A Free Drink at the Bar? (Not for Ty!); Suzanne’s New Book, The Real Alzheimer’s; A Shortage of Garlic; Gilroy is Here

On our last night in Sequoia National Park, we returned to the Wuksachi Lodge to use their Wi-Fi. There were a lot of guests also using the hookup, so uploading the photos for the blog was pretty slow. While I was waiting, I said to Suzanne, “I think I’ll go get a diet soda.” She said, “Oh, go ahead and work on the blog, I’ll go get you a drink.” How thoughtful... she returned a few minutes later with a tall soda over ice in a glass, not in a can or plastic bottle, just how I like it. “Thanks, Sweetheart, what did that cost at the bar?” “Nothing, Ty, the bartender said it was on the house.” Hmmm.... let me think about this... the last time a bartender offered me a free drink was.... never??? You know, it’s sort of like speeding tickets. A guy can get a speeding ticket for going 1 mph over the limit if the Highway Patrol is behind its quota that day, but a cute girl? It goes something like this: “Ma’am, I clocked you on radar going 125 mph in a 35 mph zone. I’m sure you have an excellent reason for speeding, so I’ll just give you a warning and a free ticket to our policemen’s social this weekend. Just ask for me, Officer Murphy.” Sigh....

We’re very excited that Suzanne’s new book (her ninth), The Real Alzheimer’s: A Guide for Caregivers That Tells It Like It Is, has been completed in a Kindle version, which will be available by Monday afternoon on amazon.com. The paper version will be available within the next few weeks.  There are quite a few people from our community in The Villages featured in the book, and we know their contributions will help many, many people who are dealing with this disease.  Check out the book’s new website:  www.TheRealAlzheimers.com.  Suzanne will be sending an email announcement to those on her email list when the paper version of the book is available.

We reluctantly packed up The Bus this morning and departed our 6,200 ft. altitude campground. This was the view from our front window; maybe you can understand why it was difficult to leave. It was about 50F, and we were in jeans and fleeces. By noon, we were down to a few hundred feet altitude in the San Joaquin Valley, and the temps were in the high 80’s-low 90’s, and shorts had replaced jeans. I had turned on the generator for air conditioning, and neither the forward nor aft unit was working. &*%^&%&^$&!!!! After a few minutes, Suzanne said, “Sweetheart, did you check the two switches in the cabinet over the microwave?” “Yes, Dear.” After another few minutes, she said, “Sweetheart, I am hearing guidance that you really need to check the two switches in the cabinet over the microwave.” “Yes, Dear.” Well, you can see this coming, can’t you? Especially you wives... After troubleshooting the seventeen things that could be wrong with the air conditioners, I checked the doggone switches in the cabinet over the microwave... how had they gotten into the wrong position? Voila, cool air! I am a really good mechanic. Sigh...  

On the way out of Fresno, we stopped to replenish our groceries. One of the things on our list was garlic. We also needed a new fresh water pump for The Bus. After looking at the map, Suzanne said, “Let’s go to Gilroy.” I asked, “Wasn’t he that guy painted on fences?” “Drive, please.” As we motored into Gilroy, I found that Gilroy is Garlic Central for the USA, if not the entire civilized world.

Suzanne had actually ordered Elephant garlic from Gilroy years ago. You can buy many different varieties of garlic and garlic-flavored foods, including garlic chocolate and garlic ice cream. Now, really, garlic chocolate? I’m a purist, and I would not eat garlic chocolate. There are some things that are simply sacrosanct. Suzanne couldn't interest Rudy and Gretchen in garlic-flavored doggie treats, either... can you blame them?

We are staying at the Gilroy Elks Lodge, right next to a golf course, with nice views of the town and surrounding farmland and hills. The only peculiar thing is the tree just behind The Bus. I haven’t been able to find any cones or identify its species yet, but it definitely not a Giant Sequoia. In fact, its bark has a distinctly metallic feel...

We will only be in Gilroy for two nights, and next weekend is the Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival (over 100,000 attendees expected). After another gourmet dinner at Chez Ty’s (linguine with a delicate Ragu sauce and meatballs), we toured historic Gilroy. Although many shops are closed due to the struggling economy, the people we met seemed very friendly and happy. In particular, a nice young couple named Maria and Robert stopped us to admire Rudy and Gretchen; they were kind enough to explain garlic farming (on days during the harvest you can smell garlic as far as San Jose, 30-40 miles away). They also gave us recommendations on things to do in the area. Robert is a videographer working for Intel Corporation in nearby Silicon Valley. They had just come from his barber shop, where his barber had given them free corn... I don't recall Cal's in The Villages having that as a promotion...

There was a free concert going on in a side street off Monterey, the main drag. A local Bluegrass band was performing, and the audience was enthusiastic, as these dancers prove. It reminded us a little of The Villages town squares when grand-kids are in town.

Big Baldy; Tasty Trout; Muir Grove; Suzanne’s Latest Book, Love At The Center, is born!

Up early Wednesday for bacon and pancakes. We drove over to Montecito Lodge, just outside the national park, where there was a kids’ camp going on; this speedboat is making big circles in a very small lake, about the size of a softball field (more suited to canoes than speedboats). I think the point was to splash water on the two kids sitting on the dock. Have you heard the phrase “more money than sense”? (Maybe I’m just getting old...) 

Suzanne had picked out a hike to Big Baldy, a granite peak with a fabulous 360 degree lookout. This hike had no Sequoias, but lots of big pines, firs and cedars. Here is Suzanne in her stylish hiking attire and matching Leki’s (hiking poles). She says she can climb like a mountain goat with them!

We hiked for three hours, including a sliced prime rib sandwich stop on a rocky ridge with great views to the west. (But here’s the best view...) 

Then up to the main peak, with views in every direction for 30-40 miles... awesome! This shot shows the 11,000 and 12,000 foot peaks to the east toward Mt Whitney (14,494 ft, the highest mountain in the Lower 48).

The trail crossed rock falls/avalanche slides where you want to make sure you keep your footing. Also, you don’t want to be crossing when the next earthquake hits.

Last night I decided to treat My Lovely Bride to a dinner out. Normally I would choose something ethnic and quaint, like Taco Bell, but alas, there wasn’t one in the park. I resigned myself to taking her somewhere nice; in this case, The Wuksachi Lodge, a modern version of the rustic lodges that many of us grew up seeing in national parks or woodsy areas back east and out west. Most of the guests there were foreigners, with Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan and Korea providing the vast majority. The lodge dining room looks out onto the mostly pine-covered granite sides of Alta Peak, although above treeline (9,000 feet or so) the rock was bare. With a nice glass of California wine each, we decided on pan-fried trout served with roasted potatoes, asparagus, artichokes, and a delicious white wine cream sauce. We passed on dessert, but the ice cream sundaes looked pretty good. 

 Our server, Allison, was from San Diego, and spends the summer here with scores of other young people who almost all return to their homes at the end of the season (after Labor Day, for the most part). After dinner, we took advantage of the only reliable Wi-Fi Internet access here in the park and updated this blog, downloaded email, and got a brief glimpse of what was happening in the outside world. In general, we don’t mind being “off the grid” for four to five days at a time. It’s a great time to commune with nature, and try to be amateur naturalists, if not naturists.  ;-)

This morning I woke early to a pretty heavy rain shower; it’s not supposed to rain much this time of year, except when a summer thunderstorm comes up, but this was 0600. We would have to delay our hike to Muir Grove until the weather cleared. John Muir was a Scottish-born naturalist of the 19^th century. He is a legend for his work in helping create the first national parks, as well as exploring the Sierra Nevada, which photographer Ansel Adams called “The Range of Light”. Here in The Sierras, most of the mountains have mostly pine-covered slopes with occasional rock slides, outcrops, and bare tops. Being of granite, the peaks reflect the sunlight quite well. John Muir was one of the earliest conservationists, and beat the drums to preserve the Redwoods and Sequoias for posterity. The grove named after him would be a two and a half hour hike out and back, but it is much less visited than the groves of Sequoias closer to the main road.

Suzanne packed lunch for us, rotisserie chicken chunks on bagels with avocado, red onion and mayonnaise, one of my favorite lunches. She is really good to me... We found the trailhead, and started hiking. After about 35 minutes, I noticed deer hoof prints on the trail. What was unusual about them was that they were very fresh, having been put down so recently that the many human boot prints had not disturbed them; and, they were headed in the same direction we were hiking. I noted them to Suzanne, and not 5 minutes later she whispered, “Buck, on the right”. There was a young four point Mule deer buck, his antlers still in velvet, browsing in the bushes about 30 feet away. Suzanne didn’t want to even disturb him with getting the camera out; we just watched him eat for a few minutes and then we crept silently away. Arriving at Muir Grove, we were again humbled and awed by the magnificent Giant Sequoias.

The grove covers about 215 acres, with average tree sizes around 200 feet high and 25 feet in diameter. There is not a lot of vegetation in the Sequoia groves, so it’s easy to walk close to the trees and even to touch them. Their thick bark is very resistant to forest fires, but it’s actually soft to the touch, sort of hard-spongy in texture, and very much alive.

We walked through Muir Grove to a granite outcropping/lookout point that was a perfect lunch spot. After eating, we headed back through the Sequoias, not talking to avoid spoiling the solemnity of the grove, only to see two teenage boys pick up a small log and start beating on one of the Sequoias. I immediately erupted, read them the riot act, and confronted their mothers who were nearby. How parents can let their children act like juvenile delinquents and defile these majestic trees in a national park is beyond me.  Suzanne would like me to add that a trip to the principal’s office wouldn’t even come close to my in-their-face scolding.

My blood pressure back to normal levels, we returned to The Bus, walked Rudy and Gretchen to a granite lookout point 50 feet from where we were camped, and set up our chairs and computers. That’s where I am blogging right now, and it’s heaven on earth. Suzanne is a few feet away writing; in fact, the preface to her next book, Love At The Center, is being born as I type these words.... Many people have been wondering when Suzanne is going to put the concepts from her S.O.A.R! Workshop into book form... now the word is out!

Here is a photo of her keyboard; notice that several of the letters have faded away from overuse... we had to order a new keyboard for her new laptop after only three months (that is a first!).

2200 year old giants; Whatchoolookinat? Bear Butt

Sequoia National Park is the nation’s second-oldest national park; it and the adjacent National Monument are named for the largest trees on earth. We got up very early Tuesday to beat the crowds that arrive around 10:00 AM at the General Sherman Tree, which is the focal point for tourists in the Giant Forest. As we walked down the steep half-mile long path from the parking area, I commented on the benches every hundred yards or so, “This is a bench for older people to rest.” My bride commented back, “Darling, are you tired already?” I ignored her insinuation and marched smartly down the trail to the General Sherman Tree, one of the most impressive sights on earth. Already a couple hundred years old when Jesus lived, this beautiful tree today stands 275 feet high, has a circumference of 103 feet at ground level, and weighs 1,385 tons. That little red speck at the base of the tree is Suzanne.

Giant Forest is like a cathedral; it was revered by the naturalist John Muir, who explored it and gave it its name.  It is the home of four of the five largest trees on earth. Sequoias are not as tall as its cousins the Redwoods, but they are much larger in mass.

Suzanne took a few moments to commune with nature and exchange energy with this Sequoia; she said the powerful, live energy she felt was much like putting her hands on a big horse at a friend’s farm back in Florida.

After the Sherman Tree, we hiked the nearby Congress Trail, a loop that takes you through Giant Forest, past the Chief Sequoyah tree, the President Tree, the Senate grove, and the Congress Grove. The rangers had been doing some preventive burns to remove excess combustible vegetation, and there were areas still smoldering, with ethereal wisps of smoke among the Sequoias. It seemed other-worldly at times. Since we had arrived early, there was hardly anyone else on the trail; we could have been on another planet or in another time; it was a very special experience.

After lunch we did another hike, up the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River to Tokopah Falls. (Doesn’t the name alone sound beautiful?) The trail passes through conifer forest loaded with chipmunks, Steller’s Jays and woodpeckers. Then you hike along the river with dozens of crystal clear pools to the towering waterfall that tumbles down granite cliffs above treeline on the north side of Alta Peak. (The river volume was much reduced because we are here late in the season; it is spectacular in spring with snowmelt providing much higher volume.) The last half mile of trail is over a jumble of boulders, some the size of houses. 

As we reached the end of the trail, we saw a pair of marmots scurrying among the rocks. 

Suzanne whistled to one, and he (she?) stopped and looked in confusion. His expression was one of “Whatchoolookinat?” Or was he considering charging? Marmots can be fiercely aggressive when cornered.  ;-)








We were safe; after a few perfect poses, he turned and gave us a look at his furry rear end. We have been "Mooned by a Marmot"... sounds sort of romantic... well, not exactly...

After the marmot photo shoot, I decided to rest for a few; what nicer place could you pick for a nap?

On the return to the car, we passed a hiker who warned us about a bear just ahead of us. Sure enough, there was a cinnamon-colored black bear foraging in a meadow just 50 yards off the trail. He was apparently unaware of our presence, or was simply ignoring us. 

We hoped he would come closer, because I had left my telephoto lens in the car, expecting to shoot mountains, not wildlife. I thought about walking stealthily through the meadow and approaching the bear undiscovered for a point-blank photo, like the scout Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, one of my favorite books as a kid... then I was reminded of Alaska, where hikers wear “bear bells” to let the grizzlies know they’re hiking down the trail... the second part of that story is the question, “How do you know if the scat (poop) you’re looking at is grizzly bear scat? Look for the bear bells in it...” So, foregoing the stealth approach, I waited on top of my big rock, but finally the bear said farewell with a marmot-like pose... Sadly, I had been mooned twice in two hours... 

A family dinner; an amazing wine cellar

Last night Suzanne and I had another amazing experience; our good friends Joseph and Elizabeth from The Villages invited us to a family dinner at his nephew Joe’s house in Sherman Oaks. Joe has a passion for fine wines, and after serving us a glass of incredible champagne, gave us a tour of his wine cellar. I have been in one or two private homes with wine cellars that had maybe 50-60 bottles of wine, but this was like stepping into the wine cellar of a French castle. Over the past 30 years, Joe has collected about 3,500 bottles of fine wine, mostly French, but some Italian, German and American wines as well. We were absolutely stunned by the sight of so many wines, some of which represented vintages of only a few hundred bottles.    

Joe also showed us around their beautiful home, which was damaged by the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Fortunately, no one in the house was injured, and all the damage was repaired. After our tour, we set up our portable movie screen, sound system, and projector and gave a private showing of the Messages of Hope documentary. Then we sat down to a fabulous gourmet dinner, including a 200 year old family recipe for a layered dish of pork, potatoes, kale, rosemary, sage and other ingredients I’ve already forgotten. 

Joe’s son Anthony was the mastermind behind dinner; he’s a professional photographer and college professor, but he should think about opening a gourmet Italian restaurant. Anthony and his mother, Grace (Grace's daughter) are showing off the dinner creation above. Joe brought out five different wines for dinner, each one more impressive than you can imagine. Suzanne was particularly impressed by the dessert wine, which was a 1927 vintage; that’s the year her mother Ruth was born! For our wine-loving friends, here are the wines served last night:

Gloria Ferrer  Royal Cuvee 2001

Chateau de Beaucastel 1988

M. Chapoutier Monier De La Sizeranne Hermitage 1990

Chateau Pontet Canet 1952  - Suzanne's first time to drink a wine older than she is!

Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximenez

The dinner was held in honor of Joe’s mother Grace, who was celebrating her 87^th birthday. It was a very special moment when everyone sang Happy Birthday to Grace and she blew out the candle on a delicious cheesecake. All of her relatives and a few friends (especially us!) were very happy to be there to help her celebrate. It was a uniquely memorable evening.

On Monday morning, we got up early to prepare for a long day’s drive; we just arr1ived in Sequoia National Park, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I solo backpacked here in the 70’s, and again for a week in 2010, and loved it. Suzanne has never seen the Sequoias; she is in for another treat on Tuesday morning when we get out hiking. But tonight may be rough; the temp is supposed to dive to 39F; today’s high was only 61. Break out the jeans and the fleece! Also, Internet connectivity here is very hard to find, so emails and blogs may be unavoidably delayed for the next 4 days. Please bear with us...      

My American Hero

Yesterday was a very special day. We spent the afternoon at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum with our good friend Elizabeth. The Reagan Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, about 45 minutes northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on 100 acres on a mountaintop with sweeping views of surrounding mountains, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. Its location is representative of the “shining city on a hill” that President Reagan often spoke about.

I had been fortunate enough to serve as escort officer to President and Mrs. Reagan when they spent the 4^th of July, 1986, aboard my ship, the battleship USS IOWA (BB-61) in New York harbor. The President was aboard for the Parade of Tall Ships and the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, which had undergone a two-year renovation. It was one of the highlights of my Navy career.  

 Also on the grounds are the President’s Memorial, the Gipper’s Grove, the actual Air Force One that he and six other presidents flew aboard, part of the Berlin Wall, an F-14 Tomcat fighter, a full scale replica of his Oval Office, and a full scale replica of the Rose Garden. The National Archives Offices and Research Room provide access to his diaries and other Presidential papers. 

The visit aboard Air Force One (this was a Boeing 707, put into service in 1972 and last flown in 2001) was a treat, especially for Suzanne, who has flown aboard the newer Boeing 747 in 2001 with President George W. Bush, just after his inauguration and before September 11th. She gave us an insider’s look at the differences between the two aircraft (the 747 is much larger, more elegant, and has much longer range). Along those lines, while Suzanne was flying on Air Force One and Air Force Two, she got used to having lots of leg room, first class service, etc. Shortly after she retired from the Navy, we were about to fly somewhere on a commercial 737. We stepped through the entrance door and turned right, and she stopped in her tracks; “Ty, are commercial aircraft always this crowded? There’s hardly any legroom between the seats...”  "Welcome to The Real World, My Dear"...

Dramatic displays of Carter-era gas shortages, “stagflation”, plant closures, high unemployment, and seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran by Iranian terrorists reminded me of that low period in American history, 1976-1980. Reagan’s election in November 1980, the immediate release of American hostages in Iran on his inauguration day in 1981, and his landslide reelection in1984 (49 of 50 states went for Reagan that year) in my mind were emblematic of how under his leadership, America had pulled itself away from the edge of an abyss. 

While looking at a piece of the Berlin Wall outside the Museum, we asked a lady standing there to take our picture. We learned that she had a special fondness for President Reagan; Christina was from Germany, is a current resident of West Berlin, and had actually been present when President Reagan gave his famous speech saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” It was a very poignant moment hearing her speak of her experiences during the Cold War. 

I would like to share with you just two of his many famous quotes that meant a lot to me.

- “America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”

- “Once you begin a great movement, there’s no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead we changed the world.” - Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address to the Nation, January 11, 1989.

You cannot visit the Reagan Library and Museum and not feel thrilled and proud to be an American. You also are reminded that we are especially fortunate to be citizens of a truly exceptional nation that has been, is, and always shall be a beacon of freedom and justice for the rest of the world. “American Exceptionalism?” You’d better believe it!

The final part of the Museum dealt with the President’s last years, including his Alzheimer’s disease. This debilitating ailment took on a personal aspect for us when Suzanne was asked to write a book on the impact of the disease on Alzheimer’s caregivers. Her latest book, The Real Alzheimer’s, will be published within two months.

Speaking of books (and books on CD), many thanks to you, Elizabeth, for the gift of Ronald Reagan, An American Life. I am looking forward to many pleasant hours listening to President Reagan’s voice as he reads his autobiography, and getting to know him again.

A boutique hotel; a lesson in dressing; a 5 star dinner

Yesterday was another unusual day. We drove back to Hollywood, where Suzanne was able to give an in-person reading to a new friend, Jeff, general manager of a boutique hotel on Sunset Boulevard who emailed her after his sister attended Suzanne's SOAR workshop. The Mondrian Hotel is exquisite, trendy, and chic. Suzanne had asked Jeff how people dressed; his answer was “hip and edgy”. I wasn’t sure what that meant; I mentioned to Suzanne that my interpretation was blue blazer, khakis and docksiders... she choked on something... 

Anyway, movie stars, musicians, sports figures, fashion models, entertainment lawyers and such stay here. We pulled into line for valet parking (non-optional in this neighborhood, just across the Street from The Comedy Store and House of Blues) behind two Mercedes, a BMW, an Audi and a Ferrari. I was glad that I had removed the kayaks and mountain bicycles from our Honda CR-V; I didn’t want anyone fondling my new bike. (Before leaving The Bus, I had Google Image Searched the hotel; not only good architecture, but were we going to run into the likes of Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, and Hugh Grant at the bar? Hmmmm.... "Wouldn't that be interesting?") 

After handing the car keys to the valet-in-charge, we unloaded Rudy, Gretchen, their water bowl, and two travel kennels. I left my recently-acquired 7-11 coffee in the car; I knew it would be inappropriate in this ritzy hotel lobby. Did I say “ritzy”? This lovely hotel defines ritzy. We were a bit early, and Jeff was still in a meeting, but the staff at the desk made us feel right at home. Would we like a nice bottle of chilled Fiji water? Yes, that would be very nice, thank you. The young women behind the desk wore very stylish, $2,000 designer dresses, and the guys all looked like young actors or lawyers. 

Jeff arrived to greet us and set us up in a room on the same floor as his office. The room was amazing; not just luxurious, palatial, and beautifully decorated... but really cool! (I would suggest you take a look at this page http://www.mondrianhotel.com/en-us/#/home/ for more information (note: the blonde model does not come standard with the room). The flat screen TV was embedded in a 360 degree rotating sculpture, invisible behind a tinted mirror until you turned it on. We set up the puppies in their kennels, and I went down to take a walk while Suzanne gave Jeff a reading. After the long drive, it was nice to stretch my legs for a couple of blocks, until the local panhandlers found me and thought they had an easy mark. Back to the hotel, much nicer there... while checking email on my iPad, I had ample opportunity to people-watch the guests coming and going. Suzanne had commented on the short... very short... extremely short... skirts worn by women here in Hollywood. The scenery here was definitely easy on the eyes... the lobby was nicely decorated, too. Actually, the lobby lighting gave you the impression you had just arrived on a beach, complete with suggestions of waves lapping on the sand. Very cool!

After Jeff’s reading, we went down to the hotel restaurant, Asia de Cuba, as Jeff's guests for dinner. While studying the menu, Suzanne and I had a Brazilian caipirinha cocktail. Jeff gave us information on the hotel and its sister hotels in London, South Beach, New York, and other locations. He also told us about the lesson in California men’s fashion he received from the hotel’s experts when he became General Manager... first of all, brown suits, even Armani brown suits, are a no-no; jeans are good, tucking your shirt into your jeans is not good.  If you do wear jeans, wear dress shoes, not sneakers. .. I was glad that I fit in so well with the Hollywood crowd... in fact, Suzanne remarked, "Yeah, you blend...".  ;-) 

 I have to tell you in no uncertain words, this was one of the best meals of our lives. Like its name implies, the restaurant’s cuisine is Asian-Cuban fusion; we had four types of ceviche (grouper, salmon, swordfish, and shrimp) and a calamari salad for starters; entrees were miso-cured Alaskan black cod, Cuban coffee-encrusted rib eye steak, and giant prawns with red Thai curry, rum and coconut cream. Suzanne wants me to point out that in the picture below, I may be hip but my shirt is still tucked in.

As if that wasn’t enough, Jeff convinced us that we could not possibly leave Hollywood without trying the hotel’s world famous carrot cake and chocolate ganache. All in all, it had been a culinary adventure of the first order. If you come to Hollywood/Los Angeles/anywhere in California, we highly recommend the Mondrian Hotel and the Asia de Cuba restaurant. You will not be disappointed.  Be advised, there are five (count ‘em, five) dollar signs on most websites reviewing Asia de Cuba. Thank you Jeff, for treating us; this was the most expensive and delicious meal we have ever enjoyed. We could get used to this! 

Long Beach; a Warner Brothers Tour

We are now settled in here in Los Angeles, and it’s a bit different than we’re used to in The Villages. This place is really, really crowded and hectic. Last night at dusk we drove over to Belmont Shore, my old stomping grounds from 1969-1972. I was stationed on a destroyer in Long Beach during Vietnam, and several of us junior officers shared a bachelor apartment within a 30 minute drive from the ship. Belmont Shore was Party Central back then, with lots of restaurants and clubs catering to 20-somethings. I searched for my old apartment building, but they must have torn it down in response to complaints about urban blight. There are fairly new single family homes there now, and lots of families with young kids. It’s definitively more upscale these days, but there is a traffic light on every single corner. Parking was ridiculously hard to find, so we drove over to the beach to see what had changed there.This is the view from Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach; if you’ve ever wondered why it has that name, here’s your answer. 

Today we drove to Burbank (near Hollywood) and met our good friends Elizabeth Magee and Joseph Valentino from The Villages, and Joseph’s brother, Sal. Suzanne had made reservations for the Warner Brothers Studio VIP Tour, and we didn’t know Sal’s first name, so she listed him on the reservation as Brother Valentino. We were hoping he would dress as a monk, but he arrived in shorts and polo shirt. We boarded the trolley with eight other tourists and Matt the Tour Guide and we were off to tour the Back Lot. The buildings are mostly shells, with no ceilings or second floors, to allow good camera shots. Suzanne was thrilled to walk down Memory Lane and see Mr Wilson's house from Dennis the Menace. 

Matt was very funny, knowledgeable and entertaining about the history of WB. Their first big star was Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought back from World War I by an American soldier. Their first “talkie” was The Jazz Singer with Al Jolson. They have had great success with movies, such as Casablanca, Batman, Gran Torino, The Matrix, Harry Potter, and cartoons (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, among others), but have also produced a lot of television shows, including Friends, E.R., Ellen and several others I had never heard of (we don’t watch much television).

You may recognize this set from Friends. (I didn’t...), or the Friends' couch (Elizabeth wanted to buy it, but Matt estimated its cost at $2,000,000.00, and she hadn't brought her checkbook). 

We got to visit a sound stage, the prop room, museum, and antique car garage. Joseph and Sal are admiring a beautiful Rolls-Royce from the movie Arthur.

Suzanne has always liked fast black sports cars. Here we are with the one she wanted... but the owner (in the background) didn't want to negotiate price...

I think my favorite was the General Lee, from The Dukes of Hazzard. Unfortunately, Jessica Simpson wasn't there to drive us around...

It was an interesting tour, but the best part was spending time with our friends. Fortunately, we will be seeing more of them this week.