Clifton's Cafeteria - Originally Published 2010

Clifford Clinton was a bold man.  How bold?  First, he opened a business that catered to the everyman in the middle of the Great Depression.  Second, he took on the mayor of Los Angeles, the LA Times, and the LAPD.  That little disagreement got so heated that the LAPD set a bomb off in his Los Feliz home.  Needless to say, he was undeterred and as a result, he changed the power and scope of LA politics.  If you want more on that, follow this link.

Clifton’s is like a moment frozen in time.  This is a place that serves the stick-to-your-ribs kind of food that the shuffling masses in the last century yearned for.  Clifton’s specializes in the dense fair that our grandmothers told us would make us grow big and strong. 

The Clinton family has hung in there at the same location with the same menu for over seventy years.

The food is just one thing that sets Clifton’s apart from the rest.  The décor is another reason to show up.  The three-floored cafeteria is set up to look like a cabin, complete with real wood paneling, fishing bears, and a running stream.  There is also a chapel for those that are weary in spirit.

Stop into Clifton’s and get a piece of pie and some coffee.   It should be on everyone’s to-do list the next time you’re in downtown LA.

La Bomba - Originally Published 2009

As near as I can tell, there are two big differences between a thrift store and a vintage clothing store.  The first difference are the prices, but that goes without saying.  The second difference is that vintage stores actually spend a little more time organizing.

Deep in the Pomona Arts Colony is La Bomba.  This is a vintage clothing store.  I’m not much of a fashionista, but it appears that they have stuff from all decades.  It’s swimming in inventory and they use every available space to stock their wares.  If you are looking for that perfect piece of vintage foppery, this is a great place to start off.  Chances are if they don’t have it, no one will.

Aside from the clothes, this place just had a good vibe going for it.  It seemed like a really relaxed atmosphere where a fellow can procure a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and a pork pie hat.  Good attention to detail and design.

Hot Air Ballooning - Originally Published 2009

Since I have committed myself to a life of adventure, I have signed more than my fair share of releases of liability where I have allowed a company to be without blame in the untimely event of my death or dismemberment.  All that’s in the release for hot air ballooning, but my friends at Great Escapes threw me a new one.  There’s one part of the release that states something to the effect “I understand that I may be guilty of the crime of trespassing while hot air ballooning and will wave the company of all wrongdoing in the event of my arrest and/or prosecution”.

Whaty what?!  I was just planning on floating around in a balloon for my wife’s birthday.  I didn’t know I was going to roll out in Temecula with a graffiti crew.  Trespassing?  How could that happen?

Here’s what we found out from our aeronaut John.  It turns out that once you’re up in the balloon, you’re basically at the mercy of the winds.  All the balloonist can do is take you up and down.  There’s always the chance that you’ll land in someone’s yard and get arrested.

Once you get airborne, you float gently through the air.  And I mean gently.  This is really a great activity for type B people. 

See that truck?  The driver has an important job.  He keeps his eye on the balloon and makes his best guess at where you will be landing.  Lucky for us, he guessed correctly.

The most amazing thing about a trip in a hot air balloon is that a place like Temecula really looks beautiful from a few thousand feet up.  I would really recommend that you give this a try out.  There are many companies out that that charter flights.  I rolled the dice on Grape Escapes, and I was impressed by their service and their price.

Bass Pro Shops at Victoria Gardens - Originally Published 2009

Here are the dispatches from my recent mission:  spend a $40 gift card at Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga.  

In case you have completely barricaded yourself inside your ivory tower, I need to make you aware that there is a superstore like no other.  I give you Bass Pro Shop, a one-stop shop for all of your hunting and fishing needs.  And I really mean all of them.

While one America spends its time attending the symphony and getting a taste for fine wine, there is another America.  An America that buys deer urine and spends weekends bow hunting wild turkey.  In my ignorance, I thought these were Wal-Mart people.  Bass Pro Shop is evidence that they have money to burn.

“Huge” doesn’t even begin to describe this place.  Bass Pro Shop is two stories full of everything you would need for your next hunting trip, as well as a boat shop, a furniture store, and an indoor archery range.

Remember when I told you that they have everything?  There is an entire aisle devoted to your outdoor toileting needs.

This here is what our red state brothers may refer to as "a mess of woodland camouflage".

Plenty of dead animals and a few live ones.

Firearms for children of all ages.  Yes.  That's a pink rifle.

Bass Pro Shop is worth a look, even if the closest you ever plan to get to the outdoors is when you go on the Big Thunder Mountain ride at Disneyland.  And remember; don’t judge those who spend their time stalking their prey.  The meat you ate tonight didn’t exactly die of a heart attack. 

Mormon Rocks - Originally Published 2009

It seems like there is always some intriguing place I spot on the way to some other destination.  The problem is, because my planned destination is more compelling, I don’t stop and check it out.  Such is the case with The Mormon Rocks.

The Mormon Rocks sits on the 138 at the top of the Cajon Pass.  It gets its name from the Mormons that camped near them back in the 1800’s.

On one side of the road, there is a really mild mile long trail that gives you a couple nice views.  However, don’t leave without crossing the highway and taking a look up close.

This place isn’t too far off the beaten path, so it’s an easy retreat.  If you’re looking for some solitude, this is a nice place to start.

Yep.  You can lay back and watch a jet pass overhead here.

Need to entertain your weird nephew that’s way too into trains?  Anything coming into or leaving Southern California has to pass through here.  Somewhere between fifty to one hundred trains run through this little patch of the desert.

Great place to get away from it all without having to get away from it all.  The Mormon Rocks is maybe fifteen minutes away from the Victoria Garden, for all you shopping fanatics.