Hollywood & Vine

From Johnny G:

This was a fun day, our last as it turned out, with the Jay-man and our sojourn in LA. We decided to do some fun stuff. I had worked in the music biz in the late 1980's and had an office
in the Capitol Tower (top floor center in the photo) as well as one in Abby Road Studio (yes, that one, where the Beatles recorded) so it was a must that we take a photo of the Capitol Tower, built to resemble a stack of 45 RPM's. The old epi-center of Hollywood was at Hollywood and Vine, just down the street from my old office, so we took in the sights. One of the interesting places from old Hollywood was the Frolic Room, opened in 1929 as a speakeasy next to the hotel so patrons could sneak in and grab a drink during Prohibition. And lo and behold, right outside the door was the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Randolph Scott, my favorite B movie actor from the 30's and 40's. Scott's last film was a great one, "Ride the High Country" with Joel McCrea, in 1962. Of course, Scott plays a bad guy gone good who is the hero in the end, dead of course. A bar fly was hanging outside and he was astounded, "Everybody looks at Gary Cooper's star! You're the first person I've ever seen stop at Randy Scott". No flies on Coop, also a fav, but nobody in Blazing Saddles sang the praises of Gary Cooper.

Onto the Kodak Theatre, now permanent home of Oscar (go Jay!). A great behind the scenes tour for any film fan. Red Carpet, Green Room, Eastman bar for the biggies and all sorts of Oscar night trivia.

Dinner with Jay on our last night followed by breakfast with our star at the famous Mel's Drive-In, filmed to perfection by George Lucas in American Graffiti.

Great two weeks in LA hosted by the next star of film and fame!

Then, Happy Trails to You as we head for our Yosemite National Park rendezvous with our dear friends Jacqui and Steve Zwick, joining us from their wonderful home in Santa Rosa, CA. Steve is promising to bring some of his favorite Sonoma wines, yummy!

Crazy and Glamorous

When Jay first moved to LA, he lived in Venice Beach and worked at a restaurant called The Sidewalk Cafe. I had never been to that area before, but had heard many stories about what goes on and so I was anxious to see the famous Venice Boardwalk and this other side of CA living.

Hugging the Santa Monica Bay in an arch, the desirable communities of Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice move from the ultra rich, ultra casual Malibu to the bohemian/seedy Venice. They have cleaner air, mild temps and an emphasis on the famous beach focused lifestyle that is considered the hallmark of Southern CA.

We met Jay's childhood friend, Lanny, at Jay's former job, wait-staff at the Sidewalk Cafe when he lived a block away in Venice Beach. He was greeted all around by the staff like he had seen them yesterday, although he hadn't been out that way for about four years. We ordered Bloody Marys and burgers and sat in the outside cafe watching the scene in front of us. What a spectacle!

Boardwalk is something of a stretch, it's really a five-block section of paved walkway-but this place offers up year round entertainment.

There are clowns, (some rather frightening), bikini-clad rollerbladers, magicians, fortune-tellers, tattoo parlors, jugglers, all vying for attention from the crowds. One man stood very quietly watching it all, then donned a black cloak (look carefully at the photo) and stood with his arms straight up, like a statue covered in black fabric. As the tourists walked by, he would reach out and tap them on the shoulder, instantly getting back into statue mode. It was hilarious watching the reactions from passers-by as they turned to see who had touched them. After that, this same person (Jay told us his name was Jules and had been doing this same routine for years) watched the crowd and began to mimic people at random. Following close behind, he would imitate their strut and facial expressions. It was terribly funny to see these poor clueless folks who had no idea why the crowd was laughing.

There are rock bands playing loud music on the corner, bodybuilders pumping iron, bicyclists zipping along and skateboarders weaving in and out of the throngs. A true carnival atmosphere. I admit to thinking to myself:. "I know I'm not in Connecticut anymore". It was fun and I'm glad we went, but I'm happy Jay doesn't live there anymore.

Another attraction we visited was the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

I don't think I would have been interested in seeing this elegant old ocean liner except for the fact that my parents crossed the Atlantic on her in 1950.

This beautifully preserved ship was launched in 1934 and made 1001 transatlantic crossings before ending up in Long Beach in 1967.

On board we took a behind the scenes tour, excellent and informative. Amazing to visit this old fashioned era of glamorous, ocean travel which eventually was overtaken by jet airplanes. Unlike Titanic, no gates between classes but there were classes. First got the center of the ship (top to bottom), the most stable, second was aft (they felt the rumble of the engines and prop shafts), and third, "Oh My", they were in the bow which had the most movement of any part of the ship. Think 30-60 foot waves and how much the bow would have moved versus the center of the ship!

There is a new namesake, the Queen Mary 2, and our grandchildren can see her from the top floor of their home when she is docked in Redhook, Brooklyn. They are fascinated by the sight and call her the Mary Queen. The new ship is very high tech and fast, and fun to travel on, in fact my sister and her husband have taken several trips aboard the Queen Mary 2.

Throughout the tour, we saw photos of celebrities who traveled aboard such as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Fred Astaire, and the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor, all dressed in formal attire and looking very chic.

The highlight for me was stumbling onto an enormous ship's manifest. It is the size of at least two NYC phone books, and I found my parents' name and the name of my aunt and uncle who had traveled with them in 1950. Our Uncle Ray, whom we all remember very fondly, was a Ford dealer, the owner of Lee Motors. He shipped a brand new 1950 Ford in the hold which was off-loaded in La Havre and my parents and Uncle Ray and Aunt Betty were driven across Europe by Jacques, a French driver hired on the dock! Someone in the fam has the photo's of Mom and Dad in their French beret's (Em's?). They took what was then known as The Grand Tour.

I was thrilled to be walking the same decks on the Queen Mary that they had strolled all those years ago. It brought a tear.

Ventura Highway

Ventura Highway in the sunshine

Where the days are longer

The nights are stronger than moonshine

You're gonna go, I know.

Ventura Highway: America

From Johnny G:

It had to happen, a road trip from LA. With all these freeways how can you not go? It's part of the Angeleno's psyche, get in the car, take the top down, and head for Ventura on the Ventura Freeway. So off we went, but our destination was the beautiful seaside town of Santa Barbara, about 90 miles north. Sarah's brother Chris had an assignment here awhile back and hasn't stopped raving about the town. "Great little restaurants, hidden treasures everywhere, sailing the Channel Islands. Damn!". The 12 lane 101 got us to Ventura in a little over an hour and from there on we hugged the coast with the Pacific Ocean on our left and the mountains on our right. Surfers all over the place in their wet suits (the Pacific is cold), kelp beds and fishing boats. Scenic is too cute a word. Postcard perfect does it.

Our first stop was the Wharf which juts out into the ocean and is full of eateries, t-shirt shops and a very nice Maritime Museum. We ate at Harborview, which aptly overlooks the marina, a major fleet of sail boats (nice to see!) and working fishing boats as they entered and left the harbor. The Land Shark also operated here, giving tourists both a land and sea tour from a surplus DUKW.

Our post lunch treat was a tour of the Santa Barbara Mission, known as the "Queen of Missions" amongst the 21 Missions still standing from Napa to San Diego. Built in 1786 by the Spanish Franciscans along the El Camino Real, The Kings Road, which linked these Spanish outposts, the road was 600 miles long and portions are still marked by CalTrans by roadside bell markers. Twin bell towers, gorgeous gardens with heirloom plant varietals and a large collection of artifacts graced by lovely original stonework make for one of the most photographed sites in California. And did I mention the view?

We cruised State Street which is a combination of Rodeo Drive and Main Street in our hometown of Westport, CT. Walking this shopping bonanza from the top of the hill to the beach would have emptied our coffers had Sarah not exercised major restraint! Superb window shopping.

We played tourist on the way home and left the 101 for the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) which literally hugs and follows the coast from Ventura to Santa Monica. Along the way we spied Zuma Beach and we stopped to pay homage to Neil Young's album, On the Beach, which features Zuma Beach as it's theme and album cover.

A lovely trip until the PCH dumped us onto the 10 at Santa Monica and our Gertrude Garmin told us to bail on the 10 and take back roads to the apartment. Even on the back roads, it took an hour to go 8 miles.

Welcome to everyday LA rush hour(s) traffic!

We had a nice post script ending, dinner with Jay and his girlfriend at Hugo's in Hollywood.

Musings: City in the Smog

LA - Uptight

City in the Smog

City in the Smog

Don't you wish that you could be here too?

Don't you wish that you could be here too?

But when the suppers are planned

And the freeways are jammed

Oh it's so good to know

That it's all just a show for you.

Don't you want to be here too?

Don't you want to be here too?

LA: Neil Young

This town is certainly Kar Krazy. It wasn't always this way. In the high growth years of the 1910's and 1920's the region was ably served by the Pacific Electric Company's Redcar streetcar lines which connected the various suburban communities with downtown LA. The Pacific Electric was part of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and local politicians wanted to find a way to blunt the power of the railroad. So, Urban Planners came up with the design of Magic Motorways, a comprehensive web of free high speed motor ways that would link each community, speeding growth and sales of real estate which had begun to wane in the mid 1920's. This was a deliberate plan to control the power of the railroad by literally putting people behind the wheel instead of on the trolley. (Some of Who Framed Roger Rabbit is true!)

However, included in the plan was light rail, trolley lines that would run down the center of the motor ways as a paean to the railroad interests. The plan was stalled by the great Great Depression and then World War Two. Starting in 1947 the grand plan was revived, only this time without the light rail. By the early 1970's only 61% of the freeways had been built resulting in several major choke points in the system that are unresolved to this day. Given the restrictions imposed by environmentalists it's doubtful that any new freeways will be built. New spending laws also require that a percentage of tax money raised for maintenance of the system go to build light rail as an environmentally correct alternative to burning fossil fuels which is a major source of the smog which usually covers LA like a thick blanket.

22 million people live in the LA area, all with at least one car (nobody rides the new light rail or subway, it doesn't get you anywhere) combined with LA being hemmed in by the foothills (they call them mountains) and the cold Pacific Ocean produces cool temps at the beach, fog results and since the pollution can't make it over the foothills it all hangs over greater LA. The good news is that with constant sun it usually clears out by noon and then it's spectacular weather. Which by the way, we've thoroughly enjoyed!

Quick observations:

Eight car pile up on the 5 on the way to the Reagan Library, fortunately on the South bound side as we headed North. Coming home, a six car pile up on the other side! The fact is, these people are terrible drivers, driving much too fast and cutting lanes, riding bumpers and passing you on all sides. And we thought Michigan drivers were the worst. Not so fast. We feel like Brooks in Shawshank Redemption when he got parole, the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry!

A city built around the automobile and the main thoroughfares, ala West Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, etc, lack left turn arrows, forcing you to turn into on-coming traffic and causing extended back-ups.

Unlike New York City, where traffic lights turn either all red or all green ahead of you (and if green give you a good run), in LA, the lights are controlled by pedestrians crossing the street (people power in a Kar Kulture), so you might make one block at a time. Major traffic back-ups on the main thru streets. Unreal urban planning.

Pedestrians, clad in their IPod buds and busy on their cell phones, walk without looking when the lights change and they get the white "go" signal to cross the street. This despite traffic turning into the cross-walk. They distainfully look at you, Dude, I've got the white here! Of course, on the slab at the morgue, they're probably saying the same thing.

Ditto the folks on bikes. Sidewalks are a favorite ride-way. Like their bud's on foot, they like to zip across side streets without looking. Must be a hell of a mortality rate for cyclists. We left Jay's mountain bike back in CT!

Many major intersections lack street signage. Where am I?

Unlike New York, laid out in a grid, some area's are gridded out and some not. You may be in a grid but then it ends, but picks up several streets over. What gives with this?

This town is filled with pan handlers. Most of them are stoned out, coked out, boozed out, we guess the key is out. They have a habit of pushing their shopping carts across the street at any point without looking. And you're expected to stop, and maybe even abet their habit by a donation. In fact, if you don't donate, you can be cussed out. This is New York in the mid-eighties. New Yorker's, remember the squeegie men? This is worse. The squeegie guys were looking for change to get loaded later. These guys are already in another world. This town needs Rudie!

Helicopters overhead all the time. In our case, given our proximity to the Hollywood sign, tourists. We're also close to the 101 and because we're in West Hollywood we get the traffic copters. One blessing from the President's visit yesterday is that we had a quiet night as all non-military/police copters were grounded. But tonight, returning from the Leno taping, they're baaaack!

Sunset is our main go to street, but as Hollywood legend Liz Taylor responded when asked by a young aspiring actor on how to make it in Hollywood, said, "Take Fountain". Great line and great advice as our apartment is between traffic choked (at all hours) Sunset and relatively fast Fountain. We take Liz's advice all the time.

And did I mention the traffic?

LA LA LAND. Input from JFG

LA is a great big freeway

Put a hundred down and buy a car

In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star

Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass,

And all the stars that never were,

Are parking cars and pumping gas.

Burt Bacharach

With an actor in the family it was de riguer that we visit one of the film studio's. After all, it's Hollywood's raison d'etre. We chose Paramount given it's rich and storied history and the fact that it's the last of the major studio's still on this side of the mountain and in Hollywood. It was founded by the original film making New Yorkers who moved from Brooklyn to California for the light, weather and space to make Westerns. Howard Hughes was once an owner of half of the 65 acres with RKO Pictures. He refused to rent out his studios to other production companies, so he used the studios to store airplanes. Not a profitable venture. One of the smartest folks in Hollywood history bought him out, Lucille Ball, then looking for a studio to film a TV series about her band leader husband. No one would open their studio to a multi-racial marriage in those days, so when opportunity presented itself, she struck a deal with Hughes. We learned that a driving force in Paramount for many years was Lucille Ball of I Love Lucy. Evidently one shrewd business woman not to be trifled with!

Paramount also offers small "VIP" tours versus the cattle call at Universal Studios. Plus, one of John's fav pictures is The Godfather so seeing the studio where it was shot was a real plus.

We saw the triple studio where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced across three sound stages in one continuous take, Ginger all the while doing whatever moves Fred did, only backwards!

We escaped the Dr Phil set with our psyche's intact. After visiting the set of Happy Endings we're intrigued to actually watch the show.

We managed to visit New York and Chicago during our tour, at least the back lot sets where we recognized many street scenes from films and TV land.

Glee is filmed here and we were shown the exterior sets of many scenes. The football stadium is in Long Beach which was news to us. Glee is very secretive, not even our tour guide has been allowed on the set much less a peek from the outside. They are so secretive that even the portable dressing room trailers are hidden behind fake tree's and shrubs. While Nip and Tuck is no longer in production, it's creator having moved onto Glee and now working on American Horror (get a part Jay!), we did see where it was filmed.

This two hour tour is relatively inexpensive and we highly recommend it to any film/TV buff visiting LA. We were able to make reservations on the same day.

Not so Jay Leno. After 6 weeks John had no response from the Leno show so he decided on a bit of LA sleight of hand. After all, everything in this town is an illusion isn't it? He used Jay's name and our West Hollywood address and viola! Our invitation to attend Tuesday's taping came in two days later. We're psyched. Look for us Tuesday, Sept. 27!

To top off a great day, on the way back to our apartment, Jay pointed out Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza at the intersection of Melrose and Highland Avenue as we waited on the light to change. Bingo! We waltzed in at 5 PM. OK, early bird time but the place has been sold out every evening we're here, the earliest reservation has been 10:15 PM. For those of you in Westport, it's where the Tarry Lodge concept was invented. Same set-up, pizza bar, bar bar and small room for table seating. Fabulous pizza, best crust ever! This place has been on our must go list since we got here but given the reservation list, we had resigned ourselves to miss it. Truly an A-list get!

Grand Canyon, South Rim

One of the treats traveling the I-40 on the way to the Grand Canyon South Rim is the stop at Winslow, AZ, famous from Jackson Browne's "Take It Easy" which the Eagles covered and made into a huge hit. When Jay and John stopped here in 2006 the "corner" was under construction so we wanted to see what they'd done with it. John's pointing to the "girl in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me", i.e. - he's got his thumb out hoping to get lucky. Back in the car buddy!

On the Canyon access road we ran into late afternoon thundershowers, evidently a common occurrence this time of year. Per one of the Park Rangers, "It's monsoon season". Speaking of the Park Ranger, turns out this volunteer was from hometown Toledo, OH and grew up on Robinwood Avenue, one street over from the family manse on Scottwood. It was old home week for a while as we chatted about all the Robinwood folks that the Wenzler family knew. Truly a small, small world. Factoid from the Ranger, "What's the most dangerous animal in the Park (other then the humans who find a way to rack up an average of 16 fatalities a season doing what the Ranger called "Stupid Park tricks")? Answer, the squirrel. These little furry rodents are quite adept at posing for the tourists who then either attempt to pet or feed them. Ouch! Off to the hospital for rabies shots, the most painful of treatments...

We posted a short video on Facebook which was a panorama of the different lighting of the park from one location. That's the beauty really. You can stand in one overlook all day and the light and colors will change dramatically as the sun makes it's east to west movement. We chose motion however. The Park has an excellent free trolley system (oh, did I mention that our Senior National Park Card got us right in at the entrance with no additional fee? What a bargain, for $10 a person you gain "free" admission to any National Park which usually have fee's in the $25 range. Save on as we visit Yosemite, Zion, Bryce and Monument Valley!).

We rode the trolley west to Hermits Rest, off limits to vehicles. Each stop offered different view's of the canyon and in some cases the Colorado River over 6,800 feet below in some spots. From Hopi Point, the river which is over 6,000 feet below looks like a thin line even though it's actually over 350 feet wide. With our binoculars we did manage to spot several rafting parties on the river below which would be a fun way to see the Canyon by looking up rather than down, provided one was on a "flat water" trip!

We had intended to hike down the Bright Angel trail about half-way but our friendly Ranger told us it took twice as long to come up as it did to get down, so with limited time we chose to grab lunch back at the Maswik Lodge, then took the car to explore all the overlooks west on the way to the Desert View and Watchtower, the final attraction along Desert View Drive. At each overlook, as the afternoon waned, the light in the Canyon changed and the hues mingled from green to red to dusky desert tones. No wonder we saw so many painters and photographers!

As a side note, we noticed that our wind shield sported a 10 inch crack that the sun must have brought out. We knew we were hit by a stone the day before but there was not a sign of damage the next morning. But after lunch when we entrained in the car for the Desert View run we saw it. Yikes, 3,000 miles on a new car and already a damaged windshield. Bummer. We'll take care of it in LA where we have a two week layover with Jay.

After a long day, we managed a lovely prime rib dinner at the Best Western in Grand Canyon Village just outside the park next to the Red Feather Lodge where we were staying. Fodor's gave the Best Western dining room a big thumbs up and we agreed, especially priced at $12.99 for a three course dinner (yes, early bird before 6:30 PM but remember, we were still transitioning from EDT to PDT so parts of our bodily system thought it was 9:30 PM (that would be the Cavit part?).

It's very difficult to describe the elegant beauty of the Grand Canyon. Even photo's don't quite capture this unique eloquence of nature. As one of our dear friends, an expert photographer with a fabulous kit of equipment told us, "Only the human eye can truly capture the beauty".

I guess this is why the Grand Canyon is a must see on any bucket list. It's truly a gift of nature, it's here so you don't have to travel halfway 'round the world and it's so stunning that words can't really describe it.

With a long travel day ahead of us, we hit the vee berth early and the next morning at 7:00 AM found us LA bound. We answered the Duke's call, "Westward Ho!".

Hooray for Hollywood!

Hooray for Hollywood,

That screwy, ballyhooey Hollywood

Where any office boy or young mechanic

Can be a panic, with just a good looking pan

Where any barmaid can be a star maid

If she dances with or without a fan.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Johnny Mercer

Our drive from the Grand Canyon was uneventful except for keeping an eye on the growing crack in our windshield. We were fortunate to stop for gas in Arizona because once crossing into California the prices increased by 75 cents a gallon. No wonder this state is exploring alternative energy! Our Ford Edge with two white-bread seniors passed the CA Agricultural Inspection. No sign of the Joad family so we were whisked into La La Land.

The drive across the Mojave Desert is quite monotonous. You might as well be in a LEM landing on the moon. Once across the desert at Barstow we stopped for lunch at the old Barstow railroad station which was made up of old passenger cars linking a central food court. Of course train buff John loved it and he was looking for his equally trained out buddy Jasper to share the experience.

Once on the 15 (note that in CA one drops the "I" designation and everything is "the 101", "the 5" etc. We do our best to fit in our new culture!). A right turn onto the 10 and we were an hour out. Our host Jay over ruled Gertrude Garmin and on the 10 we really had our first taste of SoCal traffic. FREEKS!

We found our one bedroom apartment in West Hollywood, a clean and bright respite owned by our hosts Eugene and Mary on a relatively quiet tree lined block between W. Sunset and Fountain Blvds. We soon found we were really centrally located, within a mile of studio's, great restaurants and Hollywood and Vine. Soon after we unpacked our host Jay arrived and we shared our first CA wine with him on our balcony. To celebrate, Jay took us to Duke's on Malibu beach, literally on the Pacific Ocean on the PCH (again culturista's, PCH stands for Pacific Coast Highway but nobody uses the full name).

Sunday found us hiking the canyons of Runyan Park with Jay. Local signs warning of rattlesnakes. "Why'd it have to be snakes"? Uphill climb which is fine with us as it wrings out a week of sitting in the car and will help to get us in shape to hike to Vernal Falls in Yosemite with our friends Jacqui and Steve in two weeks. After the walk, a reward of eggs benedict from Chez Sarah (eggs avacado for veggie Jay) washed down with Prossecco. We could get into this California living. Hard exercise followed by foodie reward. What could be better?

On Sunday Jay gave us the "insider's tour" of Hollywood, Sunset Strip, a very real reminder that we were not in CT anymore. We saw someone dressed as Marilyn Monroe and Darth Vader were spotted walking down the street. Apparently these impersonators pose with tourists for photos, hoping to score tips.

We spent the rest of the week sightseeing. Took a trip on Mulholland Dr. and loved it's steep, winding beautiful vistas, we also went to look at the famous HOLLYWOOD sign and took the obligatory pictures.

Before we left home, we had reserved tickets to attend a taping of Jeopardy! John and I watch Jeopardy! nearly every evening as it comes on as dinner is being prepared. So we got a big kick out of sitting in on a live show. Fun to see how it all works in person. They tape five shows in one day, three in the morning and two in the afternoon. We were warned in advance not to shout out the answers like we do at home. Easier said than done, but we managed to keep our mouths shut. The episodes we watched will be aired in November.

We also visited the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. We have never been to a presidential library before, so this was a unique and interesting treat. It is a huge museum and naturally chronicles the former president's early career as an actor and follows his life in politics and his eight years as president. Very inspirational. We were reminded of the optimism that Reagan was famous for and the accomplishments of his administration. We were wowed by seeing Air Force One on display. It is the plane used by all the presidents from 1974 through 2001. The library is located at the top of a mountain with stunning views of the valley and mountains beyond, a beautiful final resting place for the "Gipper".

We read in our guidebook about The Norton-Simon Museum in Pasadena. John and I love to visit museums all over the world and are aware that LA has the famous Getty, but we had never heard of this one, so we had to check it out. What a pleasant surprise. Small but with a wonderful collection of works by some of our favorite artists. We viewed several Renaissance pieces, many pieces by Rembrandt, Reubens, a Vermeer, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Corot, Matisse, and Picasso. We were in heaven. A special jewel in this sprawling metropolis.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Santa Fe: Southwestern art capital

We arrived in Santa Fe to a sparkly blue, cloudless afternoon, happy for the opportunity to get out of the car.

On a plateau at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains-at an elevation of 7,000 feet-Santa Fe is brimming with reminders of nearly four centuries of Spanish and Mexican rule, and the Pueblo cultures that have been there for hundreds more.

Humorist Will Rogers said on his first visit to Santa Fe, "Whoever designed this town did so while riding on a jackass, backwards, and drunk." The maze of narrow streets and alleyways confounded us while in the car, but as pedestrians we delighted in the vast array of shops, restaurants, flowered courtyards and eye-catching galleries at nearly every turn.

We only had thirty six hours to enjoy our stay, so we had to make some decisions about how to best spend the time.

We had three goals.

• Food
• Shopping (I am hunting for a pair of cowboy boots)
• Sightseeing and visiting galleries

Food in Santa Fe is wonderful. Eating out is a major pastime when visiting this lovely town.

We enjoyed several delicious meals: breakfast at Pasqual's, lunch at Anasazi (wow) and dinner at La Choza. I honestly don't think you can get a bad meal in Santa Fe.

As for shopping, it's hard to know where to begin. I mentioned earlier, I am looking for cowboy boots. We stopped at several places to look, see and try on. Two spots sold boots on consignment, no luck. A few were big brand name stores, sold at retail, still no luck. Then we happened upon a shop named Back at the Ranch. Now we're talkin. This cozy spot in an old creaky-floored adobe is stocked with the finest handmade cowboy boots I've ever seen. They come in every color, style, and embellishment imaginable. I tried several pair: pink, turquoise, black, red, brown. Fell in love with each one, then reality hit and I decided not to be an impulse buyer. I'd keep looking, but the hunt had been fun.

Our shopping spree did not end empty. We stumbled upon a small leather goods shop. We spent some time visiting with the owner and designer of sterling silver belt buckles. NICE. Needless to say, I am now the very proud owner of a gorgeous leather belt with a beautiful silver buckle, hand made in Santa Fe. Grin.

Next we hit the galleries on Canyon Road, the city's art district. If you are familiar with a condition called "Stendhal", or "Florence syndrome", you will know what I mean when I tell you that the Santa Fe art district can be overwhelming. This small city boasts being second only to NYC in it's art sales. Dozens of galleries line the narrow streets and you can find anything from oil paintings of the stunning local scenery to mobile art to enormous sculptures of American Indian chiefs, deer and antelope. We spent the afternoon wandering in and out of these interesting places.

Local dress, and cuisine by the way, is "New Mexican". The blend of Spanish, Mexican and American Western plays out in both the food and the dress (at least for locals). While having breakfast at Pasquals we noted a local with his jeans, cowboy boots, western shirt and a vest studded out with turquoise. And of course a well worn straw Stetson covering long hair. The local ladies were quite chic and very well turned out in similar fashion to our cowboy. Their boots alone were in the $1,500-$5,000 range.

While the tourists were eclectic the Texas ladies stood out. Well tended, bejeweled to the nth degree and having the best of times as only those Texas ladies can. Truly black belt shoppers. The Hampton's crowd back home has a lot to learn!

Our hotel was in the Railway District, the Hotel Santa Fe, and while the room was adequate the location was great and hotel offered free shuttle service to all local points of interest. We learned long ago that when in a new city it's a good idea to take the local tour and then go back to places that struck our interest for more detailed exploration. One of those spots was the Loretto Chapel, a delicate Gothic Church modeled after Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Built in 1873 by French architects and Italian stonemasons, it is known for it's "Miraculous Staircase" that leads to the choir loft. The staircase contains two complete 360 degree turns and a mysterious carpenter who arrived on a donkey and built the 20 foot staircase-using only a square, a saw and a tub of water to season the wood-and then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. No nails were used in the construction. Naturally, many of the locals at the time believed the legend that St. Joseph, a carpenter, had appeared to build the staircase.

The Palace of Governors was equally interesting as the old adobe structure had been home to three seats of government, Spanish, Mexican and American. Outside under the arcade facing the 400 year old plaza, Native American's laid out hand made jewelry on hand woven blankets. I bought a lovely silver and turquoise cuff bracelet after some modest bargaining.

Because we were in the Rail yard District our number one (hmmm, maybe tied with Grandson Jasper) rail fan longed to take the Rail Runner train to Albuquerque on the road bed of the original line that reached Santa Fe, the famous Denver & Rio Grande, but alas, with 36 hours, it wasn't to be (I could write the Sunday Times piece, "36 hours in Santa Fe!).

We loved Santa Fe and highly recommend a visit to anyone who is visiting this part of the country.

Next we ride into the sunset to see the Grand Canyon.

Route 66: Observations from JohnnyG

Once we crossed into Oklahoma we began to see signs for "Historic Route 66". These only increased crossing into Texas and once into New Mexico the old highway paralleled I-40 for miles and then veered to Santa Fe before following I-25 to Albuquerque and then West to Arizona. Of course we stopped in Winslow, AZ for the obligatory photo op, "standin' by the corner..."(see photo on Facebook), the great Jackson Browne song covered by the Eagles. With lots of windshield time, we observed even this late in the season so many groups traveling the old historic route that we wondered what was the attraction? Bikers of course, but at our overnight in Weatherford, TX we ran across a group of folks driving vintage muscle cars. GTO's, souped up Mustangs from the '60's, you name it, they were driving it. Then scenes right out of Tom Wolfe's "Kandy- Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby", the story of the California car scene in which 1930's and 1940's cars were "chopped" and painted "krazy" colors. Imagine watching a fleet of these beautiful cars cruising on the Old 66 next to you on the I-40! Even vintage sports cars, followed of course by the break down vans.

What is it that attracts these groups to a roadway built in 1926 as the first purpose built asphalt route from Chicago to Los Angeles? In the 1930's, the "Okies"fled the dust bowl on Route 66 and migrated to the orange groves of California, think "Grapes of Wrath", which is likely the first notion any of us had about Route 66. In 1986 the road was largely decommissioned, much like a ship of the line after much useful service. This was a direct result of the Interstate system started in the mid 1950's by President Eisenhower.

This road has always celebrated the romance and freedom of automobile travel. Bobby Troup wrote the seminal song about the road, "Get Your Kicks, On Route 66" in 1946 while driving the route at the suggestion of his wife. Nat King Cole released his all time popular cover in 1946 and the song has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Chuck Berry in 1961, the Stones in 1964 and Depeche Mode in 1987. So the song and roadway certainly resinate in the American psyche.

Our observation is that the age groups we saw traveling on what is left of this vintage roadway, Jackson Browne excepted, are largely baby boomers who grew up in the 1950's in the post WW II era of "Leave it to Beaver", "Marcus Welby, MD" and "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". This was a fairly constrained and somewhat rigid post WW II era with social mores pretty much of a conservative bent. The explosion of the Beatles, Vietnam, Stones, Buffalo Springfield in the '60's provided a release from the social constraints of the '50's. Think "Bye Bye Birdie", "what's the matter with kids today"?

With the popularity of the TV show, "Route 66" (1960-1964), young people envisioned a life free of parental constraints represented by the journey through small town America and indeed many at the time were drawn to replicating the journey. Indeed, Sarah's brother and a friend rented a Corvette and drove Route 66 in the early '60's. They weren't alone.

And today, the sections of what remains of the old road are chock-a-bloc full of baby boomers on Harley's, bikes, sports cars, muscle cars, RV's and whatever, living the dream of freedom that the old historic road represents, because they're at an age when they can! After the brief freedom's of the post Vietnam era most of us went into a different world of constraints, usually called "corporate" or "law firm" or the like. I remember several years ago my Chairman at my corporate gig was taking a month to trace Route 66 and the Lewis and Clark journey on his Harley with a buddy. Intrigued, I asked why? He said, "you're still too young to understand, but you will". I do now.

We've joined them, sort of, and while our trip isn't just about traveling the old route, we share their sense of freedom and discovery as we travel this great land of ours. Our next stop is the Grand Canyon, South Rim.

Graceland and West!

As the great Paul Simon wrote and sang:

"The Mississippi Delta, was shining

Like a National Guitar.

I am following the river

Down the highway

Through the cradle of the Civil War.

I'm going to Graceland, Graceland

in Memphis, Tennessee.

I'm going to Graceland.

Poorboys and Pilgrims with families

We are going to Graceland. . ."

OK so we toured Elvis' home, Graceland, in Memphis.

I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was never a huge Elvis fan to begin with. He came on the world music scene when I was a little too young to get it, and in the 60s, when I became aware and interested in music, the Beatles overtook the fifties genre of Rock and Roll. And of course in the seventies, he was doing most of his entertaining in Vegas and became sadly addicted to prescription drugs, dying much too young.

We got up and checked out of our room at the Heartbreak Hotel early in order to be the first group to go through the mansion. The people who sold us the tickets tried to talk us into a "package" which includes touring two, yes two, airplanes that sit on the grounds. One is the "Lisa Marie", a Boeing 707, and the other is "The King" a large twin engine corporate jet. We declined, our reasoning being that the "Mansion" was enough.

We boarded a shuttle bus along with dozens of "seniors on a spree" to make the short journey across the street.

The house sits up on a hill, it's large, but not overly enormous. Honestly, not ostentatious from the outside, a large colonial style. It was purchased in 1957, when Elvis was 22, for something like $125,000.

The interior is decorated in the early seventies look. Not the best decade for style. Lots of mirrors, dark colors, shag carpet, glitz. Every modern convenience of the day, such as stereo systems, TVs, a huge pool table, a jungle room. Elvis had his parents living with him and they had a whole wing to themselves.

There are lots of photos of Pricilla, and Lisa Marie. There is a very large display of his clothes, including the elaborate costumes he wore in his Vegas days.

My favorite section of Graceland was the very extensive display of his early career and record of how he got his start in the music business. Old films of a very young man on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Steve Allen Show. Then there is a very long hallway with his gold and platinum records, numbering well into the two hundreds. And that is just in the States. Also on display are his Emmy awards and countless plaques and testimonials.

I was struck by how much of a philanthropist Elvis was and how generous he was with family and friends, giving them money, cars and homes as needed.

Was it worth it? Yes, I'm happy to have seen Graceland. It's a slice of American music history.

After that, we hit the road across Tennessee, into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Whew!

Next stop: Santa Fe NM.

Heartbreak Hotel

What a hoot and a half! Here we are in Memphis at the Heartbreak Hotel.

The whole place is a throwback to 1957.

The lobby is all dark and purple and filled with Elvis fans from all walks of life and all countries.

Our room is decorated with blown up photos of Elvis and the pool is in the shape of an enormous heart.

In the parking lot there was a huge old pink Cadillac which I tried to get a photo of, but the man drove away before I got there. Apparently, he runs a shuttle to a restaurant nearby, all in the Elvis theme-natch. I hope to get a ride in that baby.

Tonight we'll dine on Beale Street and enjoy some of those famous Memphis dry ribs!

Tomorrow we will tour Graceland before we hit the road again.

(I eventually got a photo of my pink Cadillac when it came back for another pickup.)

From my roommate:

Driving opens one to the wonderful history and landscape of this great land. Our adventure began with purpose as a great American road trip. After spending much of my corporate career outside this wonderful country, with numerous trips together to the great capitals of Europe, we decided to set out on one of our bucket list trips to visit our Western National Parks and to spend spend more time with actor Jay who is LA based.

So many people we know think that there's nothing between the Hudson River and LA, except Vail or Park City. Hopefully this blog will help them understand how vast, varied and beautiful this country truly is.

We cruised past the Gettysburg battlefield onto the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, site of so many historic Civil War battles. With the Blue Ridge mountains on one side and the Appalachians on the other. At one point Sarah heard me exclaim, "OMG, Hungry Mother State Park"! This park nests off the Blue Ridge Parkway and is the earliest of my memories of the many family vacation's that followed. We literally camped in surplus Army tents in the early 1950's as my Dad served his post PhD. internship at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, VA. My first taste of roasted marsh mellows over a campfire, the old Studebaker overheating on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a miscast diaper out the front window landing in the back seat. Anyway, you get the point, none of this would have happened if we'd elected a "fly-over".

So, we're ready to board the bus to Beale Street after several interesting detours on I-40 (thanks Navigator Sarah and GPS "Gertrude"). This is a down side of road travel. You don't control the idiots on the road or the construction people in Nashville who decide to take I-40 from three lanes to one for three days.

But as typical American's, we're resilient and resourceful.

And speaking of that, our Sirius radio has been tuned to the 9/11 Memorial Services for two days. Never forget!

The View Hits The Road

Here it is, already Labor Day 2011.

Time just seems to fly by at an astonishing pace these days.

We spent a wonderful summer on Long Island Sound aboard Cinnamon Girl, enjoying the sea breeze, stunning sunsets, family and friends.

Until the last week in August, when we experienced an earthquake and hurricane Irene, the weather was pretty darn perfect. There is hardly anything more relaxing than being on the water, picking up a mooring in a lovely harbor, settling with a cool drink, and listening to Sinatra on the iPOD. Heaven.

Now that September is here, it's time to think about putting the boat away for the cooler weather we know is to follow. Time to think of our next adventure.

The View is hitting the road.

When I was growing up, our family didn't do much traveling. My parents traveled to Europe and New York, but we didn't as a family. Who would take all those kids on a big trip? We traveled to Luna Pier in June and stayed until Labor Day.

John and I are getting in the car this coming weekend and driving across the country. We plan to visit our son Jay in Los Angeles, in fact we've rented an apartment in LA for two weeks. After that we plan on visiting our country's National Parks.

This journey has been on our "bucket list" for several years and we decided that this is the time to do it. After all:

• we have the time
• it's the best season to travel by car because the weather is non threatening
• we have traveled extensively to other countries, but why not see the USA?

Stay tuned for updates and a travelogue.

Now I have to think about packing.