Category: California

Fall 2022 Episode 2: Inland Empire and the Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa

On By LToddIn California, RV Travel, Travel6 Comments

Saturday, October 8, 2022, we drove out of town, pulling the fifth wheel and heading south on Interstate 5. Our first stop in Castaic didn’t turn out as planned. When I checked in at the office, I was told we didn’t have a reservation, but they showed we had been there on Monday. What?

Turns out I had made the reservation for the wrong day. There went $60 out the window flying in the wind. Castaic had no open spots, and neither did any other RV parks within 85 miles along our route. We ended up driving all the way to Jon’s brother’s house in Fontana after a stop in Glendora to eat and let the traffic pass. We flirted with staying overnight in a Walmart parking lot, but when I checked with the manager, she said they didn’t allow it. Jon wanted to stay anyway. I had visions of a security guard or policeman knocking on the door at 3:00 am to tell us to move, so I convinced my better half it wasn’t a good idea.

The next day, after a lunch trip to Vince’s Spaghetti in Rancho Cucamonga, we settled in at Rancho Jurupa Regional RV Park.

Hunter’s Moon hangs over Rancho Jurupa RV Park

Our goal while in Riverside was to check out the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a National Historic Landmark. We both had grown up not too far from the hotel and watched it change hands and go through various renovations over the years.

Welcome to The Mission Inn

Plus, I had recently finished reading Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O’Brien. The book had mentioned the International Shrine of Aviators at the hotel, and I wanted to see it in person.

We found the atrium outside of the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel, where the plaques and the 10-inch copper wings are displayed and protected with a wrought-iron fence. The Flyer’s Wall was dedicated on December 15, 1932, and includes 160 names, including Amelia Earhart, James H. Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and John Glenn.

Chapel door and stained-glass window. St. Francis of Assisi Chapel would be a lovely place to hold a wedding for up to 150 guests.

The shrine may seem small in comparison to statues and other monuments designed to honor historical figures, but I can’t help but think of the emotions that Amelia Earhart must have experienced as she signed her name on the wing. Finally, after risking her life for years and proving she could fly as well as any man, she stood in her rightfully earned place among them.

Flyer’s Wall
Amelia Earhart’s signed wings

The history of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa begins in 1876, when a quaint 12-room adobe building served as a place for travelers to stay the night. Frank Miller is credited with expanding the humble beginnings into a full-service hotel with 200 guestrooms by 1903. Over the next 30 years, Miller expanded the hotel, incorporating elements from the 20 missions in California with historical architectural styles from around the world. He traveled extensively and brought back stained glassed windows, furnishings, artwork, and religious relics to decorate the inn.

After Miller’s death, the inn changed hands multiple times, was the subject of a bankruptcy or two, and closed in 1985. The current innkeepers, Duane and Keely Roberts, saved the property from the wrecking ball, bringing the Mission Inn back to life with a $55-million renovation and modernization project. The hotel reopened in 1992 to once again welcome guests to the iconic historic hotel.

Under the arches are seven of more than 800 bells Frank Miller collected

Since its reopening in 1992, the inn has received many awards from Condé Nast Traveler, USA Today’s 10 best historic hotels, and Historic Hotels of America. AAA has also honored the inn with a Four Diamond rating.

What is in the domed building?
Chandelier in the lobby area

Annually, nutcrackers and Christmas lights decorate the inn for the Festival of Lights Celebration that continues into the first week in January. On opening night, the day after Thanksgiving, they switch on the five million lights, animate 200 figures, and delight the city with fireworks. “Hey, Jon. We’ve got to go see this. Want to make another trip to SoCal over New Years?”

When researching the inn, I learned that during the opening ceremonies of the 30th anniversary of the Festival of Lights on November 25, 2022, a fire caused by fireworks broke out on a roof. It was a good thing the fire department stationed crews on the roof. The fire was under control within 10 minutes, without injuries sustained or evacuations needed. For a photo, click the Festival of Lights link above.

Saint Junipero Serra O.F.M. established the first nine of 21 California Spanish missions from San Diego to San Francisco when the Spanish occupied the land known as Alta California in the Province of Las California, New Spain. Now known as the State of California.

One of many statues in the hotel

The Clock Tower is home to a 1709 Anton clock in Nuremberg, Germany. The original clock face is housed in the museum for safety. What we see on the tower today is a replica. Four figures rotate every quarter of an hour: Father Serra Juan Bautista De Anza, St. Francis, the California Grizzly Bear, and a California Native American.

Anton clock with rotating figures
Six-story spiral staircase of the International Rotunda which was constructed in 1931.

The initials in the metal railing shown below honor figures in early California and Mission history. PJBS refers to Padre Jose Bernardo Sanchez (1778-1883), who served California for 30 years and was the father president from 1828-1831.

Metal railing around the spiral staircase
Rooftop gardens overlook downtown Riverside city buildings
Eclectic mix of architectural styles
The courtyard where we ate lunch
At the corner of 6th and Orange streets

Having visited the Mission Inn, I want to go back and spend a night or two in one of their uniquely appointed luxury rooms, or maybe in one of the 27 suites, should we choose to splurge. Hmmm! Something to think about.

Until then, we will continue our Fall 2022 adventures. Next up is Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Safe Travels

Fall 2022 Episode 1: Onward After A Long Hiatus

On By LToddIn California, Travel8 Comments

After a long spring and summer, fall had arrived. A week later, we examined our calendars to find no more doctor visits, no more physical therapy sessions, and no more reasons to stay at home until the week before Thanksgiving. Whoopee! Time to get out and explore.

We picked the de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for our first adventure when the Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibit beckoned us from across the bay. It seemed appropriate to start out locally before packing up the trailer and hitting the road. On October 4, 2022, Laura, our daughter, and the two grandkids joined us for the field trip.

Laura, Jackson, and Maya Silvey at de Young Museum

The de Young Museum

After signing in at the ticket counter, we walked toward Wilsey Court. There have been many interesting exhibits displayed here, but the Resident Alien II, by Hung Liu is one that’s hard to miss. The 28-foot-tall version of Liu’s 1988 painting of her original green card doesn’t just compete for attention, it commands visitors to look and pay attention. This is something important.

Resident Alien II, by Hung Liu

Note the name change from Hung Liu to Cookie, Fortune, a pejorative term. Liu also changed her date of birth from 1948 to 1984, the year she immigrated from China to the U.S. to study at UC San Diego. The change in year commemorates the year she started her new life in America.

We had a few minutes to spare before our scheduled exhibit time, so Laura and the grandkids took a spin at the virtual reality experience, Ramses & Nefertari: Journey to Osiris, while Jon and I watched through the door. After seeing the pods where they sat wearing VR headsets move back and forth, up and down, and all around, I was glad I didn’t take a ride. No sense getting motion sickness before we saw the Ramses exhibit.

Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs

The pictorial in the photo below features Ramses with an axe in hand. The three shorter figures represent his enemies of Egypt: a Syrian, a Nubian, and a Libyan. Note how Ramses towers over his prisoners, reflecting Ramses’s power over the men he’s about to smite.

Painted Limestone Blocks

Waiting a few minutes to watch the multi-media production was worth the time. The production features Ramses’s triumph during his largest chariot battle fought at Kedesh. The narrative, sights, and sounds bring the battle to life in a way that a 2D format could not match.

Multi-media presentation of Ramses II battle at Kadesh

The replica below shows how the dawn light animates the facade of the Great Temple. The sun first illuminates the four colossal statues of Ramses, then the small sculptures of Nefertari (first wife), Isitnofret (second wife), and their children, then floods the interior with light.

Replica of the Great Temple façades

Artists used Ostraca (flakes of limestone) as their “notepads”. Below is a practice sketch of a king giving an offering. The one on the right is a depiction of the board game Senet, which was popular during Ramses’s time and symbolized the deceased’s passage through the Underworld.

Egyptian notepads consisted of flakes of limestone

Outer coffin of the ancient Egyptian artisan Sennedjem, who lived in Deir el-Medina (ancient name, Set Maat, translates to Place of Truth) during the reigns of Ramses II and his father, Seti I. Sennedjem, a skilled craftsman, worked in the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. His tomb was discovered in 1886 on a hill overlooking the worker’s settlement where he

Sennedjem’s outer coffin

Below is a falcon-headed collar and counterweight that belonged to Princess Neferuptah and a girdle with leopard heads that belonged to Princess Merit. wearing the double-headed leopard girdle hanging from the hips functioned as a protective amulet.

Imagine the weight of this collar

Painted and gilded cedar outer coffin lid of Pinudjem II’s wife, Princess Nesikhonsu, and inner coffin lid or Mummy Board of Pinudjem II

Coffin lids

We took a break for lunch at the museum’s cafe where they always have good things to eat and drink, and then we wandered around the other museum rooms.

Faith Ringgold: American People

Jon and I both enjoyed artist and activist Faith Ringgold’s exhibit, which included paintings, quilts, and other artistic forms. A few words came to mind while viewing the work; Strong and emotional and sometimes playful. Unfortunately, the exhibit’s last day was November 27, 2022.

Feminist Series #12: We Meet the Monster
American People Series #13: The Flag is Bleeding
Listen to the Trees: The American Collection #11
Mother’s Quilt
Detail of Mother’s Quilt

Hamon Observation Tower

The Hamon Tower was our last stop within the museum. It offers fantastic views from its observation deck at 144 feet above ground.

SkyStar Wheel and view of San Francisco neighborhood
California Academy of Sciences building with 2.2-acre living roof and UCSF Health buildings in the background

SkyStar Wheel

The SkyStar Wheel is a temporary installation that celebrates the 150th anniversary of Golden Gate Park and I found it interesting that the wheel stands at 150 feet tall. It weighs 465,000 pounds, and its circumference is 500 feet. The 36 enclosed gondolas hold 6 guests, except for the VIP gondola which holds 5 guests. At night, colored LED lights illuminate the wheel. Jon and I passed on riding the SkyStar during our visit, but now I want to be one of the 500,000 people that are expected to take the 12-minute ride. I still have time. The Wheel will be around until March 2025.

And, here’s a bit of trivia: Another Ferris wheel once graced the grounds of Golden Gate Park in 1894 during the Midwinter International Exposition. It stood 120 feet tall.

SkyStar Wheel next to the plinth where the arches once protected a statue of Francis Scott Key

On Juneteenth 2020 (Friday, June 19, 2020), protestors vandalized the Francis Scott Key statue and it was removed. Monumental Reckoning, composed of black steel structures referred to as the Ancestors and sculpted by Dana King, surrounds the foot of the plinth. The sculptures represent the first 350 Africans kidnapped in 1619 and brought to America. According to a sign on the plinth, the protestors targeted Francis Scott Key because of his views and actions against Africans in America. they also call for Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing to replace the Star-Spangled Banner as America’s National Hymn. Monumental Reckoning is scheduled to remain in place until June 19, 2023.

We always enjoy our visits to the de Young and the many exhibits on display. We feel fortunate to have seen the Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibit, since it is unlikely we will ever travel to Egypt to see such historic artifacts. Visitors have until February 12, 2023, to see the statues, jewelry, and other objects on display. After that date, it travels to Europe and will be in Paris from April through September 2023.

Four days later, we had our fifth wheel trailer packed and drove off for a five-week trip to the mountains, to the desert, and to the ocean. Watch for new episodes soon.

Safe Travels

Where Have the Traveling Todds Gone? Or, A Bad Break on April 8

On By LToddIn California, Photography, Travel23 Comments

Our plan to visit more of the East Bay Regional Parks fizzled the day it began. On April 8, 2022, we selected the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve for our first visit. Since the green hills near us had already begun their fade to gold, we knew the wildflowers wouldn’t last much longer in the eastern part of Contra Costa County.

View of hills from Black Diamond Mines parking lot. The last clump of trees in the background surrounds the Rose Hill Cemetery.
Plaque commemorates the Mount Diablo Coal Field where twelve major mines supported five communities during 1860 to 1906.

We started out on the Atlas Mine trail until we encountered a closed sign, then transitioned to the Chaparral Trail. A few days earlier, I had watched a video about the wildflowers on the Chaparral Trail and anticipated all the wildflowers I’d be able to capture with the camera.

Up two short inclines and a walk through an overgrown area, until we hit a clearing where I stopped to take photos. Then Jon realized he had dropped the map. I offered to navigate the inclines again to retrieve said map. Sandstone isn’t my favorite medium to hike on, so I was proud I made it down and back up the steep inclines, not just once, but twice without sliding.

Hazel Atlas Portal trail ended at a closed sign.

With the map retrieved, we continued on a maintenance and fire road, also graded from sandstone. I found another patch of flowers to capture with the camera and squatted to get a closer view. With the picture taken and the camera turned off, I stood, then landed on my butt.

Pain gripped my right hand and wrist. My Lamaze breathing techniques kicked in. Between breaths, I prayed for a sprain and not a break. I didn’t want to look, I couldn’t look, I had to look.

Rough Cat’s-ear

A quick look revealed my right hand misaligned with the arm. Not a sprain. Dizziness and shaking left me sitting in place for several minutes until I could recover and stand. My camera and strap served as a handy sling and kept the pain at bay.

Luckily, we hadn’t gone more than a 1/3 mile from our car. Off we drove to urgent care where X-rays confirmed the damage and need for surgery. Our plans to visit the East Bay Parks or traveling in our RV ended that day, a disappointment we are only recently getting over.

Yellow Trumpet

I’m sure it’s easy to guess that having my dominant arm immobilized limited what I can do. Jon has been the perfect caregiver helping me whenever I couldn’t do something on my own, carting me to doctor appointments and other outings, and taking over all the household chores.

On Thursday, July 7, three months later and two months after surgery, the doctor released me from any splint, cast, or brace. Now I’m looking at several months, if not a year, of slow incremental progress until my mobility returns to what it was before.

Ithuriel’s Spear

So, there you have it. A bad break sidelined the Traveling Todds and kept us from enjoying our passion for poking around this great nation of ours. We are so looking forward to packing up and hitting the road in a few weeks, after a few PT appointments and assuming no other obstacles crop up.

Thank goodness I could trade my cast for a brace, and we didn’t have to cancel our trip to Kauai with the family. It was a trip we had originally booked for April 2020 and rescheduled for early June 2022.

Stay tuned for a post or two, or more, about our Hawaii trip.

Safe Travels

Updated July 14, 2022: corrected date from June 7 to July 7

Spring 2022: Family Campground at Anthony Chabot and Lake Chabot Regional Parks, Castro Valley, California

On By LToddIn California, Photography, RV Travel, Travel5 Comments

Anthony Chabot Family Campground was our destination on March 20, 2022, only 22 miles away, to explore another East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) property. We arrived early for our four-night stay, set up, and went for a walk.

The campground, set in a grove of eucalyptus trees, includes 12 full hookup sites, 53 drive-up sites that can accommodate tents and smaller RVs, and 10 walk-in sites. All the sites have plenty of space between them and are large enough for a party of eight. We found site 5 to be the best for us since it was one of only two pull-through sites in the RV section, and on the patio side, it looked out over the grassy grove of tall trees that sloped down into a valley.

Site 5 is a pull through with a view of the grove

Animals in the park include coyotes who howl late at night and early in the morning. Bevys of doves that hid in the grass and scared us when they took flight in mass, calling out warnings to their family and friends. Turkey gobbles echoed through the trees and hills. On one walk, we saw two toms, their tail feathers fanned out, arguing with each other, and doing breast bumps like football players do on the field. Not sure where their harem of hens was hiding. Usually, we see turkey flocks sticking together with one tom guarding his harem, jakes, and poults.

Wild turkeys everywhere in the Bay Area

Signs warn of mountain lions and rattlesnakes. They didn’t worry us because we stuck to the main roads and trails where more people were around making noise. I figured the mountain lions preferred the turkeys as easier prey. Of course, I sure wouldn’t want to tango with a tom in protective mode.

New poison oak shoots

On the flora side, warnings include poison oak. New green shoots poked through the ground and fall-colored leaves still clung to older shrubs.

Anthony Chabot Regional Park

The 3,304-acre Anthony Chabot Regional Park opened in 1952 as Grass Valley Regional Park. As noted in the park’s brochure, the park was renamed in 1965 to honor Anthony Chabot, who built the first public water system in San Francisco and Oakland. Lake Chabot, designed by Anthony Chabot and built in 1874, was added to the Regional Park system in 1966.

Shower and restroom building brought to you by the Land and Water Conservation Fund

The reservoir provides an emergency water source for east bay communities. Combined, the Anthony Chabot and Lake Chabot parks total 5,059 acres and sit within the ancestral home of Jalquin, an Ohlone- and Bay Miwok-speaking tribe.

Overlooking the east shore of Lake Chabot
Overlooking the Redwood Canyon Public Golf Course
On Huck’s Trail

Spanish settlers and Franciscans came to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1700s. In the 1800s gold-seeking miners, loggers, and trains arrived. Before all of those people came, some estimates place a group of 10,000 to 20,000 indigenous people in the Bay Area, possibly dating back to 6,000 years ago. Scattered near the water, across the valleys, in the hills, and inland, the small tribes of hunters and gatherers lived off the land and sea.

California poppies in bloom
Boat rentals can be had at the marina
Edible miner’s lettuce
Bermuda buttercup

By the early 1900s, diseases had caused a severe drop in the population of Ohlone- and Miwok-speaking people. In addition, many of the tribes from the Contra Costa and Alameda counties lost out on Federal funding and land for their people.

Shedding bark drapes across limbs
Unable to find the name. Any guesses?
On the Towhee Trail
Braken fern perhaps?

Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

The park district renamed the Redwood Regional Park to Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in 2019 in honor of Dr. Aurelia Henry Reinhardt. Dr. Reinhardt was one of the first five directors on the District’s Board in 1934. Her contributions included the preservation of redwoods and public open space.

We parked near the Fishway Interpretive Site, which sounded interesting when I saw it on the map. A pair of information panels detail the life cycle of the native trout that spawn in the creek and live in the Upper San Leandro Reservoir.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 970 plaque placed on April 29, 1987, marks the place where three fish taken from the creek in 1855 led to the naming of the rainbow trout species. The assigned scientific name is noted as salmo iridia rainbow trout.

Historic Landmark No. 970

After reading about the life cycle of the trout, we crossed a stone bridge to Bridle Trail and made a loop for about 2-1/2 miles. Parallel to the Bridle Trail is the Stream Trail that spans from one end of the park to the other. In addition, the Anza Historic Trail, Skyline National Trail, and Bay Area Ridge Trail pass through the 1,833-acre park, which opened in 1939.

A bit of water flows in the creek
On the Bridle Trail

Our hike meandered through a redwood forest of third-generation growth. Giant redwoods once stood there, probably for one or two thousand years or more. By the mid-1860s, loggers had felled most of the magnificent trees, often taking the stumps as well. The redwood groves destroyed became the wood used to build homes and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ferns and plenty of shade
Trillium perhaps?

The trees that populate the forest today grew in clusters from any stumps left behind. It’s easy to spot where the giants once stood, just look for the circle of trees surrounding a hole.

Find a circle of trees you’ll find where a giant once grew
Yes, it’s okay to look up
Site of old church where a cross-shaped foundation is still intact
Barbecue pit at Old Church

Work is in progress to restore Redwood Creek the rainbow trout to migrate. The park district placed fence barriers along the creek to protect the ponds and banks from damage caused by people and dogs.

Wrap Up

Research on this post left me burdened with sadness as I read about the loss of the magnificent Redwood trees and the indigenous people. The devastation caused by selfishness, greed, and power in the name of progress is a common story that spans all the states we have visited. No matter how many times I read similar stories, I’ll always weep.

On the bright side, we also learn of the people who stepped up to say, “No more,” and worked tirelessly to preserve and restore what had previously come to disastrous results. So, we give thanks to the East Bay Regional Park District, their employees, and volunteers as they carry on the mission set forth in the 1934 ballot measure that created the district. May they continue to save more land for recreational purposes so we may immerse ourselves in nature, away from the noise and chaos of the cities and suburbs.

Long-term travel is out of the question for us for the next two months as we await our Hawaii trip in early June. In the meantime, we hope to visit more parks within the East Bay Regional Park District and other locations while we keep our adventures close to home. We’ll publish a post now and then as we do.

Safe Travels