T on September 6th, 2010

Mom is visiting this weekend.  As we were talking about things we might do, L suggested that we check out a movie at the Gold Class Cinemas.  A friend of hers had just visited, and I remember reading about the concept when they first came to town.  I had been wanting to catch Inception, so [...]

Continue reading about Dinner with a Movie

T on August 27th, 2010

In the 1930s, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy tried to push a crated piano up one of Silverlake’s pedestrian staircases.  That process – and its outcome – are the subject of their short film, The Music Box.  I’m not much of a Laurel & Hardy fan, but it’s still pretty cool to incorporate a bit [...]

Continue reading about Climbing the Music Box Steps

T on August 26th, 2010

The excitement I felt after climbing the 55 stories of the Wells Fargo Tower quickly dissipated last evening when I tried the 42-story One California Plaza and took the same amount of time. Maybe it was the warmer weather, maybe it was the larger crowd of people climbing with me, but it opened my [...]

Continue reading about Villains Tavern

T on July 6th, 2010

Last year I wanted to participate in the Stair Climb to the Top at the US Bank Tower – 1500 steps to the top of the tallest building west of the Mississippi.  But I wimped out, mostly because I had no way of finding out beforehand whether I’d have the endurance to make it.  They [...]

Continue reading about 55 and Climbing…

T on June 20th, 2010

One of the draws of Topanga Canyon was the excellent hiking it offers. In planning our stay at Topanga Canyon Inn, we knew we’d want to begin it with a hike in the nearby state park. And as always, I turned to Modern Hiker for ideas on which ones to do.  We decided to park [...]

Continue reading about Hiking Topanga State Park

T on June 13th, 2010

“Aloha, Aloha – I do not know what it means, but I like it…” -  Jose the Parrot
Hula, Mai Tai, Aloha – just the sound of the words conjure up visions of tropical islands and endless blue seas.  For decades, Americans have had a special interest in all things Polynesian, from steel guitar to tiki [...]

Continue reading about A Bit of the South Pacific in LA