A picture might be worth a thousand words, but what they often won’t tell you are calamity, chaos and all around entropy surrounding those perceived moments of serenity.
Just minutes before I found my mental zen at East Los Angeles’ Lincoln Park, I was frustrated to my boiling point with the DMV – infuriated that we’d wasted over two hours of the morning and I’d had essentially had it up to my ears with any semblance of ‘humanity‘ before the clock had even struck noon. There are few tribulations that we can all share here in this world, and dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles is 
definitely one of them. As we were gallivanting throughout the city’s side streets on the way to the DMV, I noticed glimpses of pastel and primary colors in delicious dichotomy with the multitudes of green in a park across the street. against the multitude of greens. And now that the morning had manifested in its own auspicious way, it felt like the only remedy was to delve back into whatever nature I had found as soon as I could.
The second we parked, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough – I took a breath of Spring air as I gingerly skipped from the parking lot pavement to the grassy landscape encroaching the tranquil lake. Technicolor buildings reflected against the lake in a kaleidoscopic fashion as we slowly made our way around in a giant pseudo-circle. Strolling in synchronicity, we shared a bakers dozen of laughs – enjoying what little time was actually left of the morning hours, blissfully aware that under any other circumstance we would have been tethered to our work lives and inundated with tasks that would require us to stay in doors.
Like treasures tucked away in uncharted territory, there are a plethora of small city parks located around the city of LA simply waiting for you to discover them. I’ve loved Echo Park Lake for a long time, but Lincoln Park is almost a miniature version and a whole lot less populated. Founded all the way back in 1881, Lincoln Park was originally named East Los Angeles park, only to be renamed ‘Eastlake Park‘ in 1901; you wouldn’t know from looking at it now, but the park used to house a full zoo, cactus garden and a private alligator farm. Renamed Lincoln Park in 1917 after the local high school, this portion of paradise has been a staple of Los Angeles’ beautiful cross section of counter culture humanity and the arts.
The park itself comes equipped with a menagerie of of activities for all ages, lush lands to picnic on, a playground that has adult swings (yeah, you heard right), a skate park designed by a professional, BBQ pits, fishing in the lake and last but most certainly not least – the wonderful Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center for the Arts + Education, a prominent meeting spot for the community and the only multidisciplinary building of its kind in the city. Not to mention, my favorite touch, sprinkles of large scale art around the edges of the park.
For more on Los Angeles’ Lincoln Park, head to their social media pages – or better yet, just drop on by and pay it a visit.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Yelp
What are your favorite local parks?
Let me know in the comments below!
Florence Nightingale; The park’s second sculpture, commissioned as part of the New Deal in 1937
A few weeks before Danny and I left for Lightning in a Bottle, we haphazardly stumbled across one of the cutest sights I’d ever seen in the middle of Eagle Rock. We were on our Sunday stroll through the neighborhood, and for the past few weeks we’d talked about the strange and almost human-like mannequin in the middle of the road. Approaching from the other side, we finally made out a sign – a sign for Know Reality Pie. We took one long look at the pie truck, parked delicately next to open grass and a pop-up cafe, and then nodded in agreement: this was it.
weekend event they were calling ‘A Taste of Eagle Rock’, featuring dozens of our fantastic local food joints, some local drinks and – hopefully – a great turnout from the town; they were looking for an event photographer, and it just so happened – I was engaged to one! After we exchanged laughs and business cards, and enjoyed another drink or two, Danny and started on our way home and looked at each other with excitement coursing through our veins. This is something we’ve been wanting for so long, and now – we were about to get it!
Daybreaker does a fabulous job of reminding us that we can get down and get it together at the same time.
Either everyone got the memo, or we’re just that in sync – neon colors, tank tops, hipster chick and yoga pants of each and every amazing textile pattern you could think of were shimmering around the building, while 
The Bouncy Kitty 
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