California Board of Tourism

Ok, here's a pitch to the California Board of Tourism. Jaded Bostonian moves to San Francisco. Has spent 29 years in Boston. First move of his sentient life out of Boston. Every week, he does one random act of tourism in Northern California. Writes a blog post / article about his experiences. Hopefully, the West Coast melts away his cynicism and he rediscovers the joy of life on the Golden Coast. Tourism to CA from jaded East Coasters increases 10x. CA budget crisis resolved. Yes/ no?

Ok, far fetched, but since I am new here, this might not be a bad way of getting to know the area. It also has the side benefit of preventing me from becoming overly acquainted with the neighborhood Safeway (which is where I've spent a considerable amount of time since moving here. On the other hand, I recently discovered they have great deals on Jagermeister). Since these events of tourism will be random, I prefer not to do an extensive amount of planning and just go where the whim strikes. First random act this past weekend: the Legion of Honor.

Apparently, the Legion of Honor is an art museum in San Francisco. Now, for some context, I'm not a big art person. Sure I can throw around some names, but I would hardly call myself an appreciator of the fine arts. To some extent, the modern world and the ease of art production has devalued the old stuff. Sure, this Roman statue looks impressive, but the one in the lobby of Caesar's in Vegas looks just like it! I remember going to the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts back in Boston and thinking to myself "wow, this is like a Pottery Barn catalog." Sad but true. (Side note: Watching a friend on a mildly awkward non-date at Chihuly was actually much more entertaining than the exhibit itself). So with that as pretext, let's just say expectations were not high. I chose this place primarily because it had a cool sounding name. Whatever your feelings on art, "Legion of Honor" just sounds more bad ass than "[Random Benefactor X] Museum of Art."

Turns out this place is really far out there in SF (as in far away from where I live). 

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Also since San Francisco public transit blows, there's no train that goes there. Just the bus. So car it is. Incidentally, this the first time I've driven in over a month in San Francisco (on a related note, my car battery completely died in the meantime, requiring a mini adventure in SOMA last week, but I digress). On my way there, traffic was stopped by what seemed like a holiday parade (there were people in Santa costumes), but I got confused when a band of Mexicans in sombreros on donkeys rode pass. San Francisco is weird. (Side note: I later found out that SantaCon was that day, which explained the scantily-dressed Santa's interspersed throughout the city. I had just assumed they were normal San Franciscans going about their everyday business. After all, if there's one thing I can definitely say after two months here, it's that San Franciscans are weird. It's hard to overstate this.)

The Legion is located high up on a hill next to the Presidio. It's in a park where there are hiking trails (and a golf course) And of course, there's a stunning view of the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. This brings up some other things that I've learned in my two months here: 1) Scenic views are a dime a dozen. It's hard not to get used to them. After a point, you're like "Yawn, another gorgeous sunset scene. Wake me up when something really interesting happens, like Magneto lifting the Golden Gate Bridge to create a bridge to Alcatraz." 2) People love their hiking here. When you ask people what they do for fun, they invariably bring up hiking or some other outdoorsy activity. As a native Bostonian where the official fall activity is "drink beer and watch football" this is very disturbing to me.

The view from outside the Legion of Honor. 

Upon reaching the entrance, you're confronted with the famous Rodin sculpture, "The Thinker." I admit, this is a pretty impressive courtyard and makes a great first impression. I originally assumed that this "Thinker" was a very nice replica. After my journey through the museum, I discovered that the Legion actually has an extensive Rodin collection, leading me to believe that the courtyard statue was the original one and thereby increasing my "amazed factor" by upwards of 10%. However, after returning home and hitting up Wikipedia, I learned that the true original is in Paris and that the one outside the Legion is just an original replica, if that makes any sense. So I'm less amazed again.

The Thinker

Entrance fee was a reasonable $10 ($15 if you want the Picasso upsell, which I naturally declined). Museum has your standard collection of European artsy stuff and is not overly large. I blitzed through all the rooms in a pretty efficient hour, only really pausing for what I found to be intriguing. Like for instance drinkware!

Tankard

Fancy Highball Glass

The museum has a collection of drinkware from the early 17th century, and I found this fascinating because: 1) the drin ware is pretty much the same as what we use today; 2) it shows how long human beings have been drinking; 3) the size indicates that "American" sizing is not actually a new trend and that Germans have been supersizing beer for way longer. They should just really call it "tankard" size.

The next exhibit that really stood out, as I happen to like ancient mythologies, was Bernini's Medusa. Here we see Medusa in the process of metamorphosis from gorgeous babe to snake-headed monster who turns men to stone and all the requisite anguish it entails. The story is that while she was hooking up with Poseidon in Athena's temple, she got busted by Athena ("It wasn't me?"). Getting turned into a snake headed monster was her punishment. Bummer.

Bernini's Medusa

After a whole bunch of creepy religious paintings, the next thing that I found cool was the Impressionist wing.  I really liked the painting "The Absinthe Drinkers". This handy quote pretty much sums it up: "The figural types in The Absinthe Drinkers are described as 'poverty-stricken wrecks' with 'such a particular character of suffering and of revolt, such a poignant color of melancholy.' The appeal of this gritty image is its grand portrayal of the devastating addiction to the powerful drink absinthe." Again, signs that we as a people have been consoling ourselves in drink for a long time. (Side note: I was also reminded of my friend's asinine plan to drink 31 beers on his 31st birthday, but that's another story).

Absinthe Drinkers

After fully exploring the first floor (there was also a "Mourners" special exhibit that I was not allowed to photograph), I went downstairs where there was the entrance to the special exhibit I did not pay to see (bastards!), some porcelain, and the requisite gift shop and cafe. This being the art museum, the cafe was stereotypically snooty (wine and foods I can't pronounce) and filled with older people. Having pretty much exhausted the museum at that point, I decided to leave, but not before checking out this dude again. (This is when I thought that this "Thinker" statue was the original, and therefore took another picture because of my increased level of "being impressed". I am retroactively disappointed that this was not, indeed, the true original).

In summary, Legion of Honor was a fairly enjoyable experience. On a completely arbitrary scale, I give it a B+.  Yay California!

Road Tripping and the Soul of America

Setting: in a Honda Civic, along a non-descript stretch of I-80 in Iowa.

Ray: Whoa, Joe I think that sign said “Herbert Hoover Presidential Library."
Joe: Really? That can’t be the official one. Not all the way out here in the middle of Iowa.
Ray: Yeah, no way…. Wait, there’s an official Herbert Hoover Presidential Library?!?!
Joe: Yeah, all the Presidents have them.
Ray: All????!?!? But it’s Herbert Hoover! He led to country to the GREAT Depression. Unemployment was nearly 25%! It took a World War to get us out of it! [editor’s note: history’s greatest monster is actually Jimmy Carter]
Joe: Well, I’m sure they ignore that part and just focus on the stuff before the Great Depression.
Ray: That’s ridiculous! That’s like Germany having an Adolf Hitler museum! [editor’s note: ok, perhaps this was a slight exaggeration.]
Joe: I wouldn’t go that far. But look it up.

(Ray checks mobile internet)

Ray: Yup, it’s the official one. Right off I-80. We should totally drop by
Joe: I’m up for that. We could use the break.
Ray: Yeah, when else are we going to get a chance to see the Presidential Museum of history’s greatest monster.

(after a pause)

Ray: Do you think they intentionally built I-80 to go through the museum?

So that’s pretty much how we ended up doing a drive-by tour of the Herbert Hoover President Museum in Iowa. The random stops in the middle of wherever and the freedom of the open road are what makes road trips so great for me. And as literature suggests, road trips are the way to find the soul of America:. I’m pretty sure that’s what On the Road by Jack Kerouac was about (note: I’ve never read anything by Kerouac), and American Gods by Neil Gaiman (I have read this book, and road tripping is very integral to the plot. Or at very least, tangentially relevant).

On this particular trip, I was making my way from Boston to San Francisco to start my next 12 months in Cali, and this seemed a great excuse for the ultimate road trip. After all, did you know that I-80 is the second longest highway in the USA behind only I-90? I’ve always imagined trekking across the country with no set schedule and no set itinerary and just going wherever the feeling strikes. This, however, was not that. I had four days to get from the Back Bay to the Pacific Ocean, which meant 12 to 15 hours of driving per day, and with the trunk and back seats completely full, no picking up hitchhikers either. (Luckily, Joe agreed to accompany me so I wouldn't be making the trip by myself and having to confront existential dilemmas after 55 hours alone in the car.)

Unlike international trips abroad where you can talk about exotic foods, different cultures, and famous attractions, there isn’t much of note on a cross country trek where you stick to the Interstate. Food consists of McDonald’s (very little other options on some stretches, unless you consider Burger King exotic), culture is American (inane sports banter is the same no matter what state you’re in), and famous attractions aren’t quite so famous (see aforementioned museum). That being said, this country is vast, and very scenic. Green mountains in the east, give way to the cornfields of the great plains, to the exotic landscape of the Rockies, to the desert of the Great Basin, and then back to the coast of California. You better understand the dream of California to the pioneers: If you had to trek across the Great Basin by foot - a desert, incidentally, where the largest body of water is filled with salt, which must have seemed like the ultimate troll to wanderers at the time – California really was the promised land. (Incidentally, California by Phantom Planet perfect captures this feeling).

The Trip Itinerary
-Day 1: Boston to Indianapolis: ~950 miles.
-Day 2: Indianapolis to Grand Island, Nebraska: ~725 miles
-Day 3: Grand Island to Salt Lake City, UT: ~800 miles
-Day 4: Salt Lake to San Francisco: ~725 miles
Total: ~3200 miles give or take

Notable highlights along the way:
-The Vietnamese Restaurant in Grand Island, where upon walking in, they immediately knew that we were tourists. Joe claims this is the best Vietnamese food he's ever had.
-In the middle of Iowa, T-mobile goes on roaming, as if I was in Canada or something.
-Morton’s salt is apparently taken directly from The Great Salt Lake
-On our way through Wyoming, we stopped by a gas station / McDonald’s for food. And we recognized it as the same McDonald’s we had stopped by on our Boston to Las Vegas road trip 3 years prior. What this says about us I don’t want to know.

Yes, these really were all the highlights. Which is a long way of saying that the Herbert Hoover museum was the most notable, and quite possibly represents the soul of America.

Outside the Herbert Hoover Museum

The many books about our 31st President

The outhouse that lil' Herbert used growing up (replica)

The same McDonald's that we stopped by three years ago

See! (pic from 2008 road trip)

Outside the Salt Lake Temple

Morton's salt!

The Salt Flats

Salt as far as the eye can see

They race cars here

Californiaaaa California!!! Here we are!!!

Scenic overlook

The final rest stop before San Francisco

The Great American Road Trip:

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Impermanence

Some people are itinerant, by nature or by circumstance, moving around from place to place. That has never been me. Through the confluence of opportunity and personality, I ended up living my entire conscious life in the Boston area. It’s not that I was ever opposed to moving, it’s just that the best opportunities were always the ones close by, and I never felt the itch to go somewhere new. I’ve never wanted to move for the sake of moving.

Which is why it feels strange for me to say that I’m moving to San Francisco for at least a year. A great opportunity came up through work, and I accepted. On the surface, it’s no big deal. People move all the time. Things change.

But somehow, change seems scarier as you get older. It feels odd to leave Boston now, in ways it wouldn’t have when I was younger. When you’re young, change is the natural of state of things: you change grades every year, meet new classmates, go off to college. You grow, change, and your world, with all the choices yet to be made, is wide open.

But as you get older, you decide things. You make choices and some semblance of permanence seeps in. You choose a profession, you choose a partner, you make a home, and along the way, your old home becomes the place where you grew up. You settle down. Change still happens, but to quote from The Matrix “Some things change, and some things don’t.” In some ways, getting older is the act of deciding what things you don’t want to change.

After spending all of my post-college years in Boston, I had assumed that Boston would never change for me, that this was to be my place of permanence. I grew up here, I have family here, I have friends here. To move somewhere else, even temporarily, where I have no presence is unsettling. Sure, it’s exciting, but sad as well, a reminder that things change, even things we thought wouldn’t. A move is a death and a birth at the same time - the reminder that nothing is permanent, that things end, but also that there are new places and new people. So the world moves on and so will I. If all goes as planned, I’ll be back in a year, but as as John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

California, here I come.

The Decade in Review: A Solipsistic Journey Through the Past Ten Miserable Years, pt 1

Liveblogging: Arrived in Vegas!

After 3286 miles, we have reached the end of our journey safely. We are at New York, New York. Time for rest and victuals.

Liveblogging: 3000 Miles In!

3000 miles driven on the Vegas trail so far. 288 more until Vegas. Currently, passing through Richfield, Utah.

Liveblogging: Utah

In Utah, around 430 miles from Vegas. Lunch today is at Arby's in 20 miles because the next rest stop is over 120 miles away. Good eating. There are even less cars on this highway in Utah than in South Dakota.

Liveblogging: Vail

Just passed Vail. Around 650 miles to Vegas.

Liveblogging: on the road to Vegas

Just left Denver. Over 750 miles to go until Vegas. This seemed like a better idea at the time.

Liveblogging: Denver

The Vegas Trail: Day 6 Summary

We've reached Denver! Not much more to note other than that the high altitude really does affect you. I really noticed it when swimming in the hotel pool. Tomorrow is the 700+ mile trip to Vegas and the end of the trail. I also learned that I will be visiting CA after the trip until Thursday, so perhaps it is time to settle out West.

Scenic Mount Rushmore

A Cave in Mt Rushmore

Pizza in Lusk, WY. Population: 1200

The Apocalypse in Cheyenne, WY?

Trip Summary
South Dakota to Denver

Tomorrow's Itinerary
To Vegas. The end of the driving portion of the trip.

Morale
Generally good. However, tempered by the fact that the trip is more than half over.

Rations
300 bullets. Spare Yoke. Nutrigrain bars. Cheetos and Doritos.

Day 6 Trip

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Liveblogging: Mount Rushmore and Denver

Went to Mt Rushmore (as seen on National Treasure 2) early in the morning. Impressive, but I think the moden age has jaded me to the wonders of the Mount.

South Dakota and Wyoming are pretty deserted. We passed by the town of Lost Springs, WY with a population of 1. For lunch, we went to a pizza place in Lark, Wy which was surprisingly pricey.

Then it was an uneventful trip to Denver. Dinner today is at the Berlin Cafe. Today is the first day we haven't eaten at a chain restaurant. Which means its McDs and Burger King tomorrow.

LiveBlogging: Badlands and Trip Summary

The Vegas Trail: Day 3, 4 and 5 Summary

Made it to Rapid City, SD. Who knew that South Dakota was filled with roadside attractions such as Wall Drug (advertised for over 200 miles on I-90 - basically, a giant souvenir store), 1880 town, and the movie props from Dances with Wolves?

South Dakota is incredibly flat. The prairie stretches forever. I think I might have agoraphobia - the fear of wide, open spaces. There were times I thought I would drop off the edge of the world.

The highlight of South Dakota was the Badlands, sort of a mini Grand Canyon. Very scenic. We arrived late to Rapid City and had a hearty dinner at Olive Garden. Or as The Onion puts it, the 3 time winner of Minnesota's best Italian restaurant.

Random Roadtrip Tidbits
-Mount Rushmore is advertised as the place where they filmed the end of National Treasure 2
-South Dakota's nickname is "The Mount Rushmore State." Very creative
-It's very windy out here

In Chicago

Hustled by Trung at poker

It's been a long trip

Morale improves in MN

Exciting Twins game

Preview of the future

Hearty breakfast at McD. Notice the amusement park in the background

Unitentional comedy

Unitentional? Probably inappropriate

Wide open spaces

The Badlands

What's that?

Dusk at the Badlands

Sunset at the Badlands

Ending the day at Olive Garden

Trip Summary
Monday: Chicago to Minneapolis
Tuesday: Minneapolis to Rapid City, South Dakota
Over 2000 miles traveled so far.

Tomorrow's Itinerary
To Mount Rushmore in the morning. Then to Denver.

Morale
Improved after the Badlands. However, dreading the realization that the trip is almost halfway done.

Rations
300 bullets. Spare yoke. Nutrigrain bars. Out of Fruit Gushers though. Half a bottle of Pinot Noir purchased from Target.


Day 5 Trip

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Day 4 Trip

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Day 3 Trip

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Liveblogging: on the road

Still in Minnesota with over 350 miles to go until Rapid City, SD. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Eating at the Chit Chat family restaurant in Luverne MN. We'll see in an hour if this is one of those things where we'll say "it seemed like a good idea at the time."

The road ahead is long. Still around 1500 miles on our journey. Need more road trip games. Morale is low.

Liveblogging: to South Dakota

Wow, the directions say 500 miles on I-90 W. Maybe this roadtrip was a bit too ambitious.

Liveblogging: Mall of America

Currently in line at the McDonald's in the Mall of America - a mall so big it has an amusement park in it. Everything is bigger and wider in the Midwest - malls, streets, people.

I imagne the scene at 9am here would resemble a post-apocalyptic America - except that the storefronts are in good condition.