One note on weird coincidence. When we checked into this hotel, we heard that Art Linkletter died. There is a picture in the lobby from when this building housed a radio station, and it mentions this is where he got his start. Then today, we heard that Dennis Hopper died. We saw a house he owned in LA, and were discussing whether or not he had died while there (I think I had heard he was ill). So it’s been kind of weird to be crossing paths of these people at the same time they are passing on. Sadly, good people and talented people gotta go, too.

Hopefully, all those we know personally are doing well. Our best, R&R

The trip to San Diego by train was quick and simple. We arrived and waited for Adam at the Warbux across from the Amtrak station. It wasn’t a long wait, and so soon we were being scooped up by Adam’s partner, Stan, and whisked off to Mexico. Crossing into Mexico was a breeze, except we had to navigate around by back street due to massive loads of PM traffic. Stan showed us around the beach house, and it is really of the charts sweeet. His family uses it for breaks away from San Diego, as well as using it for a place to take clients when trying to close the deal. I can see how it would help with that.

We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant down the road, and it is a shame to see how empty the places there are. All the tourist have been scared off by news horror stories about the drug violence. I’m not saying there isn’t a violence problem, but so far it’s only effect on tourist has been their own fear. After the meal, we went back for a late night stroll on the beach. The weather was perfect. It was a great visit, if all too brief.

The next morning we did another beach walk, and then went to find some breakfast before heading to Tijuana again to see the factory. We had to make a couple of stops to find one open, as many have gone to weekends only due to loss of business. Then it was time to see the plant. It’s quite the operation, and I’m rooting for them to make this fly as the economy ticks up again.

The crossing back was not as easy. Stan had a special pass, but that means the rest of us had to walk across. Quite the lines and several arrest we got to watch. then there were lots of cops from several agencies all around on the US side. Some sort of crackdown, we assumed. Other than taking a bit of time, we had no trouble at all getting ourselves through.

After that Adam had work to do so we left him alone for the afternoon, but hooked up again for dinner in the Gas Lamp District, which our hotel is just on the edge of. Adam took us to his favorite place where he recommended their steak. I have to say I have NEVER had a steak that good anywhere else. We also walked around the area checking out spendy old cars and spendy old wine. I’m glad neither of those are habits of mine, as I spend enough on travel and don’t need any more expensive hobbies.

Yesterday, Adam and Stan had a full day of work and we planned to meet him to repay him with a dinner of our choosing. Rita and I started our day by heading over to Old Town and checking out some of the old buildings in the park there. We didn’t end up exploring the rest of the neighborhood as I was not feeling very energetic. We came back and took a break, then decided to check out the USS Midway in the harbor, which is just a short walk from our hotel. After that we had plans change as Stan invited Adam, Rita, and I to go to dinner with him, his wife Mel (Imelda) his youngest son and one of his sons friends. We ended up back in Old Town, but in the restaurant area instead of the park. Lots of great eateries to choose from, but Stan’s first choice was gone, so we went instead to his favorite mexican restaurant. It was really nice, and it was nice to meet Mel as we had heard so many good things about her the day before, and had been disappointed not to get to meet her then. After that we returned to the Hotel, and said our goodbyes to Adam as he had to fly out early this morning.

We started today with a trip to the local Bikrams Yoga Studio. Today I got lucky and had my Goldie Locks class. Jim, the teacher was also the owner. While the room WAS brutally hot, it wasn’t over hot like San Francisco. It was just the proper brutal heat called for in Bikrams. It was a bit humid, but I think that was because we decided we couldn’t comfortably make the first class at 6:30 AM using transit. After people practice in a room the humidity always is a bit more. Jim is still a friend of Bikram, and runs his class “by the book”. He was so detailed I didn’t have time to think and just did what I was told. He asked Rita to do her second set of standing separate leg stretch while the class watched to see the correct form. She got a round of applause. He also managed to get me into the second two parts of Awkward by explaining what I had been missing, and then got me all the way into another post that I’ve never completed by talking me all the way through it. It was just right.

After class I really wanted to just take some time off, and Rita has been wanting to go see Balboa Park, which is a huge nature pard with lots of museums and the zoo in it. I decided to do computer stuff and let her go on her own, as my knees are NOT up for that kind of walking. We haven’t decided on what all to do tomorrow, but we will make it a full day as it it the last. Sunday we board the train to make our way back to Seattle and work. I’m hoping to get time to caption those pics before I get home, but I’m not sure that will happen. I had planned to do it on the train last time but the Wi-Fi was out. I can’t do it if I don’t have internet access. So, if I don’t get them done before departure, I will be at the mercy of what the train has to offer. So no promises, but I’m trying.

We hope everyone is OK. We are kind of waiting to hear about our grandson Nicholas as he was having some problems that sounded like it could be appendicitis.

Our best, R&R

So yesterday was a bit of a mess but I think it all worked out in the end. At least it will have if Mike got the work he needed from his bid. We screwed up a bit in the communication department and didn’t manage to reconnect with Mike. We thought he was coming downtown and then calling but he was thinking we were calling… Well we talk a lot and it’s easy to loose details in the soup. We feel bad he made a trip in and didn’t connect, but then he needed to be focusing on work and I wouldn’t have wanted him to feel bad about not seeing us, so maybe it’s not really a bad thing we missed.

Rita and I started with “Bikram’s Luke Warm Room Speed Yoga” (that’s my name for what we got). I hate to admit it, but after the brutal heat and detailed corrections of the San Fran Session, I’m not too displeased. This one was really just warm and other than telling you when to change NO instruction. I almost yacked my neck as there was no direction on how to go into the posture. The bright side is I now know how great our local instructors are. REALLY. I am hoping for a session in San Diego, and maybe (like Goldie Locks) we will find one that’s “just right”.

After class we went back to the hotel to drop the car and clean up. Then we walked around downtown taking pics for a while. I apologize that none of them have captions yet. I barely got through them last night and uploading was all that got done again. I hope to actually take a break in San Diego and that would be a good time to relax, review, and caption the earlier part of the trip.

While we were waiting for Mike (before we realized our mistake) we went looking for some lunch. We stumbled into a place right by our hotel that turned out to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in LA. It’s in an historic old building, and it was FANTASTIC! We were so thrilled with the find. As we left we realized what looked like a hole in the wall from the street has a wonderful front onto a large enclosed street market setup in what was originally part of Los Angeles Mission. Lots of booths and small shops selling hand made goods. Really a great fun place.

Then after calling and realizing we weren’t going to work out a meeting with Mike we got back in the car for some exploration. First stop was Griffith Park Observatory for some great views and (for anyone near our age) some important movie history. (See “Rebel Without a Cause”)

Then we headed off on my quest. I didn’t think it was a quest, but it became one. I wanted to get to the back side of the Hollywood sign. Everyone said I’d be dissappointed because you are fenced out and can’t get to it. MY point was to get behind it, to see it the way you only do in movies. Everyone seemed to think that was weird and not worth the effort. Of course, once I discovered what effort it was, I can see that it would be a lot for most people just to see it from behind.

I THOUGHT you could drive fairly close. Boy was I wrong. The closest place is more than a mile and a half away, and it is in serious hills.

We found this out when we hit the “do not enter” sign at a horse ranch. But a nice lady told us how to get there from where we were, and of another place where most people walk in from. We opted to walk from where we were, and took off. All the way I’m thinking, “I’m going to regret this on the way down!” My knees get bad mostly on downhill. So I knew I’d make it UP, I just wasn’t sure if they’d need to medivac me out.

We then ran into a car driving down, and I freaked. But I was rudely told when I asked if you can drive up there, “No! YOU can’t.” I was so relived that I wasn’t walking for no reason that I didn’t care he was an asshole about it.

We were nearly at the top when we were passed by a runner, that of course, “must be a movie star who comes up here to run so no one will bother him.” (according to Rita) And then when a helicopter landed, the story evolved into “He just runs up and then they fly him back down to do it again. Maybe he’s a famous athelete.” You can’t convince Rita that everyone in LA isn’t famous. My theory was they were there to medivac me out!

At the top, I had some moral support that I’m NOT crazy, or at least, I’m not the ONLY crazy person, for wanting to reach the sign. We ran into a young guy there who came all the way from Northern England to get his picture taken there. Rita helped him get a shot of him and the back of the sign.

As we were idiots and brought no water, we did not stay too long. We were amazed by the views, Hollywood, Griffith Park, and downtown LA one way, and “the Valley” the other. But I was dreading the walk down.

As we were leaving, and the helicopter I spoke of started to take off, we were joined by two nice young guys. After Rita explained her theory of why the helicopter was there (and I’m surprised they kept talking to us after that) they explained THEIR theory. They said they had been behind the fence by the sign, and they thought the helicopter was looking for THEM. I found their theory far more plausable than Rita’s.

We walked down the hill with them and in the short amount of time that it took Rita found out they were from Pensylvania and had moved to LA for the movie buisness, one to act the other to write.

The actor, William Robertson, is just now doing his first feature, “the Percect House”, a gore for the sake of gore horror flick. He seemed thrilled for the break, but maybe a bit less thrilled for the kind of movie he landed a part in. I reminded him of how many GREAT actors got their start in Roger Corman flicks. Who can forget Bruce Dern with multiple heads?

We won Rita a T Shirt by posting the picture of her with Will on the movie’s facebook page. We told them we will definitely be following their careers now, and hope to be able to say, “We knew them when…”.

Unfortunately, we discovered we had talked our way down to the OTHER place to park and walk, and were far, far away from our car. These kids then offered to take us over to it in their vehicle, if we didn’t mind riding in a farm truck straight off the dairy farm in Pensylvania. Our South Dakota relatives will be glad to know it was a Ford.

They saved my life as my legs were already gone and there was no way round that was not back up and over the same hills or MILES around by roads (with nearly as bad a hill). SOOOO nice of them. I don’t usually watch those kinds of movies anymore, but I will be seeing “the Perfect House”!

After that we did a drive by on Hollywood proper. One quick stop at Hollywood and Vine to shoot the Capitol Records building, and then a drive through to see what a ZOO Hollywood is today. WOW. Things change.

We had to stop on the way to Hollywood for water (lots of water), and of course tea and coffee. Man, what a stream of low life and sleaze parading through and around. Not that there weren’t regular folks, too, but man… The area has NOT benifited from it’s past, except maybe in cash milked from tourist. The “moment” for me was thinking how the mom dragging her kids to see this stuff felt about the naked person on the porn poster. Then I spotted the star on the sidewalk below it and wondered what THEY would think. Really, I just can’t tell you how WOW!

So now We’re on the train to San Diego, looking forward to seeing Adam and learning more about his new endeavour. And a night at a beach house in Ensenada shouldn’t be bad either.

More later. Our best to all, R&R