Going Home

Our last day in Hollywood was quiet and spent visiting and eating.  We had breakfast with Dawn and Foxboy at Fred 62. We ate outside where the gentle breeze cooled the already warm air. Afterwards we shopped at a Farmer's Market where we bought the most amazingly sweet strawberries. 

Ron and i then went to see the movie 'the Grand Budapest Hotel' which was quirky and entertaining. This was followed by a decadent dessert at Ghirardelli.

The day ended with having dinner with Dawn and Edwin at a Caribbean restaurant called 'Cha Cha Cha'. 

A perfect end to a perfect vacation that was spurred by the desire to ride The Coast Starlight. 

Adios until the next instalment of The Year of the Wolff'

BLou 

Hollywood

Hollywood. The place that stardom was born, now the place that tourists flock by the hundreds every day. You can count us among those tourists because here we are, with a hotel right on the strip. The Roosevelt (same name as our hotel in Seattle but apparently not related), has been open since 1927 and hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929. It has been home to various stars and now some say it is haunted.  Amongst various sightings and paranormal activity, Marilyn Monroe's reflection has been seen in a mirror and she has been seen dancing in the ballroom. 

All that aside, it is one of Hollywood's most famous hotels and now houses a nightclub which is very popular with the young crowd, hence the loud music and partying to the wee hours of the morning. 

Here I am in the grand lobby. No sightings of Marilyn yet but that would be neat!

The night we arrived part of Hollywood Blvd was blocked off due to the premiere of Godzilla which was being shown at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Sadly enough it is now called TCL Chinese Theatre, after a Chinese electronic company purchased the naming rights last year. I wonder if that name will catch on?  

We have walked around enjoying the sunny, warm weather - it is not hot - the heat arrives later this week when they are predicting highs of 38.   We went to the Bourgeois Pig for coffee, which has become a favorite place of mine to go when I am here.  

A highlight of the Hollywood experience has been The Book of Mormon which we saw at the Pantages Theatre.  Another beautiful building, it opened in 1930 and hosted the Academy Awards from 1949 to 1959.  I had been wanting to go to this theatre, not caring what I saw. I got lucky because the Book of Mormon was fabulous, and the theatre magnificent, reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood. 

We have taken the Metro several times and are becoming pros at getting around.  We had huevos revueltos for breakfast on Olvera Street, visited Chinatown and then over to Thai Town for dinner. 

Union Station, Los Angeles. 

One day left and the sun is shining so must get out and greet the day. 

Leaving San Francisco

The day:  Wednesday

Mission:  Get on train to take us to Los Angeles

San Francisco was lovely, the only oddity we found was trying to get a taxi to take us to the Amtrak Station in the morning. We had heard, from our hotel, that no taxi would come to the hotel to take us to the Amtrak Stn because it wasn't worth their while. We were told where we could go to get a taxi, so we proceeded to the taxi area about a block away.

The first taxi driver in line put our bags into his cab but when we told him where we were going, he said he didn't know where it was or how to get there and proceeded to take our bags out of his cab. The cab driver behind him tried to tell him where it was and told us that he knew but the driver insisted he didn't know how to get there and unloaded our bags. 

The second driver refused to take us well but didn't give us a reason. The third driver in line refused to open his window to talk to me but the the 2nd driver hailed down a passing cab and said that this driver would take us.   What we discovered was that the fare to the Amtrak Stn (which was $9) was not worth their time as they could miss out on a bigger fare to the airport. The driver that took us ended up getting an $11 tip on a $9 fare as I was so relieved to find someone that would take us. I imagine in a small way that this is what discrimination might feel like. 

We did arrive at the Amtrak Stn in plenty of time to begin the next leg of our journey. We were able to walk along the waterfront and take our last looks at the city, before boarding the bus that would take us to Oakland to catch our train. 

The next 12 hours were spent on the train watching the scenery go by. There were rolling green hills, fields of produce, oil fields and a large cattle ranch.  It was only about the last 4 hours of the trip that ended up being along the ocean but when we got there the views were spectacular.  Photos from a moving train are not that great but I will include a couple. 

We spent most of the trip in the parlor car in large comfortable seats, getting up to eat - breakfast, lunch, dinner. A person could gain weight doing this for many days in a row.  We arrived at Union Station in Los Angeles on time and so ends our trip on the Coast Starlight.

Tomorrow is another day. 

BLou. 

San Francisco

What did we want to do with one day in San Francisco?   We made a list and proceeded to see if we could tick all items off by the end of the day. We started off by going to Union Square enroute to Chinatown. During the day we walked up many of the 43 hills there are in the city, or at least it felt like we did.  Dale, you would be proud of the ground we covered today on foot. 

San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in North America and the biggest outside of Asa. I was amazed at it's size and the vibrant atmosphere. I have always loved the sights, sounds and smells of Chinatown, but Vancouver's Chinatown did not prepare me for this. 

From there we walked partway up Nob Hill and marveled at the stately buildings and beautiful flowers that adorned some of them. 

Fisherman's Wharf was next where we ate fish and chips, listened to buskers and took photos - pictures of Alcatraz being popular with the tourists. 

We discovered Pier 39 which was a tourists mecca, full of shops, restaurants and a beautiful carousel which played 60s music, like "riding along on a carousel" and "when you're going to San Francisco....."

Lombard Street was our next destination. It is known for being the crookedest street in the world because of the 8 hairpin curves on one block.  I was last at this spot in 1974.  Wow, 40 years ago!

Ron wanted to ride the cable car part of the way back so we hopped on to a full car where they expected us to stand on a 5 inch platform and hang on to the outside, rather perilously I thought.  Ron thought it was great but I did not, so they found room for me on the car.  

This evening we went back to Union Square to listen to a band performing and to walk around the bustling city.  A very good day.  We have an early start in the morning to catch the Coast Starlight again for our journey to Los Angeles. 

 

Good night from San Francisco, where I may leave a little of my heart. 

BLou

A Day Aboard the Coast Starlight

We boarded the train at the King Street Station in Seattle on Tuesday morning.  The station itself was quite lovely, all white marble and very clean. We lined up with all the other 'elite' passengers who had booked sleeping compartments, which included free meals and access to the parlor car and theatre, which coach passengers could not access. 😜

Our sleeping compartment was very cozy but not large. I learned after boarding that there were bigger rooms but we managed in our little area, Ron sleeping on an upper bunk.  Our sleeping compartment was on the 2nd floor of the train so we were indeed a cut above. LOL. 

The service was great and the food delicious. We got to make reservations for our meals and had choices. There was a comfy observation car to watch the scenery going by. Apart from seeing Puget sound however, the train travelled through cities, farmland, and mountains. The coastal part of the trip apparently will be from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  The train went up into the mountains to an elevation of 4550 feet, with snow along the route, and ended up this morning at 135 feet above sea level (in San Francisco).  We went to sleep in Oregon and woke up in California. 

In the evening we went to the theatre room and watched "Gravity". 

We fell asleep listening to the wheels rumbling along the track and feeling it sway gently; although Ron says from the top bunk it was more like a "rock and roll".

Next blog:  San Francisco. 

Seattle

We arrived in Seattle this morning at 0700 hours and caught Trans Link downtown. Despite the hour of our arrival, we were checked in early to our cozy room at the Roosevelt. It is a historic hotel with "a lush, 19th century ambience".  Our room has a view of Elliot Bay well as the huge seagulls that walk on the ledge outside our windows. 

 We meandered through the labyrinth of shops that comprise Pike Market. The market contains merchants, artisans and craftspeople, as well as farmers selling produce. The fishmongers are a big tourist attraction, especially if you are lucky enough to watch them throwing (and catching) fish. 

I was happy to find a piece of art to add to the pieces of original art I have been collecting for several years.  It is a wood etching and I fell in love with its simplicity and bright color. 

The highlight of the day was the Panama Hotel which is the basis for the book 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet."  Between 1942 and 1945 when thousands of Japanese were sent to internment camps, many of their belongings were stored in the basement of this hotel, with plans to recover them later. Many people did not return to claim their possessions and some of these items can be viewed through a hole in the floor.  The hotel was luckily purchased by someone who understood the meaning of these items and what they represented and so they were preserved. 

The hole in the floor is not large and taking a photo through scatched plexiglass did not produce very good photos but I will include one. 

Tomorrow we board the Coast Starlight with our next destination being San Francisco. 

BLou

All Aboard

We are about to embark on a journey by train - from Seattle to Los Angeles via the Coast Starlight. Having read various reviews, I am not sure what to expect. The reviews range from being "the best experiece ever" to "OMG what was I thinking"!  None of the reviews included the murder and mystery found in Murder on the Orient Express or  Strangers on a Train, but only time will tell what transpires on our trip. At the end of the journey I will have my own review. 

Until then I am anticipating a peaceful, relaxing trip as the train wends its way along the coast on what is considered one of most spectacular train routes. 

The photo is taken from the internet;  I shall supply my own photos when we are "All Aboard". 

BLou

Continuing "TheYear of the Wolff"