The Broad Museum opened in Downtown Los Angeles just a year before I moved to Oregon. I love modern art, and as with any new museum, I was very excited to experience it. Due to first-year crowds, I was not able to visit until our 2018 trip to Downtown Los Angeles.

As it was a top priority during my trip, I made advance reservations for The Broad. Advance reservations are highly recommend and free.

I started my morning with a leisurely walk from The Westin Bonaventure to The Broad, enjoying sculptures and murals. Downtown Los Angeles is best experienced by foot.

One of my favorite places in the entire world is The Music Center. I had enough time to take a quick walk around the center, which is near The Broad. The Music Center has three theaters: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion ( where my high school graduation was held), The Mark Taper Forum, and the Ahamanson. The Music Center is truly my happy place, even more so than Disneyland. On this morning, a Health Summit with Fran Drescher, from The Nanny, was taking place. Only in LA…

I discovered a cute cafe called Etchea, that was filled with locals and had a European vibe. It is located just around the corner from The Broad. I enjoyed a latte and croissant for breakfast.

At another nearby coffee shop, I found this sandwich board sign. I agree whole-heartedly. I’ve never been accused of being a “morning person,” but with the help of coffee, I can fake it!

When I reached The Broad, I found two queues. The shorter queue was for reservations. The longer queue, stretching around the exterior of the building, was for standby. I found this baffling, as reservations were a breeze to make, and I was visiting on a weekday in fall. Maybe people don’t like to lock down their schedule? I love vacation planning. Lack of concrete plans make me nervous.

Within ten minutes, I was inside the museum, and I walked straight to a second reservation queue. One of the most popular exhibits at The Broad is Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama’s Mirror Infinity Rooms. The installation has a limited capacity, and reservations are only available by first come/first serve on the same day. I was placed into a virtual queue, and notified via text when it was my time to view the exhibit, which was approximately two hours after the museum opened. If you want to see the Mirror Infinity Rooms, you must arrive early to the museum and secure your spot.

The Broad has exhibits on the second and third floors of the museum. My visit lasted about four hours. I took my time and experienced everything. One of my favorite exhibits was Robert Therrien’s Under the Table, an enormous, larger-than-life dining set that museum goers can walk under and feel like they are in Alice in Wonderland.

The Broad has many pieces from some of my favorites like Warhol, Basquiat, and Lichtenstein. The shiny balloon animals and tulips by Koons were marvelous.

Prior to the Mirror Infinity Room, I was able to see another Kusama installation. This one was viewed by looking into a box, rather than entering the mirrored room. In the box, disco lights changed color. It was beautiful. Where the Mirror Infinity Room was celestial, this was more party.

When it came time to experience the Mirror Infinity Room, I joined a small queue outside of the installation. I was prepped on what to expect: the door would close behind me and I would have thirty second to experience the room. It was dazzling and magical. I felt like I was floating among stars.

Within an hour of opening, the museum was fairly crowded. I only took pictures in the Kusama exhibits for a few reasons:

The primary reason is I wanted to be present in the moment and fully experience The Broad, without the pressure of taking pictures.

The second reason is it was too crowded. The Kusama exhibits were the only places where I felt a moment of being alone. A moment of just me and the art.

The third reason is I get sad when I see everyone rushing to take pictures, rather than staying present. I feel like this is a modern problem, especially when visiting places like museums and concerts. It’s almost as if they want to prove they were there and share their pictures on Instagram, rather than have a real connection with the event. I could be wrong, as it is hard to judge the intentions of others, but this is a feeling that I get.

The Broad is a treasure in Los Angeles. Along with The Getty, it is a must-do museum when visiting Southern California.

As I finished writing our annual 2018 Christmas card letter to friends and family, I realized that we had an exceptionally great year. Admittedly, I missed the mark on many of my goals, but the primary reason for failing to reach my targets was unanticipated vacations and days spent with family. I was fortunate in 2018.

We started 2018 with Felix ( my step-son) visiting us from Sweden. It was a very last-minute trip, but wonderful. We took him to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, where we experienced unseasonably warm weather and spent the winter holidays swimming. We rang in the new year with local friends and witnessed the Big Bear torchlight parade, a mountain tradition where skiers come down the mountain with torches. It was beautiful.

Dan had to work in Portland over Valentine’s Day, so I traveled with him to be together for the holiday. We flew back in time to catch a Miranda Lambert concert near the Ontario airport! In March, we took a trip to Washington, as Dan considered a job offer near Seattle. My high school friend Valerie and her family spent the weekend with us. It was wonderful to catch up and to have her young daughters experience snow! At the end of March, I left my marketing position with a local home rental company. It was a good experience and I made several friends at the company, but even with a flexible schedule, I felt tied down. In April, I spent a week in Las Vegas enjoying the pool and visiting with friends, while Dan attended his annual trade show ( where he works very hard!)

At the end of May, we went to England. I stayed with my mother-in-law, while Dan had business meetings all over Europe. I had quality time with family, which is the theme for 2018. I treasure that this was my big take-away from 2018. After a week with my family, I joined Dan in London. Dan had to work the entire time, but I was able to sight-see. I had spread-sheet and walked London until my feet felt like they were going to fall off. London is such an amazing city and even though I’ve been fortunate to visit several times, there is still so much more to experience. On this trip I took in two shows, Young Frankenstein and Killer Joe (starring Orlando Bloom.) I also fulfilled a teenage dream of going on a “Jack the Ripper walking tour.” It was not all that I imagined it to be, but it was a fun night out with my niece Pippa, who was a good-sport for coming along!

A week after returning home from England, we saw that our senior cat, Nicolette, was not doing well. She was a rescue and was at least nineteen years old. We made the very tough decision to have her put down. It was the hardest part of 2018 and her presence is missed every day.

In June, we drove to the Bay Area, so that Dan could attend a NASCAR event for work. I went to a baseball game with my high school friend Bekah and her two kids. I had not seen Bekah in many years, so this was another day to treasure in 2018. Even better, we did not plan it in advance, so it was spontaneous! This was also my first trip back to the bay area since the late 90’s.

Zoe and Felix visited for a month in mid July-August. We had a “stay-cation” with a focus on pool time= three trips to Las Vegas and two to La Quinta. At the La Quinta resort, we were able to get an enormous casita with a backyard and private pool/spa. It was incredible.

In late August, I started working as an online ESL Tutor. This new job is rarely dull. I’ve met people from all around the world ( although mostly from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil) and it has completely opened up my awareness of different countries and cultures. I’ve met amazing people and have quite a few crazy stories to share. Mostly, I feel inspired by students who are attempting to master a new language and their stories of why they wish to learn English.

My mother-in-law visited us for three weeks in September. It sounds a bit like a broken record, but we also took her to Las Vegas and La Quinta. A funny highlight was taking her on a bizarre walking tour of the Vegas arts district, an “up and coming” area, with an emphasis on “coming.”

In September, I accompanied Dan on a conference in Los Angeles, where we stayed at the Bonaventure Hotel. The Bonaventure has a rotating bar, which I used to frequent with my friend Luke in our early 20’s. I had not been there in years and it was hilarious tor visit it. It so retro 70’s and not in a good way. This trip was a delight for me, as I played a tourist in my hometown. I went on an architecture tour of downtown Los Angeles and I visited both, The Broad and The Grammy Museum. I walked around downtown in a way that I had never quite done before and it gave me a huge appreciation for Los Angeles. I love LA and I miss living near the city. It made me homesick.

On November 2nd, we celebrated our fifth anniversary with a stay at the La Quinta Spa and Resort. If it isn’t already clear, this is our new favorite vacation getaway. It’s a magical place and we always leave feeling refreshed.

In early December, I traveled with Dan to Portland to see friends and have all of our annual doctors appointments. We still don’t know where we will be living long-term and we just love our doctors in Portland.

Christmas has been very exciting this year. We have both Zoe and Felix with us for the holidays. I flew from Las Vegas to London to Stockholm to pick them up, the first time that I’ve made this journey. I spent one night in the airport in Sweden and returned to Vegas with them. It was exhausting, but worth it. In early January, I will repeat the journey, but this time i will spend a few days in England to visit family. We had a spectacular Christmas day, which included snow = my very first white Christmas! It was also the first time that I had Christmas morning with excited children in the house. We woke up early to dive into a giant pile of presents. We have many other fun activities planned, but mostly it is just about enjoying the family time.

If you add up all of the time that was spent with family and friends in 2018, we are very wealthy! I hope this trend continues into 2019.