Corpus Christi, TX - Feb and May, 2008

Bob Hall Pier - North Padre Island

First Bob Hall pier - Built in the 1950s and destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961. It was a 600 ft long wooden structure.

Second Bob Hall pier - Built 1962 - wood & 1,200 ft long. Destroyed about half of it by Hurricane Beulah in 1967. In 1968, added 127 ft of a wooden structure. Completely destroyed by Hurricane Allen in 1980.

Current Bob Hall pier - Started in 1982 and finished in 1983. The pier is 1,240 feet long and 15.5 feet wide with a 165 ft long X 19 ft wide T-Head at the end. http://bobhallpier.net/index.html

Denver, CO area - February 2008

Buffalo Bill Cody Gravesite Lookout Mountain - Golden, Colorado

On June 3, 1917, Buffalo Bill was buried on Lookout Mountain, a promontory with spectacular views of both the mountains and plains, places where he had spent the happiest times of his life. Louisa, who had married Buffalo Bill back before he became famous, was buried next to her husband four years later in 1921. http://www.buffalobill.org/history.htm


Evergreen, Colorado

Evergreen, 7,220 ft elev, sits at the foothills of the Rockies. A small mountain town 15 miles west of Denver, it is showing signs of becoming a Denver bedroom community - to the dismay of local residents.

Leonardtown, MD - February 2008

Leonardtown
By 1654, county court was conducted at the house of John Hammond in the area known as "Newtown" or "Newtowne Hundred", but it wasn't until 1708 that an official town with a designated courthouse was established.

The War of 1812 British blockade of the Chesapeake Bay subjected areas such as Leonardtown to repeated British plundering and destruction. http://leonardtown.somd.com/

Old Jail
In 1876, the county commissioners the modernization of the one story 1858 jail that had become to small. The jail was completed in 1876. The first floor was used as living quarters for the jailer's family while the second floor cells housed inmates grouped by gender and race. The building served as the county jail until 1942. A Cannon from a 1634 ship in the front yard of the museum is an original cannon from the "Ark", one of the ships that carried some of the first colonists to Maryland in 1634.

Sotterley Plantation

James Bowles, son of a wealthy London tobacco merchant and member of Maryland's Lower House of the Assembly, purchased a 2,000 acre tract that would become Sotterley Plantation. In 1703, he built the original two room house which today stands as a unique record of a method of construction called post-in-ground architecture, once common in the Tidewater regions. Read more Sotterley Plantation history: http://www.sotterley.com/history.htm

Breton Lake

Turn left. Turn right. Drive toward the lake. Keep driving until the road runs out. Go through the side door of the dubious-looking restaurant to the left of the road. For the BEST MARYLAND CRABCAKES in the country!

Here's the end of the road.

Griffith Observatory - Los Angeles - Jan 30, 2008

Griffith Park and Observatory

What a view! Downtown L.A. - Hollywood Sign - Mountains. This is a must-see .

The land on which Griffith Observatory sits was once a part of a Spanish settlement known as Rancho Los Felis. The Spanish Governor of California bequeathed it to Corporal Vincente Felis in the 1770s. The land stayed in the Felis family for over a century, being subdivided through generations, until Griffith, a wealthy mining speculator, purchased what remained of the rancho in 1882. http://www.griffithobs.org/

Hollywood January 30, 2008

Hollywood Boulevard
A district of Los Angeles situated west northwest of downtown. It's a working area - not glamerous, certainly seedy and rundown, but still - it's Hollywood. Thought I'd take the chance to see it while I was in town.

Shopping
Shoes
Ever wonder where you might find a pair of these?













Eating
Pig 'n Whistle 6714 Hollywood Blvd
Had a pretty good lunch here.
A feeling of classic Hollywood with a vaulted ceiling, detailed mahogany woodwork and cozy booths. It is a Hollywood landmark that hosted both the first Oscar after-party and Judy Garland's 15th birthday. http://www.pignwhistle.com/
Also visit http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/pig.html

Entertainment
Grauman's Egyptian Theater - 6713 Hollywood Blvd
Next door to the Pig 'n Whistle. Major renovations going on to bring it back to its full glory.

In 1920, Charles E. Toberman convinced Sid Grauman, who had built several downtown L.A. movie palaces, to build the Egyptian, the Chinese Theater, the El Capitan, and the Roosevelt Hotel. These were all built in 1926 and are still standing. http://www.egyptiantheatre.com/egyptian/egypt.htm http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/egyptian.html

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd

I couldn't get very close because they had the area roped and were preparing for an opening later that afternoon. It was interesting to see how they pointed the cameras and lights to make the scene look glamerous - but it was really pretty rundown and tattered.

The grand opening of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 18, 1927, was the most spectacular theatre opening in motion picture history. Thousands of people lined Hollywood Boulevard and a riot broke out as fans tried to catch a glimpse of the movie stars and other celebrities as they arrived for the opening. http://www.manntheatres.com/chinese/ http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/chinese.html

Guiness World Record Museum - 6780 Hollywood Blvd
Hey - It's a World Records Museum. What would we do without them? Need more info? http://www.guinnessattractions.com/ Another look at the building: http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/guinness.html

Kodak Theater - 6801 Hollywood Blvd
You can see by the sign that I was there right before Super Tuesday.

Designed with the Academy Awards broadcast in mind, Kodak Theatre has hosted the annual ceremony since 2001. Kodak Theatre is proud to be home to the highest honor in filmmaking through the year 2021. http://www.kodaktheatre.com/academy_awards.htm Also http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/kodak.html

Pacific Theater - 6433 Hollywood Blvd

The Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre opened April 26, 1928, with Conrad Nagle and Dolores Costello in "Glorious Betsy". The theatre was built within an office building and the auditorium is located on a diagonal axis facing north-east at the rear There was a second entrance to the west of the theatre on Wilcox Street. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/18/

...and... it's haunted by Sam Warner's ghost! http://www.prairieghosts.com/hollywood12.html

Sleeping
Hotel & Hostel (H&H) 7038-1/2 Hollywood Blvd
... a comment from hostels.com
"H&H in Hollywood is GHETTO Submitted By: powers tilden @ 18:30 17th Aug 07
The H&H hostel(and hotel) on Hollywood Blvd is ghetto as Compton! The manager is a real gorilla .... who has the class of a jail warden. .."

Roosevelt Hotel - 7000 Hollywood Blvd
Named after Theodore Roosevelt and financed by a group including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, Mary Pickford, and Louis B. Mayer, it opened on May 15, 1927, cost $2.5 million to complete, and is a twelve-story building that holds 302 rooms and suites. The banquet and presentation of the 1st Academy Awards in 1929 was held here. (Wikipedia) http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/roosevelt.html
Hillview Apartments - 6531 Hollywood Blvd
In 1917, Jesse Lasky, founder of Paramount Pictures and Sam Goldwyn of MGM built Hollywood Boulevard’s first artist’s ‘high-rise’. Exclusively for actors, the Hillview quickly became Hollywood’s hottest address. The vast basement housed a rehearsal space until Rudolf Valentino reputedly converted it to a rip-roaring, star-studded speakeasy. Charlie Chaplin was once a proprietor of the Hillview. http://hillviewhollywood.com/index.htm

Hollywood Blvd & Vine St - Los Angeles, CA 90028

Not much happenin' on the corner of Hollywood & Vine - but I was there!