San Francisco

Life has been really busy with work and too much fun in-between that there hasn't been too much extra time to post anything on here. And I admit that I have been spending way too much time on Facebook. And once again I'm pondering if I should let this blog ride into the sunset since I rarely spend much time on here anymore. We'll see...

But for now, here are some impressions from our wonderful long Memorial Day weekend in San Francisco. It's been over 10 years since I've been to the 'city by the bay' the last time. I love this city and grow even fonder of it with each returning visit. We found amazing restaurants, met with some friends and saw the phenomenal new musical "Tales of the City," based on Armistead Maupin's novel. Everything was perfect. We didn't want to leave.

On our Virgin America flight, nonstop from Las Vegas to San Francisco

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, one of the countless highlights along the famed 49 Mile Scenic Drive

Like out of some Hollywood movie. One of the many warehouses on the piers along the Embarcadero

On our long walk towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Can you spot the bridge?

Detail of the Palace of Fine Arts

George at Fort Point, with the skyline of San Francisco behind him

Inside the old walls of Fort Point

George and I at Pier 39, with noisy sea lions and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

The Castro, the epicenter of the city's gay life

With our friend Evan at the HRC store. A little historical LGBT tidbit, this used to be Harvey Milk's original camera store on Castro Street.

Beautiful old buildings can still be found throughout the city.

Fort Point's old light tower under the Golden Gate Bridge

Part of the Golden Gate Park, the old Dutch windmill and the Pacific Ocean can be seen from the many hills in the Sunset District

George enjoying food at Japantown

Our main reason to visit San Francisco. The preview of the musical version of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" at the A.C.T. Theatre on Geary

Bay Bridge, seen from Chinatown

Taking the BART from Powell Street station to San Francisco International Airport was fast and convenient

George relaxing inside the new Terminal 2 at SFO

I wasn't ready to fly back home to Las Vegas

The brand new Terminal 2 at San Francisco Int.' Airport had just opened a few weeks prior. It's very spacious and comfortable. This is Virgin America's check-in area

A Tale Of Sharks And Some Jets

George and I will drive to the City of Angels again tomorrow afternoon to spend another fun-filled weekend there.

Our primary reason to visit this time is to see this...

...at this wonderful gem on Hollywood Boulevard. We’ve seen a lot of great theater at the Pantages lately.

Along the way we will most likely get a glimpse of this skyline....

...but more than likely not since the weather forecast predicts a rainy weekend. Because you know...”it never rains in Southern California.”

However, it doesn’t matter how the weather might turn out to be because we will still have a great time. In addition to the theater we will visit friends and enjoy fabulous food.

Then we will return to Las Vegas for a short work week due the upcoming holidays and finally...finally!...some much needed vacation.

And another big adventure...

Neglected

When was the last time I actually posted something on this here blog thingy? I don’t seem to be on here that much anymore. There’s really not a lot of spare time left anymore nowadays. Granted, I seem to be on Facebook more often than I would like to be. A friend called it Facecrack. And I seem to have developed a slight addictive tendency towards it.

But a lot has been going on lately. In my case it was mostly work and George is still studying hard for his master in education. And would you believe it? Next Wednesday is his last official class. However, he still has to finish his student teaching at one the local schools here in the Las Vegas Valley. But he’ll be done with that too by the end of this month. Then my George is a fully licensed teacher. He will also have his first interviews for a teaching position with the County School District next week. I’ll be thinking very good thoughts and wish him all the best.

Ich drück Dir die Daumen! Or as the French say...fingers crossed!

I know, I just love to toss things around a bit.

The midterm election in the United States are finally over. And I’m using the term “United” very loosely here. I thought this political circus would never end. It has released some truly fascinating creatures into the arena. Some of these political clowns made for a good laugh but some other animal tamer’s acts just left us in sheer horror. At times, George and I weren’t quite sure if we were watching an awfully written fantasy flick or if some mentally challenged jokester wanted to turn this once progressive thinking country back into some draconian Taliban-style theocracy, where scholars will teach our future generation that Jesus had dinosaur steaks for dinner with some flatbread. Flat like the earth itself.

I had to stop reading the news. The so-called “news” that the American media was throwing at us, that is. We are getting most of our news from independent news sources or foreign news outlets. In my case it’s mostly from web site of German newspapers, magazine and TV stations. They are primarily neutral, objective and also report about other stuff that is happening beyond the fortress walls that has become America. Imagine that!?

Yes, Billy Bob. There is another world just behind Wal-Mart.

We have stopped watching TV networks altogether anyway. First, there’s really nothing on worth watching besides maybe one or two series. And second, they’ve forgotten what news are. Unless one considers the dumb hairstyle of Justin Bieber or some bimbos trashing each other “news.”

But there were a few bright spots coming out of this election. Total nutcase and loosely screwed Sharon Angle lost the race for the Senate in Nevada. First Lady in witchcraft and anti-wanking Christine O’Donnell also lost her Senator race in Delaware. Thank all who’s cocky and horny. And California didn’t completely turn red either. Despite the notion that some people thought they could just buy their way into governorship to the most populous state of the union. Image how the 160 million dollars, that Meg Whitman wasted on this useless campaign to become governor, could have been put to a much better use? It always amazes me anew how large amount of monies are being wasted in this country.

But I digress.

Most people in California have voted for a sane and equality-minded leadership. The voters have defeated Proposition 23, which would have prevented California’s climate law AB 32 from being enacted. Most people can dismiss and make fun of climate change all they want but it will not change the fact that it is happening as you read this. And with near 100 degrees temperatures, Los Angeles is currently experiencing the hottest days in November and just shattered a temperature record set in the early 1900s.

But California was always leading the way in progressing thinking. And it will again. It will take a while to recover from this economic crisis but California will come out ahead. Green energy is the future. There’s no other way. The rest of the country will get it eventually. If nothing else, they will be convinced by the profits a new industry will provide. It will not happen overnight, of course. But the Golden State is on the right tracks. Gotta love California. There’s a reason we always go there.

Speaking of which...George and I will be in the City of Angels again coming December. We got tickets to see the touring company of the “West Side Story” revival. We can’t wait to see it. It’s my favorite musical and I was lucky enough to see an original Broadway ensemble performing it on stage when I was still living in Munich. It was amazing.

Hopefully we will find time to meet with some friends too, since we are only going to be there for a weekend. Time flies the way it is already. And we’ve been thinking about what we could be doing for the long Thanksgiving weekend and the holidays. George is off anyway for Christmas school break and I will take my vacation between Christmas and New Year. Maybe we go on a last-minute trip? Maybe a staycation? We welcome any suggestions.

Then again, I would finally have some time to add some stuff on this here blog thingy.

George and I on one of our countless trips to Los Angeles. Here we are again at the Pacific Palisades in Santa Monica, a few years ago.

More on the Fourth

It looks like I’m coming down with a cold. I suppose it was a nice little souvenir I brought back from California. While the weather was absolutely beautiful during the day, the morning and evening hours were rather chilly. Of course, we didn’t bring any sweaters or jackets. We really should have known better by now. Even the locals were surprised how unusually cool it was for this time of year.



In any case, below are more photos from out trip to Los Angeles. We actually stayed at a hotel in Anaheim, right behind the whole hoopla called the Disneyland Resort. Except for Saturday where we needed the car to drive to the beach and into the city, we didn’t need the car at all for the remainder of our stay. Everything was easily accessible with Downtown Disney merely ten minutes away by foot. Besides, parking alone costs $15 nowadays and despite Disney being efficiently organized traffic can still be quite a hassle.



I was worried that the crowds would be out-of-control on Sunday. It is high season after all. And it was a long holiday weekend and special Independence Day celebrations were in full swing. Surprisingly, the crowds were quite manageable and the waiting time for most of the bigger attractions and rides lasted not more than 20 minutes on average. Even Space Mountain didn’t have a huge line. There were times where we just walked right in. That’s unheard of on a big holiday weekend. I suppose the bad economy is still showing its lingering signs.



Here now is the first set of pictures of our day in Disneyland. More to follow soon...



The plaza between the Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme parks. Seen here is the main entrance to DCA. The colors on the permanent letters promote this park’s new spectacle, “World of Color,” a new nightly show using water, lights, fire, lasers and pyrotechnics in the middle of their lagoon.


George in Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A.



Disneyland’s City Hall and Fire Station.


Along Main Street.


Sleeping Beauty’s castle, seen from Fantasyland.


Riding the sometimes funky “Alice in Wonderland” ride. We think that both the animators of the feature-length animated movie and the designers of this ride were high on something...


The boarding area to the “wildest ride in the wilderness,” Big Thunder Mountain.


After being soaked at Splash Mountain we decided it’s time for lunch. We were also hoping that our wet clothes might also dry while we were eating. We briefly left the park and walked over to Downtown Disney were we had the most scrumptious pizzas at Naples Ristorante e Napolini. The weather was absolutely perfect and we were sitting outside in their lovely patio, where I took this shot above. We finished with a wonderfully prepared Tiramisu and cappuccinos.


Waiting for pizza and my clothes to dry at Naples Ristorante e Napolini in Downtown Disney.


This enormous sculpture hangs above one of many entrances to one of the largest Disney Stores around. The largest store in the world is currently at the Disneyland Resort in Paris, France.


The beautiful and huge atrium of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Resort. The whole resort was built in the American Craftsman architectural style of the early 1900s


Parts of Fantasyland with the Matterhorn peaking out from behind. Built in the late 1950s, the Matterhorn ride inside the mountain was the first tubular steel track roller coaster in the world. Today’s super coasters are still based on this concept.


Another angle of view of the centerpiece of the park, Sleeping Beauty’s castle.


I just loved this little guy. It's one of many Heffalumps, who appear in a Winnie the Pooh movie in which the ‘silly old bear’ sees them in his nightmares. This little critter above sits on the back of every Hunny Pot car that visitors take to go on the dark ride called “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.”


Yes, I love little cute and corny Disney things. More pictures coming soon...

Going West Again...Far West

In a few hours, George and I will be on our way once again to spend the long 4th of July weekend in La-La-Land.


Entering the Golden State...which at Primm stateline doesn’t look so golden.



The happiest place on earth



“I’m up shit’s creek, I never been north of ninety-sixth street.”



Somewhere between Manhattan and Redondo Beach we’ll be making some waves

Happy Independence Day

Good Times Redux

Below are some leftover images from our last trip to Southern California in May. This coming 4th of July weekend we’ll be driving to Los Angeles again to spend a few days there.

Saturday morning we’ll meet Robert for breakfast, spend a few hours at the beach and then head on over to Hollywood to see “In the Heights” at the Pantages. And there’s a good change we may be celebrating Independence Day at Disneyland.

All in all, sounds like George and I will reprise our good times in the Golden State.

Now if the rest of this work week would just move a little faster...

Interesting flowers along the Pacific Palisades

The sandy beach with the Santa Monica Pier in the background

Birds of Paradise were blooming everywhere

An old L.A. landmark, the Farmer’s Market on Third Street and Fairfax Avenue

Santa Monica’s Ocean Front

The historic carousel at the Santa Monica Pier

Interesting trees in Los Feliz

Along the sandy beaches towards Venice

A restored trolley at The Grove shopping district