Friday, July 23, 2010

California Dreamin’ Tour – Day 5

Santa Barbara reminds me a lot of Aspen, jaw droppingly beautiful and very consumer-focused, but much more tastefully presented.The stunning homes, the smell of eucalyptus and ocean air, and the Four Seasons Biltmore definitely elevated our endorphins. Even our way less expensive, but very cute motel, The Sandman Inn was a treat.

 Since my travel buddy Deb and I are on a budget, we didn’t buy much, except bottles of wine, which were surprisingly inexpensive. The irony being, it wasn’t even California wine it was South American.

This was sort of our day of rest. We tootled around town, got our nails done, caught a few rays, had a nice glass of wine and dinner on State Street (the main drag), as we watched the "beautiful people" stroll by. Then we went back to the motel and spent hours plotting our drive through the Big Sur and to Monterey, where we’ll visit their famous aquarium. Oh yes, and we laughed our butts off as we pondered a one-night stay-over in Mojave (yes, the desert). When we Googled "Things to do in Mojave," the response was, "Nothing." I want a t-shirt that says, "I survived the Mojave Desert!"

To be continued...  SueAnn 

One Hundred Things My Mother Taught Me A Million Times – Chapter 45

#45 – “Make your husband a pie. He'll feel loved.”

This one of one hundred things my mom taught me a million times is one that definitely found purchase in my psyche. I never leave town for more than a day or two that I don’t make my adorable hubby two-dozen baby pecan pies. In fact, it is the only other thing that puts that uniquely goofy smile on his face! You know the one.

Making a pie can be pretty easy if you buy a ready-made crust, but traumatic to tragic if you try to make the crust from scratch. Making a good piecrust is a skill you either have or don’t, like a good singing voice. Or, something you can learn and master if you do it several times a week, like golf. But it is not something you can do well once in a blue moon. Click on Read More Below...


Thursday, July 22, 2010

California Dreamin’ Tour – Day 4




The Getty Center, in the Brentwood neighborhood of LA (yes, OJ’s hood), was created by a $600 million dollar grant from J. Paul Getty, who was born Jean Paul Getty in 1892 and died in 1975. As you can see from these photos, this place is architecturally stunning. Although I was terribly underdressed, we had a lovely lunch at the restaurant, which also provided exceptional people watching. Then we perused the museum store, walking away with some cool books and tasteful memorabilia. As far as the art collection – we actually saw little of it, as there just wasn’t time to do more than scratch the surface. 

I did, however, find out some very interesting trivia about J. Paul (I figure we’re on a first name basis now). His dad, who made his money in Oklahoma oil, decided J. Paul was a bum when after finishing college and making his first million with his own oil company, J. Paul announced that he was going to retire and move to LA to become a playboy. In fact, this pissed dad off so much that he left J. Paul a piddly $500,000 in his will. Eventually J. Paul ran out of money (in the process of being married and divorced 5 times), or perhaps to “show” his dad, so he had to go back to work. In 1949 he bought the drilling and concession rights to a barren tract of land where no Americans had ever drilled, nor had oil ever been discovered. That land straddled Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and as the story goes, the rest is history. So I guess we can thank J. Paul not just for the Getty Center, but also Desert Storm and the Gulf War, but on to more pleasant thoughts.

Yesterday’s journey was also about driving Wilshire Boulevard and Hwy 101, or as it is locally known, the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway).

Oh, I almost forgot. We did surf for a couple of hours with Matthew McConaughey in Malibu, but then his wife and kids showed up and we all had to act like we didn’t really know each other. As you can clearly see from this photo, he was pretty disappointed when we left. Today is all about Santa Barbara, and that means shopping, which could be very interesting since neither Deb nor I have any money. Mas MaƱana! SueAnn
  

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

California Dreamin’ Tour – Day 3

Who says you can’t learn on vacation? So far I’ve learned:
  1.  Not planning ahead provides surprises! Some wonderful, some not. For example, by not mapping out my entire vacation (my type-a personality is on vacation too), I’ve learned that California hotels and gasoline are damn expensive! If I’d known in advance how expensive, I probably would have va-ca'd in Arkansas, or Austin!
  2. In some high-tourists areas, you have to pay to potty!
  3. I’ve re-learned that staring at the ocean will suck the stress right out of your soul!
  4. Although I love the luxury of swank hotels, the hillbilly in me tires quickly of “Disney Land” perfection.
  5. Balboa Park (San Diego) demands a separate dedicated vacation!
  6. Laguna Beach is waaay cooler (as in groovy) than Newport Beach!
  7. Every now an then when you think you’re in the armpit of America, i.e., Long Beach, you stumble upon a gem, i.e., the Marina Motel ($65/night), and the Sushi Studio! Our sushi chef, Pond, was killer! Travel partner, Deb, in her vast sushi consuming experience, just said, “Wow us!” or something to that effect, and we were! What a cool joint too!

Our one and only stop in LA is going to be the Getty Center and we are sooooo excited! Then off to Santa Barbara.
Ciao Bella - SueAnn

Monday, July 19, 2010

California Dreamin’ Tour – Day 2

As I lie here staring at the Pacific, I can barely get up the will to write! A beachfront suite at the Del Coronado (or as the natives call it, The Del) does not inspire blogging. It inspires a thousand mile stare and navel gazing, or perhaps more appropos to the setting, naval gazing. If I weren’t a glass-half-full gal, I’d fear that the California Dreamin’ Tour is all down hill from here, but I foresee more great adventures as Deb and I meander our way map-less up the California coast.

Did I mention that the current temperature is 67 degrees? No, I’m sure I didn’t. I also probably didn’t mention that the temperature in Yuma Arizona yesterday at 8:00 pm was 112 degrees, so California is definitely the right place for us menopausal gals.

California is a botanical wonderland, and the flowers are glorious. But I have this queezy feeling that it's all "sinner bait," luring us across the Andreas Fault till the accumulated weight shifts the tectonic plates, at which point we'll all go sliding off into the ocean. 

Forgive me, but I have to go back to staring at the ocean. At least my posts will be brief!

SueAnn