Weekly Update: 6-21-14 LA Arboritum

School ended this week, and I was jumping for joy. No more waking up at 5:30. No more watching the same movie five times. Freedom. Nothing's really changed, has it? Over ten years since I graduated high school and I still look forward to summer vacation.

This summer I've made plans for all sorts of free-to-cheap day trips around the SoCal area. First up was a trip to the LA Arboritum. Tuesday, June 17th was its monthly free admission day. The park opened at 9:00. My aunt and I arrived at 10:30 to find the parking lot full up and overflowing.  Those who wish to utilize parks and museums free admission days heed this warning: Get there early!

We finally parked near Westfield mall and went inside. Over three hundred peacocks freely roam the park. Their cries take many forms: crowing "awah-awah" like a raven, meowing like a cat, and crying "help me" like a lost child. I didn't expect to find so many hanging out in the shady branches of trees like, well, birds. For some reason, I always thought of peacocks as flightless. Like colorful turkeys.

We walked to the grassy knoll, passing by a hill of California wildflowers and an herb garden buzzing with bees. At the top of the hill was a giant fig tree. Many of the overripened fruit fell squishy to the ground and smelled like fruitcake. Near the fig tree sat a lotus pond. A white koi glided coyly underneath the lillypads and turtles disguised themselves as rocks.

In the coming weeks I hope to visit:

Big Bear
Newport Beach
The Getty Museum
Griffth Observatory

Stay tuned for more details.

As far as work goes, all this week I worked on editing The Changelings, especially chapters 13 and 14. I picked my cover art and spoke with the illustrator about tweaking it and got feedback from my editor. I'm making progress to publishing like a turtle, slow and steady.