Annual birthday walk with the pup

As is our tradition, this morning Meaux Meaux and I headed out for a long, meandering walk for my birthday. We take walks together all the time, of course, but the birthday walk is especially enjoyable somehow. Spending extra time appreciating the neighborhood, enjoying each other's company, some moments of reflection on the year that has passed, what is ahead. And taking pics along the way. I guess it is just like any other walk, really.  

My birthday was actually yesterday, but I had to be at work early and didn't wake up in enough time to have my usual wee hours in the morning trot with the pup. I'm happy to have this Saturday free to extend my birthday into a weekend--and have a walk without a time constraint.

We turned down Winston off of Main and ran into this guy and his super cute white pittie. They weren't friendly though, both man and dog growled at us and we had to walk in the street a bit get around them. I turned around at the corner to check them out again and saw they were doing the same. 

I felt like crossing over the river, so we walked towards the Art's District, paused at Risk and Vyal One's mural. 

Meaux knew where we were going--she pulled me in the direction of the 4th Street bridge.

A pause and look back from where we came from about midway across the bridge--our loft is in the view from here. When we got to the end of the bridge I hesitated for second, deciding whether to walk down South Anderson or Mission Road.  Meaux tugged left, the route we've done so many times, so that was that. I was very happy to check out 356 Mission and Maccarone.

Wu Tsang's show at 356 Mission is gorgeous. Big congrats to her. Well deserved success and recognition seems to be pouring her way. I have nice memories of her in the kitchen at Canele and elysian. 

The last couple of years Meaux and I have walked the train tracks on the birthday walk. Good times. It reminds me of being a kid in Santa Cruz, walking the tracks with my friends, being adventurous and acting like little hoodlums in our Lightning Bolt flip flops and OP shorts. Sometimes we'd make the terrifying walk across the bridge on the tracks on our way to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. What if the train came! And we were in the middle of the bridge! 

Anyway.

Last year a fence was built on Mission Road where we (and many other people--mostly graffiti writers) used to get to the tracks. Funnily, Meaux pulled me right to the spot. Padlocked. 

We kept walking and popped into Maccrone. I hadn't been there since Carol Bove's sculptures had been installed in the courtyard. Really gorgeous. 

I liked the junk corner in the courtyard too. Inside the gallery were a few more works by Bove including beautiful ink on paper illustrations.

The large gallery spaces are dedicated to Nate Lowman's amusing, puzzling (and literally a puzzle), subversive, and for me, truly wonderful works. 

The pup seemed to especially like the cool cement and the friendly gallerista.

We headed out, down Mission towards the 1st Street bridge, but before crossing, found the alternate train track entrance and took a little stroll.

We crossed the bridge, smiled at a warning sign and sneered along with the anti-gentrificationers at the crappy One Santa Fe complex (nice way to ruin the visual landscape and leave badly managed, unused spaces, Jerkos).

And because it's L.A., we suddenly found ourselves on the set of the filming of something or other with this really weird car.

We popped into Hauser Wirth & Schimmel and meandered around the courtyard a bit. I love this place. The city is lucky to have it. I know, speaking of gentrification. But really, this spot is a welcoming center of culture and inclusion.

We head back home, walking at a much slower pace then when we began. Took a few pauses here and there. And then once home, the pup promptly settled down for a nap.

Another delightful #dtlawalkabout with the pup. With train tracks!