The Breakfast Experiment — Esau’s

I started with Urbanspoon and entered “Downtown,” “Breakfast,” “$$$.” No hits! There are breakfast places downtown, but none in the “$$$” range. I unlocked that criteria and hit “Shake.”

Strange town. Limited knowledge. My experiment today is finding a place for breakfast using digital means. The iPhone (and I assume most of the newer smart phones) is great at this.

I started with Urbanspoon and entered “Downtown,” “Breakfast,” “$$$.” No hits! There are breakfast places downtown, but none in the “$$$” range. I unlocked that criteria and hit “Shake.” Esau’s looked interesting with decent reviews especially for breakfast. It was “$$.” That’s better than “$$$.”

I then opened Yelp and double checked. The reviews were very good, again especially breakfast.

What I liked was I was only a click away from a map and a click away when I called to make sure they’re open on Memorial Day. They are.

I’ll let you know how this turns out later.

It’s Sunday In Santa Barbara

It’s easy to see why Santa Barbara is an insanely expensive place to live — who wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time there?

We’d never been to Santa Barbara before so we’d only planned a short trip. We drove up Saturday evening and leave Monday morning.

It’s been a great place to visit.

Helaine read about the Arts and Crafts Show on the waterfront. We went there first. Nothing to buy, but lots to see. There were lots of sellers representing many styles in a variety of media.

A few photographers were exhibiting. Here’s my read: each has two or three ‘evergreens’ which drive their sales. The other shots are to avoid the embarrassment of only showing a handful of pics. Many of the photos are oversatured, meaning the colors are way too intense. Does that make the shot more impressive? Who am I to judge… though I will.

We left the artists and spent some time walking on Stearns Wharf which is the focal point of the waterfront. If you park on the wharf, and we did, you drive its length on a wooden plank roadway. The speed limit is 10 mph, but I thought that was a little fast for conditions!

We also hit State Street which is the main drag downtown. State Street is very reminiscent of Worth Avenue on Palm Beach (another place where I can afford to buy nothing). It was packed with a sedate and very well behaved crowd.

My friend L.A. friend Larry who goes here all the time just sent an email with his read on Santa Barbara:

It’s easy to see why Santa Barbara is an insanely expensive place to live — who wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time there?

Instead of writing too much I’ll let my pictures do the talking. Click any photo to get a larger view.

The Puppies Of Santa Barbara

We love dogs. That makes us Santa Barbara friendly because there are dogs of every shape and size everywhere you go!

We love dogs. That makes us Santa Barbara friendly because there are dogs of every shape and size everywhere you go! Many restaurants have outdoor seating meaning there’s a dog laying quietly under a table in just about every one.

Luckily for me I love taking dog photos. Here’s a small sample of what I saw.

We’re In Santa Barbara

This isn’t Connecticut. The door was wide open letting in the nighttime air. There are no flying bugs to worry about.

Greetings from Santa Barbara, CA. How pretty!

It’s been a v-e-r-y long day. We left home in Connecticut around 8:00 AM EDT. It’s after 9:30 PM PDT and we’re just winding down.

Once we picked up our bags we headed to Dollar for a rental car. Dodge Charger or equivalent is what our reservation called for. The car is actually a Mercury Grand Marquis. It’s a comparable size so I can’t complain though this is an old person’s car. It is also among the sloppiest handling mushy riding cars I’ve ever driven. At least it has a trunk that’s big enough for vacationers!

We left LAX and headed up the 405 to Highway 101. As long as we were passing Stef’s apartment we figured we might as well stop. It was brief. We’ll see her and Roxie on Monday.

We turned back to the 101 northbound through Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks. The highway crests a ridge heading into Camarillo and as you head down the Pacific comes into view. Wow. It is spectacular.

Today’s trip corresponded with the Phillies/Marlins game. I set up the iPhone so Helaine could watch (while I listened). How’s that for technology, a live ballgame in the car!

As we drove toward Santa Barbara we took in Roy Halladay’s perfect game.

We passed the Montecito exits (Oprah/Gayle can we visit?) and entered Santa Barbara. The Encina Lodge, our hotel, wasn’t hard to find though it’s nestled in a residential neighborhood off the beaten path.

You quickly get a vibe if things will be good or bad. As we waited to check in we listened to the desk staff cheerfully help solve a few problems. We knew the choice would be good.

As it was our room had a problem–missing bath towels. I went to the office and a few minutes left Dennis delivered two sets. As I reached for my wallet he waved me off. “Can’t I give you something,” I asked?

I guess Dennis didn’t feel it was right to accept cash under these circumstances. Classy move.

We drove down to the water for dinner ending up at Emilio’s. I had Caesar salad and a seafood pasta dish while Helaine had pasta with bolognese sauce. Both were very tasty in a comfy setting.

This isn’t Connecticut. The door was wide open letting in the nighttime air. There are no flying bugs to worry about.

More exploring in the morning. I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open.

You Must Be On Vacation

Two small children just walked into the gate area with their parents. The kids are wearing t-shirts with what I assume are individual pictures of their parents 30 years ago. It shouldn’t be creepy, but it is.

“You must be on vacation. No computer!” The words came from Helaine. They were dripping with sarcasm.

We are at Bradley’s Gate 2 and I am plugged in… more accurately plugged in twice. The iPhone, which still had 90% battery remaining is getting topped off for the trip cross country. It has replaced the laptop as my flying companion. At the moment it holds five or six hours of video along with a few hundred songs. More importantly, in the airplane mode it has enough power for BDL-DEN then DEN-LAX.

Two small children just walked into the gate area with their parents. The kids are wearing t-shirts with what I assume are individual pictures of their parents 30 years ago. It shouldn’t be creepy, but it is.

We’re 1,670 miles from Denver. It should be farther, shouldn’t it? It should be almost all the way to the West Coast. We’ll still be 860 miles from the Pacific.

Helaine and I were talking about trips-gone-by on our way up here. I remembered sitting on a delayed TWA L-1011 at Philadelphia. The doors were open. People freely walked back-and-forth between the plane and terminal. Those days will never return.

When I blog about flying I often get comments from people who don’t, won’t or have never flown. Don’t worry about missing the glamor. It’s been a long time since flights were glamorous–since people get dressed-up to fly. What you’re missing is this whole beautiful country.

America is much more diverse than what you’d expect if you’ve only traveled as far as you can drive.

Tonight we’ll be in Santa Barbara. It’s on the ocean but it couldn’t be more different than any East Coast ocean town. The Pacific Coast itself is different than the Atlantic. Anyone who’s been to both can differentiate them in a lineup.

This will be a long day of traveling. The scheduled terminal-to-terminal-to-terminal time is eight hours.

If time permits I’ll check in from Denver.

Christmas At The Movies: It’s Complicated

Trust me, the Chinese restaurant might as well have hung a sign on the door saying “Se Habla Yiddish.”

its_complicated_poster.jpgThe Fox Family is living an ethnic stereotype, right? It’s Christmas so we went to the movies then ate Chinese food before I went off to work. Trust me, the Chinese restaurant might as well have hung a sign on the door saying “Se Habla Yiddish.”

I wanted to see the George Clooney movie. Stef and Helaine wanted Meryl Streep’s “It’s Complicated.” Two against one. Outvoted again.

They made a great choice.

This was not a complex story in spite of the movie’s name.

Meryl Streep is divorced from Alec Baldwin, but with three children, a college graduation and wedding-to-be it’s tough for him to be out of her life. Baldwin’s character realizes he wants to get back with Meryl just as she meets Steve Martin–the architect supervising an addition to her home.

Hit pause a second. We’ve got to talk.

I haven’t seen this much effortless affluence in a movie since Doris Day swooned over Rock Hudson. Streep lives on a multi-acre estate overlooking the Pacific in Santa Barbara. Her sole source of income seems to be an upscale bakery/coffee shop. Unless she’s baking up twenties there’s no way this could happen!

I know, it’s a movie. Buy the premise, buy the bit. Fine. We move on.

The story is sweet, clever and mainly well acted. It was edited with a meat cleaver.

Who gets the blame: cinematographer or editor? There were cutaway shots behind a person speaking… but his jaw isn’t moving (the shot’s from behind so you don’t see his lips). Maybe I’m too critical, but that injures a movie and reduces my enjoyment.

Good grief Meryl Streep is good. She is incredibly comfortable in her own skin. That serve her well. It just doesn’t seem like she’s acting! That’s how it’s supposed to be.

“She makes the people she works with better,” added Helaine as we did a postmortem on the way out of the theater.

Alec Baldwin, as the ex-husband, is a guy who seldom looks past his own needs. It’s not like he’s trying to hide that. To meet him is to know the only way he can be is needy.

I was a little disappointed by Steve Martin in a role in which he seemed self restrained. He is a favorite of mine, so this is not idle criticism. I’ve just seen him bring a lot more to a role.

There were no surprises, no out-of-the-blue plot twists, no unexpected drama. That’s part of the reason this movie works so well. It is clever without being gimmicky.

The three of us really enjoyed it.

The Chinese food? Well that goes without saying. The movie may change from year-to-year, but the restaurant is always Dynasty in North Haven. As always it was delicious.

Gene Klavan

When I was growing up, my parents (mostly my dad) listened to WNEW. To me it represented what adult life was about. It was sophisticated and upwardly mobile. The stars of that era of popular music hung out at WNEW and socialized with the disk jockeys.

It was a Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Steve & Eydie kind of place.

The morning show was Klavan and Finch. Gene Klavan was the comic and Dee Finch his straight man. This past week Gene Klavan died at 79.

I was speaking to my dad tonight, looking for the right moment to tell him about Klavan, when he told me.

I stopped for a minute. Is it right to tell a 78 year old about the death of a 79 year old? And then I asked him.

I didn’t want to pry, but I wondered how my dad looked at death. I think (and he reads this so he’ll tell me if I’m wrong) that he just sees it as a part of life. Where he lives, in Florida, he is surrounded by it.

His life now is the best it’s ever been. He and my mom are incredibly active – much more so than ever before. He says, 78 is an age he never imagined, much less consciously thought of.

I see my parents living forever. But they are so much better at dealing with reality than I am.

Continue reading “Gene Klavan”

California Fires

This week the news has been filled with stories of the California wildfires. Spread from San Diego to just north of Santa Barbara and inland to desert areas, these fires are awesome in their ferocity and size.

The ground and helicopter based pictures are sobering to watch, but I think the full version of the image to the right is even more amazing. Taken by one of NASA’s low Earth orbiting satellites, it provides more detail than I’ve ever seen in a similar satellite image.

As of tonight the Santa Ana winds have subsided. Hopefully, over the next few days, these fires will be controlled by firefighters.