The SOL Tour - July 6-7

Cathy and I knew that we wanted to stay in the Los Angeles area for another night following our family reunion but not necessarily in El Segundo where the event was held. So we searched around on our laptop and lo and behold, we found a reasonably priced hotel in none other than...

WOW! Amazingly, we found the Holiday Inn Express Hollywood which was a half-mile north of the Highland and Hollywood Avenue entertainment and retail complex as well as the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It turned out to be the second shortest commute of our trip.

Before I get into that, I should note that before checking into the hotel, we met up with a local cousin for lunch at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles nearby in Hollywood. Not unlike my pilgrimage to VIP Records in Long Beach (see my previous entry), this was another destination that I had been looking forward to crossing off my cultural bucket list. Not surprisingly, I ordered a "traditional" chicken and waffles platter - the "Scoe's #1", I believe - while Cathy ordered a house combo, forsaking the waffles in favor of some Southern-flavored sides.

Getting back to the hotel...most Holiday Inn related properties I have ever experienced have a uniformly standard appearance. However, we discovered during our cross-country trip that in some cases, there is some allowance for local expression, such as our stay at the Crowne Plaza in Lafayette, LA. (See earlier review.) However, if a Holiday Inn Express hotel could ever be described as “hip”, then their Hollywood  property would be it.

The lobby, while small, was warmly accommodating with a space carved out for sofa and large flat-screen TV. The contemporary soundtrack in the background was carried up into the hallways which, along with the modern carpet made for an unexpectedly trendy vibe.

The room itself was very comfortable and modern. We appreciated the cozy bed, the selection on the flat screen TV and excellent shower. And of course, Hollywood Boulevard was just a short walk away. It was an unusually surreal experience for us to be there as we arrived the day before Michael Jackson’s funeral.

Another surreal moment happened not long after our arrival. As we were flipping channels, we happened to land on Kathy Griffin's "D-List" show on Bravo. Not only did she name-check the hotel that we were staying in, we saw her walk through the exact same garage entrance we had come through. Talk about "art" imitating life!

The complimentary breakfast area, located on an upper floor instead of the tiny lobby, was almost as big as a cafeteria… and just as crowded. Arriving towards the end of mealtime, we considered ourselves lucked out to find a seat.

Overall, that was is a great property for those looking for a little glitz and a lot of consistency in the heart of Hollywood without breaking the bank.

I did a lot of exploring on Hollywood Boulevard as well as nearby Sunset Boulevard. Of course, it was interesting to see all of the commemorative stars along the sidewalk. There was a  lot of activity the Grauman Chinese Theatre. Besides various costumed characters posing for pictures with (for a generous tip), there was also a shrine of candles, drawings and fan photos built around Michael Jackson's star, with a huge crowd to match.

A bit off the tourist beat on Sunset Boulevard, the place I most enjoyed visiting was Amoeba Music, a incredible store with huge selection of pre-owned CDs and vinyl recordings. I ended up giving myself a workout with the haul that I brought back to the hotel.

Between the afternoon and the following early morning, I took so many pictures of the area that, just like the Los Angeles bus tour photos, they warrant their own blog entry.

States visited: still 11 but that is about to change.

The SOL Tour - Scenes from Los Angeles



A stroll along the "river" of Venice



Fitness buffs at Venice's Muscle Beach

Rodeo Drive

Johnny Depp's (in)famous Viper Room

A few views of the immense Walt Disney Concert Hall

Union Station

The SOL Tour - July 1-6

On this portion of the trip, Cathy and I arrived in Los Angeles for my family reunion. As those of you who recall the early logs may recall, Cathy and I are a visual study in contrasts. However, just as we were welcomed at Cathy's own family reunion, so were we by my own extended family.

 We stayed at the Hacienda Hotel in El Segundo, just south of LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). The decor reminded me of an off-Strip Vegas casino, which was ironic considering our imminent stay in Sin City.
The hotel lobby was actually very pretty. The inner courtyards were a nice touch, especially the one that included the outdoor heaters. The best feature of the hotel may have been its in-house coffee shop. The food was very good and the prices surprisingly reasonable for what I expected in the LA metro. The hotel staff in general was friendly although some knowledge of Spanish would have improved my communication with housekeeping.


As for the room itself, it was a mixed bag. It was a very tiny room, certainly not made for someone who planned to spend an abundance of time there. (That said, we visited the balcony rooms which were a little bigger.) The bed was a little soft for our tastes. They did have a decent selection of TV channels on the console.

Concerning transportation, while family members who flew in raved about the convenient and speedy shuttle from LAX, those who drove in found parking to be rather inconvenient for those who did not qualify (or arrive in time) for one of the accessible parking spaces.

We didn't venture out of the hotel much for most of our stay as we focused on getting (re)acquainted with family members. However, we did take one day to see Long Beach, touring the downtown area as well as making a pilgrimage to VIP Records, an iconic location for a Generation X hip-hop aficionado such as yours truly. (In case you visit, it should be noted that those who are accustomed or open to city environments would be most comfortable in the somewhat gritty neighborhood surrounding VIP Records.) The store also featured R&B and Gospel CD's as well as clothing merchandise reflecting the tastes of the local community.

On Sunday afternoon, I accompanied some family members on an bus tour that we arranged through the hotel concierge. This is where the bulk of our pictures on the Summer of Love tour were taken. So you won't be surprised that the collection merits its own blog.

States visited:11.

The SOL Tour - June 30-July 1

So after a relatively short ride through the Arizona and California desert, while skirting the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, we arrived midday at our next destination Palm Springs. After calling around a bit, we settled on the Extended Stay America Palm Springs. The room itself was as spacious as any other ESA property I've ever visited. In fact, the front desk agent told us that our room was recently renovated, which we noticed by its new carpet smell. Unfortunately, the bed itself was uncomfortably hard, the least appealing of our cross-country trip thus far. The location was a short car ride but lengthy walk (especially in the desert heat) to both the downtown area and the airport.

After spending the afternoon resting, I decided that I would take a walk towards the downtown area. Using the hotel's free wi-fi, I was able to discover through our laptop connection that the temperature just before I left at 9:00 pm was a stunning 97 degrees. When I cheerfully announced this news, my snow bunny companion turned over and went back to sleep.

The moonlit evening indeed did not bring as much relief as I would have thought. I also found it curious that there were stretches of undeveloped land without streetlights, which might make one feel uncomfortable but I never felt unsafe. Eventually I made it over to the Spa Resort Casino. After passing several Native American casinos in NM and AZ, this is the first one I actually stopped in. As casinos go, it was a decent property. If I had a gambling jones, I would have thrown a few coins or chips in. But I was more interested in satisfying my thirst, so I grabbed a drink before leaving to explore more of the town. When I went outside, I noticed that the actual hotel and spa was diagonally across the street from the casino.

Walking further north downtown, I started to notice by the name of some establishments as well as the clientele that I was apparently in the gay and lesbian-friendly district. I already knew that Palm Springs is popular with the LBGT community so this satisfied my curiosity of where the watering holes might be. Eventually, I found myself in the middle of a nice looking town center called Mercado Plaza. By now it was around 10:00pm and I was realizing that I had not eaten dinner. So I ended up choosing to nosh at a called Matchbox. It's an slightly trendy Italian restaurant on the second floor of the Plaza complex. Looking over the menu again, I believe I probably ordered the Bistro Burger. Between the nice views and hip downtempo electronica playing in the background, it was an enjoyably mellow meal.

Walking around a little more, I thought I had found a "shortcut" but somehow found myself getting lost instead and eventually ended up somewhere near the Spa Resort Casino again. I knew where I was going from there and made it back home by around midnight.

The next day, we had breakfast at a nearby IHOP before departing for the City of Angels.

States visited:11.

The SOL Tour - June 29-30

After departing Albuquerque, our next stop was in Arizona. We figured on getting at least as far as Flagstaff although I hoped to get closer to Phoenix to shorten our trip for the next day.

Still traversing our way across I-10, we stumbled on an unexpected find that Cathy wanted to explore: the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert.

After that tour, we continued onto I-10, arriving in the Flagstaff area early enough that we decided to push on south on I-17 towards Phoenix. "Thanks" to some unintended miscalculation from yours truly, it turns out that there weren't as many lodging options between Flagstaff and Phoenix as I had thought. Eventually we pulled into the Hampton Inn in Anthem which, we learned depending on who you ask, is either actually in Anthem or is considered part of Phoenix proper. The hotel appeared to be brand-new, as were the casual dining and retail options nearby. Our room was surprisingly comfortable and spacious. The complimentary breakfast on the following morning was the best I ever had at this level of property. We definitely lucked out on this place.

One more quirky note of interest as we dropped down south of Phoenix and went west onto I-10. We stopped for gas in a town called Quartzsite, which I kept wanting to call "Quart-size". In any case, it was definitely a tiny town.

States visited:10.

The SOL Tour - June 28-29

After surviving the "Amarillo Flood of 2009" from the previous evening, we set off for Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was excited about this stop as I was interested in viewing the surrounding landscape as well as sampling a bit of the laid-back culture.

As we headed northwest from Amarillo on I-40, the elevation began to rise rapidly into the foothills..and we even started to take pictures!

Somewhere near the Texas/New Mexico border.

!Bienvenidos!

At this point, the mountains started to come into focus.

An early contender for Most Unique Named Town.

As we approached the city, we veered off from I-40 onto Central Avenue also known as part of the iconic Route 66. While on that road, we stopped to take some pictures of the University of New Mexico.

Our home for the night was the Monterey Non-Smokers Motel. It wasn't necessarily the easiest place to find. At one point, we realized we had past it by a couple miles. After making a U-turn, we almost missed it again, until we saw the old-school signage.

Taken later that night.

Cathy looked on with concern as we approached this motel. assuming out loud that I had not yet made a reservation. In fact, I had already paid for the room a few weeks before, on the strength of the high ratings on a travelers' forum and the excellent value. That said, even I was even hesitant as I turned the key to my room... but my lady's faith in me - and my own in my fellow travelers - was well-rewarded.


Although Cathy described the decor as "visiting her Grandma's house", our room was rather accomodating. The bed was comfortable, the TV had a surprisingly high number of channels and the showerhead was the best we had experienced thus far on our cross-country trek. We spent the evening watching the BET Music Awards which had become an impromptu tribute to Michael Jackson.

The next day, we explored Old Town Albuquerque, an intentionally walkable if kitschy plaza of restaurants and gift shops.

From Old Town, we were on our way back onto I-40. We noted an unexpected gathering of Native American-owned casinos along the route.We were even more surprised  when we realized we were passing over the Continental Divide.

Here's some of the better mountain views as we approached the state of our next overnighter: Arizona.

                    

                

States visited:9.

The SOL Tour - June 27-28

After saying farewell to Cathy's family for the second time in the same trip, our next goal was to get to Amarillo, which we figured would be a good stopping point on our way to Albuqerque. The only particular attraction that we had ambition to see was the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the "free" 72oz. steak (provided that you finish both the entree and the sides in less than one hour...or else you're out $72.00). But only a couple hours into our ride, we could not overcome our hankering for Texas beef. So, we stopped at the Armadillo Grill (sorry, no website) in Bowie, Texas. It definitely fit the bill of a protypical roadside cafe. Cathy recalls enjoying her chicken-fried steak. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what I had...but I'm pretty sure it was steak...and I'm pretty sure l liked it!

Clouds started to form as we continued our trek and,  as we were approaching Amarillo in the early evening, it started to rain. Let me rephrase that: it started to rain cats, dogs, armadillo, buffalo, lions, tigers and bears.

OH MY!!!

By now, we were traveling on I-30 and searching for a comfortable-looking hotel. Through the downpour, we could barely makeout the Big Texan Restaurant...and its packed parking lot of evening diners. About a minute after that, the storm became so fierce that we basically had to pull in the first place we saw - a Comfort Inn, if I recall, and hope that they were not sold out. The good news is that there was indeed room at the inn. The bad news was that we had to leave the hotel canopy and park the car in the torrential rain.

When we turned on the news later, we discovered that I-30 was essentially flooded out. So we got there not a moment too soon. It was so bad that it took a pizza deliverer over an hour and a half to reach us. We tipped him generously for his effort.

The sun was shining through clear blue skies the next morning as we enjoyed our hotel-provided breakfast before heading off to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

States visited: still 8. Needless to say, Texas is HUGE!