Visiting the Lake Shrine: A Comparison of Summer and Winter
Everyone has a favorite place to visit, particularly when they have free time or are going on an adventure. In most cases, however, most people lack details about the exact time to visit an area, despite having knowledge of how a place looks from websites, contacts, and other links.
The Lake Shrine is one of the most popular destinations for religious groups. It offers an outstanding meditation experience regardless of a person's religious orientation due to its structure and style. It is a tranquil atmosphere for self-realization and reflection as a small area in Pacific Palisades, and the experience also fuels plans for regular visits.
Comparing Summer and Winter
The reason for comparing the area along summer and winter has to do with nourishing a person intending to make a visit in the future with knowledge reading the best time. For instance, many individuals who like adventure have a passion for photography. However, there are certain periods when the scenes are not at their best hence the need to avoid. Another case example has to do with crowding. Those visiting the area purposely for meditation would be pleased with a calm and relaxed environment; therefore, they would have a preference for the times when movement is minimal.
Activities in Summer and Winter
The first comparison includes the activities in the summer as compared to the winter period. On similarities, several places within the shrine remain intact regardless of the time of the visit. The main two are the museum and the gift shop as they only allow entry to a limited number of people to avoid disorder. The museum preserves all historical details about the Lake Shrine while the gift shop contains various images, masks and gems of the shrine's founder, Yogananda.
It is a place for meditation; not a playground or a picnic site. However, the high presence of Jesus in the literature pieces makes the place depict a religious appeal which is fascinating to the Christian community. Also, irrespective of the period that one visits the area the principal activity revolves around self-realization purposes. Although adventure is still an elemental part of the functions, self-reflection amongst the visitors overrides other engagements.
Regarding differences, some changes take place in the winter to accommodate the climate demands. Firstly, there is less photography as the fog and mist affect coverage and picture effects. More so, even if meditation is a principal activity, there are changes in the time schedules as most take place in the afternoon when the temperatures are better. The other variation about the periods includes animal activity. It is in a way reduced since many hide due to the frosty mornings. Considering this, the best period for those purely for adventuring is during the summer. For those who prefer entirely reduced activity, the winter suits their preference.
Characteristics of Visits
Visits' characteristics also vary significantly across the two seasons. As noted above, there are principal activities, and the same applies to the type of visitors in the Lake Shrine. Irrespective of the period, there is no single time that one would pass through the area and miss a religious organization's visit. This group is composed of devout cadres that comprise women, associations, men gatherings, youth groups, and children. Even if the numbers significantly vary over time, the type of congregation remains dominated by these sets, and the trend may continue in the same way for good.
More so, the atmosphere is very different from what happens in other areas since no one is forced to conform to the setting. It is a place designed purposely for self-exploration, and all visitors have to abide by it. Nevertheless, the greatest difference regarding visits even if the frequency is encouraging has to do with the numbers. In fact, the people who visit the shrine in the winter are almost half of the summer visits. On the same case, the number of children during the winter reduces significantly since the temperatures become critically low due to the influence of the beach climate. It is not good for them as it can affect their health.
Weather and Climate
The weather with no doubt is different in both periods. However, the behavior patterns of the rocks remain unchanged, and the water levels do not cover them. As such, the photography is better at this time. Regarding weather, the Lake Shrine is mostly cool and breeze-like in nature due to adjacency to the Pacific. As a constant observation, it ranges from hot desert to subarctic depending on the time of the year. As naturally expected it is fairly warm during summer and relatively wet during winters. Most importantly, since it just lies some meters off the Pacific, there is much influence of the ocean regarding temperature moderation.
In conclusion, not all areas that can provide hosting to all kinds of people and the Lake Shrine is such a setting. Indeed, it is very selective when it comes to group visits. However, for those with little knowledge about the place and what happens across different climate periods, it is vital to have some knowledge as illustrated above which as well will help and guide during planning and budgeting. Most importantly, it is a direction to do with balancing between expectations depending on the time.
