Scharwath Carwash

Things have been very busy.

We decided to force an escape from the current pressures and obligations to explore our immediate surroundings.

Coco’s Variety is a small bikeshop/convienence store/neighborhood emporium in Silverlake.

The store serves a variety of needs to a local clientele that would have to travel further away to find the same items.

From their site: “Coco’s Variety sells flyswatters, glass 5 gallon water bottles, headache remedies, oil cloth by the yard, used bicycles, California souvenir tablecloths, Kit-Cat Klocks, gumballs, Mexican Cokes in glass bottles, squirt guns, tote bags adorned with hula girls, Lodge cast iron frying pans, old American-made tools, baskets for your bicycle, wood matches, reverse osmosis purified drinking water by the gallon and fancy Jadeite cake plates for fancy cakes on fancy occasions.”

It’s a great place to find a used bike or get your ride fixed up.

Once you get all squared away, you can hop onto the L.A. River bike path which is very close by.

A mix of urban and natural phenomenon keeps the ride interesting.

Clear your head and do a few throw ups.

This section of the river, known as the Glendale Narrows, is the only part that is not completely lined with concrete.

The southern part of the path is undergoing a slow renovation and is a bit hard to navigate, but that’s where you’ll find some of the best views

This is home to many bird species, including Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt and Muscovy Duck. It is also surrounded by a chain link fence.

From there we took a ride through Frogtown, a neighborhood that was isolated from the larger community when the 5 freeway was built.

It’s a quiet place where many artists have taken root.

I even spotted Shepard Fairey’s car parked on the street.

If you can do it, get away from the computer, the TV, the treadmill, the Apple tablet, the Multiplex, the Kindle, the 3D, the satellite navigation system, the Facebook, the Twitter, the Nintendo Wii, the Playstation 3, the Pinkberry or the Blackberry and try instead to get some true variety in your day.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Inspirations, Photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.