From the Passenger Seat

Our LA Gourmet Food Truck Scavenger Hunt!

2010-09-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start posting on our road trip to Washington and Utah, but here is a brief interruption on a small day trip we took to LA.

There is an interesting movement happening in the foodie world at the moment and as far as I know the first spark began in Los Angeles. Food Trucks, to be precise, Gourmet Food Trucks are out roaming the streets of LA feeding the population. No longer does the sorry sap of the 8-5 community have to suffer chow comprised of week old sandwiches from the neighborhood roach coaches. Today the new fad is high quality food, innovative menus in trucks wrapped with flashy designs.

The first time I heard about this kind of concept was from a winner of Top Chef who announced that he was going to spend his money serving food from a truck. At the time, it seemed like a lowbrow moment for a guy who had just won Top Chef! Who knew he was on to something big.

On another occasion, I was invited to a beer-sampling event and was told that the Kogi truck would be there serving food. Now, I admit I knew nothing about The Kogi Taco truck, but as most men do, I kept my mouth shut and nodded vigorously with approval. That night I went home and immediately looked them up on the Internet. I was intrigued and just as excited to try the tacos, as I was the beer. Alas! It all came to nothing though, as the plans fell through.

The ethereal thoughts I had of Gourmet Food Trucks slipped my mind and back into the daily fast food life I went, until by accident one found me. During Christmas My family and some dear friends decided to head down to Newport for the Boat Parade. In usual fashion, I planned little and prepared even less, so there we were that day, trying to find our way around and find a decent location to watch the boats stroll by. We ended up in a parking lot near the ending of the parade route and behold Piaggio’s On Wheels Argentina Taco truck was there awaiting my arrival. Delicious! I couldn’t stop myself from continually putting $2 down to pick up some tacos.

A month or two later, my wife and I were heading out to LA for a Clippers game (That’s right, a Clippers game!) and decided to finally check out what the Kogi truck had to offer. In my opinion it delivered the goods. Each taco was bursting with a freshness of flavor that was eerily reminiscent of something I’ve tasted before, on the other hand something entirely different. So, yes, I became a fan right then of new innovative chefs cooking on the street with the sweet smell of exhaust in the air.

Recently, my wife started recording The Great Food Truck Race on the food network. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much and thought the show would be a dud. But with Hessians slinging burgers, Ragin’ Cajuns, fancy pants crepe creators, and Vietnamese sandwiches served by the Nom Noms making you go “Nom, Nom, Nom”! This show quickly became a sunday night regular.

So, this year instead of going out to a stuffy restaurant with two wild and crazy girls for my birthday, my wife and I decided it would be fun to hit the street and sample some of the food trucks causing such a commotion in Los Angeles. Here is my review of the ones we tried.

Grill Em All – Upfront, this was not my first pick on the gourmet food trucks I wanted to taste. I was much more interested in Nom Noms and Crepes Bonaparte, than dirty metal guys selling burgers. But since Nom Nom was doing a private event and Crepes Bonaparte were in the Orange County we were stuck with the Metal Munchers. But thank the Metal Heavens we did because it ended up being totally wicked!

I found the Crue (see what I did there) parked outside the Hulu building for lunch. When we got there, my wife and I were excited not only see them but several trucks lining the area. Nevertheless, I would not be deterred! Grill ‘Em All was first on the list. I was salivating over the Waste ‘Em All Burger that had marinated green chilis, pepper jack cheese, and beer soaked onions. However, my wife was craving the Blue Cheer which was a burger topped with blue cheese, a cranberry gastrique (a fancy way of saying sauce), and munchos potato chips. I really was not interested in a Blue Cheer burger, because, well it has Blue cheese on it! But then my taste buds began thinking and really a Waste Em’ All burger was the safe choice. Granted the risky choice was far beyond what I could ever force my mouth upon- a burger being featured with peanut butter and jelly, bacon, and syracha sauce!

Since we were just sampling and had a lot of trucks to sample, we unfortunately only picked the Blue Cheer. My wife touted that this was the best burger she has ever eaten! If it hadn’t been for the blue cheese I would have second that motion. It was a great burger; a perfectly prepared patty with a nice earthy bitterness from the blue cheese mixed with a sweet, yet, tart taste of the cranberries. Honestly, it was so good, I didn’t notice the burger had potato chips in it until I was almost finished.

We also had a side of frites to compliment the burger. They were crisp and had a tasty garlic aioli sauce to dip them in.

We loved Grill ‘Em All! I'm thinking these guys will probably not win the race, but not based on their food it has more to do with their marketing strategy. They’re not really marketing type guys. They just seem to want to pull into a town find a bar or tattoo shop and start grilling. Which is really their endearing quality.

Anyhow, I give these guys four Slayer fist horns, three hessian hair flips, and a big AC/DC “For those about to ROCK (or grill) we salute you!”

Vizzi Truck

This was the next truck we hit up and I was not impressed. Oh, the truck had a nice look and a big flat screen TV so you could have something to watch while you wait, but the food itself left me ho-hum. Now, to be forthright, I should tell you I only sampled their starters and probably should have tried their sliders, but I mean if the starters can’t get you excited then why pay more.

We ordered the white truffle popcorn for my wife and a orange marinated pork taco. My taco was presented lying on a bed of popcorn that looked like it came from last year’s Christmas tin. I had to brush off my taco before I could take a bite of the thing. The taco itself wasn’t bad, it’s just that there are a lot (and I do mean a lot!) of people out on the streets selling these type of tacos, but done better at a lower price.

My wife enjoyed the popcorn that was flavored with white truffle essence and sea salt, not to mention fresh chives and dried figs. The kids and I could hardly eat the stuff; the truffle oil gave off an earthy decaying odor. Suffice it to say, it stayed in the car and was barely touched the rest of the day.

The best word I can come up with to describe these guys is pretentious.

Great Balls on Tires

Great Balls on Tires or G-Bot for short served up a flavorful meatball. I almost passed this truck up, because at $6, the price seemed a little high I thought for two meatballs. But Man! They were delicious. We ordered the IncrediBalls, which was ground Kobe beef covered by smoked apple bacon on a toasted brioche, topped with Gruyere, aioli, and wild arugula. My only complaints were the meatballs were too tasty to be so small. I cursed this truck for not making gigantic towering Meatballs (note – they were a decent size, I just wanted more) . Secondly, I curse them for selling me the last two IncrediBalls of the day! How do you torture people like this and not get arrested.

Yatta-!

Afterwards we walked down the street to Yatta -! a sushi food truck. C’mon with sushi restaurants on every corner you had to see this one coming. I ordered a fried roll with spicy tuna and cream cheese with a mayo sauce. No complaints, here, Yatta-! Pulled it off remarkably. The roll was fresh, flavor combos right on point and well executed.

Ok. One complaint, I didn’t see any soy sauce. I’m not sure if this was by design, I mean is asking a sushi chef for soy sauce like asking a Michelin Star chef for ketchup?

White Rabbit

The White Rabbit Truck is trying desperately to get on next season’s The Great Food Truck Race. They were one of the trucks nominated for a spot, but now have to garner the support by having people text. If you’re interested, you can text FT118 to 66789. I suppose, though, you might want to know a little about them before texting.

White Rabbit serves a Filipino fusion menu that consists mainly of tacos. Here’s my dilemma with this truck, it seems Filipino fusion is not far from the Korean fusion Kogi was offering up. Now to be fair, I admit it has been several (alright you caught me 8 or 9 months) since I sampled the Kogi truck. But when I tasted their food it just reminded me of Kogi and then it just left me craving their tacos. We sampled one of each type of meat they served; pork, steak, and chicken. Sadly, the taco with the most flavor was the pork. I say sadly, because while it was flavorful it was also dried out. The steak was so-so as was the chicken.

The other disappointment for me was the quesadilla. My daughters desperately, imploringly wanted a quesadilla. But $5 for cheese and a tortilla? Outrageous. I can understand one with meat or other toppings but just plain cheese? Astonishing.

However, there were some saving graces with this truck. First, the girl taking the order was adorably friendly and the chef was pleasant as well. They answered my questions, suggested their favorites, and briefly explained what they are going through to get on The Great Truck Race season 2. As for the quesadillas, well the girl also gave us some mango juices for the girls to compliment the meal for free. Lastly, Their Sweet Potato fries were made to perfection! I'm not a huge fan of Sweet Potato fries, but even I gobbled them up.

While the menu and implementation could be tweaked a little, I have to say, I would be rooting for this team to win the Great Food Truck Race next season based solely on customer service.

After our tastings at the Hulu building we ventured down Wilshire Blvd, heading toward miracle mile, where I had heard that some of the food trucks post up for the afternoons. Unfortunately, we were late leaving the previous area and most of the trucks were packing up for the evening or moving locations. I spotted the India Jones truck across the street from LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and giddily pulled over. My daughter ran up to the owner and asked him if he was still open (I knew he had closed for the day, but sometimes there is no telling my six year old), the man behind the wheel just gave her a frustratingly grievous glance as if to say, “move along little girl, this isn’t an ice cream truck.” He then proceeded to ignore her questions by getting on his cell phone. I wanted to point the way back to India with my middle finger to the man, but at the same time I understood. He probably had a long day and was ready to get home and had little interest in talking with a six year old.

At the same time, I saw the Dim Sum truck pulling away as well. They were at the top of my list, but sadly it was not to be. Though a little frustrated, I was not dissuaded, so our family got out walked around and took some pictures.

Sweet E's

During our walk we stumbled upon Sweet E’s truck. When we walked up, a girl on the sidewalk walking past us asked if we were interested in getting a treat. I replied, “Yeah, actually I am.” I’m certain she was not prepared for this answer because she jumped back a little and responded, “Oh, ok I’ll be right back.” She then ran off to complete some errand. Nevertheless it gave us time to look at the goods offered in the truck window. I’m not sure if it was late in the day, but the selection was limited. We all decided on cupcakes. They were small and a little pricey at $2 a pop, but flavorsome. The cake was perfect, hearty with a muffin like top. It is important to note that my daughters ate the cake, which is rare; usually they just lick the frosting off and are done. Also, the girl who posed the question was just as sweet as her baked goods. Very helpful and gave my daughters a treat of tiny cones filled with cream. I was excited, my daughters wanted them, but they were tiny and a dollar a piece. Anyhow, I recommend the cupcakes. I liked the red velvet. My wife liked the strawberry.

Tango Mango

We eventually made it to Miracle Mile, but didn’t find many trucks. The only one we came across at this odd pre-dinner time was the Tango Mango truck selling Italian ice. I probably would have passed it up, but my daughters were tired and antsy. So, we sampled their flavors and decided on a mixture of Cherry and strawberry kiwi. My oldest didn’t care for the treat, but I think it had more to do with being cranky and not picking the flavor she wanted. My youngest slurped the ice down. My wife loved the cherry, especially after she found bits of maraschino cherries in the dessert. However, about five bites in my wife’s face contorted as she yelled out, “Oh my goodness! This is the worst brain freeze I have ever experienced!”

I laughed. I smirked. Then I suggested to my wife that she rub her tongue against the top of her mouth to warm up the nerve endings and bring things back to normal. But, it didn’t help, the brain freeze kept going and going.

After the amusement I had giggling at my wife, I took two more bites of cherry Italian ice and began to experience the most excruciating brain freeze I have ever encountered. It was like waking up from a deep sleep to a horrendous cramp in your calf, only I was awake the entire time and it was my head cramping, and it wouldn’t go away.

By this time it was already six in the evening, so we prepared to go home. Then we drove by the freeway and looked out at the automobile cemetery and realized we weren’t going anywhere for a while. So, I suggested we try one more truck that we had both wanted to seek out that day, but didn’t think we would be able to because they weren’t setting up until 7 pm in Venice Beach. But, now it looked like we had plenty of time to taste their offerings.

When we got to the Venice location I was excited to see not only The Buttermilk Truck, but also the Dogtown and the Calbi trucks were parked just a couple feet away from each other. Unfortunately, we didn’t try the Calbi truck because by that time my intestines were just exhausted, they were pushing back telling me we were through for the night, so I finally relented.

The Buttermilk Truck

I first heard of The Buttermilk truck a couple of days before our trip on a spotlight piece the Food network was doing on food Trucks. They were showing off their red velvet and chocolate chip pancakes, which I was immediately sold on. I mean anything with red velvet and I would probably give it a try. So that we did, and yeah they were great! Probably a little too sweet and maybe more of a flattened cupcake than pancake, but tasty, nonetheless. We also ordered a side of Hawaiian breaded cinnamon sprinkled French toast sticks; I didn’t eat them because my girls devoured them before I had the chance. My wife told me they were the best french toast sticks she had ever eaten.

My only negative was the customer service. All the other trucks were friendly and seemed genuinely excited about their business and delighted that you were there. Part of the street truck experience is the interaction you might not get in a sit down establishment. So, it was a huge let down for me when it seemed like this was a chore for The Buttermilk truck. Not one person smiled; taking my order seemed like a pain in the rear, and they seemed a little put out when I had to request things like a plastic cup for syrup. But, I guess when your food is that good, you’re not to worried about the customer service aspect.

Dogtown Hotdogs

First, I will tell you that I wasn’t going out of my way to pursue the Dogtown truck, I don’t know, I just thought Hot Dogs weren’t extravagant enough, but since it was right next to The Buttermilk Truck, I decided to give them a shot. I ordered the California Dog; a hot dog topped with avocado, arugula, basil aioli ,fried onions, tomatoes and a light vinaigrette. Now that I went back and looked at the menu again online, I probably should have opted for the Spicy Angelino; bacon wrapped hot dog with jalapeño, tomatillo sauce and spicy salsa fresca. Though, my gut would have probably been very angry in the morning. Anyhow, my hot dog was tasty, all the ingredients went well together and overall it made for a nice mouthful of food. We also picked up a side of tater—tots; nothing too exciting about these but a smart choice as a side.

The negative here was with the hotdog itself, or lack thereof. Honestly, I took a bite of the hotdog and then looked at the thing to see if they might have forgotten the hotdog. Unfortunately, it was in there. I really did feel like someone was setting me up for an updated Wendy’s commercial. I looked at my wife and wanted to yell, “Where’s the Beef?” Really, they need to rethink were they’re purchasing the dogs from because this is too big of an issue to overlook. I mean I could have given this Hotdog to a vegetarian and they wouldn’t have known the difference.

Mon Ami Gabi

2010-08-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is my last post on Las Vegas at least until our next trip. Mon Ami Gabi was a exciting, scrumptious restaurant right on the strip. We elected to seat outside on the patio to experience the delightful view of the Bellagio fountain. The food was outstanding. The onion soup was overflowing with cheese and had a savory flavor. I forget now which steak I ended up ordering, but it was one of those steaks where you really try to eat slow and chew 50 times just to extract every possible moment of taste. This was one of the few restaurants that I would probably come back to and try again. The staff was friendly, the atmosphere and location superb, and the food was quite remarkable.

Gondola at the Venetian

2010-08-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

I knew before we came to Las Vegas that hitching a ride on the gondola, at the Venetian, was a must for us. Our ride almost got scratched from the list, but at the last minute we made work. It should be noted that there are actually two gondola rides at the Venetian hotel; one outside which does a weird little circle 8 or something and then the one on the second story which travels through the heart of the mall and back with fake mood lighting for effect. We opted for the inside ride; lovely, romantic and pricey! Almost as pricey as the cab fare in the city. The 10 minute ride was a whopping $16 a person- that's a little over half the cost of a romantic helicopter ride over the city... not including tip and the company trying to sell you a photo at an outrageous cost (even our tour guide warned us to stay away from purchasing a picture).

I'm complaining a little, when overall I enjoyed the ride. Our guide stayed in character with accent and all; sang us a couple songs, told a couple jokes, and even invaded our photos. It was a lovely stroll and I can finally say I did it, but I can also finally say I would probably never do it again, simply because the cost was too high.

'wichcraft

2010-08-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've been a Top Chef fan for sometime now. It's probably my favorite show on TV these days; if it wasn't for this show I would have probably dropped my Satellite along time ago. Suffice it to say, I was very excited to try Tom Colicchio's sandwich shop 'wichcraft, which is a play on names after his very successful Craft restaurants as well as a more affordable shop for us "regulars" to enjoy.

The interior of the place looked like Tom had hired Pink Berry's designer to do his makeover. Though you probably couldn't tell by the pictures I posted, everything was neon greens mixed with light wood. Honestly, great decor for yogurt but not so much for a sandwich shop.

The sandwiches were not all that great either. I ordered the slow roasted pork with red cabbage and jalepenos on a ciabatta roll. Sounds exquisitely tasty, right? Turns out not so much. The pork was dry and the only thing that had and flavor was the jalepenos.

My wife for some odd reason my wife chose the egg concoction above. She was unimpressed and thought it was only slightly above an egg McMufffin.

In The words of Mr. Colicchio, "The food just wasn't that good and it was not properly executed."

In the words of Top Chefs other host Padma, "Tom, please pack your knives and go."

Napoleon's Dueling Piano Bar- Paris

2010-08-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

It's closing time

After attending Love and walking the strip we found our way to Napoleon's Dueling Piano Bar. Prior to our trip, I looked up Cigar Bars on the web and this seemed to be the main one. However, once we arrived in town I found a couple of others that were probably a little more focused on Cigars. Napoleon's had a nice comfortable atmosphere, but very limited on their cigar selection. The Dueling Pianos were entertaining but as far as a piano man taking request the best I have found thus far was in Memphis. The couple here played some descent songs, but when we requested Bob Seger they only knew one song and played a bad rendition of it. Still, I would probably comeback just because I liked the easy going atmosphere that was maintained in the hustle and bustle of Vegas.

Cirque Du Soleil's -Love

2010-08-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

While in Las Vegas we went to see Cirque du soleil's LOVE. The show is centered around the Beatle's music and is a loose interpretation of the Beatle's biography from their early days to the band's breakup.

We decided to wait until we got to Las Vegas to pick up tickets for a show. It was a gamble, but it paid off. I wasn't sure which Cirque show to see, but this was certainly at the top of my list. However, I thought I would see whichever show was being offered at a discount. Some of my co-workers had suggested checking out Tix 4 tonight. One of my co-workers had been to Vegas the week before and told me there was a couple of Cirque shows being offered, but to get there early. So immediately after we arrived at our Hotel we headed across the street to find some tickets. The line was building up and was already out the door. I was honestly surprised to see they were offering Love tickets at a whopping 40 percent discount (and yes! I checked the standard show rates prior online prior to purchasing tickets). So, we quickly snatched out seats up.

The only thing I thought was a negative at the time of purchasing tickets was that the ticket agent showed me my seats and I thought they were really high up for the price I was paying. But when we entered the theater my worries were dispelled. We were only six rows behind the stage. Honestly, I think all the seats had a pretty descent view and we probably could have gotten away with purchasing cheaper seats.

The show itself was... well, it was a Cirque show, so you know, it's was amazing. Very well thought out, visually stunning, whacky characters, and too top it off it it had Beatle's music. What more could you ask for? My wife and I loved it. If there were not other Cirque shows in town to see then I would probably say I would go back again. But since this was our first Cirque experience, I will probably venture out to the other ones (when we come back in ten years).

Pictures were not allowed in the Theater, but I snapped this quick pic on the way out.

Siegfeid and Roy Statue

2010-08-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is the Siegfried and Roy Statue near the Mirage.

After looking at some of the photos on google, I'm beginning to think my last one of the lion eating my hand might have been in bad taste, but that's what happens when you try and pick a lions nose.

Paris

2010-08-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I am posting these really, but my daughter had read a book about the Eiffel Tower around the time we were going to Vegas, so I told her that I was taking her mom to see it. Of course, my wife kept clarifying that it was only a replica.

Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn

2010-08-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Daniel Boulud Brasserie for three reasons: 1) The restaurant was located at our hotel 2) It had a Michelin Star 3) The Chef is world renowned and was a guest judge on Top Chef.

Apparently, I only took pictures of the dessert. I suppose, this was because the meal was so good that I couldn't stop to put my fork down and pick up the camera. My wife and I loved the entire evening at the restaurant. The staff were friendly and helpful. They could tell we were out of place, or maybe I just told them upfront (probably a little of both), thus the waiter took the time to share with us each part of the dish and some helpful hints on eating the courses. My main course, the rack of lamb, being the ultimate in savory and though the desserts look a little strange were heavenly with each little nibble.

Bellagio Garden

2010-08-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is at the Bellagio's garden, the powers that be seem to change this area quite often, this time around it was a weird fall, Wizard of Oz meets Lord of the Rings style happening in the area.

Hand of Faith Nugget

2010-08-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Hand of Faith golden nugget is on display at the Golden Nugget Hotel. The official site states that the nugget was discovered in Australia in 1980 by one of those annoying people combing beaches with short shorts and metal detectors. At 61 pounds it weighs in as the Largest nugget in existence today, the second largest ever discovered. The Casino payed over a million dollars for the nugget. While we were standing there admiring the thing, a person who was into the gold exchange came up and starting figuring out what the going price of the nugget would be on that day, as it turns out The Casino overpaid by a hundred thousand or so. But, I suppose you really can't put a price on holding a treasure like the Hand of Faith.

On a side note... what is it about me and throwing my thumbs up every time I get around valuables. It's a good thing I'm not a bank robber or I would be tagged the, "Thumbs up Bandit."

Binion's Millions

2010-08-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know, this picture just makes me sad. I mean I am that close to a million dollars and yet, I can't get my hands on it... literally.

Berlin Wall Toilet Stall

2010-08-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

Stand up America! Stand Up from freedom and Democracy! Be bold and let the world know you are not a communist, socialist, fascist, or any other kind of ist. How does one make such a proclamation? Well, how about going to Las Vegas and whizzing on the Berlin Wall. That's right, the Main Street Station Casino brought pieces of the Berlin Wall back just so you could feel like a real American.

Actually, I did feel kinda cool peeing on a bit of history. Oh, I know there are urinals there, but c'mon, who wants to tinkle in the porcelain when you have concrete history backing it up.

On a side note, I did come reasonably close to getting into a fight while snapping these shots. While I was standing there looking strangely weird taking pictures of the men's urinal, a drunken Tap-Out thug came out of the stall taking on the phone (which might be just as weird as me taking pictures in the boys room) upset because his favorite UFC star lost that very night. In a drunken rage he shouted into the phone, " Man I'm so pissed, I'm going to kick someone's ass tonight!" So, I put away my baby blue camera and braced for the sucker punch. Thankfully, blaster MMA guy stumbled by and walked out the door.

Fremont Street

2010-07-19T00:49:00.000-07:00

This was my first Fremont Street Experience. To be honest, I felt awkward about the place. I mean, It should have been my favorite thing about Vegas since it has everything I could want. It was gaudy and kitsch filled with Neon lights, street performers, cheap margaritas, photo-opt attractions, and a city block television. The conflict I have in my soul is what comes with those attractions. On the strip, I see people blowing there money and I think "suckers!" But on Fremont street, I look around and see people who probably can't afford to be here throwing money away. On top of that is the drunken idiots running around wanting to fight everyone and anyone. Nevertheless we had fun wandering around, checking out the TV and seeing all the old neon signs being restored.

On "The Duece"

Under the Largest Television Screen in the World.

Drinking cheap Margaritas

Street Performer or Prop

At Starbucks looking up

The Burger Bar

2010-07-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

My wife and I love Top chef! So, one thing we wanted to do while we visiting Vegas was to try some of the judges and guest judges restaurants, yet try to do so on a budget. The first place we ate was The Burger Bar created by renowned Chef Hubert Keller. The most expensive burger on the menu is roughly $75- a kobe beef sautéed with foie gras and shaved truffles. Sounds tasty, but a little out of my league for a bite at lunch. It's been about eight months a go, so to be quite honest I'm not to sure what I had on my burger. You can pick and choose what you want or they have some prepared suggestions. I'm pretty sure my wife had something with blue cheese on it and scrumptious sweet potato fries. By the looks of the picture a buffalo burger with jalapeno bacon, spinach, bell peppers, provolone cheese, and topped with aioli sauce. Yeah, it was good! My mouth is salivating just thinking of it.

On top of that they had an extensive beer selection. I can't remember the name, but I do remember having a very tasty local ale.

The Headless Lenin

2010-07-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

What is the ultimate insult to communism? How about taking a statue of Lenin, decapitating his head and placing it in the most capitalistic-mutated city in America! That's how the "Red Square" vodka bar in Mandalay bay decided to honor the communist leader. As if the degradation can't get any lower, I hear they have the head on ice, that you can view for a lofty fee.

Wynn Resort, Las Vegas

2010-06-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last November, My wife and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Las Vegas. For me, like most Southern Californians, going to Vegas is not that big of a deal. But I've only been there three times in my life; once when my mom got remarried, I was around five years old; once for a day when I was 18, I drove out there with my friend Silver and somehow got stuck walking around a parking lot of a Grateful Dead show in a 125 degree heat (alright, maybe I exaggerate... maybe not); and once, right after I was married for a couple days. Still, this was not my first choice, but since I didn't plan until a month before (because I couldn't think of where to go) Vegas became the clear choice. Besides, all my co-workers were telling me the place has changed in ten years and I would probably not recognize the strip.

In the late planning stages, still trying to figure things out, a co-worker and friend of mine, told me to look at Southwestvaca tions.com for a deal. We ended up getting a really great deal to stay at the Wynn Hotel and two round trip flights. But a word to the wise, the earlier the better. I would have saved about a $100 bucks from the time I first looked into staying from the time I actually booked the trip (which was about a weeks lapse).

The Wynn Hotel was beautiful! The staff was friendly and helpful which made the experience all the more refreshing. I loved the place.

First arriving at The Wynn.

Our room, the view and decor

The Bathroom was great and the tub was almost as good as a jet tub.

I'm pretty sure I took 6 baths while there!

Mono Lake

2010-06-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

Our last stop of the trip was to Mono Lake. Prior to going, I had seen some really amazing pictures of the Tufa Towers and thought since we were so close, we should really make our way out to the lake and take a gander. I suppose the pictures on my blog really don't do the place justice, one really needs to be there in the early morning or evening hours to catch the beauty of the light reflecting off the water. Ours was taken during the afternoon (that's the best you can do when trying to get three girls ready to go!).

We had bought a little brochure on the lake, in which it encouraged you to float in the lake (we didn't notice until later that the brochure was over 10 years old), so the adventurer I am, brought my swimming trunks and got ready to jump in. My wife's Aunt and nephew were ready to do so as well! When we decided to finally go into the lake, since we had to get the kids changed into their swimsuits, Aunt Kim and son AJ were already dressed, so they went first,. By the time we got the kids ready, Aunt Kim and AJ were coming back and pleading with us not to go in. Apparently, the water was rather soupy and filled with dead brine shrimp, plus there were a billion flies buzzing around in black masses, and the water smelled bad. Thus, we skipped out on swimming in Mono Lake and I've been kicking myself ever since.

Rainbow Falls

2010-06-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

The same day we went to The Devil's Postpile, we hiked (more liked walked a very nice easy trail) a little over a mile to Rainbow Falls. The Fall was a beautiful sight, but better than that it was refreshing on such a warm day. We went to the bottom of the falls and placed our feet in the freezing cold water. Wonderful.

The Devil's Postpile

2010-06-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

On our trip to Mammoth with my family (and Aunt Kim, Uncle John, and AJ), the one place that was really a set destination for us was The Devil's Postpile. I saw these 60 ft. columnar Basalt formations in the Los Angeles Times magazine (that part of the newspaper is now defunct) and thought it would be an interesting sight to behold. However, two trips to convict lake and I still had not taken the trip, so during our visit I made sure this was on our to do list. As I remember, you had to pay a couple bucks per person to take you down by bus to the location (I think they're trying to limit the traffic that goes through the area), but afterwards getting to the formations were relatively easy. Due to a maintained trail, we were even able to take my daughter's stroller.

Keough Hot Ditch!

2010-05-30T23:56:00.000-07:00

Last year around this time (a little later in June, I suppose), I took my family on a trip to Mammoth Mountain to do some camping and exploring. We stopped at Keough Hot Ditch just south of Mammoth. The hot springs are owned by a company that has a spa resort or something on the premises, but the steaming hot water flows outside in the ditches. The place was fun and relaxing during the day time and my girls loved it, but there was evidence that the places might get a little wild when the sun goes down! Next time your driving through and you think, "Boy, I would love to get out of the car and relax a little bit, check out the Keough Hot ditch!

Venice Beach

2010-01-20T00:25:00.000-08:00

Living in Southern California, one would think I would have been to Venice Beach more times than I would lever like to admit. The truth is though, up until now, I'd never been to the place! Thus, I decided to plan a day. I took the day off work and headed west for the beach.

Overall, I have to say I did not enjoy Venice all that much, it was overated and overrun with gang bangers and druggies. I thought I had made a wrong turn and walked into the parking lot of the Great American Smoke Out concert, what with pot head after pot head either asking for marijuana or protesting legal bans!

Of course, I rarely ever have good first impressions of places, so who knows, the next time I go I might fall in love. I did enjoy walking the canals. The homes were lovely and the view was pleasant.

Street Performers

Children's Park on the beach

Muscle Beach

The Canals

Venice Sign in reverse

The Big "V"

Tree Man and Faith

One funny thing did happen on this trip. At least, it is funny now. Among all the street performers, vendors and junkies, was a man making sand sculptures right along the boardwalk. As we approached his sculpture of a big lizard, we pointed it out to our oldest daughter. Unexpectedly, to our dismay, she stepped towards it and proceeded to stomp the lizard sculpture down! Horrified, my wife screamed, drawing even more attention to the scene! I felt so terrible I reached into my pocket to give the guy some money, as he took it, with our apologies, he said to us, "its not the first time today".

San Clemente Pier

2010-01-20T00:16:00.000-08:00

Mission de San Juan Capistrano

2010-01-20T00:15:00.000-08:00

I've been to The Mission in San Juan Capistrano plenty of times. It's the only mission I've really ever visited. But my hope is that my family will someday take a road trip and see all the missions in California, maybe when my oldest needs to go to one for a school project, we're kind of an all-or-nothing family. But that will be another story for another time.

Last March we went to the Return of the Swallows Celebration that happens every year. Since my childhood I've heard a mixture of the legends that surround the story of the swallows, so this was the year I finally decided to partake in the festivies.

It was a gorgeous day at the mission with blue skies and fluffy white clouds overhead. Part of the celebration (alright the entire day) was a celebration of Italian heritiage. The aroma of delightful food filled the courtyard, vendors selling all manners of italian product, and an Italian group singing bad renditions of "that's Amore" is what you will encounter if you arrive on Italian Day. A word to the wise though, when you go, for almost any event, you should probably take some cash with you. I forgot and had to skate by on the the couple dollars I had.

Oh yeah, and another word to the wise.... There are no swallows flying around at the return of the swallows celebration!

But even if swallows are scarce, it was still a beautiful day to go, as evidenced in our photos. And the mission is beautiful, a true American ruin. If you haven't seen it, make plans, between the beautiful mission and the quaint little town of San Juan Capistrano, you wont be disappointed.

Snowdrift- Running Springs

2009-11-24T01:07:00.000-08:00

On March 9th, my family went for a drive in the San Bernardino Mountains for the sole purpose of playing in the snow. First we stopped in Big Bear for a bite to eat. We ended up at a place called Desi's and I would have taken photos but it was honestly pne of the most disgusting restaurants I've been in for quite some time. Their $8 or $9 burrito was small and bland and the chili (I don't see it on their online menu) was just a hair above room tempature which would have been about 64 degrees.

On our way back down the road we happened upon SNOWDRIFT a snow tubing area in Running Springs. We went later in the day and the cost was pretty reasonable. When we arrived there were only a couple of hours left, but with hiking two tubes and two girls up the hill that's all the time I needed.

The only negative was that my wife had to pay to simply watch. She had to walk in the park to take pictures and be there just in case one of the girls needed her. So it was an extra ten bucks to people watch. Otherwise, a pretty fun time playing in the snow.

Redlands Bowl

2009-11-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

On a boring monday afternoon in February, I packed the car and headed down the road to the city of Redlands. The purpose of the trip was to mainly to walk around and take pictures of my girls. Alas, all the family pictures and very little snapshots of places and things to see. For those of you that don't know Redlands, It's a college town that has a wonderful downtown section.

Most the pictures you see with the benches and some of the buildings were taken at the Redlands Bowl a little outdoor community theater that host a summer concert and play every year. I'm pretty sure the play is free to the public. We went one year (about six or seven years a go) and watched The Sound of Music. From what I remember it was very well done and a delightful performance to sit through.

Redlands also has the only shrine dedicated to Abraham Lincoln on this side of the Mississippi. The picture of my two girls next to the fountain is at the sit of the shrine. We didn't go in though, because well...I don't care that much for Lincoln and I don't care much for shrines built for people I don't care much about. Maybe next time.

We also stopped for some sweet treats at Dough'Lectibles Bakery. It's been awhile so I can't quite remember what I ate, but I do remember thinking it was Oh Sweet Pleasures! So if you're in the area, check them out you're sweet tooth will thank me later. Also, they serve a lunch and dinner, as well as do the Tea thing for the ladies. Oh, yeah and they make cakes.

MT. Rubidoux

2009-11-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

Early one January morning, my daughter and I decided to hike Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside. Alright, I decided the place, but it was only because my daughter kept nagging me to take her hiking again. I had completed this hike once before for a Easter Sunrise Service. It was one of the more memorable services I have attended . Here is a link to some photos of last years service. I looked for current information, but I think it's still a little too early.

Back to the subject at hand, my daughter and I had an enjoyable time together and a blast on the hike. The only set back was the Parks Dpartment was doing maintence and construction to the roads and hillside that day. So all of the main access points were off limits. Thus we drove around for awhile trying to find a secret entrance. We finally found a back way, but it was no secret, half the neighborhood was walking the hill. After we got to the top of the hill, we went off to explore, when we came back the road was taped off and been re-asphalted, leaving us cut-off from our exit route. The only thing to do was to put my daughter on my shoulder and leap acrossed the road in two olympian sized jumps.

Otherwise, it was a fun day with my daughter.

Oh, yeah and if you have the book Weird California check out the section on Mt. Rubidoux...One of my supervisors at work has been in those tunnels. Pretty cool.

The Elephant Seals of San Simeon

2009-11-08T01:35:00.000-08:00

If you are on the Central Coast, you just have to go to San Simeon. Not for Hearst Castle, though that is a fun trip too, you have to go to see the Elephant seals! When we are cruising the coast, once a year or so, we always try to make this trip. Where else can you get so close to such a large amount of wild animals. Depending on the time of year you go, many different things could be happening on the beach. Mating, birthing, fighting, and then theres the times when they are basically just laying there getting fat. This particular trip was during the Elephant seals' birthing time. There were so many new pups and mama seals, an a few proud papa seals lying with their harem or defending their harem against other alpha males. It was so fun to watch all the different activities going on. We stayed quite a while and I am so glad we did because we were able to witness a seal pup being birthed. It was amazing! Visit the Friends of the Elephant Seals' website for what's happening when and other great information about Elephan Seals. Also, here's a link to some more pictures put to a little musical slide show, enjoy!

This seal just had a baby.

The Little Town of Arroyo Grande

2009-11-08T01:20:00.000-08:00

Near my parent's house is the small Central Coast community of Arroyo Grande. I've passed the place numerous times, but thanks to our WestWays magazine, decided to take a gander at the Grande. The main reason was to see their swinging bridge. The little downtown section is quaint and relaxling to walk around. Its filled with antique stores and other little knick-knack shops, most of which we by passed.

Upon looking for a place to eat, my usual rule of thumb is to find local places that seems to be the filled with people (easy enough if you ask me). Thus we stumbled upon Alphy's Broiler. Their tri-tip sandwich was oozing and dripping with delightful goodness with every bite. It was the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Kellee and I loved this place and will be hitting this place up the next time we're in a 50 mile radius. Plus, the staff was really friendly and seemed to be grateful having people eat at their place.

Afterwards we stopped in and had a bite of Ice cream @ Dr. Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab, a fun old fashioned ice cream parlor. Again friendly and helpful staff with amazing ice cream. The best one was a red wine ice cream they had made with wine from one of the local wineries. If you love ice cream like my family does, then this is a must stop for you.
The swinging bridge is the only one of it's kind in California. Here's the link if your interested in its history. Really though, it's pretty secure these days, I didn't feel much movement, maybe about as much as you get from the swinging bridges at Tom Swayer's Island in Disneyland. No...much less. But it was pretty cool to say we stopped by the only swinging bridge of it's kind in California.

The pictures of the church are just that, pictures of a quaint little church. But we liked the mailbox. It gives the town some character.

Legoland

2009-11-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

Prior to going to LegoLand, I would have said this amusement park would not be my first choice or even maybe my 10th pick for a place to take the family. In fact, I think I might have decided on a miniature golf place instead. . I guess I didn’t get the concept. However, The Deanes had free tickets and three other tickets we could redeem for a dollar a piece. So we decided to turn our one day outing into two and see what Lego Land had to offer.

Honestly, I should have really enjoyed the place. It is definitely a place for younger children and since I have two of them it’s right up my alley. The rides we pretty interesting; such as: getting in a fire truck, operating a teeter totter thing to get the fire engine to move, and then getting out and pumping water through a fire hose to put out a burning building. You had to work as a team to finish the task. It was unique and really fun! Plus all the miniature models of the different cities in the US were fascinating to view.

So with fun rides and interesting displays why did I not find myself enjoying the time? CROWDS! IT took 30-45 minutes to get on some of the silliest of rides. Plus it was hard to maneuver with our off-roading Jeep stroller. I couldn’t believe how many people were there, It made Knott’s feel like a ghost town. Sure, it was Christmas Break and everyone was on vacation, but really?! Everyone picked LegoLand as the place to spend their vacation?!

But, If I lived in San Diego and I knew that this was not a usual occurrence I would probably invest in season passes. The place had great potential but it was hard to see through with all the bodies herding through the place.

Mr. Einstein can I pick your brain for a minute?

Sweetness

Uh....Caught.

Now she's ready to drive my truck!

Up, Up, and Away

Seatbelts are for sissies

San Deigo Breweries

2009-11-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

Beer Tasting @ Carl Strauss

I've been quite lazy in posting this year, but I'll try to get up-to-date in the next couple of weeks. This post should have been around the the beginning of January 09. It's simple...beer.

The main focus of our trip to San Diego was to hit up some of the local breweries and do a little beer tasting. Sadly, I found out while trying to plan, most Breweries are only open during the days I’m working, at least the ones that all the locals recommended. So we went to four places leaving out two top-rated establishments; Green Flash and Lost Abbey.

Karl Strauss- One might think with the company having several restaraunts in the area, having their beer featured at the San Diego Zoo and Disney’s California Adventure that this would be San Diego’s version of Coors! A nasty overrated beer that college kids buy in excess just to get drunk. But in my opinion you would be wrong. KS has a descent selection of tasty brews with a fine representation of Ales, IPA’s, and Lagers. They might not be the best beer in town but you could certainly do worse.

San Diego Brewing Co.- When I mentioned above that you certainly could do worse, I had this brewery in mind. Before we get to the beer, let me just say that the décor made me feel like I was walking into a sleazy 80’s bar…think Patrick Swayze in roadhouse before Pat got there and kicked butt. Oh this place needs a Swayze to come in and clean up! Beyond that, the beer just wasn’t very good. I’m certainly not a beer connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, so I can’t come out and pinpoint the overall problem with their beer, so I will simply say that most of my beers I left unfinished. This is especially true of the Blueberry Ale they served us, one word…Nasty!

Stones Brewing- On the topic of Decors, Stones got it right with the design of their brewery and restaurant. The have a top notch, modern restaurant with beautifully landscaped, half or full acre of land with a patio area. After looking online at the site and getting some thumbs up from friends we thought this would be a great place to eat dinner with our families, especially since they had a children’s menu! However, while the dinner might be reasonable…Hmmm, no it’s just a little overpriced the main problem for us was how crowded the place was on a Monday evening. The only way to order was either wait two hours to be seated or eat on the patio. The patio option was great for us since we had seven adults and six kids, the kids were a little more free to be loud and run around. The only difficulty was that you had to go inside to the bar and place your order. There were no servers outside, and placing your order meant standing at the bar for fifteen minutes to be recognized. Thus, my family opted for some appetizers and beers (no, the beers were not for the kids). On further reflection even though they have a kids menu and plenty of room, don't be like me and drag them along, don’t do it! LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME! Think of this as more of a date night (That’s right it has all the qualities- brews for men and ambience for the ladies) for singles or couples.

If you don’t know Stones beers, you should get yourself acquainted. Their Arrogant Bastard Ale was one of the first beers I had that I thought, “Wow! I guess beer doesn’t have to taste like urine.” When I first started drinking beer in my adulthood this was the one that won me over, it was my beer of choice. I’ve moved on since then, but that doesn’t mean Stones isn’t making great beer, they definitely are still producing beer at a high quality level.

A previous boss of mine once remarked about drinking AB that it was “Like drinking tire tread.” I know that might not be an endorsement of AB, but you should realize that he was quite use to drinking Corona or Bud light, so this was entirely a new experience. Stones beers are thick, full bodied, and you can definitely taste the hops. If you’re not really a beer drinker or only toss back a lager here and there then prepare yourself for a completely different type of taste.

Anyhow, while we were there I had Double Ale, which was delicious. My wife enjoyed the Imperial Russian Stout. We still remember after almost a year, so you know it was good. Don't miss their amazing AB battered onion rings. They were amazing. Stones Brewery also hosts some amazing special events. I almost don't want to share this with you, it's that special. Check out their events calender, this weekend is what sounds like a super awesome evening of Beer and Chocolate pairings, if you read this in time you should go and enjoy it for me. What a coincidence, next week is officially Beer Week in San Diego! November 6-15, 2009!

Pizza Port- This was our last stop of the day. We had planned to go and get a couple of tasters and maybe a beer float, but since we opted not to eat at Stones we decided to get a couple of pizzas. Rest assured this place is a pizza joint through and through. They even had bench seating. There was nothing modern, romantic, or relaxing about the port. Not that it’s bad, it’s just a Pizzeria. A good one at that, the place was jammed packed at 10:00 pm on a Monday night.

The pizza was fresh and delightful. Mine was anyways; Kellee as usual went for some weird concoction that she thought had a white sauce only to be disappointed. The beer I’m told was terrific. I had their brown Ale, but after sipping all throughout the day I felt bloated and my taste buds were starting to meld everything together. Jonathan went back a week later or so and has since declared his undying love for the establishment, so I suppose I’ll have to give it another try next time I’m down South. There are other locations of Pizza Ports, one other of which we have since enjoyed, but there will be more on that later.

Lucha Libre Taco Gourmet Shop, San Diego

2009-08-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

Heading out to the San Diego area and need a great place to eat? Look no further than the Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop @ 1810 W. Washingon Street San Diego, CA. Not only is this place super cool (their website is http://www.tacosmackdown.com/ ) but they serve unique and delicious mexican food. Unique? Mexican food? Do those two words exist together in Southern Californian cuisine? Aparently so, at Lucha Libre! This is what they say about their Gourmet Tacos:

“Gourmet” Taco Shop?
Oxymoron?
NO! By “gourmet” we don’t
mean pretentious & pricey. We
just mean fresh ingredients, top
quality meats, and funky
delicious new menu items. Don’t
worry, we still have all the
taco shop classics: cooked and
priced right!

They give you free tortilla chips, like all good mexican places do, and offer a delicious variety of unique salsas. We ordered the surf and turf tacos and they did not disapoint, delicious! Everything is priced so well, under the taco portion of the menu there is a side note "Add Shrimp to any Taco for $1.00", when was the last time you saw that? My favorite local shop for fish tacos, Senior Baja, offers shrimp for additional $3!

The golden Champ's booth, if you call ahead of time, you can reserve this special seating!

The coolest high chairs I've ever seen

Fun Lucha Libre Decor

Next time you're in San Diego and want to try something new, come check out this great taco shop.

Butterflies at Pismo

2009-08-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you are headed to the central coast any time between late October and February, then you should definitely go to the Pismo Butterfly groves to see them swarm as they winter in the eucalyptus trees near the beach. We went in January and were met with a good turn out. Thousands cluster in the trees, huddling together to stay warm. It was beautiful!

this one is for sale at my wife's etsy shop Photo Nouveau

Not only is there the butterfly attraction there, but the beach is beautiful. We took quite a lot of great pictures and ended up spending a few hours enjoying the blue skies, fresh ocean air and sunshine. For more information on the Pismo Butterfly groves check out monarchbutterfly.org

Sunny Jim Cave - La Jolla

2009-06-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

While Visiting the Deanes in SD we took a trip to the Sunny Jim Cave in La Jolla. It's a steep cave that leads to a place where you can get a nice little peak at the ocean and kayakers paddling by. But at Four dollars a piece the stairs weren't the only things that were steep.

La Jolla it's self was a lovely town to walk around and sightsee, and though Carl Strauss is starting to get some big name recognition, there beer is still quite good.

Las Posada

2009-06-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Christmas this year by having our semi-annual Ugly Christmas Party and by going to participate in Las Posada on Olvera Street. Interestingly enough, this was the first year I had ever heard of Las Posada. A couple friends of mine had recently left their Reformerd faith for the Roman Catholic version and shared with me their desire to observe Las Posada Celebration. Then a few weeks later, our friends the Waltons invited us to join them in L.A. for the commemeration. Apparently, while Amy's family lived Guatamala for several years as teachers they participated in Las Posada. Anyhow, if you know me then you know I love finding new (or old) ways to liven up my religious holy days. So, of course we accepted the invitation and made our way to the heart of Los Angeles. It was an enjoyable evening, the only negative is that it was too crowded. Next year, another city.

For those of you that don't know what Las Posada is, here is the Wikipedia link: Las Posada

The Nativity at the Gazebo o Olevra Street.

At the Church Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles... I think the flowers are for Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Procession

Angels

Loma Linda Tour

2009-06-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Over the summer my daughter was in the hospital to have reconstructive skull surgery. During that time, there were times when I needed to get away from a cramped hospital room, so I would venture out and about. The Hospital is located on the campus of Loma Linda University. During one of my walks I found a self-guided tour map and thought this would be right up my alley.

First National Back of Loma Linda opened 1929...I think it's a Barber shop now

Someone should school these university on guided tours! I would walk to one site that was the old ampitheater and think, “Ok it must be around here somewhere, oh wait I’m standing on it! The Parking Lot.” Or fumbling around to find the Asylum building to see the place where they once housed rett butlers ( that’s right my one flew over the cuckoo’s nest reference slipped in there) only to find it torn down and is now a dorm for a new bunch of crazies…first year med students! Most of these examples might be a little off kilter(since I'm writing so long since I went I this tou), but the point is don’t send a person off on a wild goose chase to find history only to be shown parking lots and dormitories.

Bruden Hall

Not that the tour was all bad, on the Saturday evening I was there, the local congregation on campus had a choir and ensemble for families to listen to while sitting on the lawn area. It was right next to the hospital, so it’s a great way for depressed vistors to come and meditate.

Local Seventh Day Adventist Church Next to Hospital

Also, the statue of the good Samaritan caught my eye while driving back and forth to the hospital and was the monument that lead me on the self-guided tour. It’s a contemplative life-size piece in the middle of a court yard that sums up why the Seventh-Day Adventist started Loma Linda.

Good Samaritian

One intriguing piece was not placed on the self-guided tour (though it should be). While looking up interesting tidbits on the school and city, I came across a museum and thought if I had the chance I would go. So while exploring, I unexpectedly found the building; The museum of Embryology in the Shyrcok building. I went inside and snapped a few pictures before someone rushed out and quickly told me that no pictures of any kind were permitted. They then asked if I would like to go to the museum and if so I needed to set an appointment. So, I did for an hour later. When I came back in they politely asked that I remove all the pictures from my camera that I had taken out of consideration for the fetus and their families. I submitted to their request. The secretary then took me to a far off room and unlocked the door, she told me the amount of time I had (it’s been awhile, I think it was a half hour) to look around and then asked me to turn off the light and lock the door when I had finished.

The room was like any basic classroom with seat in the center, a podium, and screen to show slide shows. Against the walls of the room were cases and within those cases were what looked like someone’s science fair project mixed with old carnival freak shows ( I don't mean that to be offensive, it's really the only way for a layman to describe the scene) that never made it out of the womb. I didn’t understand the science aspect, but I was intrigued by the fetuses that had formed so misshapen; Siamese twins, Cyclops, and a host of other tragedies lined the shelves. Oh yeah, and there was a giant skeleton (If I remember correctly he was around 8 feet tall). The science fair project showed most of the different things that could go wrong in utero. I think if you have children you might walk away with a great appreciation of the miracle of birth, atleast I did with my one year old daughter just having gone through skull surgery.

Lastly, on a different topic altogether, I was surprised that in the Hospital Cafeteria they didn’t serve Coke or Pepsi fountain sodas. They only offered Sprite, Orange, or Caffeine Free Coke. I think their coffee was all caffeine free as well. This led me to more research and I found that Adventist don’t do caffeine, so since the hospital is run by the seventh day Adventist church it’s out with the Caffeine. Which I suppose is better for your body, so I understood but was still a little annoyed. What is more interesting about the town is they had their own meal named after them by Bakers. Apparently they were the first crazed health food vegetarians. So Bakers had (at one time anyway) a meal called, what else, The Loma Linda Meal. Most restaurants in the city have some sort of vegetarian dish to offer, or so I read. I suppose when Adventist starts the town and they are still a strong part of the community it’s best to cater to your clientele.

Petersen Automotive Museum

2009-03-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, my sister wanted us to go with her and her kids to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. My niece had gone to a prom there and thought it would be a cool place to take my nephew. They had an exhibit at the time with life size models from the movie Cars and apparently the teenagers were able to get into the vehicles. I’m not sure that’s a good thing…letting teenagers at Prom get into the back of your display vehicles???!!! Maybe, the teens were mistaken and were taking it upon themselves to get into the vehicles.

Anyhow, we finally picked a day to check out the museum. When we got there we found out that the Cars exhibit was no longer, which sucked because this was the reason we drove out to LA! Sadly, my nephew who is only four could not understand and wanted to see Buzz. Nevertheless, there were plenty of cars to view, but again telling a four-year-old boy that he could not touch the cars did not go over too well. On the third floor they did have an interactive play area for young children, but it wasn’t big cars to jump in and out of, so it was not up to par. On top of all of that my sister admitted shortly after we arrived that all of them (her and the kids) had been up late, making them all cranky. Once they realized there was no Cars display and the interactive stuff was not going to satisfy the little tikes, we opted out of staying for a long period of time.

It’s not that the Peterson was bad, just not kid friendly. Though they do have the third floor of interactive-hands on stuff for kids, you could probably find and be more satisfied with taking your little ones to a children’s museum. It will probably save you a considerable amount of money.

Otherwise, the Peterson is a pretty cool museum. I enjoyed the displays they had out the week we went. There was the Hot Wheels collection that featured a car designed by Rat fink as well as some other amazing looking hot wheels.

They had the Batmobile from the 90’s movie, grease lighting, and the car from Speed Racer.

But my favorite exhibit was From Autocamps to Airstreams: The early road to Vacationland, which covered mostly travel trailers. I was amazed how far we have come since their inception into American culture.

Afterwards, I took my family to Pinks for Hotdogs. I have been there a couple of times before and I think I have even mentioned them on this blog before, so I won’t go into much detail. I was excited when we got there, because the line wrapped around the building. Now for most of you, I know this would be a deal breaker, having to wait thirty minutes in line for a hotdog. But every time I have been there previously the line was nil. So, I wanted the experience of the whole ordeal. I was enthralled and threw myself head first into the tourist experience.

As for the food, it’s great if you love hotdogs. No complaints. However, let me give you a small tip. Bring your own soda, preferably a 44 or 64 oz.. Some of the Dogs are spicy and a little 12oz. Can sold at a buck something a pop does not suffice!

On our way home, we struck gold when Faith had to stop and pee (I’m not sure if I meant that cleverness or not). Anyhow, we stopped in the City of Baldwin Park by a Target and apparently the city was having a meet your Police and Fireman day! The kids were able to sit on police motorcycles and in the vehicles with the canines. They could crawl through he SWAT and Fire Trucks. Faith loved it! This after all is why Faith was psyched about going to the Peterson Museum and funny enough, by the end of the day she was able to play in vehicles.

Tio's Tacos

2009-03-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

It was last summer and I’d been itching to go somewhere interesting with the family, but had to be patient and slow down a little with Verity. She hadn’t caught up to speed on staying in the truck for prolonged periods of time. So, when I heard about Tio’s Tacos I figured this was right up my alley and pretty close to my backyard. The place is only a city or two from me and is a relatively quick and painless drive, yet it has all the weirdness I crave.

We went for lunch and the place was packed with people from local business in the area and that’s always a good sign. The food was Mexican fare, but it had a different twist to all the normal places in the area. It was good. Tasty, but just different. I’m not a food critique (as much as I would love to be one), so I’ll leave it at that. While most chefs will tell you it’s all about the food, in this case it’s not, it’s about the restaurant. The owner is also an artist. So the place is filled with his folk art. Every nook and cranny has something to see. From the small chapel to people made from Barbie Dolls, the place is alive with folk art. The food was good and the place was kooky. The next time you’re in the Riverside area, I suggest you stay away from the mundane mega-chains and grab a bite at Tios.

Home-made Church

I would seriously consider going to a church like this.

Weird artifacts thrown together to make a fountain

Cool Plastic People made of McD's happy meal toys!

Look Closely, they are peeing (and lactating) in the buckets!

The Doo Dah Parade!

2009-01-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I drug my family to the Doo Dah Parade. I have wanted to go for a couple of years, but life and responsibilities have interfered, this year though, I would not be deterred (Although I almost forgot about the whole thing). Also, I didn’t want to get there and have to fight for and squeeze into a spot, so I told Kellee we were leaving early and set my alarm for three-thirty AM. I know it might sound overboard to get up that early, as it did to Kellee, but you should take into consideration that I get up around this time to get ready for work, so it’s nothing new. Besides, I am learning quickly how long it takes to get three girls out the door and a two and a half hour window is cutting it short!

Thank the Lord, we made it out the door at six am, I was already stressed out that every inch of curb space would be taken leaving me to scour in frustration. Seven o’clock is already too late to try and find sitting room for one of the great parades in America…or so I thought! When we arrived the streets were empty! Pasadena was a ghost town. Actually there was one family that was crazier that me and was already set up for the day (though I can’t be sure they got their family up as early as I). I shouldn’t have to tell you how embarrassing it is when your beloved is sooo correct, but we had a good laugh about it and she knows how stressed I get trying to ensure we get to places with time to kill (though that rarely happens).

Since we had what seemed like an eternity of time, we decided to go get breakfast! Yeah, that’s right I made my family suffer until we got on location. Afterwards, we had our pick of the streets and wouldn’t you know I chose the spot littered with broken glass and fellow parade watchers who happened to be stoned out of their mind. After no time at all, I realized I needed to move for my sanity and my children’s safety. We found a better spot at the end of the block and later on were surrounded by a family oriented crowd. Our friends the DeShazos came too, as Elsa has been wanting to see the Doo Dah Parade for awhile, as well.

The parade was everything I hoped for and more! I’ll admit there were a few lewd moments or floats that left me somewhat disappointed. But over all I was captivated and enthralled by almost every entry into the parade from the Raelians to the synchronized nap team. I won’t get into detail about the parade I would rather just post the pictures. Next year is a foregone conclusion for me, my section of curb is already saved!

Atlanta Redux

2008-12-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

This is finally my last post on a cross-country trip I took this past summer, and to be truthful, I’m worn out writing about this excursion.

From Richmond we drove to Jonathan’s home in Maryland, but it seems that Jim and I were not ready to settle into relaxing at our friends' home, so we had him drop us off at the Metro and made our way to Washington D.C. to get a couple of drinks. As I remember it, Jonathan was supposed to pick us up around 12:00 am or so, but passed out from a long drive home. Thus, 12 turned into 2 am! I had to be up and ready to go by five so I could make my flight in Baltimore at 6:15 am. Suffice it to say, I was groggy, and had hot-eyes from the lack of sleep.

Jonathan’s wife graciously agreed to wake her and the kids up early to take me to the airport. We were running late and got lost for a brief minute but I made it on time with a couple minutes to get through all the security hassles and onto my plane. I was exasperated and out of breath by the time I made it to my terminal, but I made it and on time! The only problem was that the crew didn't. I mean I was there, the other passengers were there, and the plane was there…but there was no crew to fly the damn thing. Apparently, whoever puts these flights together forgot to tell the crew they had to fly out in the morning! So the crew, I take it, did what I did the night before and checked out DC after dark.

So there I sat on the ground waiting for two hours for someone, anyone to fly me home. Finally, a groggy hot-eyed crew showed up to take me to Atlanta. This in itself was another problem, because I missed my lay over flight by 45 minutes! So now I had to shuffle my schedule around and try I find another flight home…along with all the other passengers. Luckily, I managed to get one of the last tickets on a flight to Orange County eight hours later. The help desk in Baltimore told me once I got to Atlanta I could finagle a better ticket. This was not the case! After arriving in Atlanta the help desk lady scoffed at this assertion (Note: Atlanta does not offer Southern Hospitality at their airport)! She said even if this was the case and it was certainly not, that there were no other flights! I told her I would take anything, it didn’t have to be posh OC, I could go to the Ghetto of LA or stretch it out to Long Beach, I could even go to Ontario if she would let me! I tried to tell her this wasn’t my fault, her company was sleeping on the job. I wouldn’t mind taking another flight with another airline (actually I would prefer it!). But there were no flights! Everything, every airline was full! I would have to wait eight hours to go home.

When we had passed through Atlanta on our trip, I lamented how this was one city I would have liked to seen more of on the expedition and one day I would return. I never dreamed my return would be two days later! So, I was stuck in an airport in Atlanta for eight hours. I couldn’t believe that I could be back in the city again and not be able to check it out because I was stuck in the airport! So, I resolved to go out and explore. I found an old man who was working at the airport to direct me on how to get to anywhere that was safe and had something decent to eat. As luck would have it, Atlanta is not as backwards as their airline hostesses would allow you to believe. They actually have a metro that will take you from the airport to the downtown area. The old man pointed the way and told me what stop to get off to get a nice bite to eat at Hooters.

So off I went to explore. I found my stop and found Hooters. However, my wife hates the whole concept of Hooters, so even on an empty stomach I declined the delightful smells protruding from the eatery. I just figured if there was one place to eat in the area then there should be more, I was right but none of them looked appetizing. So, I continued to walk and found Olympic park. Nice place. A Beautiful open area with lots of sculptures. I then went to the Coke Museum. I thought about going in but at $15 bucks a pop (pun intended) to walk through, and I was down to my last $40-50 dollars, it wasn’t worth it. I mean, Hey! If it was Pepsi it would be a whole different story, but this was Cocoa Cola, what’s the big deal? So I simply opted for a Photo Op with an old style Coke bottle with the facility behind me.

What made me really like Atlanta was a small piece of ground near a freeway exit that was used as a homeless hang-out and littered with trash, it was a little area dedicated to Folk Art. Very cool sculptures that can’t help but to bring a smile to your face.

Speaking of which, I met a few folks while on my walk around the town. One gentleman walked up to me and asked me if I was racist. I thought of telling him, “Of course not, I deplore Lincoln.” But didn’t think he would get the humor so I just opted to dispel any fears that he might have of whitey walking around his town and affirmed that I was not in fact a racialist. He apparently wasn’t buying my pathetic attempt at being politically correct. He indeed wanted proof, by helping a poor black fellow out and giving him some of my change. He was disheartened when I told him that he probably already had more change in his pockets than I did.

I then met another pleasant man while walking around. He came up to me to... well, just to talk I suppose. He too was a homeless man wearing not so much a gruff beard as it was a chin strap. He was quite pleasant and I suspected any minute he would pull a switchblade and rob me of my last remaining cash. He had noticed my Dodgers hat and began talking baseball and Basketball with me. In fact, I was quite startled by how much he knew about sports, especially Los Angeles Sports and he was quite shocked I was not a Lakers Fan! We kept up our delightful conversation and I assumed he was just waiting for the right moment to shank me, when he looked up and commented on the gray clouds looming in the distance. I looked up to politely agree, when my jaw dropped to the ground and my startled body froze at the sight. It was summer and had been quite humidly hot in the Big A, so what I was gazing into was not computing into my southern Californian brain. These were not gray clouds or even dark clouds for that matter. This was the abyss opening up. It looked much more like the nothingness in the Never Ending Story. My heart sank as I remember the torrential down pour we had to navigate driving through on our first trip. So, I immediately said my good-byes and departed in haste, running to get back to the metro before I was swept away by an Atlanta flood. I couldn’t believe how swift the storm was upon my heels. As I came upon the last city block the rain began to pour. I decided at that moment that I had had my fill of the city and headed back to the airport for the last hour and a half.

There was plenty I missed; I had really set my heart on going to Stone Mountain to see the confederate leaders carved into the side of the mountain. I also wanted to eat lunch at Richard Blaise’s restaurant, but seeing that I wasn’t planning on walking around the city, I was completely underdressed and a little smelly. I also found out later that they have a muppet museum where they have the Dark Crystal Puppets on display; that would have been worth seeing. Maybe, my next trip across country, I’ll get stuck again and can see all the sights I missed.

Overall, it was a pretty good trip.

The Cracker Barrel

2008-11-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

The Cracker Barrel is the southern version of Denny's (maybe a bit better). You can find one near most highway exits in the south. So, why am I blogging about a restuarant chain? Well, because of how badly Jonathan wanted to go there. It would seem every time we stopped for a bite or to rest he would suggest that we eat at the Cracker Barrell. While in Tupelo, we were searching for a place to eat lunch, when Jonathan piped up again, "Oh there's a Cracker Barrell!Do you guys want to eat there?"

"Is the food good?" Jim asked.

"No."

Jim and I looked at him baffled and dismayed. We strongly replied that we were not going to eat where we knew the food was no good and opted for a sandwich shop located in the same shopping center.

However, later in our trip, somewhere in North Carolina, when we were all short on money and it was late in the evening, we finally caved into Jonathan's insistent suggestion. The food was actually pretty good. They stuck with their southern flare and the ambience was down-homey. We later found out that Jonathan always stopped with his family at a Cracker Barrell while they were on a roadtrip. This tidbit of info put the puzzle pieces together for us on why Jonathan was so importunate on going to the Southern Denny's. After all, isn't that what a roadtrip is all about? Creating Memories and holding on to family traditions.

Richmond

2008-11-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

After eating great BBQ, we headed out to see the rest of the city. We walked through the fan district to view the great monuments erected to the leading Confederate leaders; Davis, Lee, Jackson and Stuart. It was great to see that the city has not hung its head in shame, but rather embraced the daring leaders who defied the Union army.

Afterwards we went to the Confederacy White House where Jefferson Davis resided. One of the interesting stories to come out of our tour was the "Starvation Parties" that use to take place in the House. Instead of a full feast like most wealthy politicians will have even during the hardest of times, The Davis' threw what was called "Starvation Parties" to show they sympathized with the southern soldiers. During the parties they offered mutton and capers, and for refreshments they had water drawn from the James River.

Can you imagine President Bush serving MRE's (Meals ready to eat) to dinner guest in support of our troops, or President elect Obama serving spam to all his Hollywood friends to embrace the middle class who are struggling during this bad economy? Yeah, me neither.

Afterwards we walked around the Shockoe District trying to find a bar and relax. There we found some friendly teenagers who told us of a rockin' club and offered to share with us their Vodka, they had poured into a soft drink cup. We politely said thanks, but no (see my palin reference there ;0)). After awhile of walking cobbled streets we found a nice little place where we could smoke our cigars and have a Guinness.

Overall, Richmond was way a great city to visit, like most of the cities we stopped in, I only wished I had more time to walk around.

JacksonDavis MonumentWe have the same thing in California, but they're Angels
Confederacy White HouseCobbled StreetsWalking near the James River

Petersburg to Richmond: Going to the Flay Slayer

2008-10-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

On the last leg of our trip we headed to Richmond, Va.. On the way there we stopped in Petersburg, I think to
get a map of Richmond or something. The town had an old feel to it and was a pleasant place to relax. No wonder Jonathan decided he wanted to enjoy the atmosphere and have lunch there! Yet, Jim was in disagreement; it was still early and the plan was to eat lunch in a Richmond. So, Jonathan looked to me as the tie breaking vote. Unbeknownst to both of them though, I had my own plans to eat in Richmond. I told Jonathan we were going to Richmond to eat at a fabulously famous BBQ joint. I could tell he was already flustered, but was ready to go along.

"Alright, what's the name of the place?"

"I Don't know." I replied.

"What? What district is it located in?"

"I don't know."

"Aaron, it's a big city, you're not just going to be able to drive around and find the place."

Jonathan was visibly upset and frustrated with my planning at this point, however I was undetered, so he started the car.

The only thing I did know was that the BBQ place was named after two people, one with a slightly weird name, and the place had won a throw down against Bobby Flay. I let Jonathan in on these facts, as I searched the Tom Tom for any name that might strike a chord.

About half way there, Jonathan turned to me and said, "It's not called Buzz and Ned's, is it?"

"Yeah. that's it!"

Jonathan was giggly after that and called his wife to get directions. Apparently he and his family had eaten there on there last outing to Richmond. He had remembered the looped taping of the Bobby Flay Throw Down and the amazing BBQ.

We got to Buzz and Ned's and the place did not disappoint! The BBQ was amazing. I shared a full rack of ribs with Jim and had a pulled pork sandwich. The Ribs were spectacular and sufficed every rib craving I had. The pulled pork was tasty but not as mouth-wateringly fabulous as THE Whole Hogs.

The place was packed; luckily we got there before the line got too big. All the staff wore shirt's that said something like Buzz and Ned's The Flay Slayer! Which was pretty savvy marketing in my opinion. Of course, there is a tape playing continuously of the show where Buzz and Ned's beats Bobby Flay in the Throw Down.

Petersburg
Cool Black building! You don't find many of those in California.

Tasty!
BUZZ and NED'S!

Sea to Shining Sea- Charleston

2008-10-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

We are close to the end of the road on my cross country road trip from early this summer! Charleston was, well... disappointing. We arrived later than expected, which was what we had come to expect on this trip. When we got there we decided first to fill our empty stomachs, leading us to Jestines. This down home cooking restaurant is featured in the book 1000 places to visit before you Die. The food was scrumptious! Especially, the corn bread; I thought it was the most amazing corn bread I had ever eaten, until my parents took me to Corona Del Mar to eat at Banderas, then Jestines became the second greatest Corn Bread in America.

Afterwards, we decided to take the tour of Fort Sumter.

We had decided prior to hitting the road, Fort Sumter was a must see sight and I was really excited about finally getting a chance to see where the Civil War broke out. Fort Sumter was a big reason we decided to go to Charleston rather than Savannah, Ga. (That and it saved us some miles). I suppose in my mind it was like seeing Gettysburg; it might be true that I'm not a Civil War aficionado, but by going I had a leg up on most people who have only looked at the civil war from a text book. So, you can imagine my surprise and frustration when about a 100 miles out from Charleston Jonathan stated that he was not interested in seeing the place. I think his reasoning was that he would rather see where the south had bombed the place than going to where the north was stationed. Anyhow, I was going! I had driven across the United States to see Eastern Shores and walk upon one of the most Historical places in the United States. Not going would be like going to Washington DC and not viewing The White House.

Anyhow, we made it to the launching site that took us to Fort Sumter. The only problem was that we had shown up for the last tour, but there were two places where the tour boats launched from and the last tour launched from the other destination, which was on the other side of the harbor. It would take us 20 minutes to drive there, but we only had 15 minutes to board. Suffice it to say we didn't make it! It probably wouldn't have been as disappointing if Jonathan would not have made the initial comments and then still kept up his reservations about going all the way up until the end. Knowing that Jonathan is very organized and is usually versed in times of Departures for trips, I felt like a Beastie Boy...Sabotage!

We walked around the city Jim and Jonathan loved the place; I took a lot of pictures, but wasn't really excited. To top it off for some reason I never even stuck my toe in the Atlantic Ocean. Stupid.

I did however try oyster shooters, not as bad as I imagined and they went well with Tapatio. The Local Brewed beer was exceptional. The townies with most the south drove me crazy! I reiterate why did no one warn me that Polo Shirts and Dockers were the casual attire of the South.

Now entering Narnia

Jestines Corn Bread!

Beautiful cobble stone

Oysters!

Apple Pickin' in Oak Glen

2008-10-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a trip to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen and went apple picking. This is something we've always wanted to do but hadn't until now. Two years ago we decided to go but when we got there it was two months past the apple season!

Our daughter is in preschool this year and the month of September was all about apples and the color red. We thought we'd complete the month with apple picking. Faith loved it and we got some great pictures out of the trip.

The cost of apple picking is expensive for apples, but not for a family outing. Everyone in our party, except Verity, had to purchase a bag to put apples in. We opted for the small bag which cost $7. We spent an hour helping Faith pick apples and photographing her doing it. It was a beautiful day and well worth the $21 spent. I wish we had asked more questions before we went picking. Towards the end of the session we realized that some trees had a blue ribbon around the trunk and we overhear other families discussing what this meant, they seemed to know but we never figured it out. Going during the week is always a good idea, except for this day as there was a large homeschooling group and there was very little solace.

Down the road was a place called Snow-Line that is somewhat famous for their apple cider donuts, thanks to Huel Howser. The donuts were good, but plain. I believe the catch is that they are pretty much made to order and we are not accustomed to getting our donuts that fresh. Better than the donuts was the cider itself. They had a large counter with samples of many types of apples and cider. The apple cider was fresh and deliciously creamy, almost buttery in a really good way. After trying all the apple varieties we were assured that Gala really is the best. If you don't know then try them, they have a perfectly crisp texture and sweet taste.

Here's an apple!

Frogs like apples too!

Little girl and a big tree

Hotlanta Washed Out

2008-09-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Our plan was to get to Atlanta early in the afternoon or evening and spend a couple hours exploring the city. I really wanted to see Stone Mountain, which was a couple miles away. But, the best laid plans do not always work out, by the time we got to the Atlanta is was late in the evening, so we decided to just eat in the city.

A friend of Jonathan who lives in the area suggested eating at the Varsity. He told Jonathan that anytime business associates came into town they always requested to eat there. I had also recently heard of the place online; it was given rave reviews. The Varsity is the Largest Drive-in restraunt in America and the staff is known for yelling repeatedly, “What y’all have!”
However, the food was by far the worst I had eaten on the trip! Chili cheese dogs with old foul tasting chili, the burgers were small, and the fries were old and soggy; hardly worth the time we spent looking for the place.

It was already late into the night, so Stone Mountain was out of the picture and we were still trying to get farther down the road so we could be in Charleston at a reasonable time. But, Jonathan’s friend told us a section of town to check out that was kind of like Claremont, Ca. It was suppose to be the hip, artistic college hangout area of Atlanta. We drove by, but by that time the weather had changed drastically; buckets of water was dowsing our windshield. Thunder and lighting were going to be the only entertainment we would have for the night.

I really wanted to walk around and see the city; I was hoping I would get a chance to do so at a future date. That future date wasn’t as far away as I thought it would be.

To be cont….

Martin Luther King: From Birmingham to DC

2008-09-22T22:36:00.001-07:00

Bombingham...ummm, I mean, Birmingham

2008-09-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

We went to visit a Battlefield. No not a site from the revolutionary or the civil war, but a battlefield from the Civil Rights Movement.

To be honest, I couldn’t understand why we were going to Birmingham Al., I thought it would be a waste of our time and day; from everything I could find online it seemed like just a industrial city with little site seeing. The only place that looked interesting to visit online was a park, that had statues of ferocious canines. I had little recollection of the significance of this city on citvil rights, but knew enough to know that by name it was important to that era of history.

King and others praying

By the time we arrived, the Civil Rights Museum had already closed. I don’t think we had a pre-planned idea we were going to visit the Museum, but once we passed by, it seemed like an interesting place to visit. Nevertheless, there was a park across the street and I thought this might be the one I had briefly read about online, so we decided to walk around.

When we got to the park, a homeless man named Juan asked us if we knew what we were looking at around the park and the meaning behind everything. When we all sort of fumbled around trying to find the right way to say, “No, we just wanted to get out of the car and see some interesting sculptures” he wedge his way into our group and gave us a tour of the park and a history lesson of Birmingham.

For a homeless man, he spoke very eloquently and seemed pretty intelligent. Juan told us he was there as a young man in his teens during the demonstrations when the Black Community enlisted children to march, because the ranks of the adult had been depleted. Children as young as six were arrested, dogs attacked some, and the water cannons turned on others; he was apart of it all. I’m not sure if I believe him; it could be that he was just telling us a tall-tale about his part to draw us into the story.

16th Street Baptist Church- Site of Church Bombing

Whatever the case, he was a interesting tour guide, probably one of the best guides I ever had. He even told me the best places to stand to get the best picture. Yes, nothings for free, he wanted a tip for his troubles. Honestly, I’m stingy with my money and rarely give to the homeless, but this man wasn’t looking for a hand out. He had provided a service and wanted compensation and in my opinion was a much better way to get money than standing on a corner with a sign.

While searching the internet on the park (Kelly Ingram Park) I found a couple other bloggers who had been given a tour by Juan. One is a freelance Photographer who took a picture of our tour guide. Check out his site here.

APlace for Revolution and Reconciliation

4 Fountains represting four girls killed in the church Bombing

Overall, the park was a moving experience and probably one of my favorite stops on our trip. I was jolted by the experience of having to walk down a walk way where Canines on a leash were lashing out (though I sloughed off my emotions turning to humor). I was moved by seeing the memorial of the four fountains representing four your girls killed in a church bombing, as you could view the church from the fountain. Also the sculpture of the children protesting that read "I ain't afraid of your Jail" as you walked around a walk way to see the children behind bars. The whole park was a Beautiful testament to the power of peaceful demonstrations and how Martin Luther King was able to stop segregation through the peaceful protest demonstrations of children.

I Ain't Afraid of your Jails

Bring out the Dogs

Water Canons

A king is Born!

2008-09-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Since we went to the recording studio where Elvis exploded into Stardom, and went to the gaudy grand place known as Graceland, we thought we might as well stop by the place of Elvis’ humble beginnings; Tupelo, Mississippi.

I love streetslights on a wire...it's like Christmas year round.

Interestingly enough, I found out afterwards that this is also the hometown of my stepfather’s dad. I never had the chance to meet the man, but it’s interesting to find some family history on the journey.

It was a couple bucks to walk through the house and see it preserved almost the way it was when Elvis was a kid. They also have an Elvis museum on site, but after spending a couple hours at Grace just prior it didn’t seem all that fascinating to try out. They also had a gift shop, with a fairly large overpriced selection of Elvis goodies. I did purchase a postcard, which they will send for you if you request.

On the Porch where the King was born.

The house was a really quick tour. I mean it’s only two rooms; the bedroom area when you walk in and the kitchen area. But, for fast-paced historical roots of an icon, it was worth the visit. I enjoyed the house much more than Graceland, it didn’t feel like going to see a big production.

I’m told that down the street, somewhere in the quaint downtown section of tupelo there is still the Hardware store where Elvis’ mom bought him his first guitar. So, if your traveling around trying to get your Elvis tour in you might want to stop there as well.

The inside furnishings of the two room house.

A relica model of the car Elvis and his family used to move to Memphis.

Buying Your Way Into Graceland

2008-09-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Front of GracelandThe Backside of Graceland...much like the backside of water

The overall mantra is if your going to go to Memphis then you must see Graceland! However, after checking the estate out I believe I was fooled. Not that it was all bad, but for the money…a hefty $27 bucks per person to walk through a couple rooms was not what I had in mind.

The plan was to get to Memphis early on Monday and do both the Sun Studios Recording tour and see Graceland. However, instead of arriving early morning/afternoon we pulled into Memphis around 4 pm. So, we had to make a change of plans and decide what we were going to see on Monday which ended up being Sun Studios. The next day we rose early and were out the door by 8:30 am if I recall correctly and were there by 9:30. The place was already packed. It felt like I was standing in a line for Disneyland; only slower. After we purchased our tickets, we went to another line to load into a van to transport us across the street to the Mansion. The Vans held, I’m guessing, 30 people at the most. Then you had to wait for another 5-10 minutes for another van to come and pick you up. Really, if this is going to be the modus operandi then at least they should talk with Disney about getting their tram system; much more efficient.

The tour consisted of the downstairs portion of the Mansion (the top is closed off to the public). He had a basic family room and dining room area. The kitchen is tantamount to what would be found in a mobile home built in the 1980s (I should know I lived in one), nothing impressive, though I suppose at the time it was a big deal. Then he had some freaky rooms: the yellow lighting bolt room, the pool room with cloth from floor to ceiling, and the tiki room. We were shown outside and then went through what was basically a museum of his life and career. A room of some of his fabulous clothing, a room with all his platinum and gold records; it was impressive, but I came to get a glimpse into where the King lived and how he lived. I don’t think the self-guided tour accomplished that task.

Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable and the place was interesting, it just wasn’t worth the price of admission. I would point people to the much more interesting Sun Studios tour.

Off Limits!!!

Trailer Park Kitchen

TCB- Taking Care o' Business

Hanging out in Elvis bar- that's always a thumbs up!!!

Tiki Room

Elvis Wardrobe and awards

Elvis has left the Buliding!

Free Museums!

2008-09-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Bank of America is promoting various museums nationwide and passing a deal on to their customers! If you are a Bank of America client, check out this deal! for those in the Southern California area it includes LACMA and Discovery Science Center.

I Love Memphis!!!

2008-08-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

I loved Memphis! Driving over the muddy Mississippi, the fragrant smell of BBQ rubbed ribs, the sweltering humidity that sucked all the water right out of my body onto the back of my shirt, Blues in the air, and rock 'n' roll in my shoes. This was the first time we would spend any length of time in a city during our road adventure. We got to our Hotel, the nicest one of the trip, and we all passed out for a little while. I was ready for Memphis though, so I didn’t lounge around long, I got up and walked a couple blocks to see the Pyramid Center before meeting back up with the Jim and Jonathan.

Pryamid on the Left

I walked along the Mississippi and around the Memphis Grizzlies Stadium that resembles a Pyramid. Which makes me sort of wonder why they named the team the Grizzlies? Why didn’t they go with something distinctly Memphis like The Blues (I know it’s already the name of a hockey team), or something uniquely Memphis-Egyptian to go with there Pyramid, like the Memphis Mummies (probably not a good name if you’re team is not doing that well).

Anyways, I went back and met the guys so we could go walk around and check out Beale Street. Jonathan and I lit up our first Cigars bought specifically for this moment. There’s a refreshing aroma when Punch and Memphis humidity are mixed in the air. The downtown part that we walked through was recently redeveloped, or at least it looked that way. We walked through Jefferson Davis park; a very charming tribute to an American Hero. However, there were a lot of men in the park that looked like Confederates that were there in the days during the War of Northern Aggression and were still suffering the consequences. It didn’t seem like they wanted to be bothered by Southern Loving California Yankees, thus we moved along.

10 Commandments

We walked along the mighty Mississippi something I honestly thought I would probably never see in my life time. I’m not sure why I’ve thought that, but anytime I would see it on the news flooding over or picturesque in some movie I would quietly think to myself, “Yeah all probably never get there.” Yet, here I stood walking along Twain’s river. I desperately wanted to jump in and swim around in its muddy banks (actually they looked more rocky than muddy) but I was hesitant being still in my clothes. Though that might not have stopped me if I’d seen people swimming, canoeing, or boating up and down the river, but as far as the eye could see it was barren and lonely. No one was out enjoying this vast river for recreational purposes. Which leads me to ask, can you swim in the Mississippi? Is the current too strong? Is it too filthy? Or was I just at the wrong location to see all the vacationing throngs of people recreating on the water.

We then headed to Beale street the night life of the founding fathers of Blues. What once were the segregated side of the tracks and the heart beat of black music, is now degenerated to a couple city blocks of Tourist trap Blues. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy a good tourist trap. In fact I have a neon blinking sign over my head when walking around that reads, “I’m a tourist, please trap me and take my money!” In all actuality, besides a couple of novelty stores and well-known Blues artist putting their names on some restaurants, the couple of blocks still has some good bars to hear some Blues. So, really Beale Street is more of a tourist trap for drinkers.

For dinner, we opted to stay close and eat right there on Beale Street. A food decision I have regretted since. Not that it was bad, but I was looking for some distinctly Memphis BBQ. I was told by one of the guys who worked at Sun Studios his favorite Rib joint, but it was night, we were walking, and the place was located in the bad part of town. So I asked someone else who might know good food…a bartender. He gave me two choices for us to ponder. Right next door to his establishment a place on Beale street and the Flying Saucer. We opted to stay close, he insisted it was a good choice and stated that the meat would fall right of the bone. He didn’t lie; The meat was tender and the dry rub was tasty. Overall it actually wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t what I pictured or read about Memphis BBQ. The place had the look and feel of a Johnny Rockets and just seemed too easy to please the big crowds that flocked to Beale Street. I would have much rather eaten at a Mom and Pop place with sticky walls and greasy tables. Plus, no sauce on the Ribs!!! I hear this is what makes Memphis BBQ Unique, but man I need a little sauce! I asked for some sauce anyhow, ready to feel the waiters wrath of indignation, but he was pretty hospitable and brought me out a small cup to spread over the ribs. Nothing like the Whole Hog!

While most of the 20-30 something vacationer crowd found themselves at some loud DJ bar that resembled a bar in TJ, we opted for Silky O'Sullivans. It was a slow night, the crowd was sparse but the music was everything I imagined and made the night completely worth it. The band was made up of a Piano player/singer, drummer, and guitar player all of which had played with every major music artist around the city. The singer was raucous, rockin and raunchy. His scratchy, guttural singing paired well with the foamy, bown ale of a Boddingtons.

On our way back to the Hotel, we noticed another place that looked pretty lively. It was off of Beale Street in the heart of the downtown section. It looked like a place where all the post-college business crowd was gathering after a hard Monday of work. Then we noticed that this was the Flying Saucer where we were told by the Bartender we should get something to eat. This was a much better crowd (because it wasn’t all vacationers, but the regulars) and probably much better food than where we ate. But what got all three of us upset and banging our heads against the table were their unbelievable prices on Import beers. It was half the price as what we were paying on Beale Street (which I suppose shouldn’t be surprising since I just told you that Beale street is the tourist trap for drinkers). If you head out towards Memphis and are looking to have a beer then this should be the place to stop, they have reasonable prices and a good selection of beers.
Outside singing the Blues

Lastly, let me comment on my California laid-backness versus Memphis and the rest of the South on out to the Atlantic. I opted to where my normal unimpressive jeans and preferably dark shirt. Someone, anyone could have left me a message, a memo, a quick email telling me this is not acceptable attire and that I should purchase no less than three to four polo shirts and Dockers if I wanted to fit in with the casual scene. I absolutely could not believe what I was witnessing while people watching at the Flying Saucer, every male in the place had a polo shirt on! I don’t mean a fancy polo shirt, some of them were down right ugly, but they were polo shirts nonetheless. This phenomenon was true just about every city we traveled through. I remember sitting in the oyster bar in Charleston and Jim counting all the men in the place with Polo shirts. We were outnumbered 10 to 1! Why is this the case and why do East coast men love Dockers so much? Someone please explain this weird fascination.

Sun Studios

2008-08-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ten dollars to tour a tiny, cramped, old, one-room recording studio? I’m in! In all actuality this was a more compelling tour to me than Graceland. I loved this place and the authenticity that went with it. The guide had Memphis flare, told some intriguing stories, and allowed the visitors to hear some of the first music recorded at the studio, like Elvis’ first recording apparently done for his mother's birthday (that was months prior) and Ike Turner's "rocket 88" (the first Rock n Roll song ever recorded).

When you first walk into Sun Studios, the room is situated like a café with plenty of knick-knacks to browse and purchase. They have a counter to sit at and buy a drink or a little something to eat if needed. When the tour begins you are escorted up stairs to a room that serves as a preservation of the Studio's history. Then you are led down to what was the main entrance of Sun Studios, and into the place where all the greats recorded their hits. It’s a quick simple tour that last about half and hour (if I recall correctly).

The only negative I had about the tour was that there were sooo many people squished in like sardines (and some of them smelling that way) that it was hard to move about freely and see all the displays. By the time the tour guide was done talking and moving on with the tour you barely had time to check out everything he was covering. Jonathan told me that this was not reminiscent of the tour he did a couple years a go. He said there were only about ten people in his group the last time. We went late in the afternoon, on a Monday, so if you go, check into it prior, you might want to plan on going early so you have time and room to see everything.

Bill Black Stood Here during the recording of "That's alright mama!"

The most photographed microphone in the world!

Oh, well my singing aspirations are out the window!

You have to love Sun Studios for having a Pepsi Machine

Whole Hog

2008-08-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

Jim had read about this place on the Internet and it seemed to have rave reviews. So we headed a little out of our way to eat some down-home Arkansas BBQ. The Whole Hog has won a plethora of awards for their amazing BBQ. They seemed to be known for their Pulled BBQ (Shredded BBQ pork on a bun), so as the saying goes while in Rome... or in this case Arkansas. The pulled Pork did not disappoint! It was an amazing feast filled with flavor. Also, they had the best sauces to mop the top with, that we had found on the trip. I forget the beer we bought to compliment the meal, but whoever suggested it (probably me) had a stroke of genius. It went perfectly. So, if your going through Clinton’s favorite town of little Rock then be sure to stop by and satisfy your BBQ cravings.

The Leaning Tower of Texas

2008-08-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

The leaning Tower of Texas, or The Britten Water Tower is in every Route 66 book, and roadside attractions, book out there. It is another staple of Texas ingenuity of roadside advertising.

When we passed by, I really wanted to stop the car, get out and take some pictures. I thought it would have been awesome to make it look like I was pushing the tower over or stepping on it…something like that. But, we were already behind schedule and had already agreed to stop at the Largest Cross in the western Hemisphere. While, I think it was a good choice, I’m still kicking myself for not going with my gut on this one. So for the time, I’m stuck with just a quick snap-shot of the leaning towers just to prove I was there.

For those of you interested…Yes, the tower was built that way on purpose. Ralph Britten the owner of the tower intentionally cut one leg shorter than the rest to give it that nice lean look. It was a marketing ploy to get people to pull off the side of the road and stop at the Britten truck stop, garage, and restaurant.

The Cross of Groom

2008-08-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

In Groom Texas we found the Second largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere. The spot is a couple miles down the road from The Big Texan and a nice place to stop to let out the flood of sweat tea. Actually, this was another location I had found prior to our trip that I thought would make for a cool photo op. From what I had seen on the Internet, it simply looked like a huge cross in the middle of a field. I was under the impression that you just pulled off the side of the road and took a picture. However, I was delightfully wrong about my assumption as there was much more to the place than just a giant cross. The Cross was placed Cross Ministries ( A Catholic Organization).

I suspect Jonathan enjoyed the place more knowing that the Cross was placed by Catholics. As I recall he wasn’t too excited about doing another stop in Texas, and wanted to get to the hotel as soon as possible. Plus stopping to see what those crazy Dallas Seminary Fundamentalist had erected was not his idea of a good time. But I was driving, so for the moment the trip was in my control. However, I think I actually saw his face light up when he found realized that it had a Catholic origin and began to enjoy the site.

This American Holy site was well thought out and planned. Around the Towering Corrugated metal cross were statues of the 12 Stations of the Cross. Also, there was the scene of Jesus sharing his last Passover with his disciples, then steps leading to the three crosses on Golgotha’s Hill. Near the first part of the 12 Stations, their was a statue of Jesus kneeling, praying ,and in tears, while holding a fetus in his hand. The statue of Jesus and the fetus was placed by The knights of Columbus. This was a moving statue, but lost some of its reverence when Jim took photos of his Lego Man next to the Fetus.They also had a nice, but expensive gift shop and book store. The restrooms were the nicest I went into on the whole trip, but we were out of California so there was still no seat covers. Who knows maybe they think it’s a form of Birth Control (That’s a joke folks)!

Big Texan- Everythings Bigger

2008-08-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Everything??!!

When planning our trip we had discussed a number of different routes to go, but eventually landed on taking the 40 most of the way; it just seemed faster. During our discussions I told Jonathan if we did take the 40, we must stop at The Big Texan for a bite to eat. Jonathan had eaten their on a prior cross country journey with his family and wholeheartedly agreed that this was a must!

The Big Texan is home to the free 72oz streak! That is it’s free if you can eat it and all the sides in an hour. For those baseball fans and Christian readers I have on my blog, you might be interested to know who holds the record for eating this meal the quickest…Frank Pastore. Yep, one time Red’s Pitcher and now current Christian Radio Talk Show host finished the meal in 9 ½ minutes! That’s impressive.

I tried to eat as little as possible before stopping at The Big Texan. Before our trip, I had eaten a small McDonald's biscuit breakfast in New Mexico. I wanted to savor every succulent taste of my steak. No, I didn’t try and go for the gold and eat the 72 oz. I saw a sample of it on the platter and I admit I was too intimidated. Plus it’s an $80 gamble if you don’t eat the whole thing. Maybe, when I have my kids with me to cheer me on, I’ll give it a try! I stayed with in range of what I though I could manage- I had the 24oz Rib eye topped with onions and mushrooms. It was tender and juicy, I was not disappointed.

Yummy. Yummy. there's a party in my Tummy.

The sides weren't that great and probably not worth mentioning; in fact I don’t really remember what I had.

Sadly, after I chomped down my savory steak, I was picking away at some french fries on my plate (that was one of the sides) when one of them got stuck in the back of my throat. I was choking, but it was irritating. So, I got up to use the restroom and cough the potato out, but by the time I made it to the restroom the irritating cough had become a gag. I ended up throwing up 24 oz of steak in the men's urinal. Surprisingly, it tasted just as good coming back up! It was like paying two for the price of one!

So scrumptious, I think I'll throw it up just to taste it again!

They also served Rattle snake, but were not offering it the day we stopped. Apparently there was a mix up in there order from their supplier; they were shipped buckets of rattlesnakes that had been properly cleaned. they were just snakes in a bucket. They also sever mountain oysters, but I just couldn't bring myself to try the things! Sorry, I'm no Andrew Zimmerman.

It should be noted that the Big Texan is a kitchy stand that once use to stand along Route 66. But when the 40 came along the owner made the best move and moved his Steak House to keep up with the changing tide. Put simply the place has been around awhile and is a road stop Icon. Everyone traveling through Texas should stop there at least once. Be forewarned though, while it might have been a prime location in it's heyday, it appeared that the Big Texan is now sitting on the seedy side on town. But if you're looking for a place to stay on your way, they do have a hotel on site! It looked like a pretty fun and entertaining atmosphere.

Wow that's a big boot to fill!

What can I say, my camera was not the best for taking pics inside.

Cadillac Ranch

2008-07-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

One of our first main stops along the our trip was in Texas. When we left my house in Fontana late Saturday, I pretty much crashed out until we arrived in New Mexico for a quick bite to eat at McD's. From Alburqurque until Amarillo I was behind the wheel so not many pictures up until here.

This is one site that is in every travelling guide on Texas, Route 66, or eccentric things to see in the United States. So knowing that we were going to be so close, I told Jonathan that this was a must see on the trip and it didn't dissapoint. I was really suprised at how many people were out there checking out these cars and spray painting their names all over. There were probably thirty other people coming or going while we were there. I suppose in Texas this is tantamount to some kind of Cool California place to hang out.

A millionaire by the name of Stanley Marsh III built this tribute to the road. Cadillac ranch has become a mecca for travelers of the Mother Road (though it wasn't commissioned to be built until 1974 and is closer to I-40). There are 10 Cadillacs ranging from 1949-1964, that are placed with their ends up out in the middle of a field.

Vesuvio's

2008-07-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our last stop was the infamous Vesuvio's Bar. This was the long ago hangout of Jack Kerouac and other great Beat poets. One night in History Kerouac a rising writer was suppose to meet with Henry Miller who rather enjoyed Kerouac's work, But Kerouac could not get away from Vesuvio's. He called Miller every hour telling him that he could not get out of the city. Kerouac decided to party hard that night instead of meeting up with the great Henry Miller; the two never did meet. Maybe this is why they put Kerouac alley right next to the establishment.

We went in an enjoyed a cappuccino, relaxed, and took in all the history. When we were leaving Jonathan noticed that they sold Absinthe; we were just talking about them allowing absinthe back into the states the day prior. So, we sat down at the bar and had a glass. The stuff taste like strong black licorice. It was a pretty cool drink, that had a weird drip system where you poured water (to lessen the impact) over a sugar cube. For some reason, I don't have any pictures, but I remember taking a couple...well that's absinthe for you!

that Bartender was really friendly, when we were leaving everyone (the bartender, a regular, and an old guy talking through a hole in his throat) in the bar wanted to how we heard about the place, why we had stopped in, and what we did for a living. The first two we had no problems answering; we were of course on the Beat Trail and had heard this was ground zero, the place to start or end the adventure. But Jonathan and I felt a little weird telling the generally liberal loving crowd that we worked for the MAN! I make sure that innocent people stay behind bars and Jonathan is a torturer of animals. Maybe, we were in the wrong place after all. The crowd had weird looks on their faces when they told them, but they were still a gracious host and invited us back.

Overall, Vesuvio's is a great place to stop for a drink, whether it's coffee or Absinthe.

Golden Afternoon on the Golden Gate

2008-07-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hours before we headed home we decided that we really should walk the Golden Gate Bridge. On our way, we stopped at Mama's and ate an amazing breakfast, then jumped on a bus to make our trek across the water. It was a good time. I've wanted to walk the whole length of the bridge for a long time, so it was niceto have the opportunityto finally do so. Of course, I limped and gimped more than I did walking, but I made it through.

At the Start of the Bridge

I don't know why put this is my favorite angle

Octagon House

2008-07-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

There is nothing great about this spot, except that I had read about the house on roadsideamerica.com and put this on my list of things to do and see if I had the chance. I really wasn't expecting to find the place, because it was away from everything else we were planning on doing that day. However, by coincidence we were walking blocks upon blocks which turned into miles upon miles looking for a cigar cutter and matches. Afterwards we decided to head to Haight-Ahsbury for some scrumptious dinner at Cha Cha Cha's. We feasted on Fried Calamari (my first time eating the things) and other kinds of Tapas, along with some Sangaria to wash it down. Somewhere in between finding the cigar cutters and Calamari we stumbled upon the house. It looks pretty cool from the outside, but why bother going in. I think they give a free tour (donations excepted) but we had other things to see.

This is what Fodor's says about the place:

This unusual, eight-sided, cupola-topped house dates from 1861 and is maintained by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. Its design was based on a past theory that people living in a space of this shape would live longer, healthier lives. Inside is a small museum where you'll find Early American furniture, portraits, silver, pewter, looking glasses, and English and Chinese ceramics. There are also some historic documents, including signatures of 54 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Even if you're not able to visit the inside, this atypical structure is worth a look from the outside.

Crooked Street

2008-07-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

After checking out Coit Tower, we immediately walked to Lombard street; otherwise known as the crookedest street on the planet. This of course is a lie! It's not even the crookedest street in San Francisco. There is a less popular street that has Lombard beat hands down, but Lombard is in the tourist part of town, so it steals all the thunder. If I would have known about the other street prior to our trip, I would have walked that one instead.

In the first couple of pictures you can see the street that we walked from Coit tower to Lombard. It was a direct route, but very tiring. The picture where I'm on the ground is right before the curves of Lombard. I was already worn out from walking to the half way mark (I'm sure scaling Telegraph Hill didn't help matters). I don't really remember why, but for some reason we walked this hill twice in a couple of hours. I think I forgot the phone and wanted to send a picture to Faith of me and Pooh. Anyways, once was enough.

Are you kidding me??!!
A view from Lombard and the rarity of J.A. Deane taking a picture

Fire Nozzle Tower

2008-07-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

I am trying to catch up on some long over due blogging. A little over six months a go I went to San Francisco on a quick one day trip to see the sights. I've posted three blogs detailing my trips, but I have lost the other two rough drafts I started, so instead of being all wordy about my little adventure I figured it would be better to just throw up the pics and give a little commentary.

This blog is of Coit Tower. We decided to walk instead of take the bus and found ourselves cascading up a series of endless stairs. Half way through I was beginning to believe there might be a purgatory. I was out of breath and begging for life, while Jonathan was mocking me the whole way. I probably would have beat him to a pulp and thrown him down the stairs but my fat butt couldn't catch him. At one point, near the top of the stairs my legs became jelly and literally gave out on me.

Oh yeah, there were parrots flying overhead too. Jonathan was as giddy as a school girl, because he had just seen a documentary on the parrots of Telegraph Hill a couple weeks prior.
This was just the beginning

At the top of the beginning of the stairs

1/3 of the way Running out of breath

Once we got to the tower though, I wanted to go the whole distance! My plan was to walk up to the top. My travel guides stated that this would be an acceptable option. However, the tiny Asian lady behind the counter told us that this was incorrect; the stairs were out of order! So we had to pay the $4-5 bucks to take the elevator. The biggest slap in the face though, was getting on the elevator and seeing a tip jar! Are you insane!? I just paid you $5 bucks to ride this thing!

Coit Tower was built in 1933 when Lillie Coit bequeathed one-third of her estate for it to be built. Some say it's in the design of a fire nozzle, because she had such an affinity for the fire department during her day. Inside the tower the murals were inspired and commissioned during the Great Depression.

After telling all this, I must say, the place was a let down. The trial of ascending Telegraph Hill was much more interesting than the final destination.
The View of from the Tower
Some of the murals
Finally done

A Tourist Wanders San Francisco- Part 3: Zinfandel Afternoon

2008-07-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Next we meander down Columbus St., a heavy Italian dominated community- they are people all around speaking their native tongue or heavy accented English. Jonathan is reminiscing on his younger days of strolling Spain and Mediterranean worlds.

Famished we stopped at a corner café Mario’s Café and Cigar Bar. It has long been without the fragrant aroma of a cigar but every tourist book I have come across raves madly about eating here. A hip north-beacher with French mustachio, scruffy beard that lead to a small pointing goatee wearing a fedora was our server, friendly but too hip to offer recommendations to traveling tourist. That’s ok we make our choices and there worth the wait- mine, tasty focaccia bread packed with Italian meat slices.

I have to go the bathroom so I head to the back. The toilet is in a closet under a staircase, it’s so small and cramped that I actually have to lean back to fit into the closet. I’m doing Pilates to urinate!

After lunch we head into the beating heart of North Beach, the essence, the life of the district. True Beat meanings live and shed light on this shady part San Francisco. City Lights Books is still there. It has existed and fought the Man from its beginning. In the window are still signs that they are standing strong in there fight – Shame on you Bush!

We walk in; I close my eyes for a brief moment hoping to hear muses from yesteryear speak softly in inaudible voices. Nothing. My fingers walk along covers that I have never read from authors I have never heard in sections not found on your local Barnes and Nobles shelves. My feet trudge up the stairs, I flip through picture books of bygone eras when this was the heart of cool; post-war kids.

City lights bookstore was not only a bookstore but a publishing company as well. They published Ginsberg, Burroughs,and Firaghetti; they have stood up for Americans’ right for free speech. It is an American Bookstore.

Here I stand, looking and listening for the great muses to speak golden meanings in this squalid part of town. Nothingness is all I hear. I suppose this is their great meaning screaming into my ear. I refuse to hear.

Kerouac Alley is behind City Lights, it’s funny what use to be a soiled alley littered with trash, tom cats, and drunken poets vomiting is now a cobbled alley with bronze quotes from great authors paving the way- a tribute to San Francisco’s adopted drunkard of a son. One sign rings true – in the company of best friends, there is never enough wine.

We head over to the Beat Museum across the street, in the middle of San Francisco strip joints.
“Legs, Breast and thighs, come and get our lunch special,” yells a young Hispanic man trying to lure starving men. The Beat Museum cost $5 to walk through, which sounds completely contrary, so we forsake nostalgia for the trail and head back to The Grant Hotel.

Jonathan brought two bottles of wine from Monterey; we open one up and drink out of clear plastic, hotel bathroom cups. I drift off into a catnap while Jonathan rehearses Science speakeasy, TLR7 and mice brutality.

Zinfandel Afternoon.

Cross Country

2008-07-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

TonightI will be traveling on the longest road trip of my life. My friend Jonathan is driving a car from California to Maryland; Jim and I have decided to tag along and see some of the country. The plan is to set out on a 14-hour drive to Amarillo Texas; eat at the Big Texan and see some of local sights like the Cadillac Ranch. Then we are heading to the glory of Memphis to ponder Graceland, Sun studios, and Beale St. Afterwards it’s quick stops in Tupelo, Birmingham, and Hotlanta. We then will make our way down into the heart of Southern Hospitality as we linger in Charleston, where we view where the War of Northern Aggression began, then to the heart of the Confederacy Capital Richmond. We will then take our weary weakened traveling legs up to Maryland and I will relax for a couple of hours before boarding a plane to come home.

I’ll put more details of my trip upon my return.

Oh, Pooh

2008-05-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

This post is suppose to be silly and to make light of serious tragedies that happen all the time. I knew it was bad taste at the time I took the pictures and the bad taste still hasn't settled now, but I thought I would post it anyways. I hope know one is too offended.

Faith's Bear was lonely and depressed when I drag him away to San Francisco!

Longing and comtemplation

Making the call for Help

No use

This is the end.

66 Post

2008-05-18T02:29:00.000-07:00

This is my 66 post on the Roadside Traveler! So I thought I would post a couple pics of places I have been that are on or near the Mother Road.

Besides just being my 66 post, a friend of mine has rekindled my dream as of late, to take screaming, frustrated girls across the country on the Mother Road. I want to tell them, "don't make me come back there!" or, "Don't make me pull this car over!" Oh, how I want to sleep in flea-infested motels.I crave greasy diner food that has been seasoned with the cook's last few remaining hairs on his head and unwashed hands. I want to travel down decayed, weather-beaten highways that no one travels any longer. To overheat and breakdown on the side of barren roads; scream obscenities at the few passing motorist for not stopping to lend a hand! I want my girls to get Truck drivers to Honk by making pulling motions with their arms. I want to pretend not to see passing motorcycle gangs as they give me the bird for driving to slow. i simply want the American adventure...The road trip on the Mother Road.

Sea World

2008-05-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

This year for Faith's "Metcha" day this year, we went to Sea World(The day we went to Russia and actually met her). A lot of adoptive parents do a "Gothcha" Day, but the day she became ours was on her second birthday. Kellee and I haven't been to SW in seven years! The last time was our first anniversary. We went at the end of April, so we were able to get a season's pass for the price of admisson.

Faith had a good time; she loved feeding the Bat Rays. We couldn't feed the dolphins, I guess they close the feeding after 1:00 pm.

Verity did really well, she remained a trooper most of the day, but by the end she was a little cranky.

My favorite part of the day was going to see the Polar Bear. They have a cave exhibit, little kids can walk through that represents where a polar bear would live. Inside they have a tape relay of a Polar Bear roaring. Faith was scared to walk through, but wanted her Papa to do it. So, I walked in and told her everything was fine. Then the tape relay played and I acted like the Polar Bear was getting me and dragging me away. Faith stood there frozen, eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and she let out a horrified blood-curdling scream! I had to run out of the cave and assure her that everything was alright. Then we both laughed- hers a little more nervous than mine. It was a Jack Handy, father-daughter moment.

After Sea World, I wanted to eat at a pizza place I had seen on the Food Network. However, I couldn't quite remember the name, so we called Kellee's mom and had her try to look it up for us. I thought we struck gold and figured it out... a place called A New York Style Pizzeria. But when we got there I realized it was the wrong place. Still the Pizza was sold by the slice and very scrumptious. However, the owner and pizza maker was wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. That soured the experience a little for me. They did have some Bronx Dodgers memorabilia on the wall, but it felt contrived after seeing the Boston lover. The place I wanted to go to is called Bronx Pizza. I guess with a season pass to Sea World, there is always next time.

Faith watching the Show

Verity trying not to get too much sun.

They must be from Pittsburgh.

She's a star...fishStuck on you!
Who do you think is angrier?

Faith and I sat in the soak zone!

A Tourist Wanders San Francisco- Part Two: Kerouac-Cassidy Mornings

2008-05-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

On the platform of the train is our reunion, but its quick lived; our train is leaving and we must jump on before we can shake hands, nod heads, and say, “what’s up”. We find seats and spread ourselves about seeing that the train is only lightly filled. I’m tired. We’re tired. After some brief small talk I lean my head back against the train window that gives me a clear view of tunnel darkness. My eyes are growing heavier with each stop, I can’t hear the conductor name station stops and I grow increasingly worried with each stop that we might miss our destination. But if I get lost in this city its alright by me, I’m already lost. My headphones are back on and I’m listening:

It’s always the same, you’re jumping someone else’s train.

Jonathan writes a poem about the cultured people of the city.

Powell Station… our stop. With each station stop (8 all together) it has become progressively more and more packed with people. Jonathan loaded down with bags has to push someone off the train so we can get by. The young hipster looks perturbed, I say thanks, and he smirks with understanding-“tourist.”

We walk out of the underground station up to the sound of trafficking cars, echoing motors, and honking horns bouncing off towering buildings; gray ominous clouds lurking overhead with faint drizzled rain pelting my p-coat. This is the San Francisco I imagined.

A block up is the Travel center, we purchase our day passes for the transit system (a good deal usually, if you want to explore the town, but with Jonathan who wants to roam the earth on foot it becomes a waste of money) and hop aboard the cable cars. They had their place in San Francisco history and were quite useful, but now they are little more than a tourist novelty. However, it goes right next to our hotel.

On the cable car, I miss my daughter. She still talks about our outing to the city and getting to ride the “trolley”. I told myself that when I came back to the city I would like to come without her, since it’s harder to experience all the delights of the place with a kid on your side. Now, that she’s home and I’m here, I miss her. I would gladly forsake city delights to see her thrilled eyes light up as we board, to hear her squeal and talk faster than this rickety old thing can move. It would be all the delight I need.

Our Hotel is on the edge of Chinatown. An old place called the Grant Plaza that looked like it used to be a one-time low-income pad for welfare recipients. A place filled with shore men, train runners, prostitutes and vagrants. It’s been remodeled of course. After we book the reservation we went online and read reviews: Rooms are small….this place smells, we couldn’t get the smell out of our clothes for days…Bedbugs!!!! For $66 a night in the heart of the city, for one night I was willing to stink. Besides I liked the idea of staying in an old run down hotel, I felt more authentic and less of a tourist.

Check-in wasn’t until two, but they had a locker available so we stuffed our belongings in and headed out. We walked back to the Cable Car up a sharp inclined hill, after a block it had me gasping for air like a hooked fish.

We walk through the first Cathedral in California- much smaller than imagined. When all the other buildings lay in shambles and decimated from the 1906 Earthquake the Cathedral remained standing alone. A Rock to lean on… Tales of Belouc (the European writer, philosopher, and walker) ensued.

We rode the car down to the Buena Vista. It was starting to dopwnpour, as we hung to slippery sliding poles off the sides of the cable car. At the Buena Vista we relaxed in warmth as we sipped Irish coffee (Coffee and Irish Cream liqueur). The Buena Vista was the first place to serve the drink in America.

Afterwards we strolled down Fisherman’s Wharf. This is the hub, the granddaddy of tourist traps! Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Barking sea lions, and corporate eateries fill the place. But, we are not strolling during tourist hours when the Wharf becomes alive with the vampire merchants of knick-knacks. Were walking while it’s still early morning when the population is sparse. If you look closely, I mean really squint your eyes almost closed and imagine your damnedest; you can see the San Francisco that became the thriving eastern town on western shores. Chinese store front owners are out getting ready for the morning, fisherman- the last of the real fisherman on the Wharf are preparing their boats, workers heading to small canning factories, and vagabonds walking about “ hey buddy, how about sparing some change for a Vietnam Vet.”

It’s a Cassidy, Kerouac morning.

A Tourist Wanders San Francisco - Part One: On a Plane

2008-02-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

My eyes sprang open 20 minutes before the alarm would irritatingly shake me out of restless slumber. I had tossed and turned throughout the night, my head filled with bad dreams and grand adventures, kept me from sound sleep. Night still lingered in the early morning and no one in the house was conscious of my last minute preparations as I was getting ready to head off to unknown escapades. I kissed my ladies goodbye, quietly slipping out the front door into the morning dew and rain stained streets illuminated by orange fluorescent streetlights. From the driveway I said my goodbyes again.

I pulled away from the curb driving my black oxidized Honda into the blackness and listened to Nori on the AM radio discussing the future with a psychic;

"Tell me who is going to win the election? Can you put that out there? Are you willing to make that claim?"

“Of Course,” said the confident psychic, “ I have picked the president correctly for the last 20 years. Though I have always picked the popular vote president and didn’t know that I was doing so, until the debacle of the 2000 election. I have to say though that I am getting a weird feeling about this one as I see two people becoming president and I’m a little confounded I’m not sure why that is… But, Hillary will be the next President. I met Obama this year and thought what a great man. I felt he would be president too…

I wish I were this confident about the future.

It’s good entertainment for 3:30 in the morning. Who knows maybe they will both be president this year.

I drive up and down lonely LA streets that drift under freeway overpasses hoping that I’ll find Hindry St. before I’m late for my plane. I’m here 2 ½ hours early. Finally I spot a darkened street that looks more alley than street and find a little sign that confirms my worst LA fears; Hindry St. I make the right and venture down the bleak alley in a daunting LA neighborhood. Bad B movies come to my mind as headlights hit graffitied walls; think Judgment Night and Escape from LA.

There at the end of the alley is my parking garage. Damn! I was hoping I had the wrong directions.

After I had reserved my spot a couple day’s prior, I started reading customer comments online; 2 out of 5 stars. 45-minute wait…they stole My CD’s…I waited around forever and the manager said he didn’t care. I barely made my flight.

I was cautious to arrive so early, I had places to wander off and explore and did not want to miss my voyage. When I pulled onto the lot though, there was a shuttle waiting for me! I suppose that at four in the morning on a Tuesday there wasn’t much of a crowd.

Ten minutes later, I was standing at the Virgin America loading area. Virgin America allows you to check in online and print your boarding pass 24 hours prior to arrival. On top of that I had no bags to check in, so I by passed the whole ticket counter ordeal. The only wait I encountered was having my backpack, Jacket, and Doc Martins searched and x-rayed.

It was a quiet morning at the LAX; I’m up and ready to fly before the throngs of businessmen and vacationers. The usually cramped halls were filled with some lingering red-eye flyers, janitors, sparse early birds, and shop workers getting ready to open up. I sit down and open my bag, pull out a book on Tales of California, put in the ear buds and listen to my favorite LA song; why you’d want to live here

I'm in Los Angeles today...It smells like an airport runway.Jet fuel stenches in the cabinand lights flickering at random.I'm in Los Angeles today...Garbage cans comprise the medians of freeways always creepingeven when the population's sleeping.

A young lady sits down two seats from where I am. She is dressed in a black pin-stripe suit with brown hair cut shoulder length, a classy thirty-something businesswoman. She looks nervous and somewhat unsure. Why is she sitting so close? There are seats everywhere. I’m a little bothered and annoyed by her presence into my space.

“Excuse me,” the pin-striped business woman intrudes into my world and I brace for unwanted small talk, “you wouldn’t by chance be going to San Francisco would you?”

“Yeah, I’m going there.” I reply abruptly as possible, so she gets the hint that I’m not interested in airport chitchat to make the time go by. I have moments that are wrapped up in a couple of hours to myself and she was an uninvited guest in my grand exploration.

“Is this the right place? I can’t find it on my boarding pass?”

As illogical as that might sound, I had the same problem. So I assure her that this is the place to wait. Apparently, she wasn’t into prolonging the conversation either or she could read the disinterest in my face; she said thanks, picked up her belongings and headed towards the empty check-in counter. I picked my book back up to read about the Emperor of America who roamed the streets of San Francisco.

Boarding time. We gradually make our way onto the plane. I move to 11A the seat I had picked out online; it’s a window seat overlooking the left wing. Some people prefer to not see the wing; not wanting to see impending tragedy before their life is cut short. I want to know, I want to know if a wing cracks, or see the flock of birds that will rip through the engines and bring me to my ill-timed fate.

The pinstriped businesswoman loading her luggage into the overhead compartment blocks me from getting to my seat. She is settling in for the hour flight…again, two seats from me. We share row 11. I put away my jacket and uneasily settle in to my seat. We nervously smile our pleasantries at one another. It going to be a long hour of awkwardness, guilt is settling in from how I snubbed her in the airport and I am now trying to think of how to correct my rudeness by making small talk. Nothing comes to mind so we sit there uncomfortable stewing in our own quietness.

Thank the heavens for technology. My distant two-seat over, traveling partner and me are now lost in fiddling with the monitors in front of us; CNN and Jimmy Eat World videos are my selections- however, I’m the only one on the plane with a broken monitor. So I pull out my Ipod and inject my favorite flying song into my eardrums:

Air traffic control it’s me
Coach Class row 13
I have this sinkin’ feeling
Is everything alright?
Stare at the wing and think
If there’s babies all survive

I am prepared for take off.

Rain was expected. Even in the gray-lit morning dawn I could see the storm clouds bivouacking over the city unwilling to let the darkness of night flee. I braced for turbulence as we ascended to our intended heights, but there was nothing.

From the window I could see the pacific stretching throughout the distant horizon. The rumbling nimbus clouds rolled over the pacific; from my view I could no longer tell how to separate one from another. The January dawn burned up the western horizon with its brilliant reds and oranges hanging over the Channel Islands. In all its majesty and awe- I was quickly tired and bored; ready for our descent back into the world.

As we closed in on our destination,the looming gray clouds filled my window seat view, drowning the vast sea out, there is only the dreary gray suspended below. There are no beautiful landscaped horizons or man made wonders to look for from my seat, there is only the gray. I’m beginning to wonder how much of an adventure this will be, the forecast was partial rain but it was beginning to look like my trip would be rained out and rained on. How much sightseeing, walking, dreaming can I do soaked; cold and shivering.

We begin to make our final descent through rain clouds and still no turbulence to rock us- calm and smooth. The captain Loops around and we make a near perfect landing. I’m here. For the first time in years without my family, away from home in a distant city and all I can think about is having them here with me.