Yeah!! Damn I used to go to that park with my GF. God those were the days. I used to drive my TR6 with the top down on warm summer nights. I worked as night manager of a very nice pool hall a block off Van Nuys Blvd. This was a class place with a dress code. We would have several professional players who would play there.
During the weekdays I worked as an analyst at Standard and Poors in Occidental Center in downtown LA. From the windows, I could see the truck yard my dad who was a truck driver worked out of. He used to haul produce back in the '30s from the South Bay to the produce market in LA. Back then my grandfather had a farm in what is now Torrance growing produce and strawberries. His farm was where Del Amo Mall is today.
I saw my first live professional football team when my dad took me to a Rams game in 1958 in the Coliseum. I remember the year because it was the first year the Dodgers played in LA and the game was played over the baseball field. My dad won the tickets at work in a raffle. My older brother was a baseball fanatic so it was my dad and I. That game was when I really became a Ram fan. The game was in November and the Rams demolished the Niners fifty something to 7. LOL
My GF and I used to cruise Ventura Blvd to Topanga Canyon then I would roar through the canyon out to PCH. Our favorite beaches were Leo Carrillo and W. Zuma. Other times we would cruise through Simi Valley and Santa Rosa Rd and cut across the farmland to PCH coming out on PCH by Pt Mugu. We would cruise PCH to what was then called tin can beach. Picnic and eventually build a fire and hang out most of the night. Take PCH back to Topanga Canyon then home.
I've lived in Santa Monica, Newport Beach and San Diego. Never in a million years would I picture myself retired in Tucson. If it wasn't for Covid I'd probably have bought a condo in Popotla or Puerto Nuevo, Baja MX. These condos are like 2,700 sq ft overlooking the ocean. They have their own water filtration systems so the water is better than LA's tap water. Gated under ground parking, 24 hour manned security. Cost, when I was there, was $99K with HOA fees at $150/mo. Pool and all the amenities of a resort. Because it's a condo it sidesteps all the Mexican regs about gringos buying coastal properties. Technically the land is owned by the HOA and the homeowners are just buying into the HOA. The residents are 75% Americans, 10% Latino, the remainer Asians and Europeans. Everyone speaks English. With a Senti card I could leave Poptla (six miles south of Rosarito Beach) and be across the border into San Ysidro, CA in sometimes as little as 45 minutes. Half the ride is along the coast and is a gorgeous drive during the day.
Yep, I never imagined I'd be a desert dweller. LOL
