The End Of Another Season For SoCal Connected

Our public affairs show is winding down for another year.

It took longer to ramp up this season and so we were very happy when the staff returned back in December of last year.

They are hoping for a faster turn around on the funding this year and I hope that happens. We have few shows that can be rerun this year. In other words, we were more current this year and will be recycling the same stuff constantly. Never a good thing. I think they hope to ramp up again in September. That would be ideal.

The other thing that makes it more poignant, is the fact that Derrick Shore is leaving us next week. He is the man who is second on the right, in the photo.

He managed to get a better job in Houston, Texas and I wish him the best as he continues to move up in the world. He was a great pledge pitcher, too. A double loss for us, moving forward.

I can't help but think the person who came up with this photo campaign, where the staff of the show were photographed in the unfinished part of the 6th floor of our building, did anything but help them. Being out on billboards and in promos, looking like models, can't hurt their chances of advancement.

Going to miss you Derek and the whole team, for that matter.

Ringing The Country, Via Train

This ride on The Coast Starlight is my first long distance trip with my son and so far, he seems to be loving it.

On our end, I believe this completes my Husband and my train trips around the United States. If you want to see maps of some of the routes, you can check them out on THIS page.

Let's start at the beginning.

Back in the early 1980's, a friend and the two of us took the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Glendale. Minus me being sick most of the way, we had a great time. (11 Station Stops)

Our family of three, took the Acela from NYC to Washington, D.C. This was back in 2008. Fun and fast. Our return on the Northeast Regional, was not so fast. With an engine breakdown in Philly. You can read about it, HERE. (8 Station Stops)

We had had a taste of the train life and after my Husband retired, our trips to the East, usually included a train.

Two years later, we took the Southwest Chief. We traveled from L.A. To Chicago, back in 2010. We learned what it was like to be pampered and loved the upgrade cars. We managed to survive the Roomette, (though we thought the bigger Bedroom, would have given us more room for ourselves and our luggage). We had an hour layover and so we walked around downtown Albuquerque. You can see the route and some thoughts, HERE and HERE. It was all good. (31 Station Stops)

Our next vacation, in 2011, when we were heading East, we wanted to take the remainder of the journey which is Chicago to NYC. When I was searching for trains, one option turned up...Pittsburgh. So we ended up taking it in reverse. NYC to Pittsburgh. We stayed a few days there and saw Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, along the way. (17 Station Stops) We boarded a different train that continued to Washington, D.C. We got to see the National Memorial Day Concert, a bucket list item for my Husband. I wrote several posts about Pittsburgh itself, but the one that discusses the routes we traveled on (the Pennsylvanian and the Capitol Limited) can be found HERE. (7 Station Stops)

The next trip, in 2012, we decided to get East via the Empire Builder. We had been trying to fill in states that we had never traveled in and this one definitely hit the spot. You can see the states we traveled in, on THIS post. We spent a few days in Portland, before we rode the rails in the Family Room (a big mistake, due to some of the beds being for young children). After 2 days, we arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Great views through Glacier Park, Fargo North Dakota and Minnesota, itself, which you can read about, HERE. Good to see the start of the Mississippi River. We got back on and rode the remainder or the way to Chicago, passing places like The Wisconsin Dells and Milwaukee. We saved ourselves some money on this daytime journey, by staying in Coach. (39 Station Stops)

Next up, I was going to school in 2013 and so we sent the car on a carrier and we took the train. The Sunset Limited from LA to San Antonio (15 Station Stops) and then the Texas Eagle to Chicago. (27 Station Stops) I mention a little bit of the trip, HERE. A quick change of trains and we were on the Lakeshore Limited to Syracuse. There, we met up with our car and I started my school life in Oswego, NY. (13 Station Stops)

After my graduation from Oswego in 2014, we once again took the Lakeshore Limited to Chicago (unfortunately choosing to ride in Coach) (13 Station Stops). I wrote extensively about this journey, HERE. We transferred to the California Zephyr. (24 Station Stops) We had hoped to see the Rocky Mountains, but due to a landslide, we were diverted to Wyoming and got the chance to pass Promontory Point, Utah. The location where the golden spike was driven into the rail to connect the Eastern and The Western tracks. That journey also goes through the Donner Pass and crosses the Sierras. Quite beautiful. Our trip did not end in Sacramento. We took the San Joaquin train to Bakersfield and a bus to Newhall. (14 Station Stops)

2015 we had a wedding in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After we finished with family commitments, we spent a few days in NYC and then off on the Crescent to New Orleans. (30 Station Stops) We spent a day in NOLA, amid water worries and amoeba. We ignored most of it and managed not to get sick. The next day we were back on a portion of the Sunset Limited that we had not taken. We visited Houston, Texas which was new to us. We then were back to San Antonio and doing the trip we had done in 2013, but this time backwards. I wrote a bunch of notes and posted it, HERE. (22 Station Stops)

That brings me to 2016 and our current journey. We got decent fares to Seattle and asked our son if he wanted to ride along with us. He is between undergrad and grad school, so he could carve out a bit of time. We spent 2 days in Seattle, which I will talk about another day. We traveled down from Washington, Oregon and when we crossed into California and stopped in Emeryville (the San Francisco Bay area), we basically have taken trips ringing around our entire United States. (30 Station Stops)

Well, minus the section between Syracuse and NYC and we never did take a train down to Florida, we kind of curved west in the South, to get to New Orleans. So, just minor pieces are missing. It is pretty outrageous that we did all this in just 7 years, with no physical plan in place.

Does that mean that we are done taking the train, I bet the answer to that, is no.

Hollywood Highland Station

Way back when, I promised photos of the Hollywood Highland Metro Station. You can see what I am referring to, in THIS post. It is the one that has links to all the stations.

For some reason, I do not have photos that I can find. So the other day, when we traveled to the Hollywood Bowl, I attempted to rectify the situation.

This is the lower level of the station.

The design reminds me of some sort of bugs eyes and legs. It is weird.

The stairs down were used in the movie, the Italian Job (which you can see HERE). I think of that every time I go down them.

It terminates up at the famous corner of (you guessed it) Hollywood and Highland. Lots of people congregating at that very spot.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

My Water Post For Today.

I have hundreds of photos of water, but I thought I would start with this one...the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Chances are, somewhere in your life, you have seen a bridge collapse. The odds are incredible that what you saw, was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

It failed, due to wind, just 2 years after opening to the public. As we passed the bridge, our train guide told us basically this.

"Because of materials and labor shortages as a result of the involvement of the United States in World War II, it took 10 years before a replacement bridge was opened to traffic. This replacement bridge was opened to traffic on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1,822 m) long—40 feet (12 m) longer than the original bridge. The replacement bridge also has more lanes than the original bridge, which only had two traffic lanes, plus shoulders on both sides.

Half a century later, the rebuilt bridge that was completed in 1950 was exceeding its traffic capacity, and a second, parallel suspension bridge was constructed to carry eastbound traffic. The suspension bridge that was completed in 1950 was reconfigured to solely carry westbound traffic. The new parallel bridge opened to traffic in July 2007."

So, basically these two bridges replaced the bridge that stood on this site. Parts of the bridge are still down in the water and serve as a reef.

Feel free to read more and watch the video on THIS wiki site.

I hope you enjoy.

Home From Our Trip

We made it home!

Yay team. The trip was good and we were so happy to open the door and see our kitty. Unfortunately, our air conditioner went out, sometime during our trip and so the temperature was 89 in the house. She seemed OK though.

Hopefully, we can get it fixed fast.

I thought I would give you a hint as to how our trip went.

This photo is our train sitting at San Luis Obispo, waiting almost 40 minutes, to continue on our journey. Our train meet was running late, so our train and crew were held at SLO. It gave them a bit of time to get a bite to eat, across the street from the station. I actually got out of the train and talked to our car attendant, while waiting. It was an interesting conversation. As a matter of fact, we had some really nice people who sat at our table during meals and so the conversation was pleasant both days.

We got into Union Station a half hour early, so the delay did not matter. Our journey ended a little after 9:30P, when we pulled into the driveway.

Not bad at all, for a Saturday night.

Makenna Missing Us

Someone has been missing us.

When last seen, she was so upset, that she hovered in our dining room and totally missed the fact that I had put down some dry cat food, to keep her going until our cat sitter arrived in the evening.

I am sure she found it within moments of us leaving, but maybe it was still there 10 minutes later. :-)

For the most part, this is how I picture her, curled up on our bed somewhere, waiting for her people to come home.

Hopefully that happy day will occur tonight.

Riding The Amtrak With Our Son

Today we will attempt to get ourselves home, via the Amtrak Coast Starlight.

My Husband and I have ridden this route, back in the early 80's, so it has been a while, for the San Francisco to LA run. The rest of the trip will be new to us.

Station stops will be Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and LA. Obviously, we will make smaller stops, too.

See you on the other side of the journey, on Sunday.

Photo is of a station in Mississippi.

City Passing Around Seattle

Our first full day in Seattle was much like the day before.

We walked to the Seattle Center and first thing, we decided to buy the City Pass. It is not cheap and it does not include everything, but it gives a good overview of the City and that is what we were looking for.

First up was the Experience Music Project, from the other Microsoft creator, Paul Allen.

It had some stuff of interest, but reflecting on what we got, compared to what we paid for the visit, it was woefully inadequate.

The most fun for my son, was the Mini Metro game, he spent a few moments playing.

We went to the top of the Space Needle, next and enjoyed it totally. The weather was perfect and the views, wonderful.

We were getting hungry by then and so we took the monorail over to downtown and hiked to Pike Place Market and lunch at Pike Place Chowder. Very tiny and a line that was at least a half hour long.

Wonderful food and we got a seat, too. Win!

Then we walked to the piers and took a Harbor cruise, which was part of the City Pass. An hour off our feet and outstanding views of the waterfront. Again, win!

Then we had to walk uphill and home, which was a mile away. Not so win, but we made it back and rested.

Dinner was at a place called Bell Thai. Decent food and not overly expensive.

Tomorrow, we will return to the Seattle Center (weather permitting) and do the Chihuly Glass Museum. I gave you a hint of what we will find there, if we get in.

Sleepless In Seattle

This Downtown photo was taken from the LINK train. A great way to get from SEATAC to Downtown Seattle.

Our journey was uneventful and our flight got in a few minutes early.

We had to walk a fair distance, to get to our hotel, but we made it by around 6PM. Being it is just past the longest day of the year, it was almost 10PM before the light left. Due to that, we hiked to a cool dinner spot and then walked to the Seattle Center, to get some sunset photos of the Space Needle and Experience Music Project building.

Since the monorail was right there, we took a ride back to the same downtown spot the LINK had dropped us off at.

The same walk, a few hours apart. :-)

So, in spite of the late hour, we got stuff done.

We hope to take in the Chuhily Garden and Experience Music Project. So more of the Seattle Center tomorrow.

Rain in the forecast for late Wednesday and Thursday morning. We are looking forward to that!

A Full Strawberry Moon

Happy day after the solstice.

I got plenty of sleep that night, so maybe what they say about restful sleep is true. :-)

This is the moon the night of the Steely Dan concert. It was very close to full that evening and I noted how good it looked, peaking through the trees.

They say that the full moon only rarely happens at the same time as the solstice. So this moon turned out to be an unusual occurrence.

It happened on Monday, the full moon and the solstice. Very cool. That is, compared to the very HOT weather we have been experiencing.

I am not going to miss it at all, when we will travel up to Seattle, today.

Goodbye L.A.

See you in a few days.

Maybe we might even get a bit of rain up there. Yay!

Muse Of Music, Dance, Drama

Happy First Day of Summer!

My Water Post For Today.

She is the muse of music, dance and drama and she lives at the front entrance of the Hollywood Bowl.

I could not possibly get a photo of her, since I was in a crowded bus, but I wanted her to be shown, on my blog.

The statue (after many years of neglect), was reborn about 10 years ago and she welcomes all to the bowl.

To me, she sets up a beautiful night and refreshes all with her beautiful running water, that cascades down the hill that she sits on.

I hope you enjoy.

Photo found on the wikimapia page.

Steely Dan At The Hollywood Bowl

Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there.

I decided to go to one tour date for Steely Dan this year.

The one that attracted me, was the Hollywood Bowl. Not because it was close by, but because it would have the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra playing with them.

My bet was on Aja and Deacon Blues being played and yes, that turned out to be the case.

I also thought Josie would get played, because of the ethereal open they normally use as an intro. I figured it was right up the Orchestra's alley.

So, how did I do...

Three for three. :-)

Here is the set list, from someone else who attended. It matches mine, so hey.

Set list at the Hollywood Bowl 6/18

LA Phil star spangled banner.

LA Phil/various

Green Earrings (Yay, angel!)

Aja

Caves of Altamira

Hey 19

Royal Scam

Deacon blues

Night by Night

Time Out Of Mind

Third World Man

Home at Last

Josie

Bodhisattva with fireworks!

Kid Charlemagne

Honestly, it was a great show. The orchestra did most of the opens and then stayed in the background, for most of the tune. I am sure they were adding extra punch to the songs, but they did not get in the way.

Walter Becker did a pretty good speech during Hey 19. Especially since they lived in LA for a decade of their lives. Something about Reseda comes to my mind.

Everyone was great and the fireworks during Bodhisattva, just took it over the top. As Donald said, he has never played to fireworks before.

Cheap night and such a great unexpected bunch of lesser played songs.

I will post my recording of Bodhisattva, after I get it uploaded. So expect another post another day. Update, my video is no good.

But all is not lost. A great review and GREAT video!

Check it out, HERE.

Makenna, Waiting For Daddy

He left the room.

Her daddy left the room.

So, even though she was stretched out and semi-asleep, she kept her head pointed to the entrance to the room, waiting for him to come back to her and make her life complete.

I got such a kick out of this position. Especially the fact that her entire back, with her black stripe, was pointing to me.

That rarely happens.

Love the little white paw, too.

She is such a cutie.

Burbank & Show Biz

Just down the block from me is another Disney property. That means the van pool passes it quite often.

This is the corner of Olive Ave and Buena Vista St. 1 block from the main Disney Lot.

I don't know the history of this building, nor do I know the Union itself, though it says on their website that they are Grips, Craft Services, etc.

I don't work in the movies, so they are not on my radar.

The bottom line is they seem to "own" the building on the corner, since it is called the IATSE Local 80 Center. It contains their office, a First Entertainment Credit Union Branch and The Actors Fund.

It just amazes me how much of the entertainment industry settled in Burbank.

Colorful Evening

Last weekend there was a low pressure front coming through. That brought moisture and clouds, right around sunset.

When I exited the car, this is what I saw.

Very lovely and probably the last we will see, at least for a bit of time.

A major heat wave is due to arrive on Saturday and we leave on Tuesday, so I don't think we will see much.

One could hope Seattle will be better. :-)