Weekend in Ventura

We spent a delightful weekend with our pals Jason & Jarrod, who had recently moved to Ventura, California. Although we don't see Jason & Jarrod as often as we'd like, we always have fun with them, whether it be red-shirting it at Disneyland, enjoying a relaxing pool party, or dressing in our best white trash garb and going to womens roller derby.


Cool restaurants in downtown Ventura, CA. (01/19/2008)

For those readers who are not familiar with Ventura, it's a beautiful seaside city that sits in Ventura County, the county immediately north of Los Angeles County. It sits mid-way between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. It was actually founded by Father Junípero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded the mission there: Mission San Buenaventura.


Beautiful downtown Ventura. (01/19/2008)

Although we didn't see the mission itself, we had one heck of a time. Our first stop was downtown Ventura. Now keep in mind that prior to Jason & Jarrod living there, we have driven trough Ventura countless times (emphasis on "driven through"). We had never really stopped there before, so downtown Ventura was a first-time experience. And it was great!


The Ojai post office. (01/19/2008)

Lots of amazing shops and restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised and am now kicking myself for not having experienced it earlier. After getting some food, we made our way to the Coalition Thrift Store, which is Jarrod's favorite thrift store. (He's the only person I know that has a favorite thrift store).


Getting some treats at Ojai Ice Cream. (01/19/2008)

Later in the afternoon, we went to the nearby town of Ojai, a scenic little town nearby. Tim was happy since one of his TV shows is Brothers & Sisters, and the family's fruit orchards are set in Ojai, inspiring the name of the family business, Ojai Foods. I was more impressed with the fact that Ojai was the hometown of 70s TV classics, the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.


Our bed for the night. (01/19/2008)

After Ojai, we went to Paddy's for a drink, before heading back to Jason & Jarrod's place. Jason cooked us a wonderful dinner of fresh carnitas tacos, which were amazing. The rest of the night we had a great time watching bad TV like Fuse TV's Pants-Off Dance-Off, which was at one point described by TV Guide as the "dumbest show on television." But it made for some great TV!

Ryan & Laura's Birthdays at Campanile

To celebrate Ryan & Laura's birthdays (which are only four days apart), we had an intimate gathering at Campanile, one of Los Angeles' finer dining establishments. It's one of those prix fixe restaurants where they only have three things on the menu at any one time, and yet it still takes three hours to complete your meal. Not that I'm complaining about it because we had a great time!


Campanile, Los Angeles. (01/16/2008)

Making it better was the fact that we were there for the Writers Soup Kitchen, a promotion that began late last year when the Writers Guild of America went on strike. Each Wednesday since then, they've been offering a full three-course meal for the significantly discounted price of $18 if at least one person at the table has a WGA membership card. And since Ryan's brother Tom is a WGA member, it became the natural choice as the place to celebrate Ryan and Laura's birthdays.


Campanile's Writers Soup Kitchen Menu. (01/16/2008)

Despite having lived walking distance from the restaurant for six years, it was my first time there. And the place was simply gorgeous, looking somewhat like a medieval castle. After a little web research, I learned that the building was originally constructed to be the private office of Charlie Chaplin, whose studio lot was just up the street at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue (which is now Jim Henson Studios). Interestingly enough, before the building was completed, Chaplin lost the building in a divorce settlement with his first wife.


Inside Campanile, Los Angeles. (01/16/2008)

The other thing I noticed upon walking in was the place was packed! Evidently the Writers Soup Kitchen promotion is working. And proving what a small world Hollywood is, we even bumped into Tom's picket-line-walking buddy Nina (aka the Slackmistress, author of The Slack Daily) and her husband Will, who were also dining there that night.


Cool stained glass window at Campanile. (01/16/2008)

The food, wine and service was perfect. I began my course with the vegetarian minestrone soup (it sounded better to me than the other soup choice, cream of pumpkin). For the main course, I ordered the veal which was cooked to perfection (although I secretly envied Tom's herbed chicken).


Architectural detail of Campanile, Los Angeles. (01/16/2008)

I thought about ordering the chicken, but Tom, who had it the week before, said the chicken was not de-boned. It wasn't exactly the type of place where I wanted to be eating chicken off the bone, so I opted for the veal instead. As it turns out the chicken was almost completely de-boned, with the exception of a single leg bone, which was quite manageable. Thanks a lot Tom!


Laura & Ryan and their birthday sorbet. (01/16/2008)

The meal ended with a duet of freshly-made sorbet, complete with birthday candles (thankfully it was not the type of restaurant where all the waiters gather to sing happy birthday). It was a great meal with great company.


Eva, Laura, Christine, Ryan and James outside Campanile. (01/16/2008)

The only weird element came after we divvied up and paid the bill. After discussing it, we got confused about the tip amount. We felt we had undertipped. Out of concern that we didn't leave enough of a tip, Ryan, a former waiter himself, asked our waiter about the tip amount. And you should have seen the cold-faced stare he gave Ryan! I think he thought we were suggesting that we over-tipped him, when our motivation was quite the opposite. It was a weird and funny way to close the night.

Note: Thanks to Tom for providing the photos for this blog entry, since the few photos I took that night didn't come out too well.

Lea Salonga Shines in Southern California

Regular readers of James & Tim's Blog might remember my post about Susan Egan where I lamented about how my other favorite Disney-meets-Broadway star, Lea Salonga, seldom performs in Southern California. Well as it turns out, shortly after I published that post, I was happily proven wrong!


Lea Salonga had a rare Southern California concert appearance. (01/03/2008)

Lea Salonga was doing a rare Southern California concert appearance at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland, California. Although the location was about 60 miles away from where we live, I was determined to see this performance.


Lea Salonga was at the San Manuel Indian Casino. (01/03/2008)

Like Susan Egan, Lea Salonga perfectly embodies my love of musical theatre and Disney animated films. Born and raised in the Philippines, Maria Ligaya Carmen Imutan Salonga was a regional stage performer until 1989 when she was selected to play the female lead of a new stage production debuting in the London West End. The show turned out to be the megahit Miss Saigon, which thrust Lea into international fame. When Miss Saigon came to New York two years later, Lea Salonga reprised her role on Broadway.


Lea Salonga, with Simon Bowman, in Miss Saigon. (09/1989)

After Miss Saigon, Lea Salonga landed the role of Eponine in the Broadway production of Les Misérables, becoming the first Asian to play the role. She reprised the role of Eponine in London, and was ultimately asked to join the dream cast for the 1995 10th anniversary concert performance at London's Royal Albert Hall. Last year she joined the cast of the Broadway revival of Les Misérables, but this time as the older Fantine instead of the young Eponine. Even Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo flew to New York to see Lea in the role.


Lea Salonga as Fantine in Les Misérables. (2007)

But despite the thousands of musical theatre performances, Lea's most widely seen work is her work with the Disney animation studios. Lea was selected to be the singing voice of Jasmine for the 1992 blockbuster hit Aladdin. She followed that with the singing voice in the title role of the 1998 hit Mulan.


Lea Salonga was the singing voice of Jasmine in the Disney film Aladdin. (1992)

With a resumé like that, you can see why I was so excited to see her perform live. The icing on the cake was that my ticket was in the third row (and it was no small theater by any stretch). I got there about 30 minutes before showtime, but it wasn't nearly enough. The will call line was longer than anything I've seen.


Lea Salonga was the singing voice of Disney's Mulan. (1998)

Then you had to get through security, which was the tightest I've ever seen for a concert. Seriously, it was like airpot security. And don't even try to sneak a camera inside. If they caught you with a camera, they made you go to the camera check-in, which also had a terribly long line. As it turned out, the show started 40 minutes late. Even so, I barely got into my seat just three minutes before showtime (no joke).


The best picture I could get of Lea with my camera phone. (01/03/2008)

For nearly 90 minutes, we were dazzled by Lea's amazing voice. Backed by a 5-piece band, Lea performed a variety of songs, and sounded amazing. She apologized for not sounding as good as she normally does, since she was coming down with a headcold. None of us in the audience could tell. Seriously, she sounded fantastic!

She opened her set with "Something's Comin'" from West Side Story, followed by the ballad, "I've Never Been in Love." Afterward she sang a Filipino song called "Hahanapin Ko." (I'd estimate that at least two thirds of the audience was Filipino). Although I didn't understand the lyrics, it was a beatiful song.



I picked up Lea Salonga's most recent album, Inspired. (01/03/2008)

Next, she sang two songs from musical theatre roles she has always wanted to play, but never has. The first was one of my favorites: "I Don't Know How to Love Him," sung by the character Mary Magdalene from Jesus Christ Superstar. Her voice was the perfect fit for that song too. Then she mentioned she always wanted to play the title role in Evita, singing "You Must Love Me," from the film adaptation.

Afterward, someone from the audience asked her to sing something from Miss Saigon. She laughed and responded, "I have to do the Disney section first," upon which the entire audience burst into cheers and applause (me included). She talked about being the singing voice for Jasmine, but lamented that she couldn't sing "A Whole New World" because she didn't have an Aladdin. (She could have asked me!) Although she did sing a few bars a capella.


Lea Salonga signed the back of the CD sleeve for me. (01/03/2008)

But the highlight of her Disney section was the inspirational ballad "Reflection" from Mulan. She sang the song as it was originally written. She explained that how due to length, the song had to be shortened in the editing room. But we got to hear the full version, with all its verses and the bridge.

After the standard "Someone to Watch Over Me," she broke into one of the absolute highlights of the night: Eponine's ballad from Les Misérables, "On My Own." This brought down the house! Truly amazing. If you know the song, you know how sad it is, so to bring things back up, she sang "Taylor the Latte Boy," a cute, funny song about falling in love with a Starbucks barista.


Lea Salonga's self-titled album. (1993)

But the light, funny moment didn't last. Next on her set list was her big ballad from Miss Saigon that she sings to her son, "I'd Give My Life for You". There wasn't a dry eye in the house after that. And if we weren't already crying, she next sang Fantine's big song from Les Misérables, "I Dreamed a Dream." It was paralyzingly good.

After the tearjerker section, Lea closed her set with the more uplifting "I Still Believe in Love," which blended into the inspiring "Being Alive." After that the audience was on its feet, demanding one more. For her encore, she sang "Tomorrow" from Annie, her first major musical theatre role in the Philippines. It was a great way to end the show.


Lea Salonga at Glamour Magazine's salute to the 2005 Women of the Year. (11/02/2005)

If the night ended then, it would have been a great night. But making it even better was the fact that she was signing autographs after the show. There was a long line, but it was worth it. I didn't bring anything with me to sign, so I purchased her latest CD that I didn't already have. While she was signing it for me, I asked her if she was doing any more concerts in Southern California. Protecting her voice, she mouthed the words "I don't know." But if she does, you can count on me being there.

A Taste of Santa Cruz

Our last day of 2007 was devoted to experiencing the sights, sounds and tastes of the city of Santa Cruz, California. It began with a delightful breakfast of fruit and yogurt, prepared by our hosts for the weekends, Doris and Jen. After spending a few minutes strategizing the day's itinerary, we were on our way.


Entrance to the Mystery Spot. (12/31/2007)

Our first stop was the world famous Mystery Spot. Fittingly located at 465 Mystery Spot Road, the Mystery Spot is what is described as a "gravitational anomaly." It's said that at the Mystery Spot, "the laws of physics and gravity are questioned."


A bargain at $5. (12/31/2007)

While there, our tour guide showed us all sorts of anomalies, like how water and round objects appear to be rolling uphill. We also saw how two people can stand facing each other and appear to be the same height, but when they trade places, they appear different heights. The really cool thing was the way people would appear to be leaning at impossible angles.


Slanted Amy. (12/31/2007)

Some people attribute this phenomena to a magma vortex, a hole in the ozone layer, a carbon dioxide portal, even alien spacecraft. Personally I attribute it as to what happens when you build a cabin at a 25-degree slope, as is explained in this article.


The gang at the El Palomar taco bar. (12/31/2007)

Although I'm not a true believer, I still had fun at the Mystery Spot, which has been a tourist destination since 1940. Despite having lived in the Bay Area for more than half my life, I had never actually been to the Mystery Spot before, so I was quite excited to finally have the chance to check it out. Besides, for only a $5 entrance fee, you can't go wrong.


Three varieties of hot chocolate. (12/31/2007)

Next, at Amy's request, we went to the downtown to do some shopping. In particular, Amy enjoyed the Om Gallery, where she picked up a really cool light fixture for her meditation room. While in the downtown area, we stopped for a bite to eat at the El Palomar Taco Bar nestled inside the historic Palomar Inn.


Amy, Jen & Doris at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. (12/31/2007)

After stopping at a few more shops, we made a pitstop for hot chocolate at a little restaurant called, what else?, Chocolate. Although it's a full-service restaurant, one of their trademarks is their unique varieties of hot chocolate. You can get a Lena, a Bianca, a Belga or a Victoria. I don't exactly remember which is which, but I do remember ordering the Bianca, which was a white hot chocolate, which was, like, amazing.


It's hard to take pictures on a roller coaster. (12/31/2007)

No trip to Santa Cruz would be complete without at the very least a quick visit to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which has been a city landmark since 1915. Although the last day of December is not a typical day of the year to spend at the Boardwalk, we decided to go anyway since Jon and Amy hadn't really experienced it before. She had been once or twice, but not when anything was open (Tim and I were last there in May 2005).


Doris & Jen cooked a fantastic chicken dinner. (12/31/2007)

As it turned out the Giant Dipper roller coaster was in operation. Built in 1924, it's the world's 6th oldest roller coaster in the U.S. that's continually operating in its original location. Jon and Amy had never ridden it before, so we all joined them for their first time.


Doris & James ring in 2008. (01/01/2008)

We ended the day with a beautiful dinner prepared by Doris & Jenn at their home, followed by several rounds of Apples to Apples, a few rounds of Wii baseball and a round of cards. Just before midnight we flipped to ABC to watch the ball fall to ring in 2008. It was a great way to ring in the new year before we drove back home the next morning.