Tanked

August 31, 2006

They say that the Dog Days of Summer are in August. So in honor of this saying, we have pictured Tank on this last day of August.

Tank's owner is one of Thea's best friends from college who also happens to be the owner of a prestigious law firm in Florida. Yes, Tank is one handsome canine, but it is the humorous musings of his two-legged Mom that continues to be one of the reasons I cherish her as a friend. I have copied her email to me below, I'll keep her name anonymous so as not to let her everyone know she's a little loco!

"Thea, I have attached some pictures of Tank (my baby). Maybe he could make the blog? You could pretend you ran into him in LA - he is a rising star, you know. Tank has had his photo in Water’s Edge magazine, and recently won the “dog days of summer” photo contest in the Jacksonville local paper! Chris says I’m “obsessed.” I always wanted to be a Hollywood “mom” – he is my ticket!"

Loco for Tacos

Laguna Beach, CA

August 26, 2006

Although just six miles south of Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach offers a completely different scene. This active town and tourist destination is also a well known artist community. Laguna showcases various artistic festivities throughout the year including the summer long Festival of the Arts, staged in a six-acre canyon park near the ocean. A tradition since 1932, more than 140 juried artists exhibit and sell every medium imaginalable.

During this arts festival Pageant of the Masters is one of the hottest tickets in town. Performed in an outdoor amphitheater with an orchestra it’s ninety minutes of "living pictures" - where artists are faithful to re-creations of classical and contemporary works with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces.

Since we weren't able to nab tickets (they sell out six months in advance), we navigated among the crowds and strolled among the unique galleries (our favorite was Xanadu where everythign from vases, flowers, paintbrushes and exotic animals are carved out of tropical wood and painted), boutiques, and local eateries. Both Tom and I had been there before (me with my Mum last year) so were able to show each other our favorites finds. However, together we discovered Taco Loco, a great hole-in-the wall taco stand. This is not your average taco stand! All of the tables out front--and the Paul Frank stools (a Newport Beach artist) inside--are filled with just-off-the-beach surfers, just-woken-up stoners, and in-the-know locals. The dreadlocked counter guy might interrupt your ordering to sing along with the radio, but he'll be right back with a smile to ask if you want hot salsa on your mahi mahi, spicy lobster, mushroom, tofu, blackened potato, or blackened calamari tacos. Yup! healthy, weird, and delicious.

We walked off our lunch along part of the seven mile beach that makes this OC (Ocean County to those as clueless as I was) paradise worthy of its own TV series. We particularly enjoyed watching the local dudes and dudettes shooting a couple rounds of hoops.

Go Fly a Kite

San Juan Capistrano

Friday, August 25, 2006

San Juan Capistrano, known for its 236-year-old Mission, is a charming village just 20 minutes south of Newport Beach. It's also where my (Thea's) mom's brother lives, my Uncle Bob. Hazel & I visited Bob last year when we visited California, which was the first time in 40+ years that we'd seen him, so it was great fun to catch up with him again so soon. In fact, it was almost a year exactly, which seemed rather fitting since Capistrano is most famous for the annual Return of the Swallows.

I drove the beautiful coast line of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH to the locals) and arrived at Uncle Bobs just in time to be his sous chef and assist in making fabulous chicken quesadillas. Uncle Bob even had a handy dandy quesadilla maker (kind of like a waffle iron but leaves perfect pie-shaped markings!). It was, as usual a perfect day in sunny Southern California and the back porch with the lemon trees in view was the ideal location to enjoy la comida.

After lunch, I thought my uncle told me to go fly a kite...well, he did, literally! He unraveled two colorful gliders with purple, red and yellow tails while asking me when the last time was that I flew a kite. It was 1968. So, the two us stepped outside behind his house along a bike path and spent the rest of our visit flying kites. It was great. I can only tell those reading this, go fly as kite...as soon as you can. You'll thank me, or maybe you should thank my Uncle Bob! Thanks Bob!

Thea's Favorite Things

Newport Beach
Mid August

There aren't many posts for August because we truly enjoyed just hangin' out. I can't remember when I had more than 10 days off, except for the unplanned broken hip era, and I can't say I enjoyed that very much.

However, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a beach bunny/bum. I joined a local health club for a six week membership in order to keep up with my Pilates (I encourage anyone with lower back issues to embrace Pilates). I've also enjoyed walking, whether to the beach to hear the barking seals or around the neighborhood to inhale the heavenly flowers.

I have also had great fun diving into books and challenging myself with Sudoku these past few weeks. The books I've enjoyed the past month and highly recommend are...

Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith- The inimitable Tom Ripley finds his complacency shaken when he is scorned at a posh gala. While an ordinary psychopath might repay the insult with some mild act of retribution, what Ripley has in mind is far more subtle, and infinitely more sinister. A social slight doesn't warrant murder of course--just a chain of events that may lead to it.

One Thousand White Women, the Journals of May Todd by Jim Fergus-A western with a most unusual twist, an imaginative fictional account of the controversial "Brides for Indians" program, a clandestine U.S. government-sponsored program intended to instruct "savages" in the ways of civilization. May's personal journals describe the adventures of some very colorful brides, their marriages to Cheyenne warriors, and the natural abundance of life on the prairie. I devoured this book as I am still completely overwhelmed with the thought as to how the pioneers traversed the diverse terrain of the Unites States.

In Her Defense by Stephen Horn is a sharply funny and ironic legal thriller with a seemingly unwinnable case, mysterious forces conspiring against the attorney and his client, and a tumblingly relentless pace. I enjoyed it mostly for the setting, Washington, DC. I actually felt a few pulls on my heart as I read mentions about Georgetown and Chevy Chase. I found it fascinating that the hero needed to turn his life upside down in order to find his happiness...hmmmmm.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani reminds me of one of my favorite people, a fabulous woman of Italian decent raised in West Virginia. The novel concerns the family scandals that befall Ave Maria in the seemingly uneventful town of Big Stone Gap, WVA. Greed, lust, envy--all the ancient emotional elements--manifest themselves even in this hamlet of "ordinary folk." Fans of Fannie Flagg or Rebecca Wells will enjoy this down-home tale, full of small, everyday details and colloquial revelations.

My next read is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho...I'll fill you in in a few days...

My other "waste of time" enjoyment has been conquering Sudoku. I think I'm great now that I've mastered the "moderate levels" in the LA Times. I've gotten cocky enough that I bought an entire book of Sudoku puzzles. I'm sure to be beaten down in no time!

And my other recommendation? Watch your honey relaxing on the beach and play in the waves as often as you can.

Idol-ized

Santa Monica, CA

Friday, August 18, 2006

As much as we weren't looking forward to the traffic in LA, we had a full day planned. First, we checked out the estate sale at our "Hollywood Hills" home and then cruised over to tony West Hollywood to visit our friend Jason. A recent transplant from DC, Jason and his sister own one of the hottest lingerie boutiques in Georgetown called Jaryam, so it's no wonder he's already succeeded with Le Bra, a West Coast version in LA.

I drooled over the Swarovski crystal-studded thong an bra set! But mostly we delighted in congratulating Jason on the accolades recently bestowed on his sexy shop. Women's Wear Daily listed Le Bra as one of only six lingerie boutiques worth visiting in THE WORLD!


We wanted to linger, but we had a lunch date in Santa Monica with Jaymes Foster, Thea's cousin. A talented music producer, Jaymes works with a lot of exciting musical artists. When we arrived to pick her up we had the pleasure of meeting Clay Aiken; the two collaborated on Clay's just completed new album-debuting September 19, and already pre-sold in record numbers! After friendly banter we cruised Montana Avenue peeking into the one-of-a-kind shops and caught up over a healthy lunch at Blue Plate. Small World Story: Jaymes asked Tom if he had been to LA before, he said yes, years ago to hang with his buddies after graduating American University. When he mentioned the name of one of his old pals Rob Morton, Jaymes gasped as it's Rob's wife who owns Blue Plate! Unfortunately, neither Rob nor his wife were at the restaurant, but how one degree of separation is that? We also learned that Jayme's newest gig is producing the debut album for the 11-year old wunderkid talent, Bianca Ryan, the winner of yet another idol-ized show, "America's Got Talent." Look for a late September recording.

We had a long day and spoke to more people than we have in weeks so we were ready to brave the traffic south to our oasis in Newport Beach. It was a wonderful day.

Yo Quiero La Comida

LA & Newport Beach

Early August

We have loved cooking-in most nights—large salads brimming with the superior fresh produce available to us from Trader Joe's (the stores here seem larger here than back East), tuna, salmon, potstickers, and the Two Buck Chuck Trader Joe's wine, isn't bad either! We did venture out for a few nights, but not to the quintessential Newport Beach cafés...instead we shamelessly enjoyed some of the local and national chains.

At the very fashionable Fashion Island—Newport's swanky outdoor shopping mall and multiplex cinema (where we saw Woody Allen's "Scoop"...don't bother!)—we gorged on California's famous FatBurger whose slogan is "The Last Great Hamburger Stand" and it was Great! Another joint that tempted our discerning burger tastebuds was the In-N-Out Burger, known for being California's first drive-thru hamburger stand. We were not as impressed, although we are going to give them another chance!

One Sunday afternoon, we ventured up to LA to look in on the Hollywood house and to meet with our friend Sheri. We were delighted when she commandeered us to a Caribbean oasis called Cha Cha Cha for brunch. With locations in Silver Lake and West Hollywood we had, by far, the best Jerk Chicken Cesear Salad we ever tasted, thanks to Sheri's recommendation.

And last but not least, and even though we might be slightly embarrassed to admit it, we have found ourselves chanting "Yo Quiero Taco Bell." But it isn't just any item that cause us to croon, it's the Spicy Chicken Crunchwrap Supreme—a huge soft flour tortilla bursting with spicy chicken (which we preferred over the beef), nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, and a crunchy tostada shel—for just $1.89. In fact, all of our dining options were well within our budget!

We also discovered that California has more donut stores per-square-mile than any other place on the planet. We are absolutely convinced of that.

Ripper

Rancho Palos Verdes

Friday, August 4, 2006

We've been enjoying each others company exclusively, but we were really looking forward to this evening as we were going to visit Thea's college friend Doug Van Riper (aka Ripper) and his lovely wife Jan and two adorable daughters Michelle and Heather. They live in Rancho Palos Verdes (known to locals as PV) which is is a quiet, affluent suburb of Los Angeles about an hour north of Newport Beach. Sitting atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, PV is well known for its spectacular views of the Pacific and Catalina Island, but its most notorious geographic feature is the continuous landslide at Portuguese Bend. Houses literally are built on wheels to go with the flow.

When Doug said we were going to the Beach Club for dinner, we had no idea how spectacular it would be. The "club" is simply one of the most pristine stretches of beach we have ever seen and there isn't any club house- just fire pits, picnic tables, and palapas (palm-thatched umbrellas and our new word for the day!). In California, hardly any shoreline is allowed to be privatized (which makes owners of the million dollar homes in places like Malibu particularly irate), but this little stretch is in fact private and with only 100+ members it's even more exclusive. Jan and the girls had the routine down perfectly...within minutes cotton tablecloths, non-breakable wine glasses, napkins, salad fixings and sushi appeared. Doug had the fire pit stoked to cook the chicken and the bottle of wine was uncorked this is also one of the only places you can drink on the beach:-). As we watched the massive orange sun set on the ocean and then later the moonbeams dancing on the waves, we felt like we could have been in Greece or the Turks & Caicos. It was totally awesome. The perfect finish to the evening was roasting S'mores on the glowing embers.

We also learned about two other landmarks of Rancho Palos Verdes-the Trump National Golf Course at Ocean Trails a somewhat ill-starred golf development at first (the course made national news when the three holes slid into the ocean in 1999) but in January 2006, it opened with 18 holes and a name change after Donald Trump invested millions building up the property and unfortunately gilding everything he touched. The locals are surprised he didn't gold leaf the greens.

Another landmark, the Point Vicente Lighthouse, built in 1926, is famous for ghost stories told of a mysterious woman in white who supposedly committed suicide while waiting for her husband to return from an ocean voyage, and who still keeps her ghostly vigil to this day.

Full Disclosure: This photo of Doug, Michelle and Heather was taken last year when my Mum and I visited them at their house, but I forgot to bring my camera to the beach this time. The only difference is that Doug no longer has a mustache, after some 25 years!