Murals at Pekin Cafe

[As of March 10, 2019, Pekin Cafe is now closed]


The original post was in the works last year but I am updating it with these newer images of this street art tribute...

to Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor (links to the NAACP and change.org petitions are listed at the end of this post)

Day after highlights...

Here are some highlights from the Day After My Birthday...

at a coffee stop in Eagle Rock...

Birthday Highlights - I'm now 25 x 2

Well now...

I remember when my parents hit the half century mark...

Sights en route to and from Kenton + giant Paul Bunyan

We passed by the Buckman Community mural on SE 12th & Morrison...

as we headed east towards a quirky roadside attraction that we couldn't pass up...

Another look at these murals in Paradise Hills - "Succulent Landscape" + "Radiating Vibrance"

The rain had abated and the skies were a glorious gray...

with nice and even lighting throughout...

Anti-Black Friday & Small Business Saturday 2018

It was a beautiful morning in Golden Hill...

on the shopping day known as "Black Friday"...

Lemon Grove murals in alley

In downtown Lemon Grove, new artwork has gone up.

...in the form of murals that are hidden behind the buildings...

VoG 2017

Here is this year's compilation of photos...

featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose Feast Day is today...

"Que Viva Barrio Logan" mural at Diego & Son Printing

A few weekends ago, we were too early for Cafe Virtuoso...

so to kill time, I asked Bert if we could drive around Barrio Logan to check out a particular set of murals...

Return to DTLA

Although we've never been to this shopping outlet, The Citadel, it never fails to amaze me how oddly anachronistic in looks and placement this is...

It looks like something out of ancient Assyria instead of being right next to the 5 freeway in LA.

Traffic was pretty light that whole morning (thank you holiday weekend) but as we approached downtown, the traffic got a little more congested...

New murals on 30th and Redwood

TC was practicing her driving skills this day...

driving through the southern end of North Park so we could have coffee at Santos...

S3 Coffee fail, so Plan B was take the long way to Subterranean Coffee Lounge

 I felt like a doofus...

Assuming that S3 Coffee was open on Sundays for some reason. I could have checked the four letter site and gotten my answer right then and there, but no.

The dark interior told us the same.  We drove all the way out here and our original plan for coffee was dashed, But not to worry since Plan B was up my sleeve...

Scenes from Highland Park (February & July 2016)

I would be remiss if I didn't post this set of photos....

featuring our visit to the Highland Park neighborhood of LA...

Photos from my previous trip earlier this  year plus this past weekend are included...

Tocumbo Ice Cream, Barrio Logan + Barrio del Mercado complex

We were pretty close to Barrio Logan from Logan Heights...

so before we went back to pick up TC,

we headed over to the third location of Tocumbo Ice Cream...

Street art in North Park

Before heading out to our next stop, Bert and I took a quick stroll along University Ave...

to check out some of the painted utility boxes which I've been obsessed with for years...

Thrift store shopping and the murals at the soon to be defunct Thrift Trader on Iowa St.

Fully charged by my cold brew from Heartwork, I took the long way home...

and meandered from Mission Hills to North Park...

As seen in Little Italy

After seeing those poor cats get chased down by children from hell, we left the Cat Cafe to headover to Little Italy...

Using our trusty passes. You tap your prepaid card on the sensor thing before boarding. We found that it helps to do it way ahead of time instead of right before you board.

This was at the stop near the Convention Center.

We would be Little Italy bound...

Another Bunny Kitty mural @ the Animal House Pet Shop building

After my cold brew at the new hipster Heartwork Coffee Bar, I headed over to North Park to go thrift store shopping, passing by the Olympic Cafe on the corner of Texas and University...

I've always wondered about this little corner strip mall. Apparently they serve Vietnamese coffee at Golden Donut, which is a regular donut shop, not those craft donut joints, so a future visit may be in order....

A few blocks west of this corner, I saw a familiar street art icon and made a hard left into a seedy alley to see it up close...

Beach Chalet murals at the Golden Gate Park Visitor's Center

After seeing the bison and windmills at Golden Gate Park, we headed over to the Beach Chalet at the end of the Great Highway...

I'd read about this place on Roadside America...

and me being such a geek for history and trivia definitely wanted us to pay a visit...

A quick breather at the IB pier....

As seen at the side of Bibbey's Shell Shop...

which is on the other side of the street from the Coronado Brewing Company and just across the street from the pier...