California - Lili on the Loose

14 01, 2019

Museum Monday: Zed the Mammoth

By Lili|January 14th, 2019|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2018, California, Classical California, Columbian mammoth, ice age, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, mammoth, North America, Page Museum, Tar Pits, USA|0 Comments

Meet Zed. This ice-age Columbian mammoth is massive and was around 47-51 years old when he died (usual life expectancy was likely 60.) He was found at the Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles back in 2006 when the LA County Museum of Art was expanding and building a new parking garage. He likely died while wandering into a stream to drink water, unaware of the danger lurking below the surface. He ultimately became stuck and died of exhaustion or starvation. Luckily for us, scavengers didn't go after his bones, and he likely was quickly covered up. He is

3 01, 2019

Changes in Hotel Security Policies

By Lili|January 3rd, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel News|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, Charlotte, Fantasy Lands 2017, hotel, housekeeping, New Mexico, North Carolina, Santa Fe, security, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

In December 2017, I did a lot of traveling. Anaheim, Charlotte, and Santa Fe. One common theme I found was the new security systems in place in the wake of October 2017's Las Vegas Shooter situation. Now, in many hotels staff are required to enter hotel rooms once a day, regardless of the guest's wishes. It started at the Hilton Anaheim. I had spent the day before at Disneyland, and so was gone all day. That day I was going to be working from my hotel room for most of the day, before heading off to a client meeting. I

1 01, 2019

2018 Year in Review

By Lili|January 1st, 2019|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2018, Aladdin, Audiobooks, Banjo Billy, Blog, Book of Mormon, books, Brown Palace, bus, Bus Tour, California, Colorado, comedy, Dandy Warhols, Dead Sea Scrolls, Degas, Denver, Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Getty Museum, Getty Villa, Ghost Hunting, ghost stories, Ghost Tour, Ghost Tours, Gluten Free, Halloween, Hamilton, Harry Potter, Hmailton, King Tut, Lewis Black, Los Angeles, Martin Short, Mexico, Molly Brown, movies, Museums, North America, plays, Puerto Vallarta, Red Rocks, Resolutions, Rick Steves, Santa Monica, Spa, Steve Martin, The Fray, The Getty, Theater, Travel Show, tv, Victorian Horrors, White Christmas, work|0 Comments

2018 was a Year of Culture for me: 10 museums (California Science Center, LA Natural History Museum, La Brea Tar Pits, The Getty, The Getty Villa, The Last Bookstore, Next Stage Gallery, Denver Art Museum x2, Denver Museum of Nature and Science x2, Molly Brown's House) 5 plays (Hamilton, Aladdin, Love's Labour's Lost, Book of Mormon, White Christmas) 4 trips (Puerto Vallarta, Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando) 3 concerts (Dandy Warhols, The Fray, Scottish/Highland Bands) 3 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Universal Islands of Adventure) 2 comedy shows (Lewis Black, Steve Martin & Martin Short) 2 ghost tours (Brown Palace,

13 05, 2018

April 2018 Recap

By Lili|May 13th, 2018|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: 2018, Aladdin, Aladdin on Broadway, Bradbury Building, California, California Science Center, Classical California, DAM, Degas, Denver Art Museum, EARSON, Getty Center, Getty Museum, Getty Villa, Golden State Killer, Grand Central Market, King Tut, La Brea Tar Pits, LA Museums, Lewis Black, Los Angeles, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Serial Killer, Tar Pits, The Last Bookstore, The Magicians, The Rant is Due, triceratops|0 Comments

The month of April was a month of Culture for me. I visited museums, saw plays, and laughed along with comedians. So let's dig in on the best memories! Early in the month I saw Degas: A Passion for Perfection at the Denver Art Museum with a wonderful friend and her daughter. It was an interesting exhibit showing Degas' contemporaries and influencers in relation to Degas' own work. From horses, to naked ladies, to the famous ballet dancers. Source Then I saw the Broadway version of Aladdin. I've seen a few different Disney plays some good (Lion King)

2 01, 2018

2017 Year in Review

By Lili|January 2nd, 2018|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, Beach Hopping 2017, Blizzard, blogging, Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, California, Central America, Charlotte, Costa Rica, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, G Adventures, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Irvine, Los Angeles, Meow Wolf, New Mexico, North America, North Carolina, Panama, Resolutions, Santa Fe, Star Wars, Theme Park, Tiki, Tiki Bar, Tiki Lounge, Trader Sam's, Travel Thursday, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA, Wizarding World|0 Comments

2017 was a busy year for me. I got in 4 trips, 175 blog posts, and lots and lots of Netflix. Here are my highlights for the year: Travel All my trips this year were really last minute (at least to me) trips. I booked my Costa Rica/Panama trip about 2 months in advance, my LA/Anaheim/Irvine trip was very quick, same with Charlotte, and Santa Fe, NM I only planned one activity. So it was a weird non-planned year for travel. I'd never thought I'd... Travel to 3 different places, on different trips, in one month. In December I had

1 01, 2018

December 2017 Recap

By Lili|January 1st, 2018|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: 2017, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Origins, Azeroth, Black and White, Blizzard, Bright, Bucket List, Butterbeer, California, Charlotte, Christmas, Christmas Movies, Colorado, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, Hallmark, Hallmark Christmas Movies, Harry Potter, Haunted Mansion, Hippogriff, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hollywood, I Must Say, Indian Detective, Irvine, Los Angeles, Martin Short, Maxpass, Meow Wolf, Netflix, New Mexico, Nightmare Before Christmas, North America, North Carolina, Porgs, puppy, Pygmy Puff, roller coaster, Rollercoaster, Santa Fe, Space Mountain, Star Wars, The Crown, The Last Jedi, Torosaurus, triceratops, UFO, Universal, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, WWOHP, Zonkos|0 Comments

December was a really weird and busy month for me. I had two business trips and a personal trip, making me travel all over the country. And it was a busy month for work, which is unusual this time of year. So I didn't get into the full Christmas spirit that I usually do. I did manage to put up and light my tree, but lost out of time and energy to decorate it besides a few ornaments I got this month during my travels. Travel When I first started doing these recaps I based it on the variety of

29 12, 2017

7 Days of Black and White

By Lili|December 29th, 2017|Categories: Photography, Travel|Tags: 2017, airplane, Anaheim, B&W, Black and White, Blizzard, California, Christkindl Market, Christmas decorations, Christmas Tree, Colorado, Denver, Denver Christkindl Market, Disneyland, doll, doll head, Fantasy Lands 2017, Harry Potter, Irvine, It's A Small World, Larimer Square, North America, Olivander, Olivander's, Overwatch, Painter, Southwest, statue, Tracer, Universal, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA, Wand, Wand Ceremony, Wands|0 Comments

I had been seeing those "7 Day Black and White" posts on Facebook for a while, but didn't feel artistic at the time. But as my business trip early in the month was coming up, I got inspired and decided to do it as well. Here are my 7 days of Black and White photography. Day 1: Ornate Christmas Tree decorations at the Denver Christkindl Market Day 2: I found one of the infamous Pink Doll's heads that have been popping up around Denver in the last few years. This one is near Larimer Square. Day 3: A Wandmaster at

28 12, 2017

Holidays at Trader Sam’s Disney’s Tiki Bar

By Lili|December 28th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, Disneyland, Disneyland Hotel, Fantasy Lands 2017, North America, Tiki, Tiki Bar, Tiki Lounge, Trader Sam's, Travel Thursday, USA|0 Comments

One thing on my Disney Bucketlist was to visit the infamous Trader Sam's Tiki Bar and my business trip earlier in the month let me check this off my list! Because it was early December the Tiki bar was transformed with holiday decorations. I was lucky to get a seat inside. It's first-come-first-served and a seat yourself situation. After waiting around for 5 minutes, a bunch of us were able to do some shuffling. There was a table top for 4 that was just leaving, a party of 4 sitting at two high tops that only had three seats, me, and a

25 12, 2017

Museum Monday: Santa’s Reindeer

By Lili|December 25th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2016, California, California Academy of Sciences, North America, Reindeer, San Francisco, santa, USA|0 Comments

Last year I visited the California Academy of Sciences on Christmas Eve and they had live Reindeer and handlers to explain what Reindeer are actually like. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

22 12, 2017

Gingerbread Castle

By Lili|December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Photography|Tags: 2016, California, castle, Francis Hotel, Gingerbread, North America, Photo Friday, San Francisco, USA|0 Comments

Last year's Gingerbread Castle at the Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.