Things I Love About L.A.

I'm feeling nostalgic, and I haven't even left yet. This is a short list of things I'll miss about Los Angeles:

The Arts -- all the museums and playhouses, dance troupes, concerts, Disney Hall, Music Center, The Pantages, The Norton Simon, The Getty (including the Villa), Huntington Gardens and Museum, LACMA. The Getty and The Broad are always free (except for some special exhibits or shows), and the other museums have free days once a month. Disney Hall and Music Center also offer discounted tickets. And there are more arts centers, with more concerts and dance shows, in the Valley.

The Dancing -- Dance classes taught by professional dancers, open to every skill level, available all over town! Argentine Tango, Bollywood, Samba, Salsa, West Coast Swing. I've even been blessed to take Booiaka hip hop lessons from the amazing Tatiana Tamai. And a dance lesson from a DWTS star (Jonathon Roberts). Mary Murphy visited our dance studio once, and she's just as adorable in person as she is on TV. But I'm not really talking about the celebrities. They're fun, but they're not teaching regular classes. I'm talking about the struggling dancers, who teach dance and exercise classes in between auditions and dance jobs. For every struggling actor waiting a table, there's a struggling dancer teaching Latin Heat, Zumba, Barre Fitness or Salsa. (Well, actually there aren't as many dancers as actors, maybe only a fifth of a dancer for every actor, but that's more than enough.) Not to mention free dance lessons downtown (Music Center) all summer.

The Libraries -- L.A. Public Library System has branches everywhere, and the downtown main library is awesome. You can find just about anything there. I even came across a book about my ancestors, written by a great-grand aunt, Ancestors of Henry Montgomery Smith and Catherine Forshee, by Anne Morrill Smith. They're from New York, but they made it to the Los Angeles Public Library's Genealogy room. The library is also just gorgeous to look at.

The Parks -- Especially Griffith Observatory and park, but also all of the canyon and hillside parks and trails. No matter where you are in Los Angeles, you are only 5 or 10 minutes away from wilderness. The West Mulholland Trailhead is only about a mile (5 minutes) from my suburban house.

The Diversity -- All the different cultures not just represented, but celebrated, here -- Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Olvera Street, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year. All the festivals and celebrations. I like hearing Spanish and seeing signs in Spanish, I learn something.

The Fashion District -- blocks and blocks of stores selling all kinds of fabrics and sewing notions and supplies.

Public Transportation -- The Metro bus, rail and subway systems can take you anywhere, sometimes faster than your car. (Always faster than your car if you're going downtown.)

The Beaches -- Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu. Just 10 miles from my house.

The Mountains -- Farther away, but you can see them from everywhere, including their snow caps in winter.

Costcoes Everywhere! And IKEA!

I told my son we need to start being tourists here, taking advantage of the sights and shows and museums while we can. Wherever you are, you tend to take things for granted.