Mal and Lauren

January 25, 2026

On another beautiful Southern California winter’s day, while much of the rest of the country was enduring massive snow storms, we went on a walk through Lakewood which borders our neighborhood in Long Beach. As we have mentioned in previous posts, Lakewood sprung up after World War II to accommodate veterans returning from the war. Today it is a pleasant quiet neighborhood of small single family homes, some of which have quirky touches.

Speaking of quirky, we are not sure how this driver managed to concentrate on the road.

Dotted throughout the neighborhood are massive, dense Ficus microcarpa (Indian laurel fig or Chinese banyan) trees.

There were quite a few RVs and caravans parked in the neighborhood. This classic Airstream was our favorite.

During World War II, Lakewood was the site of a massive aircraft factory run by the Douglas Aircraft Company. With many of the men off fighting in the war, the factory employed thousands of women who did riveting, assembly, and industrial labor. These women were symbolized by Rosie the Riveter. You have probably seen the iconic “We Can Do It” poster depicting Rosie flexing her biceps.

Rosie has not an actual woman but was created as wartime propaganda to depict the many women working in the war effort. Later she became a feminist symbol, especially during the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Many of the women she represented worked at the Douglas factory and there is now a small park in Lakewood memorializing these women.

Speaking of wartime, the bark on this tree may have been the model for modern day camouflage.

January 22, 2026

Founded in 1798, the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is nicknamed “King of the Missions” for a couple of reasons. First, it is named for Louis IX who was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. Second, it the largest of the California Historic Missions. In fact, at one stage it was the largest building in California. Judging from our visit is also more active than the other Missions. When we arrived, a Mass had just finished and quite a few cars were leaving. The Mission seems to have an active calendar of events and there is also a Retreat Center.

Looking through the arch in the following photograph you can see a large spreading pepper tree, which is the oldest in California. It was grown from seeds brought from Peru and planted by the missionaries in 1830.

A number of squirrels were popping in and out of holes, dug throughout a large field next to the Mission. Coming from the east coast, we had only seen squirrels that make their homes in trees. But these California ground squirrels live in burrows underground, where they dig tunnel systems that include sleeping chambers, food storage areas and multiple entrances and exits for quick escapes.

January 22, 2026

The San Diego Botanic Garden is actually in Encinitas, a small beachfront town about 25 miles (40 km) north of San Diego. We decided to drop in on our drive back to Long Beach and it was well worth the visit. There were beautiful plants from all around the world.

The garden has nation’s largest public bamboo collection.

There was even a New Zealand garden which included a spreading pohutukawa to sit under and a manuka tree for the local bees.

Neither of us had seen a cork tree before.

We fondly remembered our dear friend Murray when we came across the clivias in the African garden. Murray has sadly passed but has left hundreds of his beloved clivias for us to enjoy, including some that we have transplanted into our own garden.

January 21, 2026

Across the bay from downtown San Diego is Coronado. Coronado is Spanish for crowned and its nickname is The Crown City. It is a pleasant place to stroll around with a long sandy beach and vibrant shopping district along Orange Avenue.

Coronado is most well known, however, for its iconic beachfront Victorian hotel, The Hotel del Coronado, which has featured in numerous movies including the 1959 comedy classic, Some Like it Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

The hotel was also where L. Frank Baum did most of his writing, including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He is said to have based his design for the Emerald City on the hotel and to have based The Yellow Brick Road on Orange Avenue.

There is definitely a strong surf culture in Southern California. Coronado is no exception, with plenty of surf shops and Volkswagens (the surfer’s automobile of choice) to go around.

January 21, 2026

We are on a mission to visit all of California’s 21 historic Missions (pun intended). The Mission San Diego de Alcala was established in 1769 and is the first of the historic Californian Missions. For that reason, it is sometimes called the Mother of the Missions. It is named for a Franciscan missionary who was born in 1400 in Spain and went on to convert many of the native people of the Canary Islands. He died in 1463 and was canonized in 1588. The area was named San Diego in 1602 by Captain Sebastian Vizcaino, following the custom of Spanish explorers who often named newly discovered areas after saints whose feast days were near to the time of discovery.

We particularly admired this beautiful colorful mosaic depiction of the Stations of the Cross.

January 21, 2026

Old Town, San Diego, is the site of the first European settlement in California, dating back to 1769, when it was founded by Spanish Army officer, Gaspar de Portola and Franciscan missionary, Juniper’s Serra. Today, it mainly caters to tourists, with restaurants, stores and markets selling Mexican food, pottery, and assorted other goods. From the number of ads outside shops, Mexican candy is particularly popular as is Mexican Coca-Cola which, apparently, is superior to the American version because it is made using sugar rather than fructose.

January 10, 2026

Signal Hill is the highest point in Long Beach. In 1921, oil was discovered there and within a few years the hill was covered with so many wooden oil derricks that it was nicknamed “Porcupine Hill” by the locals. In fact, during the twenties it was the most productive oil field in the Los Angeles basin, which at the time was producing 20% of the nation’s oil supply. Over 100 years later, many wells are still in operation which makes for interesting juxtapositions in the neighborhood, as pumpjacks sit side by side with restaurants and million dollar houses.

There is a pretty little park at the top of the hill with views that go all the way to downtown Los Angeles, about twenty miles away.

At the top of the hill there is also a gated community of expensive homes.

Classic vehicle of the day is this camper van which is apparently on team Jesus.

January 7, 2026

One thing Long Beach and Lakewood have is an abundance of classic American diners, so we have decided to start checking them out. First on the list was Heritage Family pantry where we enjoyed a classic diner breakfast of eggs over easy, hash browns and a side of turkey bacon.