In the past, whenever I visited L.A., I’d have a hard time adjusting to the frantic pace, smoggy air and traffic. As much as I like seeing my family, I hated how stressful the city made me. But my visit was different this time. Our sabbatical has changed my attitude toward visiting places that I find undesirable, which makes life a lot more enjoyable. As Jim likes to say, “it is what it is,” and I accept that can’t change that. So this time while visiting the region, I decided to try to see more of the positive things about L.A, and find beautiful things about it, like nature.
Livin’ large at the Dal Rae
I really enjoy a nice dinner out. I’m all for spending good money for good food and good service. But it’s even better when someone else pays the bill!
The last time Ren? and I dusted off our nice clothes and went out to a “fancy restaurant” was months ago on our trip into Toronto, Ontario. So I am extremely grateful to Liz, Tom and the Agredanos for treating us at the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera recently.
Since opening in 1958, it seems like the Dal Rae hasn’t changed much. The atmosphere is pure 1960’s supper club. Complete with piano bar and a proper Manhattan. Its retro look was revitalized in a 1999 renovation, and the dim lighting, comfy booths and wood paneling had me feeling swank and yearning for a cigar. But not before dinner…
Work on your own rig and save money!
There is one good thing about visiting Los Angeles.
Aside from seeing La Familia, that is. OK two things … Oh, and the food. I guess that makes three things.
Anyway, access to the right tools makes working on your rig easy. And that can help you save a lot of money.
And believe me, El Jefe has all the right tools … and the shop, and the brain, which I picked to learn how to to pack the wheel bearings on our fifth wheel trailer.
Petroglyphs and Graffiti
Driving around Los Angeles, I can’t help but wonder what archaeologists of the distant future would make of the cryptic tags of today’s graffiti artists.
And I have always snickered inside at all the modern day scholars writing dissertations on the meaning of ancient petroglyphs which may in fact just be the scribblings of prehistoric taggers.
Our Two Dollar Tour of East L.A.
Our year long RV Road Trip sabbatical takes us to visit East Los Angeles and reunite with family in California
Goin’ Back To Cali and Dealing with The Man
When you’re camped out in the middle of a wild desolate landscape, without a cell signal and a silence so deafening that its roar squeezes your brain like a vise, it’s tempting to believe that you’ve fallen off the radar. You look around for miles and see nothing but desert landscape, imagining that there are no rules, laws or entities that have power over you.
But the truth is, you can’t escape. Ever. Because it doesn’t matter if you hightail it to Patagonia, or just hide out in the woods; the Man will find you.
In our case, the Man was the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Houston Police Department.
At home in the shadow of giants
While boondocking at Three Rivers Campground at the foot of Sierra Blanca near Tularosa, NM, Jim confirms his love for the mountains. Videos include the road to and the view of camp site.
Live Work Dream Expenses February 2008
Well, our Workamping savings are a thing of the past, and February gave us a current reality check of what our expenses look like when we just play tourist and go out looking for all of the cool music, food and entertainment we want to experience.
Our biggest expense last month: fuel. We went over our budgeted amount for the first time ever. This is mostly because we went 1600 miles out of our way (round trip) for a quick trip back to California to visit my family. More on our L.A. experience later.
Playing Tourist at Carlsbad Caverns
Enjoy our gallery of photos from Carlsbad Caverns, as we enjoyed the New Mexico attraction with few other tourists in the off season of February.
Heed warning signs of three.
Someone once said the third time is a charm. I say it’s an omen.The first time we noticed a “Remove Before Flight” flag recently was on the Nomadjik Media Bus. You can see it in Ren?’s interview with Flux Rostrum.
Just a few days later, we saw one at the Cathedral of Junk and thought nothing of it. But then we saw one in Luckenbach later that same week.
This third time made us recall the first two and wonder … what does it all mean?
Feelin’ Like Somebody in Luckenbach
Let’s go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we’re livin’ got us feuding
Like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry’s train songs
And blue eyes cryin’ in the rain, out in Luckenbach Texas
Ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain …
Cathedral of Junk or Pile O’ Crap?
Perhaps you can help us settle a little debate here in the LiveWorkDreamer.
After traveling for nine months across the entire United States, Ren? believes the most amazing thing we have seen was the Cathedral of Junk in Austin, Texas.
I on the other hand, tend to agree with our friends Randy and Sonja ? who Ren? dragged to see this obscurity, in the rain, after they flew all the way from San Francisco to visit us ? that it isn’t much more than a big pile of crap!
Restoring Our Faith in Humanity Along America’s Backroads
Journey along Highway 82 in Louisiana for the best of Acadiana and Cajun country.
We save a LOT with Passport America!
I’m not one to join another RV club for the sake of getting a sticker to put on my rig. But I sure wish we had joined Passport America months ago!
We had seen the Passport America club signs at campgrounds but didn’t think twice about it until recently.
A fellow fulltimer explained how much we could save, so we went for it.
Artz Ribz and the Deep Ellum Blues
We’ve been hearing a lot of good music lately. So much that I’ve added a new Musicamericana Video Playlist featuring samplings of the local music scenes we’ve soaked up along our way.
But I promised Sonja I would post this movie from our dinner at Artz Rib House in Austin where they hooked up with us for some good food and good fun.