Putting the "Angel" in "Los Angeles"

As mentioned in the last post, our next stop was Los Angeles, which afforded us a glimpse into the star-studded life of the up-and-coming film composer, Greg Nicolett.

We kicked off our whirlwind celebrity tour with a trip to Chinatown yesterday morning for a breakfast of dim sum, done traditional-style where the waiters push around little carts with plates that have 3-4 buns or dumplings of various types, and stamp your card when you accept their tray. At the end somebody from the staff makes sense of the cryptic markings and determines how much you owe, generally surprisingly less than you would expect given how full you are. Here we experienced our first Los Angeles earthquake!! It was also Greg's, and we were honored to share this special moment with him.

Next was a quick trip to MOCA, mainly fast because it was closed. Afterwards we headed over to Grauman's Chinese Theater...
...to look at the names of our favorite celebrities...
...and to talk to some of our favorite superheroes.

This is Greg being embarrassed because Superman has more ideas about where to take us tourists than Greg does.

After we got some advice from Superman, we got some dinner. Not just any dinner, of course (after all, what post of mine would be complete without a food montage?) but the famous Pink's Hot Dogs.

This is a Pink's hot dog:
...and this is true love:
...and this is... just silly, I guess.

That's right, that's Greg, the same guy who scored the short film "Superglue," whose premiere we were invited to attend that evening.
Drinks and snacks followed at a bar up the street, and were luckily and awesomely paid for by the director's father. Nice.

Today, we shipped out to Santa Monica Pier for a beach day. It was sunny, and the water was nice and warm.

After a while we took a walk on the pier, where Michelle and Greg insisted on riding the dinky roller coaster, so I "volunteered" to hold all their stuff...
...and take a picture.
Finally we retired to the Third Street Promenade area in search of a steak dinner,
...which we found in the form of an Argentinian-style grill.
Mmmm... meat.

So ends the second of our major California tour points, with San Diego on the not-so-distant horizon. Looking forward to all that lies ahead, our bellies full of good Gaucho cookin', we thus bid you sweet dreams, adventure fans.

I want to be W.R. Hearst for a day. (During the 1940s)

Ok ok, I know that William Randolph Hearst has a somewhat sordid reputation, but here are a few glimpses into his elegant private life. On the way to L.A. from Monterey, we stopped to visit the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. (And for those of you who had to watch "Citizen Kane in Mr. Miller's class with me, this brought back a few memories!)

This was our first view of one of the three guest quarters:

Here's the outdoor pool....


Lucas was tempted to take a dip, but the pool is only used by members of the Hearst family and by the staff of the castle (who each get a 2 hour time slot in September to swim.... one of the many perks of working for the place.)


A quick view of one of the many gardens led the way to...

The "Casa Grande"!! Some of the artwork was commissioned by Hearst, but many pieces are original works from the Medieval, Romantic and Gothic period. The "Madonna and Child" over the entrance is from the 13th Century and although I was unable to photograph the interior, there are ten large tapestries... makes the whole place look a lot like...a... CASTLE!
So, after our tour of Hearst Castle, we drove into L.A. and are psyched to see Gregory Nicolett tomorrow!! But, I have to admit... spending hours in the car sometimes makes me a little goofy! Poor Lucas.


You may not believe me, but balancing the GPS cover on Lucas's shoulder provided minutes of high quality entertainment.
See you soon, Adventure fans! :)

Lieva Whitbeck -- A San Francisco Treat

This post is brought to you by the household of Lieva Whitbeck, and of course more specifically by that lovely hostess herself, without whom no trip to San Francisco would have been possible, or at least not as fun... and certainly not without giant pancake breakfasts or late-night cookie bakes... but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

The day before our last post, we woke up at sunrise (about 6), broke down our camp, and drove until about sunset (15 long hours later.) Finally we had made it to the West Coast!!
And of course, I insisted that the first thing we do upon arrival be stopping for dinner at the famous In & Out Burger for some exotic California patty. Afterwards we arrived at Lieva's to a cordial welcome and conversation late into the night, and finally we made our bed on a couple of massage tables and fell fast asleep.

Next day involved a few errands (like our first chance to do laundry since leaving home) and a little recovery (a slow morning spent in a coffee shop across from the laundromat checking email and updating this site). But we couldn't be slowed down for long: by that afternoon we were back in action, renting a couple of bikes and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
Michelle was wearing a pretty cute dress--but not exactly windy city bike attire. So we stopped in a Fisherman's Wharf souvenir shop to pick up these Alcatraz escapee pants...

(...the shirt belongs to me.)

The view from the return ferry.

Later that night we headed to a birthday party in town, for a friend of Lieva's that Michelle had met last time she was in town. (I didn't know anybody, but everyone was friendly anyway!) Next day involved a long walk from Union Square through Chinatown and then over to the Exploratorium (a kickin' science museum... look it up.)

Michelle loves palm trees!

...the cosmopolitan.
Chinatown!
...huh.
A tourist trap-- I mean, tea tasting! (No, really, it was fun.)

Later we headed over to Dolores Park to meet up with Lieva and watch The Breakfast Club on this screen. ("Can you hear this? ...well would you like me to...turn it up?")

This morning, we bid goodbye to Lieva and met Andy and Katie Dow for a lovely breakfast at a local chain, "Squat and Gobble," more delicious than it sounds. We had one last attraction before we left San Francisco:
...called by John Muir "the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world."

The monument.
Contemplating the grandeur.

Presently we left the woods and headed down CA-1, towards Monterey. Michelle loved the views...

...and I loved the olallieberry pies.
Then a few hours ago we landed in Monterey, and took in the aquarium and a dinner on Cannery Row...
...after which we checked into our hotel, bringing me to this very moment. :)

That's all for now, friends. If you've made it this far, that means you are only two days away from the halfway point of this magnificent journey! Tomorrow we'll make our way to LA... so get ready to entertain us, Greg!!

Tune in next time, adventure fans!

Yellowstone shots!! (We're on the West Coast now! )

So ladies and gents, the Beetle made it across the country!! We're in San Francisco visiting Lieva, but the primary focus of this post is the last 4/5 days we spent traveling for 20+ hours and our time at Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. I'm not going to lie to you, we have over 200 shots of our time at Yellowstone, so I'm just going to organize the pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Mount Rushmore: Our hotel in Rapid City, SD was 20 minutes away from Mount Rushmore, so Lucas and I decided to check out four guys you might recognize!

Here's a formal shot:

One with us:

And for those of you who have never been to Mount Rushmore, all the states are displayed flag/plaque style as you walk up to the monument. Here's the whole view and our own little Connecticut.


Ok, now on to Yellowstone National Park. The first national park established by President Grant in 1872. This park is remarkable because... well... it has EVERYTHING!! From bubbling mud pots, steaming lakes, wild life, waterfalls, canyons and beautiful trails- Lucas and I had a blast. We hiked (mostly on paved trails- don't be too too impressed) roughly 20 miles!! Check out some of the features of the park: (This is where the pictures will dominate this post!! :))

Hydrothermal features first!! Yellowstone is one of the most "active" areas in America. The park is above an active super volcano! Here's a quote from the website about the hydrothermal features, "Yellowstone’s vast collection of thermal features provides a constant reminder of the park’s recent volcanic past. Indeed, the caldera provides the setting that allows such features as Old Faithful to exist and to exist in such great concentrations." Cool, right?



(I'm by the Lonestar Geyser in this shot! Woah!)

(Above is Old Faithful! The most predictable of the geysers)


Doesn't the environment look prehistoric? (That's my dinosaur pose!)

Next waterfalls and wild life!! (We saw herds of Bison, two bears, elk and deer!)

We had to climb up and down 328 steeeeeep stairs to get this shot, but it was worth it even though we were tired after!!


Ok, soo like I said, I have over 200 shots, but here are some of my favorites and one of our little tent! We'll post again tomorrow!! (About our West Coast travels! :))

Lily Pad Lake

The best waterfall.

Me and a meadow

Lucas overcome by the beauty of the park

Our hotel. :)