Celeb sightings...or not

Magnet #956 - Carmel Beach Club

I bought this magnet out in Carmel, during my Woman on her Own Roadtrip many years ago. I stopped in Carmel, and then I did the Pebble Beach drive (not knowing the significance of the golf course, at the time) before moving up the coast.

But I kid you not, I bought this one in a random grocery store somewhere in Carmel - the same grocery store that I was absolutely convinced that I'd run into Clint Eastwood with his shopping cart.

What? It could totally happen!

I know, it happens when you least expect it. Like today, while having Baked by Melissa mini-cupcakes (you must try, if you haven't) and coffee in Union Square Park, Hope Davis, the guy who played pipe-chewing Kinsey from Mad Men, and the other guy from Veronica's Closet all passed me in the space of an hour. That's also on top of seeing Gilbert Gottfried pushing a stroller in Chelsea this morning.

Mind you, who knows if any of the four were really whom I thought they were - knowing me, I was probably just playing a very good game of Celebrity Lookalikes.

The corner of What if and Maybe

Magnet #929 - Joy in Monterey

So the best thing about roadtrips is the time you get to spend with yourself, thinking about things. While you're singing at the top of your lungs, you have almost no choice but to follow your every train of thought, which lets you explore certain feelings, relive certain memories, rethink certain conversations, and in general, think about yourself.

Which sounds slightly selfish, I know, but ya'll know I'm right.

That Woman on her Roadtrip trip I took several years ago up and down the California coast was just one of those trips. (Especially since no one told me that you don't get radio signal along U.S. 1, and you have to recall every Disney song you ever knew.)

I was struggling with a crossroads of moving to California or staying an East Coast girl, staying in my advertising job or moving into entertainment marketing. And that's where I picked up this Monterey magnet, somewhere between the corner of What if and Maybe.

Today's been one of those days - even without a car, a roadtrip, or a CD (or 50).

The NY State Department of Labor has this long list of careers seminars to help those on the job hunt, and today I attended three of them. First, can I just say, yay for the DOL for trying to help us? Second, very helpful!

We went through three sessions - marketing yourself, networking, and then interviewing. And yes, a lot of it was common sense stuff, stuff that you can read on any website. But it's different when you're in a group of folks in the same situation, with someone completely objective assessing you and your skills.

Plus, the instructor was dynamic and engaging, and even better, gave me a lot to think about. Stuff that I know I'm supposed to be thinking about but have managed to avoid over the last three weeks roadtripping with my parents. But stuff that I can no longer ignore.

I can't wait to see where this crossroads leads!

Oh! And, in a show of how small this world truly, truly is. The instructor used to work at the same company I did...and knew at least one person that I know. Freaky!

Roooosebuuuuuud

Magnet #633 - Hearst Castle

So one of the classic movies that I've never been able to love is Citizen Kane. Mind you, I probably need to see it again by myself, but to be honest, I'm ok if it makes me the crazy one for not liking it.

Even so, that totally didn't stop me from making a special stop at the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument...commonly known as Hearst Castle, during my Woman on her Own Roadtrip several years ago. It was every bit as impressive as the movie, and the website, and the docus make it seem to be.

From the shuttle bus tour that takes you up there, to your choice of several tours to take once you get there, the place is just impressive. And beautiful.

You have to actually see it firsthand to believe it. I've done the east coast Biltmore, and I'm hard-pressed to choose which estate is more impressive. I'm thinking the Biltmore, just because well, it is the Vanderbilts, and because I just love the architecture of the Biltmore house. But, Hearst definitely gives the Vanderbilts a run for their money. Heh.

I love how Hearst Castle is not just one castle, but a whole compound of little houses. If by little, you mean the 8-bedroom house, the 6-bedroom house, the 4-bedroom house, and the so-big it's called Casa Grande, 38-bedroom house. 38. Rooms to sleep in. Plus? There's 61 one bathrooms on the whole estate! You could use a different bathroom for two months straight! Whoa.

And check out this guest list. I'm always enamoured of old-school Hollywood, and the thought of all of them hanging out here together is just fascinating to me. I love that they had their glitz and glamour out in the middle of nowhere atop a mountain. Awesome.

The art collection's to die for, the architecture is borrowed from all of Randolph Hearst's travels abroad, and the pools are kinda cool as well.

Definitely stop for a visit - the side trip's worth it. Apparently, I must go back - about four years ago, they built their superbig Visitors Center. Yes, I had to look up when that was, because the new website's pretty expansive, and they have virtual tours of the compound, but also the Visitors Center.

Dudes. they have virtual tours of the center. And the little shop! Not one cam, not two. But three webcams...in their little shop alone!!! Nice.

You can even see the magnets they have on sale. How cool. Seriously.

What?

Keep a song in your heart

Magnet #270 - The Lawrence Welk Show

Go ahead. Giggle. And snicker. You know you want to. It's ok. Really.

Some of my earliest memories back in Chicago, I must have been 4 or 5, are of me, running through the house looking for my church shoes, so that I could tap dance along with the tap dancer on The Lawrence Welk Show. No. I'd never had tap lessons. My parents and I used to watch this show together, while my dad hummed usually off-key and falsetto.

In case you've never had the pleasure, it's your basic musical variety show that started back in 1951, and is still running on PBS to this day. Quite impressive, since they haven't had a new episode in like decades. But, I think they still air it just to keep my dad happy, and to drive my mother insane.

A few years ago, on my Woman on Her Own Roadtrip through California, I was driving down some lonely highway, and I started seeing signs for Escondido. I knew the name, but didn't know why. I exited to get some gas, and then I saw signs for Champagne Boulevard, and at that point it struck me that I was at Lawrence Welk's place in Escondido. Seriously, I distinctly remember humming the theme song, as I made my way to the resort.

I drove onto the deserted lot - it was something like 9:30 or 10 in the morning, and nothing was open. So I explored a bit, taking pictures of the Welk Auditorium. There was a gift shop that hadn't opened yet. Dudes, of course, I was gonna wait for it to open. I was so excited I called my dad up in NC to tell him. He laughed his ass off at me for being there. But, really. How could I not?

Then the buses started to arrive. There I was, in a sea of blue-haired ladies and golf-shirted men, completely out of my demo. Again. The little Filipino girl, with an armful of all things Lawrence Welk for my parents.

That's ok, cuz I was totally loving every damn cheesy minute of it. And as I drove off toward San Diego, I could hear Lawrence Welk's sign-off in my head.

"See you next time, and until then, keep a song in your heart!"

Cue closing credits.

Who are those guys?*

Magnet #218 - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

A giant in the industry has passed. I woke up today to the very sad Paul Newman news. Man, will he be so missed. I loved that guy. I'm sure everyone else will do fitting tributes to him, so I won't even go into it here.

Instead, here's another giant of his own industry.

The Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are home to the Giant Sequoia General Sherman, one of the tallest, oldest and largest living trees in the world. It's something like 2,300 to 2,700 years old! And it's about 10 feet shorter than the 22-story Flatiron Building here in town. Amazing.

I went to visit during my Woman on her Own Roadtrip a few years ago, and the park was just something to behold. There's a certain sense of quiet in the forest as you walk around, and you can almost feel what it's been like for these big trees hanging out in the forests these thousands of years. I would bet money that the people wandering in shadows of these trees have provided absolutely years of entertainment...for the trees.

*Obvi, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. One of the best movies - ever. Never seen it? Here it is in a nutshell. We used to use this clip in our new business branding presentations. Awesome.

Where swallows fly, or not

Magnet #112 - San Juan Capistrano

Remember when we discussed that every once in a while I end up in places and sometimes missing the biggest thing to see? (And that's why I generally do an itinerary for every trip I take to avoid such a fate?)

Ummm, yeah. San Juan Capistrano. Famous for the San Juan Capistrano swallows.

On that Woman on Her Own roadtrip I took through Cali, on a whim, I decided to drive through SJC.

I saw no swallows. None. I went to San Juan Capistrano...and completely missed the damn birds. Truth be told, they fly in March, so I really missed them because my timing was off. But still.

Now...if you know me well enough, you know that this is perfectly fine by me, given my hatred of all things fowl. (Except chickens. And cute and not-so-cute ducks. And maybe baby chicks. And owls.) I also get scared of Mother Nature en masse - and apparently - the skies go black when the swallows fly! Gah. Scary, scary, scary.

So, I've made my peace with not seeing the swallows. Sort of. I mean, it's a shame, but really? Lots of birds = lots of bird poop. Ewwww.

But, SJC itself was a lovely little town. Got to see the mission where the swallows used to hang, got to see a bit of the historic district-y area, and of course, the shops.

And as we all know...I like a little shop.

Joad for a day

Magnet #43 - John Steinbeck

Another random set of stops on the Woman on Her Own roadtrip along the California coast: Monterey and Salinas, CA. In Monterey, I opted out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (line was too long), and just walked around. Saw the bay, saw Cannery Row and dropped by a visitors center. That's where I got the rundown of downtown Salinas about 20-30 minutes away, and heard about the National Steinbeck Center.

I know, right? Like you have to really love Grapes of Wrath or The Pearl or Of Mice and Men to actually visit on purpose. Except not really, it was just the most interesting center! Of course, they had a Steinbeck exhibition hall, which I think is permanent, where they trace his life and times through a really great museum experience. There's a bit of an entertainment space to boot, theatres to show off the movies, etc.

So moved was I that I did end up buying two JS works that I hadn't read - Cannery Row and Tortilla Flats. Haven't read them yet, but owning is half the battle, I always say.

Still, for an afternoon that was just supposed to be driving up the coast, it was a lovely way to be distracted.

Also, it was on this trip that I discovered these plastic card magnets - they're literally a plastic, almost wallet-sized card, with a coupla magnets glued to the back. It's generally a quote, plus a postage stamp of the subject, which leads me to think they're just a magnet series from the USPS. I rarely see them, it's why I have only two in the collection. Which is kinda inconvenient, because really, who can section off part of the magnet board with just two of a kind?