Hopelessly Devoted to Grease

We were happy that the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC) decided to repeat its Free-For-All Movie Mondays program this year. On four consecutive Mondays during the summer, OCPAC projects a big movie musical on the side of the main theatre and invites people to bring their lawn chairs and blankets and watch the movie for free, drive-in movie theater style (only without the cars). And this year, Tim, Amy and I attended the screening of Grease.


True Grease aficionados, James and Amy. (07/21/2008)

Last year, we made it to Singin' in the Rain and Xanadu (sadly, we missed West Side Story and Moulin Rouge!). Although we wanted to attend all of the movies they selected this year (Easter Parade, Grease, The Muppet Movie and the 2007 version of Hairspray), if there was one that we absolutely could not miss, it was Grease.


Tim ready to be converted. (07/21/2008)

Forget the fact that Grease is one of my favorite movies of all time (and one of Amy's for that matter). What was important was that we converted Tim. For years, he has always said he hated Grease because his sister loved it so much and would play it over and over and over (and rightly so). This was our chance to lure Tim to the Grease side of The Force.


The crowd at Grease. (07/21/2008)

I don't know how successful we were in converting Tim, but he did enjoy the night. Seeing it on the big screen again was fun, especially outdoors with a bunch of other Grease fans (some of whom wore 1950s era costumes). The only downside for me was that no one was singing along with the songs. I say next year, make it a sing-along version!

Pikes Peak or Bust

We saw so many cool things in Colorado, but one of our trip's high points (pun intended) was our adventure atop Pikes Peak. Although Pikes Peak is not the highest mountain in Colorado — it's only one of 54 mountains in the state over 14,000 feet — it's certainly one of our country's most famous mountain peaks.


James, Tim and Amy atop Pikes Peak summit. (07/06/2008)

The mountain is well known because of its height and its proximity to the edge of the Great Plains. In fact, back in the 1850s, during the western expansion, "Pikes Peak or Bust" became a common expression for westerward-bound settlers.


The Pikes Peak railway depot station. (07/06/2008)

In addition, the stunning vistas from the Pikes Peak summit inspired the lyrics of one of our country's most famous songs. In 1893, Katherine Lee Bates, an English professor from Wellesley visited the summit, and was so inspired by what she saw, she wrote a poem about it that night. The title: "America the Beautiful."


Just one of the amazing views from the Pikes Peak summit. (07/06/2008)

To get to the top, we took the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, which has been taking passengers to the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak for 115 years. It also has the distinction of being the highest-altitude train in the entire United States.


The train that brought us to the top. (07/06/2008)

Although only 8.9 miles long, the train ride to the top takes two hours. Every moment of it is gorgeous too, with the views getting better the higher up you get. The last three miles of the route are above the timberline, which means there are no trees. The rocky landscape almost looks like you're on another planet.


The landscape above the timberline. (07/06/2008)

Although there isn't a lot of wildlife at that altitude, we did see some. For example, we saw a couple of yellow-bellied marmots, large rodents that adept well to high altitude climates. Pikes Peak is also home to one of Colorado's largest herds of bighorn sheep, and we saw several.


We saw wild bighorn sheep near the Pikes Peak summit. (07/06/2008)

We were given about 40 minutes to walk around the various parts of the summit. We didn't stay outside too long because it was bitter cold! Fortunately, the summit also houses the world's highest altitude donut shop, which makes fresh, hot donuts. The donuts are plain (no frosting, glaze or sprinkles), but trust me, when you're trying to warm up from the gusty winds outside, they are the best tasting donuts you've ever had.


Amy delves into her mountain-top donut. (07/06/2008)

Of course there is a gift shop too, which conveniently sells a wide array of sweatshirts and other warm gear. I was just happy to get a pressed penny stating that I made it to the top of Pikes Peak.

The Stunning Garden of the Gods

One of the highlights of our Colorado trip was our morning spent at the Garden of the Gods, just outside Manitou Springs, CO. The park is a collection of stunning rock formations that look like they're from out of this world!


James and Anita at Garden of the Gods. (07/04/2008)

My cousin Anita, our trusted tourguide, made sure that we compressed the very best sights into our half-day excursion, without feeling rushed. Plus, she knew just the right photo spots to make it appear like you've been rock climbing for hours, when in reality, it's maybe 20 or 30 feet from the road (shhhhh ... our secret).


Tim, James, Amy & Jon at Balanced Rock. (07/04/2008)

The dramatic landscape was simply incredible. You can see in the pictures just how beautiful it was there ... and let me tell you, although the pictures look gorgeous, they didn't do the place justice when you compare to seeing it in real life!


James and Tim at Garden of the Gods. (07/04/2008)

So if you're ever near Manitou Springs, CO, we highly recommend you check this place out! Free admission, although donations are accepted.

Lunch at Denver's Oldest Restaurant

After an exhausting half-day in Denver, there's nothing better than sitting down to a nice, steaming-hot plate of rocky mountain oysters. For that, we made our way to the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's oldest restaurant. The place has been serving patrons since 1893. Even President Theodore Roosevelt ate here in 1905. How cool is that?


Buckhorn Exchange: Denver's Oldest Restaurant. (07/03/2008)

The Buckhorn Exchange is tucked away in a part of Denver where you would never think to find it. But it's definitely worth seeking out. As Denver's oldest restaurant, the place is as much a museum as it is a restaurant. The place is stacked with memorabilia, historical items, and an absurd quantity of taxidermy hunting trophies. I loved it!

The place serves everything you'd normally find at a steak house, but so much more. Where else can you order a New York steak that weighs four pounds? (Granted, the four pounder, which costs $178, serves five or more people). Other unique menu items include rattlesnake, fried alligator tail, buffalo steaks, elk ... and of course the house specialty appetizer, the rocky mountain oysters I mentioned earlier (sliced bull testicles that have been breaded and deep fried).


Main dining room at Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. (07/03/2008)

We got there just after 2:00 p.m., right after the dining room closed for lunch. I was worried that we missed our only opportunity to have our rocky mountain oysters. Luckily for us, they were still serving food in the lounge upstairs.

Although the lunch we ordered was pretty standard fare (I think the most exotic thing was my buffalo burger). But I simply could not resist the call of the famous rocky mountain oyster appetizer. Tim had already told me he wasn't going to try one ("I don't eat beef," was his excuse). Amy was out too. Jon said he'd try them (although he actually thought they were oysters, until I explained it to him after we ordered).


Jon, Tim, Amy and James at the Buckhorn Exchange. (07/03/2008)

About 20 minutes later, the waitress brought out the a plate of rocky mountain oysters, fresh out of the deep fryer. And there was a ton! Far more than enough to feed the only two daredevils who were willing to try them. Finally, it was the moment of truth.

I grabbed one, dipped it into the dipping sauce, and popped it in my mouth. And you know what? It was good! It was kind of like eating calamari, but not as fishy. Basically, if you like popcorn chicken, you'll probably like the Buckhorn Exchange rocky mountain oysters.


Rocky Mountain Oysters at the Buckhorn Exchange. (07/03/2008)

Jon liked them too. Even Amy tried one (a small one). I was proud of her for trying it. Tim was the only holdout (that whole beef thing, you know). Now I have to find some place that serves chicken testicles.

We couldn't even come close to finishing the rocky mountain oysters. There were far too many, plus we still had our lunch plates coming. So we packaged them up to go and took them to my cousin's house in Manitou Springs.


James likes the rocky mountain oysters at Buckhorn Exchange. (07/03/2008)

When I told Anita about them, she wanted to have her three boys try them, but she didn't want us telling them what they were until after they tried it. Guess what? They liked them too! And then when we told them what it was, they were totally unfazed. It was no big thing. All they know is that it was fried food and it tasted good (those boys will eat just about anything).

Buckhorn Exchange is located at 1000 Osage, in Denver. (303) 534-9505. Reservations recommended. Open 7 days a week.

Five Bucks a Gallon Coming Soon?

According to a recent poll by the CNN/Opinion Research Corp., 78% of respondents expect they will have to pay $5 for a gallon of gas by the end of the year. Well I've got some news for you. Five-dollar-a-gallon gasoline is already here!


$5.19 for regular at this Mobil station in Needles, CA. (06/15/2008)

Over the weekend we went to the desert to visit Tim's family for Father's Day. While there, we found a couple of gas stations in Needles, CA charging $5.19 for a gallon of regular. Ouch! Thankfully that's still the exception and not the rule. But how long will that be the case?

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles

Certain things are always better in pairs. Bonnie and Clyde. Fred and Ginger. Posh and Becks. For me and Tim, an entirely new pairing now tops our favorites list: Chicken 'n Waffles!


Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles, Long Beach. (06/05/2008)

Despite being Southern California residents for ages, we had never been to the local institution that is Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles. We realize that this blog post is not uncovering some little hidden gem nobody knows about yet. The place is dang popular. And now that we've tried it, we understand why.

We were invited to the one in the LBC by our good friend Amy who wanted to buy dinner for the guys who helped her move the previous weekend. And far be it from us to decline an invitation to Roscoe's Chicken 'n Waffles. Joining us for this long overdue excursion was Amy's sister Ashley and another friend Bill.


Scoe's #2 - 1/4 chicken in gravy with 2 waffles. (06/05/2008)

Ashley was already a fan of Roscoe's hizzy, so Bill and I followed her lead by ordering "Scoe's #2," which is 1/4 of a fried chicken, smothered with gravy, and paired with two fluffy waffles. Ash and I stuck to the breast/wing white meat, while Bill went for the leg/thigh dark meat. To counteract the fattier dark meat, Bill at least pretended to make a healthier choice by adding a side garden salad.

Let me just say I was enamored with the chicken on my first bite. The breast I had was extraordinarily plump and meaty. It was cooked to perfection too. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Even the gravy smothering it couldn't diminish that amazing crispy outside.


Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles menu. (06/05/2008)

Don't let me leave out the waffles. They were fluffy, hot and flavorful. My only complaint, if you can call it that, was they put too much butter on top. But it was nothing I couldn't remedy by scraping some off with a butter knife.

Tim and Amy got the Carol C. Special, which consists of 1 succulent breast (no gravy) and 1 delicious waffle. Let me tell you, after trying Tim's chicken, I didn't know which I liked better — with the gravy, or without. It was that good. Tim also tried the buckwheat waffle, which was also delicious, but just a little more dense.


1 Succulent Breast, 1 Delicious Waffle. (06/05/2008)

Interestingly, after a little web research, I learned that the combination of chicken and waffles is not a recent concept. Sure, Roscoe's opened his first restaurant in 1976, but it goes way further than that. In fact, some believe it goes back to Thomas Jefferson, who on a trip to France in the 1790s, brought back a waffle iron. Chicken with waffles was said to have began appearing in cookbooks shortly thereafter.

Frankly, I don't really care who gets the credit — Thomas Jefferson or Roscoe. All I know is that I loves chicken 'n waffles. We'll definitely go back.

Disney World in 3D on Google Earth

I love Google Earth. I love to virtually thumbtack the places I've been, places I've lived, places I worked, etc. I even wrote a blog post when they launched Google Street View. But now the Walt Disney Corporation has made Google Earth even cooler with its new 3D building overlays of Walt Disney World parks!


Magic Kingdom on Google Earth with 3D Buildings on.

As soon as I read about it on The Disney Blog, I popped open Google Earth and turned on the 3D buildings setting. And sure enough, there was Epcot's Spaceship Earth in all its 3D glory. Jump to the Magic Kingdom, and I was delighted to see Cinderella's Castle
shimmering on the skyline.


Epcot on Google Earth with 3D Buildings on.

At Animal Kingdom, you can see Expedition Everest or the Tree of Life. And the Scorcerer's Apprentice Hat at Disney Studios looks great too! I've posted a few before/after shots, but they're not half as cool as seeing the real thing on Google Earth, where you can see it from any angle or depth.


Disney Studios on Google Earth with 3D Buildings on.

What's even better is that in the 3D building mode, you can click on any attraction and see a short video clip explaining what it's all about. Boy, those Disney folks know a little something about marketing, don't they?


Animal Kingdom on Google Earth with 3D Buildings on.

Check it out if you have Google Earth. And if you don't have Google Earth, you can download it here. It's totally FREE! Here's hoping they get around to doing the same thing with Disneyland in Anaheim ...

Ancient Chinese Secret No More

As often as Tim goes to Starbucks, you'd sooner expect him to know more about Chai Tea than he would about Tai Chi. Well, dear reader, that's no longer the case now that Tim and I have graduated from our 8-week course in Tai Chi (with perfect attendance to boot).


Our T'ai Chi Chih class warms up. (05/21/08)

Inspired by our pals Amy and Jon, we signed up for a Wednesday-evening Tai Chi class at nearby Grijalva Park in Orange. T'ai Chi Chih, as it's officially called, consists of 19 stand-alone movements and one pose. The series of movements is designed to promote balance, flexibility and mental clarity (and Heaven knows we can use more mental clarity).


James and Tim with Al, their T'ai Chi Chih instructor. (05/21/08)

And based on the condition of our teacher, Al Talberg, it works! The guy is literally 80 years old and has as much energy as Tim and I put together (and probably more when you consider that Al also teaches a walking course). Not only was the class informative, it was fun too. So next time you need someone to play the "bass drum," "work the pulley," or "pull taffy," give us a holla!

The Moonlight Rollerway Jubilee

Roller skating rocks. Even if you're terrible at it like me, there's something incredibly fun about strapping on those well-worn rented skates and risking life and limb on the thickly-varnished skating rink floor. So when we learned our favorite histo-tainer and Kodachrome King, Charles Phoenix, was planning an entire night of activities surrounding this fading pastime, we were all over him like a bad suit!


Jon, Tim and Amy at Glendale's Moonlight Rollerway. (05/17/2008)

The event — dubbed the Moonlight Rollerway Jubilee — was a roller skating show spectacular featuring: A Charles Phoenix retro slide show celebrating the history of roller skating; a live Hammond organ performance by roller rink organist Dominic Cangilosi; A live skating show featuring a cast of more than 60 costumed skating performers; and an after show all-skate party. And did I mention free ice-cream and punch?


The Moonlight Rollerway's rules and dress code. (05/17/2008)

The event was held at the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale. Even though I hadn't been there before, walking up to the door instantly brought back memories of elementary school birthday parties at the Golden Skate in San Ramon where I grew up. My little sister Anna, age 8, still attends birthday parties there (here's a blog post about my first time taking her there).


The world's greatest roller rink organist, Dominic Cangelosi. (05/17/2008)

We arrived a few minutes before the show, quickly grabbing our seats for the slide show. While we waited for the slides to start, we were treated to the musical stylings of Dominic Cangilosi, a roller-rink organist who has held that profession since the late 1940s (apparently he's the only organist to be inducted into the Roller Skating Hall of Fame).


Charles Phoenix whizzes by in his gold lamé suit. (05/17/2008)

It was the perfect appetizer for the roller-skating themed slide show. Like previous Charles Phoenix slide shows, this one was educational and hilarious at the same time. I was particularly fascinated by a photo of a now-demolished skating rink in Santa Ana called Skate Ranch. According to Phoenix, it was Southern California's most stylized rink, looking like a big red barn (it has been said they even had live chickens wandering the grounds).


A skating champion and her seaman. (05/17/2008)

The highlight of the slide show were photos from a 1940 wedding where the entire wedding party — including all 18 bridesmaids and groomsmen — was on roller skates (the bride and groom had met at a skating rink). Imagine our surprise when Phoenix told us that the bride in the photo was in the audience! Gramma Cookie Gantz, as she's now known, stood up and waved to the wildly-applauding audience. What a great moment.


Grandma Cookie Gantz and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)

After a break for sugary snack bar treats, the show continued with amazing performances by the Moonlight Rollerway's reigning United States champion skating performers, Team In Sinc, and other skating stars. For the next hour plus, we were dazzled as the performers took us through every major decade of skating's golden era, from the 1940s to the 1970s.


James and Charles Phoenix. (05/17/2008)

The performances, especially those by the older teenage troup, were stunning. They were not only well choreographed, but also fully costumed. No shortcuts for these guys. I tried to get some photos of the event, but they didn't come out so hot. But I did manage to get a few good video clips.


Disco Inferno on Skates. (05/17/2008)


The evening culminated with the all-skate party. Tim and Amy were the definite stars of the night, making several rounds around the rink. Meanwhile, Jon and I each made it around once. But it was enough to satisfy our skating fix for the near future.

So as Charles Phoenix would say, here's to roller skating and YOU!

Jerry Herman: Up Close & Personal

You can't be a showtune aficionado and not know the name Jerry Herman. As composer and lyricist of such musicals as Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage aux Folles, and a string of others, he is a musical theatre giant. Naturally, I was delighted to have a chance to see this living legend in person.


Jerry Herman: Up Close & Personal. (05/10/2008)

Held in Orange County's Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the event — Jerry Herman: Up Close and Personal — was equal parts songwriting workshop and performance. Jerry Herman was interviewed on stage by Michael Kerker, vice president of ASCAP. Topics included everything from how he got his start to his songwriting process. Between each interview segment, we'd hear songs performed by folks like Jason Graae, Ron Raines and the amazing Debbie Shapiro Gravitte.


The show was at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. (04/22/07)

I thought I knew a lot about Jerry Herman before, yet I still learned so much. I found it interesting that he writes music and lyrics simultaneously, never writing one element first, then applying the other. I also loved the story about how Jerry Herman's mother, seeing his talent, arranged an interview for her young son to meet another musical theatre legend, Frank Loesser (Guys & Dolls anyone?).


Jerry Herman and Carol Channing as Dolly.

Frank Loesser would grow to become Jerry Herman's mentor. To this day, Jerry Herman thinks of songs in the way Frank Loesser did: As a train, complete with an engine, a middle section, and most importantly, a caboose. The caboose, Jerry Herman said, could be summed up with a parting line. He cited as an aexample the final line in the song "I Won't Send Roses." Rather than ending on the words, "I won't send roses," Jerry Herman added "... and roses suit you so."


A not-so-recent headshot of the great Jerry Herman.

My favorite Q&A segment discussed how so many Jerry Herman songs have moved on to have lives of their own, beyond the scope of the musical they were written for. Think of classic songs such as "Hello, Dolly," "If He Walked Into My Life," "I Am What I Am," "The Best of Times is Now," and many others. Despite being written for a specific character at a specific time in a specific musical, these songs have become classics in their own right.


Angela Lansbury, Jerry Herman and Carol Channing.

Jerry Herman seems just as surprised at this fact as anyone. He remembers the first time he heard a recording of one of his songs on the radio, a cover of "Shalom" by Eddie Fisher (Jerry was in the supermarket the first time he heard it). "Hello Dolly," for example, was popularized when Louis Armstrong recorded a jazz version. "If He Walked Into My Life," was made most famous when Eydie Gorme covered it as a torch song.


Jerry Herman and Lucille Ball.

Jerry Herman also discussed how when they were casting Mame, no one at first wanted to cast Angela Lansbury, who as we all know, became legendary in the role. Having just finished filming the cold war political thriller The Manchurian Candidate, Lansbury was the furthest thing the producers had in mind for the role of Mame. But Jerry Herman championed her, and eventually got his way (much to the delight of generations of musical theatre fans).


Jerry Herman and Bernadette Peters.

My only complaint was that the show was too short! I loved all the Q&A, but I also wanted to hear more of the songs, especially by the amazing Debbie Gravitte. But I was glad to hear her stirring renditions of "Wherever He Ain't" from Mack and Mabel and my favorite Herman ballad, "If He Walked Into My Life," from Mame.


A more recent photo of Jerry Herman.

They closed the night when all three performers joined Jerry Herman on piano for a rousing rendition of the La Cage aux Folles hit, "The Best of Times is Now." For the encore, they singers closed the night when they sang "Hello Dolly," or more to the point, "Hello Jerry." And when they sang the lyric, "Jerry don't ever go away," I couldn't agree more.

Cinco de Mayo Weekend on California's Gold Coast

Despite our pals Jason and Jarrod moving more than 100 miles north, we've actually managed to see them quite a bit actually. The only bummer for Tim is that every time we've visited, we've never had any time to shop at the nearby Camarillo outlet. So this past weekend, we planned a trip to see J&J and shop.


The historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse. (05/03/2008)

After some fountain shopping for our landscaping project, we headed up to Ventura. Shortly after our arrival, we hopped into Jason's car for a quick jaunt to Santa Barbara, another hour north of Ventura. We had been to Santa Barbara before, but never really explored it to its full potential.


Northeastern view of Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

The coolest place we went to was the old Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Built in 1929 to replace the one destroyed in the 1925 earthquake, the courthouse is not just a California Registered Historical Landmark. It's also a National Historic Landmark — that's national significance, everyone. National! :)


James & Tim at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. (05/03/2008)

This attraction — free to the public, incidentally — is definitely on the must see list. Just wandering the elaborately decorated Spanish-style hallways is amazing enough, but the best thing about this building requires an elevator trip to the observation deck on the main tower.


Jason & Jarrod two-fisting it in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

From the top you can see virtually every square mile of Santa Barbara and the surrounding area, including the ocean a couple of miles away. It was simply gorgeous! How I hadn't been here before, or even really heard of it, is beyond me.


James & Tim live it up in downtown Santa Barbara. (05/03/2008)

After the exhausting elevator ride up and down, we were in the need of replenishment in the form of Margaritas and appetizers. So we headed down State St. to a little Mexican restaurant that was having happy hour. The appetizers were half-price, and the drinks were two-for-one. So what did we do? We ordered two drinks a piece.


Jason picks out some cascarones. (05/03/2008)

That held us over until we had dinner back in Ventura. For that gastronimical experience, Jarrod and Jason took us to the awesomely-retro Main St. Restaurant and Steakhouse. When I say awesomely-retro, I don't mean it was made to look retro. It just is retro.


A wide selection of cascarones — confetti-filled egg shells. (05/03/2008)

Built back in the 1950s, this restaurant hadn't been remodeled since the early '70s, as evidenced by the heavy brown and rust tones. It was fabulous! And it's also famous, having been used as a filming location for the Julia Roberts hit, Erin Brokovich. (In fact in the scene that was filmed here, the real-life Erin Brokovich played the waitress who served Julia Robert's take on Erin Brokovich).


Ventura's Main St. Steakhouse. (05/03/2008)

Lots of fun. After a fantastic breakfast of oatmeal raisin pancakes, Tim and I headed off to Camarillo for the much anticipated shopping. As always happens with us, I ended up buying a lot more stuff than Tim (the idea was to restock Tim's closet).


Inside the awesomely dated Main St. Steakhouse (05/03/2008)

Afterward, we headed back to Ventura to meet the guys for the special Cinco de Mayo beer bust at Paddy's. Jason, one of the organizers of the event, had been cooking six pounds of carnitas for the taco bar, and after smelling them all morning, I was destined to have some. And just as I had imagined from the smell alone, they were amazing.


Jason appropriately dressed for the Cinco de Mayo beer bust. (05/04/2008)

So was the entire weekend actually. Thanks Jarrod and Jason for hosting us yet again. :)