They Did What?-- Why would DHS bestow "trusted traveler" status on Saudi Arabia? Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists were Saudi. Saudi money has funded terrorist activity for decades. Why is this administration so afraid to call a rat, a rat?
The Budget-- Why is the Obama WH so afraid to put their name to a budget? Is the recently passed Senate budget essentially theirs? It's just something else that creates suspicion and causes Americans to distrust their government. The WH needs to "man up" on so many issues.
Arrival-- Ok, my wife and I asked our daughter a few moths ago, "Samantha, what do you want for your birthday?' Her reply, "I want to go to Hollywood!" So here we are. My posts for Monday and Tuesday will chronicle our experiences. I'll try to stay within my parameters of conservatism and history, and add anything else that's really cool. I have always believed being frugal is a conservative value, so we are staying at a decent hotel but it is at LAX, a good twenty minute drive from Hollywood. It's called Four "something, something" and run by Sheraton. So far a decent place. For posterity, it's me, my wife, my daughter and my niece, Brisa. It's Sunday, March 24. Tomorrow is Samantha's birthday.
Birthday-- Great weather today in Hollywood. Of course, Samantha is mre excited about going to the American Girl store than seeing the sights along Hollywood Blvd. I mad a bad move early on. I had to use the facilities (meaning I had to urinate) but waited and waited as we drove to Hollywood. Realizing I wasn't going to make it, I bailed out, at Silvia's urging, too look for a place to go. The bad move was forgetting my cell phone in the car. I found a beautiful, secluded place to do my business, but the traffic was terrible and Sil had a hard time finding me. I couldn't call, and wandered for fiteen minutes looking for them. Needless to say, when I did call from a Best Western lobby she was not in the best mood. Long story short....MEN DON'T LEAVE YOUR CELL IN THE CAR!
Hollywood Blvd.-- Someone really into Hollywood and the history of film would appreciate it more than us, but the Walk of Fame was cool. Samantha found Walt Disney's star, I found Bob Hope, and Sil spotted the amazingly great actor, Robert Duvall's star. We did the wax nuseum which Samantha and Brisa got a kick out of. We ate at the old soda shop by the Disney owned El Capitan Theater. It was very good with a pleasant atmosphere. From there a few picture at the chinese theater and off to the American Girl Store. An observation--plenty of tourists here. I'm not sure what the local unemployment rate is but it sure isn't 15% like it is in the Central Valley of Cali.
American Girl Dolls-- This proved to be a pleasant surprise. Samantha got a doll for Christmas and has ordered some things for it, but I had no idea how much stuff for this brand is out there. The store includes, besides the obvious stuff, a bookstore with numerous series on American Doll characters. The series about the doll "Samantha" is about a girl living in the early 1900s. A quick flip through it and there was actually some good history in terms of period settings and clothing. So, I bought the first book in the series. There is also a "hospital" (Obamacare not required) where experts fix broken dolls; a hair salon that will give your doll a special hairdo, and a cafe where you and your doll will be treated to a three course meal. (We are doing lunch there tomorrow.) There were dolls of every shape and ethnicity, so every girl can find one that looks something like her. There are also dolls with special needs--blind dolls with seeing eye dogs, dolls in wheelchairs, etc. It's a business and the stuff is expensive, but the store exhibited a multi-ethnic and socioeconomic sensitivity absent thirty years ago.
Posting will be hit and miss the next few days. I'm on vacation.
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