Vacations Blog

The San Xavier del Bac Mission, located just south of Tucson, Arizona, was built from 1783 – 1797 by a pair of Franciscan Fathers. It has been in continuous operation as a functioning parish church of the Diocese of Tucson since its construction. The mission mixes styles from Moorish, Byzantine and late Mexican Renaissance architectures – its elaborate arches, domes, and towers can be seen on the horizon for miles around the area.

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As I mentioned in my previous entry, I joined my husband last weekend up in Flagstaff, since he had to work a job up there and the hotel room was, therefore, free.

On Saturday night we went out on the town. We’re trying not to spend a whole lot of money, these days – I think everyone is feeling that way, lately. So our goal was to have as much fun and hit as many places as we could, for as little money as possible.

First we stopped at Altitudes and had a beer ($3.25 each – we like microbrews, domestic beer is cheaper), and we split the hummus plate with veggies and pita triangles ($6.99). We lounged there for a good hour, watching college football and conversing with the bartenders. Grand total spent (including a $5 tip): $19.84.

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As mentioned previously, we were on our way to do a whole lotta nothin’ in the town of Ojai, an hour or so outside of Los Angeles.

Before leaving, I had done a quick Google to see what it was known for and here’s a few that caught my eye:

From the cities main website, I discovered that they were making a big push for artists to help out renovating something in town – what it was escapes me now, but I liked that the lead story reached out to the right-brainers in town. Below that, however was a phone glitch affecting city hall’s runnings and that intrigued me even more – a $40,000 purse for whomever had the best eye for making the town better, but in the office of those who ran it, the voicemail wasn’t working properly. Read More »

It should come as no surprise that women are much, much smarter than men. But with that being said, my attempts at making my girlfriend drive me all over the greater Los Angeles area to find locations from my favorite films backfired yesterday.

It was mean.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As I mentioned earlier, I have begun this ‘entitled’ project all over the area, finding the places that I feel like I deserve to see while I’m here. We’ve covered Swingers and True Romance, and I plan on finding a few more.

But when I found out that not far from where I lived was a school that was the local for a handful of my favorite films, I had to go.

When you first get to Marshall High School, you can immediately tell why it was constantly popping up in the cinema, what with its massive entryway and tree-lined yards. But a quick walk around the premises and you’ll start to remember the scenes that were shot here: Read More »

There really is nothing to do in the towns of Santa Paula and Ojai – and that’s exactly why we went. We could have driven 3 hours to Joshua Tree, sure, or gone down to Tijuana simply so we could write ‘…is in Mexico!’ on our Facebook profile and then hightail it back to San Diego – there’s enough to do outside of Los Angeles, but it all seemed so – goal orientated.

If you go to a National Park, you feel the need to hike and that’s just silly and in no way relaxing. If we went to a museum, I’d have to act like I know what my girlfriend was talking about all the while wondering if the café would give me a beer.

See – too many road trips out of town come with immense amounts of pressure. So when I asked ‘what’s there to do there?’ when she suggested it, she came back with ‘not a lot – there are some shops in Santa Paula and a cool little Mexican restaurant’, I was sold. Shops meant she had something to do and tequila meant I did as well. Read More »

There is no better movie in the history of movies than True Romance.

I think that should be repeated…a few times – both for confirmation’s sake and to up my word count.

There is no better movie in the history of movies than True Romance.

There is no better movie in the history of movies than True Romance.

I mean, sure, you’ve seen it and loved it, but let’s recap very quickly some of its finer attributes before getting into the locations around Los Angeles you can visit and pay homage. Read More »

I’ve mentioned before, more than once, that Boston Massachusetts is one of my favorite cities. It’s hard to beat the combination of fresh seafood, architecture, and history of the place. Handily, there is one ideal location that combines all three, to provide you with an unforgettable experience on your next trip to Boston – The Freedom Trail.

The Freedom Trail is a three-mile walking tour along the heart of historic Boston, marked by a red line or red brick along the sidewalks. It begins in Boston Common (America’s oldest public park), and ends in Charlestown at the Bunker Hill Monument. Area maps can be purchased at the Information Booth near Park Street Station, and are also available at most area hotels.

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Okay, I need to come clean a bit as I’m already getting some heat for my ‘Los Angeles for The Entitled’ posts and they’ve only been up a day or so.

Look, Los Angeles isn’t a bad place, okay? It’s just the people who make it bad – a lot like Paris.

But the city itself is cloaked in as much wonderful history as it is hauntings- old architecture, unless it gets used as an exterior for a movie, will either be forgotten, torn-down, or both.

So, being car-less, I decided to follow an old book I picked up at a used bookstore some time back, a wonderful pictorial dealing with the amazing old buildings that surround the desperate and self-conscious town. Read More »