My family recently went to Los Angeles for a few days, and although I took some pictures in between a full slate of college tours, I wasn’t going to post them. After all, it was LA, a sprawling urban area, and I like outdoorsy pictures. Also, I’d only brought a camera with one small lens. I generally prefer taking photos in places other people aren’t. I’m not a travel photographer. Blah blah blah…

But aren’t we all travelers in life? Plus, I ended up with a surprising number of “outdoorsy” pictures from visiting the country’s second largest metro area. It was a good reminder of the importance of urban green and blue spaces, the different ways being outdoors can look, and to notice what’s actually around me—the surf on the sand, a rose blossom at sunset—not just what I expect to see. And there were birds.

Los Angeles

Venice Beach

Thanks to time zones, we left Boston at 7 a.m. and were standing on the sand by the Pacific Ocean before noon. Arriving at Venice Beach at midday on Memorial Day sounds like a bad idea, but it was great. We parked easily, had a relaxing walk along the pier, beach, and boardwalk, and watched a pair of Snowy Egrets finding lunch.

Exposition Park

I ended one LA day with a sunset run by the beautiful Exposition Park Rose Garden—so many blooms in so many colors!—and the LA Memorial Coliseum, where fellow Mainer Joan Benoit Samuelson won the first ever women’s Olympic marathon in 1984. I ran much slower than her sub-2:25 pace. I also saw a Red-tailed Hawk who had built a nest on the coliseum.

Griffith Park and Observatory

I feel like I’m supposed to make a La La Land reference for Griffith Observatory, but it doesn’t need it. The observatory is located on Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, which the city calls the “largest urban-wilderness municipal park in the United States.” How large is it? The park is 4,210 acres with 51 miles of trails and gets 10 millions visitors a year. The walk up to the observatory offers sweeping views of the city, hills, and Hollywood sign, and admission is free. I heard numerous birds: avian and helicopter.

Orange County

Newport Beach

Down in Orange County, Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula was beautiful, and the colors of its surf and sand were popping. Plus, we watched some serious drama play out between several gulls fighting over another dead bird. It was riveting. #realgullsoforangecounty

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

Right along the side of busy Pacific Coast Highway/Route 1 in Huntington Beach is Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Turns out the 1,300-acre wetland is the largest saltwater marsh along California’s coast. We only had time for a short walk, but saw terns, grebes, pelicans, osprey, and shorebirds. I did wish for a longer lens or binoculars here.

Los Angeles

Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park

On the way to the airport our last day, we saw this Los Angeles municipal park and made it our final stop. The park was popular with families picnicking, kids playing, and folks fishing. We, however, spent our short visit cleaning out the rental car, repacking bags, eating leftovers, and watching Great-tailed Grackles (a new-ish bird to me) before our flight home.

All photos copyright Alicia MacLeay and taken May 2025 in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California