Gone California

In December 2017, I took a two-week trip to California. I started up north at the redwoods, and traveled down to San Francisco, onto Big Sur, and ended up in Los Angeles, where I went to college in the early 80's. You can read all about it in this blog. But if you'd like a fly by, here are some photos that summarize the trip.  In Tiburon after riding a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge. The mighty redwoods. The other San Francisco bridge. Along Highway 1 California, not Ireland. More redwoods. WPA mural inside Coit Tower. View from Coit Tower. Coit Tower Getting ready to ride over the Golden Gate.  San Francisco skyline at night. Coit Tower on the left and below. Santa Con in San Francisco! Kirby Cove . Thanks to Duncan Smith and friends. Big Sur Was fortunate to go on a silent retreat at New Camaldoli Hermitage. The Star in the Family, Uncle Wrigh

In 1979, I left Peoria for college. Because of all kinds of fortunate circumstances, I was able to attend the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where I met these three great folks above: Miles, Myra, and Duncan.  I spent three years as a Trojan, and while I graduated from the University of Wisconsin, I've always considered USC my alma mater too. Freshman year, I lived in Marks Tower. Here it is below. I lived on the fifth floor of Marks Tower with my roommate Cecelia, who was the valedictorian of her class of 600 at Mater Dei in Santa Ana. Lots of memories from this dorm: gazing at the flame burning at the Coliseum for our hostages in Iran; vacating the dorm in the middle of the night because of a bomb threat (related to the Iranian hostage crisis; USC had 600 Persians --ie Iranians--attending the school and the politics were complicated); when we had a little bit of a water backup on our floor (see below). There's Myra, stranded nea

The second of Charles Fleming's Secret Stairs walks that I took led me through "the back side of the Hollywood Bowl, into one of the city's few walk-street communities, with no access to cars." The contextual information I share below comes from his book. Above is High Tower, which contains an elevator. Look familiar? More on this below. First I passed by Highland Towers where William Faulkner lived and possibly wrote the screenplay adaptations for "To Have and Have Not," and "The Big Sleep." Heading up into the hills. The first 103 steps. An accidental action photo. It really does seem sometimes like you are walking through people's property. I saw very few folks, whether residents or fellow tourists, on my walks. Above and below is the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Samuel Freeman House , constructed in 1924. I actually did get a little bit lost here beca