A Little Piece of Heaven

Spent most of yesterday in the northern half of Santa Barbara County. It was a gorgeous Fall day in Central California.

Had lunch at The Cracked Crab in Pismo Beach. Not my first choice of restaurants but my seafood-loving colleague really like her food. I thought the chicken sandwich was OK.

Stopped in for dinner in the City of Santa Barbara at Joe's on State Street. It's been around since the 20s and I've been going there since 1981 and I've yet to be disappointed.

In fact, yesterday the food seemed even better than I remembered.

Centrally Located

Tonight I'm in Lompoc, along California's Central Coast.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the Embassy Suites Hotel. Not only does it have a quirky charm, it's a hotel that seems to work. I needed to print out some documents and I used the hotel's internet printing system. Minutes later I went to the front desk and my documents were waiting for me. Sometimes it's the little things that matter the most.

A Ride on my Big Green Tractor

Did you miss me?

For the last two weeks I've been running all around California and haven't stopped for a moment. I haven't been blogging, but I have been taking photos and collecting stories. So let's catch up.

I spent last Tuesday night in Bakersfield and finally made it inside the Crystal Palace -- Buck Owen's restaurant and country-western nightclub.

Dinner was tremendous, especially the chicken fried steak.

But I couldn't take my eyes off Buck Owen's Stutz-Bearcat automobile mounted on the wall behind the bar. What a great way to set the tone for the evening.

Last Tuesday night was karaoke night at the Crystal Palace. One by one, people got up to sing. A wide range of talent was on display.

These are two tourists from Vienna who were visiting Bakersfield and enjoying an evening at the Crystal Palace. They were terrible singers, but they were having so much fun you couldn't help but cheer for them.

The walls of the Crystal Palace are covered with memorabilia from Buck Owen's career.

While I was in Bakersfield I had the chance to visit Smith's Bakeries. Open since 1945, many (including JeezBob) consider it the best bakery in town.

Smith's Bakeries is well-known for its cookies. Here are a few skeleton cookies for your Halloween eating pleasure.

Two weekends ago I was in South Lake Tahoe for my sister, Garnet's, wedding. (This was also the last time I blogged.) I had a chance to walk through the very modern Mount Bleu Hotel and Casino. For decades this location was a Caesar's Palace but a couple of years ago it was completely redone.

Before making the drive from South Lake Tahoe back to Los Angeles I tried the Sunday Buffet Brunch at the Mont Bleu Hotel. It was really outstanding, with a great selection of items. It's not dirt cheap, but still a great value.

Driving back from South Lake Tahoe I stopped off at Schatt's Bakery in Bishop -- nearly half-way to Los Angeles. What a great place! It was a bright, sunny day and it was nice to sit outside for a little while.

My travels took me to the Sheraton Hotel in Garden Grove where I could see the Crystal Cathedral (and dramatic clouds) from my hotel room balcony.

The week before last I spent a day in Fresno and, of course, had lunch at the Chicken Pie Shop. I love their giant chicken art on the walls.

Saw these adorable Halloween costumes in a store window in the Tower District of Fresno. Hard to believe it's that time of the year already.

I spent last weekend in San Francisco at a Board Retreat for the Junior Statesmen Foundation at the Mark Hopkins Hotel atop Nob Hill. My room had a terrific view. The hotel's public spaces are beautiful but the guest room I was in and the entire second floor was surprisingly run down.

Unfortunately the room I was assigned at the Mark Hopkins was directly over the hotel's front door and the noise from the front of the hotel and the street was so loud I couldn't sleep well. The two windows of my room can be seen either directly over the middle arch or the arch on the right surrounded by white marble.

One panel at the Junior Statesmen Board Retreat featured a discussion on the history of the organization. In this photo from left to right are Mike McCurry, Ed Meese, Richard Prosser, Northeast Junior Statesmen Governor Dan Hoffman and Karen Prosser.

After the Board Retreat ended I crossed the Bay and made my way to the Berkeley Repretory Theater to see two different shows.

In the afternoon I saw the new rock musical "American Idiot" with the music of Green Day. Green Day's American Idiot CD is one of the few punk rock CDs I own and I've probably listened to it 75 times since it came out four or five years ago. I really enjoyed how they turned it into a stage musical -- punk rock with jazz hands.

It tells the story of three young men who try to escape their boring hometown -- Jingletown. Difficulties befall all three as they journey not only to the big city but into manhood.

Even though I've listened to the CD many times I never really could understand the lyrics until I heard them performed this way.

I'm confident this show will transfer to Broadway and when it does I'm also certain Tony Vincent will win a Tony for his performance as St. Jimmy -- the nefarious drug dealer. You can't take your eyes off him for one second while he's on stage.

In the evening I came back to the Berkeley Rep to see "Tiny Kushner," a collect of five one-act plays by Tony Kushner. I'm a big Kushner fan and loved the flights of fancy these plays take. Kushner is one of the most imaginative and political playwrights out there and he lets the fantasies fly here. One play has Laura Bush reading a book to children -- dead Iraqi children killed by the U.S. invasion of their country. Another features Dr. Arnold A. Hutschnecker -- Richard Nixon's psychiatrist. A third features Geraldine, Queen of Albania. Witty, insightful and a complete trip!

Last night I went to the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center to see the Donmar Warehouse production of "Parade." Some have hailed this show as the best theatrical presentation of the year in the Southland.

I haven't seen everything that's out there but thought "Parade," with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown was excellent and very moving.

It's not the light fluff some expect from musical theater -- it tells the true-story of a Brooklyn-born Jew in Atlanta at the turn of the last century wrongly-accused of murdering a young girl. The show touches on racism, mob mentality and the desire of some to get elected to office.

The cast is super-stuffed with talent including T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy), Michael Berresse (Kiss Me, Kate and [title of show], Charlotte d'Amboise (A Chorus Line), Christian Hoff (Tony winner for Jersey Boys) and provides a break-out opportunity for Los Angeles-area, young actor Will Collyer.

I spent Friday in Stockton where I stayed at the new Hilton Hotel (opened earlier this year). This very nice Hilton is located on Grand Canal Boulevard and this is the view of the "Grand Canal" from my room's balcony.

A Family Affair

My sister, Garnet Green, got married on Saturday. I understand our father (seriously) suggested his dog should act as the ring-bearer.

Though that idea didn't make it past the committee, Bentley did get to pose in some of the post-wedding pictures. So all of Ken Green's children participated in the happy occasion one way or another.

And who knew Dad was such a fan of "The Jeffersons"?

This picture is just after Garnet and Jim were married and had turned to face the crowd.

The wedding took place on the stunning Timber Cove shore of Lake Tahoe.

I like this picture of Garnet relaxing at the Wedding Reception.

The gladiolas have a special significance -- they were the favorite flower of Garnet's late mother, Sandy Green.