Boing Boinging around the Valley with Mark Frauenfelder

By Pauline O'Connor

March 13, 2008

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Blogger Mark Frauenfelder has lived all over the world, but for the last four years, he's called Tarzana home. Here, the Boing Boing co-editor gives a tour of a few of his favorite Valley spots.

THE FARM
"The Farm is a petting zoo in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. They have ponies, goats, chickens, ostriches, emus, llamas and other farm animals. It's really ramshackle, and the neighbors hate it -- they're always getting complaints. The last time I was here, an ostrich tried to eat my camera, and a goat knocked my youngest daughter, Jane, to the ground trying to get to the cup of pellets she was holding. My kids think it's the greatest place on Earth." 8101 Tampa Ave, Reseda, (818) 341-6805

VANALDEN CAVE
"My wife heard about this place growing up in the Valley, but had never seen it. Then one day we stumbled across it while we were hiking. The local high school kids call it the 'shroom room.' I don't know what the walls are made of, sandstone, maybe, but they're really soft, so everywhere you look, people have carved into them. There's usually no one else there during the daytime, but at night the teenagers take it over."

Half-mile from the southern terminus of Vanalden Avenue

MELODY ACRES
"We used to live in Studio City, which we liked a lot. Then the guy next door built a huge mansion that totally blocked out our view, and it was all over -- we had to get out of there. We picked Melody Acres because you can still get a big lot for the kids to run around. And it's one of the few places zoned agriculturally. You can't raise cattle, but you can raise other farm animals. We're going to get a goat, and raise it for cheese."

Pauline.OConnor@latimes.com