Hector My Realtor Blog Page

  With our hospitable weather, protected waters, and position directly in a major migration path, Los Angeles is one of the world’s top destinations for whale watching. So where do you go for the best whale watching Los Angeles tourists can hope for? And what can you realistically expect to see? Today, we’ll take a closer look at the whale watching tours of the Greater Los Angeles area. Trust us; at least one trip into the Pacific should be on your bucket list!  The Thriving Ecosystem Off SoCal Coasts Photo credit: Envato One of the reasons that the Greater Los Angeles area stands out as a hotspot for whale watching tours is the vast proliferation of sea life you can see on an affordable three-hour outing. Here are just a few of the creatures that pass through the welcoming waters off LA’s coast: Blue whales Bottlenose dolphins Common dolphins Finback whales Gray whales Humpback whales Minke whales Orcas (killer whales)  Pacific white-sided dolphi...

  Featured image credit: Ben Schumin What a year for legendary bands. New wave icons Devo retired from live performance. Rock gods Kiss called it a day. And now Munch’s Make Believe Band is packing it all in… with one notable exception. Wait, you don’t remember Munch’s Make Believe Band? Surely you’ve had the singular experience of gumming your mouth up with processed mozzarella while being serenaded by the official Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band. If not, your chances of experiencing this staple of kinder-rock just narrowed dramatically. Chuck E. Cheese locations across the country are ditching their animatronics for more modern modes of entertainment. But there is one location where the band plays on. And it’s great news for nostalgic Angelenos. The historic Chuck E. Cheese band is taking up a permanent residency in one location and one location only. And it’s in Northridge.  The Changing Face of Pizza-Adjacent Entertainment Photo credit: Chuck E. C...

  All images: lunaluna.com A new kind of amusement park is coming to Los Angeles, but Disneyland , Universal Studios, Six Flags, and Knotts can rest easy. Sure the new park will have plenty of rides. It’s just that no one can ride them. Noted Austrian artist and showman André Heller conceived the park, dubbed Luna Luna, in the 1980s as a platform for marrying art to the wonder of amusement parks. And his ambition attracted luminaries such as Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and David Hockney. All-in-all, 30 distinguished artists helped bring Luna Luna to life with hand-crafted genius. But, after a brief 1987 summer in Hamburg, the park stalled out in a series of shipping containers in Texas. Until now. Luna Luna is being restored and brought to Los Angeles for a limited engagement. By Drake of all people.  30 Artists. One Vision.  Allegedly, it was a $500,000 grant from a magazine in Germany that sparked the flurry of activity ...

  We’ve noticed a marked interest in pickleball among JohnHart’s agents and staff as of late. But we didn’t need to look far to realize this isn’t a phenomenon unique to our brokerage. It’s happening all over the city, the state, the country. What is this recent fascination with pickleball Los Angeles residents seem to have developed overnight? Wasn’t tennis good enough? Pickleball’s rapid rise in popularity likely has to do with several factors. But before we look at what those are, let’s answer a question we’re sure is on a lot of your minds…  What the Heck is Pickleball?   Photo credit: Envato Pickleball should be pretty familiar to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of paddle-based sports like tennis and ping pong. Two opposing players (or two opposing teams of two players each) face off on a specially sized pickleball court divided by a net. Players use paddles similar to those used in ping pong, though noticeably larger. And the ball is ...

  Featured image credit: King Richard’s Antique Center What do you get that special someone who has everything? Something no one else has, of course. Easier said than done in the highly manufactured modern world. Sure, you can take your chances on Etsy or eBay. But if you want more security along with the spontaneity of the good old fashioned browsing experience, then set your sights on Whittier. There you’ll find a veritable mecca of one-of-a-kind antique got-to-haves . And a fair amount of never-knew-it-existed s. Golden age toys share space with original art. Antique furniture competes for attention with vintage vinyl. You could walk away with an aluminum Christmas tree, a haunted ventriloquist dummy, or a cherry dresser with metal Chinese dragon handles. The only thing we can say for certain is you won’t leave with empty hands. When it’s gift-giving time, no one beats the king. King Richard that is. Welcome to King Richard’s Vintage Antique Center.  Th...