California Trip (2 of 2)

Here's the "rest of the story" on our California trip.

On Tuesday, August 7, we had a big day at Disneyland. We got over there a bit late due to mixup on the opening time for the park, but (as discussed below) we made up time once we arrived. The weather was absolutely gorgeous if not a bit hot when standing around in the sun.

We worked our way through the parking lot and ticketing queues. Had decided that Nana would use a wheelchair (thanks to her recent but iffy knee surgery). The advance party went immediately to Space Mountain. Patricia, Nana and I followed later via the handicapped entrance and ended up getting on at about the same time. I must admit that I was wondering whether this was a good idea - I personally don't get along well with the faster rides - but Nana did great (per photo) and we were on to the next ride. Folks wanted to try the Matterhorn bobsleds but the line didn't look promising. So we went over to the Haunted Mansion - which hasn't aged all that well. Pirates of the Carribean is always fun, that is probably my favorite. The wheelchair saved us lots of time - it was amazing how many rides we were able to get on in such a short period of time. The park was busy but not overly so.

Next was "Splash Mountain" - defeated a very long line, then Nana, Patricia and Dan "changed their mind" about riding at the last minute and the remaining six of us went (per photo). And they didn't revoke anybody's pass over this scam.

The three non-Splash Mountain riders and I next went to lunch; after a short wait, had a surprisingly good meal at the Orleans Cafe. The others went off to some ride or the other and weren't so lucky when it came to food: a long wait at our restaurant, so they ended up getting some pizza.

More riding: Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (Dan did not like my driving). Also rode the monorail. Waited in line for the Nemo Submarine for awhile before figuring out it was going nowhere; Dan was quite excited for this, though Arnie didn't think it was realistic.

We also rode the train around the perimeter of the park - this actually was quite fun. Nice to be off our feet, weather great, and the conductor looked like Patrick's friend (Brie).

Finished off with the Matterhorn bobsleds and then Paul Jr., Dan, Nicole and I went on this rocket ride. It was fun but a little weird when one of the riders just ahead of us was so obese that his (her?) fat hung over the side of the "rocket." Yuk.

So this was a fun day. I don't really understand why, but I always enjoy the day at Disneyland. It's a great group activity.

We then tried to find a prime rib restaurant that Arnie had spotted; located it, went inside, and walked out asap. The place was pretty well dead. Walked across the parking lot to El Torito. I didn't have the greatest memories of that chain, but I certainly liked the meal we had that evening. Folks were pretty tired after a huge day. Fun.

On Wednesday, August 8, we went for our daily breakfast downstairs. There was a series of discussions about extending our stay (scheduled to leave that day) and we decided to wait to drive back to Phoenix until the evening. So we packed, set aside beach stuff, checked out, and drove down to Laguna Beach. Parking was a bit of an adventure, but then we found one bench that had shade; the rest of us sat immediately behind under this big shade tree. Some were in the water quite a bit. Weather and views were gorgeous from this vantage point. Some hobo was interested in scamming for money. Other hobos were hanging around under the other side of the tree. There was a group of sand volleyball players that was actually quite talented, so we watched them a bit.

Some folks did a bit of shopping, then we had a meal at a seaside place - again great views all around, it was nice out on the patio. And Patrick and I got carded. One last tour through the shops; then said our goodbyes. It actually was a very good idea to meet up over there; always fun when we go to Chicago, but this was a good change of pace. Hit the road around 6:25p.

Made it to Phoenix about 1:05a. Some traffic in the LA area but all in all everything was very smooth. The car was very quiet. Picked up gasoline, coffee and a bite at the usual border town.

California Trip (1 of 2)

Patricia, Patrick, Paul Jr. and I drove to California on Saturday August 4. Our idea was to meet up with "Nana," Arnie, Joann, Nicole and Danny, who were flying in that day from Illinois. Made a mistake along the way and had lunch at Coco's. Smooth trip except I switched over to navigator position to get us through an iffy area in the Google maps directions, and then promptly got us lost. Arrived at about 5p at the Ayres Hotel in Costa Mesa, California.

The hotel served our purpose fine. You can see information about it right here. The only downsides were that it was pretty far from the beaches, and also a bit isolated along freeways and other busy roads. Chatted a bit, went to the Elephant Bar for mediocre food and fine chatting. Except Nicole and Dan were falling asleep on the spot (time change, travel day, etc.) Patrick and Paul Jr. used the sleeper sofa in the "living room" of our suite. It was too small and collapsed toward the center, otherwise was awesome.

Sunday, August 5

Full breakfast at the hotel - this actually was a good daily routine. The idea developed rather spontaneously that we would take the boat to Catalina Island. The spontaneity was of course spontaneous, but also resulted in a couple hours or so of driving. We started by driving south down the Pacific Coast Highway to Dana Point. The drive was beautiful and Dana Point was beautiful - but spots on the boat to Catalina Island were filled up through the next week or so. But did we give up? No. We decided to drive up to Long Beach to catch the last boat there. This gave us a good, long look at the Pacific Coast Highway, northbound. Once we got to Long Beach, we had the chance to drive around the city quite awhile before we figured out where the boat landing was. Including a couple neighborhoods that were kind of scary looking. Including asking directions from some service station slacker who was helpful. Then raced through a quick pizza meal and hit the road, I mean the water, for Catalina Island.

The boat ride over was very enjoyable; lasted about an hour. We sat up top; perfect weather, good views. There is a little town over there named Avalon, so we just wandered around there a bit. Pretty typical seaside shops and restaurants, but a bit different flavor because it's an island with limited population, fewer cars, etc. Having taken the last boat over, unfortunately we missed the chance to tour the island. We did settle into a restaurant named "Coyote Joe's" which was very fun. The boat ride back involved freezing either inside or outside the boat, and it was dark so we missed the views. An easy drive back down the PCH to the hotel and got to bed around 1a.

Monday (August 6) was a beach day - decided to drive down in the Newport Beach area and found the same beach area where we had visited a few times with the choir over the years on their Southern California trips. This is a really good area because the beach is nice, not terribly crowded, and there are shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. We were on the beach for a few hours, then had a very nice lunch at a restaurant overlooking the bay and ferry to Balboa Island, etc. The clam chowder there was the best thing we ate on the entire trip. Walked the shops awhile and then worked our way back to the hotel. Folks were pretty tired, so we showered, relaxed; everybody ended up at our room where we talked some more, played some cards, looked at photo albums, etc. It was an enjoyable evening. The four of us went out for a late dinner; I got on the wrong road (again) but we ended up at a Houston's and it was just fine.

More to come . . .

Mr. O'Donnell Testifies on Capitol Hill - 1933

Nicole found something really neat during a Google search the other day.

Who knew? Way back in 1933, a committee of the United States Senate turned to a true expert for advice about gangsters (in this case, how to discourage young people from becoming gangsters). This expert was none other than Patricia’s grandfather, (Mr.) Spike O’Donnell.

The video clip below – included in an archive of old newsreels findable via this link – includes a few seconds of Spike addressing the committee. The introduction to the video clip describes things thusly: "Chicago: 'Spike' O'Donnell, a former South Side beer baron, who bears the title of 'the most shot-at gangster in the country,' tells members of a Federal committee investigating crime, of his reaction to the latest Federal drive on kidnapers and other lawbreakers." Spike’s advice – which focuses on gangsters and the consequences of putting young folks in prison – seems reasonable enough; he falls into the camp of those recommending rehabilitation instead of incarceration. One would think he knew what he was talking about it. He apparently had quite a bit of experience with gangsters and even a brief experience with the inside of a prison, (though his political connections were good enough to keep his prison experience really brief).

The timing of this Senate committee is interesting. Prohibition started in 1919. Spike’s activities, whatever they were, had landed him in prison in Joliet in 1923. That’s when a corrupt Illinois governor had him released. (More on that in a future post.) His return to Chicago ignited some territorial wars among gangsters (at least per what I read online). Prohibition ended in 1933, and one would presume that some folks were trafficking illegally in liquor right up to repeal. 1933 also is the year in which this committee was convened. It would be interesting to know how a businessman like Mr. O’Donnell was publicly perceived at the time that he faced the committee in 1933.

In fact, it would have been truly great to talk to Spike about all sorts of things. The Prohibition era spawned all sorts of non-standard activities, and he must have been a tremendously talented guy; certainly he was right in the middle of lots of history.

I’ve also posted some still photos taken from the video. You can read more about Prohibition right here.






(The back half of the video is some entertaining footage from an Al Smith campaign stop. Not sure why it’s included in the clip, and I’m not sufficiently tech savvy to delete it. So enjoy. Al was a pretty interesting politician in his own right, as this article details.)