BigStewMan

will you accept screen legend Anthony Quinn's tank top in trade?

super easy airport to get in and out of. Huntington Beach is just 10 miles North. Main Street in Huntington is full of eateries. No map needed ... find the pier and if you walk away from the ocean, you're on Main Street. They've probably already ended the entertainment ... during the summer, they set up a stage and various bands play. But, if you enjoy being near the ocean ... it's a lovely way to spend the day.

was at Venice beach one day with a friend. we stopped briefly to watch this dude doing some sort of dance. there's a fair sized crowd watching him. several of us start to walk off and the guy gets militant and starts yelling that people watched his show now they have to pay. Sorry dude, I'm late for my appointment with the medical marijuana doctor ... it's going to take me a while to find my doc since there are pot doctors every 20 feet there.

I guess that's one way to improve what may be the worst food item in history (nobody will unseat candy corn ... yuk!).

Once upon a time, I was going to see the Raiders play the Broncos on a Monday Night Game in Oakland. I take the BART instead of driving. I get off at the coliseum stop and when I'm going down the escalator to the ground floor, everyone you see is wearing silver and black. Then I hear this loud booming voice yell "You'd better hope that your team loses." I look and at the bottom of the escalator stands this scared looking guy wearing a bronco jersey. As I walked by, I heard him tell his friend "I'm not going to say a thing." I laughed and thought "good idea."

I don't mean to hijack this thread Bruce; but I'd like to point out that I've NEVER had a birthday party in my entire life. I thought I was being singled out until I talked to my older sister and she said, "I haven't had one either ... none of us did." I made up for though. When I was 21 and out of work, I withdrew my last $100 from the bank, bought a keg of beer and threw an "I'm Broke" party. Not sure how well the party went, I mean with no money to buy food, my memory was affected.

and I got nuthin ...

you think I'm joking ... shoehorns are vital to a healthy civilization.

ruined perfectly good marijuana by putting it with chocolate.

Take a cue from our commander in chief ... it's the year of the shoehorn. (saw this on Yahoo). I remember when I was a kid, for Christmas one year, I got this flashy new bicycle and a BB gun. I was so pissed, all the cool kids were getting shoehorns.

as said, I went to a jay Leno taping; but I don't even remember who the guests were. I'm curious now, I'll have to email my buddy and see if he remembers. the fun part was knowing that my friend was experiencing something that he normally doesn't get to do, so I don't mind playing tour guide. last time he was on the west coast, he brought his wife and a list of restaurants and bakeries that they'd seen on the Food Network, so we went to them. One of the little dives in a strip mall became my "go to" breakfast joint. Never ordered it; but the chicken fried steak came on it's own LARGE plate, then a second plate for a ton of hash browns and the eggs. I used to get three eggs over easy, hashbrowns, and they gave a whole stick of linguica. Would have told The Dude to go eat at this dive ... great Mexican food; but there are some gangs in that area and I wouldn't feel right sending someone there that isn't familiar with settings like that. Funny story is that the workers all speak Spanish and I don't. So, when I first started going there, I hoped for a ticket with the numbers 1 - 10 ... since I knew that much Spanish. I ended up with number 147 or something. So, I decided that the first number called, I'd walk up to the counter and play dumb. The cute gal working there took my ticket and laughed and shook her head no. Then when my order was ready, she just pointed to me and held up my food. There are only about four stools at a counter there, so I always took the food home. Not an authentic Mexican joint; but when I lived in Huntington, I used to go to a place called Fred's. Right on PCH across from the pier. Not bad food and nice large scooners of beer. It's an upstairs joint, has a nice balcony with tables, good view of the ocean.

as Schu indicated, you're probably flying into John Wayne/Orange County Airport. Toss up as the distance from OC Airport to Whittier and from LAX to Whittier is about the same (in miles). I use to drive past that airport every morning on my way to work -- I lived in Huntington Beach back in those days. Traffic is unpredictable. I used to get off work at 2:30 and the 405 Freeway was already jammed. But, once I left at 5:00 to go to a Laker game and hardly touched the brakes the entire drive into the city of Los Angeles (okay, I admit that was a fluke and has only happened once in my life and I lived there for a VERY long time). Huntington is a nice beach city ... some good food, good pier to walk on, plus a paved bike/walking path. if you get in at 10, you can still get a rental car and drive into LA for the day and get to your hotel in Whittier by dinner. I've had to play tour guide for visitors before ... I took them wherever they wanted to go. Usual places they wanted to see was Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, certain eateries that they'd seen on television. Once a friend wanted to go to a studio, so we went to NBC and did a tour then sat in the audience for a Jay Leno Tonight Show. if you want to go directly from OC Airport to your hotel, at that time of day, you should make it within an hour. It's only about 30 miles and a very easy drive -- little chance of getting lost. You'll take the 405 North to the 605 North and that will take you into Whittier. there is another freeway route to get you to the I5 freeway; but, that section of the I5 and me have a mutual dislike for each other. If you want to buy some inexpensive Christmas gifts, there is a section of Los Angeles called Santee Alley that is like a flea market and you can buy some clothing items and other stuff very cheap. Not sure how COVID has changed it though. I know people, with very large families, and go there to Christmas Shop because they save a ton of money. Probably want to avoid Disneyland, I heard yesterday that they've jacked up the entry price to $169. Zillion concert venues ... Universal Ampitheatre is close by; but not sure if there are any good concerts on your days there. VERY good Mexican food all over that area. When you fly in, pay close attention to the ships lined up for the LA/LB Port Complex -- I saw on the news the other day that there are now over a hundred container ships waiting to come into the port. I doubt they'll have the problem solved by the time of your trip. I remember once there were like 40 ships waiting and it looked insane, I can't imagine seeing 100 of them. Guess you could walk from one deck to the next all the way to Catalina Island.

the two remaining Monkees are playing at the Greek Theatre in Mid November. The Greek is at the foot of Griffith Park ... kill two birds with one stone that day.

Hey Man ... Whittier ain't exciting -- any town USA; but you can always check out some sites before you head there. I suppose you're flying into LAX or Hollywood/Burbank? What are your interests? Touristy stuff? Walk down Hollywood Blvd, check out the crazy people at Venice Beach, Griffith Park Observatory is cool. What time do you arrive in LA? Hopefully early, if your plane lands from 3 to 6 pm, plan to spend your first 90 -120 minutes on sitting on the freeway. Let me know if you're looking for anything in particular ... a lot of stuff in that area. The beach isn't far from the airport if you just want to go hang out and get some sun before you head to Whittier.

and then it wants one of Carl's slushes.

happy birthday to the Mrs.

are you calling Carl an Uncle Eddie? Remember that scene in Vacation where Eddie asks Clark if he wants a beer. Clark says yes so Eddie gives him the rest of the one he was already drinking and then gets a new one for himself.

haven't seen these cats on the forum; but I've known them for a LONG time.

nice chatting with you gentlemen ... time to go play some guitar before it gets too late. Peace.

I've already passed age 60 so some think of me as old and some don't think of me at all.

I think it happens to all of us. I was talking to a guy on the phone and he was telling me about a scheduled event. I asked him what day the event was. He said he'd have to check his calendar and for me to hold on .... I hear him getting agitated and then he says, "I can't find my cell phone, I must have left it at work." I calmly asked, "Is it the phone that you're talking on now?" he was so upset, he considered making a doctor's appointment.

Don't feel bad .. a few years ago, I was leaving work. Got in my truck and headed out. When I got to the far end of the parking lot, I saw a truck identical to mine. I panicked and said to myself, "I don't remember parking all the way out here, who moved my truck?" then I realized that I was driving my truck at the time. oh well ...

would you believe that I still wear clogs and black & white striped bell bottoms and pork pie hats?

I did the research and offer the following: How do I become a wordsmith? Become a Wordsmith 1. Use a simple word rather than a fussy word or a word cluster. Example: "She will assist you presently" or "He is not available at this time." 2. Be thoughtful in your use of adverbs and adjectives. Is the word repeating something that is already evident? 3. Little qualifiers weaken a sentence.

I heard someone say that when they were 18 they were shocked at how dumb his parents were, and when he was 25 he was amazed at how much they'd learned in such a short time.