Culver City P.O.: cars

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Saturday, May 14, 2016

Sacramento

Tim at the California Automobile Museum

I have a book manuscript due in January, so I've been running around the state doing research: San Diego a month ago, the Central Coast a week later, and Sacramento this past week. I often go alone, but it's always much more fun when Tim comes along. Between bouts of research, we did some fun sightseeing in Sacramento.

California State Library

Built in the late 1920s, the State Library is located across the street from the State Capitol and is considered one the state's most beautiful government buildings. Architecturally modified over the years, the library was recently renovated to its original glory. Here are just a few images of its magnificence:

Front facade

Lobby ceiling

Former circulation room. Note card catalogs still in the walls.

Statue detail

Chandelier and ceiling detail

Gillis Hall (i.e., reference room) plaque

Gillis Hall mural by Maynard Dixon

Other side of mural

California Automobile Museum

We have lots of car museums here in L.A., but a friend recommended the California Auto Museum, so we went. He was right. Housed in a large warehouse, the museum does a nice job chronicling the history of automobiles from the late 19th century to now.

My personal favorite era has always been the 1930s-50s, when cars were built to last. They may not have been as fuel-efficient as today, but all that chrome and those fabulous colors—wow! I obviously went berserk taking photos:

Funky homemade RV

Gunther's Ice Cream

We first heard of Gunther's, last year, when Charles Phoenix posted a video of his favorite ice cream parlor in Sacramento. We made a mental note and went looking for it after visiting the auto museum. On a corner surrounded by houses, Gunther's has been making and serving ice cream since 1940.

School had just let out and so the place was packed. We soon found out why. I got a raspberry sherbet cone and Tim a root beer float. Can't wait to go back!

Gunther's ice cream parlor

Neon sign detail (not lit-up during day)

Waiting inside . . .

Tim's RBF and me and my cone

California State Railroad Museum

As noted elsewhere on this blog, we love trains. So no surprise that we made time to visit the California State Railroad Museum in Old Town Sacramento. Deceiving at first—the museum looks rather small from the outside—we ended up spending several hours there, watching a film, taking the tour, and then climbing through actual train cars exhibited inside the museum. What a fun way to spend half-a-day! Highly, highly recommended.

Looking down on some of the exhibits

Old passenger cars

Central Pacific engine, circa 1863

Replica of the Golden Spike that celebrated

completion of the Transcontinental Railway

Virginia & Truckee Railroad engine

Wheels detail and reflection

More modern engine

Dining car kitchen

China from the glory days of rail travel

More china

And, yes, women worked on the railroad, too

Monday, September 21, 2015

A Puffy Skirt Weekend

The guys and me enjoying MarchFourth!

The calendar may say that autumn is just around the corner, but L.A. continues to be in the almost unbearable throes of summer. Still, we managed to dress-up, go out and have fun this past weekend. With no air conditioning, any place was bound to be cooler than home.

On Friday, our friends Candi and Alan introduced us to MarchFourth!, a wildly energetic 20-piece group that fills the stage with marching band drums, brass wind instruments, female gymnasts, and an occasional guitar solo. They were great fun, highly entertaining and I loved the music. They played at the Teragram Ballroom, a new club (opened in May) located on 7th St., just east of downtown L.A. It's a terrific little venue. But wear comfortable shoes, because there are no seats. It didn't matter, though—we would have been on our feet all night, anyway!

MarchFourth!

Al and Candi in marching band regalia and me in

my Pin-Up Girl "Alice in Wonderland" skirt and

yellow petticoat

Despite the unusually late (for us) bedtime, we got up early the next morning to drive out to Disneyland for Dapper Day, our favorite excuse to wear fancy clothes. Dapper Day was so popular this time that the park reached capacity, late Friday. I'm so glad we decided to go on Saturday instead—especially since parked, at the Dapper Day car show, was a cherry version of my very first car: a red 1960 Ford Falcon station wagon. I nearly burst into tears. Tim asked the owner if I could sit inside and he said yes, but only if I didn't cry! I was 17 all over again.

Cherry 1960 Ford Falcon wagon

Inside (happy, no tears)

Friend Kelsey (wearing Mary Blair) and

me in Haute of Heart

P.S. Me and my old "red bomb."

Christmas (early 1970s)

Keeping her clean

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

Some of the palms in Palm Springs

One of our favorite annual events is Modernism Week in Palm Springs. Ten days long, Modernism Week celebrates everything "mid-century" about living in the dessert—especially the architecture, for which Palm Springs is renowned.

We don't go every year, but we couldn't resist this time around. We toured the area's most famous homes and buildings, attended a "jet set" fashion show, visited friends, ogled the prints in our fave artist Shag's gallery, saw a vintage car show, and ate breakfast at our favorite restaurants, Sherman's and Lulu. We also had dinner at the trendy Trio, which we loved. And all this over an extended President's Day weekend. Aren't we lucky that Palm Springs is only two hours from L.A.?

The Double-Decker Bus Tour