LIVE MAGAZINE VOL 8, Issue #190 August 22nd THRU September 5, 2014

18
ART &
ABOUT
by Lon Michels and Todd Olson
VALLEY OF THE ARTS
Upon our return from a whirlwind tour of our great state of California, we
have a new appreciation of the greatest artist of all! As the heat started
to rise in Palm Springs, we decided to get into the car and drive on a road
trip. The first leg of our trip was to San Luis Obispo, California. This city is
home of the fabulous Madonna Inn. This inn has been featured on numerous
television shows and travel specials. The little art community of San Luis
Obispo is only five hours from Palm Springs and has cool temperatures and
has even been sung about in a song that we love by Scissor Sisters.
The second leg of our trip was along Highway 1 and all the coastal cities. If
you have not yet driven along this stunning Highway 1, please put it on your
bucket list of things to do. On this leg we were amazed at the incredible views
of elephant sea lions basking in the warm sunshine on the beach.
Each one of these sea lions is as big as our VW bug, but believe us, they
smell as big as they look while molting in the CA sunshine! Our second night,
we stayed in the gorgeous city of Santa Cruz. This city was made famous by
the movie, “The Lost Boys”, a film about hot young vampires, and we certainly
saw our share of hot young lost boys on the beach playing volley ball. We
had the most incredible sea food at Gilda’s on the wharf while we watched,
sharks, seals, sea otters and birds, frolicking in the ocean. This city is super
special, maybe even better than San Francisco.
As we worked our way North, everyday seeing even more spectacular views
than we could imagine. We stopped once again at the Russian River, where
it empties into the Pacific, and where redwoods are abundant. This small
community, is known for its thriving Gay population. The people here are
friendly and eccentric. Our next next overnight was Lake Tahoe. We were
blown away by Emerald Bay on the Southwestern shores of the lake. The
water here is as blue as the Mediterranean, and we both had almost spiritual
swims in this magnificent healing lake. Also, we had some fun at the casinos,
and were treated as VIPs.
After a refreshing overnight at Tahoe, we drove through Yosemite National
Park. This drive was once again something every person needs to do in their
lifetime. The scenery was breath taking. El Capitan and the Half Dome are
heavenly. We felt renewed and revitalized by such beauty and splendor.
Lastly we hit Vegas baby! We stayed at the Paris hotel, which let us keep our
little dog Bazzy with us. It is really funny how Bazzy likes to stay in expensive
hotels more then we do! Vegas and the show “The Dream” at the Wynn was
masterful and inspiring. This show is like Cirque de Solie on steroids, and the
young men and women performers are like gods and goddesses! We might
have over done it on the buffets, but oh well, what happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas! We hope the calories stay there as well. We even won a little jack pot
which made our Vegas adventure all the more exciting.
We are so grateful not only to live in California, but in Palm Springs, because
we really are within driving distance to so much. But really, as stated by
Dorothy, “There’s no place like home”, here in Palm Springs CA.