The Wednesday Post

See California once more, once more
Clam Capital of the World.

QUEEN ANNE COTTAGE
LOS ANGELES COUNTY ARBORETUM
ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA

The Queen Anne Cottage is still there.  Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin had it built for his fourth wife, sixteen year old Lillie Bennett, in 1884.  He was 56 at the time.  Lucky and Lillie broke up the next year, however, and Baldwin made the house into a bit of a shrine to his third wife, who had died in 1881.  It's open for tours, something to think about next time you are in L.A. County. 


PIER FISHING AT PISMO BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Jack Smelt are easily caught and are excellent eating. 

The Pismo Beach Pier is still there.  Pretty much anything you see online about the town of Pismo Beach ("Clam Capital of the World") has a picture of this local landmark.  Its Wiki page, for instance. 

But I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "sure, it might be popular locally, but how does the Pismo Beach Pier stack up against other lateral boardwalks?  Has it ever been singled out for recognition amongst its, if you will, peer piers?"  Well in fact it has.  Pismo Beach Pier was designated "Pier of the Month" in March 1998 by the editors of pierfishing.com.  So put that in your pipe and smoke it.


ANIMAL COLOR SERIES From the San Diego Zoo
Indian Elephant

Elephants in the San Diego Zoo are still there.  That particular elephant is probably no longer with us, as captive elephants tend not to live out their otherwise human-approximate lifespan due to lifestyle diseases associated with overeating, lack of exercise, and too much daytime TV. 

The San Diego Zoo has a satellite campus these days, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  Both sites have an elephant herd.  You can watch the Safari Park elephants in real time, if you'd like.



SOUTH VIEW OF THE DOMES OF THE SOLAR TELESCOPE, PLANETARIUM THEATRE AND TWIN REFRACTING TELESCOPE OF THE GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

The Griffith Observatory is still there.  They know even more then they used to about the Earth and sky.  I've heard, though, that the Griffith is not an ideal research observatory because of the light pollution from nearby settled areas.

ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA

This swinging bridge across the Arroyo Grande Creek is a well known landmark in a pleasant community.

The Arroyo Grande people really like their swinging bridge.  It has its own web page!  We'll say it's still there.  The structure in the postcard got knocked down in 1995, but they built a new one lickity-split to preserve the historical continuity.  Here's a recent picture from the bridge enthusiast website bridgehunter.com.

I doubt it signifies, but there is a "Blue Iris Florists" in Glendale, California, the town from which this postcard of blue irises was sent.