On The Road -- Again.

Sep 15, 2005

People want to know -- "Don't you ever stay home." It seems not ... this year we've been out west to Los Angeles in March, to Florida in April, to Martha's Vineyard in July, to Ohio in August. Then Saratoga Springs, Fire Island and Maine. You'd think we'd be tired. But no, we're on the road again. Right now you can reach us on the west coast - we're back in L.A. again.

Our friends' son is getting married and we're here to celebrate. Jonathan is the son of Rhonda and Ted (no longer a couple), dear friends of ours. And while we're here, we figured, it's another opportunity to spend some time with son, Michael and other family and friends.

In addition, we were accompanied by my aunt Sissy who would be visiting out here with her son Jay. The last time they saw each other was, perhaps, five years ago. Sissy is not comfortable flying by herself any longer and so our trip had a added side benefit to her.


My aunt at JFK airport - ready to fly west.

My cousin Jay was waiting at Long Beach airport for his mom. After a quick kiss and a hug for Stacey and me, he whisked her away to spend the rest of the week together at his home in Rancho Palo Verdes. We walked over to the car rental building, picked up our car and headed to our hotel in Hollywood.

When we arrived there we unpacked and set off to explore our neighborhood on foot. It was a beautiful Los Angeles late afternoon. Even though the weather was warm and sunny back in New York, stepping out into the California sunshine imparted a special feeling in me, similar to the feeling I get when stepping off the plane in Florida in the midst of a cold New York winter. Perhaps it was the visual treat of the palm trees and the lush vegetation and the Hollywood hills in the background. Whatever it was, I felt we had arrived!


Stacey chats with Dani on the street outside our hotel.



Tall palm trees line the street outside our hotel on Franklin Avenue in the Hollywood Hills. Not to mention the press of endless California traffic.

We walked for a few miles making a large circle, exploring the neighborhood around our hotel. A few blocks away was Hollywood and Vine. A few more blocks south was Sunset Boulevard. Not the elegant and fashionable destination it once was, the area is a bit run down but one still feels an excitement that runs through the streets, buildings and people. We stopped for an espresso, dropped into Borders for a greeting card for the bride and groom and stopped for a drink at the the famous Schwab's restaurant, in its heyday a place to see and be seen. It was happy hour! And we were happy.


The new Schwab's plays on its famous history - burnished during Hollywood's glamour days.


The corner of Hollywood and Vine. A mix of mostly old and some new ... the beautiful Capitol Records building in the background.

We returned to our hotel room and freshened up for dinner. We picked up Mike and Lynn and returned to a restaurant that we had visited on our last trip to L.A. (just six months ago in March): Barragan's, a wonderful, and authentic, Mexican place that my cousins had taken us to. After dinner, we dropped off the kids and headed back to the hotel. With jet lag and the time difference it felt like we hadn't slept for days. It was 11 o'clock but really 2 a.m. Good night - and we slept well.

Mike hams up his pleasure at Barragan's Mexican restaurant on Sunset Strip in Echo Park.