Profound Ground With Views of The Golden Gate

Oakland's Mountain View Cemetery and Chapel of the Chimes

A Statue at Mountain View

Ever Pointing To Heaven

Vigilant of Mariners on the Bay

Growing up in the East Bay there were certain rituals we observed every year. Watching fireworks over Lake Merritt on the fourth. Annual treks to the County and State fairs. A bag filled with chili burgers from a Foster's Freeze. Or, my favorite, an exquisitely rich jersey sundae from Fenton's Creamery.

On New Year's it might be Boz Scagg's annual black tie concert at the Paramount. At Christmas there was the yearly visit to San Francisco to see "The Tree" in the City of Paris department store. In Oakland there were the Christmas lights strung from house to house on Piccardy Lane. Downtown there was the elaborate holiday window at Capwell's.

And we always returned to hear the carols and see the amazing snow filled Christmas tableau presented on the grounds of the Mountain View Cemetery.

Mountain View When it Used to be Decorated at Christmas 

(From the Official Postcard)

Sadly, many of these traditions now just exist as memories.

This weekend I made a day trip back to Oakland to visit a favored aunt and friends. While there Miss M and I went to have a sandwich and some ice cream at Fenton's Creamery. Well, as usual, there was no parking anywhere nearby, so we drove up Piedmont Ave, and found ourselves parking in front of the Chapel of the Chimes. We figured the walk back to Fenton's would be nice. 

We never made it. The amazing smell from the Local Cafe intercepted us instead. We were rewarded with a warm spinach salad filled with black trumpet mushrooms, and topped with crunchy baked proscuito. I may cry.

Since we were already parked, and I have many relatives resting permanently in both the Chapel of the Chimes and the Mountain View Cemetery, I asked Miss M if it would creep her out too much to visit each. She was OK with it, so visit we did.

What a nice day it turned out to be. First off, you have to understand that the original Chapel of the Chimes Columbarium was designed in 1926 by Julia Morgan. 

Ms. Morgan was the first woman to obtain a degree in civil engineering from Cal Berkeley. She was the first woman to graduate from the Ecole des Beaux-Artes in Paris. And, ultimately, she was the first woman to be licensed as an architect in California. Her most famous commission undoubtedly is William Randolph Hearst's Castle.

While, certainly not among her most famous commissions, the Chapel of the Chimes is certainly one of the loveliest and best preserved. She planned the Columbarium as a series of small, perfectly illuminated, little spaces.

Intimate Moorish Style Spaces 

Filled With Natural Light 

Many of the Urns Look Like Books

Just next door and climbing the hills behind the Chapel of the Chimes is the stately Mountain View Cemetery.

This is a cemetery planned in 1863 by Frederick Law Olmsted (the father of American Landscape Architecture.) Olmsted's credits include: New York's Central Park, Golden Gate Park, Stanford University, and Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition.

According to the Cemetery website: 

"Olmsted took a unique approach to Mountain View Cemetery. His park cemetery integrated the Parisian grand monuments and broad avenues. Olmsted also drew on a popular philosophy of the times, American Transcendentalism, to help shape his vision of the cemetery. American Transcendentalism embodied Asian philosophy, which believed that all of nature flows from the same wellspring, that is, trees and flowers, water and air — and man — are part of nature."

At the base of the hill he placed straight "boulevards". He laced the hills with curved lanes and paths.

Mountain View has arguably some of the best views of the Golden Gate in the entire Bay Area. It is also the final resting place for many of the most famous families in the Bay Area. In fact one entire section of the cemetery is referred to as Millionaire's Row.

Opened just 14 years after California's Gold Rush, this cemetery is old enough to house marvelous statuary.

An Angel Contemplating Heaven 

Midway up the Hill

Offerings Left With The Angel

to Assure Good Luck

Another Angel 

Guarding the Bradbury Crypt 

Also on Millionaire's Row

Domingo Ghirardelli 

San Francisco's Chocolate King

Warren Bechtel

Founder of the Bechtel Corporation

This cemetery is final resting place for Charles Crocker (railroad and banking), James Folger (coffee), Henry J. Kaiser (steel and aluminum), Frances Marion "20 Mule Team Borax" Smith, numerous artists, writers, engineer's, physicians, educators, governor's and civil war generals, and finally Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan.

Whether it is the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah (former home to The Bird Girl statue from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and where John Muir camped for six nights while passing through Savannah), LA's Hollywood Forever Cemetery, or the Pere-Lachaise in Paris, a visit to a great city sometime's justifiably includes a slow stroll in a great cemetery.

We eventually got scoops of Fenton's Ice Cream (minus any parking issues) at their stand in the Oakland Airport!

Roadboy's Travels © 2012

Arriving In Style

The View From the Hood

When I was a kid, nearly every Sunday night included dinner at my grandmothers. After the dishes were cleared, washed and put away I staked out a chunk of the shag carpet in front of her huge RCA console TV. The television was built of real wood. In those days a television was as much a piece of furniture as a china cabinet.

Assuming the vertical hold was working, and the bunny ears were aimed just so, that beast would deliver an hour of The Wonderful World of Disney followed by Bonanza or Gunsmoke. 

I would be transfixed whenever Walt Disney described some amazing new attraction being built at his magic kingdom in Anaheim. Then, as I got older, he'd showcase the amazing "world" his imagineers were dreaming up in central Florida. Yeah, I'm old.

Whatever we watched, somewhere between Walt and our weekly fix about the "Old West" Dinah Shore would belt out "Seeeeee The USA In Your Chevrolet!" 

Travel, in those days, whether camping, visiting relatives, or going to Disneyland, always involved driving. It was too expensive to fly.

I can remember driving for hours in the back of my dad's 2-door 1960 Impala. I loved that car. It had a real back seat, one that three adults could share without having thighs in a vice. It also extended well beyond the curvature of the back window so when I leaned back I could gaze straight up at the sky. During the day I'd trace the long airplane contrails slicing desert skies. At night I'd soak up the swirls of stars in a jet black sky.

We didn't measure status by personal computers, Dr. Dre headsets, or smart phones. Cars were our primary family status symbols. A Buick was a step up from a Chevrolet. A Mercury was a step up from a Ford. Besides our homes, the family car was our most important possession. Thunderbirds, Corvettes, Imperials, Cadillacs and Lincoln's were the cars rich people drove.

Cars held the key to our freedom. They were trimmed in acres of chrome. They rolled on fat whitewall tires and culminated in increasingly huge tailfins. Inside, they had big bench seats or sculpted buckets (without headrests), the dashboard might be steel or upholstered, but never plastic. We monitored our speed, fuel consumption, and radiator temperature with big gauges set in chrome instrument clusters.

And on their hoods, or "bonnet" if you're an Anglophile, was a hood ornament.

Now a January tradition for Roadboy is a day spent at one of Arizona's big collector car auctions where I join thousands of others in admiration of what cars used to be.

And, this year, I decided to focus on the amazing sculptures that used to grace their hoods.

Here are some for you to enjoy! If you want more detail just click 'em!

 

I realize that technologically today's cars are much better than the cars of my childhood. They are safer, cleaner, and more efficient. They drive much more precisely, are quiet, and feature symphony hall quality sound systems.

But today's plastic cars are boring. Most look pretty much the same. It is hard to feel any real passion for them.

We reserve passion for cars that touch our souls. Cars like this 1947 Bentley Mark VI....

What will today's and tomorrow's generations eventually gather to admire? Will it be examples of old computers? Old Playtstation's? Nintendo's?

Not.


Roadboy's Travels © 2012 

Here's to 2012!

Another New Year Begins

Every new year ushers in many traditions.

In mid September one of my colleague's used to stop eating at restaurants, going to movies, and participating in virtually anything that was fiscally discretionary. His goal was to assure that he'd begin each new year debt free.

It seems like everyone has made a New Years diet or fitness resolution at least once in their life. Those are frequently found decomposing in life's dumpster a week or two later.

Until this very post only close friends and family knew that I use New Years Day to update a life "timeline". It is (geekily) maintained in Microsoft Excel. It suggests (anticipates) various future key milestones in my life. 

Year in and year out graduations, professional goals, and all my major travel aspirations are faithfully entered in the timeline. I also take time to cherish past achievements (such as a family trips all over the globe.)

In the past few years, a number of the milestone's have rearranged themselves. Some milestone's are adjusted by God - like when a baby is born or a loved one passes away. Many of my anticipated milestones ended due to divorce. Yet, like any systemic change, one abrupt ending tends to open doors to something new.

So as I look at my timeline, I see a placeholder for a future 6 month sabbatical to live in Guadalajara. Note I say "live" in Mexico, not merely "visit" it. I want to bask in its cuisine, explore its architecture, enjoy its climate, and immerse myself in Spanish.

As I get older the cynical might deem my timeline a "bucket list" or worse yet, my own personal doomsday clock. But they are simply sad twits. 

I know that when I memorialize a goal it is the first step to making it real.

It is sort of like the Childrens's book Oh The Places We Can Go! Please click that title by the way and be prepared for an amazing excursion. It will take you to many of the places I plan to go! Of course then click your back button and come right back here!

This year some of my milestone's moved around a bit. But there is still a slot for Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Iguaszu Falls, Chile and Patagonia. Carnival in Rio. Explorations of Knossos and Santorini are in there. Pompeii is there too, as is the return to Barcelona and a visit to Lisbon. A trip to England during Wimbledon has become very important to me.

A rail voyage on the Royal Scotsman is on the list. A trip from the rainforest treetops to the beaches of Costa Rica is there too.

Oh, and I plan to return to Hong Kong after a quarter century. Then there is Egypt's pyramids, the marvel of Petra, and the holy land.

A few years back I was gifted with the book "A Thousand Things to Do Before You Die". Sometimes I don't know where to start. But I do know better than to ever treat my goals and milestones carelessly. 

And, of course, you are welcome to join me on my journey. Life is, after all, a series of single first steps.

May 2012 be a year when you make your own dreams come true.

Roadboy's Travels © 2012

Feliz Navidad

Las Noches de las Luminarias 

A Night of Candles and Magic

For 34 years Phoenicians have treasured a Christmas tradition of putting on warm coats and hats (yes even in Phoenix) and visiting our cherished Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) on one of a selected few evenings in December for the lighting of the luminarias.

For those not lucky enough to live in the Southwest a luminaria (or farolito) is a brown paper bag with a little sand in the bottom into which is nested a tea candle. We put them along foot paths, along fences and rooftops, down the driveway, and on just about any horizontal surface we can find. The candles replaced the earlier Native American tradition of building a bonfire in front of each home or pueblo on Christmas Eve.  Some people cheat and use electrified versions (electrolitos.)

Anyone who has ever visited Santa Fe or Albuquerque's Old Town Plaza at Christmastime will never  forget the smell of piñon burning and the soft warm glow of these jewels of the night.

For Phoenicians the tradition is well kept in many of our historic neighborhoods with street after street lined with the little sacks. But, the best place to enjoy them is the Desert Botanical Garden. Tickets for the few luminaria's' nights always sell out so plan well in advance. In years past you parked at Phoenix stadium and rode a bus into the garden after dark. Nowadays the festival illuminates over 3000 farolitos 23 nights in December. 4 nights are reserved for garden members. Although the event grows each year, it is still pure magic.

This year there were haunting Native American flautists, a blues band, handbell choristers, a bluegrass ensemble and traditional chorales throughout the garden. Desert bunnies peek from behind clumps of prickly pears. Dinner is available along with the usual warm holiday beverages.

Cacti are Specially Illuminated 

Throughout The Garden 

Chihuly's Giant Glass 

Glows For Visitors Approaching The Garden

DesertBells Perform

Since the "Big Bugs" that David Rogers has created from found wood are presently on display in the garden, they have also been colorfully illuminated for Luminaria nights.

The Giant Driftwood "Big Bugs" Twinkle

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go.....even here in the Sonoran Desert!

Best Wishes from Roadboy!

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

Thanksgiving in LA

Piles of Leaves - Not!

To most of us Thanksgiving evokes recollections of family gatherings and tables full of comfort food. When I was a kid we'd get up, watch the Macy's parade, then pile into dad's buick wildcat and make the road trip to my cousins.

Once there we'd spend the day throwing frisbees and footballs. Then we'd move inside to play some board games. The whole time my uncle's big wooden RCA console TV would be flipping from one sporting event to another.

Then the food took over. It would start with deviled eggs and move on to the serious stuff. Turkey or ham would reside next to mashed potatoes, stuffing and an annual jello experiment (usually loosely interpreted from a recipe in Parade.) The meal would be finished up with syncopation of coffee being perked in a tall chrome percolator soon to be served with the pies; apple, cherry, pumpkin, and mince.

We'd then groan, sleep and wake up to see mountains of leftovers being wrapped in foil.

Nowadays my family has scattered like seeds in the wind. Without a matriarch demanding we all come together, we instead plan alternative holiday adventures with friends from church. This year we spent 3 days in Los Angeles.

Day One:

Thanksgiving itself was spent at Universal Studios. The day was a sunny 70°F. In a word; perfect. Crowds were pretty light netting short waits for even the best attractions.

Universal's Atlas Fountain and Mandatory Photostop  

We found that Universal has a lot of renovation going on right now and some of the popular (but tired) attractions like Backdraft are now gone. Perhaps in recognition of its reduced state, they offered us a 13 month pass for the same price as their normal $77 one-day admission. Hey, that worked for me as Miss M and I can now plan to return in the spring to see the new Transformers attraction.

Inside the park were lots of shows, music, and the new King Kong in 3D attraction. It replaces the elaborate old mechanized King Kong attraction that was destroyed in the backlot fire a few years ago.

We finished up the day amid the lights of CityWalk. I stopped and watched the I-Fly skydivers. Next trip over I am going to fly.

I-Fly!

CityWalk is Ready for Christmas

We then went to have a turkey dinner at Dinah's near the Hughes Center.

Day Two:

After sleeping in on Black Friday the group assembled at the King's Hawaiian Bakery in Torrance for a full-on island style local boy breakfast; Char Sui on rice, Portuguese sweet bread french toast covered in coconut syrup. All washed down with a big glass of POG (passion, orange, guava) juice and Kona coffee. It was soooo good. Breakfast alone made the trip worthwhile.

After breakfast it was off to Hollywood and Highland. We window shopped, checked out all of the star's hand and footprints in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater and enjoyed the endless parade of ambulatory schizophrenia oozing along Hollywood Boulevard. 

Sid Grauman's Iconic 1927 Era "Chinese" Theater

One of the 200 Hand and Footprints At Graumans

We stepped across the street to admire the exquisite detailing of the restored El Capitan Theater and the lobby of the oh-so-haunted (and very wilted) Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. We then tried to guess the authors of each of the life stories on the "Road to Hollywood" in the Hollywood and Highland's plaza.

The Ceiling of the Outer Lobby of the El Capitan

The Hollywood Roosevelt

Hollywood and Highland 

The Road to Hollywood Snakes Around the Plaza

We were took in a matinee of the dazzling new Hollywood themed Cirque show called IRIS at the gorgeous Kodak Theater. Although we've enjoyed about a dozen Cirque productions over the years, I easily rate IRIS second only to the Beattle's Love at The Mirage.

Day Three:

On Saturday we slept in again (note the trend). After breakfast we made our way to The Grove / Farmer's Market to enjoy the street scene, shop, and have lunch. The Grove was totally decked out for the holidays and filled with families.

The Grove's Huge Tree

From the Farmer's Market we were off to Santa Monica to experience the 3rd Street Promenade at Sunset. It was filled with people. But it has gotten a bit edgy. There are still dozens of street performers (some that were darned good) surrounded by an armada of street people and panhandlers.

We parked at the renovated Santa Monica Place (the roof is now gone and the foodcourt is on three!) Once we found the food court we ate dinner. 

   

Street Violin

Sunset Over the Pacific

From the Roof of Santa Monica Place

We ran out of time and did not get to the Hollywood Forever cemetery. And we found out that Paramount does not operate its VIP tour over Thanksgiving. 

Guess we'll just have to return!

Love to all.

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

The Cosmopolitan

No Cats, But What A View

A couple of weeks ago I walked through the new Cosmopolitan Hotel / Casino in Las Vegas. Like many mega casino / hotel's it is huge and appears to have been built using no discernable master plan.

But I also found its art collection and decor to be endearing. And I really like it's "Just The Right Amount of Wrong" advertising campaign with its uber cool music the Booty Swing by the Austrian remix artist Parov Stelar.

So this week when a business trip brought me back to Las Vegas, I decided to check in to the Cosmopolitan for a night. What clinched it was a low sunday night rate and finding out that it is now part of the new Marriott Autograph Collection.

The taxi drops you right at the registration lobby, which is nice (many Vegas hotels make you walk miles from cab to registration.) And oh what a lobby it is! It is simply a techno marvel that surrounds guests with lush, constantly changing, electronic imagery. While I was there it was falling leaves.

The Cosmopolitan's Registration Lobby 

Is A Visual Knockout

(Click to See Leaves Falling)

It was Sunday so check-in was really quick. My front desk “co-star” (really, that is what they call their staff) immediately offered a handshake. It seemed so "Enterprise" rent-a-car. Note to the service industry; take it from your former Las Vegas resident Howard Hughes - handshakes in flu season = bad idea.

In recognition of my Marriott elite status, my co-star upgraded me to a room with a balcony. That was very nice since many of the Cosmopolitan's rooms have truly breathtaking views.

The View From A Room On The 25th Floor

While in the hotel elevator I found no herds of white cats as featured in their ads, just some nice visitors from Argentina and a very inebriated couple who got on the tower elevator by mistake. When the wife realized her mistake she stepped off. The husband stayed on announcing after the doors closed with a broad smile that "she’ll never find me now.”

Upon opening the door to my room I was dazzled. The room was huge and lovely but not too earth friendly with 16 lights burning and two big flat screen televisions lit to greet me when I walked in. Ironically each TV offered an interactive presentation of the Hotel’s “sustainability” program.

The toiletries were nice. The minibar selections were also awesome, some a bit kinky. My breakfast was comped (Marriott perk). Good thing too since the 2 egg, toast, and bacon breakfast was $29 on the room service card.

I needed to get some work done that required the internet. Alas the techno saavy Cosmopolitan internet was down. To determine that I had to figure out the surprisingly complex phone system. “Help” at the Cosmopolitan is obtained from a button labeled “Beck and Call”. Touching “Beck and Call” resulted in me being put on hold. When my nice “Beck and Call” co-star came on she relayed that they had no idea when the internet would actually work again.

With no internet, I went for a walk through the adjacent Crystals mall. Home to names like Balenciega, Harry Winston, Fendi, Kiton, Hermes, Prada, Van Clef / Arpels, and Jimmy Choo, buyers here define wretched excess. 

Some of Crystal's Artwork 

Crystal's Colorful Tornadoes

Just out the back door was the Aria Hotel. I was stunned by the elegance of this hotel. You enter it past a three story curving wall of cascading water. Inside, I found a hotel and casino that was very clearly organized.

Imagine that.

The Aria Hotel and Casino

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Roadboy is off to LA to see the new Cirque show in Hollywood.

Roadboy’s Travels © 2011

The Eagles 35 Years Later

The Long Road Out of Eden

On August 6, 1976 I led a car caravan of friends from Coeur d'Alene Idaho to Seattle Washington. We had tickets to see The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt perform at Seattle's (now imploded) Kingdome.

In retrospect it is amazing we all lived through the trip. I mean Dennis drove a Ford Pinto (no explosions thank goodness). I drove my dad's supercab pick-up with its homemade camper.

Most of my friends were just out of high school. We all worked together at Pete Clausen's new McDonalds in Coeur d'Alene. Many had never driven further than Spokane. Some had never been given permission to go more than 20 miles any direction.

The concert tickets were $14. The interior of the Kingdome was filled with reefer smoke. When the lights went down everyone lit and gently waived matches. The opening act was Linda Ronstadt. Her voice was angelic. After Linda there was a long gap and then The Eagles came out and were pumped. They played long, hard, and loud. The acoustics in the Kingdome were so bad I actually left the arena to listen from the outer walk ramps.

We didn't have money for motels, so after the show we simply started to drive back to Idaho. Somewhere near Snoqualmie Summit we pulled off the interstate and slept under an overpass in our cars and the camper.

When the sun came up we were cold and (most of us) smelled bad. But everyone knew we'd had a great adventure.

I miss everyone from that trip. Three weeks later I left Coeur d'Alene for college and never saw them again.

Fast forward.

This past weekend I joined friends from church that wanted to go see The Eagles at the MGM in Las Vegas. The show is the second to last stop on their 2011 "Long Road Out of Eden" tour.

In the cab driving to the MGM I noticed a fine white Rolls Royce stopped at the light next to our cab. I laughed at the old dude driving it. He was older than Methuselah, yet was sporting shoulder length white long hair. His face that left no doubt that he had inhaled over the years. And, just like our cab driver, Mr. Rolls was clearly upset at being stalled in traffic.

It was a reminder that no matter the price of your tires, everyone in life gets the green light at the same time.

When we got to the arena most of the audience was pretty old. We were mostly bald or grey haired. Some had walkers. Many rolled oxygen tanks. 

The arena was (of course) smoke free. The Eagles started right on time. There was no Linda this time ;-(. The acoustics at the MGM were fine. I did not need the foam earplugs I brought.

As the concert began I realized the old dude driving the Rolls was Joe Walsh.

Voices were clear and strong. The music was tight. They played without a break for a little over 2 hours. They did two encores.

The concert was awesome.

Hotel California

One Hit After Another

Before the show I took my usual Vegas stroll. This time through the new Cosmopolitan Hotel (I love their current TV ads.) The exterior of the hotel was downright boring. The entrances are oddly placed. The roofline can only be described as peculiar. Signage is lame. The interior layout displays no coordinated planning at all.

But once inside the interior finishes, artwork, and overall vibe and "attitude" of the hotel is way cool. Staff is an eclectic mix of old and young all wearing black sportcoats. The place is fun. The Wicked Spoon buffet was also quite good.

A Cocktail Bar Resides Inside the Three Story Chandelier

Some of the Cosmopolitan's Art Collection

Cosmo is Home to Another Amazing All Saints Store

After the show I walked some more. When I reached the Ballagio its waters were choreographed to Frank Sinatra crooning "Luck Be A Lady Tonight". Life rarely offers 3 minutes of anything more perfect than that.

Luck Be A Lady Tonight

So, I offer thanks to the Eagles. You were wonderful. And this many years later, I extend a toast to all my friends in Cd'A, wherever life has taken you; "Salut"!

Roadboy's Travels © 2011