony. Capacity is 120 guests.

Learn more at serraretreat.com.

View fullsize

The view is not too shabby either!

Solstice Canyon in Malibu

CLICK iMAGE FOR DETAILS ABOUT SOLSTICE CANYON IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS