Romancing the Roads (31 page)

In the
heart of downtown San Diego, the Gaslamp Quarter (www.gaslamp.org) offered no disappointments. This collection of restored, architecturally important historic buildings is now home to restaurants, shops, theaters, and more. I recommend taking the Gaslamp Walking Tour.

Gaslamp Quarter Historic Foundation

410 Island Ave.

619-233-4692

www.gaslampquarter.org

The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The ticket also allows you to visit many different sites and attractions. It’s a good deal.

U.S. Grant Hotel

326 Broadway

619-232-3121

www.usgrant.net

At the foot of the Gaslamp Quarter, you’ll find this small, attractive, cozy, quiet, yet glamorous hotel. With fewer than three hundred well-appointed and most inviting rooms, the U.S. Grant Hotel is not overwhelming but a gem, with its special use of different woods and complimentary decor. After my stay, the hotel enjoyed a multi-million-dollar renovation providing many upgrades and added amenities. For fine dining, there is the
Grant Grill
(619-744-2077, www.grantgrill.com), and for more casual fare, there is the
GG Lounge
. There is live entertainment Thursday through Saturday. I enjoyed my stay at this 1910 property and look forward to returning and seeing the renovations of all varieties.

Horton Plaza

Horton Plaza
in the Ga
slamp Quarter is most attractive and, in some ways, unique. Though designed like a European market, it is intended “to function like an amusement park for shoppers.” There is a lot to see, do, and enjoy.

Note:
Trolley travel is a definite consideration.

Bazaar Del Mundo

4133 Taylor St.

619-296-3161

www.bazaardelmundo.com

Located on the corner of Juan next to
Casa Guadalajara Restaurant
(619-295-5111), this fun, colorful, unique, eclectic, wonderful spot is a must-visit, with many Mexican-style shops and shops of all varieties. You can very easily spend the day here, eat, go home, realize you saw something, and go back the next day. There’s so much to see, and it’s so much fun!

Paradise Point Resort

1404 Vacation Rd.

858-274-4630

www.paradisepoint.com

This forty-four-acre resort in a tropical setting on Mission Bay has recently been refurbished and upgraded. From all reports and what I have seen on the website, the property is only magnificent. When I was there, Noble House had recently purchased Paradise Point. It’s been my experience that after taking over a property, Noble House works magic. And indeed they did.

Update:
As of this writing, the property is now under Destination Hotels. Here at Paradise Point, you feel as if you are in a private oasis—and you are, sort of, as you are just a few minutes from the heart of San Diego. There is much to do here, especially for the sports enthusiast, not to mention anyone who wants to escape and enjoy a respite from the hubbub of life. I look forward to returning and seeing all that has been done to special Paradise Point. Without a doubt, I suggest you visit and escape to this oasis on Mission Bay. You do not need a passport.

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo

2920 Zoo Dr.

619-231-1515

www.sandiegozoo.org

I could not fit in a visit to the San Diego Zoo, but if time—and you will need quite a bit—permits, do go. It is a magnificent collection of four thousand individual animals representing eight hundred species, as well as sixty-five hundred species of plants. It is pricey, but you get a lot for your dollars.

Leaving San Diego

Major’s Coffee Shop

28870 Old Hwy. 80, Pine Valley

619-473-9969

I left San Diego early to miss morning traffic. About forty miles east of San Diego traveling on I-8, I saw a sign announcing Major’s Coffee Shop. I turned off and found myself in Pine Valley. Little did I know I was to experience a real and delicious serendipity. Major’s was right in front as I drove into “town.” I entered with a smile and seated myself at the counter. Promptly I discovered a very friendly staff, decor featuring 1950s memorabilia, and a place that seemed bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. I took the most attentive waitress’s suggestions: delicious juice, light and fluffy pancakes, and perfect coffee. I don’t know why, but I rate this Major’s breakfast one of the best I have enjoyed.

Sidebar:
An added bonus at Major’s was the presence in the restaurant of one of the best-looking men I have seen lately—a real hunk.

Death Valley

Who would
have thought that one of the Driving Diva’s favorite places would be Death Valley, California? A flat, maybe slightly dusty, hot drive of about two hours from Las Vegas will take you to a most unbelievable place. The drive to Death Valley requires more than the usual preparation. Be certain to gas up and check all your car’s fluid levels, and let someone know your schedule. The heat is severe, so have water with you and make sure your cell phone is fully charged.

The official
Visitor Guide to Death Valley National Park
advises:

Check your car gauges frequently. Radiator water is available from storage tanks along park roads. If your car develops vapor lock, wrap a wet rag around the fuel pump and line to speed cooling. And if your car breaks down, stay with it.

Death Valley contains a hundred or more abandoned mines and associated structures. Many have been closed but it will take years to close the rest. Use extreme caution in driving and walking around mines and watch carefully for openings. NEVER enter abandoned mines. STAY OUT and STAY ALIVE.

Austere desert beauty and borax mines (as in 20 Mule Team Borax) highlight the drive to Death Valley.

Marta Becket’s Amargosa Opera House and Hotel

PO Box 8

760-852-4441

www.amargosaoperahouse.com

Marta Becket grew up in New York City, and by the time she was nine, there was no question she was a budding artist, dancer, and pianist. As a young woman, she performed in several Broadway shows and at Radio City Music Hall. During a road trip west in 1967 with her then husband, her car had a flat. A park ranger directed them to have it fixed in Death Valley Junction. While her husband tended to the tire, Marta poked around an abandoned complex of offices, stores, a hotel, and a dining room constructed by the Pacific Coast Borax Company for its employees in the 1920s. Behind the Amargosa Hotel, she discovered an old opera house with a debris-strewn stage, fabric hanging at the windows, and crude benches. It was love at first sight. The next day she agreed to rent the theater from the town for $45 a month. After refurbishing the place, Marta gave her first performance in 1968 to a packed house of twelve. By 1974 the audiences were larger, and Marta began to apply her artistry to the interior, painting an entire audience on the walls. After her husband decided to “move on” in 1983, Thomas J. Willett, a man described as a natural comedian, arrived in her life and became Marta’s stage manager and occasional costar.

The hotel’s fourteen rooms are filled with Marta’s art, including a special dedication to Red Skelton in Room 22, where he stayed a number of times. (In the painting a ballerina dances on a ball, and acrobats perform.) The modest rooms go for about $50 a night, and while they have heating and air-conditioning, by tradition there are no telephones or televisions. Though there is a vending machine in the lobby, the closest restaurant is seven miles north on the Nevada border at the Longstreet Casino.

Longstreet Casino

4400 S. Hwy. 373, Amargosa Valley

775-372-1777

www.longstreetcasino.com

Driving Diva Factoid:
The 2002 film
Amargosa
was an Academy Award finalist for best documentary feature.

Near the top of my must-do list is a return to Death Valley with a stop at Marta’s.

Death Valley, one of the driest and hottest places in the world, is isolated by nine mountain ranges. As a national park considered an “outdoor museum,” everything is protected by federal law—even the rocks. The national park comprises over 3 million acres, and there’s no sign of civilization until you get to the heart of Death Valley, where tall palm trees greet you against a backdrop of huge mountains.

Furnace Creek Inn and Furnace Creek Ranch Resort

Hwy. 190

760-786-2345

www.furnacecreekresort.com

This way out-of-the-way, wonderful hideaway is a charming AAA Four Diamond property with all the amenities. There are 66 rooms at the Inn at Furnace Creek and 224 at the Ranch at Furnace Creek, the latter being the more family-focused property. You can enjoy an eighteen-hole golf course—the world’s lowest at 214 feet below sea level—as well as tennis and horseback riding. The spring-fed pool is naturally heated to a silky 85 degrees. To me, the water’s texture was smooth—if water can feel smooth. The night sky is the blackest of black, and the stars are so thick and seem so low, you feel as if you could reach up and grab one. The winds do blow in Death Valley in December and March. To visit this outdoor museum is an awesome experience you will treasure. The inn is open from October to May, and during the rest of the year, all operations are consolidated at the ranch. The accommodations at the ranch are many, including cabins and both deluxe and standard rooms.

The dining opportunities are many. The
Wrangler Buffet
serves all you can eat for breakfast and lunch. At night it becomes the
Wrangler Steakhouse
, with table service, for steaks, chicken, and seafood. The
49’er Café
also serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The
Corkscrew Saloon
serves snacks, lunch, and dinner, and the
19th Hole
, adjacent to the Golf Pro Shop and open only in winter, serves burgers, hotdogs, and sandwiches.

Scotty’s Castle

123 Scotty’s Castle Rd.

760-786-2392

www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm

Another feature of Death Valley is Scotty’s Castle, a two-story Spanish villa built in the 1920s by Chicago insurance magnate Albert Johnson and named for Walter Scott, the talented con artist and pseudo gold prospector he was financing. Scott duped Johnson with promises of hitting the mother lode in his worthless mine. The castle, which includes a huge pipe organ, antiques, and so much more, was taken over by the National Park Service in 1970. You may tour other castles, but none quite like Scotty’s. Tours are available, which I consider a must. Go early in the morning when it is cooler, and remember you are in Death Valley.

China Ranch

PO Box 61, Shoshone

760-852-4415

www.chinaranch.com

While traveling in Death Valley near Tecopa, California, visit the privately owned China Ranch. Just eighty-five miles west of Las Vegas off California Highway 127, in the stern Mojave Desert near southern Death Valley, is a lush piece of land with a wandering stream. Date palms of the best varieties grow on this small family ranch. I have not been to this oasis, but I have received some of the China Ranch’s delicious products: dates and date bread. I have become an advocate of this most healthy, sodium- and fat-free (and so much more) product of nature, the date.

View the China Ranch website and check out the gift shop, where you’ll find not only local items, custom-made soaps, jewelry, canned jams and jellies, but one-of-a-kind items on consignment! Whether you are online or on-site, this gift shop could be a one-stop total shop, so bring your gift lists. Thank you, China Ranch.

You will have had a wonderful, unique time in Death Valley. You may experience a departure pang or two, but what memories!

Contributors

Kodak:
The Kodak Easy Share V610 duel-lens digital camera is fantastic. It has helped me keep track of all I have seen. I recommend it and acknowledge that it can do more than I know how to take advantage of. It is the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital camera. Given how quickly products develop, I am sure a new model is on the scene. Regardless, it is a gem of a camera, and I hope mine lasts for many more projects. Thank you, Kodak.

GM:
The Rendezvous that GM loaned me to drive round-trip, coast to coast, was an interesting vehicle and totally surprised me. In my mind’s eye, I did not think the Rendezvous, a Buick, would have a youthful ambiance. How wrong I was. Not only was it comfortable and roomy, but I had OnStar on board. What technology! OnStar gives you a consoling feeling as a real, live representative is with you and knows where you are, at the push of a button. Fantastic! I enjoyed introducing, explaining, and hyping OnStar as I traveled cross-country in the Rendezvous. Thank you, GM and OnStar, for the experience.

Magellan GPS:
Thank you for introducing me to your product. This was my first GPS. Not being GPS savvy, it was a bit confusing for me, but thank you for the experience. I am sure all sorts of upgrades have been made. I appreciate your interest in my project.

Garmin:
Thank you, Garmin. I got this GPS to work, and it is amazing. I used it up, down, and around the eastern seaboard over thousands of miles. What a helpful driving companion!

LifeHammer:
Every car should have a LifeHammer. It alone can save your life in an accident in the water or on land. This special seven-inch item has two precisely machined steel hammerheads designed to break a side window. The razor-sharp safety blade will cut through a seat belt. Thank you, LifeHammer, for your support. For more information, visit www.lifehammer.com.

Buckwheat Pillow:
All-natural, nonallergenic, buckwheat-hull-filled Makura pillows come in various sizes. They are the perfect pillow, conforming to your head and neck without compressing or causing strain in your neck. This pillow should be on every bed and in every car. They are ideal for when you stop and take a short snooze. For more information, visit www.theoriginalmakura.com.

My Car:
Over and over I am asked what car I drive. I have and am presently driving a Ford Edge, which is serving me well. It is a little challenging mastering (or even understanding) all the new, state-of-the-art features, but you are glad to have them. A Ford has gotten me from coast to coast and border to border—one hundred thousand miles and more. Thank you.

People:
More people than I can list (or count) have contributed to my projects. Each has been a valued, appreciated contributor, and I repeat: Thank you!