Progress on Demo...

Achieving more breathing space for our quaint pool area in the back.

Were you there?

...This past Saturday was the Dia de Los Muertos festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There were plenty of beautiful altars and 3 stages with great entertainment. This is an event you should try to attend if you have never experienced it, part of our Los Angeles culture that takes root from Mexico tradition.

Who knew?

...There is an HMS Bounty still sailing the seas (the namesake of the bar/restaurant inside the Gaylord). Let's put our good thoughts out there for the 2 still missing from the ship, in the Atlantic, due to Hurricane Sandy. Let's also hope the ship will survive the storm.

Demo to Begin...

This Thursday and Friday, we will be removing the vacant back office and back storage room of the EyeMax store, that overlook our pool area, to reveal & restore some of the original architectural details of the Gaylord. Don't worry folks, even though the pool is not original to the Gaylord, we will not replace it with the original grass lawn.

Also....

... Featured in the LA Weekly's 'Best of LA' issue, our very own Edgar! His video game shop 'World 8' was awarded 'Best Video Game Store.' The store has been open for over a year now and seems to be a popular spot for the gamers. The building the store is in, on South Vermont, is cool itself (an old gas station). Stop by, visit, congratulate Edgar and say "hi!"

World 8, 1057 S. Vermont Ave.

HMS Bounty Dubious Acclaim...

In this years LA Weekly 'Best of L.A.' issue on newsstands now, the Bounty receives notoriety for 'Best Bar Bathroom'... amusing. I would say it relies more on the adventure to get to the men's bathroom than the actual ambiance of the facility. If I had my druthers I would redo both the ladies & men's restrooms to make them a bit more posh and stately... say a better representation for the Gaylord.

Mission Hopping...

This past Saturday, the mister and I went and visited a couple of missions. The two missions we visited are part of California's historical past from the late 18th century. Beautiful, old structures that played a significant role in the early European (Spanish) settlements of the western United States.

With the day starting late, we headed to the San Fernando Mission first (the altar pictured above is from the San Fernando Mission). The surprise here was coming across the final resting grounds for Bob & Delores Hope in a small, sweet garden behind the chapel... a bit of Hollywood history. Leaving San Fernando, we headed west on the 118 freeway and hit the back roads to meander up to Ventura, where we stopped to visit the San Buenaventura Mission on Main Street. Being in the heart of downtown Ventura, what is left of this mission is much smaller than the others but still worth visiting. Afterwards, we went and had an early and delicious dinner at Capriccio, also on Main Street, which left us time to go up to Grant Memorial Park to watch the sunset. Grant Memorial Park sits on the hill just above the city of Ventura and gives you a great vantage point to view the sunset over the Pacific.

The original plan was to start early enough in the day where we could begin with the mission in San Juan Capistrano and visit the three, which is do-able, OR finish at the mission in Santa Barbara (a gorgeous mission with lovely grounds). This is just one of many day trips you can take from your home here at the Gaylord to explore the wonderful southern California region.