Expo Line

I got a really early start this morning because I wanted to ride the Black Pearl to the Metro station, and ended up riding around and didn't get on the Green Line until the first stop, Lakewood Blvd, instead of the terminus in Norwalk. Green Line to Blue Line to Light Blue Expo Line. I actually went ahead and took the Metro all the way to the 7th St station (northern terminus), then doubled back on the Expo Line. The two lines share a track from the 7th St Metro station downtown to the Pico (Staples Center) stop, then the Expo Line heads down Flower until it reaches Exposition Blvd, where it heads west to Culver City. I only rode as far as Exposition Park this time.

Got off the Metro and walked across the street to the Park, where I learned they don't like bicycles in the rose garden. :-Þ~~~ Walked the bike back out to the perimeter sidewalk and headed east to Figueroa and rode down to the parking lot entrance on the south side of the museums. I stopped to take a photo of the A-12 Blackbird on display, then continued westerly past the Science Center and the north wall of the Colisseum. Up the western perimeter sidewalk and east along the south face of the Natural History Museum to a construction site, then around to the east, and far prettier, face of the Natural History Museum. A little more riding around the perimeter of the rose garden, a brief conversation with a staff member, then back to the Metro. This time I just rode the train back to the Staples stop to pick up the southbound Blue Line to the Green Line, and then the Green Line all the way to the eastern terminus.

And back home again.

The Black Pearl at the north gate of Exposition Park:

An interesting building or two at some college or other across the street from Exposition Park:

 The fountain in the middle of the rose garden, from the north:

The LA Memorial Colisseum, from the Figueroa entry:

I hate lawns. They're a awful waste of land, water, and labor. I'm sure they could find something more practical to plant here.
The A-12 Blackbird:

The ugly south facade of the Natural History Museum and a bit of the construction site I mentioned:

The Black Pearl at the western edge of the Rose Garden:

Then turn around and walk the Black Pearl across the sidewalk to the far more beautiful eastern facade of the Natural History Museum:

Then turn again to face the south:

and Endeavour's "temporary" home. They'll house her here for about eight years while the old aviation museum building is torn down and a new one built. I don't envy them getting her into this spot, and can't imagine how many cranes it'll take to get her there without tearing out all the trees on the south lawn (the lawn you can see a part of in the pic of the south face of the NHM).

The only rose I photographed, because it was so close to the perimeter walks (in this case, the ramp you can see behind the Black Pearl in the photo of the rose garden from the east facade of NHM).

The north face of the Science Center building:

It's the building in the background behind the fountain.

From the Metro train, a view of the Watts Line of the Pacific Electric:

There really is a railroad right-of-way behind the two walkers on the platform. This right-of-way eventually ended up in downtown Santa Ana. Only one segment, in Bellflower, is currently a Multi-Use Path.

La Mirada historical marker:

A flower of a type I've never seen before:

This was in Norwalk on the Foster Greenway MUP, and actually on the outbound leg of the trip today, not on the homeward leg.