"Bark like a dog!", The Boneyard; 03.06.11

"Bark like a dog!"

"Arf! Arf!"

"A big dog!"

"Woof!  Woof!"

This quote came from the movie "Coming to America" with Eddie Murphy.  It was a scene where Eddie's character was talking to his (arranged) future wife.  The future wife was raised to deal with royalty, and was taught to follow what Eddie says, and like what Eddie likes.  So when he asked her "what type of food do you like?" To which she responds "whatever you like", and so it goes.





The Boneyard is located in Culver City Park, which is on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Duquesne Street.  You will enter the park, and the dog park is just straight ahead.  There is a designated parking spot to your left (I would say about 50), but there's tons of street parking as well.   To get there, just take the Jefferson Boulevard exit from the 405 North Freeway, and make a right.  It's about 5 miles from the freeway.

This dog park has been closed to about six months, and just opened about a week ago.  Everything on this park is brand new; brand new fence, dirt, benches and shades, trash cans and pooper scoopers, signs, water fountain - - you name it.  I talked to the regulars and got a lot of information about the renovation.  I'm glad they finally opened, because it's significantly cleaner than Redondo Beach Dog park, definitely.  I like RDB, but the area shows wear and some of the regular owners tend to just chat up on the side, leaving their dogs alone.   

The Boneyard is actually going to have their grand opening next weekend, Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13; from 9am to 4pm.  There is also a drawing of some sort, for a $5 suggested donation entry. 

New water fountain!

Small dogs park to the left

New benches and shades!

Lots of new baseballs!

This dog barked the entire time!

It was a really fun day; there were so many dogs with their own distinctive characters and personalities; such as this one dog, a Queensland Heeler, who barked the entire time, and chased the other dogs.  The owner said that it's in his breed to "heel" and herd sheep, hence the barking.  He's trying to get everyone together.  To which one of the other owners said "I'll try to wear a white fluffy outfit next time".  The owners have their own personalities too!

There's definitely a lot of pretty dogs today.  There was a portuguese water dog that Obama made famous; there was a large white dog that is larger than a St. Bernard.  And there is this other dog named Bella that has a white and black coat - I wish I have asked the owner what type of dog she was.

I also found out from one of the regulars that he had gone to Venice dog park during the time the boneyard was close, so we may go to that place as well.  Sanford, another regular who owns Max and Lucky, also suggested a dog park in El Segundo.  So we may go to that one as well.  My concern with Venice before is their strict guidelines to Venice dog license, but the owner told me he never had any problem, so we shall see.

America is great indeed!  Imagine a country so free, one can throw glasses on the streets!



But where in New York can one find a woman suitable for a king?
Queens!





Dog jumped over the fence: "Freeze..."





Lucky: If lovin the lord is wrong, I don't want to be right



Oh, there they go.  There they go, every time I start talking about boxing, a (man) got to pull Rocky Marciano

But when I marry, I want the woman to marry me for who I am, not because of what I am.

Cue the royal wake up song



She is your queen to be...



Afterwards, we decided to go up on Duquesne, and make a right on Culver and head towards Downtown Culver City.  I love this place.  There's plenty of parking that offers free 2 hours, or else you can validate at the shops and restaurants.  There's a 12-plex there that I loved to go to during my stay in West LA, then we could stop by the Coldstone Creamery afterwards.  Restaurants that I loved was Rush Street, Akasha, Ugo, and Tender Greens.  I have yet to check out Bottle Rock, a wine bar.  Fraiche is a popular french restaurant that everyone loves to go to, so I may try them out as well someday.  A mile East of this area is the Helms Bakery spot where Father's Office is located.  It's one of my favorite local burger joints.  The other is The Counter in Santa Monica.  There's also a large Trader Joe's here.

It was cold out tonight, so not too many people were out and about. 

Downtown Culver City is a great place to visit.  They are predominantly entertainment people that goes here during the week, because Sony Studios, Phoenix Studios, and other studios are in the area.  So the need for a place for these employees to gather around for food and entertainment created this wonderful place where good food and drinks are found.  Their website talked about "Third Wednesdays" events, which is from 5 to 9 pm, and there will be shops and restaurants that will open to offer freebies and samples, entertainment, and art galleries.  We may go there this month for that.

I met someone years ago who became a roommate with an old friend in Manhattan Beach.  She moved to MB from Culver City, or "Culver Sh*tty" as she called it.  I thought she sounded like a jerk.  This place is great.  This is one of the reasons why I try to feature the cities and towns that I go to when I visit their dog parks, because each neighborhoods of LA has their own little hidden secret gems.  Downtown Culver City is one of them.  If you want good food, be it healthy or hearthy; a good bottle of wine or a cup of coffee, this place does not disappoint.  It's worth a visit. 

There's also a farmer's market down the road in the newly-renovated Westfield Mall that I intend to visit one Saturday morning, which opens from 7:30 am to 11:30 am on Saturdays.  The Westfield Mall itself has undergone a major face-lift; it used to be the ugliest-looking mall in West LA which does not offer any good shops, now it has H & M, Hollister, and Aeropostale.  Restaurants are BJ's Brewery, and they are slated to open and expand some more.    

Culver City is evolving.  Definitely check it out.