Silver Lake

That camping trip I mentioned on yesterday's blog (Bear, Part I)?  We actually rode horses and led mules 20 miles into the mountains from a pack station at Silver Lake, near Mammoth, California.  My mom visited there recently and the pack station we left from over 40 years ago is still there, still operating and hasn't changed much in all that time.

California Poppies

January in California always amazes me.  Right now in most of the rest of the country, any vegetation is brown or grey.  However, in California, the ground responds almost instantly to rain, and we've had a lot of it this year, which means the hillsides are already a beautiful velvet green.  That also means poppies aren't far behind.

There's actually a state poppy preserve, named (appropriately) the Antelope Valley California Poppy State Reserve.  From February through May, the poppies bloom profusely, although some years are better than others.  It is worth a drive from any reasonable distance to visit this place, if you ever get the chance.  Think the poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz (although those aren't the same kind of poppies), and you have an idea of how vast these fields of poppies (and other wildflowers) can be.  One year, when the flowers were particularly profuse, I went twice in a three day period, driving a couple of hours each way, just to look in amazement.  It's both awe-inspiring and a little depressing to look out over these fields of flowers.  Awe-inspiring because of what nature can do.  Depressing to imagine that this  is what the state of California must have looked like from top to bottom, before it was loved to death by waves of searchers, seeking fame and fortune and freedom by coming west.

Marineland, III

The Wayfarers Chapel was not part of Marineland, but there are four pictures of this non-denominational glass church in the Marineland multi-fold folder.

I've been to this church at least twice.  Once I was there for a wedding although whose I can't for the life of me remember; the other (and first)  was when I "ditched" school, my senior year in high school.  I had forgotten all about that day until I saw these pictures.  My friends Michelle and Richard and I left at the lunch hour, and didn't return for our afternoon classes.  I can't remember why, but we ended up in Palos Verdes, overlooking Portuguese Bend, which is the last remaining undeveloped land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Wayfarers Chapel must be nearby as we stopped and walked around its grounds.  As I recall, the area around the chapel was a lot more developed than the picture in the lower right would indicate.

Surprising that in a 12-picture fold out postcard from Marineland (one side clearly says "Greetings from Marineland of the Pacific"), seven of the pictures are not of Marineland.  A closer look at the address side shows the "smaller print":  "World Famous Marineland of the Pacific, California and the Beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula".  [See first Marinland post, here.]  Well, there you go.  I wonder if this was a bit of a marketing tool for all of Palos Verdes?

Marineland

Here's another blast from a So Cal past - Marineland. 

From the Marineland of the Pacific Historical Society website  (MOTPHS, as they refer to themselves):  In August, 1954, Marineland of the Pacific opened its doors to the public for the first time. Located at the tip of the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, California, it was the largest oceanarium in the world. Five million dollars were invested in the project to make it the most unusual cultural, educational and entertainment center on the Pacific Coast.

I remember spending what seemed like an entire day here at least once, as a litte kid, and this fold out postcard conjures up some old feelings of excitement and wonder.  Check it out:

There appears to have been some controversy around its closure, although it was probably just out marketed by Sea World in San Diego (where the orcas ended up), Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm.

Balboa Island

It's summer in San Francisco, and the days are often cold and foggy. While I love living in Northern California, there are times I desperately miss the warm summers in Southern California. This postcard reminds me of Southern California summers on Balboa Island where I spent many hours riding bikes around the "little island" (there are three islands, one connected to the mainland, the other two connected to the "big island" with small bridges), walking along the sea wall looking into the houses at night (no one would consider closing their curtains), grabbing patches of sand to sun in at low tide, and jumping into the bay from a variety of docks, whether we had "official" permission or not. We visited the Ogdens, we rented houses at Easter vacation, we moved from one family's rental house to another as teenagers either staying for a few days or looking for parties, and I spent a lot of time at my friend Chris' house on the bayfront on the little island.

Balboa Island used to be an "everyman" sort of place: tiny houses for rent on a weekly or monthly basis, wet beach towels hanging from porches, Balboa Bars, and the best place to buy a summer bikini, tops and bottoms made to order separately. Now, like most places in or near the Pacific Ocean, it's a place for McMansions crowded on tiny lots, houses that sit empty much of the time, and big powerful boats screaming "Look at me!"

Not sure exactly when this postcard was printed, but judging from the beach chairs, this picture is probably from the 1960s.  My mom had a chair exactly like the ones on the left for years. 

The San Andreas Fault

I've been thinking a lot about "cause and effect".

Cause and effect. 

The San Andreas Fault is a perfect example of cause and effect.  When the "big one" happens in California, it will most likely be centered on this fault.  [Chorus:  Whose fault is that?]  When you fly in a small plane from north to south, or south to north, in California, it is very visible from the sky. 

It's big. 

Music & Musicians

From Wikipedia:  Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, hosting The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be known ... as "champagne music."

The show holds the record for the longest running televised American music variety show, and ran nationally for 27-1/2 years.  I remember watching it with my grandparents on, I think, Saturday nights.  Most of the music was big band music, and Welk's catchphrase - wunnerful wunnerful - remains in the lexicon of those of us who were forced to watch the show  as children.

The back of the postcard says: "Palm Springs, California.  Hollywood's favorite winter playground.  The winter resort home of Lawrence Welk". This postcard, probably from the 1960s, is typical of many that were sold at the time, showing the "winter resort homes" of a variety of Hollywood stars.  If you've ever been to Palm Springs or Palm Desert, you've probably driven on Bob Hope Drive, Frank Sinatra Drive (actually in Rancho Mirage), Gerald Ford Drive, and even Kirk Douglas Way, which was named in 2004. 

BTW, if you're interested in movie stars, particularly old school  movie stars, you might check out Euopean Film Star Postcards.  Every day, a different star is featured and the pictures and detailed background are really amazing.

Truckee, California

It's raining here today, so I imagine Truckee might look like this right about now, or at least later today when the storm clears. Here's something fun to look at: a highway webcam, at the Truckee exit off I-80! Looks more like rain than snow.

California

In alphabetical order, California is the next state up. The alphabetical posting of the first seven states was supposed to help me choose cards more easily this week, not make in harder! But it turns out I have over 100 postcards from California alone, and it was almost impossible to choose. So I chose both iconic images as well as some of my favorite spots. Enjoy!

Quintessential California

I only tried surfing once or twice when I was young and, truth be told, I've never been much of a body surfer, but I love the ocean and the beach more than just about anything. After 5 in the summer, when the surfers are allowed to actually surf where only swimmers are allowed during the day, is perhaps the most magical time on the beach. The crowds disperse, the shadows get longer, the sand is still warm, and the surfers appear.




Bob Hope's House in Palm Springs

My uncle lived at the bottom of the cliff underneath Bob Hope's house in Palm Springs (behind the house and down in this picture). There was a path you could climb, which came out very near Bob's putting green. When you reached it, you had to scamper past, and then start down the road, pretending you were coming from someplace else. That was so like my Uncle Ed - knowing "secret", stealth ways of adventuring, always a little daring, a little naughty and making it all so fun.




The Hollywood Sign

Iconic image of California. I always love it in disaster movies when total destruction is indicated by the crumbling of the Hollywood sign. So symbolic on so many levels.








The Rose Bowl

I've been to the Rose Bowl for football games, Olympic events (soccer), and concerts (Herman's Hermits, the Turtles and the Midnighters - my first concert ever at 12 years old), and spent a fair amount of time on its grounds - playing and watching rugby, attending swap meets, and walking around it and Brookside Golf Course next to it. I look forward to watching the Oregon Ducks play football in it this New Year's Day.





Venice Beach Looking North

One of my favorite pieces of art is a painting of a lifeguard stand on Venice Beach, called "Lifeguard Love", painted by my friend Michele. You can just barely see the specks of life guard stands on the postcard. My friend Hacker lives a block from the beach here, and it is always fun to visit him and either walk down the boardwalk or just dig your feet in the sand - either way, there is ALWAYS great people watching.






Laguna Beach Looking South

It's too bad the artist colony aspects of Laguna Beach were in large part replaced with Orange County money, because it really is a beautiful spot. There's not a lot of funky beach city left here. However, there are incredible coves, each with its own charm. I spent a lot of time here as a kid, and we were always excited driving into town and seeing the famous Laguna Beach greeter. He's long gone, and only a statue of him remains.

The Pacific Coast Highway, Carmel to Hearst Castle Segment

If you've ever driven up or down the Pacific Coast Highway (known as PCH, especially from Newport Beach, south) from Carmel to Hearst Castle, you know how narrow and winding and cliff abutting this highway is. The experience and the view are worth every nerve wracking, brake foot tiring minute. Just avoid driving it, if at all possible, during the Winnebago season. January is pretty good because, not only is it not crowded, you can often see the spouts of migrating whales from the road.


What you might not think up about is, how in the heck did they build it? Here's picture of that construction, sent to me by my sister after she and her family and a student visitor from France had just completed this drive.

Check out Road Trip USA for a description of the entire length of Highway 1. I've driven every inch of this Highway, from Portland to San Diego, and into Mexico, with just a short stretch from Portland to Olympia remaining for me to experience.

P.S. Happy Postcard Friendship Friday

Mono Lake, California

It seems we used to drive past Mono Lake on the way to Mammoth Lakes, but I just don't remember the weird formations. Looks more like the moon, with water, to me.

Bullocks, Pasadena

Bullocks, Pasadena. Scene of back to school shopping (there was a fashion show at lunch in the dining room), cotillion dresses and white gloves, and post-Christmas shopping. My cousin remembers that there was an ash tray ouside every elevator, and could there have been an elevator operator when we were very young? Don't know if that's a real memory or not. My grandmother got her knit suits here.

At one point, it was the anchor store on South Lake Street in Pasadena. It then went through a period of decline, being reborn ultimately as a Macys. Not even close to being the same.

A Quick Tourist Trip to Hollywood

When you grow up in California, it's commonplace to have visitors from all over, and as a result,you learn early to be a pretty good tourist guide.

My mom, one of my most faithful postcard senders (along with the secret sender, Julie, Marsha & Ralph, Yolanda, and Paula) recently hosted visitors from North Carolina. She sent postcards to me from their tour.

First, an overview of downtown Los Angeles, with snow covered mountains in the background. Note: LA only looks like this 1 or 2 days a year, usually in early January.

Next, a zoom into the Hollywood sign. You can actually drive up pretty close to the sign, if you know how to get there. And this picture was probably taken in March, after a rainy winter. Doesn't look nearly this green for very much of the year.


Down from the hill for a stop at Chinese theater, nee Grauman's Chinese Theater. It's actually a pretty interesting history, so consider clicking on the link and checking it out.


Finally, a look for movie stars' hand prints and footprints in the cement outside the Chinese Theater. These are not to be confused with The Boulevard of Stars down Hollywood Boulevard. Those stars and where each star's star is located can be found here.

Elephant Seals

The elephant seal population in Northern California has increased over the last few years. Now, not only can you see them and walk among them at Ano Nuevo between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, you can also see them at Point Reyes and just north of Cambria, where Highway 1 starts the curviest portion of its path. Or, view a life-size replica of an adult male at the little museum on Chrissy Field.

Ano Nuevo is particularly exciting. Ranger-led hikes take you on paths over the dunes and down toward their beach. You are warned to be ready to run at any time, and to never ever get between two male bulls who might be getting ready to charge each other. I imagine it's a bit like what a safari might be like, but with fewer varieties of animals.

Golden Gate Bridge

Another iconic landmark - the Golden Gate Bridge. I have driven across this bridge hundreds of times, and walked toward it on the famous Chrissey Field to the bridge and back path more hundreds as well. It never ever gets old. I love the perspective you get of this bridge when you come upon it from Marin Country. As you exit Rainbow Tunnel, one of the towers appears before you, with the sparkling white city behind it (assuming sun). Then a closer tower appears, boom, which can be a bit jarring and feels almost like an optical illusion.

My son, a native San Franciscan, got another tattoo this summer which is close to the version on the left, but reversed and with a bit of fog around it. It looks pretty good.

As I've been posting my postcards, I've been learning more about postcard collecting. Did you know there are websites for collectors whose subject area is so specific, it's amazing there are enough postcards to share? I came across one the other day whose concentration was interiors, 1950-1982. Something like that anyways. Other people collect only bridges, or only buildings, or only transportation vehicles. Makes me a bit of a dabbler, I suppose.

Gunfighters

Huge thanks to my friend, Steve, who sent me a stack of postcards he collected, including some from the most recent Comic-con convention. Some of those will be posted another day.

The postcards today are from a collection of gunfighter paintings from Knotts Berry Farm, some time ago. Again, no dates on the cards, so it isn't clear when these postcards were created. However, on the back of these cards, is reference to "Joe's Saloon" where these pictures "looked down at you from the walls". Joe's no longer exists or may have been reincarnated as the Calico Saloon in its more modern iteration. In addition, I can find no reference to the artist, Leo F. McCarty, either on the Knotts' website or, for that matter, anywhere else on the Internet, with the exception of on www.thepostcard.com, which has some of his postcards for sale in its "western" section.

Knotts Berry Farm was originally an actual berry farm, which morphed into a western ghost town attraction, before becoming the roller coaster and water park it is today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knott%27s_Berry_Farm. The history is pretty interesting, but the sanitizing of much of the old west flavor is sad.

On the back of one of these postcards it mentions that the gunfighter era was only 20 years long. Given how many classic western movies were made with gunfighters bursting through the swinging doors of saloons or facing off in dusty streets, it seemed to have lasted a lot longer.

Old Man Clonton



















The Youngers



















A.M. King



















Clay Allison



















Jesse Chisholm



















Wyatt Earp