Go East Old Man, Pt. 1

As my mother so “gently” reminded me, it had been almost four years since my last visit out east - yikes! Nobody fires a guilt bullet with better aim than a mother. I had sent a stash of Leopold’s Ice Cream from Savannah (shipping to Philly is much cheaper than to San Diego!) so that we could both enjoy the best ice cream in the country.



Upon my arrival at the Philadelphia Airport, I noticed a Rocky statue on display in the terminal.



It looked pretty much like the one parked outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Sylvester Stallone made his famous climb of the steps back in 1976. Art patrons were not necessarily thrilled about the piece.



The airport also had a replica of the Liberty Bell that looked like it had been freshly minted from a basement 3D printer:



Waiting for my Lyft, I snapped this one:



In my family, food is always at the forefront of travel. Mom and I went to a local favorite, Nudy’s Cafe in Malvern:



Mom enjoyed her wrap:



Time for a selfie; if you don’t take one, it never happened. At least, that’s what I’ve read.



The "Best Ever" Carrot Cake French Toast was interesting, but I wouldn’t say it lived up to its name.



Interesting art on the walls:



What do you do after you fuel up? Friday Night Bingo! I didn’t win, but it’s always a hoot playing with the residents of mom’s retirement community. No, we didn’t play Jailhouse.



Rather than hit the Mother’s Day crowd, I took Mom out the night before. We went to the little town of Marshallton and had dinner at the Four Dogs Tavern, a historic building next door to the Marshalton Inn. For all you Karens out there, I didn’t make a typo; the name of the Inn is spelled with only one “l” due to a typographic error on a deed transfer and it has remained that way ever since.



This place “had” me at the name.



The interior was warm and well appointed:





Huh. “Interesting” is what I would call this piece.



The pear salad was DELICIOUS!!



As was the bolognese:



Mom enjoyed her meal as well:



The pineapple cake was a tasty way to end the meal (but you can rest assured that Leopold’s was consumed when we got home).



The Marshalton Inn:





This vintage 1930 Ford was parked out back:







More to come on my east coast travels!
 
See more Philadelphia photos at my main website.

1960s Riviera in Palm Springs

Thanks to the miracle of genuine FauxD©, you can step back in time to November 1961 and see the Riveria Hotel in Palm Springs in all its vintage glory. According to the slide inscription, this was taken during a Grocers Convention. Sounds like a boondoggle to me. Below is the more panoramic composite view:



A closeup of the marquee and vintage cars:



Still craving more 1960’s Riviera shots? How about this batch from June 1961?



I couldn’t find anything on Billy Allen or the Nunez Brothers Trio, but came across a short bio on Jeri Sullivan:

American singer and songwriter. Birth name: Leona Louise Schlosser. Born November 14, 1918 in Jersey City, Hudson, New jersey, USA. Died June 276, 2003 in Palm Desert, Riverside, California, USA. She was known mostly as a nightclub singer and sang with many orchestras including those of Bernie Cummins, Orrin Tucker, Johnny White, Lou Bring, Bernie Leighton's Swing Four and Freddie Shumake and his band. She also sang with The Mel-Tones (who changed their name after she left to "Mel Torme and The Mel-Tones"). Sullivan also dubbed singing voices in movies, including for Virginia Mayo in "A Song Is Born" (also known as "That's Life") (1948). Though she wrote other songs, she is mostly known for a song she helped edit but was given full co-writing credit for: "Rum and Coca Cola". After the song hit #1 by The Andrew Sisters, lawsuits followed. These went on until it was settled in 1948-9, allowing her to keep copyright but she, Morey Amsterdam and Paul Baron had to pay $150,000 to the original lyricist and composer of the song in Trinidad. After taking time to settle the lawsuits, she returned to singing on the nightclub circuit.

Ah, those warm, lazy, summer days in Palm Springs when lounging by the pool is just about all a body can handle.



What I believe is a semi-matching shot from 2010:



A few more showcasing the multiple pools at the hotel and a few lovely ladies:







See more Palm Springs Riveria Hotel photos at my main website.

Downtown Disney Car Show, circa 2008

In June 2008, Downtown Disney had a display of vintage autos, including this little Red Corvette (did it belong to Prince?).



Notice the Black Book in the windshield; perhaps it was the one used on the cover.



A yellow Pontiac GTO:



The GTO was the one that popularized muscle cars back in the 1960s.



This Chevy Camaro was the Official Pace Car for the 1969 Indianapolis 500:







How appropriate to have “Tigger” at Downtown Disney.



When I saw Tigger, he was at the Plaza Inn:



Back in June 1966, classic cars were parked right at the entrance:



See more Anaheim Downtown Disney photos at my main website.

Vintage Balboa Park in San Diego

These two July 1956 images show the flags that lined the path into San Diego’s Balboa Park for the inaugural Fiesta del Pacifico. According to the SD Union-Tribune, it began on July 18, 1956, and was a

Spanish-flavored summertime promotion built around an outdoor pageant in Balboa Stadium called, “The California Story.” The pageant featured 1,300 performers in a retelling of California history in two acts, with music by Meredith Willson.



In the first photo, you’ll notice the little A-Frame promoting Robin Hood, which was being performed at the Starlight Theater in Balboa Park for the 1956 Summer Season:



This 1950s image shows the San Diego Museum of Art and a number of vintage autos:



The below shot shows the Home Economy Building from the 1915 Exposition that once stood to the right of the Museum:



It was torn down in 1963 and replaced by the Timken Museum of Art (shown below). I’m not sure why they chose this contemporary design which stands out like a sore thumb from the rest of the Exposition structures, but I would guess that someone from the Frank L. Hope and Associates architectural firm wanted to put their personal stamp on it. And they sure did. At least the art inside is stellar.



See more Balboa Park in San Diego photos at my main website.