After the Clippers game, we went for a late night chili burger. Tommy's is famous in Los Angeles, it's open 24/7 and everything they sell comes with chili.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Los Angeles - Goodbye for Now
Chiliburger Goodbye
After the Clippers game, we went for a late night chili burger. Tommy's is famous in Los Angeles, it's open 24/7 and everything they sell comes with chili.
After the Clippers game, we went for a late night chili burger. Tommy's is famous in Los Angeles, it's open 24/7 and everything they sell comes with chili.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Los Angeles - Clippers Game
Jinxing the Streak
As we drove down Vermont through Little Armenia and Little Korea, we discussed the jinx. We joked that our presence at Staples would surely halt the Clipper's winning streak at sixteen. I envisioned a blow out, the angry crowd filing out in the middle of the third quarter. Little Korea isn't so little anymore - it's come back from the riots and expanded. A left turn onto Pico and the Korean gave way to Spanish. We parked on Figueroa about a block away. Thanks to the magic of the internet I'd prepaid $25 for a $10 parking space.
As we drove down Vermont through Little Armenia and Little Korea, we discussed the jinx. We joked that our presence at Staples would surely halt the Clipper's winning streak at sixteen. I envisioned a blow out, the angry crowd filing out in the middle of the third quarter. Little Korea isn't so little anymore - it's come back from the riots and expanded. A left turn onto Pico and the Korean gave way to Spanish. We parked on Figueroa about a block away. Thanks to the magic of the internet I'd prepaid $25 for a $10 parking space.
Los Angeles - More Laziness
At Least it Was Sunny
We started our day at a schwanky breakfast place on Wilshire called Milo and Otis. It was good but overpriced. When anglos serve food cooked by Mexican chefs it costs you double what it should. I hoped the place was owned by the chefs. After breakfast we walked to the Santa Monica pier and took photos.
We started our day at a schwanky breakfast place on Wilshire called Milo and Otis. It was good but overpriced. When anglos serve food cooked by Mexican chefs it costs you double what it should. I hoped the place was owned by the chefs. After breakfast we walked to the Santa Monica pier and took photos.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Los Angeles - the Lazy Life
Nobody Walks in LA
After living in New York and Paris I've come to value a city's "walkability." I like to be able wander out of my front door on foot, eating, shopping, jumping on a subway if needed. It's a quality that Los Angeles lacks, or worse - mocks. Nobody walks in LA. You want breakfast? Drive out of your hotel and keep driving. We lucked into a great place, not too far away by LA standards, in Santa Monica. It's called Amandine and by all accounts, is a French patisserie run by Japanese transplants.
After living in New York and Paris I've come to value a city's "walkability." I like to be able wander out of my front door on foot, eating, shopping, jumping on a subway if needed. It's a quality that Los Angeles lacks, or worse - mocks. Nobody walks in LA. You want breakfast? Drive out of your hotel and keep driving. We lucked into a great place, not too far away by LA standards, in Santa Monica. It's called Amandine and by all accounts, is a French patisserie run by Japanese transplants.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Palm Springs - Redux
Shopping With Foreigners
Our morning view, onto a snow-draped Mount Jacinto, was amazing. We headed to breakfast and shopping at a nearby outlet.
Our morning view, onto a snow-draped Mount Jacinto, was amazing. We headed to breakfast and shopping at a nearby outlet.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Tucson - the Low Road
A More Interesting Way to Palm Springs
Rather than go back to Palm Springs on Interstate 10, we took the low road on 8, along the Mexican border and swung up around the western shores of the Salton Sea.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Tucson - Out and About
Basketball and Other Happenings
I see my nephews once a year, if that. I've watched them grow up in intermittent flashes, kinda like a PowerPoint presentation. Slide 1: Caleb is 2 feet tall, Slide 2: Caleb is 4 feet tall, Slide 3: Caleb has a girlfriend, Slide 4: Here he is with me on a dusty basketball court in the desert asking "One more game, Uncle J?" After he soundly beat me again he went on to beat his older brother. Made me smile, but only on the inside. The old lion kept his game face as he was pushed out of the pride.
I see my nephews once a year, if that. I've watched them grow up in intermittent flashes, kinda like a PowerPoint presentation. Slide 1: Caleb is 2 feet tall, Slide 2: Caleb is 4 feet tall, Slide 3: Caleb has a girlfriend, Slide 4: Here he is with me on a dusty basketball court in the desert asking "One more game, Uncle J?" After he soundly beat me again he went on to beat his older brother. Made me smile, but only on the inside. The old lion kept his game face as he was pushed out of the pride.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Tucson - Prickly
Saguaro National Park
"You'd better go strapped", Miguel, my sister's fiance, suggested. His normally smiley face had turned dark. We'd told him of our plan to take a hike through Saguaro National Park and he wanted us to take one of his firearms. He must have seen some very bad things during his stint in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department. "It's the high season" he went on, referring not to cactus shooting but drug importation. While he was fingering one of many padlocks on what I figured was his gun locker, I quickly led our small group to the car. I'd never considered the possibility of running into drug mules in a national park but I figured it would be better to leave the gun play to the pros.
"You'd better go strapped", Miguel, my sister's fiance, suggested. His normally smiley face had turned dark. We'd told him of our plan to take a hike through Saguaro National Park and he wanted us to take one of his firearms. He must have seen some very bad things during his stint in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department. "It's the high season" he went on, referring not to cactus shooting but drug importation. While he was fingering one of many padlocks on what I figured was his gun locker, I quickly led our small group to the car. I'd never considered the possibility of running into drug mules in a national park but I figured it would be better to leave the gun play to the pros.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Tucson - As Much Mexican as Possible
and Homecooking of Course
Living abroad for so long, there are three things I miss a lot: burgers, Mexican food and home cooking. I got all three in spades. Jenny whipped up an amazing dinner that lasted for days. While not stuffing ourselves with her home cooking, we made sure to stock up on Mexican. I tried a Sonoran style hot dog for the first time. As far as I can tell it's a normal hot dog loaded with all kinds of condiments like chiles, salsa, mayo and cheese. It wasn't as good as I hoped for. I made up for it with plenty of tacos and huevos rancheros for breakfast.
Living abroad for so long, there are three things I miss a lot: burgers, Mexican food and home cooking. I got all three in spades. Jenny whipped up an amazing dinner that lasted for days. While not stuffing ourselves with her home cooking, we made sure to stock up on Mexican. I tried a Sonoran style hot dog for the first time. As far as I can tell it's a normal hot dog loaded with all kinds of condiments like chiles, salsa, mayo and cheese. It wasn't as good as I hoped for. I made up for it with plenty of tacos and huevos rancheros for breakfast.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Tucson - The High Road
Up Over the Mountains
To get to Tucson, we took the high road, through the mountains. The speed limit was an impossibly fast 75 miles per hour, much too fast for the creaking two-lane interstate. I tried to keep a modicum of self-respect but even moving vans were passing us.. "Babe, you ok? Your eyes are getting really small!" Of course, she asked me this after waking from a short, deep nap. What did she expect? Two red-eye flights and hours of sandy monotony were taking a toll.
To get to Tucson, we took the high road, through the mountains. The speed limit was an impossibly fast 75 miles per hour, much too fast for the creaking two-lane interstate. I tried to keep a modicum of self-respect but even moving vans were passing us.. "Babe, you ok? Your eyes are getting really small!" Of course, she asked me this after waking from a short, deep nap. What did she expect? Two red-eye flights and hours of sandy monotony were taking a toll.
Palm Springs - Refuel
Elitist Breakfast
It didn't look like much when we checked in but the next morning in the light of day, our hotel impressed. Dodo booked it using a chunk of award points accumulated through her travels. Most of its charm was lost on me however, as my brain wrestled with the confusion of bright sunlight at midnight.
It didn't look like much when we checked in but the next morning in the light of day, our hotel impressed. Dodo booked it using a chunk of award points accumulated through her travels. Most of its charm was lost on me however, as my brain wrestled with the confusion of bright sunlight at midnight.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Los Angeles - Second Slice
Star Struck
We shared our Tokyo to Los Angeles flight with a Japanese movie star. According to Dodo he starred with Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai and I took her word for it. We landed to a crystal clear Los Angeles morning, we could see all the surrounding mountains. The smog is no more, apparently they've cracked down and eliminated it. While getting the car at Enterprise, I checked and re-checked my pockets. Too many young salesman in starter suits shaking my hand and calling me by my first name. After years in the more formal cultures of France and Singapore, I found their easy familiarity strange. It felt like a con man was selling me a recently "borrowed" car that would probably break down once on the freeway.
We shared our Tokyo to Los Angeles flight with a Japanese movie star. According to Dodo he starred with Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai and I took her word for it. We landed to a crystal clear Los Angeles morning, we could see all the surrounding mountains. The smog is no more, apparently they've cracked down and eliminated it. While getting the car at Enterprise, I checked and re-checked my pockets. Too many young salesman in starter suits shaking my hand and calling me by my first name. After years in the more formal cultures of France and Singapore, I found their easy familiarity strange. It felt like a con man was selling me a recently "borrowed" car that would probably break down once on the freeway.
Narita - More than an Airport
A Japanese Pause
We carved our Tucson trip into three easy-to-digest slices, the first being an eight hour layover in Tokyo. Well, not exactly Tokyo but the town whose namesake, Narita, has been subsumed by the airport. We stored our carry on luggage at the arrival terminal, something still possible in Japan, and took the train one stop into town. It was cold, in the upper forties, but there was little breeze in the narrow lanes. Many of the small stores were just opening for the day, the shop keepers placing their wares along the sidewalks. Narita is known for two specialties: traditional rice crackers and barbecued eel.
We carved our Tucson trip into three easy-to-digest slices, the first being an eight hour layover in Tokyo. Well, not exactly Tokyo but the town whose namesake, Narita, has been subsumed by the airport. We stored our carry on luggage at the arrival terminal, something still possible in Japan, and took the train one stop into town. It was cold, in the upper forties, but there was little breeze in the narrow lanes. Many of the small stores were just opening for the day, the shop keepers placing their wares along the sidewalks. Narita is known for two specialties: traditional rice crackers and barbecued eel.
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