Brucatos Eclipse Trip

Hello!

I do apologize for not closing out the blog sooner – some wonderful friends were very concerned as I believe we left them in Sacramento, California traffic, and then poof – gone!

So … to try to catch up, summarize and close this particular blog, here goes!

We managed to avoid most LA-bound traffic by going down Highway 99 through Bakersfield. However, as we started to head up the mountain toward Castaic, I checked the on-line map and spotted an accident that was (of course!) south-bound, and backing up traffic. Rather than deal with that, we headed off the freeway to the east and went past the Poppy Preserve in Lancaster, through Palmdale, and then off on a very old friend – the Angeles Forest Highway, to the Angeles Crest Highway and down into La Cañada. I know this added some time to our trip, but the highways were clear of traffic and the scenery was beautiful! Arrived at Anne’s around 5 pm.

L-R Lori, Heather, Ava, Claire, Margaret & Wylie

L-R Wylie Morrison, Jon & Lisa Walters

L-R Claire with cake, Lisa & Lori

Certainly felt like being “home” and it was a truly wonderful place to spend my 66^th birthday! In addition, Lisa, Anne’s daughter, had her birthday on September 1, so we had a combined celebration that was great fun. Anne made a lovely dinner of fresh fruit and veggies, salad and a fabulous paella! Something for everyone! For dessert, she made us a Moldavian meringue cake that was incredible! YUM!!! It was so nice to see everyone – Lisa, Jon, Ava and Margaret, Lori & Claire (who goes to CalPoly San Luis Obispo in a few days!), Tony, Heather, Duncan and Wylie. Truly a lovely evening, and we feel so good that they include us in their family!

Tuesday was a very lovely and lazy day! The heat in Los Angeles -- and the entire west, actually! – was incredible – up in the low 100’s. I don’t ever remember it getting that hot when we lived in Altadena. We went out to lunch to the Nano Café in Sierra Madre. I can’t remember what everyone had, but I had a delicious Chef’s salad. We actually ate so much that no one was even hungry for dinner! Also, it didn’t help that it was so hot out – really becomes rather enervating, that’s for sure!

Wednesday was my doctor appointment day. OB/GYN appointment at 8:30 am and then mammogram at 11 am. Both appointments went well, and it is good to have taken care of this yearly duty! However, it was Wednesday night that was so incredibly special!

My birthday cards from Anne and from the Walters included two tickets to Wednesday night’s performance at the Pantages Theatre in LA of HAMILTON!! Neither of us knew much about it, but figured that it had gotten such amazing reviews, there had to be something there!

L-R Me, Lisa, Lori with cake!

Anne's beautiful daughter with a birthday necklace!

Lisa picked us up in her F150 truck, and we all fit! Lisa and R in the front seat, and then me, Margaret, Ava and Anne in the back seat! And it really wasn’t even uncomfortable! Lisa drives even faster than me, and is a fantastic driver. She backs that truck up like nobody’s business! I think I should ask her for a lesson or two! We parked next to the theatre, and then headed out to find some dinner. Their normal place was closed, but just a block down the street was a very nice place called 33 Taps – referring to their beer on tap. We were able to have a very nice meal – eclectic menu, so we all found something good. We haven’t been in Hollywood in literally years and years! There were so many people outside, and we got to walk over some “stars” on the boulevard! Wow! Then into the Pantages.

Well … Hamilton. To say that it was a play is a complete understatement. I feel that it was more like a “life experience” – yes, it was that good, and deserved every bit of the hype that it has received. The dialogue was in rap, but the actors were very easy to understand and we had no problems at all! Robert later equated it to something like Puccini – Puccini wrote operas in the dialect of the period, and some of his pieces were not very well received until much later. R felt that Hamilton was Grand Opera, and I have to say I really can agree with him there. The first act was incredibly active and up-beat. The singing and dancing were superb, the set was superb, and the audience actually cheered at several points along the way. The second act was, obviously, (if you know what happened to Hamilton) much more somber, but still a very, very moving experience. We would recommend it highly to anyone. If you get a chance to see it, GO!

Lisa in her birthday present!

Margaret, Ava & me at Pantages!

We didn’t get home until almost midnight, which meant that we didn’t get on the road on Thursday morning until about 7:15 am. However, up eventually, and repacking the car. Got home about 5 pm, and made very good time – although of course we managed to catch Tucson traffic at its worst, but nothing really out of the ordinary – especially after Los Angeles!

So! All in all, a really nice trip, seeing and visiting with old friends and meeting many new friends. The eclipse was fabulous, we loved Bend and sincerely hope that the fires that continue to burn in Oregon are eventually able to be controlled. We would love to see Shasta and Lassen again!

Lots and lots and lots of love, and closing out the blog now!

xxx

Hello!

Up this morning around 6:30, and down for breakfast a bit after 7 am. To be honest, most hotel breakfasts tend to run together, but suffice to say that it was fine. Then we collected up all of our belongings, and headed to the car. Not too far to go today – about 5 hours from Medford to Sacramento. Before we even knew it, we were back in California! And, while we were passing what we knew was stunning scenery, we couldn’t see any of it! The air was terrible! So, past Mt. Shasta which we saw as rather a ghostly shadow and down the I-5 freeway. We made fairly good time with not too much traffic until we got north of Sacramento, when the road narrowed to two lanes. This made driving a bit more challenging, but we were able to get to the hotel a little after 1 pm. Thankfully, they were expecting us (always good!) and we got into our room -- #325 early.

A very hazy Mount Shasta

Getting a little clearer!

Actually a bit of blue sky and snow!

Lake Shasta!

After a week or so of very pleasant and coolish weather, we are now back into the 100’s here in Sacramento. I think I saw 104 degrees. Very warm, but for some reason, it was really dry, which was unexpected. I had thought that R might want to revisit the California Railroad Museum, but in the heat, he declined the opportunity. So, we settled down for a nice quiet afternoon with pre-season NFL football and baseball.

Literally right next door is a restaurant called Malabar – just out the side door, cross through the Holiday Inn Express next door, and into Malabar’s parking lot! Very nice place, and we were seated near a television so we could continue watching the Bengals vs. the Redskins. We both started with their smoky clam chowder, which, seriously, has to be one of the best clam chowders either of us has ever had! Just amazing! R thinks it might be the Applewood smoked bacon, but it was really just perfect! The rest of our meal took much longer to arrive – don’t know what the problem was, but it was more than a tad irritating. R had (finally) a perfectly cooked rare filet mignon with potatoes and green beans. I had their pulled BBQ pork sandwich with coleslaw. It was okay, but nowhere near as good as the clam chowder! Back to the room about 4:30 pm and we’re in for the night!

So – tomorrow we head to Sierra Madre for a few days with Anne and the family!

Lots of love!