Bonaventure Hotel- October 2018

In October 2018, I was able to join Dan on his work trip to Los Angeles. This was a bit strange thing, since for thirty-nine years, I lived just ten minutes from downtown. It was bittersweet to visit my hometown and to know that I’m just a tourist.

We stayed at the iconic Westin Bonaventure hotel.

Built in the late 70’s, the Westin Bonaventure is a Los Angeles landmark. It has been featured in dozens of movies, such as True Lies and Logan’s Run. Also used as a location for television series, music videos, and even video games.

The first time I visited the Westin Bonaventure, was in the early 90’s, when I begged my mom to take me to a John Robert Powers talent scouting event. I wasn’t particularly interested in being scouted, although I did wear my very trendy “Hyper-Color” tee-shirt. I was more interested in the celebrities in attendance, including up-and-coming actor, Brian Austin Green from Beverly Hills 90210.

The atrium style lobby was packed and a cat walk had been erected in the middle of the room. Here are pictures of how it looks today…imagine hundreds of screaming pre-teens and the smell of Aquanet.

Flash-forward to my early twenties, when the height of sophistication was going out for drinks at the Bonavista Revolving Cocktail Lounge with my impossibly handsome friend, Luke. The Bonavista offers stunning views of downtown Los Angeles as it slowly turns. We were always the youngest people in the lounge, which was decorated in 1980’s chic. To be fair, this was usually our first stop, prior to hitting more age-appropriate night spots on the sunset strip, always ending with a 4am, drunken breakfast at The Standard.

I insisted that Dan experience the Bonavista. Sometimes, it is better to leave the past in the past. The lounge was absolutely dead, the decor dated, and not in a cool, retro way. We had overpriced drinks, took a few pictures, and got out. The views are still breathtaking, but the lounge is in desperate need of a refresh.

Our rooms at the Westin Bonaventure were small, but comfortable. The had a lot of the amenities that Westin is know for, including a lavender sleep spray. We even had the option of borrowing a set of gym clothes, in case we hadn’t thought to pack our own, and wanted a work-out. We had a view of the downtown library.

The Westin Bonaventure isn’t a beautiful building. It’s concrete and cold, certainly a vision of the future circa the 1970’s. It’s also huge, with three towers and a mall inside of the hotel. The mall, mostly small stores and food court style restaurants, was actually great for quick, inexpensive meals, especially since we stayed at the hotel for five nights. I appreciated having close options that were more affordable than the typical hotel restaurants.

I loved the hotel maps. These clearly were the inspiration for the Dharma Initiative on Lost.

The pool is located on a large patio, on a high floor; not a rooftop pool, but high enough that you feel like you’re floating in the middle of the skyscrapers. The view is quite spectacular. Unfortunately, the pool itself was too cold to enjoy, but we did spend time soaking in the downtown ambiance. It’s magical at night.

The Westin Bonaventure is an icon that should be considered for your next trip to Los Angeles. It’s located in the heart of downtown, just a short walk to many tourist attractions. I spent five days in the city and walked everywhere, while Dan attended a conference. I always felt safe and never lacked for entertainment. Although I lived so close to downtown for decades, this was my first time experiencing many of its famous sites. I would encourage locals to book a staycation and check out all of the wonderful things that downtown Los Angeles has to offer.

Barnsdall Art Park and Hollyhock House

Have you ever missed something that was right under your nose?

I grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale and just a short, ten-minute drive from my childhood home, a house that I live in for thirty-nine years, is a famous landmark. It took my mother-in-law visiting from England to get me there.

My mother-in-law, Jan, had always dreamed of touring a Frank Lloyd Wright house. We researched and discovered that Wright’s Hollyhock House is located in Barnsdall Art Park in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. During Jan’s autumn 2018 trip (Her last vacation with us, as we lost her in 2019), we were living in Big Bear Lake, but we made a day trip to Los Angeles to visit Hollyhock House.

We arrived early, before Hollyhock House was open. Barnsdall Park has several attractions, including art galleries and a performance space.

The parking lot is free and located at the bottom of Barnsdall Park. There is handicap parking that allows you direct access to the top level, if you need it, otherwise be prepared to climb some stairs.

On our walk, we came across the Hollyhock House Residence A, which is currently under restoration.

And squirrels. Lots of squirrels running around.

We purchased our admission tickets, only seven dollars. As we waited for our entry time, we enjoyed the park and views of Los Angeles. It’s a great place for a Hollywood Sign photo op!

Barnsdall Art Park is named for Aline Barnsdall, an oil heiress and producer of experimental theatre. In 1919, she commissioned Wright to design Hollyhock House, intending the house and surround land to be used for the arts. The project was plagued with problems and Barnsdall fired Wright before he could complete the house. She eventually gifted the land and buildings to the city of Los Angeles. The Hollyhock House is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Our experience at Hollyhock House began with a short guided tour of the exterior. The motif of hollyhocks is carried throughout the house and the house is done in the style of Mayan Revival Architecture.

The interior portion of the house was self-guided with docents in each room available to answer questions. We were not allowed to take pictures and we had to be very careful not to touch the walls or furniture, as everything is very fragile.

I have to confess, that the exteriors of the house did not impress me. I found them cold and sterile. The interiors were quite a bit warmer, with wood floors and furniture to break up the grey concrete. The home had vintage furnishings from when Aline Barnsdall lived there in the 30’s and 40’s. It was like stepping into another era. Jan was thrilled to have visited a Frank Lloyd Wright home and I was happy to experience part of Los Angels history.

On the way home, we stopped for gas on Los Feliz Blvd and the station had very cool murals. I have filled- up at this station in the past, but I had never noticed the art. Maybe they’re new or maybe when you live in a place, you take for granted your surroundings. I miss Los Angeles and when we visit, I try to soak it all in. As we are now living in Colorado, I think this sentiment is going to be even strong for future visits to my home town. I hope that a Los Angeles trip is in my near future!

Social Distancing in Littleton: Week Three

It has been another long week with new recommendations and many, many deaths. We keep hearing that it is going to get worse before it gets better, although there does seem to be a hint of positive news that social distancing is making an impact. I feel hopeful.

We moved to Colorado in November and I have to admit that I know nothing about our Governor, Jared Polis or Denver mayor, Michael Hancock. I don’t know their party affiliations or if I agree with most of their politics, however, just judging them from how they are handling the pandemic, I feel confident in their bold and decisive leadership. Both of these men are sending out a strong message to our state and they are taking necessary action to protect Coloradans. As with the rest of the world, Colorado is in a crisis, but I feel relatively safe here or at least, less panicked because of our leaders.

I wish I could say the same for the federal government. Trump’s lack of leadership is terrifying and maddening. In my mind, the biggest mistake will be allowing states to make their own decisions regarding social distancing. State’s rights are a huge part of our American identity, but in these very usual times, I wish the president would take control and do what is needed to protect lives. We should have a clear and consistent message about what we can and cannot do to contain this.

I understand that some places have a much lower infection rate, but those places can easily turn into the next hot spot. I understand that closures are not only an economic hardship, but actually devastating to some, but still, if we all act together in a coordinated effort, perhaps we can get to our “new normal” faster with less lives lost.

I’m angry at the people who still refuse to take this seriously. Two days ago, our governor issued a new recommendation that face coverings be worn whenever you leave your house. We got the green-light from our neighbors who are doctors and huge Survivor fans, to use Survivor buff’s as our make-shift face-coverings. Yes, they are buff’s from the China season. It’s what we have. Thank you to my friend Ernest, who gave these to me many years ago. Prior to repurposing them as masks, I wore them nearly every day as a headband!

We’ve been wearing them for our walks in the adjacent fields near our housing estate. It has been just us and the cows.

Many of our neighbors are making masks for the community, so this is hopeful. However, many people are not wearing them while walking around our neighborhood. Many people still stand too close to their neighbors for chats or allow kids from different families to play together. I know it’s hard, but this is so frustrating.

We’ve had some craziness on our community Facebook page. One incident involved parents removing caution tape from our community playground and letting their kids on the equipment. When confronted, they went on the defensive. I know this situation is extra difficult on kids, but that isn’t an excuse to blatantly disregard safety measures.

A new recommendation was released to try to limit grocery store visits to every two weeks. We went on Monday night and tried to stock-up for two weeks. I think we will be good, but we might run out of fresh produce towards the end. We use Royal Crest for weekly dairy delivery, so that has been helpful. The grocery store was mostly stocked (no toilet paper/cleaning supplies/pasta). The only items we couldn’t get that we wanted were fresh spinach and avocados. No big deal. Only half of the shoppers wore masks and a few were not great about keeping their distance. None of the workers had masks.

I worry for the workers in high risk jobs. I feel like doing our part, helps them stay safe. I don’t want to wear a mask, limit my shopping trips, or take forever in the store, but I also don’t want to spread Covid 19 if I'm infected and asymptomatic. There is no reasonable excuse for not following guidelines to protect your fellow citizens. None.

Speaking of which, I’m really tired of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Several of my students have brought up the idea that covid 19 was bioengineered by China. One guy in Brazil told me that he dumped his two cats on the street, so that they couldn’t infect him. As a animal lover, my heart broke to hear this. Most of my social media connections are united in staying home, but one former coworker has been loudly spreading the news that raw veganism makes him immune. He won’t wear masks or practice social distancing. It’s ridiculous.

We are still healthy and employed. As far as I am aware, we still don’t know anyone who is infected. We have settled into a bit of a routine at home and we are trying to make the best of the situation.

We’ve been using our kitchen, a lot. The food highlights from this week include: An English style breakfast with sautéed mushrooms, English roast dinner ( with the “yummiest beef ever” that Dan spiced up with hot sauce), Dan’s homemade bread, and I made lemon-raspberry muffins. We are eating well and should exercise more!

We’ve also been socializing on zoom and FaceTime. Quite honestly, I’m socialize far more now, that I did before the virus. We had cocktails with our friend’s Valerie and Bryan in Big Bear. On Friday night, we were invited to take part in a customer appreciation event through Timothy Oulton, our favorite designer! We had drinks and celebrated our favorite brand with other Oulton enthusiasts. Timothy himself was on the call and they raffled off a gorgeous sofa. On Sunday afternoon, I had a two hour zoom call with my writing feedback group. It was the first time meeting everyone and I feel hopeful that this could be the start of a great writing relationship. I’ve connected with friends on the phone, through text, and with good old-fashioned snail mail letters! Feeling connected has not been a problem. It is exhausting!

We only took the car out once, to go to the grocery store, but when out, we filled up the tank. The prices were not even this low when I started driving in the mid-90’s!

We finally watched Star Wars: The Rise of Sky Walker and we are on season three of Schitt’s Creek. We also discovered a great Netflix documentary series based on the movie Chef. We loved the movie- you should watch it. The series takes a different format with Jon Favreau and Roy Choi exploring cooking techniques with different chefs. The first episodes in the series are filmed at various Las Vegas restaurants and they definitely made me ache for a foodie vacation.

My heart hurt to hear the news of John Prine’s passing. He was such a talented song writer and musician.

I’m going to end on a positive note with our kitten, Tom. He is such a cuddle monster and loves being held on his back for tummy rubs.

Ooh and check out my roots. I haven’t had my hair cut or colored since we moved and I was well over-due before everything closed. I think it might be a dicey idea to attempt a home fix, so we will see how bad the progression gets over the next weeks or months. When this is over, a full spa day is on the agenda!