Sunbathing, Mansion-Dwelling Turtles Are Kinda Cute

This week was very relaxing. I reconnected with a friend from high school and hung out with some friends in Huntington Beach. Not as much sightseeing this week, but in mid-July I walked around the grounds of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Lots of famous movies have been filmed here, including Ghostbusters, Charlie’s Angels, Austin Powers, X-Men, and The Big Lebowski.


The mansion itself is only open for special events, so I was only allowed to walk around the gardens surrounding the house itself. It was pleasantly warm and sunny out (a plus of living in California rather than New York) and the gardens were beautiful. I was able to walk up to the mansion and I peeked inside the windows. I couldn’t really see much, but it looked empty and like there was some refurbishing being done. Through the windows opposite me, I saw another couple of people trying to squint to see what was inside. It must have been difficult, seeing as the windows looked opaque. Points for trying, though.


In the garden right next to the mansion, I saw several turtles in a stone-enclosed pond. I hadn’t seen them the first time I passed the pond, but on my way to look at a sculpture more closely, it was a pleasant surprise to find them there. A few were swimming around the water, but two others were floating around, enjoying the sun with sleepy expressions on their faces, their eyes half-closed. The sunbathers stared at me with mild interest but were too comfortable to care much. It seemed the pond turtles were enjoying the California weather, too.

Both parking and wandering around the gardens were absolutely free, and it was a very enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon.

My sister is coming to stay with me this weekend! I’m excited to show her where I live and all of the things to do around me.