Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena

For people cruising to the Mexican Riviera from Long Beach, the freeways into downtown Los Angeles can seem daunting, but the big city and its suburbs offer lots to see and do.

On Sunday, Julie and I braved the freeway to visit one of the world class museums in the area. Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum has an outstanding collection of impressionist artists, as well as art from many other time periods.

Now it might have been an intentional bias of my Golden West College teacher, but I still remember many of the paintings and sculptures from her slides of key examples of artist works in my History and Appreciation of Art class.

You're greeted to the beautiful grounds by full sized copies of Rodin's famous "Burghers of Calais" and "Balzac" scupltures. After purchasing a ticket for $10 (my daughter Amy and I went a year ago on a day when it was free for some reason, but that is not ordinarily the case), which is well worth the price, we headed to the left, into the impressionist to modern art section. Later, we headed over to the other side.  We don't spend as much time as many people staring at one picture, but we enjoy reading information on some works that interest us and try to spend enough time to actually see a lot of them.

Whereas it doesn't have nearly the inventory of the Louvre in Paris or the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, it does feature beautiful paitings, and usually something surprising that we missed previously. Julie and I both for some reason sounded on A Courtyard on the rue de Fontinelle, a small picture by the French artist Lépine tucked away in an alcove.

In addition to a truly excellent art exhibit, the outdoor gardens featuring a pond with lily pads might inspire you to become the next Monet. Julie and I split a poorly presented but, once it thoroughly defrosted, rather tasty turkey wrap and salad with a plastic cup ("Sorry, we're out of wine glasses.") of Sauvignon Blanc in the courtyard cafe.

The modest pricing obviously only limits crowds and can't possibly defer the cost of upkeep and security, much less acquisition of such an extensive gallery of treasures. Just as Sam Walton's daughter Alice recently opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, with money made providing bargains to the masses at WalMart, there was a successful businessman of a prior area who made the Norton Simon Museum possible, and while you have no trouble guessing his name, perhaps you didn't know the source of his wealth.

Norton Simon was an industrialist and entrepreneur who built an empire which included Hunt Foods, McCall's Publshing, Canada Dry, Max Factor and Avis Rental Cars. It's a good reminder that captains of capitalism not only provide valuable goods and services to consumers, as well as employment with benefits to thousands of others, to meet our present needs but also support the very preservation of civilation's greatest treasures. Think about that the next time politicians bash them as not paying their fair share.

Even someone unfamiliar with the maze of L.A. freeways should have no trouble negotiating the drive. Get on the 110 Freeway and stay on it until you enter Pasadena and see a sign for the Norton Simon Museum on Orange Grove Boulevard and keep your eyes peeled to turn left on Colorado Boulevard about two miles away. It's right there on the corner. It is also possible to take the Metro Rail or bus from Long Beach to Pasadena.

Better service leads to better trips.