Day 104

February 16, 2020

The Los Angeles County Arboretum is located in Arcadia, about ten miles outside of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains. The property was part of one of the Mexican land grants of Southern California. After the initial grant, Rancho Santa Anita, as it was called, had several owners. Each time it changed hands, a portion of the ranch was sold off. Eventually it was purchased by Elias Jackson Baldwin. He built the majority of the structures on the grounds, including the Queen Anne cottage on the edge of the pond. The cottage is rumored to be haunted by either both of Baldwin’s wives and/or Baldwin himself. One thing for sure is that the arboretum has served as a film set many times over. The cottage was the house seen in the title sequence of the original Fantasy Island. Which is my favorite fun fact about this place. Today a friend and I went there with the sole purpose of taking pictures in a peaceful setting. It was exactly what we needed. Plenty of nature, sunshine, quiet, and great scenery.