I got up early on Friday, October 20th. I showered and dressed and left the crappy hotel. I thought about stopping at Norms (the diner with the cool retro sign near the hotel) for breakfast, but traffic looked like it might be bad already. I had plugged in Christa's address. It said it would take 12 minutes to get there...and then it corrected itself...35 minutes. Yes, I thought, I'd better just head out.
Google maps was taking me seemingly all over the place--from city main streets to residential areas, I got to this one neighborhood in the hills somewhere and traffic came to a stop. There was a long line of cars ahead of me and an equally long line of cars lining up behind me as we inched our way up this zig-zaggy residential neighborhood on a hillside. Some of it was pretty steep, too. Yikes! I'd look at the map thing...an hour to reach my destination, and hour and 15 minutes. Geez! Google maps seemed to have me going more or less parallel to the 405, but eventually I turned on to the 405. Was I ever glad for the turn off to Santa Monica. It took me just over 1 1/2 hours to travel 12 miles. CRAZY!
I picked up Christa and Google Maps seemingly had us on a wild goose chase again. But we eventually reached our destination, Griffith Park, in maybe 45 minutes or so.
It was kind of overcast that morning as we walked up to the observatory
I needed shots for my article, but with all of the poles and lines to keep people off of the grass, I may have to request media photos for it.
If you've ever wondered where Uranus was half of the time---I've found it's orbit!
There is a great view of the Hollywood sign from the observatory grounds.
We walked up to the majestic front doors...only to discover the place was CLOSED! What!?! ARGH! It didn't open until the afternoon. No wonder we were able to park so easily. GRRR!
While we were there, though, we thought we might as well see what we could see...
Clearly there were a lot of walking paths in the park.
I loved the cool art deco design of the place.
There was a nice memorial statue to James Dean at the observatory, with the Hollywood sign behind it. Although it was not the first movie to feature the observatory in it, Dean's "Rebel Without A Cause" was the first film to feature the observatory as an observatory---not as some futuristic city or fantastical castle or something.
We had a choice to make. We could hang out for several more hours waiting for it to open, or we could leave and risk coming back (and finding a parking spot) later.
We opted to leave. As we were heading out of the park, we saw this cafe on a golf course within the park. We decided to stop and have breakfast (and kill some time) there.
It was certainly nothing fancy, but it sufficed. You can visit it HERE.
To eat up more time--and to see the real impetus of my trip--we decided to head out to Wacko/Soap Plant, this amazing and fun store at the end of Hollywood Blvd, where it becomes Sunset. Wacko has been around for years. I remember when it used to be on Melrose Ave. in the '80's and they had these fun house mirrors set up on the walkway leading to the entrance. Very appropriate.
The store itself is the magically insane wonderland of cool stuff. It is truly WACKO! Christa was amused and enchanted. She dug it a lot.
In addition to fun, zany stuff, there is also a large selection of books. Christa was surprised and impressed by that as well.
The entire collection was sold to... Well, it can all be explained better by Humuhumu right HERE on Critiki.
The inner section of the gallery contained contemporary art pieces with a tiki theme.
SHAG, was, of course, included.
His pieces were listed for $15,000 each.
But it was an awesome exhibit.
The cost was 50 cents each way---cash only.
Peeping Tom? No! It's Peeping Christa. Shocking.
There was a huge Tesla Coil on site and we made it to the exhibition when they ran it.
Christa nearly got us thrown out because she was fondling all of the meteorites she could find. Shocking!
I was relieved to see that the moon rock was safely protected.
Trying to think of someplace we could go where Christa's scandalous behavior wouldn't get us in trouble, we ventured onto the roof to poke around. Here is Christa with downtown Los Angeles in the distance.
Following the observatory, we headed downtown...to the oldest street in the city, Olvera Street. I've been to Olvera Street a few times in my life, and every time I'm...well, yes...disappointed. It really is a tourist trap--and not even a good one with a cheesy gimmick. But it IS the street where Los Angeles began.
There are also a few restaurants and food vendors.
The Avila Adobe is the oldest house still in existence in Los Angeles (although I am sure it has been repaired and restored several times). It is a museum now. It was closed when we arrived (Clearly they knew of Christa's reputation and saw us coming). I had been through it before though.
Olvera Street ends at a square. There are a few large buildings surrounding it (including, if I remember correctly, a vintage fire station, which we did not visit this time) and a central park. We did venture into the church, Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, (founded in 1781) though.
It is no secret I find old churches creepy. Things like this Christ figure add to the creepiness factor.
Following Olvera Street, we headed to downtown proper. For dinner, we were going to Clifton's Cafeteria. But first we had to find a place to park. We found a spot in this scary-looking lot around the block.
And then it was on to Clifton's, newly restored and founded in 1932. Although I had gone in April on my Super Duper Road Trip with Erich and Nedra (photos and details from that visit can be seen HERE), We never fully explored Clifton's. This time, Christa and I would thoroughly explore it. And it really would live up to it's sub-moniker, "Cabinet of Curiosities".
We went in and headed down the way for the cafeteria section.
I opted for a salad again (boring), but it was amazing.
Here is the master salad maker who created my salad that night.
The cashiers are in a little cave that connects the cafeteria to the dining room. I decided to also add a slice of pizza to my dinner.
Clifton's is a true Cabinet of Curiosities. There are surprises all over. Some in plain sight (such as the many taxidermied animals and vintage antiques, or the unique and elaborate settings of the different areas within the restaurant). Some are more hidden and need to be found. Do you see the small castle-like "rock" above the dining area? You can actually go into it. It is a small room, the "Rock Chapel", with a little diorama of a forested mountain scene inside.
Another little secret area is the Photo Cave, also on the 2nd floor. Inside was an old TV set that was "out of order". There were a few other interesting tidbits in there as well.
A third curious area was down these stairs, not far from where we were sitting on the first floor...
It was a vintage maintenance area from when the building was first built.
All of the old wiring and electrical units have been preserved.
This guy (Mike?) was one of the managers. He showed us (some of?) the secret spots. This old maintenance area, he says, is his favorite. Behind him, you can see an old switchboard.
The second floor (home of the Photo Cave and Rock Chapel) was a surprise, having not visited it before. The first thing we saw was this snazzy bar, the Monarch Bar.
But as we turned the corner, this magnificent lounge area came into view. AMAZING!
The third floor held even more surprises. There were lots of antiques and more stuffed animals. This room was blocked off from use, but was clearly a room for private meetings, parties, etc.
The view of the 2nd floor lounge, with its massive faux redwood tree was just as stunning from the third floor.
At the rear of the third floor was another very nice-looking bar, the Gothic Bar.
The third floor also contained another secret which we discovered. On the wall of the right-sided walkway leading to the Gothic Bar was a full-length mirror. We spied someone pushing on it and slipping in to a room behind it. Of course I had to investigate further. This place was just amazing to me and a secret passage wouldn't have surprised me in the least. Holy speakeasy, Batman! While I was expecting the mirror to lead to an employee only area or something, behind the mirror I found myself facing a woman at a reception desk. Oh my! I had found a secret entrance into Clifton's tiki bar, Clifton's Pacific Seas! Knowing that Christa had been eyeing the bars on the second and third level longingly, and would undoubtedly be making a spectacle of herself (yodeling or dancing on top of the tables) if I was not watching her closely, I grabbed her and behind the mirror we went.
I had been to Clifton's Pacific Seas before, with Nedra and Erich the previous April. However, we had to enter from the front of the building and climb the four or five flights up to reach it. Coming in the secret back way was different. They had all sorts of things on display I had not seen before.
We arrived inside of the bar and were soon seated at the same table Nedra, Erich and I had been seated back in April.
As soon as we sat down, Christa tried flagging a waitress down, then nearly tackled one before we got served. "Bring me a drink," she screamed. The waitress asked what she wanted. "Anything, just make it a big one." I ordered a chi-chi and Christa said she'd just have one of those as well. Here she is with her drink moments after grabbing it off of the waitress' tray, before the girl could even place it on the table in front of her. Oh my stars!
Despite Christa's shocking (yet not surprising) behavior, the waitress offered to take our picture.
This fellow, much like the manager who showed us some of the secrets in Clifton's, showed us some of the secrets within the tiki bar. There were some little doors that opened to reveal some paraphernalia. There were also a few artifacts being used as decorations, but I forget what he said and their significance now.
Since the bar area was sold out of tiki mugs, we ventured downstairs to the main section to purchase some.
The bathroom was tiny. You can't really tell in the photo, but there was no way a rather sizable person would be able to fit between the sink and the wall and reach the toilet. It was that narrow and clearly built before any codes were enforced.
I parked in this small parking garage next to the unit. Right next to my car was another car that had obviously been sitting there a long, long while. It was covered in pigeon poop. A pigeon family could be seen in the rafters above it. I worried about my car, but the next morning, there wasn't a spot on it.
These are the mugs I picked up at Clifton's.
As I was getting ready for bed while unintentionally listening to conversations next door and outside through the paper-thin walls and dreading my hotel decision yet again, it occurred to me that, like the night before, my room number was 206. Weird...
Google maps was taking me seemingly all over the place--from city main streets to residential areas, I got to this one neighborhood in the hills somewhere and traffic came to a stop. There was a long line of cars ahead of me and an equally long line of cars lining up behind me as we inched our way up this zig-zaggy residential neighborhood on a hillside. Some of it was pretty steep, too. Yikes! I'd look at the map thing...an hour to reach my destination, and hour and 15 minutes. Geez! Google maps seemed to have me going more or less parallel to the 405, but eventually I turned on to the 405. Was I ever glad for the turn off to Santa Monica. It took me just over 1 1/2 hours to travel 12 miles. CRAZY!
I picked up Christa and Google Maps seemingly had us on a wild goose chase again. But we eventually reached our destination, Griffith Park, in maybe 45 minutes or so.
The park didn't seem so crowded in the morning...and why would it be with everyone going to work? That was my plan. We climbed the hills towards Griffith Observatory and found a place to park. Easy! We got out and walked towards the observatory. After trying to see it in April, when it was just impossible to get a parking spot, I was finally going to get in.
We stopped for some photos on the way. Her is Christa with the LA basin behind her.
It was kind of overcast that morning as we walked up to the observatory
I needed shots for my article, but with all of the poles and lines to keep people off of the grass, I may have to request media photos for it.
If you've ever wondered where Uranus was half of the time---I've found it's orbit!
There is a great view of the Hollywood sign from the observatory grounds.
We walked up to the majestic front doors...only to discover the place was CLOSED! What!?! ARGH! It didn't open until the afternoon. No wonder we were able to park so easily. GRRR!
While we were there, though, we thought we might as well see what we could see...
Clearly there were a lot of walking paths in the park.
I loved the cool art deco design of the place.
There was a nice memorial statue to James Dean at the observatory, with the Hollywood sign behind it. Although it was not the first movie to feature the observatory in it, Dean's "Rebel Without A Cause" was the first film to feature the observatory as an observatory---not as some futuristic city or fantastical castle or something.
We had a choice to make. We could hang out for several more hours waiting for it to open, or we could leave and risk coming back (and finding a parking spot) later.
We opted to leave. As we were heading out of the park, we saw this cafe on a golf course within the park. We decided to stop and have breakfast (and kill some time) there.
To eat up more time--and to see the real impetus of my trip--we decided to head out to Wacko/Soap Plant, this amazing and fun store at the end of Hollywood Blvd, where it becomes Sunset. Wacko has been around for years. I remember when it used to be on Melrose Ave. in the '80's and they had these fun house mirrors set up on the walkway leading to the entrance. Very appropriate.
Inside Wacko/Soap Plant is the La Luz de Jesus Gallery. That was our ultimate destination within the store.
The store itself is the magically insane wonderland of cool stuff. It is truly WACKO! Christa was amused and enchanted. She dug it a lot.
In addition to fun, zany stuff, there is also a large selection of books. Christa was surprised and impressed by that as well.
But the main attraction was in the gallery in the far corner of the store. It was called...
This show ran from Oct. 6 through the 29th--less than a month! I had to see it. It was divided into two sections. This outer section contains pieces from the Jordan Reichek collection. These pieces were once part of Polynesian restaurants and tiki bars of the past. To tikiphiles, these are amazing historical artifacts; relics from legendary places that we can only imagine what they were like.
The entire collection was sold to... Well, it can all be explained better by Humuhumu right HERE on Critiki.
The inner section of the gallery contained contemporary art pieces with a tiki theme.
SHAG, was, of course, included.
His pieces were listed for $15,000 each.
But there were a lot of other cool pieces on display, many of which were sold and waiting for the exhibit to close before being taken away. How many did I buy? ZERO.
But it was an awesome exhibit.
The exhibit lives on in this nifty book (which goes way beyond what you see in the photos above). (You can read more about it or purchase it HERE.)
The WACKO/Soap Plant/La Luz de Jesus Gallery website is HERE.
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
After the show, we decided to try our luck at the observatory again. Parking was non-existent. Christa was surprised, but I wasn't having tried to go in April and seeing how crazy parking had been then. As luck would have it, I spotted a sign saying there was a shuttle to the observatory from the parking area in the lower part of the park. We took that.
The cost was 50 cents each way---cash only.
But finally, we were able to get in.
The facility was nice, but somehow smaller than I thought it would be. A huge lower floor was recently added though. I tried to get lots of photos for the article.
Peeping Tom? No! It's Peeping Christa. Shocking.
There was a huge Tesla Coil on site and we made it to the exhibition when they ran it.
Christa nearly got us thrown out because she was fondling all of the meteorites she could find. Shocking!
I was relieved to see that the moon rock was safely protected.
You can visit the Griffith Park Observatory website HERE.
2800 E. Observatory Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
For Christa's take on the visit to the observatory, click HERE.
Following the observatory, we headed downtown...to the oldest street in the city, Olvera Street. I've been to Olvera Street a few times in my life, and every time I'm...well, yes...disappointed. It really is a tourist trap--and not even a good one with a cheesy gimmick. But it IS the street where Los Angeles began.
Olvera Street is one block long. It is filled with merchants selling wares (mostly touristy stuff, but also a lot of clothes).
There are also a few restaurants and food vendors.
The Avila Adobe is the oldest house still in existence in Los Angeles (although I am sure it has been repaired and restored several times). It is a museum now. It was closed when we arrived (Clearly they knew of Christa's reputation and saw us coming). I had been through it before though.
Olvera Street ends at a square. There are a few large buildings surrounding it (including, if I remember correctly, a vintage fire station, which we did not visit this time) and a central park. We did venture into the church, Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, (founded in 1781) though.
You can visit the Olvera Street website HERE.
You can see what shocking things Christa had to say about WACKO/Soap Plant and Olvera Street HERE.
And then it was on to Clifton's, newly restored and founded in 1932. Although I had gone in April on my Super Duper Road Trip with Erich and Nedra (photos and details from that visit can be seen HERE), We never fully explored Clifton's. This time, Christa and I would thoroughly explore it. And it really would live up to it's sub-moniker, "Cabinet of Curiosities".
We went in and headed down the way for the cafeteria section.
I opted for a salad again (boring), but it was amazing.
Here is the master salad maker who created my salad that night.
Christa was considering a hand sandwich, but instead went with a pre-Thanksgiving (and pre-Halloween!) turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberries meal.
The cashiers are in a little cave that connects the cafeteria to the dining room. I decided to also add a slice of pizza to my dinner.
This Clifton's was one of several that once dotted L.A. This one was originally called Clifton's Brookdale, after the Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Brookdale Lodge has a famous dining room that has a river running through the center of it with dining areas tiered up on either side of it. Clifton's is a small version, with a faux river and dining tiered up on one side only.
Another little secret area is the Photo Cave, also on the 2nd floor. Inside was an old TV set that was "out of order". There were a few other interesting tidbits in there as well.
It was a vintage maintenance area from when the building was first built.
All of the old wiring and electrical units have been preserved.
This guy (Mike?) was one of the managers. He showed us (some of?) the secret spots. This old maintenance area, he says, is his favorite. Behind him, you can see an old switchboard.
The second floor (home of the Photo Cave and Rock Chapel) was a surprise, having not visited it before. The first thing we saw was this snazzy bar, the Monarch Bar.
But as we turned the corner, this magnificent lounge area came into view. AMAZING!
The third floor held even more surprises. There were lots of antiques and more stuffed animals. This room was blocked off from use, but was clearly a room for private meetings, parties, etc.
The view of the 2nd floor lounge, with its massive faux redwood tree was just as stunning from the third floor.
The third floor also contained another secret which we discovered. On the wall of the right-sided walkway leading to the Gothic Bar was a full-length mirror. We spied someone pushing on it and slipping in to a room behind it. Of course I had to investigate further. This place was just amazing to me and a secret passage wouldn't have surprised me in the least. Holy speakeasy, Batman! While I was expecting the mirror to lead to an employee only area or something, behind the mirror I found myself facing a woman at a reception desk. Oh my! I had found a secret entrance into Clifton's tiki bar, Clifton's Pacific Seas! Knowing that Christa had been eyeing the bars on the second and third level longingly, and would undoubtedly be making a spectacle of herself (yodeling or dancing on top of the tables) if I was not watching her closely, I grabbed her and behind the mirror we went.
I had been to Clifton's Pacific Seas before, with Nedra and Erich the previous April. However, we had to enter from the front of the building and climb the four or five flights up to reach it. Coming in the secret back way was different. They had all sorts of things on display I had not seen before.
We arrived inside of the bar and were soon seated at the same table Nedra, Erich and I had been seated back in April.
As soon as we sat down, Christa tried flagging a waitress down, then nearly tackled one before we got served. "Bring me a drink," she screamed. The waitress asked what she wanted. "Anything, just make it a big one." I ordered a chi-chi and Christa said she'd just have one of those as well. Here she is with her drink moments after grabbing it off of the waitress' tray, before the girl could even place it on the table in front of her. Oh my stars!
Despite Christa's shocking (yet not surprising) behavior, the waitress offered to take our picture.
This fellow, much like the manager who showed us some of the secrets in Clifton's, showed us some of the secrets within the tiki bar. There were some little doors that opened to reveal some paraphernalia. There were also a few artifacts being used as decorations, but I forget what he said and their significance now.
Since the bar area was sold out of tiki mugs, we ventured downstairs to the main section to purchase some.
You can aslo read Christa's take on the place HERE.
648 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014
After Clifton's, we headed home, driving a roundabout way through downtown Los Angeles to the freeway, then going all of the way out to Santa Monica. When we were on the streets of Santa Monica, heading to Christa's place, some woman in a car next to me got my attention at a street light. She said my lights were not on. What!?! All of that way--withOUT lights? Neither Christa nor I had any idea. We were in a rental car after all. The interior dash lights were on and we had no trouble seeing on the road. But, ooops! How embarrassing and dangerous.
After dropping Christa off, I got to my hotel, the Palm Motel (which you can check out HERE). It was clearly an older hotel, maybe built in the 30s or 40s, but had obviously been maintained. It was one of the less expensive hotels I've stayed at in recent travels (Erich wasn't with me---so I went the economy route...and paid for it). While it was a step up from Studio 6 the night before, it was still very no-frills. The walls were paper thin and there was apparently no heating/AC.
The bathroom was tiny. You can't really tell in the photo, but there was no way a rather sizable person would be able to fit between the sink and the wall and reach the toilet. It was that narrow and clearly built before any codes were enforced.
I parked in this small parking garage next to the unit. Right next to my car was another car that had obviously been sitting there a long, long while. It was covered in pigeon poop. A pigeon family could be seen in the rafters above it. I worried about my car, but the next morning, there wasn't a spot on it.
These are the mugs I picked up at Clifton's.
As I was getting ready for bed while unintentionally listening to conversations next door and outside through the paper-thin walls and dreading my hotel decision yet again, it occurred to me that, like the night before, my room number was 206. Weird...
That was the end of that day...but even more amazing adventures were in store for me the next day.
Stay Tuned!
Continue to the third part HERE.
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