A 90th Birthday

Jill's Journal: It’s a long, long trek from Paso Robles to Northridge in the L.A.-area, about three hours and 40 minutes each way, to be exact, but it’s not every day the girls’ only surviving Great Grandma turns 90.

We spent the special day yesterday with this sweet and feisty lady, even talking her into donning a birthday tiara for a few brief moments. It was so fun to see her enjoy the girls, her only great grandchildren, who seem to innately know they must be on their very best behavior at her house.

Ninety years old. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Great Grandma Lili has certainly earned a few birthday Oreos (her favorite cookie). Every time we’ve visited, she has made absolutely certain the girls shared a few Oreos with her and this day was no exception. She jokingly said she wants them to remember her for her Oreos…I think they will!

Opportunities and pastimes...

Sometimes something comes up that you just have to try. We are on this journey - this adventure - and once-in-awhile, you just have to say... "why not?" (yes, that was a veiled 'Risky Business' reference...)

In the last several weeks I've gotten a couple of opportunities that I wanted to record in the blog. Just a short post about these three, but a record of them nonetheless.

First - about a month ago... I'm a "friend" (and fan) on Facebook of one of my favorite comedians, Eddie Izzard. I found out that he had wrangled a couple of special dates at a small club in LA to try out some new material, maybe work through some old jokes, so I bought a ticket on a whim. I would have brought Jill -- I wanted to bring Jill, but two things - 1. The show started at 11PM - she's not quite a night owl, and 2. Kids - we're not inclined to leave them alone. So I'm off to enjoy the show solo.

The best thing about the venue (Largo at the Coronet) was that it is quaint, very LA, and amazing all around. The picture shows the ENTIRE theater from the back row (I think there were 12 rows total). I had 4th row center, and couldn't have asked for better seats.

Before the show I spent a little time in the Bar at the theater (tiny, like 45 seats), and it took me three or four glances, but it turns out that the talent often visits the Bar before/after the show. There was Eddie, standing at the bar just 2 feet away, having a regular conversation with attendees - that's how tight this theater was. Anyhow - I'll just say that it was one of my better experiences of the trip, just for the sheer intimacy of the venue and how cool the opportunity was. The jokes were good, and an experience I'll never forget. (For what it's worth - I'd have provided better pictures, but the venue has a very stringent policy about technology - It seems to read... "During the show, if we hear, see, or even sense that you have a cellphone that's on, we will ::: humiliate you in the theater, kick you out of the theater, take your phone, make you break it, throw you out onto the sidewalk, and call the cops on you for trespassing..." ::: I've turned my phones all-the-way-off three times this entire trip - this was one--the other two were in National Parks with no reception. I had the sense that these people were not kidding. :) )

Second - just the other day... Most everyone knows that I like to play poker. Just as Jill likes to visit racetracks, I like to visit poker rooms. I haven't had as much opportunity to visit as many as I'd like, but I try to visit the big ones. The other night I decided that a visit to one of the premier venues in poker was too close not to experience. Anyone into poker knows that "The Bike" is probably the most famous cardroom on the West coast. I had to go, and while it was much more for the experience of the venue than the play, I had a great time. I played for a few hours in this room (they have like 12 other gaming rooms, all this big, many this full). It was a great experience, and one I hope to repeat...

Third - yesterday... OK, poker again... I've missed home games on the road. I used to play a home game just about every week before we went on this adventure. I expected to find a regular game at the RV parks we stayed at. That opportunity has not come up. So, when I found a Hold 'em game, scheduled, with a following, I had to check it out. Granted, it was a lot of "catch" (playing without much real strategy hoping that their hand is good, and then at the end 'catching' their Ace to make best pair), and the play and rules were a little different than what I was used to, but 65 people in a room playing poker reminded me about why I love the game. Yes, I was by far the youngest in the room, and I look forward to going back next week.

Los Angeles-Area Racetracks

Jill's Journal: Some people dream of visiting every baseball stadium in the country, but for me, it’s every Thoroughbred racetrack. We’ve done a pretty good job on this extended road trip, hitting every one we’ve come even relatively close to. The tricky part is being at a track during the days or weeks or months they’re conducing live racing. We seem to hit most places in their off-season, but that’s okay. I’m happy with a glimpse. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve learned other tracks in the country – particularly in California – are not quite as welcoming during dark days or during the off-season as, say, Keeneland in Lexington. (Oh, Kentuckians have it so, so good. There’s a reason Central Kentucky is racing Mecca.)

During our time in Los Angeles and Orange County, I was so thrilled to get the chance to visit the four area tracks. Weeks after a stellar day at Santa Anita in Arcadia, we headed down to Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Rob and I had been here for live racing before, many years ago, and remembered it as a beautiful place, known as “the track of the lakes and flowers.” It has a rich racing history and was the home base of Zenyatta, so the girls were extremely excited to see it too, even though Hollywood’s racing season is long off. Our excitement came screeching to a halt when we learned at the gate Hollywood Park charges an entrance fee of $10 per person – that would make $50 for our family – even though there was only simulcasting and no live racing. I haven’t been to every track in the country, by any means, but I don’t recall having been to one that charged more than $5 on a regular live racing day and I certainly haven’t ever paid for simulcasting, much less at $10 a head. Ridiculous. I wasn’t about to pay that for a short visit, so we left, bitterly disappointed.

We swung around to the side and got a peek at the grandstand from a distance, but it wasn’t quite the same. I was able to tell the girls Zenyatta had probably walked on that horse path in the foreground, so they were still pleased. :)

What a difference we found at Fairplex Park in Pomona. Part of the Los Angeles County Fair, Fairplex is not a high-class track, but it provides a fun atmosphere with some decent racing. I didn’t expect to see much of anything at Fairplex, as we got there right at dark (it gets dark early here, or did until this blasted Daylight Savings racket this week!). There was absolutely no access to the track as it was completely fenced off, but a security guard at one of the gates saw our Kentucky plates and took mercy on us. He kindly opened the gate and told us how to get to the track.

Obviously this picture is so dark, but it was taken from the backside (the grandstand is across from us) and we could clearly see the tight turns which makes Fairplex famous as a bullring (a little track completely devoid of the wide, sweeping turns and long stretches which make Thoroughbred racing so great). I was thrilled to get this tiny peek (thank you, Fairplex security – you kick butt over Hollywood Park!).

We had one more stop to make to complete our circuit of L.A.-area tracks and we did that this weekend. Los Alamitos Race Course in…Los Alamitos. This isn’t even officially a Thoroughbred track, but a famous Quarter Horse one. They do conduct some Thoroughbred racing, although if a Thoroughbred finds his way into the starting gate at Los Al, he’s probably better off looking for another career as a hunter/jumper or a backyard pet. Most racing here is conducted at night under the lights and we saw very little of the facility. Still, it was nice to complete our superfecta of L.A.-area tracks. I can’t wait to get to San Diego and finally see Del Mar!

Hollywood Boulevard: Third Time’s a Charm

Jill's Journal: After twice heading to Hollywood Boulevard only to find it shut down for a movie premiere, we finally made it on a “normal” day. (I use that term loosely, as there’s nothing normal about Hollywood Blvd. or Tinseltown!)

By the way, this is what the very famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre looks like with a red carpet laid out for a premiere. The movie set to premiere on that particular day was “This Means War.” If we’d wanted to stake out a spot, we could have waited and seen Reese Witherspoon and her co-stars walk down that red carpet just a little after we were there. Nah. That might be fun for us adults to do once, but we’re not going to put our little kids through that madness.

Here’s Grauman’s on a regular day. Right on Hollywood Blvd., this iconic landmark has been here since 1927. Built by Sid Grauman, the man who is credited with “inventing” movie premieres, this theatre was the home of the Academy Awards a few times in the 1940s. In addition to premieres and other big events, it’s still a regular theatre.

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is built to look like a giant Chinese pagoda. Looking up, it’s easy to be taken by the unique exterior. But it’s in looking down that one sees the theatre’s enduring legacy: the 200+ celebrities whose handprints and footprints are immortalized in concrete in the forecourt.

It didn’t take long for the girls to find one of the three horse hoofprints also in the concrete. This one was Roy Rogers’ Trigger.

George Burns along with his cigar.

Marilyn Monroe, with Jane Russell immediately to the left. Monroe wanted to add her famous derriere and Russell wanted to add her equally famous bosom, but both were deemed a little too risqué for the time.

His and Hers: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Star Wars (the premiere was one of the many held at Grauman’s over the years).

Tom Hanks. I’m not sure if he has really small feet or if Erika has really big feet!

Will Smith (with Matt Damon just below). “Parents just don’t understand.” (Does that age me?)

George Clooney. Swoon.

Jack Nicholson. “You can’t handle the truth!”

Robin Williams. Carpe diem.

Harrison Ford. Indy!

The only thing on Hollywood Blvd. more famous than Grauman’s might be the Walk of Fame. There’s over 2,400 stars emblazoned in the sidewalk on both sides of the street. They cover 15 blocks, plus a few side streets. This sculpture, featuring starlets of the past (that’s Mae West in the front), marks the head of the Walk of Fame, which began in 1960.

These may not have been the first stars laid in the sidewalk, but they’re the very first two stars one sees from the westernmost start of the Walk of Fame: Elvis Presley and The Beatles, side by side.

The girls love Elvis. :)

And I love this picture of little Victoria, with her strong personality and little 4-year-old baby tummy, telling her sisters off about something. And they’re taking it! She is going to rule the world someday. Aren’t third children supposed to be easy going? She blows all birth order theories out of the water. Happily, when she’s not mad, she is the sweetest, most loving little thing in the world. But, boy oh boy, does she have a temper (and a stubborn streak).

Mickey Mouse! Oh my, how the girls are looking forward to Disneyland. Soon.

But we have raised these girls right. They were more excited about running across Jerry Moss’ star than Mickey Mouse’s! How many little kids even know who Moss is? (For that matter, how many adults outside of the music or Thoroughbred industry do?) Moss is the “M” in A&M Records, who helped launch the recording careers of acts like Sting and The Police. He also happens to own one of the greatest fillies of all time, the 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta (who was, incidentally, named after a The Police album). The magnificent Zenyatta…that’s why the girls were so excited. :)

Speaking of Sting…!

Also on Hollywood, just steps from Grauman’s, is the Kodak Theatre. This is where the Academy Awards are held these days.

Here’s the view from Hollywood and Highland and our last glimpse of the Hollywood sign. It’s a fitting farewell to our time in Los Angeles.

More L.A. Times

Jill's Journal: How many movies has this Farmers Market tower appeared in? The Los Angeles Farmers Market, an institution since 1934, is not your average farmers market found in big cities and small towns all over the country with weekend vendors selling wares off their tailgates. Oh, no. This is different. Far different.

The Los Angeles version is open seven days a week and has a massive amount of vendors in permanent structures. There’s meats and produce, of course, as well as vintage goods, shoe repair, a barber shop, and so many ethnic foods your mouth waters. Looking for Brazilian, Korean, or Armenian fare? Without getting on a plane, this is the best place to find it.

“Meet me at Third and Fairfax,” the location of the Farmers Market, is said to be the most enduring expression in L.A.

One thing we’ve learned about L.A. is that no matter what you do (like a simple weekend lunch at the Farmers Market, for instance), it turns into an almost-all-day affair. There’s at least two reasons for this. First, other major cities are so much more compact and it’s easy to pack several things into one day because everything is relatively close. Not so in L.A. This is such a massive, sprawling city that few of the major things to see and do are anywhere close to each other. It’s got to be the most spread-out city in the U.S. Drive time (with traffic) to and from anywhere increases each event by at least an hour each way. And second, the amount of people here is just unbelievable. There’s traffic -- always slowed down, sometimes stop-and-go -- no matter what time of the day you might be out: early, late, and especially in between. And whether you need to make a left-hand turn or find a parking space or simply check out of the grocery store, there’s a line. Usually a long one. Everyone here is in a hurry, but nothing is ever quick.

One of the world famous streets in L.A. (and one of the most fun to drive and gawk) is Sunset Boulevard. This 24-mile long street starts in downtown Los Angeles and passes through or right next to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Pacific Palisades on its way to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean. It was on Sunset that Hugh Grant famously picked up prostitute Divine Brown several years back.

The most exciting section of this iconic street is the Sunset Strip, one of L.A.’s most famous neighborhoods which stretches between Doheny Drive and Crescent Heights Boulevard. This has been the home of rock and roll decadence and hard partying for decades. Among the legendary clubs here (like The Roxy, where John Belushi partied before overdosing, and the Whisky a Go Go, where The Doors were the house band) is The Viper Room, which was started by Johnny Depp and is the spot where River Phoenix died of an overdose on the sidewalk.

Yet another famed Sunset landmark is the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio met here on a blind date. And since then, every musician from John Lennon to Elvis Presley to Alice Cooper to Billy Idol to the members of Motley Crue and Led Zeppelin has been a regular.

The girls and I noticed this pink Corvette when it turned in front of us, while Rob recognized the occupant. Does anyone remember Angelyne? The model and actress is probably most famous for appearing scantily-clad on billboards all over L.A. and Hollywood over the last 30 years. One of her slogans is, “Barbie wishes she were me.” She’ll appear in two movies coming out this year. One of them (a Tom Cruise movie) appropriately features her in a billboard.

The pink Corvette stood out only because of its color, as we’ve seen an obscene amount of Lamborghinis and Ferraris and other over-the-top cars. Rob is endlessly entertained by this.

Maybe it's because they spend so much time in their cars and maybe it's because a nice car seems to equal status here, but people seem to place an extra-high importance on their vehicles in L.A. Here’s the parking lot of a grocery store we frequent: at least half of the cars in the lot are always Mercedes with a number of BMWs thrown in and a heck of a lot of Porsches and Audis for good measure. I’m more entertained by the people found inside the store who are attached to the cars outside: the amount of make-up and plastic surgery and expensive clothing (not to mention shoes) and little dogs in purses is truly extraordinary. L.A. is definitely the home of the beautiful people, but a lot of them have the attitudes to match their high-maintenance outward appearance. I don’t mean that as a criticism; it’s more of an observance.

We’ve passed through Beverly Hills so many times on our way to other places that I had a chance to get a better snapshot of the sign. I never get tired of seeing it. In spite of the traffic and the smog, the Los Angeles area has so much to love about it (not the least of which are year-round gorgeous weather and sunshine).

UCLA: how much fun would it be to go to school here? Oh, the opportunities at a place like this. I often wonder where our girls will go to college someday…one could certainly do a lot worse than UCLA.

Only in Hollywood (I think)

Jill's Journal: Only on Hollywood Boulevard does one pass Barney, Woody, Spiderman, and Dora the Explorer, not to mention Tinkerbell, a man dressed in a bathrobe, and people with blue, pink, and rainbow hair. The girls are completely delighted by the strange sights on Hollywood Blvd. Victoria has always wanted rainbow hair (it’s been a birthday request since she was two), so she is particularly impressed.

More on Hollywood soon. We seem to have a knack for showing up to see the sights just as everything is being closed down for a movie premier. This has happened to us twice…how many premieres can there be at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre? (Obviously that’s a rhetorical question, as it appears the answer is "a lot.") Hopefully our third trip there will be a charm.

Cemetery of the Stars

Jill's Journal: It’s been a hoot running all over the greater Los Angeles area seeing former homes of family members. We’ve also visited several cemeteries to sort of document deceased relatives for the girls in case they’re interested someday. And I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but we have visited one cemetery just for “fun.” Yes, we went to see Marilyn Monroe’s gravesite. Happily, we weren’t alone – numerous other tourists were doing the same thing.

Almost completely hidden by tall buildings in the Westwood Village area of L.A. is a tiny, two-acre cemetery called the Pierce Bros. Westwood Village Memorial Park. It’s better known as the “cemetery of the stars.” There’s been famous people buried at all the other cemeteries we’ve visited here in L.A., but the concentration of celebrities at Pierce Bros. is mind-boggling. Other than Marilyn Monroe, who is obviously the biggest attraction here, the other graves I snapped pictures of below were ones we just happened to walk past on our way to or from Monroe’s. Apparently we missed a lot too: later we learned others like Natalie Wood, Truman Capote, Donna Reed, Peter Falk, Burt Lancaster, Frank Zappa, Janet Leigh, Walter Matthau, Roy Orbison, and a host of others are here as well.

Note the lipstick kisses on the crypt.

Look how discolored Monroe’s crypt is, apparently from so many people touching it over the last 50 years. And see that empty spot right next to her? That’s where Hugh Hefner will rest someday.

The inscription on Rodney Dangerfield’s grave cracked us up: “There goes the neighborhood.”

Mel Torme.

Fanny Brice.

Farrah Fawcett.

Jack Lemmon.

Dean Martin.

Merv Griffin must have had a sense of humor: "I will not be right back after this message.”

Don Knotts.

Carroll O’Connor.

We had no idea who Billy Wilder was, but I loved his sentiment: “I’m a writer but then nobody’s perfect.” It turns out he had won Academy Awards as writer, director, and producer. Among the movies he wrote were Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Sabrina. He may not have been perfect, but he was awfully successful.