WILL OBAMA JOIN THE CLUB? SUNNYLANDS

MID CENTURY MODERN 
WEALTH & POWER

     The angles are stunning.  The history is as well. Sunnylands, the extraordinary estate of the late Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg, awaits a first visit by President Obama.  
      (UPDATE-President Obama used Sunnylands as the
sight of a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping June  2013))

      Every President since Eisenhower has visited or worked at Sunnylands.

   Built in the mid 60's the estate captures the essence of Modern architecture and style, worthy of study. It is now administered by the Annenberg Foundation.  Less than a year ago the first public visits began.

   The visitor's center provides an overview with superb large touch screen videos and history and a good orientation film. It also features a schedule of special exhibitions.

    The setting is majestic.  
    Sunnylands is now a retreat center for issues of critical importance. 
    Tours of the home are limited to 7 people and run on a limited schedule. It is worth the ordering of tickets.

    The grounds of the visitors center are a stunning sight. The Giacometti sculpture commands focus. 
     Some come to see to the visitors center and garden.

  Those fortunate to visit the home are offered a golf cart
ride over the Annenberg's 200 acre estate near Rancho Mirage.

    You are driven to the famous front gate that welcomed  Presidents, Queen Elizabeth, other royals and countless celebrities. 

     Extraordinary art and sculpture are abundant, including this from Mexico, opposite the front door.

    Photographs are not permitted in the mansion, decorated as it was when the Annenbergs lived here.   
    Included are digitally created replicas of the multi-million dollar art collection given to a museum. The furniture and interior decor have been studied and envied by professional decorators and collectors.

   The home is a masterpiece of the modern architecture  Palm Springs is known for.  
    The display wall inside this hall holds the world's most extensive Steuben glass and crystal collection.

   11 lakes were built on the 200 acres of desert, now an oasis extradordinare'. 

   A closer look at the pool deck reveals a piece of balancing art that reminded me of a raft.

   Ronald Reagan loved the place.  He spent 18 New Year's eves here.  Photos of those parties are a treasure of show business greats mingling with world power brokers.  The first State Dinner held away from the White House was held here.  

   The Chinese Pavilion was built on the golf course to provide a place for lunch.  The Annenbergs played daily.

   Leonore Annenberg saw a marble bench while traveling and had one created for the edge of the golf course. She thought it was "too white," so a hedge was planted to block it's whiteness from being seen at the home. Her choice of color for the home was a peach or pink.

   The sand traps on the course, built on a flat and arid desert wilderness, are deep.

     Eisenhower golfed here. The Kennedys were guests as were LBJ and Lady Bird. Richard Nixon withdrew to Sunnylands after his resignation. The Fords played here. Reagan and the Bushes worked and relaxed here.  Carter and Clinton were guests and partied or strategized here. 

     Frank Sinatra was married here.  Bob Hope was here often. 

     The photos in Walter's study are a collection of the famous and powerful, from the US and abroad.  The  Christmas cards from the Queen, the Duke, or the Queen Mum are alone a stunning display.  All of this has been available to we mere mortals for less than a year.  

      Sunnylands is now a foundation providing a high calibre retreat space for the world's more challenging political, educational or communication issues.

      This New York Times link provides a fascinating background.

      The Foundations hopes that President Obama will  use the calm, peace and beauty of the estate to tackle an issue before him.  Some have suggested it would be a great setting for congressional leadership and the President to deal with fiscal issues.  Maybe the vibe of all of those who preceded him would help.

       Sunnylands is a uniquely American experience. And you can't help but be dazzled by how the Annenbergs lived, out in their desert house.

       See and learn more by linking to Sunnylands here. 

       See you down the trail.

      

THE WEEKENDER-THE WAGON AND THE BEACH

THE VISIT

    Central California Coastal scenes draw thousands each year.  If you are a frequent reader of LightBreezes you know that a friend and fellow blogger, Bruce AKA The Catalyst, was here, and away from his own posting, but he was "working"

 pondering and posing.

I'm interested to see how his exposure of this overly back lit and entirely too bright scene turns out.

A great visit with a couple of great friends, but time flew

all too quickly. 

THE WEEKENDER VIDEO

Taking you for a ride....

Have a great weekend. 

See you down the trail.

BIRTHING TIME

THE CLOCK HAS STARTED

     A couple of young elephant seal pups nurse in the afternoon sun on the beach near Piedras Blancas.  The colony is in the midst of birthing season.

     The wrinkled little black pups have about 6 weeks to feed when mom cuts them off as she becomes fertile and ready for mating.  

     Nearby adult males have begun to size up their harem and their corner of the beach.  They know instinctively when a female reaches a six week post birth state of readiness.  The scene then becomes one of harems.

     A bull is surrounded by a ring of females.  He will stir periodically to mate, then drop back into a pose such as this.  If another male attempts to enter his circle, a battle ensues.  In the meantime it is nap time.  

     After six weeks the pups are called Weaners and they begin to cluster together.  Eventually they need to learn to swim, but do so on their own.  Mom is long gone. And if it goes well for them they'll know when it is time to go into the sea for a hunting/feeding migration. Elephant seals travel alone as males head to waters off Alaska and females track toward Canada.  

     Poetically, mating season in this colony reaches it's peak around Valentines day.

    Down the beach, another couple has already begun their courting.

    See you down the trail.

POSITIVITY

IN THE PINK

     The idea of relative values has been running in the back of my mind, making me smile.  Californians have been shivering and complaining about the cold snap we are enduring.  To be honest, it has been chilly, but....

      Temperatures here are approaching record overnight lows , low 30's and upper 20's.  Yes, cooler than normal, but compared to what most of the nation endures and what we experienced for all those decades in Indiana, well, you get the drift.  On one of our "cold" nights, I took something out to the trash, wearing a T-shirt.  I would not want to have stayed out long, but there were winter storm nights in the mid-west such an act could have been near lethal.  Relative values.

   This is Toccata, the signature piece in Lana's new exhibition at the Windward Vineyard Gallery.  It is a departure, or a return to her roots, after 6 years of doing
Plein Air work.  You can see more of the work by linking here.

    My sincere thanks to those of you who have written, asking about why the break in the blog posting.  I missed filing the Weekender, due in part to the two gents in the foreground.

   Mike Griffin, on the left, who I mentioned recently and Bruce Taylor, AKA Catalyst, who's own blog, Oddball Observations, is linked in the column to the right, are central to my excuse.  The 3 of us worked together back in 1969 and have remained fast friends since.  As you may recall, Bruce and his lovely Judy, have been inspirations in our life.  They are here, visiting and frankly we've been having too much fun to break away long enough to post.  I'm sneaking this one in quickly, awaiting Bruce and Judy's arrival for an afternoon and evening of more.

   See you down the trail. 

HOW DO YOU WANT TO LIVE & IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?

EARTH NEWS

     A service of this blog is the link, just to the right, to the Scientific American blog, an incredible source of real news and valued information.  Mainstream and social media are buzzing today with "news" that last year was the hottest on record.  Scientific American has been on, into and all over the facts for several months.  They posted earlier.  Do yourself a favor and keep an eye on their site.

       Now what are we going to do about the climate and the implications of continued change?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 

      Have you followed the proposed changes at one of this planet's treasures, Yosemite National Park? 

      To help protect the wild nature of the Merced River and environs, the park plans to eliminate a 1920's skating rink, bike and river raft rental, while rerouting some roads, using more shuttle buses and constructing a pedestrian underpass to connect the lodge with the falls.  

      The plan has been years in developing.  Public comment is accepted until mid April.

     Visiting Yosemite, and nearby Sequoia National Park is a profound experience.

HEARST GRAZING

      A drive on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1)
is even more amusing when the Hearst zebra are grazing.

     Spotting zebra in a heard of cattle prompts tourists to brake suddenly.  Did I really see that?  Is that what I think it is?

     The Hearst Castle, built by Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst sits atop a mountain on the 80 thousand acre San Simeon-Piedras Blancas ranch.  It's an impressive stretch of California central coast.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

    The zebra are a vestige of the old man's penchant for wild animals.  Thru the years, the heard has grown and often grazes along side the Hearst grass fed beef.

  Hearst zebras were the center of a shooting incident almost two years.

    A commercial talks about California cows being contented.  Must be true for California zebras too, don't you think?  Fewer predators than Africa and a great ocean view.

    See you down the trail.     

BOLD MOVES

SIX YEARS ON

    A rest stop outside Bakersfield six years ago yesterday was the setting for our first sunset as transplants in transit. 
    Friends and associates were incredulous when a couple of boomers, rounding 60, pulled up roots and stakes and rode into the sunset, headed west where we knew no one.  Things like doctors, dentists, new driver licenses, where to shop, how to get there, finding friends, new climate and all the details of life were riddles.  It seemed natural to us, not as big a deal as seemingly everyone else wanted to make it. After all when we married we left for a spring and summer to explore Europe-two green kids on a mission of discovery. Later we built a cabin home deep in a rural woods despite my boss's warning  "every day can't be a picnic." Six years ago settling in California read well on our gyroscope.

     Six years ago today, when this frame was snapped, she was ready to begin what has been a creative renaissance. I have watched with pride. Art shows, awards, collectors and buyers, productivity and an artist's emphatic embrace of life.  Mine has been so much richer because of Lana and our exploration of the last six years. She has grown more confident and more beautiful.

     I suspect most of us are inclined toward habit and routine, following the path that is known and comfortable, allowing few, if any, surprises.  Settling in a new home in a village on the California central coast half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles is a guarantee against the routine of the previous life. 
     Please excuse the obvious self absorption of this post but we celebrate our "bold move," convinced it has provided renewal. The other night as I soaked in our spa, watching a meteor shower, hearing the buzz and zip of the cosmic sky show, overwhelmed again by thousands of light pricks in  the velvet depth of space, I thought of myself as a "Californian." I have become what my father did as a young lad, only to leave it to return to Indiana as his father began an ailing journey to death.  Dad always held to that piece of California in his youth, longing for the time when he could return.  That was to be the work of my generation.

      What sweetens this "celebration" are other people.

Notably, a couple of mentors who are coming for a visit this week.

    Bruce and Judy.  He was the experienced broadcast journalist who broke me in when I joined a metro news team.  She was to become his gracious wife who opened a world of sophistication, literature and kitchen magic to us.

    Free spirits, travelers who have taken life on their terms, they were "encouragers", "inspirations," certainly by example.

    And we note those we celebrate with-- frequently-

   Griff and Jacque.  They came for a visit in 2007.  They came back. And they came back.

    And now they live but six minutes away, just through the shire and a mere 100 steps from the Pacific.  They too, packed it up, abandoned mid western winter and what they knew. As Griff says frequently, "I get it!"

    None of us are kids.  We've reached a time when many seek the shelter of certainty, knowing pretty much "all there is to know," being confident "that is just the way it is, and so there."  But something in the transformation of the last six years has kept the dials moving, the channels open, the exploration underway, the learning as daily as breathing.  

    Attitude, lifestyle, examples, and much more conspire to make this bold move a good thing for us. I think a lot of it has to do with the fresh air and light.  I asked an artist/ neuroscientist if he thought the renaissance could have begun anywhere else but in the light of the Mediterranean south, which is the same as the light of California.  After much rumination he offered that "light works on the brain in wondrous ways, unlocking, perhaps, forces that impel or even compel creativity."

    A case in point is perhaps the ringleader.

    Doesn't this look like a pied piper capable of luring aging mid western boomers to the land of the Beach Boys, Eagles, Grateful Dead and Manhattan Beach Blue Grass, even if a few years on?  He did start early.

    High school friend and Ball State fraternity brother Jim began longing for California in 1968.  He made the bold move when we were still kids and quickly became a magnet that drew us for repeated visits, holidays, vacations and the birth of our own longing.

     On one of those early visits he drove us up the coast to Big Sur and the rest is, as they say, history-removed of course by rearing two daughters, careers, aging, and rounding 60! But he finally landed a couple more. And there is no way to say thank you, emphatically enough.

     Bold moves.  It just takes some of us a little longer to get there. But what a great place to be.  

     See you down the trail.

    

      

THE WEEKENDER-YOUR TRAFFIC GUIDE?

THE END OF THE NIGHT WATCH

     People who write and produce morning news programs start their "day" around 11:30 PM, just as the evening crews finish. They are truly the Night Watch of modern civilization.

      Broadcasts are always looking for something to give the program an advantage, a reason to watch and to build loyalty. A hybrid commodity in that mix is the traffic report-personality with helpful information for morning rush hour drivers.  

       As a News Director I made sure our helicopter was up, that traffic cam's were feeding good images, I hired a popular radio personality who sparkled on television, and invested heavily in interactive screens and software that gave Julie a stunning visual display of traffic, maps and the ability to zoom in and out of specific locales and etc. And then you add that to the mix of news, weather, features and other personalities.  

       Well, out of this world comes the lad we offer as our Weekender Video entertainment. I sent this video off to former colleagues and other news executives. Responses were wide ranging and funny.  What do you think?  Would you like this to be part of your Friday morning traffic report?

Enjoy.

       What would Walter Cronkite, or David Brinkley say?

       Have a great first weekend of the new year. 

       See you down the trail.