Category: Memory Keeping

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, Museums, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Athens and the Acropolis

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: A MARVELOUS DAY OF TOURING

Let the fun begin! We’d arrived in our first Port of Call and it was almost a perfect day. Come along and enjoy it with us.

Getting with the Routine

We needed to board our tour bus at 8:15, so I was up at six. I woke Bill an hour later. Then we navigated to the World Cafe Buffet for breakfast. The room was quite crowded, but we got our food and found a place to sit. The scenery as you can see above was out of this world. Left to his own devices, Bill would have spent the morning making the most of the buffet and taking photos. I encouraged him not to linger over breakfast and allowed him to take one photo, but then it was time to go to the bus.

The buses were close to the gangway and we knew right away we were going to love our guide, Maria. We were on our way, right on time through Piraeus Harbor, you see above. The streets of Athens were empty, but it was a Sunday morning, so we sat back and enjoyed what Maria had to say.

Up, Up and UP!

Before you could say Aristotle Onassis, we were being ushered out of the bus. We began our climb up the Acropolis. I’d been warned it was a treacherous climb, but I actually found it quite easy.

We climbed up one set of stairs to a big plaza. Maria talked a little bit about potty breaks and what to expect next. Then we headed up a series of terraced steps to another plaza. This was the last toilet facility for a while, so Maria gave us time to use the facilities, which I did not need. Bill was busy taking photos and I was enchanted by all the cats.

Soon Maria was gathering us all up again and we headed up another set of stairs and headed off to the ruins where a more ancient series of steps waited for us. This was the real beginning of the tour and where the Athenians themselves once entered the Acropolis to worship their Gods.

These steps were a little more treacherous than the others were, but there were hand rails and it was no trouble. At the top, was the Parthenon and Maria gave us the info we needed to appreciate what we were seeing. Then she sort of set us loose to enjoy the Acropolis at our leisure and told us to meet her back at Older Temple of Athena at a certain time.

I’m saying all this very matter-of-fact, but for me it was a bit surreal. Just the day before I had been battling the vagaries of modern air travel and here I was walking where the greats of history walked. And not just people from the early days of Athens, but all the luminaries of history, including the Romans, Turks and others who had visited this spot. It was a little unreal.

We enjoyed the photo opportunities and eventually Maria gathered all of us to walk us around the Older Temple of Athena. She told us about the Carytid Statues which held up the roof of the porch and walked around to the spot where Athena planted the first olive tree for Athens, winning the city over to herself, rather than the mighty Neptune. It was a giddy experience.

Escaping Through a Back Entrance

Maria led us to an exit which was much more humble than the Grand Propylaea which had led us to the Parthenon. As we headed down, she pointed out sites which I actually found more interesting than those atop the Acropolis, because they were unknown to me. I began to understand even more clearly why the Acropolis had been so important to the ancient Greeks.

On to the Acropolis Museum

Our next stop was spectacular. We were standing in front of the Acropolis Museum. As they dug down to build the foundation of the museum, they discovered fantastic archeological sites. Instead of destroying the ruins or abandoning the museum, they came up with a wonderful compromise which allowed both to co-exist. Archeologists still explore the ruins, while busload after busload of tourists enjoy the museum. At the entrance of the museum, you can see down into the ruins and at several spots within the museum, plexiglass floors allow you to peer into the past.

That is if you look down and it is hard to take the time to do so, because everything around you is so amazing. These are the real treasures of the Acropolis. What you see up the hill are wonderful replicas, which keep the actual treasures safe from the elements. I could use up all my superlatives and still not describe the excitement I felt to see these wonderful artifacts.

We wandered with wonder through gallery after gallery and eventually ended up in the gallery for the Elgin Marbles. There Maria told us the trick Lord Elgin had played on the Sultan in Istanbul, which landed these glorious statues in the British Museum. As a reverse of the other exhibits, these were the fakes and Britain is holding the real artifacts hostage. The nations disagree over the details, but the Greeks hope that someday the real Elgin Marbles will make their way back to Athens. I sort of agree with the Greeks. This is the home of the Elgin Marbles.

Back to the Ship

We’d done a lot of touring in a very short time. For five hours we’d enjoyed the best of Ancient Athens. Now it was time to enjoy the very best of cruising with Viking.

Come back next week and peek into our afternoon aboard the Viking Vela.

Accommodations, ART, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, Performing Arts, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

Our Luxurious Life Aboard Viking Vela

Jane Sadek

Making Memories: Afternoon Delights on the Vela

After a long morning of touring, it was time to enjoy the luxuries afforded us aboard Viking’s Vela, one of their ocean-going ships. We’ve got a lot to enjoy by bedtime, so come along!

A Smorgasbord of Delight

Our first stop after the Athenian shore excursion was the World Cafe. We were already getting a little tired of the buffet, but at that time of the day, it was pretty much the only choice we knew about. Before our time aboard was over, we’d find lots of places to eat, but we were just hours into our cruise.

While I’d had no trouble being gluten free at dinner the night before or during our breakfast that morning, lunch was more sandwichy and therefore not as gf-friendly as the other meals had been. I got by, but my choices were more limited.

Next up, we enjoyed a tour of the ship, led by one of the crew. We were shown lots of nooks and crannies we would not have found on our own. We learned a lot about Viking, even though we were already big fans. The gym was very nice and the spa – oh my! That we loved!!

Upsetting News from Home

After the tour, we went back to our cabin to relax a little and get ready for an evening of fun. I posted a few photos from our day in Athens and one of the comments was a request by our next door neighbor to give her a call when we could.

Now Sherry is just about the best neighbor anyone could hope for. As a bonus she loves all cats and especially our Rascal, so she actually thought is was a treat to be his caretaker while we were gone. We were enjoying our Sunday afternoon, but in Dallas, it was time for Sherry to head to church. Instead she was in our house, distraught, because Rascal was missing.

He hadn’t shown up for his Saturday evening feeding, but she saw he’d scarfed up his lunch and he is a cat, so while Sherry was sorry she didn’t get the opportunity to play with the little fellow, she assumed he was fine. When she came to feed him breakfast, he hadn’t touched his food all night long. So something was wrong.

Now we love our cat, but Sherry was inconsolable. We kept assuring her that he was most likely somewhere in the house and whatever had happened good or bad, we knew it wasn’t her fault. Rascal is named Rascal for a reason. Another cat loving friend was going to join her after church and they were going to go through the house we a fine tooth comb. I kept assuring her we were concerned, but not upset and that whatever it was, we trusted her to handle it.

What do you do when you’re on the other side of the world and your cat is missing. I prayed and Bill took a look at all the security footage to be sure Rascal had not slipped out behind Sherry. I texted a few friends to get a little more prayer support. Bill and I acknowledged that there was nothing else we could do and we weren’t going to let this ruin our evening. Since we had proof Rascal had not slipped out of the house, he was somewhere and they’d find him.

Putting on a Brave Front

After resolving to enjoy our evening the best we could, we went to the historical lecture offered by Viking covering Scientific and Technological innovations by the Greeks. Somehow the lecturer managed to make this otherwise interesting subject a real bore. Bill enjoyed it though, while I snoozed.

Next up was dinner. Somehow Bill managed to get into The Restaurant, even though he had on jeans, probably his dinner jacket saved him. The meal was fun and delicious. At the next table was a couple from Tulsa and we chatted with them a bit about our recent visit to their fair city. We also shared some vacation conversation. They obviously travel a whole lot more than we do and on a much grander scale, but they were perfectly delightful dinner companions.

From dinner we made our way back to the Theater, and this time the show was much more entertaining. The ship’s troupe performed the ABBA songbook with marvelous costumes and choreography. Their voices were great and we sang along with every word. What a great way to kick off the cruise!

Even better, as we stood for the final ovation, my silenced phone buzzed in my hand and Rascal had been found. He’d somehow managed to get into the upstairs guestroom and while he was there, the door closed behind him. Our doors have handles instead of knobs, so we’re not surprised he figured out how to get in. We’d wondered how long it would take for him to discover he could do this. The experience was a tough lesson for him though and we have had no repeat incidents.

That night, the Vela made its way to Crete while we slept the sleep of very relieved cat parents. Crete came with its own set of problems. Join us next week as we navigate them.

Accommodations, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, TRAVEL, Travel Planning

On Our Way to Greece & Turkey Part One

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: BIG TIME BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS

While some people have their vacation dreams all planned out and can tell you when they intend to see each item on their bucket list, I have a hard time getting Bill to plan the next vacation, much less something years down the road. I do know people who have cruises booked years in advance. I spend a lot of my time trying to interest Bill in our next adventure and showing him various deals to sweeten the pot, but I sincerely think he hears none of it.

We came home from a Newcomers Event last year and Bill tells me about this great cruise someone took to Greece and Turkey. The next day we got a postcard for Viking with an “airfare included” deal on the same cruise. Within days our cruise was booked. I guess I’m going to have to start planting folks along Bill’s path to tempt him into trips, because I’m not having luck otherwise. Come along and let’s head to an idyll on the Aegean!

AIRFARE INCLUDED!

Airfare is a big hurdle in our travel planning. It costs so much money, it takes so much time and there’s nothing fun about it. You juggle suitcases for weeks, hoping to find a combination of bags to fit the various requirements of each carrier. Then you have all the airport headaches the airlines throw at you.

When you’re paying for your own airfare you have a little more control over things, but when you turn your fate over to the cruise line, there’s no telling what can happen. In this particular case, Viking thought a layover in Newark was the right way to kick off our trip to Athens. The next leg took us to Frankfurt and finally we would fly on to Athens. I get leg cramps just thinking about it.

FIRST LEG – DFW TO NEWARK LIBERTY

Things went pretty smoothly on the first leg of our trip, until we tried to get luggage tags. We left the house on time and then realized neither of us had thought to get cash. Thankfully a branch of our bank was right on the way. The Parking Spot makes dropping off your car and getting to the terminal easy. The first real hurdle was checking in our luggage. I’d checked us in online, even got them to check our carry-ons for free, but somehow one of our bags was missing from our luggage list and it wasn’t clear to me which buttons I needed to push to correct the error.

This is what I hate about this DIY internet world. There was a time when my travel agent delivered my airline tickets and all I’d have to do is show up for my flight. I’d drop my bag off at the curb and be done with it. Now even when someone else arranges your ticket, you have to play the online check-in game, which in my eyes is useless, because then you have to go do battle with the kiosk at the airport AND then you still have to deal with a person to hand over your luggage.

So, I’m standing there frustrated and frantic, imagining my luggage taking a different vacation than I do and up walks this self-consumed airline employee. Now then let me start by saying, in situations like this I should remain calm, so I am at fault for being so wound up, but this lady walked up and threw the chip on her shoulder at me before I even knew she was standing there! She certainly had no empathy at all for my panic. I was still in full freak out, trying to sort through it all, when this lady butts in and lets me know I am not being very respectful of her.

Respectful?!? I didn’t even know she was there and she was schooling me about respect. That’s today’s world – safe spaces and ribbons for participation, but zero empathy. Hello – I don’t care if you are green, blue or purple. I don’t care about your gender, religion or sexual preferences. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing tattoos, a hajib or a bone in your hair. I just want tags for all my bags. (We didn’t have this conversation. I immediately went into apology mode, but I was thinking this!)

You know what’s next. As soon as she finishes scolding me for my behavior, she throws herself in reverse. She is moving at the speed of a sloth. She piddles around looking at each bag, each tag and the computer screen as if she’s made the next important archeological discovery and doesn’t want to disturb a grain of sand until she’s documented it all. She doesn’t listen to what I’m asking for, at all, but is very careful to point out a mistake we’ve made attaching the tags. The world was probably going to end because Bill’s bags had one of my tags. When she talks to me, it’s in the tone you’d use with a preschooler. If they are teaching this method of dealing with panic to our airline customer service people, no wonder the flights these days are full of crazed people.

I am convinced this woman follows me around. I know she was there as we waited for the flight to our anniversary cruise, She strolled over to me and insisted the carryon with my wedding gown was oversized. I knew it wasn’t, because I had measured it a thousand times, but she took delight in terrifying me. She’s there on the phone when I’ve been frustrated beyond all sanity with phone trees and call transfers. She waits on me in stores to pounce when what I’m having trouble finding what I need. Do you get her in situations like this, too?

I spent my life in customer service, back when you treated people like customers and provided service, You gauged their level of frustration and put your personal feelings on hold. You listened to their words. You didn’t shush them up before you had time to figure out the problem! And you made sure they understood you cared about them and you certainly didn’t threaten to keep them from getting on the plane! I want so much to go back to those days. Where can I get a ticket to go there?

Eventually this woman, who’d stretched a 45 second operation on the kiosk to a five minute confrontation decided to release me from her punishment – until next time. We go to another human to turn in our bags and I guess I behaved, because I got no more lectures. There was actually a time when I looked forward to flying, but that was a long time ago.

Our time at DFW was otherwise uneventful. We waited the requisite three hours for international travel, claimed our seats and went on to Newark.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Memory Keeping, Museums, TRAVEL, United States

Philbrook Art Museum & Gardens

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: A SPOOKY NIGHTTIME TOUR AT THE PHILBROOK

Welcome along on our long weekend visit to Tulsa. During the early hours of Friday we visited the sights of Woodward Park and had lunch at the Wildflower Cafe. After Bill’s nap (what would a vacation be without naps) we took off for the Philbrook. It was a little rainy and dark to enjoy the gardens, but we enjoyed the time in the museum. Come along!

PHILBOO!

We did not wake up one morning and say, “Let’s go to Tulsa for Halloween!” Halloween is not a big deal at our house and that just happened to be the weekend we didn’t have other commitments. In fact, Philboo, the museum’s Halloween event, was a bit of an inconvenience, because a museum or garden filled with screeching, running kids in costumes sounds like a bit of a nightmare to us.

My plan had been to go from the Sneedon Mansion to the Philbrook, see the garden that afternoon and enjoy the museum that evening, because the museum was supposed to belong to the kids Saturday. I didn’t realize we’d spend such a significant and wonderful time at Woodward Park attractions and then have naptime, but that’s how it played out.

I have no complaints about our visit to the Museum, but the bad weather made seeing the gardens a bit of a challenge. Friday night was Philboo for adults. Lots of costumed patrons, but no screeching and running, so it was no problem. Not your normal night at the museum, but nothing disruptive. We had a leisurely time enjoying the galleries of the museum and checking out the gift store.

THE MANSION & MUSEUM

The Phillips Mansion is gorgeous – yes, Phillips like the gasoline, but not the Phillips 66 brothers. Waite was an oilman, but he went a different direction than Frank and L.E., his older brothers. Doesn’t sound to me as if there were any losers. All the brothers did well, but Waite was a quieter, more behinds the scenes entrepreneur and perhaps the more successful. Certainly the more philanthropic. He built his mansion, lived there filling it with treasures for a while and then gave it and the art to the city of Tulsa.

Though there’s lots of nice pieces in the Philbrook, for me there were no showstoppers – pieces or artists I went specifically to see, or pieces that moved me spectacularly once I was there. For me, it was the mansion itself which was the real draw. Above is a sampling of the walls’ offerings, thanks to photos made by Bill.

THE GARDENS

During our Friday night visit, it was cold, wet and dark in the gardens. You could step out on the terrace, but there was not sufficient lighting to be able to see what the gardens held. I despaired of ever getting to see them, but I didn’t know exactly what to do about it.

Saturday was given over to the Art Deco Tour of Downtown, which I’ll tell you about next week. It was also the height of Philboo, so as much as I wanted to see it, I didn’t even suggest it.

Our flight back to Dallas was not until 2 on Sunday, but that meant we needed to get to the airport by noon. Bill’s not much for getting up early on vacation without a specific reason and didn’t know whether or not he’d think the Gardens were specific enough of a reason, but he got in gear on Sunday morning and off we went.

As a patron of the Dallas Arboretum I’m used to a garden that takes hours to see. I knew the Philbrook Gardens were less extensive. I think we arrived with about 45 minutes to spare and that turned out to be more than enough, because the gardens are much more compact. Unfortunately, the price was steep, at least compared to the $5 per person admittance we’d had on Friday night. We paid twenty each for our Sunday visit, because that’s the price. There’s no, I-just-want-the-gardens price or even a senior discount.

But it was worth it. You start just outside the mansion on a balcony and stroll down immaculate terraced gardens to a fountain. After the fountain is a pond surrounded by more haphazard gardening.

Then there’s the park like setting with the folly. Very Thomas Kincaid-ish.

The terraces, the pond and the folly are the main attractions and going back up to the balcony is as delightful as walking down the terraces to the folly.

There’s a kind of side garden with a pool and bathroom facilities, where I think they have concerts and events. As you can see, the weather was not great, but at least it was not pouring rain. We saw the gardens and I was happy.

So, that covers the Philmont Art Museum and the Gardens. I was not blown away by the art, but I think you should plan on seeing this place. It’s wonderful. Come back next week and we’ll go on a great tour of Downtown architecture.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

So What Exactly is a White Coat Ceremony

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: SO PROUD OF OUR GRANDNEPHEW

In the medical field, when I student gets to the point where they will be dealing directly with patients, they get their white coats. They’ve been trained enough to deal with people, but they aren’t trained enough to handle them alone. Our Grandnephew Karim, had reached that point and this proud Great Aunt & Great Uncle were invited to the ceremony. Come along and hang with the fam!

Multiple Milestones to Celebrate

Two of our grand nephews live in the Phoenix area and with Karim’s ceremony to attend the family came in from LA, Dallas and the Detroit area. But Karim was not the only celebrant. There were several family birthdays also, Bill’s sister Mona, his grand nephew Fady (Karim’s big brother) and grand nephew Adam. Adam is the youngest member of the family and it was his first birthday. So, you can imagine we wanted to have lots of fun.

Fady found a restaurant at Papago Golf Course called, Lou’s Bar & Grill, where we could all meet. The food was mediocre, but the company was great. It was impossible for darling Adam not to be the star of the show. I’d love to show him to you, but his parents don’t want him on social media, so you’ll just have to trust me.

Then the Party was Over

I have to be gluten free in all of my food choices. I’m quite serious about it, because if I’m not, I get sick. I thought I had followed the GF p’s & q’s at Lou’s, but then I started having stomach issues. I won’t bore you with the details, but eventually it meant we had to leave. I got a little respite in the car and then when we got to our hotel, I was in severe pain.

I went almost immediately to bed, even though it was still quite early. I woke up a few hours later and unpacked my bags. It was all of 9:30 PM, but 11:30 Texas time. I went back to bed in a bit and at 11 PM, realized I’d failed to put in my retainers. I put them in and went back to sleep until my usual wakeup time – 5 AM. Thankfully, but then I felt fine.

Our Accommodations

We stayed at the the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. I can tell you the resort was not at its peak, but suited our needs just fine. In fact, in our room, the bedroom was separated from everything else, so it was easy for me to get up early and not interrupt Bill’s beauty sleep.

At one time, I’m sure this was a great vacation resort, but those days had passed. The food venues were either closed or mediocre. Some of the pools were closed and others needed maintenance. Frankly, everything was run down – but it was clean and it was quiet, and it had been a real bargain. There was even a water park and some other amusements. We availed ourselves of the lazy river at the water park and truly enjoyed it, in spite of it not being in top condition.

So, if location and price mean more to you than other considerations, these accommodations might be just what you need. If you’re expecting a resort atmosphere, don’t book this.

The White Coat Ceremony

Confession, I goofed up. We did not get an official printed invitation to the ceremony. We just talked to his mom and told her we were coming. I googled dental schools in Phoenix and found Arizona School of Dentistry and went with that. As we drove towards the ceremony, I got this strange feeling we were going to the wrong place. We’d chosen the hotel because it was close to where his mother told us the ceremony would be – but she hadn’t told us the name of the school – and the GPS was not taking us in that direction.

I had a little meltdown, made several calls to family members and headed towards Midwestern University, which was Karim’s school, but it was not my finest moment in travel or family relations. I felt like an idiot and the pretended I wasn’t , but I had done something idiotic!

The ceremony was wonderful. Karim was so glad we’d come and the school did a great job on the official part of things. After the ceremony we got to visit the lab where Karim was learning his trade. It was great to see how well loved and admired he was. He’s amazing!

Post Ceremony Family Time

I’d been off that morning. Bill had his turn that afternoon. At his request I’d made reservations for the tour of a historic home. Then he got with his family and totally forgot we had the reservations. He’d been all for trading snacks for dinner, but then I had to remind him of what else we had planned. When he got his brain back, we made plans for breakfast the next morning and headed off for our next adventure.

Come back next week and join us at Wrigley Mansion.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Museums, Music, Performing Arts, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix AZ

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: MY NEW FAVORITE MUSEUM

My great nephew in dental school invited us to his white coat ceremony. I wasn’t sure what that was, but it was in Phoenix, so I was ready to go. Come along and discover my new favorite museum!

A Challenging Morning

We had crazy time getting on our flight: missed the exit for the Parking Spot, wrong turn once in the Parking Spot lot, told the shuttle driver the wrong gate, then boarding pass printed the night before said one thing, the airline app said something else and the board in the terminal said something else entirely. Then we asked a airline employee who sent us to another terminal via Sky Link. That’s all before we boarded the flight.

Then on the ground in Phoenix, the car we got shook like it was coming apart, before we got out of the airport, so we had to go back and exchange it. By then we were starving, so we went to an IHOP. Our waiter was on the autism spectrum. Now I’m thrilled IHOP had hired him and he really did a good job, but communicating with him was a little challenging. When you’re already frazzled, that takes an extra level of concentration and my concentrator was broken.

Bill’s problem was completely different. He ordered strawberry pancakes, expecting big fluffy pancakes with fresh strawberries. He forgot he was at IHOP, but he was crestfallen when the pancakes arrived with frozen strawberries on top.

A Wonderful Museum

After all our tales of woe, one might think we were on a losing streak, but I struck gold when I took us to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). It fell on my radar the last time we’d visited Phoenix/Scottsdale, back in 2020, but try as I might, I couldn’t get Bill interested. This time I didn’t give him the chance to nay say it. I just said that was where we were headed.

What an amazing place! The MIM figured out how to make technology work in a museum. As you may remember several posts back, I’d panned the use of technology by the Seattle Art Museum which made enjoying their porcelain collection impossible. I was wary when the MIM receptionist gave us headsets and told us not to worry, because they’d come on automatically when we neared a display. He was right.

In the first gallery I saw all the icons I’d wished for when we were visiting MOPOP a few months before. It’s like someone had looked into my personal catalog of musical greats and chose the stars they’d highlight in the their museum. Well, some of them were not my favorites, but they were my dad’s and I stood there with tears in my eyes wishing he could be there with me.

Here’s how it worked. If you looked at a display case from afar, you could see the display with costumes, instruments and such. You knew who you were going to enjoy. Then, when you stepped up closer, an audio recording would play, filling you in on the details of the display and video recordings would show on various screens. Step away and they’d quit. It was phenomenal. I had a great time – and that was just the first gallery!

The next gallery was a hands on exhibit allowing visitors to play many different kinds of instruments – mostly percussion. Mr. Bill loved it and we spent a good amount of time there.

The balance of the museum might be the best part. They’ve divided the world up into various sections and whole galleries are devoted to the music of the different regions. Oh my goodness! There were gorgeous costumes from all over the world. Videos of folk dances or notable entertainers from an area. And the instruments. How wonderful! Various areas of the world have instruments I’d never dreamed of. It was one thing to look at them, another to hear how they sounded and something else completely to see a video of beautifully costumed dancers performing to music played on the instrument. I was in heaven.

For me, being cut off from the rest of the world with the headphones allowed me to be fully immersed in the experience. I was tapping my toes, snapping my fingers and clapping my hands. I might have even broken into dancing a few times. Did I mention this was a wonderful museum.

Having visited all the displays of the various countries we started visiting other galleries, devoted to specific instruments, like the piano or guitar. These galleries probably deserved just as much of my attention, but we’d pulled out of our garage about 4 AM that morning and the two hour time difference were telling on me. Besides, we had a family gathering to attend.

Here’s another spread from my photo book:

Please, please, please visit this museum if you are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I’ll e going back every time I’m in the area. Now plan of coming back next week and I’ll share some highlights from our family time.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Museums, Photography, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Petersen Automotive Museum

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: I LOVE CARS

The Grand Finale

As I’ve mentioned, I didn’t do much in the way of research for this trip. Nephew was supposed to cover LA, Lizbet planned Huntington Beach, we know the Central Coast and Bill found Casa de Herrero. All I can really take credit for is bringing the glue that turned all of these disparate things into a vacation.

Petersen Automotive Museum was not anybody’s list, but we passed it when we were leaving LACMA and I made a mental note of it. When we decided to go, I just put LACMA in the GPS and looked for the place I saw across the street. We spent more time in the car museum than we did in the art museum! It was one of our favorite things of all the new places we visited.

If you don’t love cars, then this is not the place to go. That’s all there is: cars, cars and more cars, with a few motorcycles thrown in for good measure – floor after floor of cars. They tell you to take the elevator to the top and then work your way down.

My favorite part was this section of the museum. Here’s some of the cars they had. Yes, I do keep showing you various shots of Steve McQueen’s sports car, but it’s only a fraction of what I have.

This car museum spoiled me forever. In a few months time I would go to another famous car museum, but all I could thing of was how inferior it was to this one.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Eventually we had to leave the car museum. Perhaps I should have covered it in more detail, but there were cars, lots of cars and then some more cars. It was heaven.

After some fast food it was back to the car rental place and then onto the airport via a shuttle. (We used Fox.) The weather was glorious all the time we were in California, but the story was different back at home. North Texas had been caught up in the annual freeze over for most of the time we were gone, which was odd, because we used to have one snow day a year and that was it.

We enjoyed the final day in LA. Our flight left LAX a little before 7, but the time difference was against us and it was midnight before we crawled off the plane. Thankfully, the flight was to Love Field, because things are much closer together and our car is always just across the street. We don’t have to wait for a parking shuttle.

Remember the cold weather? Well, Bill had me stay in the building and went to get the car. What a gentleman! But he was soon back without the car. It wouldn’t start. We feared we’d be sleeping in the terminal, but Bill called some emergency number posted in the garage and it was no time at all until a guy showed up and jumped a start.

We made our way home and went to bed. Directly to bed!

Before I move on, I’ll share a few more of my favorite cars with my photobook pages.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Memory Keeping, Photography, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Back to LA

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: GREYSTONE MANSION

Too Many Sad Stories

I go to a lot of historical homes and palaces. One thing most of them have in common is sad stories. He built the home for the love of his life and she died shortly after it was finished. They built their dream house, but were then bankrupt. He never finished his castle, because he committed suicide. The bought the house, did extensive remodeling for their coming child, then the mother and child both died in childbirth. I’m just drawing these out of the air, but each one probably has at least five places I’ve been that would fit the story. It’s rare to find a happily-ever-after house.

Greystone Mansion is no different. “On the night of February 16, 1929, only five months after the family had moved in, Ned Doheny was found shot to death inside the home, at the age of 35 and the victim of an apparent murder-suicide perpetrated by his longtime personal friend and aid Hugh Plunkett,” says beverlyhills.org.

You are welcome to enjoy the grounds, but the interior is off limits. The facility is frequently used for grand affairs and as a location for filming movies, TV shows etc., but most of the time it just sits there sad and empty. There is a tour of the interior every first weekend, but that’s not when we were there.

All the signs say photography is not allowed, but then no one is there to stop you and we ran into some people scouting it as a filming location and they offered to take our picture for us, so if you go, snap away. I do believe what they say about filming, because just a few days after we got home, I saw a TV show where the characters were standing under the lamp in the photo above.

Here’s what the mansion looks like.

From the mansion, we drove around Beverly Hills a bit. We thoroughly enjoy looking at rich people’s stuff. Then we returned to our nephew’s house for the evening and had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was supposed to be historical, but it was really just dirty and old and the food was awful.

The vacation was winding down. We’d be flying back the next day, but I had one more trick up my sleeve and it turned into one of the things we enjoyed most of the whole vacation.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Food, Drink & Accommodations Around Santa Barbara

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: STRETCHING OUR BUDGET

Dinner in Downtown Santa Barbara

After the Casa de Herrero tour was over, we were hungry, but the time of the tour had landed us right in that dead zone between lunch and dinner. We drove to Santa Barbara, found some parking and walked over the State Street. When you live on the Central Coast, Santa Barbara is the big city or at least the biggest city in striking distance, so we’d been there many time during our six year sojourn and we made it point to visit whenever we returned.

State Street is the main drag and there are many choices of restaurants, but most of them can be a little pricey. We walked up and down, visited a few shops and then Bill decided on Pizza. Mizza was a satisfying choice gastronomically, but the service could have been better.

On to Carpinteria

We have a secret when we visit Santa Barbara. We stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Carpinteria . The price is right and it has everything we need. I did a great job describing it last time, so there’s no need reiterating it.

The next day in Santa Barbara was just what it was supposed to be, a chance to decompress before heading back to LA and then back home. We hung around the beachside area and Stern’s Wharf, enjoyed an art show, stopped by the mission, drove around the hills and saw an open house, had lunch at someplace called the Fish House. It was nice, if not spectacular.

Our favorite part of the day was back in Carpinteria. It was about sundown when we rolled into town and I saw a sign pointing towards Carpinteria Beach. We headed that way and found much of the population of Carpinteria making the most of a Sunday twilight.

We spent a good amount of time there, enjoying the people as much as we did the beach. Back in the room, there was a little reorganizing and packing. Bill had some work he needed to do and I did some crosswords. Exciting, right?

Here’s the page I created to remember Carpinteria Beach by.

Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

New Sizes for Wall Art

Jane Sadek

MEMORY SHARING: CANVAS PRINTS & METAL PANELS IN NEW SIZES

Two Ways to Share the Love in Many Sizes

If you’d like to take your images out into the world, then FOREVER has two ways to hang them on the wall and a variety of sizes to choose from. Whether it’s for your wall, a gift for others or even for your business, FOREVER can take care of you.

You can create wall art on Canvas Prints or Metal Panels and if you prefer something for a counter or desk, then FOREVER also has Table Top Panels.

Canvas Prints

Canvas Prints give you a lot of variety. Whether you want one standout portrait for a wall, a collage of photos on a canvas or a collage of canvases, this can all be achieved with these versatile wall pieces. These examples happen to have people in them, but pets, hobbies and encouraging and inspiring text can all be part of your personal creation.

These gorgeous, premium-quality, textured, museum-wrapped, satin-finished canvases are printed in archival quality ink. The 1.5 inch sides are printed and wrapped on four sides for a custom look and the satin finish cuts down on glare. A metal sawtooth hanger is already on the back for your convenience.

What’s more, they now come in nine different sizes, so you can let your imagination go wild. Squares like 8X8 and 12X12, as well as large format sizes like 24X36, 20X24 and 16X20 have been around for a long time. Now they are adding traditional photo sizes like 8X10, 11X14, and 20X30. Perhaps the most exciting is the new 12X36 that allows wonderful landscape shots, with or without people.

Metal Wall Panels

Though quality canvas has been the classic standard for a long, long time, metal wall panels could be what you are looking for if you are looking for brighter colors, a flat surface and a more modern feel.

FOREVER’s Metal Panels are created with premium Chromaluxe®. You’ll enjoy clean, crisp edges and a vibrant long-lasting finish. The glossy coating enhances color saturation and contrast while providing resistance to scratches, moisture and UV-induced fading. Your print will include Shadow mounting hardware for effortless installation and a sleek, floating appearance.

The popularity of these panels has caused FOREVER to expand the number of sizes these panels come in. From traditional 8X10 to large format 24X36, you’ve got five different choices, for single hanging images or collages.

Tabletop Panels

Showcase your favorite family photo, or landscape with tabletop panels. They feature an easel back, but they also have slots to hang them on the wall. The panels come in 5X7 and 8X10 and you can create them for a vertical or horizontal format. They’re made from 1/4″ thick durable high-gloss hardboard which is uv resistant and scratch-free, because of the Chromaluxe® coating.

And there’s something else! Use a dry erase pen and they become a write board! How cool is that!!

Whether you want to dress up your home or celebrate something special for someone else, this variety of wall and table top panels gives you plenty of ways to express yourself and show off your art. Whose going to get lucky on your list?