15 WEEKENDS OF SUMMER
Why wait for the solstice? Let’s start our SoCal summer celebrations now
Make the most of the season with our suggestions to help you enjoy the bounty of outdoor life in Los Angeles, like riding tall in the saddle near the Hollywood sign.
According to the calendar, summer starts June 21 and ends Sept. 23. But for most people, the season begins on Memorial Day weekend and ends with Labor Day, a 101-day period that holds the promise of adventure, discovery and the renewal of decades-old rituals. More important, it offers 15 full weekends between now and Sept. 1 to get out of the house and enjoy the bounty of outdoor life offered by the beaches, waterways, hills, gardens and vibrant neighborhoods of Southern California. Here, you’ll find 15 ways to make the most of summer 2019.
June 22-23
Three years before they built their famed Eames House on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, designers Charles and Ray Eames would picnic on the parcel that would eventually become their home. The picnics influenced their decision to preserve the eucalyptus-lined meadow and place their steel-and-glass prefabricated Case Study Home and studio on the hillside.
Seventy years later, you can picnic on the Pacific Palisades meadow just like Charles and Ray in a catered affair hosted by the Eames Foundation.
Park in the neighborhood and walk to the property, which is at the end of a private drive. Arrive at 11 a.m. and explore the peaceful site, then have a picnic for four and take an interior tour of the home and studio — a mecca of sorts for architecture fans — which have been preserved exactly how Ray left them when she died in 1988.
Info: Eames Foundation, 203 Chautauqua Blvd, Pacific Palisades. Picnic and tour, $750 ($675 for members). Additional guests for an additional fee. Picnics are not offered on Wednesdays or Sundays. Book a visit at eamesfoundation.org or call (310) 459-9663.