Check out the cute ornament that Mag got us--it looks just like our 5th wheel, even the slide!
The little towns of Piru, Fillmore and Santa Paula (collectively called "Heritage Valley") are all decked out for the holidays. The small town atmosphere here feels so comfortable and festive--we're really enjoying it!
We tried to get reservations on the Christmas train, a historic train that runs 20 miles each way between Santa Paula and Santa Clarita, but they were all booked up. We'll probably do the Chinese New Year's train instead.We found out last week that United Water (the company that hired us) has contracted out the management of the campground to a company called Recreation Resources Management. They will be hiring more workampers and investing lots of resources in improving the campground. United Water has indicated that they will honor our contract or we can apply to work for RRM, which pays all its workampers. We signed up for interviews on Wednesday. Wish us luck! We'll be okay either way.
Last week we drove to North Hollywood (see the sign on the hill in the background of the picture?)
and caught the Metro (subway) into the Chinatown part of downtown Los Angeles. What fun! The subway ends at Union Station, which was beautifully renovated. It first opened in 1939 and is sometimes called the last great train station. Many movies have been filmed here. In addition to Metro, Amtrak runs trains out of this station, so it's a real transportation hub.
I've been to Chinatowns in several big cities, but the one in Los Angeles has to be one of the prettiest (and least tourist-y) of any I've ever been to. We wandered through many shops that had lots of inexpensive stuff for sale. It appeared that most of the shops had people living in the upstairs.
We had a great lunch for $4.75 (really!). Wiley had a whole fish (sole) that had been fried until it was crispy. It came with rice and vegetables. I had a tofu dish in a yummy brown sauce with rice and vegetables. Wiley drooled over the huge dungeness crabs in the tank at the restaurant. He really wants to catch some for himself! There were all kinds of food on the menu that we didn't recognize. It seemed very authentic--most of the patrons were Chinese! A great experience!!
We finished up with a stroll down Wilshire Blvd. We'll be going back to L.A. again soon.
One final cheerful note: Wiley has started physical therapy for the posture problems caused by his Parkinson's Disease at a local clinic. Look how much straighter he is after just 3 visits! I'm so proud of him--he's really working at it!The next blog will probably be when we get back from our Christmas visit to my son's. Have a great holiday everyone!
6 comments:
We're also looking forward to the historic district, the zoo and some other parts of L.A. that sound pretty cool. Glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you are enjoying California.
If you get back to Los Angeles, look up my friend David at Lou e Luey (http://www.lou-e-lueys.com/).
Sarah (from TNC in FL)
What's Lou e Luey--a restaurant?
Wiley - you look fantastic. I can't believe the difference in your stance in such a short period of time.
Your small towns look very festive. Our town, Ocala, really goes all out in decorating our downtown area and during the Christmas season we always "detour through downtown Ocala" just to enjoy all the lights and decorations. Mag reminds me of my mother -- she always was able to find the most unique and unusual things. I love that camper tree ornament. Slide-out to boot! Wow.
A friend of ours told us about a place called Delzano's where we should try to get to eat (apparently one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in L.A.). He told me Lou e Lueys is a baja seafood grill run by David Letchworth and Rafael Solorzano and they also run Delzano's. I don't know if this is the same one Sarah is referring to but it sounds like it is. I have quite a list of things to do and see in L.A. I am now beginning to get excited about our trip out there in January. I continue to enjoy your blog!
Forgot to ask you how the interviews turned out. Also, wanted to wish you both a Happy New Year 2008!
Joyce and Wiley sorry I haven't been back to your blog for a while. Your friend was correct about the restaurant in LA--my friend is David Letchworth. If you get there, tell him Sarah sent you.
Sarah
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