The Bell Curve of Life

Mateo at 4 months

2012-01-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

Trying to stay awake as long as he can...

Gone.

He really enjoys his walker now.

Troy misses the walker - it was his two years ago. When we had it in the storage room, Troy would shimmy his way through the junk (uh, stored items) to get to the walker so he could play with the bears.

Christmas Day / Mateo at 3 months

2012-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day! Troy is 2 and Mateo is 3 months at this point in time, so it was a great year for opening presents.

Marcy is still hanging in there.

Troy immediately jumped on his new rocking spring horse as soon as he arrived. Well, new to him: this one is about 40 years old and still rides well. Giddeeyup!

Mateo was just soaking it all in...

Next year, Mateo, those limbs will work and you can participate more...

Ron taking Troy's photo.

Troy insisted that Mateo ride the horse, too.

Lucy and David opening presents.

Distributing the gifts!

Lucy with Mateo.

Ron

Even Captain America came by.

We also got Troy a second, bigger horse for him to grow into. Which he did within hours.

Naptime for Mateo.

Troy with his brother.

Lucy and Mateo after dinner.

Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick

2011-12-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to the auto show. It is a great day to do it if you can get there early, as it is not too crowded and most people are at retail stores doing the Black Friday thing anyway.
It is a lot of walking though, and it usually takes 3 to 4 hours to see everything. The next few posts are some of the better photos I took that day. I didn't capture everything in pictures though, and I missed some exquisite cars - it's just how things worked out. For one thing, I wish I would have taken photos of the smaller Fords...not sure what happened there.

Let's start with the Chevy display. This actual Camaro looked exactly like a full scale Hot Wheels!
The paint was amazing - I've never seen anything like it...except on a Hot Wheels car.

The Cruze is a great small car - it looks and feels high quality though it looked a little lonesome at the show. I've seen them on the road and at the dealer, and they look quite nice.

The Volt was very popular at the show. It is still hard to get seat time, even though this is it's second year here.

David trying out the driver's seat in a Volt.

They had three of them at the show, as opposed to one last year.

Camaro convertible was looking sharp!

I took this photo because the gentleman behind the wheel looked like a giant in there. He was grumbling as he got out, saying it was too small for his frame.

The new Sonic and I must say, it looks all the world like a Hedgehog!

Especially in the headlight area.

Cadillac had a fine display....this division has come a long, long way.

We had a CTS as a rental in Vegas this year, and we loved it. I never thought I'd like a Caddy, but I must say it would be sweet to own.

The Ciel show car. I have a love-hate relationship with this design. Can't quite decide.

The new Cadillac XTS - the first one I've seen. I kinda like the design. But it shouldn't be the top of the line - Caddy badly needs a flagship. Something bigger, more bold. Very upscale.

The Cadillac Converj show car, a hybrid. It has just been confirmed that Cadillac will build a production version called the ELR.

Buick has come a long way also....very lovely design here.

The angles are just perfect, especially in this gray color.

But it still looks awkward from the front - needs some work here. And look at the 20 somethings bailing - don't shoot me in a Buick!! Lol. Buick has some image building yet to do.

Ford and Lincoln

2011-12-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

Edsel Ford's 1934 Model 40 Speedster was at the show - looking sharp!

The Ford Edge has been out a few years now, and I think it gets better looking each year - especially this year's nose and taillights. And with that red and those wheels - wow! This is extremely sharp!

Love the dash too. Looks very sophisticated.

Here is the brand new Ford Escape, it's not even on dealer's lots yet. I think the wheels are a little smaller than the early sketches I've viewed, but otherwise it looks as predicted. Looks sharp.

This is quite a change over the prior Escape - a bold move from Ford.

There were actually quite a few Escapes at the auto show - here it is in red.

And of course the Mustang - who doesn't love the Mustang? Very nice color and wheel setup on this Mustang GT.

Aggressive front end - very nice.

The Taurus is also excellent. They have went upscale since it's early days, and I think that's a good thing.

Lincoln is struggling to renew itself, and is in mid transformation. This actually looks much better in person than in photos, but they still have a bit of work to do. Style theme is evolving, and I like the direction it is going.

A bit boring in the back, though.

They will get there....but they better hurry!

Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, Subaru, Acura, and Toyota

2011-12-23T04:51:00.000-08:00

The Acura ZDX. It sure has love it or hate it styling - I kinda like it. One journalist said his neighbor kid thought it was the batmobile, and I can see that. But in a good way.
What becomes obvious when sitting in it, though, is that the back seat is going to be a royal pain. Head room has been severely sacrificed in the name of style (the fastback look), and adults must really duck to get in and out to avoid hitting their head on the door sill. Great looking car, but pretty impractical.

They had a Venza in this same color at the auto show last year too. I can see why, it's a great color for the car.
The production version of this car was unveiled days after we saw it at the auto show. The show car looks better, but they are both pretty sharp.

The Miata, a favorite with virtually everyone. In cluding me. A guy walked up to my wife shortly before this pic was taken and asked if the car is "too girly" for him to drive. My wife told him no. Not sure if she told him I used to own one.
Mazda 3. Nice little car.

Subaru's version of the red show car above. Both Toyota and Subaru are getting virtually identical versions of the car for production.

The Hyundai Azera. I think they screwed up. The prior generation looked better. Hyundai has been on a roll lately, but I think this shows that even they can still make mistakes. We'll see what the public thinks.

Kinda strange, if you ask me.

Not much better.

And Kia went totally off the wall. Yikes! They are obviously not aiming at my demographic. I would have a hard time even riding in that car.

WTF?

Great little Kia crossover, though.

European Cars at the Auto Show

2011-12-22T19:51:00.001-08:00

Let's take a look at what Europe brought to the auto show. Starting with this gorgeous Audi coupe...

The press seems to like this Audi 4-door fastback while soundly criticizing the BMW 4-door GT fastback. I can't quite understand it.

For some reason, I struggled to get good shots of the BMWs at the show. This is kinda nice, but also looks a little blunt.
I like the new 5 series in person, but they don't photograph nearly as well as they actually look.
The BMW roadster.

I've always been quite a fan of the VW CC. This one is very, very, very shiny!

It looks particularly good in this color with these wheels. The dash is also very nice. Just a great overall car. Well done, VW.

The New New Beetle is quite an improvement over the prior generation. They may actually sell a few to men now as it is not nearly as feminine. I participated in a study of the original new Beetle before it was released. It was obvious at that time that it was going for a certain audience...they did well with that audience, but now it is time to branch out.

The Gold is always great, though the taillights are rather bland this year. I hear tell a new Golf is just around the corner.

Does Volvo even qualify as a European car now that it is owned by a Chinese company? Oh well, I leave it here for now. Volvo even had a concept car on display. Mighty nice from this angle...

I swear I did not stretch this photo....it really does look that wide! Also looks very 1940s. This could actually be called a Studebaker.

Seats are cool...

I like the little S60, at least from the rear. I always think that this was what Honda was trying to do with the Civic 4-door...but failed.

Another good angle of it.

The new Range Rover Evoq. It's gonna be a hit, I can feel it in my bones.

Eeeeville.

Front end is just as nice.

Here is my son David checking out the glove box....something he does often at auto shows, I've noticed.

This just might be our next car. I've waited a long time for the mid-cycle refresh, and they did a wonderful job. Very nice front end.

Mmmmm. Delicious.

My wife in front of the XF. They are both gorgeous.

Slight changes in the rear: LED taillights are new, and the red now extends onto the trunklid below the chrome strip as well as above.

A slightly better angle...

Side view. Very pleasing shape.

Interior. Nav system is redone as are some of the controls.

They had a special room for the very upscale European cars...let's take a peak inside.

Here is our son Ron with his girlfriend Mary.

A Bentley Continental. Sharp, but I liked it before they tweaked the front and back better.

The Mulsanne. We were there when this car was first presented to the world at the Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach.

Lotus.

Porsche had a room of it's own. Here is my wife shortly after we entered.

I waited 4-EV-ER for a clear side shot of this car. People kept getting in the way! Finally I said screw it, your ass is gonna be in my photo. Beautiful car. Very nice what you've done to the 911, Porsche.

Classy and sporty. A very good combination.

Porsche seems to be trying to associate itself with rugged outdoor activities lately. Not sure what's up with that. This ain't a SUV.

These 500s are cute enough little cars, though I suspect they wont' sell well to males. Too bad gas prices came back down or they'd probably be selling better.

I just hope slow 500 sales don't discourage Fiat from bringing their Alpha Romeo line over to the states. That would be a shame.

Hemis, Hondas, and Nissans

2011-12-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

Now let's go deeeep into Chrysler territory. For those of you not into Mopar, stand back cuz we're about to get Hemi all over your shoes!

Forgive me for the number of photos, but they came out so great, I had a hard time figuring out which ones to leave behind. Like this one - look at all the All-American men standing there silently soaking in this beauty. Just like me. Dumbfounded by that gorgeous hunk of power.

Even the women were blown away by the sheer beauty and horsepower clearly evident in every square inch.

Oh, and the taillights. They are perfect. Thank you, father Chrysler!

I'm not normally a fan of stripes or spoilers, but they are absolute perfection here.

Absolute perfection.

Now let me wipe some of that drool off my lip, and we'll take a quick look at this black Charger. Awesome front end, and even more awesome shade of blue on that stripe.

Okay, enough of that. Back to Hemi Challengers!

Just wow. That's all I can say. A throwback to the 1970s yes, but this is done so much better than the 1970s Challengers. Very, very nice.

My wife is a big fan too and was very anxious to get a lil seat time.

I think I like the silver one above the best, but this red is a very close second.

I just loooove the agressive front end. The sunken grille, the hooded headlights. It says "don't f**k with me", and I love it.

They had an orange Challenger set up for photo ops, but we skipped that one.

I really like Nissan's Z car too. It looks especially good in red. And in white, I've noticed.

Here is the GT-R, better known by it's nickname, Godzilla. The front is very pleasing, and the exhaust note is fantastic.

The rear looks a lil awkward, but this is till the first generation of the car. I think it will take a bit of time to get the design theme down pat and worked out. I have hope.

Doesn't this just look like there should be Superman's "S" where that R is? Doesn't it?

My two boys, admiring the GT-R.

The new Civic has been severely thrashed by the car journalists. I kinda like the styling, but maybe I would understand if I drove one. They say it feels like a big step down from previous models.

I think the styling is quite pleasing, actually. Not cutting edge, but Honda never is.

You can already see the red glow from the rest of the Honda display. Hmmm. Nissan and red and blue cars (and a white Maxima I didn't show)....now Honda is doing a red, white, and blue theme. You don't think they are trying to subliminally tell us something do you?

The floor glowed red. There were red lights projecting down. The car was red. It felt like we walked straight into Hell.

And the Crosstour. Another Honda getting roundly panned. I'm not fond of it either, but it looked good at the auto show. Anyway, that's the show that was! Thanks to everyone who went with us!

The Solution

2011-11-30T08:08:00.001-08:00

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Mateo at 2 months

2011-11-27T15:52:00.001-08:00

Mateo smiling at his dad.

In my wife's arms.

In his dad's arms.

My wife, Mateo, David, Ron, Mary.

Bates Nut Farm in October

2011-11-27T12:21:00.001-08:00

In October, we went to the Bates Nut Farm to get Troy a pumpkin.

David and my wife went also. Lucy did not go because we did a lousy job of explaining what Bates Nut Farm is (nuts sound boring), but next year we will do a better job so she'll join us.

BNF is located on acreage outside of Valley Center. In October, San Diegans flock to the place en masse.

The owners (the Bates?) live on the property. I just hope they don't build a hotel here because not many people would spend the night at the Bates Hotel.

They have a country store on the premises also.
Troy with his father.

There are many kid oriented activities.

But what Troy really wanted was a cart ride, so we got in line.

I'm not sure how he did it, but he spotted two horses through the orange fencing.
And off he went...

Here is what he was looking at.

Troy, David and my wife are in the third cart back.
Pointing out more horses.

It's time to pick out a pumpkin!
At first he is not sure what to do...
But then he gets the hang of it.

Will someone turn down that sun a bit please?

My First Job

2011-11-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

One summer in the late 1970s, I was ready to get my first job. I had my driver's license which greatly increased my freedom, but it also created a huge thirst for cash. So I needed to find a steady stream.

I papered the town of Stillwater, OK with applications and waited. The first interview I had was with the Pizza Hut on 6th Avenue. They needed a delivery driver and was ready to hire me on the spot - until they found out I didn't drive stick shift (this was back when the restaurants supplied the delivery vehicles). Shortly thereafter, a small restaurant south of town offered me a job as a cook. I was so excited that I went right home and told my parents that I started that Saturday night. My father reminded me that my grandmother was coming to town that night and I had promised to go to dinner with her. I drove back to the restaurant and asked for a delay of one day in my start date. I spoke with the owner's son who reluctantly went to tell his father, who fired me on the spot. In retrospect, I think this is a sign of a hothead owner, so it was probably for the best.

A few long weeks later, the KFC on 6th Avenue called and offered me a job as a cook. I took it immediately. It was a family owned location that had been there for years and, as with almost all small businesses, it was a little soap opera all to itself. Since it was my first glimpse into the world of business, it remains fairly clear in my mind these many years later. Here is the story of that little white cinderblock building that started my working years.
Speedy was the owner. He was an older, wirey fellow with salt and pepper hair, black horned rimmed glasses, and a loud boisterous voice. He was slightly below average in stature and was an ex-cop - his cop buddies hung out regularly at KFC. I didn't see Speedy often during my time at KFC, but I remember him as a tough yet fair boss. Being young and shy, he intimidated me quite a bit.

The only conversation I remember having with him was my first day on the job. It was a Saturday where Oklahoma State University was playing football, and therefore it was the busiest of days for all restaurants in town, including ours. All hands on deck, all employees were in to handle the crowds.

One of my first tasks on my first day on the job was to bread the next batch of original recipe chicken. They showed me how to get the chicken from the freezer, take it to the breading table, and wet it down. With the flurry of busy employees all around me, Speedy came up to me to show me how to bread the chicken. "Take this leg, and pull the skin up tight like it was your pecker. There! That's the way!" He gave me instruction for breading each piece in that first batch and then went about ensuring other employees were working at peak performance.

Speedy wasn't around much because his son, Joe Orr, was the manager. Joe was about 30 years old, slightly rotund, jet black hair, and a somewhat Hitler-ish moustache. His beady black eyes seemed to pierce right through whatever he looked at, and he had a biting, sarcastic way of talking to people. Joe was around at least part of the time almost every night I worked. He lived directly across the sidestreet from KFC in a 1930s era two-story house. He had a very pretty wife - tall, blonde, young - who I only saw from a distance when she entered or exited their house. She never came to the restaurant. Joe had a Corvette and had spent a few years in the Navy.

Rick was the assistant manager who worked most nights and was there whenever Joe wasn't around. Rick was a full-blooded American Indian in his early thirties with a balding pony-tailed head. He was missing a few teeth and weighed about 250-300 pounds. Rick was extremely nice to all of us young high-school backroom cooks, and I enjoyed talking with him.

The front counter was almost always staffed with college-aged women, most of whom I do not remember. None of them stayed long, and us cooks where not to be seen in the front of the restaurant anyway, so there was not much interaction between the counter staff and the cooks. The one I do remember is Theresa Paul who had shoulder length straight blonde hair and nice petite curves. She worked there quite awhile, and for some reason I can remember the entire staff going to her home nearby one evening - have no idea why or what we did there. Joe took quite a liking to Theresa, and they talked quite often. As he did with all the staff, Joe gave her a nickname based on her initials: Toilet Paper.

Heading to the back room, the senior cook was named Dodie, often called The Dode (maybe this was because this was the Happy Days era?). Dodie was in his 30s and was always just one paycheck away from being homeless - I suspect he was homeless at certain times. Dodie too was missing a few teeth and was a very rough character who hung out with a very rough crowd. He had many home-made tattoos and was built extremely solid. Being over 6 feet tall, he could no doubt hold his own in any situation. Dodie was always extremely nice and helpful to us young cooks, though no doubt he was a very bad influence and showed us innocent high schoolers the darker side of life...something we probably didn't need to see at that age. Dodie seemed to work sporadically at KFC, being hired and let go multiple times. I have a feeling it was more due to his life being in disarray than anything else.

Hire just weeks before me were the Sexton twins, Ed and David Sexton. They were my age and after meeting them at KFC, they became friends of mine both at school and on weekends. Ed and Dave were tall, lanky fellows with shoulder length hair and an easy-going friendly attitude. They wore the aviator-style auto-tinting glasses that were so popular in those days and were very hard workers. They easily outdid me at virtually every task in the kitchen.

Finally, there was Chuck, and amiable early 20s man with a husky voice, average height, and stocky muscular build. Chuck loved to drink and had a temper problem at times, but it was never directed at the rest of us on the staff. Chuck worked on and off at KFC and tried his hand at other careers with more opportunity from time to time. Chuck lived in a little guest house behind Joe's house, and we went there several times after work to enjoy a little after work wind down time.

There were other cooks that came and went while I was there, but I didn't know much about them. I do remember that Speedy once hired the son of one of his policemen buddies. The son and I were scheduled to open the early shift one Sunday morning, and he showed up to work late, hung over, and with no shoes or socks...just bare feet. To his misfortune, Speedy happened to be there and fired him on the spot.

The restaurant was a simple little cinderblock building with windows only around the customer tables and one over the kitchen sink. Us cooks always entered and exited through the back doors. At the time, I was astounded by the greasy, dangerous conditions in the back room and still am to a large degree. The stove burners constantly held huge pressure cookers filled with grease and chicken, which caused the linoleum floor to constantly be so slick we would simply slide from one location to another. The pressure pots got to several hundred degrees and we knew the times they were to be removed from the flame through use of a grease pencil to mark the time on the lid. When the huge pot was removed, we would have to wrestle with the lid to get it unclasped from the base and then slide on over to the boning station. Using one hand on the short handle and one hand on the long handle, we would flip the pot over so the grease and chicken poured out onto a screen at the boning station. The size of the pots ensured that this maneuver left each of us with a permanent scar on the middle of the bottom of our forearm, as we would all burn that spot nightly. A second person, the "boner", would flip each piece of chicken immediately so as to drain any grease that may be caught in the crevices of the chicken.

A few years after I left, a new KFC building was constructed next door. The old location where I worked was converted to a liquor store called the "Liquor Barn", which Joe owned and managed. Later still, the Liquor Barn closed and the building torn down. Today, that location is a parking lot.

Mateo at 3 weeks

2011-10-16T12:44:00.001-07:00

Mateo with his mother, at 3 weeks of age.

Troy

2011-10-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

An afternoon in his grandparent's back yard.

Mateo and Troy

2011-10-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

We visited the newborn Mateo at his parent's place a couple weeks ago. Here are some of the photos. That's Troy beaming over the sight of his new baby brother.

The Placebo Effect

2011-10-09T13:30:00.001-07:00

Crystal and Drew's Wedding

2011-10-08T09:27:00.001-07:00

We attended Crystal and Drew's wedding in Henderson, NV in September. We had a great time!

Father of the bride.

Mother of the bride.

My wife and oldest son.

Troy

2011-09-25T07:49:00.001-07:00

Troy was at our house the other day when a rainbow appeared behind his head. I tried to capture a photo with him and the rainbow, but none of those came out well. You can almost see the confusion on his face as he wonders why I'm holding the camera in unusual ways.

But then he put on his cowboy hat and he was back to his typical lively self! He's also wearing his favorite shirt - Lucy says he looks for it when he gets up and if he doesn't find it, he will look for it in the laundry.

Good afternoon, ma'am.

A photo of the rainbow. Interesting how the sky is a different color inside the rainbow's arc.

Mateo Jake Barker

2011-09-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

Born to David and Lucy at 9 PM last night, here is Mateo Jake Barker. He is 19 inches long and eager to get a good look at the world.

Being held by his maternal grandmother, Mateo already looks quite content with his new environment. This is David and Lucy's second child (my second grandchild). their first son, Troy, is getting ready to turn 2 years old.

Fatality Rate by Occupation

2011-09-11T12:28:00.001-07:00

Several people were surprised last week at a list I found on the 10 most dangerous jobs - as measured by fatality rates by occupation. Many questions arose as to why some occupations that were expected to have high fatality rates (military, police, firemen) were not on the list. So I spent some time and researched it.

In the process I found the data for 2010, as shown in this photo. Notice that in 2010, police have crept up to #10 on the list, while firemen are still outside the top 10. Fishermen and loggers are still 10 times more likely to die on the job than either police or firemen. I can understand their inclusion on the list, as well as pilots, miners, roofers, and maybe even truck drivers...but was shocked to find farming as being particularly dangerous!

I also looked into why our military personnel are not included on the list and found it is because they don't include them in the statistics. So I poked around for a little information on just where they would fall if they WERE included. I found one stat that said from 1980 - 2002, a military member had a 0.0892% chance of dying on the job. That is the same as 89.2 deaths per 100,000 employees, which would put them at #3 on the list - behind fishermen and loggers, but ahead of pilots. That would also push the police out of the top 10 again.

I then became curious as to what the death rate is in the most dangerous part of the military (I think): those serving in Iraq. I found a stat from 2003-2006, which stated the death rate was 392 per 100,000 which would of course be #1 on the list. However, we haven't limited any other occupation by region, so I bet we could drive a few of those numbers higher also if we cherry-picked the most dangerous areas for each of those occupations. Interesting stuff.

Liverpool

2011-08-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Liverpool, UK is a very pleasant place to visit in May. This is a shot of the waterfront taken from Albert Dock. I chose it as the opening shot because it shows Liverpool as it is: a mixture of old and new.

The red and white striped building was the White Star headquarters during the 1900s. It was outside this building where relatives of Titanic passengers waited after the ship sank. One can almost feel the sadness attached to the site.

But there are other historic aspects to the city also. Taxi drivers never failed to tell us the stories about that history, including how it was the largest importer of cotton in the world during the 1800s. The close ties developed with the south from that trade led to contracts to build all the Confederate ships during the Civil War. Yes, they were all built in Liverpool.
They also all told us about the Liverpool Blitz, the repeated and heavy bombing of the city during WW2 by the German Luftwaffe. In one night, over 1600 Liverpool residents died. Over 4000 died in the entire blitz, second only to the 30,000 lost in London. Liverpool was no doubt targeted because of it shipbuilding capabilities. We were also told that Eisenhower and Churchill met in a secret bunker here to develop war plans.

But the reason we visited Liverpool had to do with another piece of the city's history: this is where the Beatles originated. We were visiting London and wanted to see a bit of the rest of England, but need an activity to do it with. We decided this would be our Beatles Tour vacation. And that meant we had to visit Liverpool! This building on Albert Dock houses the Beatles Experience exhibit...which we never went to, by the way.

We spent two nights and one full day in Liverpool and it was jam-packed. We would recommend three nights and two full days to future visitors actually. Our one full day had the National Trust Tour of the Lennon and McCartney homes in the morning, and a Fab Four Taxi Tour in the afternoon. Both were excellent five star activites, and we recommend them to you, too.

But we missed out on seeing some of the other things Liverpool has to offer, so if we had to do it over again, we would set a more relaxed pace and spend two full days there.

The city is well kept, clean, friendly, and safe. Yes I know I said that in a prior post and on the very next day, the riots from London's Tottenham neighborhood spread to Liverpool at the corner of Lodge Lane and Smithdown Road, but there are a few idiots in every city. It didn't lower our opinion of Liverpool one bit.

This in North John Street in Liverpool, very close to Mathew Street where the Cavern Club is located. See other post about the Cavern Club.

The Rigby Building on Water Street.

Knowing that Freddy Mercury was a huge Beatles fan who visited, and actually lived here for a bit, to see the sites, I can't help but wonder if this building gave him the idea for his band name.

Looking west on Chapel Street, one gets the feeling it was pretty windy, and it was. We were just thankful it wasn't raining, which is what the forecast had called for. In addition, the volcano in Iceland erupted while we were there, so our eyes were glued on the news for the next few days to ensure our flight from Heathrow a few days hence was not canceled.

This is Lime Street Station, where we arrived from and departed to London. It is about a mile from our hotel.

One of the many churches in Liverpool.

A random pub somewhere in the city.

Liverpool has just finished raising a large section of downtown and building a huge shopping center called Liverpool One. It was so new when we visited that it wasn't even shown on Google Maps yet.

But it was huge! This is one of the things we didn't get to spend time doing since we only scheduled a day in Liverpool.

The Ted Baker store in Liverpool One. Nice shirts!

The National Trust Tour, which we highly recommend, started at the Il Barista Lounge in the Jurys Inn located on Albert Dock. Head left up that ramp...

...and there it is! We got there way early since we hate to be late.

But this gave us time to relax, gather our thoughts, and think about what we were about to experience. And we were excited.

There were about 10 people on the tour with us, and they were all Americans! I would bet a very high percentage of Beatles tourists are. As a group we figured this out on the bus over to Mendips. As one of the 20 something yo sisters (who were taking the tour by themselves) said when we figured it out, "what dorks we are". How true. But we are dorks having a whole lot of fun!

Beatles in Liverpool: Mendips

2011-08-10T21:48:00.001-07:00

The crown jewel of the Beatles sites in Liverpool is Mendips - the home owned by George and Mimi Smith, John's aunt, where John Lennon grew up. It is located at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool. Here is my wife in front of Mendips.

John's mother Julia ceded care for John to Mimi when John was 5, in 1945. John continued to live here until 1963 when he was 22, though he did live in an apartment near the art school for awhile. John's bedroom is located directly above the foyer. George and Mimi's bedroom is the larger window to the right. The foyer has quite an echo, and the guide told us that this is where John learned to love the way his voice sounded with an echo added.
As you will see at the bottom of this post, this Mendips looks virtually identical to the way it did in the 1950s. There is a third bedroom towards the back of the second story that George and Mimi rented to male college students. There were several beds in the room and Mimi would make breakfast and dinner for them downstairs.
The National Trust has been working hard to restore the original plantings that were here during John's time at Mendips. The house was named Mendips by the developer - each new home built by the developer was given a name prior to sale.
George died on the stairs in Mendips in 1955, while John was away visiting relatives in Scotland. John, 14 at the time, learned of the death upon his return. This made it even harder for Mimi to make ends meet, so she rented out her bedroom to additional college students and took to sleeping downstairs. There were so many students that breakfast and dinner were done in shifts.

The front yard at Mendips.

Just to the side of the driveway at Mendips.

The home to the left of Mendips.

Looking down Menlove Avenue from Mendips. On July 15, 1958 John's mother Julia was in the center divide which was covered with hedges to cover unused tram tracks. She stepped in front of a vehicle driven by an off-duty constable who was learning to drive and died instantly. John was 17.

Looking up Menlove Avenue in the other direction.

Mendips came up for sale in 2002 and was offered to the National Trust, who refused purchase. Yoko Ono then purchased Mendips, restored it, and donated it to the National Trust. Thank you, Yoko! I can't imagine losing this gem to history.

John Lennon as a boy in front of Mendips.

The facing on Mendips is now painted. I suspect from the original photos that it was not painted when John lived there - it was likely originally done in exposed stone as are many of the homes in Liverpool.

Here is a close-up of what the exposed stone looks like on a nearby house being restored.

Yoko Ono, sitting in the restored living room at Mendips.

Aunt Mimi in the living room, probably in the 1960s or 1970s.

The restored kitchen at Mendips.

This may be the other corner of the kitchen at Mendips, but I suspect it is not. It is probably John enjoying a spot of tea in a kitchen elsewhere. UPDATE: This appears to be in Paul's kitchen at Forthlin. See the Forthlin post below.

John's bedroom, restored as it looked during his teen years.

Bedroom from the doorway. It is a tiny room.

George and Mimi's bedroom, as it looked before boarders took over the room.

The only bathroom in the house - upstairs.

John with Aunt Mimi.

John with Stan.

Aunt Mimi and John.

Beatles in Liverpool: 20 Forthlin Road

2011-08-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

The National Trust also owns the home where Paul McCartney grew up. Paul's family moved into the house in 1955 with his mother and father (James and Mary) and brother Mike. Paul was 13 at the time. Jim was a trumpet player and pianist who led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s and encouraged his sons' musical abilities.

Mary McCartney died on October 31, 1956 after a mastectomy failed to stop the spread of cancer. The early loss of his mom gave him a special connection with John Lennon, who also lost him mom during his youth. The National Trust acquired the home in 1995. Taking a National Trust tour is the only way to see the inside of the house.
The woman in the red dress is Sylvia Hall, and she hosts the tours of the home. The four people posing were a part of our tour. This house is called a "council house" because it was built by the Liverpool government in the 1950s to replace housing destroyed in World War II. Council houses were rented to families such as the McCartneys.
Paul's bedroom was directly above the front door and there are stories of him sneaking in using the front door overhang.

This photo looks up Forthlin towards the cross street used to access the road.
This photo looks down Forthlin towards the dead end.
Neighbors continue to live in the adjacent homes, so the tour guides are quick to point out that tourists need to respect their privacy as much as possible.

Paul exiting the house in October 1962, exiting the front door at Forthlin. Notice the fine condition of the bricks around the door. This will be important in a later photo!

John Lennon in front of Forthlin in October 1962. Jim McCartney used to let the lads practice here. The house was empty since he worked days and his wife had died.

George Harrison at Forthlin in October 1962. He had been a part of the Beatles since they were a skiffle group called the Quarrymen when George was 15. He also worked for awhile as an apprentice electrician at Blacklers department store when he was 16.

George, John, and Paul just outside the back door of Forthlin that same day. There are tales of Paul and Mike shimmying up the black drainpipe to get into the home late at night by dropping into the upstairs bathroom. Reportedly, Paul and Mike did that again in the late 1960s just to see if they could still do it.

Practicing in the living room at Forthlin.

Paul in the living room at Forthlin.

The living room as it exists today. Council houses were built to austere levels. In fact, the living room of the McCartney's house had several styles of wall paper - they kept buying the end of rolls of different styles until they had the room covered. The furniture in this room is not original, but matches closely the furnishings that where here in the 1950s.

The kitchen at Forthlin has also been restored, but was restored with many of the original parts. The original sink was found stored elsewhere on the property. Notice the lack of cabinets, but the ice box was a rare luxury.

This is Paul's bedroom with the furnishings also recreated. The flooring however is the original flooring that Paul walked on.

Beatles in Liverpool: Fab Four Taxi Tour

2011-08-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon, we took the Fab Four Taxi Tour that we had signed up to take a month before we arrived. This three hour tour costs 50 pounds for up to five people, and I want to say right now that is an absolute bargain. If you are coming to Liverpool to see Beatles sites, I highly recommend signing up with FFTT. True you could drive around on your own, but you'd have to rent a car and you'd miss out on the fantastic stories that the FFTT guide weaves around the sites. You'll thank me when you're done. :-)

And don't think you've heard all the stories just because you've read my posts...I'm only telling you a small fraction! Let's start our tour at the corner of Falkner Street and St. Bride. This, according to Kevin is the roof that needed repair as referenced in the song "Fixing a Hole".

Let's continue on to other Beatles sites!

The is 64 Mount Pleasant, the register office where John Lennon and Cynthia Powell were married on August 23, 1962, against the wishes of Mimi. When John found out Cynthia was pregnant, he said "There's only one thing for it Cyn - we'll have to get married." After the wedding, Brian Epstein paid for a dinner of soup, chicken and trifle at Reece's restaurant in Clayton Square - where John's parents had celebrated their own wedding in 1938. On his wedding night, John played with the Beatles at Riverpark Ballroom in Chester.

This is the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, another stop we made that day. It is noteworthy because this is where as a lad, Paul McCartney failed his audition to be in the choir.

The church raised quite an uproar in 2009 when it decided to play "Imagine" on the tower bells, a song that expresses anti-religious sentiment and written by the atheist John Lennon.

Much to their credit, the church decided to play the song anyway in a symbol of acceptance and tolerance for all religious viewpoints, even atheism which is often despised by Christians. I applaud you, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral!

This is the Empress Pub, which was shown on the cover of Ringo Starr's album Sentimental Journey. This is the closest pub to his birthplace on Madryn.

The pub is quite well maintained and is still in use. I have heard that Ringo's mother used to work here as a barmaid.

A photo of Ringo walking in the small street beside the pub...

...and how it looks today.

Most all of the homes in Liverpool, and in the UK for that matter, are duplexes. Most are much smaller than this one, but we happened to stop for a signal at one point so I snapped this photo of one of the larger examples. Oh, and all the photos with me and my wife? Our guide Kevin insisted we take those, though we resisted at first. He said we'd appreciate them later. And he was right. Though they still can seem a little cheesy, we're glad he made us take them. Let's continue our tour!

Beatles in Liverpool: Birthplaces

2011-08-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

This is the Liverpool Maternity Hospital where John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 to Julia and Alfred Lennon. Alfred was a seaman who was away at the time of John's birth. He was often away but sent checks home to Julia. He went AWOL in February 1944, and shortly thereafter Julia moved from Newcastle Road to Mendips to live with her sister.

Alfred did come home six months after that and offered to support the family, but by then Julia was pregnant by another and declined. Julia handed John's care off to her sister Mimi after visits from Social Services (initiated by Mimi). In 1946, Alfred visited Mimi and unbeknownst to her tried to emigrate to New Zealand with him during the visit.

Julia and her boyfriend followed him, and Julia got into a heated argument with Alfred. Alfred forced 5 year old John to choose between them. John chose Alfred twice, but as is mother walked away in tears he followed her instead.

This is 9 Madryn Lane where Ringo Starr was born with the name Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940 to Elsie and Richard Starkey, a confectioner. Starr lived here for 3 years.

Starr was ill much of his youth. When he was six he fell into a coma from complications with appendicitis. At 13, he was admitted into a snatorium for two years with chronic pleurisy. This impacted his education significantly.

I turned the camera to the right and took a photo up the street.

Then to the left and took a photo down the street.

The homes on this street are now abandoned and are scheduled for demolition.

They are in deplorable condition and Kevin said the walls actually bowed out, which I attempted to capture in this photo.

This is the home directly across the street from Ringo's. Ringo's dad had an affair with the woman in this house. Not smart, as that will come out eventually on this tiny street! When Elsie found out, she kicked him out and his father moved across the street. If you look closely, you can see a tribute to his son's success he later embedded into the home's facade.

Kevin then took us to Arnold Grove, where George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943. His parents Harold and Louise had lived there since 1930 when they rented it for ten shillings a week.

I asked Kevin about the sign saying "Unadopted", and he said it means that Arnold Grove is a private street. To this day, this short street (just a couple hundred feet) is eerily quiet. The day we were there, two little kids from across the street came running out to greet us. It was the highlight of their day to say hi to the tourists.

This is 12 Arnold Grove where the Harrison family, with their four kids, lived. The rooms were all 10x10 ft and there was a single coal fire. The rent continued to rise and the family moved out when George was six.

When George found out he had cancer a few years ago, he brought his son back to see the house. The current owner graciously allowed him in.

We didn't get to tour Paul's birthplace, Liverpool General Hospital (aka Walton Hospital) in northern Liverpool.

Beatles in Liverpool: Childhood Homes

2011-08-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

A part of the Fab Four Taxi Tour is going to the childhood homes of the Beatles members. This of course includes the house Paul McCartney grew up in, 20 Forthlin Road, which we've covered in another post. But we did get our pic there without a crowd about.

The only way to get inside is on the National Trust Tour, but we did get the opportunity to shoot the house with no one around.
Note how those in love with Paul have chipped off the brick around the front door. What nuts.

Here is a photo of the living room. Paul and John practiced here often.
And a photo of Paul's room. That window is right above the front door. The linoleum on the floor is original to Paul's time in the house.

Looking up Forthlin towards the dead end. Supposedly Paul parked down towards the end late one night in the last few years. When approached, he said he was just reminiscing and wondered if he could see inside. Don't recall whether he was able to.

This is 9 Newcastle Road. John Lennon lived here with his mother Julia until he was five, when he moved to Mendips. The current owner of this house is not keen on tourists so we just stopped briefly and took a photo out the window. Note the owner has even removed the house number - as if people can't figure it out from the number next door.

From there, we went to Mendips, discussed in another post. This photo was taken while driving on Menlove Avenue...Mendips is a little further up on the left.

Tours had finished for the day (not that we could have gotten in since the FFTT is not part of the NTT) and the NTT tour guide was no doubt inside busy making dinner (the guide lives there). But we did get a photo in front of the house. John's bedroom window is obscured by the tree leaves.

Looking west down Menlove Avenue from Mendips. It looks like the fellow next door is tired of tourists parking in front of his house, thus the metal railing.

Beatles in Liverpool: St Peters Church

2011-08-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Let's take a tour of the place where it all started.

Kevin took us to St. Peter's Church on Church Road. That's it on the left behind the wall.

I must say that even today, the area has a pretty serene feel to it, much as I would imagine it was 50 years ago.

The church grounds are entered through this beautiful covered gate.

This is the St Peters church building.

As one would expect, it is still an active church and very much a part of the community.

The building appears to be very well maintained and is quite architecturally beautiful. I am very appreciative that the church allows us tourists to enter the ground and respectfully view the graves of those we've grown to know over the years. It is a beautiful church and site, and is a must-see on any trip to Liverpool.

Okay, another pose Kevin had us do - we felt silly but you know what? We're glad he had us do it now.

From there, we entered the church grounds where there are headstones from the 1800s through the present time. It appears to us that there are probably very few plots left at this point.

Kevin led us to some of the more famous graves.

A look back towards the street.

A grave marker for a John McKenzie. Make mental note of that.

Gravestones for Rigby and McKenzie, practically side by side.

Kevin shows us the most famous gravestone, for Eleanor Rigby. I have read that Paul McCartney denies that the song was named for the person buried here - he said the last name was from a famous star in the UK at that time. Personally I don't believe that. Maybe there is some sort of strange British law that forces him to say such a thing, but it would be a pretty strange coincidence for that name to appear at a location where he spent a lot of time. Either way, it has given the world the opportunity to learn a little bit more about this woman who would have been completely unknown if not for the Beatles song.

He also denies that the reference to "Father McKenzie" in the same song refers to the other gravesite nearby. Yet another coincidence? I'm not buying it.

Looking up at the church from Eleanor Rigby's grave.

It didn't feel right smiling in front of someone's grave. So we didn't.

Kevin said visitors to Eleanor's grave have done some damage to the neighboring plots, such as pushing over this headstone - and breaking it - directly in front of her grave.

Let's walk deeper into the site.

I love the way the camera caught rays of light as we walked through church property!

Kevin had us stand on a small wall and look at the nuclear power plant off in the distance. He was not keen on it, a feeling shared by much of the world especially this year.

What appears to be a new addition on the back of the church. I would have preferred they continue with the original style.

This is the grave of George Toogood Smith, Aunt Mimi's husband. John lived in Mendips with George and Mimi. George operated two dairys and a store with his brother and married Mimi in 1939.

When John started living with them, George taught John to read and often read him stories. On a Sunday in June 1955, George collapsed on the stairway in Mendips and died of a liver hemorrhage. John, who was 14 at the time and away visiting relatives in Scotland, learned of the death when he returned home.

Heading towards the rear of the site behind the church. This is where the newest headstones are located.

This is also the area where John's first band, the Quarrymen skiffle band, played its first concert on July 6, 1957. That's John at the microphone. It was also that afternoon, on this same spot, that a friend introduced Paul McCartney to John Lennon.

A photo of that same spot today. Note that graves now fill the area. The band name came from the fact that many men in Liverpool at that time worked in quarries.

At least his first band wasn't called the Grave Diggers.

Looking back towards the church.

Kevin then took us across the street to the St Peters Hall. This is where the Quarrymen played that same evening.

Sorry, I couldn't resist a photo of the car...the red looked even better in person!

It was before the performance in this hall that Ivan Vaughn introduced Paul to John, as described on this plaque.

Looking back across the street at the church.

Beatles in Liverpool: Penny Lane

2011-08-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

We come around a corner and Kevin pulls the taxi over onto the curb. As we get out, we notice the sign - we are on Penny Lane! We start at the rural-ish end that is very picturesque.

This is probably the best photo he took of us that day.
He said they have quite a problem with people stealing the Penny Lane signs.
Looking directly across the street.
A group playing football (aka soccer) across the street. Penny Lane is named after James Penny, an 18th century slave trader. There was a move to rename the street to avoid honoring him, but the popularity of the street as a tourist destination ended that push. The name is now more closely associated with the Beatles than with the slave trader.

A little farther down where Penny Lane intersects with Crawford Avenue (shown), Kevin pulled over again.
He showed us an example of where the city stopped putting out the metal signs and instead painted the name on the wall. That stopped sign theft, but people began chipping away at the wall! They have now developed theft-resistant metal signs...theft is way down.

Across the street is Penny Lane Fish & Chips. How great is that?

He also pointed out Dovedale Towers. As I recall, it was built so a sea-farer could keep an eye on the comings and goings in the harbor. Several businesses have tried to make a go at the location as of late, with limited success.

He also pointed out that Freddie Mercury was a huge Beatles fan and had actually lived in this section of the Dovedale Towers pub for awhile.

A great shot of Kevin.

A sign advertising the latest attempt at making Dovedale Towers work. Let's hope something works so it doesn't get demolished.

I can't for the life of me remember the story Kevin told us about this gate. I guess you'll just have to take the tour with him to find out!

He did have us to a pretty cool goofy pose in front of it...

I took a shot through the gate, though I have no idea what we're looking at. Those houses in the distance look a lot like the backside of McCartney's home on Forthlin - but it's not, they are a few blocks away.

A glance further down Penny Lane at this point.

Now we get to the famous roundabout section of Penny Lane! A church....

A carpet store along the roundabout. Lennon's mother Julia used to work right around here, as a waitress and as an usher.

Kevin pulls the taxi over in front of the barbershop.

This is the shelter in the center of the roundabout. Several businesses have struggled to survive at this location.

Here is what it looked like in the 1960s.

And on to the famous barber shop! A photo of what it looked like back then...

And what it looks like today! Not much has changed.

It looks to me like the signage is brand new because....

This is what Google Maps Street View shows.

They were doing demolition to a building across the street which appears to have some nice architecture, so I became curious and looked on Google Street View.

Here is what was shown on Google Street View. Note the weeds growing out the top of the building. I wish it could have been saved, it looked very nice.

Beatles in Liverpool: Strawberry Field

2011-08-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

We headed over to Strawberry Field, a place I wanted to make sure we visited. Strawberry Field is located on Beaconsfield Road, a narrow heavily traveled road. Strawberry Field is near the intersection with Menlove Ave, about a block from Mendips.

This is the famous gate at the entrance to Strawberry Field. Lennon and his childhood friends used to play in the garden behind the home on the site.

Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army Children's Home beginning in 1936. The original home was demolished and replaced with a new home for the children in the 1970s.

Here is a clearer photo of the original home.
The Salvation Army closed the children's home in 2005 and the site is now used as a church.

Here is our guide Kevin giving us more details and doing a fantastic job.

The site still has a very magical quality to it, even though there were cars whizzing by right behind me as I took this photo.

The gate was a new replacement gate installed just one week before we were at the site, according to Kevin.

But what he told me next shocked me: there are plans to sell the land to a developer who plans to put condominiums on the lot. !!!

I hope the city of Liverpool comes to it's senses and buys the land for preservation. Putting condos here would be a travesty.

The gentleman who built the replacement gates was allowed to place a card on the wall. As you can see, vandals have already scratched it.

...and written their name on the new gate. The story goes that Mimi would get mad that John would run off and play in Strawberry Field. He would get in trouble when he returned home, which is where the line "nothing to get hung about" came from in the song. And John added an 's' to the end of the name.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever.

Beatles in Liverpool: The College Years

2011-08-07T14:04:00.001-07:00

This building is the Liverpool Institute. In 1953 at the age of 11, Paul McCartney was one of 4 people (out of 90) who passed the exams to gain admission. This meant the rest of his education was completed at this prestigious school, from 1953 to 1960. George Harrison also attended this school - Paul met George on the school bus. You can just catch a glimpse at the left edge of the photo of the Liverpool College of Art where John Lennon went to school. For whatever reason, I did not get a photo of it!
In honor of their famous students, sculptures have been created out front. Both schools are located near the corner of Mount and Hope streets.
You can see the names on some of the cases. Our Fab Four tour guide pointed out that skateboarders were doing damage to the sculpture. I pointed out we have the same problem in the states.

We also visited Ye Cracke, the pub on Rice Street (near Hope) that John Lennon and his girlfriend at the time Cynthia used to frequent when they were in art school.
Not much has changed since the Lennon days - it looks much as it did then.

The current owners are very friendly and encourage visitors, even if it is just to come in and view the memorabilia on the walls.

Cheese!

Liverpool: Radisson Blu Hotel

2011-08-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

Let's walk on over to our hotel and take a look around. We stayed at the Radisson Blu on Old Hall Street. Heading up Old Hall...

Looking north on Old Hall Street towards the Radisson Blu.
A Nissan Juke on Old Hall Street. I thought it looked pretty sharp.

Looking down at the lobby in the Radisson Blu. The oval desk is where we checked in. We really enjoyed the hotel and our room.
Looking straight out the door of our room.

Our room.

The view from our window.

Is the room fairly represented on their website? You tell us.

Liverpool: At Night

2011-08-07T11:17:00.001-07:00

Leaving our hotel on Old Hall Street, we decided to head to Mathew Street to visit the Cavern Club. This is what Old Hall Street is like in the early evening.

It is really a very nice, quiet, clean city.
We are heading south on North John Street at this point, with Mathew Street just a bit further up on the left side.

We're there! This is the famous Mathew Street, home of the Liverpool nightlife.
A statue of Lennon along Mathew Street.

We are very close to the Cavern Club now. Care to go in?

Liverpool: Cavern Club

2011-08-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

We made it to Mathew Street and the world famous Cavern Club. This is the club the Beatles played most often when they were getting their start, and they first played here in February 1961 at lunchtime. From 1961 through 1963, they played here 292 times.

They last played here August 3, 1963 a month after they recorded "She Loves You", and six months before they went to the US. In the following ten years, the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Elton John, Queen and The Who would all play here.

The Cavern Club is underground and was closed and torn down in 1973 as a part of the Merseyrail underground loop. Realizing their mistake, the club was later rebuilt to original specifications. With a few Beatles touches added. My wife at the Cavern Club.

Plenty of merchandise available for purchase!

The rebuilt club now has two stages - the original stage with the barrel ceiling (above) and a new larger stage accessed down a short hallway (right).

We went to Mathew Street the week of the Pop Music Festival by pure accident. We had assumed the clubs would be near empty on a weeknight, but they rotated live bands onto three stages (two at the Cavern Club, one at the Cavern Pub) so we had the opportunity to listen to about 10 bands or so.

My wife enjoying the band.

I often get asked how many Beatles songs were played, and the answer is zero! Not a single one. There is a sample of the music that was played in the videos at the bottom of this post.

This is a blind woman who played on the second stage at the Cavern Club.

Memorabilia fills the building, and there are signatures of fans all over the walls.

It really is a must-see place for any Beatles fan. I understand that when the Pop Music Festival is not going, they do have a Beatles cover band that sometimes plays.

This female band had just arrived from their home in Milan, Italy. Off to the left of the stage sat their boyfriends. :-)

Drinks were moderately priced, and we had to learn a whole new way of tipping. In the UK, to leave a tip you hand the tip back to your server and say "and keep one for yourself".

Liverpool: Cavern Pub

2011-08-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Across the street from the Cavern Club is the Cavern Pub. It was also a part of the Pop Music Festival. Let's take a peek inside...

Like the Cavern Club, they had a wide array of merchandise for sale, just to the left of the stage.

And display cases with famous memorabilia.
A well-stocked bar. As with Cavern Club, about half the people in the bar were related in some manner to the band(s) playing. I'm sure that ratio changes on weekends when more people are out.

And finally it was time to return to the hotel. Here is a police car heading down Mathew Street.
A statue of John Lennon on Mathew Street. I expected there to be a lot of Beatles cheese around and had heard about this statue. But in reality, it wasn't really overbearing and was probably a fitting tribute to him...though I don't think he sported this haircut until he was leaving Liverpool, right before the Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

What Old Hall Street feels like late at night. We never felt unsafe, and it was very peaceful and quiet.

The lobby of the Radission Blu. This was our first stop on our trip from our home. We had just flown across the US, across the Atlantic, taken a 2 hour train ride to Liverpool, rode in a taxi to this hotel. As I picked up my bags from the curb, I looked up at this lobby - it was about 3 PM in the afternoon. A little boy of about 7 had his arm stuck in the spinning doors. He was screaming bloody murder, his parents were in a panic in fear I was going to touch the door, and the staff all looked like ghosts. I tried to see if there was a way to help, but there wasn't. We checked in to the sounds of a wailing boy echoing in the lobby as the staff looked frantically for the fire department rescue they had called. It was a tense five minutes until they arrived, to the boy's wailing "I'll never do it again!!! I promise!!!". We believe you son, we're all just a little freaked out right now. And that is how our trip to Europe started.

Comic-Con 2011

2011-08-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick photo summary of our trip to Comic-Con 2011.

One of Troy's favorite characters is Spongebob Squarepants. As you can see at the bottom of the photo, this is the first time Troy has laid eyes on the actual living breathing SS.
And his reaction to the experience...

Lucy enjoying a Comic-Con display

Hmmm....that name sounds familiar!

Troy Barker.
My beautiful wife.

This display scared Troy...

Troy playing with his father David.

...and eating lunch...

...playing with his mother Lucy.

Doug Sneyd, who did many of the Playboy magazine single-panel comics in the 1970s and 1980s.

Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk himself.

This guy cajoled these women into singing backup for him.

The cast from Childrens Hospital.

While I was taking this shot, I was gently nudged forward by a man saying "wheelchair coming through...", so I moved forward. My wife then grabbed my arm and said the person in the wheelchair was Billy Dee Williams.

I tried to catch up with him to take his photo, but he was quickly wheeled into this Star Wars reception room.

Rob Lowe.

I believe this is Alison Haislip from G4.

Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager and other shows.

Chris O'Donnell from NCIS

About 15 minutes before this, I told my wife I thought I saw Conan OBrien walk by, but convinced myself otherwise. Then we saw this booth. We also saw the cast from Big Bang Theory, but the crowd was too crazy to snap a pic.

From Femme Fatales.

There were five Batman ads lined up in a row....

Eric Johnson

2011-08-05T14:42:00.001-07:00

Not quite sure why, but this sure has been the Summer of Music. We've attended more live concerts this summer than any other summer we've lived. Here is Eric Johnson playing at Anthology.

He does very fine guitar work, on par with Eddie Van Halen or probably even closer, Jeff Beck.

But his warm up band, the Michael Williams Band, came dangerously close to showing him up and, if I had to pick, I probably liked the MWB a tad better. More my type of music, played extremely well. EJ was more all about the guitar. Which is fine, but there is more to life...

London: W Hotel - Inside & Out

2011-07-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

This is where we stayed - the W Hotel Leicester Square. The room with the red lights is the Wyld club. We think. We never made it there, as we always had too much fun in the W Lounge to even try the other club!

Here is the exact opposite corner of the building during the day.

The entrance is the dark area towards the center of the building, on Wardour Street.
The backside of the building, towards Leicester Square. LS was closed for remodeling while we were there, probably prepping for the 2012 Olympics.

Once we entered the building, we checked in at the lobby, on the 2nd floor.

The elevators were very nice...

Up we went to the 4th floor...
We should say that the staff at the hotel - checkin, W Lounge, room service - were all first rate. We've never had better service and would highly recommend a stay here to anyone who likes a modern, lively atmosphere. Our stay was phenomenal.

Upon exiting the elevator, the 4th floor lobby was just as intriguing.

The hallway towards our room. And yes it was this dark!

Room numbers looked like beacons of light!

The uniqueness of the architecture made the hotel visible from blocks away. I'm standing close to Picadilly Circus when taking this photo.

London: W Hotel - Our Room

2011-07-20T15:31:00.001-07:00

Let's take a look around our room at the W Hotel Leicester Square in London! Here is what it looked like when we first entered the room and dropped our luggage.

We reserved a Spectacular Room (that's what they call it) which is just a Wonderful Room except on an upper floor. We purposely did that because the W Hotel has an awesome nightclub, and we wanted to avoid being kept up at night. This shows the TV, small couch, and bed.
One unusual feature of the room is that the sink and countertop are not in the bathroom - they are in the center of the main area.
On that island with the sink are the controls shown, though we never used any of them except the electrical plug (curling iron, blow dryer).

Here is the courtesy bar.

The TV was very nice, but the music video they showed by default was very bizarre. It was ingrained in my brain for weeks.

In an 8 story hotel, apparently the 4th floor is considered an upper floor, because that's where this room was located. Remember, the 4th floor would be called the 5th floor in the US, since Europe starts numbering their floors with 0.

The bed was very comfortable, which is should be since the hotel was only 3 or 4 months old at this point.

Trying to tell the guests to not blow their top?

The alarm clock at bedside.

The phone on the other side.

Outlets along the right side of the bed.

Looking back towards the door. See the gray panel? It slides right over the entrance to expose the closet. It is actually a very cool feature as it gives guests double-protection against hallway noise. In fact, we never heard a peep from the hallway.

The glass area covers two cubes - one is the toilet, the other is the shower. The shower has the semi-opaque wall to let light in from the window.

Another angle showing the center island. Luggage ended up in the corner as the closet was not big enough to hold it.

Books that were supplied with the room.

The plate display.

The closet area that contained a safe. The safe worked even with the electricity out. We know, because the electricity went out twice while we were there! Once during checkout, when I was worried about getting objects out of it. It worked out fine.

In fact, the staff was extremely helpful each time the electricity went out. They were there with flashlights to show us to our room (hallways were pitch black!) and supplied us with free water. And since it was out while we checked out, they hauled our heavy luggage down five flights of stairs for us! We didn't ask, they insisted.

The ceiling of the shower.

Shower floor. One design flaw is that the water from the shower seeped a bit onto the floor of the main room. Not serious, but annoying.

The shower area, with the mini-bar showing through the other side.

The toilet stall. I don't know what idiot didn't put the seat down before taking a photo. :-)

The thermostat controls. Easy to understand and use. Except I have to start remembering to bring a celsius to fahrenheit conversion chart to Europe.

As with many European hotels, we had to slide our room key into this wall slot to get the room electricity to work. Was the room as advertised? You tell us after looking at their website!

The layout of the hotel.

The view of Wardour Street from our room.

There were Angus Steak Houses every two blocks or so in London. Alllll over the place!

A random shot I took of McDonald's patrons.

And the view at night. Now, even on the 5th (4th) floor, we could hear the thump thump of the club on the 2nd (1st) floor, but it was very muted and did not keep us up at all. We theorize we could hear it because the building is encased in glass, which probably reverberated the sound upward. But it did not affect our enjoyment of the room a bit.

Must've been about bedtime, as there is a glass of wine!

The room with the lights out. Goodnight, all.

London: Nightlife

2011-07-19T21:52:00.001-07:00

Now let me tell you, this is a town that knows how to have fun! We found it very lively and friendly every night of the week.

The vibe is very fun, very upscale, and very safe. Just our speed!

This is what the entrance to our hotel looked like at night. It was always a pleasure to walk in the brisk night air, sometimes well past midnight, and see the welcoming W beckoning us.
Another shot of Wardour Street, with the W Hotel on the right. Bottom floor is still under construction, thus the M&M ad.

We also spent a little time in Soho at night. I felt this was picture worthy. Still do.

As with most European cities we've been to, bicycles are available for renting at any time of day or night.

A cleverly modified "Do Not Enter" sign.

We also spent a considerable amount of time at the W Lounge in our hotel. This is the hall approaching the lounge...

And this is the lounge itself. I intentionally took the photo on a quiet night - Sunday after midnight - so not many people would be in the photo. The staff at the lounge was absolutely superb in looking after us and all their customers. Top notch!

Turning a little left and looking towards the bar.

Turning a little right and looking outside.

Making our way back to the lobby, we passed this sitting area - also a part of the lounge.

And Nikki in the lobby, ready to hit the button so we can go crash in our bed after one of the many fun days in London.

London: Our Neighborhood

2011-07-19T21:11:00.001-07:00

Let's take a look at the neighborhood around our hotel! That's the front of the W straight ahead...we'll turn 180 degrees and start walking away northbound on Wardour Street.

The first thing we encounter is Chinatown. This is Gerrard Street. Notice the Will and Kate banner from their marriage two weeks prior.
A nearby restaurant.

The Queen's Theater at the corner of Shaftesbury and Wardour.
Looking north on Wardour.

Turning the camera 90 degrees right.
Now, turning left off Wardour onto Shaftesbury - looking east.

We walked a few blocks east on Shaftesbury and came across this place - St James Tavern. Lucky for us, it was dinnertime and this place looked good.

So we went in for dinner! They had all the normal British Pub food, and we liked it so much we came back several nights. I particularly liked their Steak and Ale Pie. Here is my wife contemplating her choice.

The windows, the nearby buildings, all very picturesque.

This truck had an interesting ad on the side: "WARNING: SmartWater Anti Robbery System In Use. 100% Conviction Rate." I have now had a chance to look this up on smartwater.com. Apparentely they install water systems that sprays intruders with a water-based solution that has a "forensic code" that can ID who set off the alarm. Interesting.

The folks at the next table offered to take our photo. It looks like the wine had kicked in!

Another night, we sat at a different spot and at about dusk, we saw the bouncer (in yellow jacket) talking to these shady characters. Unfortunately, he let them in.

They got the place a'Buzzin!

As is always the case, it wasn't long before their cohorts followed them in.

Little Bo?

Other customers had their photos taken with them.

And then the rumours started.

Another tavern patron picked up our camera and took our photo for us....what a friendly place!

Here are some photos heading east from the W Hotel, taken on other days.

The Portrait Gallery, directly south from the W Hotel.

The white bus went up on a curb and almost clipped the stoplight, but it really doesn't come across that way in this photo.

Lisle Street. The hotel is barely visible on the left side of the street. And there you have it! A look around the neighborhood. It felt very safe and lively. We recommend it highly.