Just Can't Get Enough of the California Experience!

--Downtown Fullerton: Extraordinary boutique--Gilding the Lily--owned by Aunt’s similarly cool sister—chock full of sparkly things from German glass glitter to vintage jewelry to velvety millinery swirls and flourishes. My kinda place. http://www.gildingthelilyvintage.blogspot.com/ (great soundtrack, BTW!!)

Sweet little local history museum featured architectural photographer Julius Shulman’s 1950s and 1960s work documenting Fullerton houses and other buildings—a visual foray into the mid-century lifestyle, followed up with a visit to neat downtown shops like
mod Otto and retro-hot Out of Vogue.

--Long Beach. Aquarium of the Pacific. We got the lowdown on that sea monster we had seen washed ashore near Huntington Beach the day before: a massive wad of kelp. Checked out the touristy pier, saw the stately Queen Mary anchored across the harbor.

Drove up the interesting and scenic Pacific Coast Highway, admiring the pretty beach towns along the way: Redondo, Manhattan, Venice (where we parked and walked a bit, great for people-watching!); I could have kept going on the PCH but we hung a right at Santa Monica and meandered through 90210 on our way back home. Rodeo Drive looks as…ah…well-kept…as its inhabitants.

--Theme Park Day. I get my fill of the theme park experience in my own home state, that’s for sure…but thought we should at least check out the west coast’s “happiest place on Earth” for ourselves, at least do a little drive-by. They have that place so walled off, despite its location in the middle of Anaheim—unlike the World in Orlando, which has its own power grid plus acreage to spare—that there’s no way in hell you’re going to see that castle without a ticket, mister. So after an amble around Downtown Disney (free parking, first 3 hours!), we headed for our next adventure: the fried chicken at Knott’s Berry Farm that we’d heard so much about.

Fiorella’s in the French Quarter still wins the fried chicken smackdown in my book, but at least we can say we’ve eaten at the birthplace of the boysenberry. Also—if you think you can “do” Knott’s Berry Farm in 45 minutes, here’s the way to go: buy a “shopper’s pass” for half-price admission at Guest Services, and if your “shopper” hand stamp “accidentally” washes off in the restroom, get your fill of the thrill rides and be back at the gate before the clock strikes three quarters of an hour for a full refund. Now, I’m not saying I did anything like that…but the person with me might have…

Thus concludes our whirlwind tour of SoCal—can’t wait to go back!

Up Next: Sanibel sand in my shoes...

Cali-bound, Part One

You have to fly across the surface of the moon to get to California.

Or, as the cartographers call it, New Mexico and Arizona.

Here are some highlights of our recent westward expedition…

Home base: Fullerton, half-way up a mountain at Aunt & Uncle’s fab little mid-century abode, complete with Disneyland fireworks view, gourmet fare and cocktails at the ready. Couldn’t have asked for more gracious hosts: a fantastic cook and an easy-going tour guide/mixologist, to name just a couple of their many talents!
[To R & L: You guys ROCK!!!]

--Downtown L.A. Petersen Automotive Museum—A top-notch attraction for car buffs and design junkies alike (Love those hood ornaments!); Craft and Folk Art Museum—Tiny but I got to see what I came for: an assemblage exhibit featuring works by L.A. artists, including punk scenestress Exene Cervenka. Rich visual constructions elevating ordinary objects and the forgotten detritus of human life into a visual poetry of extraordinary compositions.

--Old Towne Orange. Browsed the antique shops around the Circle. Lunch at Watson Drugs & Soda Fountain (est. 1899 and seen in films like Tom Hanks’ “That Thing You Do”)—had a BLT with avocado...onion rings…and a shared chocolate malt…taste bud heaven and cardiac hell in one sitting. Bought some cool old keys at Muff’s, a crazy, packed-to-the-rafters vintage hardware store.

--Laguna Beach. Waded into the Pacific for the first time. And to this Florida gal, it’s cold. Like fishing beer bottles out of the cooler’s melted ice the morning after a party. But in Florida, you can’t stand in the surf while looking up at the big mountains in the distance. Nice.

--Pasadena. Gorgeous buildings, lovely landscapes. Gamble House: prime example of Arts & Crafts architecture cited prominently during my American art history college courses. Here I was, standing in that very house, marveling at the handiwork—and I do mean HANDIWORK. The craftsmanship in every beam and joint, every fixture, every windowpane, is breathtaking. And the “clinker bricks” on the back patio—so beautiful in their imperfection.
I’m in love with the Greene brothers for details like that.

Friday night’s big thrill: Reading quietly on the couch. A gentle shaking, barely discernible, lasting maybe 10 seconds if that, but nonetheless…kinda freaky.

“Aftershock,” Aunt proclaimed from the kitchen. Yorba Linda’s little quake earlier in the day finally caught up with us. Just a reminder from Mother Nature that humans ain’t as big shot as they think they are.

UP NEXT: More cool Cali excursions…

Hey there, Cupcake.

I, for one, am tickled pink to see the wave of cupcakeries blooming across this great nation. What could be better than a few bites of spongy goodness crowned with a cloud of toe-curling buttercream?

Cupcakes are an “affordable luxury,” in consumer-speak. What I really like about them is their lack of commitment—it’s like a Sweet Fling compared to the Long Haul. I mean—why be saddled with a WHOLE nutty carrot cake, when you just want a few minutes of deliciously spicy escape?

Jennie from the Block and I hit the road to see what Tampa had to offer in the way of sweet flings. Here’s what we found:

--The Cupcake Spot (also in St. Pete): “Doesn’t smell cupcakey,” Jennie proclaimed upon entering the strangely aroma-less bake shop. The lack of adornment in the plain pink, black and white storefront made the case of iced delights stand out like crown jewels. Go for the flavors. Jennie’s Chocolate Elvis was a hit: moist banana cake and surprisingly good peanut butter (!) icing capped with a little fudge pompadour. My Va-Va-Vanilla lacked va-va-voom; sure, the cake was fine but I’m a buttercream junkie. Theirs was too whippy; it needed more velvety heft. More Scarlett O’Hara, less Melanie Wilkes. Cuppy’s strawberry pink cake tasted like a childhood memory; I liked the sour cherry ball on top, but I still had to contend with that sad snowdrift of vanilla frosting. NEXT!

--Square One Burgers: Who knew our Battle of the Buttercream Champ in this round would be a sit-down burger joint with real cloth napkins (and to Jennie’s delight—Mr. Pibb on tap!)? The Creamy “Dreamy” Vanilla boasted a moist delicious cake AND a buttercream I can really get into—that paper-thin sugary crust that gives way to…well…my kind of heaven. The Chocolate’s tooth-rottingly sweet icing overpowered any real chocolate taste. Red Velvet missed the mark, but I’m hard on Red Velvet—very few bake up as good as Fannie Flagg’s recipe in her Fried Green Tomatoes cookbook. Jennie reached Cupcake Nirvana with the Carrot Pecan—hallelujah! (Their burgers are pretty good too.)

For additional choices close to home, check out “Sugar Fix in a Sarasota Alley,” on MySpace. (www.myspace.com/cortwrite)

In Savannah, look up the Cupcake Emporium on E. State St. Philadelphia’s got classic and creative flavors at The Flying Monkey in the Reading Terminal Market. SoCal bound? Try downtown Pasadena’s Dots on N. Fair Oaks and when you’re out antiquing in Old Towne Orange, stop at The Perfect Circle.

UP NEXT: California Dreamin'

Step right up, folks!

Life is one big amusement park: thrill rides that make your stomach do flip-flops (Will I get that new job? Will he notice that I exist?), freak shows (pick any morning TV program—the one with Hoda & Kathie Lee, for example), cotton candy and fried things on sticks (those rare days when EVERYTHING lands in your favor, YUM!), games to test your skill (balancing the checkbook), exhibitions of humanity that defy the imagination (try people watching at any mall/airport/beach…). And you don’t even have to buy an admission ticket for all that.

As for me—I live to explore the world, from hidden treasures and wondrous experiences in my own back yard to what’s going on across the country and around the world. Almost every outing presents an opportunity to see or do something new. I never know what adventure awaits around the next corner.

I never expected to do barrel rolls over the Gulf of Mexico in an open-cockpit, circa 1941 biplane, but there I was, strapped in behind the pilot, laughing and hooting like the barnstorming aviatrix of my daydreams. I never expected to zip line through a Costa Rican forest, but I did—and dang, those valleys are deep and wide between aerial platforms!

I also never expected, after 20 successful years of working my way up to my “dream job,” that I’d quit the 9-5 grind cold turkey to do my own thing, which largely consists of investigating the infinite possibilities a creative life has to offer.

I’m going to be your Spirit Guide—your “Free Spirit” Guide—at this Roadside Attraction: introducing you to people and places, art and culture, food and drink, stuff that delights the senses: anything that I find interesting, entertaining, fascinating or just plain weird, posted here for your enjoyment.

Hopefully Roadside Attraction will encourage you to see the world in its Technicolor splendor and to appreciate the little things. Every person has a story and every place has its charms. Maybe Roadside Attraction will inspire you to explore new places of your own.

So now, I draw back the velvet curtain and present to you this Roadside Attraction serial, in which the curiosities of mankind shall be revealed in kaleidoscopic glory…

UP NEXT…Your Field Guide to One Helluva Sugar Rush…