Travel Angel - Los Angeles, California

OK folks, the first order of business is an apology. It has been nearly a week since our last post, so we're sorry it's been so long. Our excuse is that we were sick with a cold/flu, but we all have excuses and very few of them are worthwhile. It is our hope to post to this at least two to three times a week when we are not traveling (like now). Those of you that know us, know that we're not real good at hard and fast schedules and besides, that's not the theme or purpose of this blog or even how we want to live our lives. If it works for you... great. It really doesn't work here!!! :) Now... on to today's post!!!
	This is the "Travel Angel" which is tucked away under a stairwell in a back corner of the famous Farmers' Market in Los Angeles at 3rd & Fairfax. One of the great things about finding these sites is that we discover more and more information as we continue. It turns out this "angel" is one of approximately 200 angels which were part of a 2001 Los Angeles public art project titled, "A Community of Angels". We already have 2 or 3 more "Angels" on our "to do" list. Apparently all the "sculptures" are identical. They are just decorated differently. If you know of the locations of these additional "angels" please let us know. Maybe they will appear in a later post!!! The plaque pictured to the left explains a little about the sculpture and the project and identifies the artists. The photos below show more detail and various views of the statue. The body of the sculpture is about 6 feet tall with a "wingspan" of maybe 4 feet at it's widest.
Here's a little closer view of this statue. Notice the stereotypical garb, sunglasses and even a camera hung 'round his neck!!! We are particularly fond of the shirt. We wonder if that comes in our size?	Here's a bit of an overview of the back of the statue. The backside of the wings are covered with postcards and travel photos. Oh... by the way... my friend wanted us to take this photo because, "He's got a nice butt!!!"
<===== Over there is the left wing in a bit more detail. The front side of the wings are covered in maps. It is not one continuous map, but rather a collage of sorts.	=====> This is the right wing and we can't really think of anything to say, so this is just a space filler in a lame attempt to "even things out a little bit."
This photo shows a little more detail at the edge of the wing. Both wings are edged with various stamps. You can also see more detail of the maps used on the front of the wings	This shot is included solely for the cheap gratification of my friend who was with us the day we visited "Travel Angel." She was very excited when, upon examining the statue carefully, that she found El Paso, Texas. So, if you look just over the statue's right shoulder you'll see El Paso on this particular portion of the wing. So this is for you... you know who you are!!!(See... I do respect other's privacy). Also, this is the same person that made the "nice butt" comment above... those Texans... sheesh!!!
I should mention the hat I guess. That's the same hat that is in the photo on the map at the top of every page. My friend Bob (the Wagonteamster [[link]]) gave me that. It's from a cotton gin company in the middle of Texas somewhere named "Needmore". So... the cap says... "Needmore Gin". (If you run into me in my travels, beer or scotch are actually preferred). As for the pose... well, those that know me... and hopefully from the tone of this blog... know I rarely play anything "by the rules."	OK... so on a personal note, this is me. We have recently sort of switched over to using the "royal" "we" in writing this blog. Not sure why that happened, just heard, read or learned somewhere that is the proper way to handle things. I'll break from tradition here and just be myself for a minute though. During the entire road trip, all 5300 miles of it, I traveled alone. Took all the photos, did all the writing, posted all the blogs all by myself. Most likely, it will continue that way for a long time or maybe until "hell freezes over" as some have said. On this particular day, I had the great fortune of being accompanied by a friend, so a shot of me was possible!!! Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing, but for what it's worth... here I am... or maybe... there I am. Apparently, there's a book about the "Community of Angels" art project. You can find it at Amazon.