Tapanga Canyon Boulder
Lauren Weinstein's blog had this photo of a huge boulder blocking the road (http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/2005_01.html) through the canyon; it inspired me to write this blog.
Topanga Canyon has always been a place of refuge for me away from the crazy energy of L.A., the traffic, the noise, the polluted air, to name a few. I would drive through there and stop off at one of my two favorite cafe's; The Mimosa Cafe' and The Waterlilly Cafe' (right by the postal track). Both have really good vibes conducive to writing and / or introspection. But most importantly - the coffee is the best - rivaled only by each other (I think the best soy latte' I ever had was at The Mimosa Cafe'). I could sit and write for hours (half-hours when I was working as a courier for a major motion picture company).
In the canyon you may not find a lot of hippies anymore, but the people are just as friendly. Some have been there since the sixties, still living in shack like houses. Others have made their money more recently and have been able to make their dream homes there. But all are good-natured for they know the secret that few have discovered about Topanga Canyon. The secret I am about to share with you now; PEACEFULNESS. This place where, once there, you feel you are thousands of miles away from Los Angeles and all your troubles, yet it only takes minutes to get there from the Valley or West Los Angeles via the PCH.
When your day is going by so quickly that the hustle and bustle becomes the driving force through which you live and breath, when the traffic and the noise and the day to day living become as overwhelming as the editing on a Michael Bay film - Topanga Canyon is the place where you can say ‘time out’, and take a recess from that life. When I think of Topanga Canyon the first thing that comes to mind is PEACE.
I feel for these people in the canyon that are being destroyed right now. I can place where that boulder was. I’ve driven that route hundreds of times when I lived in West Los Angeles. I practically have the scenery memorized. I can tell Lauren Weinstein this: I believe it is the strip of road closest to the ocean side of the postal track, just before the straight part that runs right into the PCH.
I wish I could be there. When I look at that photo of the boulder, it not only blocks the access to the canyon, it seams to deny access to myself. I never saw the footage on the news where they blew it up with dynamite. I don't think I want to, now that I live in Ohio, I'am denied access to the canyon everyday.
One thing about the Topanga Canyon I miss after moving out of California is the peace of mind I got from my many visits. Someday I will move back there and call it my home.
Until then I will have to find a new Topanga Canyon.
-Chip
Topanga Canyon has always been a place of refuge for me away from the crazy energy of L.A., the traffic, the noise, the polluted air, to name a few. I would drive through there and stop off at one of my two favorite cafe's; The Mimosa Cafe' and The Waterlilly Cafe' (right by the postal track). Both have really good vibes conducive to writing and / or introspection. But most importantly - the coffee is the best - rivaled only by each other (I think the best soy latte' I ever had was at The Mimosa Cafe'). I could sit and write for hours (half-hours when I was working as a courier for a major motion picture company).
In the canyon you may not find a lot of hippies anymore, but the people are just as friendly. Some have been there since the sixties, still living in shack like houses. Others have made their money more recently and have been able to make their dream homes there. But all are good-natured for they know the secret that few have discovered about Topanga Canyon. The secret I am about to share with you now; PEACEFULNESS. This place where, once there, you feel you are thousands of miles away from Los Angeles and all your troubles, yet it only takes minutes to get there from the Valley or West Los Angeles via the PCH.
When your day is going by so quickly that the hustle and bustle becomes the driving force through which you live and breath, when the traffic and the noise and the day to day living become as overwhelming as the editing on a Michael Bay film - Topanga Canyon is the place where you can say ‘time out’, and take a recess from that life. When I think of Topanga Canyon the first thing that comes to mind is PEACE.
I feel for these people in the canyon that are being destroyed right now. I can place where that boulder was. I’ve driven that route hundreds of times when I lived in West Los Angeles. I practically have the scenery memorized. I can tell Lauren Weinstein this: I believe it is the strip of road closest to the ocean side of the postal track, just before the straight part that runs right into the PCH.
I wish I could be there. When I look at that photo of the boulder, it not only blocks the access to the canyon, it seams to deny access to myself. I never saw the footage on the news where they blew it up with dynamite. I don't think I want to, now that I live in Ohio, I'am denied access to the canyon everyday.
One thing about the Topanga Canyon I miss after moving out of California is the peace of mind I got from my many visits. Someday I will move back there and call it my home.
Until then I will have to find a new Topanga Canyon.
-Chip
posted by cK @ 8:51 AM
5 Comments:
At 2:43 PM,
Anonymous said…
Chip,
I completely love your first BLOG entry. Very dramatic, but very well written !!
Seriously good!
Even the spelling is good !
Tell me sometime how you got to writing it .
Heres pics of them blowing it up !!
E!
At 8:43 AM,
Anonymous said…
Chip K.
I liked your blog on Topanga Canyon. Few realize how self contained the community actually is; they have grocery, deli, cafe's, bookstores, restaurants, a toy store, an Art Gallery, and the "Will Gear Theatrical Botanicum" – (a great outdoor theatrical experience) to name a few.
At 6:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
Dang, Chip,
This makes me think of a short animated film I just saw -- it's on the recently released DVD Academy Award Shorts, 2003. One of the shorts shows the long, long lives of a couple of rocks as time marches on and the things that they witness. Oh, the humanity.
At 5:22 AM,
Anonymous said…
U. Chip~
This thing is great. I love your entries, I can actually hear your voice in my head as I read them. I was also quite moved by your letter to U. Joe. Thanks for sharing with me.
~N. Katie
At 4:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
blogs are about what you want them to be about. the content is completely under your control. readers are left to consume your censorship. this is not 'live streaming' into your life, but if it is.........Why Is Chip take priority over a family? your blog? understood. but shouldn't one use any available time to raise children and not bitch about their life on a website? you mention a 'current sitation' could you elaborate? also, great writer? the grammer and typos are horriffic. you're right. this shit will be reformatted with someone's else 'electronic artistic' expression. it's a disposable format. digital. delete fixes everything, just not your life.
and for all of you reading this........This is REALLY me Chip trying to be funny again.
tick, tock
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