the journal

So going to Sedona from Santa Fe, New Mexico is going from heaven to nirvana.  Santa Fe was an artistic haven and Sedona is the most glorious of scenery and spirituality.  Just the drive there was incredible.  First you will see the rocks at the rest stop in Arizona.  Even the rest stop was visually moving.  The flat topography quickly changed to a huge labyrinth of switchbacks and plunging altitude.  Coming into Sedona at sunset cast a completely different palette on the rocks.  As you can see from our photos by the hotel we were in a beautiful setting of red rock and greenery.  This place just begged to be hiked.  So for the first time we got out our hiking gear, hired a guide and went on the Baldwin Trail to Cathedral Rock.  Besides being a visual treat I got to enjoy the rejuvenating waters of stream on the way back to our jeep.  Then, just as we thought our trip was over in Sedona we happened across a synagogue set upon a hill with a gorgeous backdrop of red rock.  We were so lucky (on a Sunday)  for the rabbi to actually be there.  Alicia Magal is the leader of this egalitarian synagogue and is a Jewish Renewal rabbi.  Debrah knew her and she gave us the best tour of this magnificent jewel in Sedona.  After the synagogue we had to stop by the church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built into the rocks.  Our final stop in Sedona was the Red Planet Diner.  Everything there was “out of this world” from aliens in the juke box to UFOs in the front yard.  Sedona was fabulous.

Some might make a pilgrimage to the Wall in Israel, to Bethlehem or Mecca.  But in my case, in order to pay homage to my mother, I had to go to Las Vegas.  The city itself was not the real destination.  The woman in the photo is the main reason I went to the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.  That’s “my Stacy” as Mom would refer to her.  Stacy is the heart of the Riviera and also had my mother’s heart.  I had the pleasure of being with her and mom on many occasions in Las Vegas.  As you might know, Frimit was a bit high maintenance.  Well, Stacy was the one person who took care of mom in such a way that won her heart forever.  It all started with a request for sugar-free cheesecake.  So on my journey, I had to personally hold this precious woman after telling her the news that mom was gone.  We both reminisced and cried for two hours.  Yes… I cried and it was good.

Other than this wonderful experience, Las Vegas was fun.  Debrah and I saw two shows.  The first one was the water extravaganza from Cirque d’Soleil called “O”.  We were both entertained.  However, the show “Jersey Boys” was our favorite.  It was so wonderful and we both gave it a six on a scale of one to five.  I would definitely see that one again.

Vegas entrance and exit were quite special.  We got to drive over the Hoover Dam on our way in.  I drove alone to California a few days later.  The horses you see were at the gas station as I left Nevada.  I loved this drive to California.  It was gorgeous desert landscape with sculpted hills and mirages of sand that turned into steep mountainous climbs (ears were a popping).  Death Valley recorded a 111 degrees on my car thermometer.  Kinda cool for that area.

More from L.A. later.

Lot’s happening in Los Angeles.  I arrive there and Michael Jackson dies the next day.  So does Farrah.  It’s strange to be in the same city when these activities take place.

But for me Los Angeles is where my dear friend Yvonne lives.  We have been friends since the third grade and I have been staying at her house in West L.A.  It’s been a time to take care of some mundane stuff: the laundry, car check and paying bills. I did, however, manage to get in a couple of really spectacular museums.

The LACMA (Los Angeles Museum of Art) is a group of buildings, each one holding many treasures of art.  One of the grooviest (bad pun when you see the photo) exhibits was not necessarily the art or artifacts but how they were displayed.  After being mesmerized by the sheer genius of the design I found the information about how it was created.  It was the work of a really talented L.A. sculptor.  The exhibit housed Latin American art and artifacts through the ages.

LACMA was a real treat with many famous painters and recognizable art.  I couldn’t take photos of the art by Picasso, Miro, Rothko, Noguchi, etc. but all my favorite modern artists had work shown.

Next to LACMA was the famed LaBrea tar pits.  Smelly and really interesting how is sits in the middle of Los Angeles.  The pits smell because of the methane gases bubbling up to the suface through really black mirky stuff.  The photos show some of the mammals whose fossil remains were found here.  It’s amazing how many tons of fossils have been recovered.

The Skirball Cultural Center and Museum is a wonderful Jewish museum that has two very cool permanent exhibits and one special exhibit.  I actually went to see the exhibit on comic books but ended up LOVING the two permanent collections.  First of all the museum is set in the hills and every inch of the parking lot, to the walkway, the building and the natural setting is breathtaking.  Okay, the parking lot wasn’t breathtaking but was easy to access and free (for once).

I paid to enter the museum and didn’t know that all the special exhibits were included.  Thank G-d the guard (the most helpful anywhere) convinced me that I should go see the Noah’s Ark exhibit.  It was described as interactive and I just assumed it would be too childish for me.  That ASSUMED gets you in trouble all the time.  So I made arrangements to see the exhibit.  You had to get a time slot.  Well, it was spectacular.  Each one of the animals and all the props are made from recycled materials and many of them move with cranks.  The “zebra piano” has a twirling tushie.  The huge giraffe moves its long neck and the elephant has a built-in gong.  One of the docents let me know that the exhibit took five years and five million to build.  The ingenuity and imagination that went into this project made it my favorite.

I then went into the permanent exhibit that is the core of the Jewish experience.  The Skirball has a huge collection of Judaica, Jewish historical artifacts and really innovative ways of telling the story of the Jewish American experience.  The self-guided tour started with Jews in the Diaspora, continued into the holidays and life-cycle events and finished with the history of Jews coming to America and our experience here.  There were a number of beautiful and historic calligraphy pieces.  I was really tickled to see a megillah (the scroll telling the story of Purim) that was done by Sharon Binder.  I actually studied with her almost 20 years ago when I went to Israel for a summer of intense Hebrew calligraphy.

My visit was complete with a visit to the museum gift shop where I bought a fun piece of jewelry, more books and other good stuff.  But the best part was meeting Evelyn, a charming lady of mom’s age with whom I shared a lovely conversation and bonding experience.  This was followed by lunch in their café which is run by Judy Zeidler, a famous kosher cookbook author.  YUM.

I cruised into San Diego and the GPS said “Turn right and go down three blocks…”  What it didn’t say was WATCH OUT, you are approaching a major hill and down I went.  I wasn’t prepared for the kind of hills that I expect from San Francisco.

I found my hotel and checked into a really charming and old facility.  The room was small, the elevator ancient with an iron grill that you have to pull and then open the door, the bathroom had a tiny shower and a toilet and the sink was in the bedroom.  But I found lots to enjoy about the space. It was cozy and different from the constant experience of new hotels that are homogenous in design, function and price.

I had made my reservations in the Gaslamp Quarter and proceeded immediately to the baseball game – Houston Astros at San Diego Padres.  Great seats behind home plate, beer and peanuts completed the evening.  But I had to move in the bottom of the 8^th inning to get the “feet photo” so I apologize for posting so many.

A little about this city that I fell in love with.  Being in the Gaslamp Quarter I was surrounded by really great architecture, gourmet restaurants, a cool old deco movie theater, and a few blocks from the baseball park and the convention center.  Both of these buildings were designed with so many facets of interesting materials, shapes angles and curves.  On my second night I decided to eat at the recommended Croce’s (for those of you who remember that’s Jim Croce’s widow’s place).  The food was an incredible thrill bite by bite. I had grilled sea scallops on a bed of risotto, asparagus and edamame.  All this while a jazz band played in the bar.  With a bottle of wine to round out the experience I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

About that bottle of wine.  I didn’t finish it all, but nearly.  So when I got back to the hotel I was just a bit tipsy (it’s okay, I was walking). What did I do, well I took pictures of myself and they turned out so funny.  I’ve included the ones that don’t look too scary.

My final jaunt in San Diego was to La Jolla, the posh seaside community.  Now those houses were really spectacular.  I had a great lunch at a restaurant in the middle of the hill going down to the beach.  When I took my after lunch walk I got to see the seals in La Jolla Cove.  A quick visit to a really cool place.