Pasadena: Family, Friends & Fun Jobs

The last days of our trip was spent in Pasadena, the town where my son Greg lives.  On the walk to his house, we found this, near where people's mailboxes were, that was somebody's lending library, just right by their house!

Unlike our San Francisco part, which was city tour, or the Coastal Highway part, which was scenic, the last part of our trip was more family and relaxation.

We did take the time to tour an older home called The Gamble House (from the family in Proctor & Gamble).  Alison loves touring these old craftsman style homes, and she was in HGTV heaven.  I went with her for the hour plus tour and.....I was happy that she was happy.

I would show pictures from the inside, but they didn't allow that.

Benjamin playing with his second cousin, Myles.  Part of our visit was spending time with Alison's cousins, Suzy and Charley, and Suzy's husband, Greg.

Suzy with husband Greg.  She is pregnant with Myle's baby brother, and is due in October.  

Greg (Suzy's spouse) is an animal trainer at a ranch with animals used in commercials, television and movies.  We got to see lions and tigers and bears...oh, my!  And one hyena named Banzai, that Greg actually raised in their home as a cub (puppy?).  In Hollywood, Banzai is considered the go-to hyena.  

Benjamin's totem animal is tiger, and here he is actually getting to feed one!

There were many more experiences there, but we were limited in the pictures we could take, and actually pretty much wrapped up in the whole experience, including feeding marshmallows to Grizzly Bears.

Their animals have been in a large number of productions, including The Happening, which Greg himself was in (getting his arm ripped off as an animal trainer whose big cats go awry), and the tiger in The Hangover.  Banzai the hyena was featured in an American Express commercial with Ellen DeGeneres.  Currently, some of their animals can be seen in Deliver Us From Evil.

One of the last things we got to do on our trip, and perhaps the most special thing to me, was a visit to where my son Greg worked.  Here he is in his ginormous office, seated at multiple panels of the sophisticated instruments he use to perfect the color in the TV shows you may be watching.  

It is a huge office, and includes couches and chairs for executives and clients to see episodes of what's being worked on.  On the wall opposite Greg is a huge screen, as big as a small theater movie screen, where he gets to see, frame by frame (or whatever they call the digital stuff nowadays), the shows that he is working on.  The shows are recorded with the color being kind of flat, and it is up to Greg to bring it out, in a way that makes the scene come alive.

Greg has worked on many. many shows.  One of the more recent ones you may be familiar with is Hawaii Five-O.  Often, Hawaii does not look like it's postcards.  Often, it is overcast and gray.  He helped make it look like the Hawaii people are more familiar with.  If you watch that show and want to visit Hawaii, my son is partly responsible for that.

While we there, he worked on a couple of shows, the most exciting of which was a new series that premiered just a week ago, and featured a very famous movie star in her first TV series in a very long time, produced by perhaps the most successful Director in movie history.

All in all, this was a very exciting trip for us Straits, and I think you for catching these travelogue slide shows.  We are busily saving our travel points again, and looking forward to going back as often as we can!

The Straits Go ALL Hollywood!

It's time to say goodbye to Morro Bay.  Our vista was brief, but it was lovely, and if it was where Brunswick was I would go again and again and again.

We got into Pasadena, where my so Greg lives, and the next day we took a trip to the town he works in - Hollywood!  Pictured above is  Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

This is where the stars have set their hands and feet in concrete.  Shirley Temple, one of the most popular child stars of all time, has her hand-prints here circa 1935.

This is one Alison hanged around for a long time.  I'm not sure why.

Alison and the boys hang out in front of the theatre.  They are trying to convince there are other celebrity prints besides Hugh Jackman.

The Strait boys gather to plot their Hollywood takeover.

Hey, Dude!  You're not gonna guess who's behind you!

One of my favorite movies is 1941, and has a scene where a Japanese sub surfaces and sees an amusement park on shore.  One of the sailors looks at in awe and say, "Horry-woood!"  Me, being the adult child that I am, seeing the Hollywood sign for the first time, shout "Horry-woood!" in that same atrocious accent.  And yes,  there were some nearby Asian families who heard me say it.  Fifty plus years of being a civil rights oriented non-racist down the drain. 

Darn that power of Spielberg!

Going DOWN the Coastal California Highway : Day 4

On top of the California Coastal Highway, Ma!

One of our first stops was Monterey Aquarium, a very large and interesting assemblage of aquatic life in this bustling coastal town.  It was one of our most crowded stops on our whole trip.  We had to park several blocks away from the museum just to get there.  But it was worth it.  It's been the only aquarium that I've seen that could compete with the one in Chattanooga.

This is what most of the drive was like, with one exception.  Most of the time the drop off was closer, and there was no railing.  Benjamin and Alison saw more of this than I did.  I was mostly trying to drive, white knuckled and heart pounding, just concentrating hard to KEEP US ON THE ROAD!

I give this waterfall a C for strength and size, but an A+ for scenic placement.  Fresh water trickling down into the vast ocean.

A view of a craggy ocean rock, with homes and stuff.  Kinda of a Gothic feel, ain't it?

When the more mountainous part of the coastal highway settled down, we were treated to this sight of sea lions in a protected area.

Here two male sea lions are fixing to fight over who is King of the Beach.  Or get to date Betty Lou.  One of the two.

We ended the day in Morro Bay, and that beautiful Pacific rock (known as the Rock) was part of our view from both the restaurant we ate at, and from our hotel room.  So in San Francisco, we had a view of The Rock (Alcatrez), and in Morro Bay we had a view of what is called The Rock (Pacific Ocean).  It made me wonder if, when we got to LA, is we might have a view of Dwayne Johnson.

Day 3 San Francisco: Taking Nob Hill

We decided on Sunday morning to go to church.  The church pictured above is Grace Cathedral, one of the largest Episcopal churches in the nation.  And it's on top of Nob Hill, San Francisco's largest, steepest climb.

No problem, we thought.  We'd just slip onto the trolley at the foot of the hill and use that to get to the top.  Except there was no trolley coming at 7:45 in the morning, at least that we could see.  So we climbed it, steep block after steep block, each block checking to see if a trolley was near, each time giving up and moving on until we finally got to the top.

Now some of my more faithful readers may know that I've been coping with foot pain.  It had moderated some at the start of our trip, but was still fairly painful.  So I slowly dragged myself up that hill.

Was it worth it?  Look for yourself!  Spectacularly gorgeous church!  The service was in a side chapel, with an overflowing crowd.  It was a beautiful service, made more special by it's incredible diversity.  The crowd encompassed all races, economic stratas and orientations.  

On the floor below, they had a coffee shop and a delightful bookstore, a beautiful display of gifts and books celebrating progressive Christianity.

This was our view going down Nob Hill.  We teased Benjamin that if he lost his balance, he might wind up rolling down the whole hill.  

I'm not sure what this means, but after our Nob Hill adventure, my feet were significantly better, and stayed that way the rest of the trip.  I may have to find a Nob Hill in Blackshear.  Wish me luck. 

This is a great view of the Painted Ladies, a residential section of colorful town houses.  Alison really wanted to see these, and she was not disappointed.

An extra special treat for her was that one of the homes was open for an estate sale.  She was going to get to go into a Painted Lady house!

The house was filled with many special features, including a good number of stained glass windows.

I enjoyed the view from the back window.  Notice the object in the upper left window frame.  I'm not sure, but I think it might be Rocky J. Squirrel.

Later, we went to Golden Gate Park, a park that is larger than New York City's Central Park, and Benjamin was happy to be able to go to their Science Museum.  Once again, notice the jackets.  I LOVE IT!!!

Here Benjamin has made it to the roof of the building!  It is called a living roof, with those circles letting light in to the rest of the building.

That night, we were too exhausted to research restaurants.  We just wanted a good, local hamburger, but had no idea where to find one.  We went down Columbus Street, and Alison noticed the word Mo's and a neon hamburger.  We took a chance and it was fantastic!  

They ground the meat after you ordered, and then cooked it on volcanic rock.  Alison and Benjamin got the Western Burger, and me, being who and what I am, got one called Belly Busters.

I would show pictures of them, but we ate them too fast.

Next up - traveling the coastal highway!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Goes the Trolley Day in Frisco!

The sun begins to set on our first day in San Francisco.

 Night time view from our hotel room.  A blur of lights and neon.

Morning.  You know what?  I don't care how earthquake proof they say the building is, I wouldn't want to live on a side of a cliff like that.

We took a cruise around the Bay.  The waves got real choppy, particularly around the Golden Gate Bridge.  Here's as close as I got to taking a picture of it  My footing was not quite sound, and I am grateful I did not fall, especially off the boat.  That would have been bad.

I got a picture of Alison and Benjamin waiting in line for the trolley.  It looks like they are by themselves, but we are actually part of a long line of people waiting to get on the trolley.  We had to wait about two hours to get one.  If you look carefully, you can see the long line of people on either side.

Please note that Alison and Benjamin are wearing jackets.  In June. In the afternoon.  My Southeast Georgia friends realize just how unusually awesome that is.  Some may not appreciate it, but I LOVED it!

Once we got on the trolley, the conductor warned us of significant delays up ahead.  And I got moved from my inside the trolley to the back near the conductor and the steering stick.  But all the wait and bother was worth it, for views like the picture above.

Yeah.  That's right.  This is the second blog story, and we're only up to Day Two!

Exploring San Francisco

Ah, yes!  Patience and careful planning has its rewards!  We finally were able to take our long anticipated trip to California!  My son Greg works in Hollywood, and we wanted to see and also visit San Francisco.  After much planning and saving, cashing in tons of Capital One rewards points, and me earning an extra three vacation days a year after fifteen years at the CPA firm I work at, we were able to make the trip!

This was the view from our room in San Francisco.  The tall tower is Coit Tower, and the island in the Bay is Alcatraz, one of two famous rocks we were to see our trip.  We could also see Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown.

Although we had a full week for our trip, it was still not enough time to see a redwood forest, so this was as close as we got.  This was in the Exploratorium, a huge hands on children's science museum on the pier in San Francisco.  Alison got us the Citipass, which entitled us to unlimited public transportation and four attractions.  

Alison and Benjamin are fascinated by this sculpture of a an intricate ship, made entirely out of toothpicks.  

The Exploratorium was huge, the largest hands on museum I had ever seen.  We spent way more time than we expected in it, and Benjamin's mind was overwhelmed by it.  There were a lot of people in the museum as well.  Many, many very excited children, and a very helpful staff.

Another great first day experience was the City Lights Bookstore.  This was a popular hangout for beat authors like Allen Ginsberg and Ken Kesey in the 50s and 60s.  There were three floors to it, including one floor devoted solely to poetry and beat literature.  There was not a Rushy Limbaugh or Bill O'Liely book in sight.  I had never seen so many progressive books in one place before.  It about made me weep for joy.  Even the science fiction and mystery sections were filled with fiction writers of progressive backgrounds.  

And that's just the first day, folks!  More to come!  This is the modern equivalent of my Dad's vacation slide shows!

Bring popcorn!