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 »

It got to the point there where every woman under the age of 28 in America hated Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn – not because they’re horrible people, just the opposite, actually, but from the years of 1996-1999, there wasn’t a bar in America that didn’t reek of pick-up lines from that film.

It was a movie for those of us who weren’t good at approaching women, who maybe did leave one too many messages on the answering machine the same night we ‘got digits, baby’. It showed the gritty side of being lonely and gave us all hope that if we couldn’t be Trent, then maybe we’d have a friend like him. No one wanted Pink Dot to deliver to Tulsa, Oklahoma more than I did – although hitting on any member of the opposite sex in that town, even if in jest, might have resulted in a quick and justifiable death.

And no other film draws more pilgrims than this one: ‘Swingers’. Read More »

As bad as I talk about this town, it did provide us boys some influential figures. Guys that we tried very, very hard to become. And, when you grow up in Oklahoma, you’re on the bottom of the list for entry into the zeitgeist of cool – if you don’t believe me, check the sales last year for Hypercolor t-shirts.

So, when a film like Rebel Without A Cause came out, it made the rest of us cooler. There’s nothing I can write about James Dean that hasn’t already been written, so just go ahead and insert that first memory of seeing his gorgeous face on the screen, or, in my case, drive-in movie theater screen.

As stated, I was late to the whole film world and up until hearing Jim Stark’s opinions on chickie runs, or roses and sunshine, I only had The Karate Kid to follow after.

And now that I found myself in Los Angeles, I decided to visit the location of the best scene from that picture. Read More »

Look – I don’t like Los Angeles. I never have. But I found myself here for a while and could only spend so much time on Facebook moaning about it. I wasn’t into taking photos of stars, be them on the sidewalk or in some overpriced café in Silverlake, nor was I into visiting the rooftop bars with their horrible furniture and assistance in not letting house music just go away and die.

That started to kill me.

So I began to search out the funkier spots around town – not ones that you could claim ‘where the locals’ go, ‘cause I happened not to care very much for the vast amount of people who like it here, but ones that amused me.

My girlfriend knew I didn’t want to be here and also knew that I was here for her, so she offered numerous times to ‘do anything she could to make it more fun’. I took that as a greenlight and went out to find things that only interested me.

You might like them, you might not – that’s not the point. What is the key here is that I deserve to have a good time just like anyone else here.

So we can go ahead and call this series ‘Los Angeles for the Entitled’.

My regular readers reader knows that I’ve written once or twice about my home town of Clayton.  Well, I would be dreadfully remiss in my “representin” duties if I did not blog about our annual Oktoberfest.

This year’s Oktoberfest was held on the weekend of September 26-27. Yea, I know. Don’t ask me. I guess all the weekends in October were spoken for. Whatever. In fairness though, that other Oktoberfest actually begins mid-late September, and ends in early October, so I guess we Claytonites just decided to jump right into the middle of the whole brew-ha-ha.  Get it??

*crickets*

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Who can argue that autumn is one of the most colorful times of year?

That was a rhetorical question.

Fall is pretty, mostly because of the glorious displays put on by the fall leaves changing color.  This phenomenon occurs all over the United States, but some spots offer better views than others.  Grab your camera and a road atlas and take a day trip to one of the 11 best fall foliage sites in America.

11 Places To See Fall Leaves

Fall Leaves on Carriage Road at Acadia National Park

1.  Acadia National Park – Maine

Of course anywhere in the North East is going to boast spectacular fall foliage.  The Acadia National Park offers gorgeous views and extensive Ranger-led educational programs so that you can learn more about what you’re staring at.  Make sure to head to Bar Harbor Maine before the end of October to take full advantage of the sights and services available.

Fall Leaves at Oak Mountain State Park

2.  Oak Mountain State Park – Alabama

Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama’s largest state park.  This nearly 10,000 acre forest is featured on several sight seeing lists.  Admission is only $3 for adults on weekends and holidays.  You can visit the park for fall foliage viewing from 7am to sundown.

Fall Foliage in New Hampshire

3.  Mt. Washington – New Hampshire

While it’s typical to see fall foliage while you’re driving, the Mount offers guided cruises on the M/S Mount Washington.  Starting Sunday, September 27, the Mount will offer Fall Foliage Dinner Cruises from 4:30 to 7 p.m. each Sunday through mid-October. The cruise departs from Weirs Beach, boarding at 4 p.m. Cost for adults is$43. Visit Cruise Mount Washington for more information.

Fall Color in Colorado

4.  Aspen – Colorado

It’s no surprise that Aspen, Colorado is the perfect place to watch the Aspen trees change colors with the seasons.  San Isabel National Forest offers extensive trails for viewing of some of the most fabulous aspen trees in Colorado.

New York Fall Foliage

5.  The Catskills – New York

The Catskills and Hudson Valley region is about a two hour drive from New York City.  One of the unique features of this area is that the color changing season lasts about six weeks, with colors rivaling those of its North Eastern neighbors, Vermont and Massachusetts.

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Tenure is a great thing, especially when it equates to four paid weeks of vacation per year. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t have as much vacation time as I do. Since mine is a “use it or lose it” kind of situation, there are a couple of weeks out of the year that I find myself on vacation while my husband still works.

One such vacation week is coming up in October. I’ve started making tentative plans for how to occupy my time – you know, OTHER than the cleaning and “honey-do” list the vacationing spouse is required to take care of. My ambition is to make myself feel like I’ve been fully entertained for the week for as little money as possible. I want to feel like I’ve actually taken a vacation, not just sit on the couch at home all week trying to avoid spending money.

DAY ONE:

I will dedicate a leisurely hour lounging in the tub, followed by a trip to my local library. I will then take any books I procure to nearby Desert Breeze Park, lay down a blanket (because by that time it’ll be cool enough to stand the sunshine), and read for as long as I want. I might even take a ride on Desert Breeze’s miniature train, if I’m feeling adventurous.

Total Cost of Day One: $2.00 for the mini train ride.

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As previously mentioned, the family spent a little time in Tennessee earlier this month. Admittedly, most of the time was spent taking full advantage of my in-laws lake front home. I couldn’t find much to complain about, what with the gourmet meals, nightly karaoke (Much to my surprise I discovered that I’m a mic hog) and instant access to all variety of lake activities. The boy learned how to bait a hook and spent many an hour paddling around trying to land a biggin, while the girl morphed into a mermaid, coming out only for meals and to text her friends back home.

But in an effort to get acquainted with our southern surroundings, we did venture out to explore one of the local sites. In the city of Crossville stands what some of the locals refer to as God’s tree house.

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