10,000 Steps a Day in L.A. #13, Eagle Rock: Beyond the Boulder, 4 miles

Eagle Rock, a farming community in the 1880s, was incorporated in 1911 with a population of 600, and today is a diverse community of @35,000. Barbara and I came to see the famous rock that gave Eagle Rock its name, hiked past historic homes and imaginative Halloween decorations, and stayed for some award-winning cannoli. The best close-up view of Eagle Rock-rock, the only rock in L.A. with Historic-Cultural status, is from Richard Alatorre Park on Scholl Canyon Road—our starting point. The eagle taking flight is actually a shadow on the rock, indiscernible when we arrived at 8AM, a bit clearer when we returned to the car later. The rock comes with this cool Tongva Indian legend: "An Indian baby lay on a skin. An eagle swooped, clutched the babe and flew eastward. The Indians, in chase, called to the sun, 'let [the eagle] crush himself against the rock and turn to stone upon it.' T'was done, the infant lay unhurt below" (credit: the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society). Leaving the rock, we crossed under the 134, heading south on Figueroa to the Eagle Rock Recreation Center, one of the largest public parks in LA. Well-kept and filled with people at the soccer fields, dog park, tennis courts, and trails, the park's mid-century-modern gymnasium is a Historic-Cultural Monument, designed in 1953 by famed architect Richard Neutra. I took a picture of its sign because, honestly, we weren't sure if the colorful but plain building was the showpiece! We left the park and walked south on Eagle Vista to one of Eagle Rock's most beautiful streets, Hill Drive. Barbara and I do like to fantasy house-shop in new neighborhoods, and Hill Street's craftsmen, Neo-classical, and mid-century-modern homes didn't disappoint. One of the dazzlers is the Chateau Emanuel, built in 1925 for Milo Bekins of storage fame. Currently owned (allegedly) by comedian Chris Hardwick who, if the lawn decorations mean something, is just as much of a Halloween fan as we are. In fact, it was the neighborhood Halloween lawn decorations that made this hike even more fun. We did some impromptu judging of the most clever decorations before heading east on Hermosa to Colorado Blvd. At the corner, the "most significant" building in Eagle Rock—the clubhouse of the Women's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock, founded in 1903 for self-improvement and public service, played a strong role in the suffrage movement and the founding of the public library. Heading east on Colorado, we returned to the car for another look at the rock (better in the mid-morning sun). But there was one final stop to make. We drove back to the Italian Bakery on Colorado for, according to Los Angeles Magazine's "2013 Best Of" edition, the best cannoli's in Los Angeles. Six years later—still true!