Wow. The Jolly Green Giant. In Hollywood. Tied to a no parking sign. Also spotted, a guy who used to be on ER and the rest of Bruce Jenner's family (sort of).
Laika was the Russian dog who became the first living creature to fly into space. This is an oil painting of Laika in a gallery of the ten pooches who entered orbit for the Soviet Union. The gallery can be found at The Museum Of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. The less said the better. You need to go.
If the 2010 Graffiti Awards (the Graffies) were being handed out based on volume of graffiti produced, Lec would take home the cake. There was thick orange paint slapped all over the two blocks north of Venice Beach. Most of it looked to be spilled from a can or the result of a dropped brush. And, conveniently, the was a secret stash of semi-gloss all over the curb where K decided to have a seat, thus ruining a fine khaki maternity skirt.
L.A.'s latest foodie craze is embodied by a pair of roaming taco trucks -- but not just any kind of tacos. Korean barbecue tacos. Kogi's two vehicles, Roja and Verde move all over the Southland three times a day, five days a week, and the lines of customers usually beat the trucks by at least a half hour.
The Getty Center has a marvelous setting and a delightful building, but a somewhat less-inspired collection of art. That is, unless you are interested in endless Italian oil paintings of crucifixions.
One of the more entertaining pieces is recreated here by B. The original is below. The security guard wouldn't let us put glasses on the gentleman.
The Dodgers are 12-0 at home to start the 2009 season! 13-0 ties a Major League Baseball record set way back in, you guessed it, 1911. This guy wanted everyone to know that we were going to be a part of history, and the best way to celebrate being a part of history is to start The Wave.
We found a tiny, foreclosed house just across the street from Watts Towers, and we're considering going into the B&B business. Within walking distance of the world-famous Watts Towers! There's probably only room for one bed, so that probably leaves either us or the guests on the couch in the living room. Start your morning with a hot, toasted waffle and freshly poured orange juice! The towers are 'open' only a few days each week leaving us to search for other income streams on the off days. View bits of glass and stone stuck in concrete and stacked really high from the window of your cozy bedroom!
Los Angeles looks much lovelier at night when the smog isn't as visible.
Chuao Chocolatier in Encinitas whips up a tasty little morsel called 'Firecracker'. The not-so-secret ingredient is Pop Rocks. 'Mmm. Crunchy. A little spicy. Hey! Why is my mouth tingling? What's that crackling noise?'
K, in a tremendous storm of testosterone-fueled rage, rips the knob off the door latch of the Holiday Inn Express in Cardiff.
After a series of ho-hum dining experience throughout San Diego, B stumbled upon the Cardiff Seaside Market in Cardiff-by-the-Sea/Encinitas just off the beach. A great little supermarket, with an amazing selection of desserts in the deli -- see the Chocolate Paradise and Chocolate Fusion pictured above. Yow. Good eatin'. Better desserts than anywhere back home. For those of you scoring at home, the Fusion has nine layers of choco-goodness, and in the dessert book would be coded C7+c2[x399].
Wildlife photographer extraordinaire K whips out the Canon and sends the poor panda fleeing for safety. No wonder they've been on the verge of extinction.
We just finished a lunch of the wildly overrated Pinkberry (tastes remarkably like frozen cream cheese, but maybe this appeals to you), so we didn't partake in any German delicacies. However, we paused and paid tribute to the most regal pork product in Southern California, His Royal Highness, Sausage King.
Here's K at 20 weeks into pre-motherhood. If she looks weary and exhausted, it's because she's been hauling a 12 ounce baby around San Diego all day. A welcome respite at the Hotel Del is had. But not the $10 cheeseburger.
Payne's Bar-B-Q on Lamar gets the five-beret award for barbecue pork sandwiches. This is real good and real cheap. Two huge chopped porks and a bowl of beans went for $8. There's no heat in this converted garage, so most of the patrons were chowing down in their cars.
If we could give more than five berets to Central BBQ, we would. Their ribs are amazing and worth the drive from Iowa even if the guy at the counter thinks we chose a poor road trip destination.
Did you know that Mississippi has only two bookmobiles for the entire state?
Crossing the Mississippi state line on Highway 61, we met this guy welcoming us to (a.) gamble, (b.) purchase fireworks, or (c.) see some dancers. We weren't sure which one, but he seemed nice enough so we bet on whether or not we could get away with firecrackers in the dance club. We could not. K won the wager.
There are a few things that Memphis, Tennessee has in abundance. Recording studios would be one. Sun and Royal are still standing, but Stax was torn down in a blazing feat of historic ignorance. Realizing their civic mistake, they rebuilt the studio in the location. While not quite the same thing, it's a pretty lively museum that suffers from the usual read-a-sign, move-to-the-next problem. Worth a visit just to see the Rufus Thomas 'Funkiest Man Alive' sweatshirt on display.
In no particular order, we'll run through some of the surprisingly good dining establishments we found in our tour of southern Utah. We're not too sure how to define 'Utah cuisine' and expected to find a lot of frozen pizzas and pasta-alla-Boy-Ar-Dee. We were wrong!
The Kiva Koffehouse is not well-pictured here -- you'll get a better idea of how niftily built it is on their website. We had a tasty, solid breakfast here and a better than we expected dinner of turkey and potatoes and chicken enchiladas along with some absolutely yummy breads. And more dessert.
Okay, we didn't get a meal at The Trailhead Cafe, but we did enjoy a raspberry muffin.
Georgie's Cafe is a Mexican restaurant in Escalante that looks like somebody's house. Their chicken enchiladas were better than the Kiva's. And, as we said before, the food here is overall better than you would expect -- and tastier than the better known Bit & Spur in Springdale. You can sit on a big drum if you like.
Escalante Outfitters has something for everyone. Pizza, espresso, hiking boots, whiskey, quad maps, head lamps, salads, wireless internet, lodging, books, floppy hats, carabiners, magazines, camping stoves, and berry cobbler. The pizza here is, again, better than you would expect. Good crust. Just the right amount of cheese. And no backtalk.
Cowboy Blues looks a lot like many mediocre to terrible midwestern restauraunts that have too extensive menus and really bland food. But! The steaks are amazingly good! And huge! And they had fresh bumbleberry pie! They're having a Halloween buffet. You should go.
The New York Times and other foodie literati have raved about Boulder's Hell's Backbone Grill for a while so you may have heard about them. They whip up schmancy dinners using locally grown ingredients. No small challenge considering their location in dusty, dry, non-agricultural location. We had a breakfast and a dinner there, and liked it so much, we bought the teapot. Best potato pancakes ever. Best black pepper biscuits ever.
And now to the ultimate culinary find of our jaunt. The nearest major airport is in Las Vegas, so we decided to give the In-N-Out burger chain a shot to and from the runway. We hadn't heard much about the quality of the food, but we were intrigued by the not-so-secret menu where you can theoretically order a burger with 8 patties and 16 slices of cheese. We didn't, but the burgers taste like burgers should taste. Beefy. And the french fries are made with potatoes. We witnessed a giant russet go from potato to golden fry in 60 seconds. Why anyone puts up with McDonald's and the rest of the un-fresh faux-food is a mystery. This stuff is good and not as unhealthy as you would think. And, like Zion Pizza & Noodle, the kids who worked there seemed to get a kick out of their jobs. So, if you're in SoCal or CenCal or SoNev or AllAriz, place your order and enjoy how the classic American fast food meal should be.
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