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California Dreaming

July 27, 2013

Today we are up in the Sacramento area to visit friends and attend some OES receptions.

Yesterday, we drove up north from LA on Interstate 5. Once we get through the Grapevine we get into California’s great Central Valley. Perhaps you remember a post I did a few months ago on the Grapevine. The Grapevine is the pass that goes through the Angeles National Forest.

Once you get out of the Grapevine you see this great vista of farmland as far as the eye can see. Here is a picture that I took from a vista turnout about 100 miles south of Stockton.


The green is cultivated farmland, the brown is what the land looks like without water. The water is provided by the California Aqueduct. I-5 is a long straight boring drive.

Okay, enough about the Central Valley. Now for my California gripes. First is speed bumps. It seems that every shopping center lot is loaded with speed bumps. I know they are necessary to keep speed in check. Nevertheless, a PITA.

Second, is four way stop signs. It seems to me that California is the land of four-way stops. They are everywhere.

We visited Davis today. My lovely wife went to school at UC Davis. We visited with old friends and drove around campus. We had lunch at the “Burger & Brew“. I had a Jalapeño/Bacon Cheeseburger and a pint of Guiness. Very Tasty.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Folsom Blvd,Rancho Cordova,United States

Categories: California, Travel
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Fame – The Musical at the Warner Grand

July 22, 2013

This post is two reviews in one. The first part is about the Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro. The second is about the production of “Fame – The Musical”.

The Warner Grand Theater on 6th St in San Pedro was built in 1931. It was designed by the architect B. Marcus Priteca and designer Anthony Heinsbergen in an Art-Deco style.

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It fell into disrepair by the 1990’s. Efforts to restore the theater started in the late 1990’s. The theater is currently used for film festivals, stage and music productions.

Here are some pictures of the interior. I sometimes get distracted looking at the beautiful art-deco facades and ceiling panels.

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Go to the Wikipedia entry on the Grand for more detail.

Paula and I were at the Grand on Saturday night for the Scalawag Productions “Fame – The Musical”. Scalawag Productions is a non-profit group that provides professional theater training for teens and young adults (ages 14-22).

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Okay, Fame is not one of my all time favorite musicals. I don’t walk out of theater with any of the tunes stuck in my head. For instance, in “Les Miz” or “Chicago”, I was hooked at the get go. But that being said, I loved this production. The kids in the cast were all fantastic. One standout was Kyra DeCastro who played “Miss Sherman” the english teacher. Kyra is 14 years old. She nailed the part.

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It is so nice to have the opportunity to attend productions like this at reasonable prices. I look forward to more productions from Scalawag.

Finally, here is the link to the Wiki entry for “Fame – The Musical”

Categories: California, Music, Reviews, San Pedro
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South Bay Greek Festival

July 13, 2013

Today we all went up to Redondo Beach to attend the South Bay Greek Festival at St Stephen’s Greek Orthodox Church. We arranged to meet Theresa and Jonathan for the festivities, This is an annual affair that has been running since 1964, See sbgreekfestival.com

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If you missed it, you still have time. It runs through tomorrow (Sunday 7/14). Costs $2 ($1 for seniors) to get in or free if you print the coupon on the website..

I’d say that 80% of the fair is food related, That’s not a bad thing. The smell is awesome. There is just about any greek food you can imagine. Non-food items include jewelry, boutique stuff, t shirts, etc.

I started the day with a cup of greek coffee. Strong, sweet and hot. Then we got a sampler of appetizers, a plate of Loukoumathes (think donut holes only better) and a plate of lamb chops, sausage and french fries.  Then we got a few glasses of wine to wash it down with. Alas, it was California wine. I had a tasty Merlot.

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Here’s Jonathan munching on a french fry and some pita bread. Sitting at the table like a big boy.

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After lunch, we headed over to the kids’ section, where they had set up a moon walk and slide for kids to play on. Jonathan wasn’t quite up to doing the slide, but he got inside the moon walk and bounced around with all the other kids. He had a blast.

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While we were at the kids section, we ran into Theresa’s cousin Eric and family. Finally, after bouncing around we went and got a plate of Greek desserts (Baklava, Thiples, and the like). I got another cup of Greek coffee.

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Then we all went home and had a nap.

 

 

Categories: California, Food
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Independence Day

July 5, 2013

Dinner with Mike & Theresa yesterday afternoon. Too much good food to eat. Jonathan was as cute as ever.

After dinner we headed over to Muller House (San Pedro Historical Society) to watch the fireworks at Cabrillo beach. Muller House is ideally suited for fireworks viewing. Excellent view of LA Harbor and surrounding area. It was a good show, but not as good as Boston’s Esplanade show.

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Unfortunately, CBS decided not to broadcast the show this year, so you only see it local to Boston. Such a pity. Here’s a youtube clip of fireworks with the finale to the 1812 Overture.

Finally, here’s a few pictures from the US Dept of the Interior.

Vietnam Vet MemorialVietnam Veterans’ Memorial

Grand Teton Wyoming

Grand Teton Wyoming

Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge FloridaSt Marks National Wildlife Refuge Florida

Organ Pipes National Monument ArizonaOrgan Pipes Arizona

Golden GateGolden Gate Bridge San Francisco

Categories: California, Family, Travel
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Family Pictures

June 16, 2013

Well, yesterday we all get together to do a family portrait. All four generations all arrived on time at Clix Portrait Studios in Rolling Hills Estates. That was the easy part.

Jonathan was the hard part. Jonathan is about 20 months old and does not feel the need to cooperate with pesky photographers. A very nice young lady did her best to get Jonathan to face front and smile for the camera. She took out all of the toys out of her toy box to try to get him cooperate. Eventually she managed to get a few decent pictures.

One of the things that Jonathan was most interested in was the trash can. The trash can had a swinging lid that seemed to interest him greatly. Somehow we managed to get several decent shots. Digital technology cameras allow us instant ability to review the results of the photo shoot and decide which pictures we would keep.

Here is a picture of Jonathan getting loaded with sunscreen before doing the fountain. Note the trash can in the background that he found so interesting. That boy can squirm.

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Once we were done with the portrait business, time for lunch. First though, Jonathan got to play in the fountain outside the studio. Here’s one of the pictures. He had a wonderful time and got totally soaked.

Here’s the fountain.

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Good thing that Theresa had a change of clothes. His shoes were of the water proof variety.

Then we had lunch at Rubio’s. A nice Mexican fast-food joint in the mall. All in all a fun afternoon for everyone. I will post pictures from the photo-shoot when I get them.

It’s been a wonderful Father’s Day. Being a grandfather is so much fun!

Later…

Joe

Categories: California
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Boston to LAX

May 23, 2013

Yesterday was travel day. Bought gas for the rental car. They make it very painful for you to bring it back empty. We had lunch with Vicky at Friendly’s in Stoneham. Another New England tradition.

We arrived in plenty of time to turn in the rental car. Pointed out the damage to the right door. Filled out accident report. Check-in agent said not to worry that we had damage insurance so no issue.

Checked out bags and got through security. We had one last Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. American Airlines changed gates on us with bothering to tell us. the hint was no aircraft at the gate. Then we learned that flight was delayed. AA didn’t give a reason. Later, we asked a stewardess. She said air traffic issues. So finally we were wheels up one hour later than scheduled departure.

It was a pretty comfortable flight except for the jerk in the window seat next to Paula. First he asked her if she would like to switch seats. Paula politely said no.
After takeoff he had to get out to get his tea and talk with some of his travel companions. Then he proceeded to take his shoes off and rub his feet. Stinky feet are not a good thing.

Stewardess treated us good. We got discount on the sandwiches. She gave me two Chivas nips for the price of one. So I was suitably medicated.

Inflight WiFi was out of service. Oh well, saves me $15. I had sent a text to Mike before takeoff to let him know about the delay.

We got into LAX at about 8:30PM. Struggled to find our bags. Announced that baggage on carousel 2. 15 minutes later no more bags coming down the chute and no bags for us. Sigh. I head over to the baggage service office to make claim. Long line and only one staff person taking the paper work.

Called Mike to let him know of delay. Paula finds our luggage on carousel 3. No announcement, no sign. Totally pissed at this point, but we had our bags.

Time to call Mike and get him to pick us up. Pickup traffic at LAX was AFU’d. 9-10pm is a very busy time to arrive at LAX. So half hour later Mike arrives from Cell Phone Lot. Load up and off to San Pedro. Poor Jonathan was not a happy camper.

And finally to bed. It was a great trip. We had a wonderful time.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Pedro, CA

Categories: California, Travel
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Joshua Tree National Park

April 19, 2013

On Friday, Paula and I decided that we needed a day off of the grid. So we decided to take a day trip out to Joshua Tree, CA. Joshua Tree is about 150 miles east of Los Angeles in the middle of the Mojave desert. We left San Pedro around 0930. Light to medium traffic out the 91 freeway. Most people were heading in the other direction. We stopped for lunch at a Carrow’s in Yucca. I checked my iPhone for any updates on the Boston Marathon bombers. Not much new news. It was a beautiful day. Clear skies and about 75 degrees.

Twenty minutes later we arrived at the Joshua Tree information center. We talked to a very nice park ranger who gave us a map. We paid $10 for a lifetime National Park service pass. This was the first time that I have ever been carded for my status of being over 65. Then off we went to the park. So here are the pictures taken by my trusty iPhone 4S.


This my friends is a Joshua tree. We had hoped that the trees would be in bloom, but we think that we were a little bit early or perhaps not enough rain over the winter.


Lots of boulders.


This is a Yucca plant. Much of the flora in the desert has evolved to that it can survive in the desert with little or no water.


Some of the plants were blooming.


Cactus flowers.


It is amazing how a plant can survive in the cracks between the boulders.


Big boulders.


Yucca with a bloom.


This is view from Keyes View. The view is towards the San Rosa mountains and the San Andreas fault.


This picture was taken using the iPhone’s panorama mode.

So it was getting on to be 4:30pm and we wanted to be back to San Pedro by 7:30pm. So we hit the road back west towards LA. Next time we might try to stay a little longer.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Joshua Tree, CA

Categories: California, Travel
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Point Fermin Park

April 19, 2013

Another thing to distract us from the horror of the bombings in Boston.

There is a lovely park in San Pedro at Point Fermin. It is on the southern tip of San Pedro with scenic views toward Long Beach (aka LA Harbor) and Santa Catalina. Paula wanted to go down there yesterday to get out of the house and take a ride on her bike. We were almost there already for her dentist appt.

So we loaded up the bike into the back of the jeep and headed to the park. We do need to get a bike rack if we are to continue with this. Had to stop and get air in the front tire. While she was attempting to ride, I walked around the park and took some pictures.

The views were spectacular. Here are the pictures.

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View towards Long Beach

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Point Fermin Light house. Not operational any longer. Houses a museum.

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Santa Catalina. Back in the eighties when Harold and Mary had a condo with a view of the Pacific. They kept telling me that Catalina was out there. I told them that they were pulling my leg. Most of the time, fog prevented one from seeing the island. Clearly in view yesterday.

Twenty-six miles across the sea
Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me
Santa Catalina, the island of romance
Romance, romance, romance.

I could have sworn that it was the Beach Boys that sang it. But Google says “Four Preps”.

 

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Nice view of the park.

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Another view of the light house.

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Last but not least. Flowers. BTW, for those that care. All of the pictures were taken with my iPhone 4S. I’ll  likely be upgrading as soon as Apple announces there new iPhone in June?

We’re thinking of heading out to Joshua Tree tomorrow. Spring time in the desert.

TTFN

Joe

 

Categories: California, Travel
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San Diego Zoo

March 23, 2013

Mike had Friday off yesterday and he had invited Paula and me to join them for a trip to the San Diego Zoo.

We left San Pedro at about 8:30AM with Mike, Theresa and Jonathan in Mike’s Honda. He’s going to be needing a mini-van sooner rather than later. Paula was in the back seat making silly with Jonathan.

We made decent time down the 405 and the 5 to San Diego. Arrived at about 10:30AM. Paula says “too bad you didn’t bring your HP placard”. But says I “but I did, it’s in my pack in the trunk”. So we found an HP parking space and avoided parking in the back forty.

The SD zoo is a wonderful place. They have animals that I had never heard of. In addition of course to the usual stuff like elephants and tigers and bears.

Theresa brought her real camera. I just had my trusty iPhone. Here are some of my pictures.


Camel resting (it seems the animals are always resting).


Llama.


Vultures.


Elephant getting a Pedi. One of the other elephant handlers was feeding the elephant at the other end to encourage cooperation.


Pretty red flower. That’s all I know.



Paula with a polar bear. The real (live) polar bears were not available for the photo shoot.


Black and White and Red all over.


Panda (always popular)


Leopards.


Jonathan at our afternoon break. He was having a great time playing with the empty iced coffee containers.

Finally, we got to closing. Mike and I were waiting at the exit, while Paula and Theresa went through the gift shops. I was dumbfounded that neither of them bought anything.

Then we did dinner at Harar Ethiopian Restaurant. A nice little bistro on the Boulevard. Friday night was buffet night. The good news was that we got to try most everything. The bad news was I had no idea what I was eating. But it was all good. Here is a picture of Theresa’s plate. (Roberta told us about this place).


After a fine dinner, we stopped at McD’s for an iced coffee for Mike and bottles of water for Paula and me. Then home and to bed.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Diego, CA

Categories: California, Reviews, Travel
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Coffee in San Pedro

March 5, 2013

First, let me state that I miss Dunkin Donuts. That being said, let’s look at the alternatives. I hear that DD will be opening franchises in SoCal this year. One can only hope.

Starbucks

Pros: They know how to make iced coffee and do it well. One just has to get beyond the mocha latte BS. I’ve learned how to order my iced coffee. I just say “Medium Iced coffee, no sweetener, leave room for cream.” They get it right all the time.

They have kiosks inside Albertson’s, so I manager to finish my iced coffee in just about the time it takes to do our shopping.

They have a neat iPhone app for paying for your coffee, though it doesn’t work at Albertson’s. Have to use the card.

Cons: They don’t do decaf. Not a problem for me. But Paula usually would prefer decaf after noon.

No drive-thru.

McDonald’s

Pros: Decent coffee. They have drive-thru, which is handy. They do iced coffee.

Cons: One needs to ask for black coffee, no sugar and add your cream and sugar yourself, otherwise they add way too much sugar and way too much cream. Fix it yourself the way you want it.

Don’t get me started on their burgers.

Granny’s Donuts (San Pedro)

Bad, bad, bad. We decided to try yesterday. Asked for coffee. I was given an iced coffee with way too much cream and sugar. Their english wasn’t so good either. They just didn’t understand what my problem was. We won’t be going there again, ever.

Did I mention that the donuts were stale?

Via Dolce (San Pedro)

Not bad. They know how to do iced coffee. They do decaf too. Free wi-fi. It’s good if you want to sit and linger over a coffee. Good selection of snacks.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Pedro

Categories: California, Reviews
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