Trip to Sedona, Pt. 1

In an attempt to shake the bad mojo from the last year, I have been doing quite a bit of travel, and quite frankly, I am exhausted. One of my more relaxing trips was to Sedona, Arizona. The hotel of choice was the Amara Resort and Spa. The property was beautiful; I could not have been more pleased with this selection.

Day...



or night, this resort featured spectacular views.





The room was spacious, clean, and well appointed.



Hotels really tempt you with the over-priced snacks; this one had a "lover's intimacy kit." Huh. I guess that could help you work up a hunger for that bag of chips.



Salt Rock was the name of the in-house restaurant that featured tasty food…





but we also enjoyed its margaritas and other original cocktails.





They made us very happy.



More Sedona, Arizona photos at my main website.

The Return of Clifton's

It took many years to finish the much anticipated restoration/renovation of Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown LA, but I can assure you that it was worth the wait!

The vintage terrazzo tiles still greet you at the front entrance:





The inside is even more spectacular than before.





Cleaned and polished, it still has that kitschy retro vibe but now boasts a very hip and happening feel.



You'll still find many of the much beloved hidden delights throughout the space:









The good ol' taxidermied animals:







But they now coexist with some very happening spaces that just scream come back at night!







Even the bathrooms look great!



Of course most important of all is the food. I give it a rousing 2 thumbs up! The meatloaf was out of this world, and so was the very flavorful mac and cheese.



Naturally, I had to go with a shooter of jello for dessert. It only seemed fitting.



More jello and other retro Clifton's delights at my main website.

Framed

While sometimes just the vintage-nature of an image makes it spectacular enough; having it well composed is just icing on the cake. Today I present three undated 1950s images from the same photographer who obviously took a little extra time to frame his photos in a creative way.

They were taken from this gazebo that was once on the Rivers of America:





I am totally digging this shot of Storybook Land.



This one was taken from inside the second floor of the Golden Horseshoe:



Compare with the exterior shot to see that the window arch matches:



See more creatively framed photos at my main website.

Exiting The Future

This undated 1950s shot shows guests exiting the Monsanto House of the Future at Disneyland. The clue to the date of this shot lies in the arms of the two ladies at the top of the stairs. Let's take a closer look.



Multiple pieces in the arms of the gal on the right; on the left, it appears to be the back of a magazine. A bit blurry, but one of the headline words appears to be "Controlled."



Anyone? Anyone?

See more photos of the House of the Future at my main website.

Mystery Solved and The Bandstand

Today's image shows the traveling bandstand, which began its life in Town Square, moved to Central Plaza when the park opened, transitioned to Adventureland/Magnolia Park shortly thereafter, and eventually got booted out of the park. Today it resides at an Orange County nursery. Zooming in, it appears that the conductor is Vesey Walker.



The mystery of the date of the photo from the other day has been solved!



Thanks to fellow blogger David at Gorillas Don't Blog, we now have a matching image of a guidebook from 1958:



David even went the extra mile to flip and desaturate the image to show that it's a perfect match.



More vintage (and current) Disneyland photos at my main website.

Maternity at the Moonliner

The date on the back of this shot is difficult to make out; I know the month is April, but the year is obscured. The brochure in the little girl's hand holds the clue. Any takers out there?



BTW: digging the maternity outfit and the hand tooled leather purse!

See more of the Moon(liner) at my main website.

Happy Birthday, Judy!

In honor of what would have been her 94th birthday, today's post is a tribute to Judy Garland. Although she didn't sing a note or look her most glamorous, Judy tore up the screen with a memorable performance in 1961's "Judgment at Nuremberg." Nominated for an Oscar, Garland is shown here with director Stanley Kramer.

This closeup view could yield many memorable captions!



More Judy at my main website.

Shirley at DCA

Even though I'm not crazy about waiting in lines for an attraction, I love being able to take my time in the lobby of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror checking out all of the vintage details, especially the dusty Shirley Temple doll that resides on the overstuffed couch. With my previous camera and a zoom lens, this was about the best I could do. Zooming in to this shot, you can see a vintage Oz book by Frank Baum. Blurry, but again...this was the best I could do.



On my most recent trip, I had my new camera, but didn't want to lug around my zoom lens, so this was the best I could do.



Until a bit of serendipity (that's all I'm gonna' say) was provided, and I was able to get this view which was taken directly standing over the couch.



MUCH better view of the book!



As you speed down Buena Vista Street on your way to Radiator Springs Racers, you can see another vintage Shirley Temple doll in the window of Big Top Toys.



Although I believe the doll is vintage (you can see a crazing line on the composition of her face near her eye), the wig looks replaced and the eyes have been poorly painted over. Most of the original Shirley Temple dolls' eyes have yellowed and crazed over the years, which is most likely why the "artists" painted over them with a bright blue.



More Tower of Terror photos at my main website.