Category: Our Continuing Journey

On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again
On the road again

Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again

The song, by Willie Nelson says it all. We are on the road again. This time we have left Southern California and are heading back to the East Coast. First stop was a quick visit with my brother in Indio – and then on to Prescott Arizona. Prescott was an overnight visit with our friend Dave – he and I worked together for 16 years in Glendale and we both retired within 2 months of each other in 2017. Nice visit. It seems that taking pictures over the last couple of days just hasn’t happened. So actual proof we were there is unavailable.

Now we are in Williams Arizona – the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon”.

It seems that Janeen has never been to the Grand Canyon so we have a tour set for tomorrow which should be both educational and fun. However, today it is all about Williams. With a population of only 3,158 (as of 2017) its major claim to fame is that it was the last city on Historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. The community was bypassed on October 13, 1984 and it is clear it thrives on tourists and those particularly nostalgic for the old route 66.

The Historic Downtown district covers 6 square blocks with a number of interesting shops and restaurants. This place is clearly one of the major inspirations for the Disney – Pixar movie Cars.

As we drove into town Janeen and I both said how it reminded us of the movie and Cars Land at Disneyland California Adventures.

One of the attractions is the Grand Canyon Railway. The original Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway were completed in September 1901. After declining ridership, it was eventually purchased by private investors in 1988 that restored the faculties and passenger cars. Since that time, the railroad has taken hundreds of passengers to and from the south rim of the Grand Canyon on a daily basis.

Other highlights include the Grand Canyon Brewing Company,

AZ Wine and lots of shops with Indian and local artist creations.

We had a nice time just wandering around and visited one of the original Route 66 Trading Posts for southwestern native jewelry and pottery. Tomorrow the Grand Canyon!

Historic Jamestown, just a few miles away from our place in Williamsburg, seemed like a nice spot to visit on a lovely September day. With Ryan and Chris on board, we headed out to visit this site.

As we were getting in line for our entrance tickets we discovered that Tony and Gloria were also there – and just in front of us – and it was great to visit with them again. (they were at the 50^th anniversary celebration that was held the prior evening).

Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Started by the Virginia Company of London as “James Fort” on May 4, 1607 along the banks of the (now) James River (originally Powhatan River). The location was chosen as a site in a secure place, where Spanish ships could not fire point blank into the fort. Within days of landing, Powhatan Indians attacked the colonists. As a result of the hostilities, the newcomers spent the next few weeks working to create a wooden fort.

It is inside this fort that England’s first permanent colony took hold.

Of course it wasn’t easy. Disease, famine, and sporadic attacks from the neighboring Powhatan Indians took a tremendous toll on the early population, but there were also times when trade with the Indians revived the colony with food in exchange for glass beads, copper and iron tools. Relations with the local Indians quickly soured and the colonist would eventually annihilate the Paspahegh in warfare over the next four years.

The original number of colonists was 105 “men and boys” but despite the Virginia Company sending more settlers and supplies, including the 1608 arrival of eight Polish and German colonists and the first two European women, more than 80 percent of the colonist died by 1610. The site was abandoned for several years, the remaining colonists returned from nearby encampments after a resupply convoy arrived.

The first representative assembly in English North America convened in the Jamestown church on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly met in response to orders from the Virginia Company “to establish one equal and uniform government over all Virginia” and provide “just laws for the happy guiding and governing of the people there inhabiting.” A few weeks later came the first unsolicited arrival of Africans to Jamestown, marking the beginning of de facto slavery in the colony.

With the introduction of tobacco and the arrival of the first indentured slaves Jamestown created an economy that was able to survive and expand.

As Jamestown grew into a robust “New Towne” to the east, written references to the original fort disappeared. In 1676 a rebellion in the colony led by Nathaniel Bacon sacked and burned much of the capital town. Jamestown remained the capital of Virginia until its major statehouse, located on the western end of the island, burned in 1698. The capital moved to Williamsburg in 1699, and Jamestown began to slowly disappear above the ground. By the 1750s the land was heavily cultivated farmland erasing all the above ground structures.

In 1893 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barney owned the property that was Jamestown. The Barneys gave 22-1/2 acres of land, including the 17^th century church tower, to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia). By this time James River erosion had eaten away the island’s western shore; the common belief was that the site of 1607 James Fort lay completely underwater. With federal assistance, a sea wall was built in 1900 to protect the area from further erosion. The remaining acreage on the island was acquired by the National Park Service in 1934 and made part of the Colonial National Historical Park.

In 1994 an extensive survey of the property was done which resulted in finding the foundations of the original fort. These excavations revealed 1.5 million artifacts and greatly increased the understanding of this first chapter in American History.

Today, the Preservation Virginia Society and National Park Service jointly operate Jamestown.   Upon our arrival ,we learned that Ranger Bill would be doing a talk in a few minutes and we arrived in time to listen in. Ranger Bill brought to life much of the history of the area and pointed out various significant points of interest. After our introduction talk we walked through the recreated fort, visited the museum with all many of the artifacts on display and generally had a very nice time.

After we left, and had posted a few pictures on Facebook, we learned that Chris is related to some of the early Jamestown settlers. It seems that on his mother’s side of the family, his great grandmother…..the Slaughter line from Upper Slaughter, England help settle Jamestown. John Slaughter came over from Upper Slaughter about 1610-1612. His wife and son, John, joined him about 1615-1617. John, the father, was killed in an Indian massacre outside of town. His wife died and is buried in Jamestown. John, the son ,married and had 3 sons in Jamestown. Who knew that Chris comes from such old and hearty stock? The Slaughter Family is listed in the settler’s books of Jamestown.  Nice surprise to learn all of this after having visited the place.

Within the City of Los Angeles, there are any number of smaller cities and communities. For example, where we have lived for the last 40 years – Alhambra – is a City with it’s own governance but is within the County of Los Angeles so very much influenced by what happens “downtown”. This past Saturday, our friends, Phil and Jessie, took us to a new ‘hip’ restaurant called Hippo. Located in the old Highland Park Post Office Building, thus HIPPO, along with a neat little pizza place and a small wine shop it is one of a growing trend in this area of new restaurants.

Highland Park is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, located in the San Rafael Hills and along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish/Mexican era.

The area was originally discovered thousands of years ago by ancestors of the Chumash people (the local Indian tribe), and would later be settled by the Tongva Indian tribe most associated with early settlements in Los Angeles and the Channel Islands off the coast.  After the founding of Los Angeles in 1784, the Corporal of the Guard at the San Gabriel mission, Jose Maria Verdugo, was granted the 36,403 acre Rancho San Rafael which included the present day Highland Park. Drought in the late 1800s resulted in economic hardship for the Verdugo family, and Rancho San Rafael was eventually auctioned off in 1869 for $3,500 over an unpaid loan. The San Rafael tract was purchased by Andrew Glassell and Albert J. Chapman, who leased it out to sheepherders. Highland Park was annexed to Los Angeles in 1895.

In the early 20th century, Highland Park and neighboring Pasadena became havens for artists and intellectuals who led the Arts and Crafts movement

Starting in the early 2000s, a diverse mix of people began arriving to Highland Park to seek out, buy, and revitalize Craftsman homes, some which had suffered neglect over the decades. Many of Highland Park’s oldest homes were razed during the 1950s and 1960s. One architecturally significant home made its way to Heritage Square Museum, thanks to the efforts of local activists dedicated to saving Victorian homes scheduled for demolition. Like Echo Park and Eagle Rock, Highland Park has steadily seen some gentrification. People from across the region have been attracted to the historic Craftsman homes that escaped demolition. Its relatively low rents have made it increasingly popular among young people who value the pedestrian urban lifestyle afforded by the older style of neighborhood.

Once again, Highland Park is building a reputation as a mecca for artists, with trendy shops, galleries, bars and restaurants opening throughout the neighborhood. Hippo, which opened just a little over a month ago, is just one example of this change in the City.

Saturday evening is “date night” and this place was no exception. We arrived for our 5PM reservation (the only time we could get) and joined the crowd getting settled in for the evening.

From start to finish it was a very pleasant evening.

The menu has a number of lovely items: Cool summer wax beans with fresh Serrano chiles, toasted almonds& frenchie vinaigrette; Griddle’d cauliflower, cauliflower “tahini,” walnut raisin caper relish; Royal Hamachi with Meyer lemon oregano relish; New Zealand tai snapper “ceviche”, cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro; Sweet corn cappellacci, funghi misti, thyme; Cedar smoked ocean trout, sweet corn succotash, green goddess just to name a few of the delights on menu.

We started off with cocktails – Janeen had a “Consider your shoes” Aperol, Prosecco, Amaro Angeleno, vermouth, olive & orange.

I had “Hippo old fashioned” bourbon, amaro sfumato, tart cherry, bitters

and Phil had “Paris is burning” – bourbon, italicus, lemon, blackberry, aquafaba, earl grey tea.

The cocktails included a lovely bufala mozzarella with cured 14 month prosciutto di san daniclle.

Jessie had a pour from the bottle of wine Barbera D’Alba.

Between the four of us at the table, we ended up with several different starters and three different mains! For starters we had summer tomatoes, cucumbers, olives & feta,

and the yellowfin tuna carpaccio. Our mains consisted of the Oxtail tagliatelle ragu,

the fresh ricotta tortellini

and the cedar smoked ocean trout.

Portion size was wonderful – not so much you had left overs but not so small you felt cheated. We looked at the dessert menu but passed. One of the interesting things I noticed on the menu, and on the final bill, is they add a 3% charge to the bill to assist in offering health care coverage for the staff. Never seen anything like that before – I wonder if this is a trend for the future.