You expect the drive north on Route 101/1 from Los Angeles to be spectacular, although the combination of mountains and sea was even more dramatic than I'd been led to believe.
You expect the San Diego Zoo to exceed even your fondest memories of Joan Embery and Johnny Carson, but a Sichuan takin? Who knew such magnificent creatures existed?
Of course, the best parts of any vacation are the unexpected pleasures, made even easier when you teenager is navigating with the GPS and locates some restaurant that only locals might have known about.
Here are a couple truly worth mentioning:
The Flying Dutchman in Morro Bay, in a down-to-earth seaside village. Superb seafood overlooking Morro Rock, a 578-foot-high volcanic plug named by Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo in 1542. The amusing buty tacky Web site belies some of the freshest and best seafood this side of Legal's, and about a third less expensive, too.
Casa Lupitas in Castaic, just off Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles. We filled (and I mean filled) a family of five for lunch for $44 including tax and tip. Fresh-out-of-the-fryer tortilla chips bode well for a great Mexican meal.
And one so far that's overrated:
Ghiraradelli's Soda Fountain in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. The fragrance seduces you. The small portions and high prices club you over the head.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Freedom of the press belongs...
...to those who own one.
That may not be quite so true anymore, but it sure was in the day of William Randolph Hearst, whose Hearst Castle we visited on Wednesday.
Alhtough larger than the mansions of Newport, R.I., the media mogul's monument to himself and to wretched American excess is certainly a warmer and more inviting place than the mausoleums of Bellevue Avenue.
Because the estate sprawls in several buildings across a hilltop overlooking the Pacific, the better to accommodate Hearst's celebrity guests, its size doesn't overwhelm and intimidate like, say, Vanderbilt's The Breakers, which we visited earlier this year.
Although the museum's exhibits are about as honest as these sorts of things can get, including Hearst's rambling NBC commentary on why the U.S. should have stayed out of World War II, conspicuously absent is any mention of the movie purportedly based on Hearst's life that is widely regarded as one of the best of all time, "Citizen Kane."
Certainly it's in keeping with Hearst apparent edict that his papers ignore the movie because it plays way to fast and loose with the facts in telling the story of Charles Foster Kane. Hearst may have had a point.
Probably the real hero (or should I say heroine) of the Hearst Castle story is Julia Morgan, California's first licensed female architect. She suffered Hearst's many quirks and change-orders through the 28 years of construction. I'd certainly like to know more about her and the artisans and construction workers who executed Hearst's vision.
That may not be quite so true anymore, but it sure was in the day of William Randolph Hearst, whose Hearst Castle we visited on Wednesday.
Alhtough larger than the mansions of Newport, R.I., the media mogul's monument to himself and to wretched American excess is certainly a warmer and more inviting place than the mausoleums of Bellevue Avenue.
Because the estate sprawls in several buildings across a hilltop overlooking the Pacific, the better to accommodate Hearst's celebrity guests, its size doesn't overwhelm and intimidate like, say, Vanderbilt's The Breakers, which we visited earlier this year.
Although the museum's exhibits are about as honest as these sorts of things can get, including Hearst's rambling NBC commentary on why the U.S. should have stayed out of World War II, conspicuously absent is any mention of the movie purportedly based on Hearst's life that is widely regarded as one of the best of all time, "Citizen Kane."
Certainly it's in keeping with Hearst apparent edict that his papers ignore the movie because it plays way to fast and loose with the facts in telling the story of Charles Foster Kane. Hearst may have had a point.
Probably the real hero (or should I say heroine) of the Hearst Castle story is Julia Morgan, California's first licensed female architect. She suffered Hearst's many quirks and change-orders through the 28 years of construction. I'd certainly like to know more about her and the artisans and construction workers who executed Hearst's vision.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
His luggage always did want to travel
We're in Santa Maria, about three hours north of Los Angeles. Paul's luggage is en route from Orlando. Or so jetBlue has told us.
When we arrived in L.A. after an uneventful flight, our luggage arrived with almost scary efficiency on the airport baggage carousel. Well, almost all of it.
After the carousel stopped and it became increasingly clear that no more suitcases were going to come down the chute, Diane inquired and learned that his bag went on a quest for the Mouse. This was easy to understand, since a flight to Orlando was leaving at about the same time ours was going to California.
We were assured it would be arriving overnight, but as of 8 a.m. PDT on on Wednesday it still wasn't here. Luckily, Paul has learned to carry a change of clothes and his toiletries in a backpack for times like these. I guess we've taught him well.
After a 45-minute wait for a rental car at Fox, we were on our way, up the Southern California coast on routes 1 and 101. The combination of mountain peaks, mist, and turquoise water quickly made the chagrin of earlier in the day a distant memory.
We stopped at Henri's Cafe in Oxnard for an early dinner, an early '60s-style diner with fresh, basic food at reasonable prices --- just what we needed after a long flight and overpriced airport food.
When we arrived in L.A. after an uneventful flight, our luggage arrived with almost scary efficiency on the airport baggage carousel. Well, almost all of it.
After the carousel stopped and it became increasingly clear that no more suitcases were going to come down the chute, Diane inquired and learned that his bag went on a quest for the Mouse. This was easy to understand, since a flight to Orlando was leaving at about the same time ours was going to California.
We were assured it would be arriving overnight, but as of 8 a.m. PDT on on Wednesday it still wasn't here. Luckily, Paul has learned to carry a change of clothes and his toiletries in a backpack for times like these. I guess we've taught him well.
After a 45-minute wait for a rental car at Fox, we were on our way, up the Southern California coast on routes 1 and 101. The combination of mountain peaks, mist, and turquoise water quickly made the chagrin of earlier in the day a distant memory.
We stopped at Henri's Cafe in Oxnard for an early dinner, an early '60s-style diner with fresh, basic food at reasonable prices --- just what we needed after a long flight and overpriced airport food.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Finding something for everyone
It's probably our last long family vacation together, at least for a while.
Our oldest child will be off to college in four weeks, and then tuition-induced poverty will set in for at least the next six years.
We wanted to find a vacation we could all support, with a combination of relaxation, activity, history, and entertainment that two fiftysomething parents and three teenagers could enjoy.
Join as we find out whether we can strike a balance and decide whether this is something we ever want to do again.
Our oldest child will be off to college in four weeks, and then tuition-induced poverty will set in for at least the next six years.
We wanted to find a vacation we could all support, with a combination of relaxation, activity, history, and entertainment that two fiftysomething parents and three teenagers could enjoy.
Join as we find out whether we can strike a balance and decide whether this is something we ever want to do again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)