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Los Angeles & Mammoth Lakes July 2010

Preface Here's our journal that tells of our travels and adventures and leads to the associated photo galleries. Some pictures can be viewed directly from this page, however the remainder are viewable by following the heading above each section. Enjoy!

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7-16 Nick's Place and The Tin Roof

Our Trip started from Birmingham and followed catching a connecting

flight in Atlanta direct through to Los Angeles. The short hop from Birmingham to Atlanta always starts with a quick departure from BHM and then a LONNGG taxi in ATL. By the time we arrived and grabbed some chinese the flight was boarding so we had to eat on the plane. It was a wide body with two center aisles and individual video screens. Seems we were surrounded by young babies or children some quite, some wailing all the way.

We arrived LA in early afternoon took a short drive down to the Manhattan Beach Pier then visited my nephew Nick, who by the way, has the best view of any bachelor pad (excluding my own) Ive seen in a while. He's located high on a side street in the Redondo Beach area. The rear of the house overlooks a beautiful (but busy) vista of the neighborhood and nearby harbor. I love the set up he has with a kegerator that has a double tapper and will hold two 5 gallon kegs which he brews himself! Awesome flavor too! Great job Nick, let me know when you want to open a microbrewery here in Birmingham.

We enjoyed our first evenings dinner with Pat at the Tin Roof Bistro. An excellent establishment right in the heart of Manhattan Beach that offers an eclectic menu of items ranging from caramelized brussel sprouts to specialty burgers and Pizza. All very neopolitan style and only moments away from home. Pat had the lasagna, we also had a couple of hand tossed pizza.

7-17 Biscuits and Venice Beach

The second day started with big bro making homemade biscuits, yummy! After breakfast we took a morning trip about 10 miles north to Venice Beach. The Venice Beach scene is a kind of magical, crazy, street bazaar where you can get cornered by pushy CD salesmen or freaky performing artists. Homeless people, locals, tourists, the seemingly affluent and kush (medical marijuana) doctors make up a totally crazy mix of the most unusual people you will ever see anywhere on the planet. The streets are closed to motorized traffic but left open to foot, bicycles, skateboards and skates. Watch out for the guitar player on Rollerblades. Restaurants, bars, shops, musicians, vendors and kush doctors peddle their products to all.

We browsed, people watched, listened to music and had pints of New Castle Nut Brown Ale while the kids shopped and took pictures of bong pipes. The day was rounded out with Pat preparing delish rack of lamb and roast potatoes. I added simple grilled asparagus as a side to round out a meal to die for!

7-18 Travel, Mikes Roadhouse and Mammoth Mountain

Our third day began with the 6 hr drive up to Mammoth Lakes Ca. The route carried us up the 405 through the heart of LA, West Hollywood then near Santa Clarita where we picked up State 14 that led up into the foot hills of the Eastern Sierras. As we drove further north the already parched landscape became even more dry and inhospitable. The Eastern Sierras loomed off in the distance. Evidence of volcanic activity is seen all along the area where molten lave oozed up and cooled forming black columns and outcroppings all along both sides and in the median of the highway.

Acton, Palmdale, Lancaster and Rosemond were the next areas we passed thru. Edwards AFB is located just east of Rosemond. Edwards is where almost every military aircraft since the 1950'a has been tested. Dryden Flight Research Center is still active today where testing of the Boeing X-45 continues. Other advanced craft like the SR-71 and the SCA (a Boeing 747 designed to carry the space shuttle) call the DRFC home.

Just north of Edwards AFB is Mikes Family Roadhouse located in Mojave Ca. This is a really neat retro drive up, walk in, 50's style diner/bar in the middle of town. The staff was relatively friendly and breakfast is served 24 hours a day with a nice selection of American and Tex/Mex dishes. There's a small bar in the back and I wouldn't be surprised if they probably have a live band on the weekends.

North of Mojave Ca. the Midland Trail starts. Be sure and stop at the Jawbone Canyon Store for some beef jerky. We stopped here on our return trip about mid day. Probably the hottest and most desolate place on earth. The Midland Trail leads upwards, deeper into the Sierras and thru the Red Rock Canyon recreational area. The mountains close in on the road and there are large outcroppings of red rock for several miles.

We arrived in Mammoth Lakes about 2pm. After settling in to the condo we decided on a gondola ride to the top of the mountain. Being unfamiliar with Mammoth Lakes it was easy to see how this is one of the country's premier winter ski resorts. The town is surrounded by a number of lakes and the eastern sierras that host an incredible array of ski runs from beginner to all out. It originally started as a mining town around the turn of the century but after gold didnt pan out it quickly turned into a resort town. The focus was mostly on winter sports but later turned toward summer activities as well such as hiking, camping

and fishing. The area There are many, many condos for rent as well as an abundance of shops and bistros for every taste. Our first evening in town started at Bergers. A cool little place right off Main Street with highly attentive service and a good selection from lean to decadent. My choice, on the decadent side was a Bacon Jalapeño Cheeseburger was perfectly prepared and simply WAAAYY too much food for one person. If you go bring an appetite and be sure and try the chocolate shakes too!

7-19 Minaret Falls and Devils Postpile

Buttery biscuits and blueberry preserves are a wonderful way to start the day. We followed with the

Red Meadows shuttle ride up to the Devils Postpile National Monument. Automobiles are not allowed in the park unless you are camping. It seemed the majority of folks were hiking to Rainbow Falls thru a burned out area of the park. Being mid morning already, we decided to take the shady 1.3m path to Minanret Falls. The path led around a meadow and follow a stream briefly then turned and went akong the base of a wooded slope. We spotted deer and lots of birds along the way. After crossing a couple of small brooks and making our way thru dense stands of lodgepole pine we finally made it to the bottom of the falls. A short climb will get you a decent view, but it's best to go even higher where until you can see the top of the falls. This view is truly inspiring. Mist from the falls catches you occasionally and you just want to jump in and enjoy one the small pools. We finished off the day with superb grilled beef filets, sauteed mushrroms, grilled asparagus and french bread. These were served with some knockout red wines from Sepulveda Wine Co

7-20 Convict Lake, Lake George, Giovannis Pizza

Another great day in Mammoth! The weather is truly an enjoyment.

It's dry, very dry. Thus the

humidity is very low. This within itself takes some getting used to. Be sure and take some Ocean or other saline spray for your nose. The temperature range is delightful with highs in the upper 80's and lows in the 50's. There's usually a breeze except late at night. With no frogs, bugs or crickets there is almost an errie silence once the wind dies down after dark.

We had a great dinner at Giovannis Pizza down in the center of town. We met with the Taylor family from San Jose who came up to see Nick. My daughter Maggie's significant other's mom and aunt. We had a variety of pizza, lasagna, salads and of course a couple of pitchers of New Castle Nut Brown!