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Rittenhouse Square pigeon
Originally uploaded by etacar11

Ok, the pigeon is just a random photo I took in Rittenhouse Square. I didn’t smuggle a camera into the Nine Inch Nails show at Wachovia Center. I should have; the security chick barely glanced in my bag. On the other hand, fiddling with a camera might have detracted from my enjoyment of the concert.  If and when the band posts some shots of the show on their Flickr page, I will post one here.

The day didn’t have an auspicious start: Rob’s car wouldn’t start (we later found out that he had been given the wrong type of battery two weeks prior) so we were delayed in getting to the train station.  Then we got caught in a massive traffic jam on I-95.  We were forced to call Amtrak and change our tickets to the next train.  No way we would have made our original one.  But once on the train everything went smoothly and we got to Philadelphia around 10am.

We bummed around for the afternoon, walked over to Rittenhouse Square and down to the Schuylkill River.  It was drizzly and not that nice a day but whatever.  I didn’t care!

The Wachovia Center was an easy shot down the Broad St. subway line.  Our seats turned out to be great, five rows up from the floor of the arena, on the left side of the stage.  It took a while for the place to fill up, but I think it was pretty near capacity by the time NIN came on.  I was pleasantly surprised (and I think the feeling was shared by many there) by the opening band, a bunch of trippy English dudes called Does It Offend You, Yeah?  I didn’t expect much from them, but they turned out to be pretty cool and worthy of a closer look.

I had only seen Nine Inch Nails live once prior, in 1994 at the Universal Amphitheater in LA.  I was in college at the time and NIN had just broken big with the Downward Spiral album.  During the Fragility tour in 2000, I was living in Hawaii and few bands ever play over there.  NIN wasn’t one of the few.  In 2005, I was living in New York City when they played two shows there.  I tried to get tickets for both and failed each time.  That left me quite angry and resentful.  But I’m over that now…

The show we saw last Friday night, the show Nine Inch Nails is playing every night on the Lights in the Sky tour, is simply the greatest show ever.  Ok, maybe I exaggerate but it’s definitely the best show I’ve ever seen, hands down.  The music itself was amazing enough.  And it would have been a great show with just that.  It was the lightshow that really made the night.  What they did is really hard to describe, mainly because I don’t know how any of it works.  But I can say there were at times screens in front of and behind the band.  Sometimes opaque, sometimes transparent.  Lots and lots of stuff going on throughout the show.  Damn, words just fail to convey how cool it was.  Trent Reznor sounded amazing.  You’d never know he’s had some throat/voice issues on this tour that led to the postponement of two earlier shows.  His speaking voice did sound a little off, that was the only hint.  Did I mention he had the magical power to control what the screens were showing, just with touch?  AWESOME.

Anyway, two hours of visual coolness and lots of great songs from the NIN catalog.  I hated to see it end.  Now I’m trying to figure out how to see it again.  There’s no DC date on the upcoming Fall leg of the tour.  The closest is in Charlottesville, VA.  A little farther than I am willing to drive but maybe (fingers crossed) a DC date will be announced later.  Please, please, please!

Mall of America – Me and Lego Boba
Originally uploaded by etacar11

I only spent about two days in Minneapolis this past weekend, so I didn’t get to see much. The purpose of the trip was to see my grad school friend Yan get married. I didn’t want to use up too many vacation days so I flew in on Friday and left Sunday (the wedding was Saturday).

My Magellan GPS, bought just before the trip, performed admirably.  It took a few minutes to update once I left the airport rental car garage, but once it did, I got to the hotel with no problems whatsoever.  I can’t imagine traveling without one of these now.  Oh, and Hertz gave me a Mustang!

I think I was the only one at the wedding who stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.  I have to say, it was not bad at all.  A king-size bed, couch, coffee table, free wi-fi, free breakfast, exercise room.  The people staying at the Doubletree didn’t have all that and the Doubletree is a supposedly “better” hotel.  Yeah, right.

There was only time to do one sightseeing destination on Saturday morning/afternoon (the wedding was in the evening).  So my friend Don and I went to the Mall of America.  Just to say we’d been there.  There’s an amusement park in the center of the damned thing, so that’s where we made a beeline for.  One log flume and two rollercoasters later, I felt a little queasy and wondered if I was getting too old for that stuff.  Maybe it was just the environment shift from traveling or jet lag.  Hopefully.

The wedding of Yan and Sonia was very simple and informal.  Very sweet.  It was in an oak grove a short hike from the park pavilion where we had the dinner afterward. Since Yan is a vegan, let’s just say the food wasn’t to my taste.  But I tried to try everything.  Leftovers from dinner the night before (my room had a fridge and microwave too!) helped when it was over.

My GPS dutifully got me back to the airport on Sunday.  There was lots more in Minneapolis I wish I could have seen.  Another time…

Point Fermin Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by etacar11

It’s been about a week since we got back from California and I’ve been meaning to post on the last part of our time there.

Thursday, July 24th, was my brother’s 39th birthday. We visited his grave at Westminster Memorial Park and released balloons while singing Happy Birthday. My parents have done this every year since his death, but it was my first time being there. It was a nice thing to do for him, though I had trouble singing. I miss him so much, every day.

That afternoon, my mom and I sat on the beach for a while, several blocks north of the Huntington Beach pier.  It was a bit windy and we watched two men doing something called “kitesurfing.” It’s an extreme sport involving (not surprisingly) kites and surfing.  It looked very difficult and dangerous.  But those guys seemed to be having no trouble at all.

On Friday, we drove up to Palos Verdes to visit my dad’s old boss from when he worked in Seal Beach in the ’70’s, Bill and his wife Maureen. We went to their house lots of times when I was growing up, though we hadn’t been there in many years.  It’s a very beautiful area on a peninsula overlooking the Pacific and the hills are literally “rolling.”  One of the roads we used is quite bumpy due to the constant shifting of the land.  At one point, years ago, I think Bill and Maureen and their neighbors feared their entire neighborhood would slide into the ocean.

After a nice lunch at Bill and Maureen’s, we visited Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro, as seen above.  It’s basically a very fancy Victorian house with a light on top.  It stands on the tip of the peninsula marking the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor.  The inside is only viewable by tour, so we went on one.  It houses related artifacts and period furniture.  My mom thought the guide was a bit of a dweeb (didn’t know much in her opinion) but we got to look out of the tower and were able to view Angel’s Gate Lighthouse, which is at the end of a long breakwater in the harbor itself.  Apparently you CAN walk out to that one, but doing so risks arrest.

On Saturday my parents indulged me by devoting the day completely to visiting places I wanted to go to.  We drove down to Mission San Juan Capistrano, the “Jewel of the California Missions” and, I think, the most famous historical site in Orange County.  The grounds of the old mission were filled with lovely gardens.  Beautiful flowers.  I don’t know much about California’s history (I never went to school there) but the ruins of the old Church and the cemetery were interesting.  The famous swallows return to the Mission in March, so we didn’t see anything of them, beyond a few displays.  Oh well, some other time.

We decided it would be nicer to return to Huntington Beach via Pacific Coast Highway, instead of the freeway.  This was convenient because it took us right past one of the museums I wanted to visit, the Laguna Art Museum.  My parents didn’t care about going so they walked around Laguna Beach while I went to the museum.  It was small and compact, so I saw everything in a short amount of time.  The current special exhibition, In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz Factor, was…strange and disturbing, although the imagery wasn’t all that shocking to me, considering that a lot of the music I listen to uses it.  I really came to the museum to see the works of the California Impressionists and they had some nice ones on display.  So I was satisfied.

The drive up PCH took us past the hospital where my siblings and I were born, Hoag Memorial in Newport Beach.   That was a little on the strange side.  My parents, of course, were constantly pointing out “new” stuff along the road, stuff that wasn’t there thirty years ago.

Sunday, July 27th, was our final full day in California.  It was also the day of the Huntington Beach High School alumni picnic, one of the main reasons for our trip.  Since I never went to anything but pre-school in H.B., I had no interest in the picnic whatsoever.  So I contented myself to walking around downtown.  I walked out on the pier again, caught a glimpse of the U.S. Open of Surfing.  I also walked down to the “Ultimate Challenge” statue, at the intersection of PCH and Huntington St.  It’s a bronze statue of a surfer catching a wave.  Nude.  My mom said that part made for a lot of controversy when it was unveiled in the 70’s.  Ultimately, even with lunch, I couldn’t waste enough time wandering, so I was forced to help man the t-shirt table at the picnic with my aunt.  It wasn’t all that bad, I guess.

It was a good trip.  I fear I’m starting to seriously consider moving back out there.  But not for a couple of years, I think…

Bolsa Chica – Great Egret
Originally uploaded by etacar11

We left Huntington Beach on Monday and drove out into the desert. First we visited my dad’s sister-in-law, Elsie, in Yucca Valley. She’s in her eighties, a bit frail but mentally as sharp as anyone her age could hope to be. We took her out to lunch. Then we headed over to Indio to see one of my dad’s closest friends from childhood, Lester, and his wife. We spent the night at their house. Geez, I’ve been reminded on this trip that older folks spend a lot of time talking about their ailments, their friends’ and family’s ailments, and all the people they know who’ve recently died. But I suppose we all get that way as we get older…

On the way back on Tuesday, we stopped at these old dinosaur statues near Cabazon (?) that my mom says have been there forever.  She said they were the landmark that let you know you were officially entering the desert.  They had a little gift shop and I was sickened and disgusted to find that it was full of creationist garbage.  I told my mom not to buy anything and went to wait outside.  I hope she took my advice.

Closer to LA, we stopped for lunch at a hamburger place in Anaheim Hills called Knowlwood. They claim to serve the world’s best hamburgers.  Apparently, we used to stop there on our way up to vacations in the mountains.  I don’t really remember it, but it’s fun to hear my parents talk about these things.

Today, Wednesday, we drove up to Long Beach to have lunch with some other friends of my parents, Art and Harlean.  Their family was often with us on those mountain vacations.  On the way back, we went to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.  I’ve been interested in visiting it for a long time, after seeing lots of pics online that people have taken of all the birds there.  We had a nice walk on the trails and saw some egrets (as evidenced here) and some terns.

Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday and we will visit him at the cemetery, to remember and celebrate his life.

Huntington Beach – surfer
Originally uploaded by etacar11

Where is that damn California sun? Three mornings we’ve been here and it’s been overcast for all of them. Sure, the Sun came out eventually each day but I want to wake up to some Sun, dang it!

We visited my brother’s grave first thing after arriving in CA.  That was emotional for me.  I hadn’t been to see him in the four years since the funeral.  This was one of the main reasons I came on this trip. We also visited with my 90 year old grandmother.  She’s not doing so well and that’s very hard to deal with as well.

On our second day here, we visited one of my favorite Huntington Beach landmarks: the pier.  I took the surfer picture while standing on it.  There was a competition going on but this guy was on the opposite side of the pier from it.  So I guess he was just surfing for fun. We had lunch at the Ruby’s Diner at the end of the pier.  I had been wanting to go there for a while.  Checked off my list.

Today I took my dad to see Hellboy II while my mom spent more time with Grandma.  We’re going to drive out to Palm Springs tomorrow to see some friends and relatives.

I’m going to Huntington Beach, California (my hometown), with my parents next month on vacation.  They go back every year for their high school alumni picnic.  I haven’t been back in four years, since my brother Neal’s funeral in 2004.  So this year I decided to go with them.

We only lived in Huntington Beach until I was four years old.  It’s my hometown but I’ve never felt like I know it very well, sadly.  So in the ten days we’re there, I intend to get to know it and the surrounding area a little better.

I’ve been to the great H.B. pier and the beach there many times, actually, on all the short visits back over the years.  But I don’t have any good pictures, so I plan to get a lot.

The Bolsa Chica Wetlands have fascinated me for a while.  I’ve seen tons of pictures on Flickr of all the different kinds of birds that reside there.  May sound boring to some people but, hey, I like that kind of thing.  Photographing birds in flight can be a very challenging thing.  North of Huntington Beach is Seal Beach, which has a National Wildlife Refuge on the Naval Weapons Station there.  My dad worked at that Weapons Station in the ’70’s.  Ironically, the Navy only put the Refuge there so that a highway couldn’t be built that would have divided the base.  Well, the wildlife is grateful, I’m sure.

On the historical side, Mission San Juan Capistrano is down the coast.  I know very little about California history, but I know the Mission is over two hundred years old so I. Must. Go. My parents probably don’t share my fascination but hopefully I can wheedle them into going.

There was an Impressionist movement among California artists in the early 20th century.  So, of course, I must visit a few of the local museums to take it in.  The Bowers Museum, the Laguna Art Museum, and Orange County Museum of Art are possibilities.  I doubt I’ll get my parents to go to all of them, but it can’t hurt to try!

Further afield, I was hoping to get up to Griffith Observatory in LA.  I went there a few times when I was at USC, but they recently did a major renovation/update and I’m dying to see it.  On the lighthouse front, Point Fermin in San Pedro beckons.

So those are my plans so far.  We’ll see how much of it actually happens.

Fire Island Lighthouse

Originally uploaded by etacar11

Yes, the weather held up for us. We had only three stops left on the second day and we finished easily.

The seventh stop of the challenge was Old Field Point Lighthouse. Apparently they used to bus people to this stop. This year we drove right to it. Through a quite lovely neighborhood that my mom went ga-ga over. She had decided that the Hamptons were too snobby, too remote, and too lacking in fast-food restaurants. Old Field, with its lovely yards and gardens and beautiful homes, I think she could take. Old Field Point was climbable, even for my parents, and had a nice view of Long Island Sound.

Huntington Harbor Lighthouse was the eighth stop and we actually reached it by boat. It rests on a caisson and has its own dock. So we were able to explore this lighthouse, unlike the other off-shore ones. We all brought our coats with us but the weather was still being mild and we hardly needed them. The people working on preserving the lighthouse had many interesting stories to tell about its history. There was a picture of someone (a keeper’s family member) with a cat at the lighthouse. I’ll bet that cat moved there under extreme duress.

The ninth and final stop of the challenge was Fire Island Lighthouse.  This lighthouse is part of Fire Island National Seashore and reachable from Robert Moses State Park.  I had actually been to the state park before to go to the beach but had realized you could visit the lighthouse from there.  Fire Island was the tallest of the lighthouses on the challenge, I think.  I climbed it, my parents sat it out.  It had already been a bit of a hike from the state park parking lot.  And the climb was a little on the tough side.  I took breaks on the landings and looking up it seemed like I would never reach the top.  But I did, finally, and the view was tremendous.

The rain started as we left the parking lot for our trip home.  Perfect timing!  The drive home wasn’t much fun, but all-in-all, it was a fun trip.  Now my mom is excited to try the Maryland and New Jersey challenges.  We’ll see!

Montauk Point Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by etacar11

My parents and I are doing the Long Island Lighthouse Challenge this weekend. The drive up from Maryland was the worst. First, it rained ALL DAY. And the timing made us hit NYC at rush hour. NYC + Friday + rush hour + rain = a very horrific time. Plus my mom’s allergies were acting up. I felt so bad for her. We finally made it to our hotel near MacArthur Airport several hours after we expected to. And we got lost trying to find it. GPS isn’t always your friend!

But today made up for it, for the most part. Sunny and mostly clear all day. Lovely. Our first stop on the Challenge was the farthest out, Montauk Point Lighthouse. A bit pricey, you have to pay to park, plus to get into the lighthouse. But the view was nice and it was not a bad climb to the top.

The second stop was Cedar Island Lighthouse. It was out on a long, thin strip of sand that would have taken a long time to walk out on. So we just viewed it from a far. Maybe some other time, because it looked like a great walk.

Two ferries got us to the third stop, East End Seaport Museum in Greenport, NY. Ok, not a lighthouse but it’s part of the challenge. They have a lot of nice lighthouse memorabilia.

The fourth stop was Long Beach Bar Lighthouse, also viewed from afar. There was a man from the East End museum at the viewing spot who gave us a nice little history of the lighthouse. Apparently you used to be able to walk to it via a sand bar, but due to various reasons (including rising sea levels) they no longer connect. It’s no longer even that safe to visit it by boat. They make people get their own insurance if they want to do that…

The fifth stop was two lighthouses-in-one. Plum Island and Orient Point Lighthouses, both off-shore, were viewed from Orient Point County Park, right near a very cool-looking ferry that goes to New London, Conn. We had a 15 minute walk to a little beach to see the lighthouses. My parents didn’t make it all the way to the end of the path, but I went most of the way.

Our sixth and last top of the day was Horton Point Lighthouse. This one was NOT off-shore and since it isn’t a tall one, it was an easy climb. One of the guides said that the lighthouse is often included in winery bus tours. They make sure the tours come to the lighthouse BEFORE the wineries. Yeah, last thing you need is a bunch of drunks climbing up 27 steep spiral steps!

I got a U.S. Lighthouse Society passport at Montauk, and got it stamped at each stop. They also gave us souvenir magnets at each stop. Very nice. We have three more lighthouses we are going to try to see tomorrow before we head home. I just hope the weather holds up…

Reading – The Pagoda

Originally uploaded by etacar11

My friend Rob took me on a whirlwind tour of all the places he’s lived. This meant visits to York, Reading, and Mechanicsburg, PA. Not exactly places with great sightseeing, but he had told me about the pagoda on the mountain overlooking Reading. So we checked it out.

The view of the city was nice, though it was an overcast day. And it was cold and windy. And there were loud, annoying kids running around. If I ever get back to Reading and the weather is nicer, I will have to check it out again.

The Pagoda sits on Mount Penn, and the road leading up to it has a series of sharp turns. Early automobiles were tested there by Charles Duryea.  We just had to deal with the aforementioned annoying kids, who hogged the road with their bikes on the way back down.

I have a not-so-secret ambition to see all the National Parks in the Lower 48 states. And I’m a total sucker for historical sites, especially those to do with the American Revolution. Now, what about the rest of the world?

I probably won’t get the chance to see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in my lifetime, but it’s still fun to dream. And I’ve already seen a few.

• Historic District of Old Quebec – Went to the city on a high school trip, I think we wandered through it.
• Paris, Banks of the Seine – Yep, train trip to Paris when my family lived in Madrid in the early Eighties.
• Vatican City – On our trip to Rome, also when we lived in Madrid.
• Piazza del Duomo, Pisa – We had to do the funny pictures where it looks like you are holding up the Leaning Tower with your hands.
• Historic Centre of Rome – That Rome trip.
• Venice – We went there twice when we lived in Madrid.
• Pompeii – I was terrified that Vesuvius was going to erupt while we were there (Hey, I was about seven years old at the time).
• Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid – Well, duh.
• Old Town of Avila – It’s not far from Madrid.
• Historic City of Toledo – One of my favorite day trips from Madrid, I think we did it more than once.
• Tower of London – We took the plane to London when we lived in Madrid (all our other trips were by car).
• Independence Hall – Philly? It’s practically next door. I’ve been there twice!
• Mammoth Cave National Park – My grandfather was from Kentucky, so we went there once so my dad could do genealogical investigations.
• Statue of Liberty – What a horrific trip, love the statue but it definitely was not worth it.

Hmmm, still so many to see…