Travels With Marie

GUADALUPE VALLEY WINE TASTING

2011-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

We took this excursion to a region in Baja California northeast of Ensenada known as Guadalupe Valley with DayTripper.

A stop was made along the coastal highway after passing by Tijuana at the Rosarito Beach Hotel that was established in 1925 which became a popular resort for royalty and Hollywood stars. By 1950 land sales soared in Rosarito Beach and the town began to take shape with the addition of shops and restaurants. Since the 1990s there has been appreciable construction of hotels, condominiums and shopping centers.

Hotel murals

The fishing village of Puerto Nuevo is 15 miles south of Rosarito and is famous for its fresh lobster that is fried and served with rice and beans at the local restaurants. Before approaching Ensenada is Puerto Escondido Bay where there are large circular pens that are used for farming Blue Fin Tuna.

The bus trip continued inland just north of Ensenada through a rather dry area before reaching the lush vineyards of Guadalupe Valley. The region has a perfect wine growing climate with warm weather, cool nights, a consistant marine layer and sandy soil. The first grapes were planted at a Franciscan mission established in l834. In 1904 a group of Russian immigrants came to Guadalupe Valley to avoid the Czarist army draft and they acquired land to plant grape vines.

Our first stop in Guadalupe Valley was at L.A. Cetto which was founded by an Italian, Angelo Cetto, in 1980 and is the largest wine producer in Mexico. Since it was a rainy day we were served lunch in a private dining room rather than outdoors on the terrace. We enjoyed a 3 course meal with a green salad, an entrée with carne asada, pigeon, rice, beans and tortillas followed by watermelon and papaya. Red and white wines were at the tables to accompany the meal.

After tasting some of their wines we had time to check out the main tasting and sales room.

We also stopped at La Casa de Dona Lupe which is a boutique winery that specializes in organic wines, olive oil and jams. A shelter was set up outside for our group for wine tasting. They also had samples of their special pizzas and gourmet breads that we dipped in flavored olive oil. We also sampled some of their specialty products and more wines inside the sales room . On a nice day one can enjoy sitting at tables in the patio.

On the return trip back along the coast the rain finally let up to end the day with a double rainbow and a beautiful sunset.

A final stop was made in Tijuana at a liquor shop with some sampling of Tequila and other spritis.

After ending the tour in San Diego we topped off the day with a Mexican dinner at Su Casa in La Jolla

WARRIORS, TOMBS & TEMPLES at the BOWERS MUSEUM- SANTA ANA

2011-10-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Ed and I were part of a DayTripper group that enjoyed a Chinese lunch in Irvine before visiting the Bowers museum.

This exhibition focused on the underworld empires of three dynasties in China: the Qin, the Han and the Tang. The highlight featured several life-size terra cotta warriors that were to protect Qin Shihuangdi ,the first emperor of China. They are examples of more than a 1,000 clay warriors that have been excavated in Xian since they were discovered in 1974 of an estimated 8,000 that were buried. Originally they had painted garments. Chariots and hundreds of terra cotta horses were also buried to accompany the emperor in the afterlife. Miniature statues and earthenware animals accompanied Han emperors. Many treasures of gold, silver and glass that accompanied the Tang rulers and elite were also on display.

The museum also has a large collection of Native American Art and exhibits of Orange County history.

THE HUNTINGTON BOTANICAL GARDENS

2011-10-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

THE HUNTINGTON BOTANICAL GARDENS

Members of the the La Jolla Village Garden Club enjoyed a day trip in October by bus to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. The focus was garden tours led by docents with some time left to see some of the art collection and library.

The Botanical Gardens cover over 120 acres with more than a dozen gardens.

The hightlight was the Chinese garden, known as The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, which features a lake, a complex of pavilions, a teahouse and five stone bridges. The design was inspired by private gardens in Suzhou, China. Chinese architecture and rocks surround a lake with layers of meaning and symbolism. Water symbolizes the ever changing and the rocks are the eternal. Intricately crafted lattice windows in some of the pavilions frame an object or scene. Carvings adorn some of the walls. Certain plants represent various seasons with flowering trees in the spring and bamboo and pines in the winter.

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Other important botanical attractions that were visited included the Subtropical, Jungle, Palm, Rose and Desert gardens.

Our garden group also enjoyed lunch at the Rose Garden Tea House that featured scones, an assortment of tea sandwiches, salads and assorted little dessert treats.

A brief look at the art collection in the Huntington residence included the large portrait gallery that features Blue Boy and Pinkie.

An example of the Sevres porcelain used for potpourri is shown.
One of the highlights in the Library is the Gutenberg Bible

A last look at the terrace of the Huntington residence to complete the day visiting the gardens and art galleries.

Ronald Reagan Library and Museum

2011-09-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

THE RONALD REAGAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

Ed and I took a DayTrippers excursion for this visit to Simi valley.
The Library and Museum complex is situated on a hill overlooking surrounding mountains and valleys. There is a full sized replica of the Oval Office. The stories of Ronald and Nancy Reagan are told with photos, film clips and artifacts.

The exhibits represent the life of Ronald Reagan from high school,

college, as governor of California and the presidency

One can board the actual Air Force One and see a Marine One helicopter and a Presidential Motorcade.

Presidential gifts are on display including a piece of the Berlin Wall. Another display area includes items from their ranch. Other features are a Rose Garden and a Memorial site.

JAPANESE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN

2011-08-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park is designed to present an atmosphere of elegant simplicity and quiet beauty. The design is guided by the original principles of the Japanese garden while incorporating elements of the regional landscape and climate.

To the right of the Entry Gate, the Entrance Stone is inscribed with the kanji symbols of the Garden's name, San-Kei-En. The Stone was a gift to the Garden from the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society.

Along the gardens winding paths are a Zen garden for meditation, an exhibit house, a koi pond, bonsai exhibit, a wisteria arbor and a ceremonial gate.

The Garden originated as a teahouse during the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition.

Traditionally, the sound the Shi-Shi-Odoshi makes against the rock basin keeps evil spirits away. Here the Shi-Shi-Odoshi is used for the sound it makes in the silence of the Garden. The tsukubai (rock basin) catches the water as it spills from the shi-shi-odoshi.

Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) is an ancient horticultural art form. Literally meaning “tray planting”, it is the art of dwarfing trees or plants and developing them into an aesthetically appealing shape by growing, pruning and training in containers according to prescribed techniques.

Recently members of a P.E.O. group visited the garden followed by lunch at a nearby café. P.E.O. is a philanthropic and educational women’s organization.

CATALINA

2011-07-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

CATALINA

Ed and I drove to Dana Point to take the Catalina Express to Catalina for the day.

Leaving Dana Point for Avalon, CatalinaZip line platform

Catalina is one of the eight Channel Islands off the Southern California. Five of the islands make up the Chanel Islands Nationl Park. The earliest settlers date back at least 7000 years. The island was claimed by Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542 for Spain. Sebastian Viscaino named the island in 1702 after the Feast Day of St. Catherine . The first development was in 1887 by George Shatto with a wharf and the Hotel Metropole and the area was named Avalon.. Later the Banning brothers took over developing Avalon adding an aquarium, amphitheater and dance pavilion. They also introduced the glass bottom boat. Unfortunately half of Avalon burned in 1915 and the Banning brothers were not able to recover financially. William Wrigley, Jr. took over financing the Santa Catalina Island Company and he built an airport, constructed a home, added large passenger steamships and built the Casino

Much of the island is undeveloped and cared for by the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. The Casino is Avalon’s most recognizable sight and the Ballroom was famous for Big Band performances. A museum at the Casino has exhibits on the history of Catalina, Hollywood Stars associated with the island and the decorative tiles and pottery produced locally until 1937.

Local trolley

Catalina Yacht Club

There are plenty of activities to enjoy: swimming, fishing, shopping, dining, glass bottom boats, parasailing, hiking, backcountry tours, and there is even a new zip line. We took 2 tours during this visit to see some of the back country along with a tour of Avalon. Both were informative and worthwhile.

RAMONA PAGEANT

2011-05-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

The pageant in Hemet is an outdoor dramatization of Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel about the Indian’s eviction from Temecula with a cast of more than 400. The stage is a hill with a ranch house on the part of the flat section and steep trails that actors and horses use as well The story revolves around fictional Ramona and Alessandro and destruction of the Luseno village. The drama is told through a large chorus of Spanish singers, over 50 local Indians performing native dances and music, dozens of horseback riders and many actors who create the joys and sorrow of early California

history. This year is the 88^th season. There are only a few performances on a couple of weekends in April each year.

The Lions club has a BBQ lunch available before the mid-afternoon show. There is a small museum with the history of the pageant, a gift shop, snack booths and entertainment in an open area before show time. I took this day trip with Kathy Wong with an Oasis group.

This video will add to my description about the pageant as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dClE9A71fVU

SPRINGTIME AT THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY

2011-05-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Henry Huntington built a financial empire with railroad companies, utilities and real estate. He amassed one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a significant art collection and developed an array of botanical gardens.

The library houses one of the world’s greatest collections of rare books and manuscripts including a Gutenberg Bible and early editions of works by Shakespeare.

The European art collection is in the original Huntington mansion. The British portraits of the 18^th and early 19^th century is considered one of the greatest outside of London. There are several by Thomas Gainsborough including Blue Boy. Pinkie is among paintings by Thomas Lawrence. Landscape paintings by well known J.M.W. Turner and John Constable are represented. Priceless French furniture is seen in the period rooms. There is much to see with 2 levels of many rooms.

The Virgina Steele Scott Gallery of American Art displays paintings from the 1730s to the mid-1900s as well as Arts and Crafts architecture and furnishings of Greene and Greene. There are wonderful examples of the Hudson River School landscape paintings, American Impressionism, Colonial Period paintings etc. The lighting in this newer building is especially good.

Spring is a good time to see the botanical gardens that cover over 120 acres of with groupings of cacti, succulents, roses, herbs, etc. as well as Japanese and Chinese themes. Part of a large conservatory is a teaching greenhouse.

A café with outdoor tables under shade trees was a good spot for sandwiches and snacks. An English Tea is served in the Rose Garden Tea Room.

It is a challenge to see everything in one visit so it is worth several visits to see the seasonal flowers and changing exhibits. We took this trip with DayTrippers.

San Diego Zoo

2011-02-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

The San Diego Zoo is a sanctuary for thousands of animals, a landscape of rare plants from all climates and a living classroom that entertains as well as educates. Sometimes the native habitats show animals that are found together in the wild. These are photos from a recent visit.

The Galapagos Tortoise exhibit was recently updated for the herd of 17 tortoises including 10 of the original tortoises which are all over 100 years old!

The Siamangs are joined by the Orangutans with plenty of space for aerial antics and objects for play.

The Giant Panda exhibit features the zoo's panda conservation efforts.

Winter is a good time to visit the zoo when many of the animals and birds are more active.

The Marston House

2011-02-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

The Marston House is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts movement and was built in 1905 for George Marston and his wife Anna Gunn Marston. The property was built by William Hubbard and Irving Gill. The formal gardens and canyon pathways on the 5 acre property are worth exploring as well.

George Marston had a chronic respiratory ailment and came to San Diego in 1870 to live in a better climate for his health. He had the only department store in San Diego which was very successful and made him quite wealthy. He was a generous philanthropist in the city.

George Marston was a civic leader interested in historic preservation and conservation. He hired an architect to develop the first plan for Balboa Park in 1902. Marston served as chairman of the buildings and grounds committee for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

The Marston House was donated to the City of San Diego by Marston's daughter Mary in l987. Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) took over the operations in 1907.

February is a good month to visit San Diego museums including SOHO when admission is half price with a free museum pass from Macy's. This was part of a day's outing with Ed to the Marston House and the San Diego Zoo

Getty Villa

2011-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

The Getty Villa in Malibu is modeled after a first-century Roman county house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy. The Villa dei Papiri was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A. D, 79 and much of it remains unexcavated. The Getty Villa museum architecture and landscaping are based on elements from other ancient Roma houses in Ponpeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. The plantings include herbs and shrubs grown by the Romans for food and medicine.

The main entrance to the museum is like the traditional entryway to a typical Roman home. Inside the museum are new and renovated terrazzo floors and other Roman inspired interior details. New skylights and windows fill the galleries with natural light.

The cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria are shown by antiquities arranged by themes including Gods and goddesses, Dionysos etc. along with the architecture and gardens

A café featuring Mediterranean fare with an outdoor dining area adds to the enjoyment while basking in the view of the villa. Ed and I took a DayTripper bus trip for this.

Going Solo

2011-01-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

It has been just over 6 months since Doug passed away. I will try to add blogs from time to time as I learn how to use the site. The Norton Simon museum visit is my first effort. Marie

Mingei Museum Tour to Pasadena

2011-01-16T14:22:00.001-08:00

The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. Over a thirty-year period 20th-century industrialist Norton Simon (1907–1993) amassed an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years.

Mingei International’s Director of Exhibitions, Christine Knoke, will lead a curator’s tour of HIROSHIGE: Visions of Japan, the last exhibition she curated while at the Norton Simon Museum, where she was Curator of Asian Art prior to joining the Mingei International staff. The exhibition features 175 woodblock prints by the celebrated and prolific Utagawa Hiroshige

The grounds of the Museum have a long history of beautiful gardens. The original garden was planted in the 1870s when Dr. Ezra and Jeanne Carr created Carmelita. It was the most extensive garden in Pasadena, filled with plants from all over the world, many being planted by the donors themselves, including botanist John Muir, who was a friend and former student of Dr. Carr. This was part of a day trip sponsored by the Mingei museum that Ed Inskeep and I took.

An excellent Thai lunch was enjoyed by the group at Saladang.

In the afternoon we enjoyed a tour of the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts style

Architecture. The House and furnishings were designed by Charles and Henry Greene in l908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Proctor and Gamble Company. The house, a National Historic Landmark , is owned by the city of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California.

"Staycation" Walk: Kensington

2010-05-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Today was Marie's birthday, so before a dinner out, we decided to stroll through the bucolic Kensington neighborhood. Only downside: streets were torn up for a major water project, and an utility undergrounding program. Nonetheless, the homes and gardens were beautiful.

"Staycation" Walk: Bankers Hill

2010-05-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2010

Jacarandas in bloom on Bankers Hill.

Eclectic residential architecture on Bankers Hill, including an Irving Gill restoration (beige house with an iron gate and Mission-style exterior lighting).

Self Realization Center (former campus of Bishop's School day camp site). Note elephant sculptures and lanterns in front.

Restored 1912 Spruce Street Pedestrian Bridge. Note: lush Spruce Canyon was carpeted in nasturtium flowers this mid-May day.

Apologies to readers: Due to cancer recurrence that affects the left arm, commentary is brief and may not be located exactly where it should be.

We are trying a second round of chemotherapy, to see if another partial remission occurs. Let's hope so.

"Staycation" Walk: Normal Heights

2010-05-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

May 8, 2010

This is the first of a series of blogs about walkable neighborhoods in San Diego. Our first neighborhood was in the community of Normal Heights. This walk focused on the scenic north side of the community overlooking Mission Valley.

Our first destination was Cromwell Gardens, a six-acre estate located literally on the edge of Mission Valley. Note: this is a privately owned property available for viewing by invitation only.

The main house, built in 1927, was originally of English Country design, but has been remodeled extensively over the years. There is also a brick cottage, set within the rose garden.

The extensive gardens are a labor of love for the Parenti Estate, maintained under the expert care of the Friends of Cromwell Gardens.

One of the more unusual features is the bougainvillea tunnel, overlooking a side canyon. Note: bring a cane or walking stick to help navigate the steep trail.

Also note the beautiful flagstone waterfall.

Marie's service club, Altrusa International of San Diego, held a fundraiser there for the Wellsprings Faith and Hope Community School, located in Zambia. Here are some pictures of members and guests who attended the function.

After leaving Cromwell Gardens, we decided to stop by the Carmelite Monastery of San Diego, 5158 Hawley Boulevard. Click this link for a detailed description of their mission.

Although the chapel was closed to the public, we still enjoyed walking through their beautiful gardens. Note the exquisite architectural detailing of the chapel.

"Staycation": Santa Fe #3751 "Cadillac of Steam" Departs San Diego

2010-05-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2010 (Revised May 3, 2010)

We witnessed a real treat for steam locomotive enthusiasts this morning! The Central Coast Railway Club, a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, and the Pacific Locomotive Association arranged for a special excursion train pulled by former Santa Fe #3751 between Los Angeles and San Diego. (Please see their notice about the trip).

When the locomotive is not in service, it is on exhibit on the grounds of the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society in San Bernardino. Do visit their excellent Web site for a complete history of Santa Fe #3751. An interesting fact: #3751 was converted from coal to oil in 1936, about the time diesel engines were coming into use.

We learned about this event from The Los Angeles Times April 30 article by Scott Gold (see attachment at the end of the blog). We were unaware of any coverage about this special excursion train in the local media, prior to its arrival yesterday. However, the San Diego Union-Tribune had a fully-featured article about it in its May 3rd edition, after the fact. See the Photo Gallery link from the Sign On San Diego Web site. We noted in the comments following the U-T's online article that the North County Times had a brief piece about it May 2.

Doug was home when the southbound train sped by through Rose Canyon just below our house Saturday morning. The steam locomotive's loud clatter reverberated off the canyon walls in contrast to the low rumble typical of Amtrak diesel engines. We decided to see the train up close and personal today!

We drove downtown and found a parking place on Beech Street, one block north of the train. There was time to take a look at the locomotive and 10 passenger cars, some of which were vintage domed observation cars. We also noted there was a single Amtrak "helper" diesel engine located behind the tender (in case there was a problem).

After about a 20-minute delay, it was showtime! The lusty steam whistle and swinging bell announced the train's departure and we were able to get some decent shots as it pulled by. What a nostalgia trip!

Our friend Jack Brandais forwarded three YouTube videos that will give the reader a sense of the sights and sounds of an old fashioned steam locomotive (turn up your speakers):

#3751 in Oceanside, 2010

#3751 in Orange County, June 2008 (note: you can hear the diesel "helper" engine in some of the clips).

Car chasing #3751 (not dated, probably 2008)

Please also see The Los Angeles Times article below.

"Staycation" Drive to Idyllwild

2010-04-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

It had been at least 25 years since we were last in Idyllwild. A friend of Marie's owns a vacation home on the north end of town, and for $100 a night, she rents the place out to friends and acquaintances (sorry, this deal is not available to the general public). This is what the Europeans call a self-catering lodging with a fully equipped kitchen. Rather than cooking in, we decided to try a couple of restaurants in the Village for dinner and breakfast. More about that later.

There are many alternative routes from Pacific Beach to Idyllwild, but beyond the obvious I-5/SR 56/I-15 combination, Marie's friend recommended quite a scenic, historically interesting drive, beginning from State Route 79 east of Temecula.

First, a few remarks about the newish suburban development just east of I-15: We were amazed at the extent of Mormon influence in this area. For example, there is a Jedediah Smith Road near the Temecula LDS Church that lies just north of the Pechanga Resort & Casino (now, there's an odd juxtaposition)! A bit further east, we crossed Butterfield Stage Road that attests to the area's association with the Butterfield Overland Mail System. In fact, SR 79 from Santa Ysabel to Temecula comprises a link in the Butterfield Stage Line between [Fort] Yuma, AZ and Old Town San Diego.

About 17 miles east of the I-15/SR 79 interchange, we turned left (north) on SR 371 at Aguanga, and continued through Anza. SR 371 is part of the 1774-1776 Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail that extends 1,210 miles from Nogales, AZ to San Francisco. SR 371 passes through the 18,900-acre Cahuilla Indian Reservation, operators of the Cahuilla Casino. Other than the casino and a few other enterprises, much of the reservation land is still rural. We then continued to SR 74 and 243, west into Idyllwild.

The early history of Idyllwild and other hamlets in the immediate vicinity centered on the ponderosa pine forest. Idyllwild started as a lumber town that provided building materials for such 1880s boomtowns as Temecula and Hemet. It later became an artists' colony, anchored by the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Idyllwild has retained its low-key artsy village atmosphere in contrast with larger resort towns oriented to more active recreational pursuits such as skiing and boating.

Our first stop was the Idyllwild Arts Academy, located at 52500 Temecula Road. (See the Wikipedia article about the Idyllwild Arts Foundation, established in 1946). We visited the Max and Beatrice Krone Museum (check with the Library across the hall for hours and a key, if necessary). The exhibition space is small, but full of interesting art by students and faculty alike.

Next, we decided to seek out the house that was to serve as our overnight stay. By the time we settled in, it was lunchtime, so we enjoyed our picnic in the sunny kitchen nook. Note: April is still considered winter in 5,000-foot Idyllwild. This meant turning on the water supply from an external valve, and it was chilly enough to switch on the central heating system. A wood stove was available for even faster heating if needed.

Although the house resembles an Arts and Crafts bungalow, it is in reality a modular home built in 2009. It has most of the up-to-date amenities which made for a comfortable stay.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the village. Not much had changed except for "The Fort", a large shopping complex located in the center of the village, plus some newer freestanding establishments.

We spoke with Brent Miller, representative of the Idyllwild Business Roundtable (IBRT), while we were wandering through one of the newer developments. He is assisting the town in attracting visitors and finding lease space for businesses. According to an article in the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, the IBRT has plans "to increase the visibility of Idyllwild as a tourist spot and destination." He was optimistic that Idyllwild would recover from the Great Recession of 2008-9.

Note that the pine forest in and around town appears to be in relatively good shape, with few dead or dying trees felled by the bark beetle and drought evident. We learned that there is an on-going dead tree removal and replanting program throughout the San Bernardino National Forest. The aims are to reduce the effect of fire and prevent erosion.

Later in the afternoon, we drove up Fern Valley Road to the Devils Slide Trail Head to Tahquitz Rock. Note the late afternoon sun on Tahquitz Rock and the frosted upper slopes of Mt. San Jacinto.

We made reservations for dinner at the Restaurant Gastrognome, recommended highly by our friends we rented from. Although the restaurant's name is a play on "gastronome" and "gnome", the food was seriously good and we would not hesitate to recommend it. We both had pasta dishes that were delicious and in the $15 range.

After this full day, we retired to our abode and played a game of Scrabble® followed by the spooky movie "Newport News" on their DVD setup.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

We arose early and headed into town for breakfast at The Red Kettle, also recommended by our friends. The place was certainly popular with construction workers as evidenced by all the pickup trucks lined up outside. Every table was taken and the staff seemed overwhelmed. It seemed an eternity before we could get our coffee refills. Our hearty breakfasts were OK, though.

We returned to the house to re-winterize the water system because freezing temperatures normally occur through April this high in the mountains. This time, we had to pour antifreeze down the toilets and turn off the external water supply.

Our last point of interest was the Idyllwild Nature Center, operated by the Riverside County Park and Open-Space District. It is located about one mile northwest of Idyllwild at 25255 SR 243. Hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission (2010): $2 adults, children under 12 $1, dogs (must be on a leash) $1.

After exploring the museum, the ranger suggested we walk along the adjacent half-mile-long nature trail. It featured not only native vegetation but a well-preserved acorn grinding site, left by the Cahuilla Native Americans.

If you're in Idyllwild on a weekend (and Fridays in the summer), be sure to visit the Idyllwild Area Historical Society Museum, 54470 North Circle Drive. We were sorry to have missed seeing it on this trip.

We found Idyllwild to be an enjoyable "staycation" getaway within an easy 2.5 hour drive from San Diego. Estimated round trip mileage from Pacific Beach: 250.

"Staycation" Drive to Oceanside

2010-03-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday, March 25, 2010

An episode on the KPBS-TV show Wonderland San Diego inspired us to do a "staycation" day trip to Oceanside. Noah Tafolla did a great job identifying attractions worth seeing and experiencing.

We recommend Thursdays for a day visit, when Oceanside's Certified Morning Farmer's Market, is held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Pier View Way, virtually in front of several of the main attractions. Incidentally, there is a Sunset Market held Thursdays 5-9 p.m., also along Pier View Way, if you're spending an evening there. Both of these events are associated with Main Street Oceanside, an organization devoted to enlivening downtown Oceanside.

We found ample, unlimited on-street parking just north of the Civic Center and Library. Since we were a bit early for the museums, we decided to scope out the Farmer's Market. It's quite extensive, offering prepared foods as well as the usual organic produce and souvenirs. We decided early on that we would have lunch at one of the food stands.

The Oceanside Historical Society Museum, 305 N. Nevada Street, occupies a corner of the 1929 Fire Station No. 1, designed by famed Modernist San Diego architect Irving Gill. Although it's a small space, it has extensive archives of Oceanside's history. Among the more unusual artifacts exhibited in the Museum are two beer containers (with contents?) dating from the end of Prohibition. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10-2. Free admission.

Right next door is the Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way. Its architectural design is an amalgam of sleek modern glass of the Central Pavilion, which houses the museum proper, combined with the arcaded Mission Revival style of the Museum Store building, part of Gill's 1934 Oceanside City Hall. The Central Pavilion's architect, Frederick Fisher, received an Orchid award in 2008 for a successful 21st-century minimalist design that respects the historic fabric of Irving Gill's adjacent civic buildings. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4, Sunday 1-4, closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission (2010): General $8, Seniors 65+ $5, Free to military personnel and their dependents with IDs, and to students with IDs.

Three blocks west of the Museum of Art is the California Surf Museum, 312 Pier View Way. It moved into its new location on February 16, 2009. They had an impressive exhibit of women surfers while we were visiting. Open daily 10-4, Thursday to 8 p.m. Closed major holidays (check their Web site). Admission (2010): General $3; Seniors, Military and Students $1; free to kids under 12.

As we were walking back to the Farmer's Market for lunch, we spotted this mural, painted on the west side of the Surf Museum's old location at 223 N. Coast Highway.

We decided to settle at the one table located at the tamale food stand for our meal. Marie had one of the "lard-free" tamales ($2.50) while Doug had a fish burrito ($5) bought from an adjacent vendor. We had fun chatting with the tamale stand's owner and a local habitué who had just come over from his daily Web "surfing" session at the nearby library.

After lunch, we drove out on Mission Avenue to the San Luis Rey River Valley, about four miles inland from downtown Oceanside. Once we passed the suburban malls and residential tracts typical of Oceanside's outskirts, we spotted Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, the largest of the 21 California missions, resplendent on a knoll. It is located at 4050 Mission Avenue opposite the Rancho del Oro exit from State Route 76 Expressway. The About.com Web site has a succinct summary of the Mission's features.

The Mission was established in 1798, and after many years of arduous restoration, it is a beautiful landmark today. Note the blooming wisteria over the entrance to the sanctuary.

The intimate outdoor spaces, such as the cloisters (left) and the fountain are lovely to behold.

The Mission's Museum is definitely worth a visit. Open 10-4 daily except major holidays. Admission (2010): General $6;Seniors 65+and active military $5; youth 6-18 $4; 5 and under, free.

If you have time, visit the Mission's Gardens (free) connected by hiking trails over the 56-acre site.

Another attraction located about a mile west of the Mission is Heritage Park Village and Museum, 220 Peyri Drive. We decided to stop by before heading back to Oceanside. Note: access to Heritage Park from the direction of the Mission is tricky: El Camino Real, the old access road northwest of the Mission, is closed to public access, despite what the maps say. Drive back to Mission Avenue, turn right (north) on Douglas Drive (begin following "historical point of interest" signs), turn right (east) on El Camino Real to Peyri Drive, continue to the park.

According to the Nile Guide.com Web site:

The City of Oceanside assembled this collection of historic old buildings to celebrate the 1976 United States Bicentennial. Some of the structures filling this green, placid park include an old blacksmith's shop and livery stable, an early doctor's office, an antique jail, a one-room schoolhouse and two early newspaper buildings. The park grounds are open 9-4 daily; free tours of the buildings are offered on Sundays 1-4 or by appointment.

We strolled through the Village taking pictures throughout this pleasant setting.

Marie wanted to take a look around Oceanside Harbor as our final stop. Note the lighthouse in a Cape Cod-like setting. Noah Tafolla of Wonderland San Diego fame recommends the Harbor Fish and Chips Restaurant as a good place for fish tacos. This is where we would have had lunch if we hadn't found the Farmer's Market. We returned home after the harbor visit. Approximate distance: 75 miles from our home in Pacific Beach.

A worthwhile detour: During the spring (mid-March to mid-May), make a stop at the Carlsbad Flower Fields, 5704 Paseo del Norte (just off Interstate 5 Freeway and the Palomar Airport Road exit). Although the showiest flowers are ranunculus, there are other species represented, such as roses. Open daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m. during the season. Admission (2010): General $10, Seniors 60+ $9, Children 3-10 $5, Children 2 or under, free. Discounts are available online.

"Staycation" Drive, Anza Borrego, March 2010

2010-03-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday March 18, 2010

We decided to make our annual late winter trek to Anza Borrego Desert State Park, to see the wildflowers. Expectations were high, since this El Niño rain season had brought 7.41 inches to the Anza Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center (as of March 15), at least 50 percent above normal.

We drove through Ramona, to snap a few photos to add to our recent blog, then stopped at the Dudley's Bakery and Café in Santa Ysabel. They had changed their operation quite a bit since our last visit in March 2009. Before, they kept their inventory behind the counter, where personnel would slice the loaves on request. Now, they have racks of pre-sliced bread arranged in front of the counter, to allow customers to pick their own loaves. (We suspect this approach was an attempt to save labor costs). We selected three: our favorite, apple pecan; a new Louisiana maple pecan; and a rosemary savory bread. Current prices are $4.65 per 24-ounce loaf; if one buys four loaves, the fifth one is free. Too bad we do not have sufficient freezer room to accommodate five loaves!

On our way to Julian the first time today, we noticed swatches of bright yellow daffodils. We learned that Julian was celebrating a Daffodil Festival the March 20-21 weekend. The last remnants of snow were gone and temperatures in Julian were in the 60s F.

We decided to take the Wynola Road cutoff to reach SR 78 and Banner Grade. County Road 3 (Yaqui Pass) took us to Borrego Springs past the now defunct Casa del Zorro Resort/Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa. We first checked out the picnic tables at Christmas Circle Community Park. However, this was a warm, sunny day with an intense sun and essentially no shade. We decided to head to the Visitor Center via Palm Canyon Road.

Even this weekday, the Visitor Center was swarming with people. But the grounds were in spectacular bloom. The painter indicated that Borrego Springs was hosting a plein aire art festival that coming weekend.

After our visit we decided to have our lunch among the palms in a picnic area located immediately south of the Visitor Center parking lot. Many of the tables were well-shaded and we dined in comfort. (Note: there is no parking or standing allowed next to the picnic area, but it's only a short walking distance from the main parking lot).

We spent early afternoon heading east on Palm Canyon Road (County Road S22), north on Pegleg Road and west on Henderson Canyon Road. The best flowers were on the east portion of Henderson Canyon Road, where the ground was hummocky and the drainage was good. Note the ranger-led group in the background of the second photo.

The comparatively cool, wet winter had resulted in an unusually abundant crop of field mustard (by now bereft of flowers), resulting in a green groundcover in the less well-drained areas, especially those along Henderson Canyon Road just east of Di Giorgio Road.

We took a run up Di Giorgio Road to its terminus at Coyote Canyon where we had seen beautiful flower displays in the past, but this year they were not especially noteworthy (perhaps the recent warmer weather improved things). Additionally, the sand looked a bit too treacherous for our little Corolla.

Our final stop in the Borrego area was a little fruit stand located at the northeast corner of Di Giorgio and Henderson Canyon roads, where we bought a large bag of tangelos for $3.

We returned to Julian via Banner Grade to indulge in a tasty, sinful treat-slices of Dutch style crumb-topped apple-berry pie a-la-mode at our favorite pie shop, The Julian Pie Company. There are several other pie shops in Julian, some perhaps better known, but we have always enjoyed the personable staff here. By the way, the pie was delicious and we recommend it highly. Note: they were mourning the passing of one of the founders of the shop, Keith Smothers, 69.

We finished the drive by driving past nearly-full Cuyamaca Lake and still snow flecked Cuyamaca Peak to Interstate 8 and home. Approximate mileage: 200.

"Staycation" Drive to Ramona

2010-03-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Friday, January 8, 2010

We decided to make Ramona our destination for today’s “staycation” road trip. Our friend Jack Brandais suggested taking the Pomerado Road turnoff eastbound from Interstate 15. Turn left at the first light onto Highland Valley Road. This narrow two-lane road took us through San Pasqual Valley and along the flanks of 2,140-foot Starvation Mountain, to hook up with State Routes 67 and 78 to Ramona. The good rains we had during December 2009 had already greened up the countryside. Note: Highland Valley Road is steep and windy, especially the climb from San Pasqual Valley and Highland Valley to the Starvation Mountain highlands. Do exercise caution on this portion of the drive.

Photo of Starvation Mountain courtesy of Summitpost.org.

Our objectives were to browse the antique shops, have lunch, and visit historical buildings in the old stagecoach stop town.

We arrived in the unincorporated town about 10 a.m., to give us ample time to browse the shops. But our first stop was the Ramona Chamber of Commerce, 980 Main Street. We were hoping to find a map of historical sites much as Fallbrook’s Historical Museum had done for Fallbrook, but no such luck. However, there are several significant buildings we were able to identify through on-line research and in the field. These were the focus of our afternoon wanderings.

Ramona is another case where suburban strip mall development, mostly to the west, has adversely affected the old downtown. Many storefronts were vacant and available for lease. The Great Recession of 2008-9 had exacerbated the economic situation wherein some historical preservation projects had been halted due to the lack of funding.

Only some of the antique stores along Main Street were open, but the ones that opened their doors were well worth visiting.

We enjoyed browsing the Ramona Antique Fair, also known as the Squash Blossom Trading Co., 738 Main Street. It offers an extensive selection of antiques offered by sub-lessees, as well as Native American and Mexican art. Adjoining the Antique Fair was Old Town Candy Co., 734 Main Street. As the name implies, it is an old-fashioned candy store with cylindrical buckets filled with stick candies.

Across the street was Victoria Supply Co., 711 Main Street, a seller of stoves, decorative glass and other hardware. It seemed to specialize in reproductive decorative arts of the Victorian, and Arts and Crafts eras. Looking at the store’s façade, we can tell this business occupies a former bank building and several commercial storefronts dating back to the 1920s.

It was time for lunch, so we decided to go Mexican at La Cocina (the Kitchen in Spanish), located across from Victoria Supply Co. at 681 Main Street. They offered combination plates of enchiladas or rolled tacos, Spanish rice and beans at a cheap $4.95. The food was good and authentic, and popular with Anglos and Latinos alike. (Note: this place is small and quite popular, so one should try to be seated about 15 minutes before noon). The café occupies what appears to be a 1920s or earlier commercial building with a tin ceiling that has been preserved to this day.

After lunch, we sought out several historical attractions located in the 600 and 700 blocks of Main Street. One of the most significant individual buildings is the Ramona Town Hall, 729 Main Street. This imposing Romanesque/Mission Revival adobe building, finished in 1893, was designed by one of San Diego’s most famous architects, William S. Hebbard. The building has been under restoration following a 1995 arson fire. As of this writing, the Great Recession has essentially halted work on the building. Do peruse their excellent Web site for its history and the 2009 dedication of the structure as a historically significant site by E Clampus Vitus. Note: the building is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California State Landmark.

The Town Hall served as the only movie theater in town until 1947 with the opening of the Ramona Theatre, 626 Main Street. This well-restored Retro Art Deco building is now the Ramona Mainstage, currently a live performance house and nightclub. As of this writing, it appears to be on sound economic footing after years of decline as a cinema.

Our last stop was the Guy B. Woodward Museum, 645 Main Street. Hours: Friday-Sunday, 1-4. Admission $4 for a guide-led tour; $3 for a self-guided tour. The Amos Verlaque House, built in 1886 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the most noteworthy building in the museum complex. It is the only adobe house in existence in the United States designed in the French-Provincial style. The second-generation museum director, Ken Woodward [with Doug in the upper left photo], took us on a complete tour of the premises, which took about an hour and a half. The house is furnished in Victorian period. Note the beautiful dining room and the French Provincial kitchen.

A couple of unusual features are a wine cellar (reflecting the Verlaques’ French heritage), now the museum store; and a north-facing veranda painted in light blue, allegedly to fend off flies and other insects.

Other buildings and exhibits, some of which were moved on-premises, include a one-room schoolhouse (left photo), blacksmith, cowboy bunkhouse (above), an extensive hat collection and a one-cell jail. The Woodward Museum is a fun place to visit and we would recommend it highly.

Note: the Ramona Pioneer Historical Society (RPHS) has archived an extensive collection of historical materials at the Museum. The fee for a four-hour research session ranges from $25-100, plus the cost of duplicating materials. Obviously, this service is intended only for the serious researcher. The RPHS produced a book, Historic Buildings of the Ramona Area by Russell Bowen, printed in 1975. Copies are available in the San Diego City Library System. When we have a chance to review this book, we will update this blog posting.

Amos, the son of prominent San Diegan Theophile Verlaque, ran the adjacent general store that also served as a stagecoach stop on the stage line between Old Town San Diego and Julian. The general store, in somewhat modified form, exists today as the CATT Farm and Ranch Supply, 629 Main Street.

This row of rural mail boxes lies just west of town.

We headed home by way of SR 78 and 67 to Scripps Poway Parkway, I-15, SR 52 and I-5. Round trip from Pacific Beach was about 80 miles.

"Staycation" Drive to Valley Center, San Diego County

2010-03-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Our son’s family gave us a $50 restaurant gift card that we could use at numerous restaurants in San Diego County, so we decided to use it on a “staycation” drive to Valley Center. Our choice for lunch was The French Market Grille, located in Rancho Bernardo, a community in North San Diego. The comfortable dining room reminded us of a bistro in the French countryside. Marie had grilled scallops Provençale done in a basil sauce ($15.75), and Doug had grilled rare lamb chops bathed in a rosemary sauce ($16). Both entrées were delicious. The owner, Patrick Halcewicz, stationed himself at a table near the bar where he could oversee his operation. After lunch we chatted with him while he was dining on his steak sandwich with pommes frites. He was originally from Paris and the cooking reflected this authenticity. He has established a second restaurant with a similar menu, Hexagone, located on Laurel Street in the Bankers Hill neighborhood of San Diego.

After lunch, we continued north on Interstate 15 to the Via Rancho Parkway exit, and headed northeast on Bear Valley Parkway. [Note: the name Bear Valley, we learned later, is highly significant to the history of Valley Center.]

We continued north past the heart of Valley Center to the Valley Center History Museum, located at 29200 Cole Grade Road, next to the county branch library. We recommend exploring the Museum’s well-designed Web site in advance of a visit. The original name of the settlement was Bear Valley, named after a giant grizzly bear that was killed in the area in 1866. See link for the Bear connection to Valley Center.

Noteworthy exhibits at the Museum include a taxidermy mounting of a grizzly bear; an overhead exhibit of experimental aircraft dating back to the 1910s, the outhouse-sized Lilac Post Office, once the smallest post office in the United States; a Betty Crocker display (Agnes White, the home economist who inspired the cooking legend Betty Crocker, lived in Valley Center and was buried in the local cemetery); a replica of a 500-year-old Native American village; and various artifacts dating from the 1840s.

Museum hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; admission is free and ample on-site parking is available.

We finished this afternoon’s outing at the Valley Center Farmers’ Market, located on the grounds of the Valley Center Community Center, 28246 Lilac Road. This Certified Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday afternoon (check their Web site for hours).

Our route home took us along scenic Lilac Road and Old Castle Road back to I-15, SR 56 and I-5. Round trip distance: about 80 miles from Pacific Beach.

La Jolla Photo Essay, January 2, 2010

2010-01-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to do a walk along the La Jolla coast, followed by a drive to the Mt. Soledad Memorial Cross.

We began the walk at the Children's Pool, which is now a sanctuary for the harbor seal population. People are allowed only limited contact. Note the abundant bird life, especially pelicans.

We contnued north toward La Jolla Cove, a designated swimming area. Along the way, we encountered more seals and pelicans.

Here is a view of La Jolla Cove, with an aloe plant in the foreground.

Kayaking is a popular activity below La Jolla Cave, the northern end of our walk. The bird population is truly amazing!

The Mt. Soledad Memorial Cross commemorates the war dead, dating back to at least World War I. The Mt. Soledad Memorial Association is now in charge of maintaining the memorial.

Here is a closeup of one of the World War I plaques.

The site affords some of the most panoramic views in San Diego.

“Staycation” Drive to Fallbrook

2009-11-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

Since Doug’s diagnosis, we have been looking for day trips to take to “get out of the house”. One town we had not visited in decades is Fallbrook. It’s located in extreme northern San Diego County about five miles west of Interstate 15 along County Routes S13 and S15. The most direct way to the old downtown (the part that is of interest to us) is to take S13 (Mission Road) from I-15 west over rolling countryside to Main Avenue. Round trip distance from Pacific Beach is about 118 miles for the total loop; one-way distance to the Village of Fallbrook is about 55 miles.

The best weekday to visit Fallbrook is Thursday, when both museums in town are open without appointments being necessary.

Mission Road and Main Avenue are now part of Historic U.S. Highway 395 that refers to the original narrow two-lane road that once connected Temecula, Rainbow, Fallbrook, Escondido and points south. The San Diego County Department of Public Works began installing the historic designation highway signs in 2008.

We found tree-shaded on-street parking on Main Avenue near Alvarado Street and strolled first to the Fallbrook Area Visitor Bureau, 111 W. Alvarado Street. Armed with maps and brochures, we first headed to the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society Museum, 123 W. Alvarado Street. The principal emphasis of their gem and mineral collection is the tourmaline mines in San Diego County. They also have an impressive mineral collection illuminated by ultra-violet light in a curtained-off back room.

The area located along Main Avenue north of Alvarado Street to Mission Road has a strong Latino flavor. It was fun strolling through the El Toro Market, a large, authentic Mexican-style bodega, located at 337 N. Main Avenue. We had never seen so many fresh tortillas in one place! It reminded us of bodegas we saw in Oaxaca with their extensive selection of mole sauce.

Fallbrook is remaking itself as an art center. The Fallbrook Art Center, 103 S. Main Avenue, is the headquarters for the Fallbrook Center for the Arts Group. The exhibit space is in a former 1961 Rexall Drug store, which was converted to the art gallery/museum in 1994. The Café des Artistes occupies the original Rexall lunch counter with one of the few authentic soda fountains remaining in San Diego County.

We decided to have lunch at the Café, which features Mediterranean-style cooking. We both had a panini/acorn squash soup combination plate ($9.50), followed by a split of a sinful flourless chocolate cake ($4.50). Delicious! Note the mural of famous artistes by Brett Stokes where Doug is sitting.

Although the Art Center was not officially open to visitors that day (it was being set up for a juried art show), the management allowed us to take a quick look at the exhibit anyway.

The Fallbrook Center for the Arts Group also sponsors a variety of outdoor public art, consisting of murals and bronze sculptures. The mural is that of a sepia photo depicting historic Downtown Fallbrook in the 1920s.

Village Square Park, 102 S. Main Avenue is a pleasant public park and outdoor performance space amidst quaint shops and restaurants. It is also the location for Fallbrook Farmer's Markets held Fridays and Sundays, along with the Art Center's parking lot on Sundays.

We had some time to kill before our next attraction opened to visitors, so we drove to the 1887 First Methodist Episcopal Church, 318 W. Fig Street. It sits on a prominent site west of the historic downtown. The First Christian Church of Fallbrook now occupies this beautifully kept Italianate-Victorian church.

We drove through conventional suburban sprawl (malls and multiple-family housing) lining S13 (South Mission Road) to reach the Fallbrook Historic Society Museum, 260 Rocky Ridge Road. The entrance to the Museum is off of Hill Street, just south of the west end of Rocky Ridge Road. The Museum comprises two buildings open to visitors: the two-level Main Museum and the Pittenger Country House.

The centerpiece of the main exhibit space is the working model train lined with 12 miniature reproductions of some of Fallbrook’s most prominent Victorian-era buildings, many of which do not exist anymore. The model steam engine is unusual in that it reflects a design current in the 1880s.

The California Southern Railroad (later incorporated into the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad during a reorganization) once connected Oceanside with Temecula, with the right-of-way following the Santa Margarita River to a rail depot and stage stop in Fallbrook, then continuing through Temecula Canyon. Washouts from heavy rains in 1884, 1891 and 1916 created major problems for rail operations, which were eventually forced to shut down. (See “The Fallbrook Line” by Richard V. Dodge for a summary of the travails the railroad operators faced.

The museum had some unusual items unique to the Fallbrook area. For example, there was a floor-standing clock constructed entirely of avocado wood.

The smaller Ford Room occupies the lower level of the main building, Its exhibits include two antique Ford automobiles, a Model T and a Model A; a barbed wire collection; and a display detailing the history of U.S Highway 395.

The Reverend William Pittenger Country House, built in 1890, lies just south of the museum and is also open to the public. Reverend Pittinger was the first pastor to lead the First Methodist Episcopal Church on Fig Street. Although his primary residence was the 1892 Parsonage (still located across from the church at 135 Mission Road and now occupied by the Fallbrook Healthcare Foundation), he built the farmhouse as a retreat. The various rooms are furnished in different period styles ranging from the 1880s to the 1920s. The docent even played a turn-of-the-20th Century Victrola record player that required a crank to operate!

The Historical Society recently constructed a replica of a “California-style” barn that will be used for displaying farm implements and meeting space. This structure is located to the east of the main museum, accessed by a separate entrance off Rocky Crest Road.

On the way home, we decided to visit one of the many nurseries in the Fallbrook area. One of the more attractive is the Myrtle Creek Nursery, located at 2940 Reche (pronounced “richee”) Road a few miles east of town in the bucolic Live Oak Park area. Note the water wheel and garden setting of the place. The 1940s farm house now serves as a store, offering produce, preserves and gourmet gifts as well as plant related items.

We completed our loop by taking Gird Road south to SR 76, back to I-15, then home. This was a pleasant day, indeed!

Chef's Holiday Yosemite 2008-2009 Update

2009-09-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

We were following the career of Tony DiSalvo, who was one of the three chefs who participated in the 2008 Chef's Holiday in Yosemite.

At the time, DiSalvo was Executive Chef at Jack's in La Jolla, which had achieved a high standard of success by 2007 with great reviews. The restaurant became very popular with the in-crowd. Unfortunately, the Great Recession of 2008-09, plus other issues, had a severe impact on high end eateries such as Jacks.

After a four-year run, Jack's La Jolla Restaurant closed its doors July 2009, allegedly due to tax liens and other financial issues. We knew they were having problems when they were offering 2:1 dinner coupons in the local community newspaper. Unlike the bistros in the Bay Area, Jack's was one of those high-style places with a staff of 120 and tremendous overhead.

We just learned that DiSalvo has found a new home as Executive Chef at Whist at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. This piece appeared in the Los Angeles Times food blog section:

The scoop: Former Jean Georges chef now at Whist September 23, 2009 | 4:15 pm Tony DiSalvo, who formerly helmed the kitchen at New York's Michelin three-starred Jean Georges, has found a new home at Whist at the Viceroy. This is the latest big notch in DiSalvo's belt: He was a chef at the James Beard Award winning Gramercy Tavern during the era of Tom Colicchio's co-ownership, and he worked above a young Wylie Dufresne while at Jean Georges, which is located in the Trump International Hotel and Tower. After four years there, DiSalvo moved to San Diego to open the now shuttered Jack's La Jolla. Now, he's headed north to fill the boots of Warren Schwartz at Whist, who's left to open Westside Tavern. Whist is one of the restaurants participating in dineLA's fall Restaurant Week, so DiSalvo's appointment as executive chef comes just in time for foodies to take a test drive with him. DineLA's a sweet deal at Whist, with lunch at $22 and dinner at $34. Hopefully, DiSalvo can wrack [sic] up some points, as Schwartz did during his tenure at the restaurant.

The other two chefs, both based in the Bay Area, are also pursuing other opportunities, apparently of their own choosing.

Nate Appleman was Executive Chef at A16 and SPQR restaurants in San Francisco. A16 specializes in rustic Italian cooking from Naples and adjacent Campania, Italy, traversed by the A16 Autostrada. SPQR, is a casual osteria featuring recipes dating from Roman times. Appleman left A16 and SPQR July 2009 (see link)

The other Bay Area participant was Ms. Jesse Cool of Flea Street Café, Menlo Park, who is a leading proponent of the slow food movement. In addition to her duties at Flea Street, she is now consulting on creating a cuisine consisting of locally grown healthy food at Stanford Hospital (see link).

Life's U-Turn

2009-09-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

On August 7, 2009, Doug was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer at age 70. This happened despite the fact that he has never smoked. Needless to say, this has been a severe test for us going forward.

Meanwhile, we will publish an occasional POSTcard from our previous travels, and POSTscript updates from our archives. We feel fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to travel as much as we have. We still expect to do some short trips near home as long as we are able to go out and about.

Later on, we will post blogs about the orphan status of lung cancer research. This is largely due to the stigma of lung cancer's association with smokers. But non-smokers are definitely at risk due to environmental factors and genetic mutations (the latter is likely in Doug's case).

Meantime, we will live life to the fullest, and welcome hearing from our readers!

November 2009 Update: After six weeks of chemotherapy, Doug has experienced a "significant partial remission" of the cancer. Although total remission is not in the cards, Doug has been able to resume most of his normal activities and feels like himself. We will enjoy this time by doing some short trips in southern California.

Doug & Marie

Wilderville, OR (State of Jefferson) 2009

2009-06-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

We saw a number of interesting sights on the way to and from Wilderville during our May 2009 trip. Read the following Postcards to see what we mean!

San Luis Obispo

In Transit Monday May 11: We left San Diego mid-morning to visit our friends Paul and Joanne in Santa Barbara, It was touch and go regarding the Jesusita Fire (they evacuated earlier), but they received the all-clear to return home, so we were able to stay overnight. Joanne, we loved the curry dish and Paul, the homemade bread was outstanding!

Tuesday May 12: Before meeting our grandson Tim for dinner, we had a chance to explore San Luis Obispo (SLO). It had been decades since we had seen the Madonna Inn , known for its over-the-top gingerbread architecture, so we decided to stop in for a brief visit. It is still a charming place, but it seems to have faded a bit.

Next, we had a picnic lunch at the tranquil Apple Farm, with its waterwheel grist mill. This place seemed immaculate and well kept.

We then drove downtown. The City has created an attractive historic district centered on La Misión (Mission) de San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, erected in 1772. The Mission’s gardens were a joy to walk through.

Next was the SLO County Historical Museum, housed in a former 1905 Carnegie Free Library. Note: most museums and galleries of interest were closed today Monday; we will visit them on return trips to SLO.

We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon wandering through the Cal Poly SLO campus where Tim is attending school. Much of the architecture is postmodern, as can be seen by the photos. One treat was the opportunity to see some early papers by the famed architect, Julia Morgan, designer of the Hearst Castle. The archivist at the Kennedy Library mentioned that Morgan designed the 1925 Monday Club SLO. We were able to capture this beautiful building in the late afternoon light.

Dinner was at F. McLintocks Saloon, right in downtown. They are best known for their barbecued ribs and tri-tips, but they had a terrific $8 barbecued chicken special that evening. There were so many leftovers that Tim had plenty of food to take home!

Our motel, the Ramada, was conveniently located for exiting SLO the next day. For about $70, it was OK, nothing special. We think we might try a nearby bed and breakfast for a little more money the next time we stay in SLO.

Highway 1, San Simeon to Carmel-by-the-Sea

Wednesday May 13: We had originally intended to take US 101 to the Monterey area, but the weather forecast was for a fogless day along CA SR 1 (Highway 1), a rare occurrence, so we went for the coastal route. This proved to be providential, as can be seen in the photos! Our first stop was at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, located about eight miles north of San Simeon. The Rookery is a short distance south of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse (in the background). There was considerable vocalizing going on as males vied for dominance. May was the molting season, as can be seen in the close up photo.

We experienced odd temperature fluctuations as we drove toward Big Sur. This was due to an inversion layer imposed by a strong ridge of high atmospheric pressure. Typical temperatures this mid-morning were around 55°F near sea level, but near 80°F atop the ridgelines around Big Sur. The wildflowers were still spectacular, as can be seen in the view of the historic Big Creek Bridge (upper left photo in the distance).

We decided to picnic at the Big Sur Station Multi-Agency and Visitor Center, operated by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), Los Padres National Forest and California State Parks. As one can see, we were popular with the local denizens!

We devoted the rest of the afternoon, seeing the sights of Carmel-by-the-Sea. First was a stop at Misión de San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo (Carmel Mission). We think this is one of the most beautiful of the California Missions. Our exercise consisted of walking among the many boutiques and art galleries Carmel is known for.

The pièce de résistance was a stroll along Scenic Road near sunset. The full sweep of Monterey Bay, framed by the famed cypresses, made for spectacular views. Of the many pricy residences along Scenic Road, perhaps the most iconic was the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walker Residence. (We had identified this house as a possible Wright designed building on an earlier trip here; Marie’s Aunt Andrea verified it). The house was built in 1948. Note the graceful outdoor sculpture.

After our stroll, we joined Aunt Andrea “Andy” and Uncle Pete at their home for conversation, followed by a delicious seafood pasta dinner.

Our overnight stay was at the Carmel Resort Inn, a picturesque place consisting of a cluster of rustic cottages. This is our favorite low-cost place to stay in Carmel. They had a room available for $60, including breakfast. This is a true bargain, considering the location and amenities.

Scotia and Ferndale

Thursday, May 14: The Carmel Resort Inn’s approach to breakfast is unique. Staff delivers a basket of goodies to one’s room. It was quite complete: muffins, juice, fruit and yogurt. We prepared our own coffee using the coffeemaker in our room. Note: the breakfast baskets come around between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m.; this may be a bit late for some. But given today’s schedule, the timing was perfect.

Today’s travel was mostly in transit to points north. On the way, we stopped in Danville, to join fellow Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) travelers Ray, Virgie, Tom and Marilyn we met on our Japan trip, for lunch. We overnighted with our long time friend George in Santa Rosa, who prepared a delicious pasta dinner for us.

Friday May 15: We visited the picturesque historic towns of Scotia and Ferndale.

Scotia was formerly the quintessential company town. The Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) built the town during the 1880s. Today, the Town of Scotia LLC owns the entire townsite after the recent reorganization of PALCO into the Humboldt Lumber Company. The lumber mill still operates today, but the town is trying to diversify its economic base. We had a delightful lunch in the Pub, located in the basement of the beautifully restored Scotia Inn. We found out that the new manager is a member of P.E.O., a women’s philanthropic and educational organization dear to Marie and many of her friends. We are determined to stay in the Scotia Inn the next time we wish to explore this beautiful Redwoods area.

The Scotia Museum was still closed for the season; however, we could see the outdoor displays relating to the old lumber operation.

We then took the bucolic Blue Slide/Grizzly Bluff Road from Rio Dell to Ferndale. We had last visited Ferndale over 40 years ago, so we thought it was time for another visit. Ferndale was, and still is, best known for its beautifully preserved Victorian homes, and restoration efforts were ongoing in the picturesque downtown, despite the Great Recession of 2008-09. Much of the town has been designated a California Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ferndale, once the largest city in Humboldt County, was an important dairying and transportation center until the construction of U.S. 101 took traffic and commerce five miles away.

We made a stop at one of our favorite cheese shops, Loleta Cheese Factory, to pick up some artisan cheeses and a cheese cutting board for Laurene, then headed to tonight’s destination, Willow Creek.

Willow Creek is located in the heart of Bigfoot Country, where sightings of Bigfoot or Sasquatch were alleged to have occurred. The small Willow Creek-China Flat Museum, also known colloquially as the Bigfoot Museum, was still open this late afternoon, so we paid it a visit. We settled in the Bigfoot Motel ($68), the only AAA-recommended lodging in Willow Creek. It was nothing fancy, nor did it offer breakfast, but it was a comfortable stay. The Pizza Factory, located right across the street, offered $5 specials of spaghetti and “mini” pizzas. These meals were so substantial that we had leftovers we ate for breakfast the next morning!

Highway 96, State of Jefferson Scenic Byway

Saturday May 16: We were looking with great anticipation to today’s drive, that was to take us from Willow Creek and Happy Camp to Cave Junction, OR via the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. The first segment consisted of CA SR 96 (Highway 96) from Willow Creek to Happy Camp, where we first followed the Trinity River, which joins the Klamath River at Weitchpec.

Our first stop was the Trinity River Farm, located just outside of Willow Creek. It was only 7:30 a.m. but the kindly owner, Tom O’Gorman met us at the produce stand, and took us around the grounds replete with trees he planted himself. He and Molly O’Gorman have expanded the grounds for weddings and other outdoor events. We bought a six pack of heirloom tomato varieties for Laurene to add to her garden.

Note the spectacular scenery along both the Trinity and Klamath Rivers!

Note: We learned later that the attractive yellow flowering plant next to the Klamath River is a noxious, invasive non-native called Dyer's Woad or Marlahan Mustard (below). See the Redding Record Searchlight article for more information.

We pulled into Happy Camp, fully expecting we would find U.S. Primary Forest Road 48 (aka Indian Creek Road) that would take us to Cave Junction. But this was not to be: heavy rains a week prior washed out this road; it was passable only by high clearance vehicles, which our little Corolla is not! Although Doug was disappointed (Marie was thrilled!), we decided to continue east on Highway 96 to Yreka, Interstate 5 and backtrack a bit to Grants Pass and Wilderville on US 199.

There were some hints that we were within the Mythical State of Jefferson: we saw several flags with the Great Seal of the State of Jefferson with two Xs within a circle adorning some historic general stores, and rod and reel places. We learned later that proponents of the State of Jefferson adopted this logo because California and Oregon allegedly doublecrossed the citizenry by failing to provide adequate roads and services to this remote region! See Huell Howser’s recent road trip about the Mythical State of Jefferson, courtesy of PBS TV Station KCET, Los Angeles.

We came across this historic bridge in Horse Creek, one of many tiny places on the Klamath River.

We made a stop in Medford at a Pilot gas station and truck stop, known for their competitive prices. What a zoo! It seem everybody wanted to refuel this Saturday afternoon. Compounding the situation was the fact that Oregon is one of two states (the other is New Jersey) that still requires station attendants to dispense fuel. This may work fine if one uses a credit or debit card at the pump, but we wanted to use cash. This entailed the attendant giving us a chit that we had to take to the cash register. Then it was a hassle getting back on the freeway, due to traffic gridlock. Geez! We came to Oregon for this? (An aside: an Arco in Grants Pass has the best price in the region, 6 cents a gallon less than the Pilot!)

Fortunately, things were much more tranquil when we reached Laurene and Jim’s home in the woods of Wilderville. We always have a great time visiting with them!

Jim grilled steaks and Laurene prepared the fixings for a hearty delicious meal. Since we don’t eat that much red meat, this was a treat!

It was still balmy after this hot day, so we sat on their porch to watch for bats that zoom among the trees.

Wilderville and Applegate Valley

Sunday, May 17: Yes, there really is a town called Wilderville! At least, there is a general store with lodging on the second floor, and a tiny U.S. Post Office. Here is living proof! According to Joan Momsen’s Wilderville, Oregon History, “the ‘Slate Creek Post Office’ was established on September 30, 1858, but later changed to Wilderville on August 12, 1878. Some say that the post office was named after its postmaster, Joseph Wilder.” Laurene is standing by the historic monument commemorating the Wilderville Post Office; Jim is waiting for us on the front porch. Here is the post office today.

Fish Hatchery Road, on which the Town of Wilderville is located, was an earlier alignment of the Redwood Highway before US 199 was built. We said in an earlier posting that Wilderville is right on US 199; it is true the postal zip code service area straddles US 199 but the post office is located on Fish Hatchery Road. Wilderville was a stagecoach stop on this old road, Crescent City Turnpike and Puncheon (Plank) Road that began in Crescent City, CA and ended in Jacksonville, OR. As far as we could tell, no trace of the old stage stop remains. However, the town had been a hub of stage and railroad transport of resources in the area until the “new” US 199 was constructed.

According to the Highway 199 Road Guide, Crescent City to Grants Pass, the present store is a remnant of the Camp O’ The Woods auto camp that dated back to the 1930s (see Milepost 11.4 in the above link). Do compare the two photos of the store!

The above source also states that Wilderville’s Lake O’ The Woods was notable for another reason: it was the temporary home of V. T. Hamlin, the peripatetic cartoonist for the Alley Oop comic strip. He and his wife Dorothy lived here at a lodge intermittently on the premises during the 1930s. The inspiration for his caveman characters came in part from the Grants Pass Cavemen, a booster club formed in 1922 to promote the Oregon Caves National Monument. Wilderville was renamed Tamerville in some of his strips!

Still another interesting story was that of the California and Oregon Coast Railroad (C&OCRR) that was supposed to link Grants Pass with Crescent City. See the interesting narrative, courtesy of the Short Lines Railroad Web site, featuring a monograph by the Josephine County Historical Society. The C&OCRR was conceived as a short line railroad shipping line intended to undercut the high cost Southern Pacific Railroad. However, only the segment from Grants Pass to Wonder, about three miles west of Wilderville was ever completed. Financial and terrestrial obstacles were too daunting to surmount, to complete the line to the coast. However, traces of the old rail bed can still be seen today in Wilderville.

Slate Creek borders the Wilderville Store on the south, creating a lovely garden setting.

We spent this warm Sunday with Laurene and Jim exploring the Wilderville area and Applegate Valley. Marie and Laurene are plant people, so we visited a lovely nursery in the nearby hamlet of Murphy, another spot on Fish Hatchery Road. We had time to visit one winery on the Applegate Wine Trail-Soloro Vineyard. We took home a delicious Syrah and Grenache. We learned later that we got in on a spring barrel tasting event paired with food. The Navarro’s file gumbo was a standout, according to a review in the Southern Oregon MailTribune.

We treated Laurene and Jim to a buffet dinner at J.J. North’s Grand Buffet, a short distance away in Grants Pass. At about $10 a person, we felt it offered great value!

Highway 3, Trinity Alps Trail, Yreka, Weaverville and Shasta

Monday, May 18: We got off to an early start, because our goal today was to explore another scenic byway, CA SR 3 (Highway 3) that connects Yreka with Weaverville through the spectacular Trinity Alps, then continue east on CA SR 299 (Highway 299) to Redding and points south. Here is a photo of the Klamath River just before the Yreka turnoff.

We explored Yreka, seat of Siskiyou County and the proposed capital of the State of Jefferson. A major attraction is the Million Dollar Gold Display in the lobby of the 1950s-style Siskiyou County Courthouse. One cannot blame the authorities for the heavy security here! According to the Visit Siskiyou Web site, “[this is] the largest gold display south of Alaska. The interpretive display is arranged according to the site from which the gold was taken, and includes old photos, descriptions and recollections of the miners. On display are the many forms of gold found in the area, including huge nuggets, flour gold and gold dust.”

We continued exploring downtown Yreka on foot, still seeking vestiges of the mythical State of Jefferson, and found this tee shirt on display at a hardware store. Historic preservation was going strongly in Yreka, as can be seen in the photos. We also found this unusual sepia-toned mural depicting Yreka's early history.

The drive south on Highway 3 through Scott Valley and the Trinity Alps was spectacularly beautiful, and we would recommend it highly. The villages of Fort Jones and Etna had some interesting historic buildings and are worth further exploration.

We had a picnic lunch at Trinity Lake, much diminished by drought. At least it was a cool, shady spot on what was proving to be an unusually hot day.

Weaverville is the seat of Trinity County and we spent a couple of hours exploring it. The 1857 Trinity County Courthouse is still in use today and among the oldest in the state (Mariposa’s Mariposa County Courthouse, built in 1854, is reputed to be the oldest).

We walked through the tranquil grounds of the Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park, site of the oldest wooden Chinese temple still in use in California. Unfortunately, this Taoist temple was closed today, but a state park ranger was on hand to provide us with some background.

We finished our Weaverville visit at the Jake Jackson Memorial Museum, which provided a good overview of Trinity County’s history.

Next, we headed east on Highway 299. Our first scheduled stop was the ghost town of Shasta, now a State Historic Park. It dates to around 1861, and was a former county seat. The former courthouse (closed Mondays) houses a museum. Some of the old buildings have been restored and are home to tourist-oriented establishments.

Our stimulus money at work: We had numerous delays on Highway 299 for roadwork. Time and again, we would see those dreaded tangerine signs warning of “ROAD WORK AHEAD” and “PREPARE TO STOP.” Fortunately we were not on a schedule.

When we reached Interstate 5 at last, we decided to make Corning our overnight stop. We decided to try an Econolodge with a $38 coupon. Although these kinds of deals can be risky, this one turned out OK. Corning is a major production center for olives, and it was fun visiting the Corning Olive Oil Company . For dinner, we decided to go Mexican this evening; the Casa Ramos in an adjacent Safeway shopping center filled the bill nicely! Not only were the meals tasty but bountiful; we left with two people boxes of food!

Historic Towns, Oroville to Woodland

Tuesday, May 19: The continental breakfast at the Econolodge surprised us with tasty muffins, coffee and orange juice; given the price of the room, this was one great bargain.

We strung together a series of historic towns to visit on our way to Davis. First was Oroville, the seat of Butte County. We were too early to visit one noteworthy attraction, the Lott Home Museum in Sank Park; however, its lovely Victorian garden was open for a stroll.

We certainly lucked out with the Oroville Chinese Temple and Museum. Although it was not supposed to be open until noon, we were able to latch onto a special morning tour with an Asian group from Berkeley. The docent conducted a very thorough description of the Temple’s history, and guided us through the marvelous Tapestry Hall. We could have spent hours here.

Before leaving Oroville, we photographed one of several murals, a fairly recent addition to the cityscape.

The CA SR 70 (Highway 70) Freeway became a pleasant rural road as we headed south through the fertile Feather River floodplain.

We had a hankering for fresh fruits, so we stopped off at several fruit stands. The largest and most fun was Tony’s Farm Stand, located just north of Marysville. There had a marvelous selection of fresh peaches and cherries, which were great supplements to our picnics down the line.

We headed for the twin cities of Marysville, seat of Yuba County, and Yuba City, seat of Sutter County (got that?) A good resource for learning about the sights in Yuba and Sutter Counties is the Visit Yuba-Sutter Web site.

Marysville was a walkable town, with a well-restored central business district centered on “D” Street. We found this mural of "Old Marysville", painted on the side of a commercial building.

At the south end of downtown, next to the levee, was the Bok Kai Chinese Temple, which dates from 1880. This further demonstrated how important the Chinese were in the exploitation of the goldfields.

We crossed the Feather River to Yuba City, to seek out the historic Sutter County Courthouse and Hall of Records. After a picnic at the new (2008) Gauche Aquatic Park, a cool oasis on this hot day, we made our way to Second Street. The Sutter County Courthouse, a Classical Revival structure circa 1899, and the Sutter County Hall of Records, built in Richardsonian Romanesque style in 1891, dominate the Second Street District of historic buildings. Graceful Victorians in the neighborhood reflect Italianate, Classical and Eastlake influences.

Note: Marysville did a great job in identifying its historical sites and districts, and it was easy to find things. Yuba City lacks such signage on the ground; we recommend printing out maps from the Visit Yuba-Sutter Web site, which we failed to do!

The final historic town for today was Woodland, seat of Yolo County. We decided to abandon the major highway system, and take CA SR 113 (Highway 113) to Woodland, ending at today’s destination, Davis. As we crossed the Yolo County Line, there was evidence of another stimulus “shovel-ready” project: the dreaded ROAD WORK and PREPARE TO STOP signs appeared again! It wasn’t too long a wait, though, and the flagger flashed a friendly smile as we passed her SLOW sign.

We found Woodland to be an extremely pleasant town to stroll about. Tuesday is the best day to visit Woodland, because this is the one day a week the 1895 Woodland Opera House Theatre is open for guided tours. It is a working theatre that has undergone a meticulous restoration. The docent was a delightful grandmotherly lady, a San Diego native no less, who gave us a tour into the deepest recesses of the place.

The 1917 Yolo County Courthouse is a courtly neoclassical edifice, one of the handsomest in California, in our opinion. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although it is still in use as a courthouse today, we understand that it will soon be vacated and made available for adaptive reuse. The adjacent Meier County Administration Center is a tastefully-designed modern building that complements the older structure.

After Woodland, it was time to head to Davis. We stopped in at the Best Western University Lodge, located about two blocks from the UC Davis campus. Although relatively expensive at $90 AAA a night, it was within easy walking distance of the campus and other attractions we were interested in. We finished off our leftovers from the Mexican restaurant in Corning, supplemented by the fresh fruit we bought today.

The balmy evening was conducive to walking about the eclectic neighborhood comprising student oriented businesses, Greek houses (some well kept, others unkempt), and a mixture of single-family residences and apartments. Cheap beer was abundant, typically priced during happy hour at $2.50 a pint. The bicycle is the principal means of transportation around town and the campus; where bike and pedestrian paths were not separated, we had to be on the lookout for “killer bikes”! The Borders store and adjacent restaurant, magnets for students and professors alike, were busy late into the evening.

After catching up on our e-mails on the motel’s painfully slow public computer (it must have been on a dialup internet service), we turned in.

Davis, University Town

Wednesday, May 20: A segment of Huell Howser’s Road Trip series inspired us to spend the day on the UC Davis campus.

The Best Western offered a generous continental breakfast, which gave us a good start to the day. We were only a couple of city blocks to the southerly pedestrian gateway to the campus.

As we were expecting another hot day, we began with a stroll through the Arboretum. This is a peaceful linear park created from the bed of Putah Creek that borders the campus. As we walked along, we realized the Arboretum is much more than a park; it is a teaching tool for sustainable and environmentally friendly planting practices as well as a place to escape from hectic campus life.

There are several small museums and galleries open to the public, but their hours are limited and the Richard L. Nelson Gallery and Fine Arts Collection was closed for a new installation.

The other exhibits we wanted to visit were only open at noon, so we decided to have lunch in the bustling Student Coffee House, where salads are sold for 34 cents an ounce! (2009 prices). We then treated ourselves to $1 scoops of the sinful Blue Bell chocolate ice cream, a real treat! Note the lunch crowd enjoying the outdoors.

Following lunch, we enjoyed the unusual Native-American and indigenous photography exhibit at the Gorman Museum of Native American Art, located in George Hart Hall.

Another interesting attraction was the footwear exhibit in the Design Museum, located in the School of Design Building.

We saved the agriculturally-oriented exhibits for last. The Bohart Museum of Entomology houses over 7 million specimens of interest to the serious bug researcher.

Several greenhouses are also open to the public. Marie especially enjoyed seeing the unusual orchid specimens on display there.

It was about 3:00 p.m. when we left the campus, to head over to Central Park, site of the Farmer’s Market. We had just enough time to visit the Hattie Weber Museum of Davis, located in a former library building that dates to 1911. We engaged the volunteer on duty in conversation. He was Dr. Dennis Dingemans, Ph.D. (Berkeley), a professor emeritus of geography, who had retired recently from the Geography Department at UC Davis. He knew many of the geography faculty members at UCLA and San Diego State, where Doug attended. We told him about our travel blog, and promised to let him know when we publish the postings of this trip!

We had purposely scheduled this campus visit on a Wednesday, to enable us to experience the Davis Farmers Market and Picnic in the Park this afternoon and evening. This turned out to be fun, and we would recommend this Farmers Market highly. Note: the Wednesday Market runs only from Mid-March to the end of October most years; they have a morning Saturday Market year round).

We shopped for some artisan breads and more fresh fruits (all organically grown) under the large canopies set up for the market. For dinner, we decided to share a huge platter of "Tibetan" (really Northern Indian curries, nan brad, etc) we bought in the international bazaar. On the way back to our room, we stopped off at one of the beer joints for the 2 pints for $5 special. They had a good hefeweizen on tap; at a pint for $2.50 each; this was quite a steal.

An aside: Although we are at least two generations older that most of the students at both Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis, we found it exhilarating to interact with these enthusiastic young people on both campuses. We always found them most helpful when we asked them for directions, etc. Given the depressed job market in 2009, they had real challenges ahead. It was encouraging to see that both campuses emphasize green technology and sustainability that bode well for the future.

Hanford, Then and Now

Thursday, May 21: This was a major travel day so we limited our sight-seeing to another of Huell Howser’s Road Trip gems-Hanford, the seat of Kings County, plus nearby Lemoore. We stayed on CA SR 99 (Highway 99) until Fresno, where we turned off on CA SR 41 (Highway 41) to Lemoore. This good highway took us to a point just east of the Lemoore Naval Air Station (NAS Lemoore).

We headed east on Bush Road, with a quick left turn onto D Street that took us through the heart of Lemoore’s Historic Downtown. Like Hanford, Lemoore has a vibrant historic preservation effort underway. We suspect this town is relatively prosperous due to the presence of NAS Lemoore.

Hanford’s Courthouse Square was the focus of today’s sightseeing and we timed it for early afternoon. First was the Old Kings County Courthouse, built in 1896 (expanded 1914) in Neo-Classical style. It ceased being used as a courthouse in 1979 and is now leased for offices and restaurants. Another significant building on Courthouse Square is the former Sheriff’s Office and Jail (known as “The Bastille”) for its massive Richardsonian Romanesque architecture as well as its history as a prison. The Bastille has been converted to restaurant space.

Hanford has made a real effort to teach schoolchildren local history and make it fun and entertaining at the same time. Two vintage fire engines, sirens wailing, loaded with screaming kids, pulled up to the 1939 Allan Herschell Carousel, located on the Courthouse grounds. We understand the carousel was salvaged from a park in Visalia, and installed here in 1985. Its latest restoration occurred early in 2009.

After a picnic lunch on Courthouse Square, we yielded to temptation (again) and walked across the street to the 1929 Superior Dairy Products Company, featured in Huell Howser’s piece on Hanford. We walked to the back of the store, where we had a huge single scoop each of chocolate ice cream. We marveled how some people could manage the truly humongous sundaes sold there!

Now re-energized, we visited the nearby Hanford Carnegie Museum, built in 1905 as one of the many libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie throughout the nation. It is an exquisite example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. One of the most interesting exhibits was the Amelia Earhart display, mainly dealing with her involvement in the fashion outer wear industry.

Other historical buildings border on Courthouse Square. First was the spectacularly restored 1929 Hanford Fox Theatre. It is in use today as a venue for plays and musical acts as well as movies. It employs green technology as it now uses electricity produced by solar panels! The magnificent Hanford Civic Auditorium was built in 1924 and is still in use today.

We drove to China Alley (it was simply too hot for walking any distance). The centerpiece is the 1886 Hanford Taoist Temple and Museum, which was closed today. It seemed to us this once vibrant Chinatown is being encroached upon by the mostly Hispanic neighborhood (we heard nothing but Mexican banda music while we were strolling down this historic alley).

There was one more must see attraction before leaving the Hanford area. This was the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, located about six miles south of town. This is an amazing facility, located in a farming area. It reminded us of Japan in miniature! We went into the office, expecting to pay the $5 admission, because the Web site indicated it was open today. Turned out that the exhibit space was closed for a new installation!

We pleaded our case that we were from out of town and we had heard such good things about the Clark Center. Finally, the manager relented and a pleasant young lady, an art intern from Germany, took us around. There was plenty of the permanent collection on view, including tapestries and wall screens, as can be seen in the photos. We thanked her profusely for accommodating us. Word of advice: call ahead, to be sure they are open; they have a good Web site, but the posted hours may not be fully reliable.

The gardens at the Clark Center are pleasant to stroll about; note the Zen rock garden and water feature.

It was now time to find a place to stay. We decided on Bakersfield, since we wanted to arrive in Pasadena the next day in mid-morning. We cut across on CA SR 137 (Highway 137) through Tulare to Highway 99 and headed south. Marie perused the coupon books, and we decided to take a chance on the Vagabond in North Bakersfield for about $40. Sorry to say, we did not fare too well. The room was nice enough, but the traffic noise on adjacent Highway 99 was atrocious! We believe this large motel was of 1960s vintage, with little in the way of noise suppression. The roar of truck traffic diminished only slightly so we got little sleep that night. Augh!

Pasadena, Then Home

Friday, May 22: The one good feature of the continental breakfast at the Vagabond was the waffle iron, the kind that rotates to cook, and timed to turn out a perfect Belgian waffle in 2 minutes, 50 seconds. We took a little time to show a couple from Germany how to operate it.

Otherwise, the Vagabond offered only high sugar doughnuts and pastries. The orange juice machine was on the fritz and they were running out of coffee. Needless to say, we will not stay in this place again and we sent a complaint letter to Vagabond headquarters. Oh well!

We headed to Pasadena to visit Doug’s cousin, Linda, which we try to do during our trips north. She lives in a pleasant apartment complex in a leafy neighborhood just west of the Cal Tech campus. The nearby Baja Fresh Restaurant is one of her favorite places and we were enjoying lunch there.

We expected heavy traffic on the I-405, since this was get-a-way Friday for the Memorial Holiday Weekend. We avoided much of the traffic congestion by heading east on I-210 to I-15, then home. It took us about three hours from Pasadena.

Total mileage was about 2,600 miles, and a very pleasant trip indeed!

New England Islands Cruise 2008 Index Page

2009-05-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

The New England Islands Cruise 2008 blog journal reads from most recent to oldest, if downloaded using the New England 2008 label tag. We have created this index page to enable the reader to peruse the postings in chronological order, and to read each posting as a separate Web page. Just click the links below, to access the individual posts:

Preliminary Planning For The Trip

Pre-Cruise Day 1 in Downtown Providence

Pre-Cruise Day 2 in Providence Neighborhoods

Pre-Cruise Day 3 in Providence-Excursion to Bristol, RI

American Spirit Features and Daily Routine

Day 1: Boarding the American Spirit

Day 2: New Bedford, MA

Day 3: Nantucket, MA

Day 4: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Day 5: Bristol, RI

Day 6: Newport, RI

Day 7: Extra Day in Newport

Day 8: Return to Providence, RISD Gala Opening

Wrap Up of Our Cruise Experience

Post Cruise Day in Providence: Afternoon with the Ewens

Note: the Bristol, RI postings were combined into one installment for convenience.

OAT Japan 2009 Index Page

2009-05-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

The OAT Japan 2009 blog journal reads from most recent to oldest, if downloaded using the OAT Japan 2009 label tag. We have created this index page to enable the reader to peruse the postings in chronological order, and to read each posting as a separate Web page. Just click the links below, to access the individual posts:

Preliminary Planning For the Trip

March 18-20: Transition Time, California to Tokyo

March 21: Day in Tokyo

March 22: Tokyo to Gora, Hakone

March 23: Day Trip from Gora, Hakone

March 24: Hakone to Kanazawa

March 25: Day in Kanazawa

March 26: Excursion to Shirakawa-go & Gokayama

March 27: Kanazawa to Kyoto

March 28: First Full Day in Kyoto

March 29: Excursion to Nara and Fushimi-ku

March 30: Second Full Day in Kyoto

March 31: Arashiyama and Other Kyoto Highlights

April 1: The 48-Hour Return Home

Welcome to Our Blog!

2009-05-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

Welcome!

We began this blog in March, 2008 at the suggestion of our friend, Jack Brandais, who was instrumental in getting us started. Thank you, Jack!

Some of Our Favorite Travel-Related Web Sites:

Jack Brandais has a great Web site focusing on the California travel scene as well as the car culture. Be sure to visit WeekendDriver for his insightful posts and articles.

Another excellent travel Web site is Bill and Nancy Bamberger's Travels with Bill and Nancy, wherein they present photo and video travel journals of their trips all over the world. They display their full range of multi-media capabilities, as can be seen by visiting Bill and Nancy Interactive, their San Diego-based Web design and multi-media company.

A rich source of road trip ideas is Huell Howser’s California's Gold Web site. Huell has been producing his series of (mostly) California videos since 1991. California's Gold’s home page organizes his video series by topic for easy browsing. Road Trip #143, State of Jefferson, inspired our riff on that topic in our Wilderville piece. Although the Web site serves as a vehicle for selling his DVDs, he has provided a link to PBS TV station KCET, Los Angeles, which has archived selected episodes for online viewing via streaming technology. When visiting this link, be sure to explore the “Popular Tags” links for additional episodes.

An up-and-coming source for San Diego County ideas is the PBS TV Station KPBS series Wonderland, narrated by native San Diegan Noah Tafolla. Each half-hour episode features (1) a community within the City of San Diego (for example Ocean Beach, Gaslamp); (2) a community elsewhere in San Diego County (for example National City, Julian); or (3) a topical subject (for example Great Italian Food, San Diego During World War II). We especially like the way he integrates historical footage and details, to provide context for the narrative. His early 2010 episode about Oceanside inspired our "staycation" trip

For fans of Japan, we came across Dr. Galen R. Frysinger's superb Web site on his travels. Check out his Japan collection to see what we mean.

We will add other favorites as we encounter them.

Here are the direct links to the travel postings we have published so far:

Chef's Holiday Yosemite (January 2008)
Anza-Borrego Desert Flower Display (March 2008, 2009)
Wilderville (April 2008)
Wilderville (May 2009)
Montana Road Trip (June 2008)
New England Cruise (September 2008)
OAT Japan 2009 (March-April 2009)
Chef's Holiday Yosemite-2009 Update (September 2009)
"Staycation" trips to Fallbrook , Valley Center, Ramona, Anza Borrego, Oceanside, Idyllwild, and Santa Fe #3751 (Steam Train) (2009-10).

Additionally, we contributed to an article on Jack's Web site about Hearst's Hacienda (Be sure to click Hearst's Hacienda in the L.A. Times in the archives).

Finally, we had to tell the world about the completion of the undergrounding project on our street, Pacifica Drive, San Diego.

We will also publish postings on other topics that are of interest to us, and it is hoped, to you.

Note: due to a recent health diagnosis, our days of extensive travel are likely over. Future postings will consist of "Staycation" daytrips as well as POSTscripts or updates of archived postings from our archives.

Suggestions for Enjoying our Blogs:

You can enlarge the photos to fill screen size by clicking them. Return to the text by using your browser's back button.

We also tried to provide additional information and insight by creating links to other Web pages. Try clicking the colored links to see what happens!

Some of our readers have suggested we find a way to format our journals so that they can be read in chronological order from oldest to newest posts instead of the reverse, which is the nature of the Web blog beast. Until we come up with something better, we have created index pages for our longest blogs, New England Islands Cruise 2008 and OAT Japan 2009.

Enjoy!

Doug & Marie

OAT Japan, Wednesday, April 1, 2009:

2009-05-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

The 48-hour Day Return Home (At Least It Seemed That Way)

We all had our last breakfast together at the Patio Restaurant, and said our goodbyes. A few of us were leaving early for a post trip extension to Hiroshima. However, they opted to do their own arrangements instead of purchasing OAT’s extension package. Perhaps we can share their experiences in future blog postings.

After several fair days, it was raining this morning so we holed up in the hotel until our noon departure. Doug did some web surfing while Marie was looking at a temporary exhibit of designer kimonos (see photos).

The weather lifted as the van took us and the Denver travelers, John, Sally and Michiko, to Kansai International Airport, located in Osaka. We arrived about 2:00 p.m. for a 4:00 p.m. departure. Machiko arrived ahead of us to guide us through the check-in procedure. We then said our goodbyes and assured Machiko she was going to receive the highest ratings from us!

Kansai is a state of the art airport, completed in 1994. The designer was the world-renowned architect, Renzo Piano. The terminal was so well constructed that it came through the severe 1995 Kobe earthquake unscathed. Additionally, the place was spotless and the waiting area had free public computers for anyone’s use!

After exchanging the last few hundred yen for crisp American bills, we boarded the Boeing 747-400 for our flight to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Whereas we had nice legroom with the bulkhead seating between LAX and Tokyo, this time we had little legroom at all. The food was adequate, but we did not feel that United’s service was as polished as on the earlier flight.

We tried to sleep for most of the flight, but we woke up a couple of hours before we were to land at SFO. We landed about 10 a.m., local time (it was still April 1 because of our eastbound crossing of the International Date Line).

Customs was quick and efficient, and since we had a four-hour layover at SFO before our final leg to LAX, we had a chance to have a light lunch and explore the terminal.

This terminal was a real letdown compared with what we experienced at Kanzai International, and even Narita. Maintenance was so shoddy in comparison: seat backs missing in the waiting areas, floors spotted with dirt and debris, unclean restrooms, out-of-order drinking fountains, and so on. We could not help wondering what kind of impression foreign visitors would leave with; is this the best the United States can do?

The last leg of our flight was a commuter hop to LAX that got us on the ground by about 3:30 p.m. Our last task was to hail a shuttle to the Hacienda at LAX Hotel. In the old days, one went to a bank of telephones to speed dial the hotel to send a shuttle van. Today, one uses a touch computer screen, to contact a van service. We panicked because the Hacienda was not on the menu! We asked an information official nearby; it turned out that the Hacienda shuttle made a regular run every 20 minutes and no contact was necessary. He directed us to the van pickup area just outside. Sure enough, a Hacienda shuttle came by within five minutes, and we arrived at the hotel lobby at 4:00 p.m.

We knew that the notorious Los Angeles rush hour was underway, and we were in no condition to attempt the drive to San Diego this evening. As noted earlier, we had booked an overnight stay just for this reason.

We were ready for a menu change, so we ordered hearty Mexican dinners at the Mariposas Restaurant. Thus sated, we turned in.

The drive home the next morning was a piece of cake; by leaving after rush hour was over, we made it home in two hours in a fairly alert condition.

OAT Japan, Tuesday, March 31, 2009:

2009-04-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Optional Excursion to Arashiyama; Other Highlights

We could not believe this was our last full day in Japan! Time had flown by so quickly and we had done so much. This day and evening were packed with activities from beginning to end.

OAT arranged for several taxis to take us on a half-day excursion to the Arashiyama neighborhood, located in west Kyoto. We disembarked near the busy Keifuku Arashiyama train station, walked through attractive neighborhoods, and emerged into the tranquil hillside parks, to visit several significant attractions.

The principal landmark, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, was Tenryuji Temple. This is considered the most important Rinzai School Zen temple in Kyoto. Although the original structure dated back to 1339, wars and fires destroyed several reconstructions. The existing building dates from the late 19th century, during the Meiji period. The beautiful grounds include a karesansui (dry rock garden), typical of a Zen temple, as well as lush landscaping. Cherry and other fruit trees were near peak bloom as one can see from the photos.

Next was Okochi-Sanso Villa, the hilltop estate of the late movie actor Okochi Denjiro (1898-1962). The road we were walking on to reach the estate passed through the spectacular Sagano bamboo forest. We were able to visit several small shrines and view the exterior of his studio, before having tea in the main villa, now a museum. Many of Okochi's memorabilia were on display. He was best known for his samurai roles, as represented by the poster.

After tea, we wandered through the estate and adjacent gardens before returning to the Keifuku Arashiyama train station area for a last look around. We had a chance to walk to the Hozu River, where we saw several technologically advanced rickshaws lined up to take passengers around the neighborhood.

We did some last minute shopping before boarding the train back to downtown Kyoto. Machiko guided us through the transfer to the subway at the Kyoto Train Station. The nearest metro stop was only a block or so from the Hearton.

We decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon strolling the grounds of Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho in Japanese). In our opinion, this park afforded us the best examples of fruit trees in full flower on this trip. It was a great place to people watch, too! Although this was a weekday, there were many locals and
tourists alike enjoying the day here.

OAT treated us to a fabulous farewell dinner at a shabu shabu restaurant, located in the Gion District of east Kyoto. The long table had four inductive-type range burners on which the servers placed large fondue-like pots used to cook our meals. Several of us shared each pot. While the broth was being brought to boiling, they served us appetizers of Japanese eggplant and pickle, followed by prawn and vegetable tempura. We then each placed our sukiyaki-like thinly sliced beef, vegetables, bean curd and noodles into the by-now boiling pots. A light dessert of strawberries and ice cream completed this meal. We were so stuffed! Note: first photo courtesy of Ray.

“E.C.” had suggested earlier that each of us prepare a haiku poem to be read to the group after tonight’s dinner. Machiko had passed around some sheets with guidelines on how to write haiku. We learned there are several acceptable formats for this genre of poetry. Most of us took the plunge and read our pieces to the group.

The Gion District is the best known Geisha district in Kyoto. It is especially charming at night, especially during the cherry blossom season. Note the attractive utility cover. Machiko led the group through this historic preservation district, where the City of Kyoto has illuminated many of the picturesque streets and canals, including the resplendent cherry trees. In all, this walk was a nice finishing touch to this wonderful “Cultural Treasures of Japan” tour!

OAT Japan, Monday, March 30, 2009:

2009-04-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Second Full Day in Kyoto

This morning, the Hearton’s Patio Restaurant was jam packed again, this time with well-dressed business people. Since today’s touring was going to be more leisurely, we decided to wait a half hour for the room to clear. We passed the time checking our e-mails on one of the hotel’s computers.

We began our tour with a drive to an older, well preserved neighborhood, located in east Kyoto. The prevalent architectural style reminded us of that of the Samurai-era Nagamachi Quarter in Kanazawa. Note the similar mud walls, window treatments, rockwork and roof tiles.

Our next stop was the Ryoanji Temple, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. This Zen temple is best known for its karesansui (dry rock garden). The unknown designers, thought to be working in the 1400s, created a rectangular space composed of a field of white raked rocks. They placed 15 moss-covered boulders, placed in such a way that the only viewpoint where all 15 were visible was from a single location in the Kuri, or main hall. An article in the science journal Nature called this design concept medial-axis transformation (this assertion is open to controversy; the appeal of this garden may lie in its inate Zen simplicity).

The surrounding gardens at Ryoanji Temple were quite spectacular as well.

We finished this morning’s excursion with a visit to a countryside rapeseed or canola farm, where we learned about picking flowering plants for later use in a salad or cooking in various ways. We were given disposable plastic galoshes to place over our shoes due to the mud. We had fun wandering the fields with farmhands, who taught us to pick only those stems with budding flowers (mature flowers would have been too bitter in taste).

The original itinerary had called for a cooking class today in a local community center. As it turned out, we assisted in preparing lunch in an intimate restaurant created in an old farmhouse near the canola farm. We learned to make simple sushi, which we added to the excellent meal prepared by staff.

As one can see, parking is at a premium in Japan’s cities. We passed this mechanical parking garage as we walked near our hotel.

Dinner was on our own again, so we cast about for ideas. Several of the group raved about the Kushikura yakitori restaurant a short walk away a couple of nights earlier, so that sounded good to us. Irina joined us for dinner at Kushikura, which turned out to be delightful. Although their fixed price menus were on the expensive side, we were able to keep costs reasonable by ordering items a la carte.

OAT Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2009:

2009-04-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Optional Excursion to Nara and Fushimi-ku

Sidebar: Life at the Hearton Hotel:

The Hearton Hotel was a very busy place while we stayed there. We met participants from other OAT tours either several days earlier or later in the schedule. In addition, student athletic groups and business organizations would gather, probably due to the Hearton’s central location, conference facilities and competitive prices.

The Hearton has two venues for the complimentary breakfast. The more popular by far is the Patio Restaurant, located off the lobby. It is a buffet-style eatery with the widest variety of Western offerings we encountered on the trip as well as a wide assortment of Japanese dishes. The Hamatoku, located on the second level, is a formal, sit down restaurant, with a strictly Japanese menu featuring cuisine of the Kyoto region.

Yesterday, we had no problem finding room in the Patio buffet room at the 7:00 opening. This morning, however, the Patio was jam packed with voracious student athletes before the 7:00 opening bell, so we were told to wait until 7:30 or later. Given we had an 8:30 bus to catch, the two of us opted to try the Hamatoku upstairs. The room was perhaps half occupied, and not surprisingly, we were the only non-Asians there. The quiet Zen-like surroundings contrasted with the racket emanating from the Patio. We were treated to a beautifully presented setting of miso soup, assorted seafood, relishes and tea. We noticed that several Asian patrons were having mugs of beer with breakfast!

The Hearton had three Dell computers available for free public use in an alcove on the second level. We had to learn our way around the kanji (Japanese characters) keyboard, though. Nonetheless, we appreciated the opportunity to clear junk e-mails from our Web-based mail program, and send off a few messages.

Excursion to Nara and Fushimi-ku:

The bus trip took us over bucolic green rural hills accented by the occasional burst of blossoming fruit trees. We arrived about mid-morning in the city of Nara. The downtown seemed little more that the typical bustling tourist spot, as this is a major tourist destination.

Everything changed as we headed into the hills east of town, to visit the two UNESCO World Heritage sites on today’s optional tour.

The famous sika deer greeted us as we entered the park-like grounds of the Buddhist Todaiji Temple complex. Photo #1 shows the Main Gate; Photo #2 shows the Middle Gate. The Daibutsu-den (Great Buddha Hall ) (Photo #3), which is said to be the largest wooden building in the world, contained Daibutsu (Photo #4), one of the largest gilded Buddha statues in existence.
One of the menacing-looking guardians stood along side of the Buddha (Photo #5). Gorgeous blossoming cherry trees graced the lovely grounds (Photos #6,#7 and #8). We walked past a mausoleum (Photo #9 before heading down the picturesque stairs (Photo #10).

The Kasuga Shinto Shrine was also spectacular, as can be seen by the accompanying photos. This shrine is noted for its lanterns composed of stone, bronze and gilt. The sika deer were here, too! Here was a group of monks, dressed in white. We finished the tour of Kasuga Shrine by walking down this banner-lined pathway.

Before lunch, we had a chance to stroll around the pond adjacent to Nara's municipal center. This is a favorite place for wedding couples. Note the turtles on the rocks! This pagoda was undergoing restoration.

We had an amazing tempura lunch in downtown Nara!

After lunch, we headed to Fushimi-ku (Fushimi), where we visited the major highlight for this afternoon, the shrine Fushimi-inari, dedicated to the Shinto god of the forest. An outstanding feature was the series of 10,000 torii (vermilion-painted gates) that led to the inner temple. Portions of the 2005 movie Memoirs of a Geisha were shot here.

We finished the day by visiting an old sake brewery in Kyoto. The management showed us a video of the rather complex process in making sake, then allowed us time to visit the small museum where one can see the techniques were developed over centuries! We had a chance to taste two kinds of sake, and a plum wine they also specialize in.

Dinner was on our own, so we joined Tom and Marilyn at a Chinese-style restaurant in the Shinpukan Shopping Center where we ate Japanese the first night in Kyoto. We enjoyed generous amounts of spicy pork dishes, noodles and potstickers; we did not leave hungry!

OAT Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2009:

2009-04-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

First Full Day in Kyoto

Kyoto offered so many attractions it was a real challenge to select the best temples and castles to visit within the five days available for touring this city. When the optional excursions are taken into account (a full day to Nara and Fushimi, and a half day to Arashiyama), it left just 3.5 days to explore Kyoto itself. Machiko rearranged the published itinerary over the next several days, to allow for possible logistics problems and minimize crowds and long waits.

Machiko arranged an early morning visit to the Buddhist Kiyomizu-dera Temple, located high in the hills east of downtown Kyoto. This spectacular temple complex afforded panoramic views of Kyoto and environs. The centerpiece was the main hall, the Hondo, built in 1633. It is an example of kakezukuri or "overhang" architecture. It is famous for its so-called "Kiyomizu-dera stage", an imposing veranda supported by tall wooden columns with wooden braces running through them crosswise and lengthwise. Other gates, pagodas and shrines, many painted in vermilion in shades from faded to brilliant, graced this spectacular hillside site. The spectacular weeping cherry tree in full bloom was frosting on the cake!

The Sanjusangen-do Temple was our next attraction. The name derives from sanjusan (open bays or indentations), located between the pillars of the Hondo (Main Hall), through which the public could view the famed 1001 carvings of the [allegedly] 1000-armed Kannon (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). The structure, reconstructed in 1266 after the original Hondo burned, is considered to be the longest wooden building in Japan. It houses one central Kannon flanked by ranks of 1000 smaller Kannon. We caught a glimpse of a wedding ceremony being performed before the major Kannon! The vermilion gates and beautiful gardens of the complex contrasted with the umber tones of the Hondo.

Next we enjoyed Nijo Castle and its grounds. The extensive gardens provided tranquil contrasts to the bustling commercial areas of Kyoto. The centerpiece of this complex was the 1603 Ninomaru Palace, a shining example of what one writer called “architectural intimidation.” To deter intruders, the shogun, Ieyasu, had the palace outfitted with squeaky “nightingale” floors (they still squeak today)! He also stationed bodyguards in hidden chambers. Another nearby building was the 19th century Honmaru Palace, which we able to view only from the exterior. This beautiful decoration was on exhibit near the exit of Nijo Castle.

As we exited Nijo Castle, we ran into a gauntlet of vendors selling food and souvenirs. Since dinner tonight was on our own, we decided to purchase some small bento boxes of sushi, to eat later.

Lunch today at the campus of the University of Kyoto was a treat! We were escorted to the sedate La Tour (The Tower), located in the Art Deco Centennial Building with its iconic clock tower (hence the name). The French menu consisted of a small green salad with pork slices accompanied by plum preserves; entrée choices of nicely prepared fish or beef; and a chocolate cake square with whipped cream and a dollop of ice cream.

The major historical highlight this afternoon was Kinkaku-Ji (Golden Pavilion), and its surrounding gardens. Kinkaku-ji or "Golden Pavilion Temple" is the informal name of Rokuon-ji or "Deer Garden Temple." The original building was constructed in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it to a Zen temple. The present structure dates back only to 1955, because an obsessed young monk burned down the original building in 1950. The reconstruction quintupled the thickness of the gold leaf, and extended it to cover the upper two floors. [Lonely Planet]. Equally impressive were the strolling gardens, with the famed Kyoko-chi (Mirror Pond) providing the best reflections of this spectacular building.

We concluded today’s tour with a visit to the Nishijin Textile Center, where we were treated to a kimono fashion show. This was an amazingly popular event with both tourists and locals, so much so it was difficult to jockey into position to take photos! We also enjoyed browsing through the retail area. One of the many retail departments at the textile center featured these exquisite Japanese dolls.

We made a light dinner out of the sushi we bought at Nijo Castle, supplemented by the last of the strawberries we had bought in Kanazawa. This was an extremely full day, so we crashed soon thereafter.

OAT Japan, Friday, March 27, 2009:

2009-04-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Kanazawa to Kyoto

The group spent the early morning getting ready for our home visits in Kanazawa. The 14 of us were divided up into four subgroups, and sent by taxis to different homes. Marie, Doug and Irina paid a visit to a gracious lady who was a professional ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) expert.

Her home was a two-story flat, very much a middle class abode, with most modern conveniences.

She prepared tea for us, and we chatted about our backgrounds. She was quite conversant in English. We gave her a box of chocolates, and Irina presented her with a book about her current home state, Georgia. She gave Marie and Irina instruction in basic ikebana, while Doug took photographs. We concluded the session with a guided tour of her home.

After this pleasant morning, we returned to the hotel, to make preparations for the transfer to Kyoto. Lunch for us consisted of some leftovers from the deli counters at the adjacent department store.

The Shirasagi train ride took about four hours, reaching Kyoto in the late afternoon. Although it was still cool, it was nice to have emerged from cloudy, rainy conditions influenced by the Japan Sea. The setting sun illuminated rainbows extending from distant clouds.

We disembarked at the spectacular Kyoto Train Station, then transferred to the Hearton Hotel. Machiko led some of us to a major shopping arcade (left). The square formed by Kawaramachi Dori, Shijo Dori, Sanjo Dori, and Teramachi Dori included two covered shopping arcades and specialized shops selling lacquerware, combs and hairpins, knives and swords, tea and tea-ceremony implements, and more -- including, of course, clothing and accessories. [Frommers].

OAT treated is to a traditional Japanese dinner in an upstairs restaurant , located in the Shinpukan Shopping Center, about two blocks away. Shortly thereafter, we headed back to the hotel. Before turning in, we fiddled with the TV remote, in a attempt to find English speaking channels, few of which were available throughout Japan.

"E.C." mentioned that the Hearton Hotel remotes had a BIL (bilingual) button that enabled us to hear English as an alternate audio track (similar to the SAP function of TVs in the U.S.) on certain Japanese channels. The European version of CNN was therefore available in the Queen's English! Japan's Newschannel 7 featured headlines in Japanese, of course, then presented snippets of world news coverage in several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Russian as well as English. There was even a channel broadcasting in Arabic! At different times, they telecast ABC National News excerpts, with or without subtitles.