scarletlark

I was in the Disney World College Program at the time, and considering it was the first time I’d gone to the beach in months, I was pretty happy to go, but my expectations were definitely not met. No cute little shops and cafes, no proper boardwalk, muggy weather, no discernible geographic features… Let’s face it, it’s no Malibu or Ventura. It’s one of the many examples which caused me to scoff indignantly at my non-Californian peers when they expressed a desire to stay in Florida. There’s no place like home!

My grandma was born in Kiskunmajsa, and I happen to be writing a history paper about her right now (yup, I’m procrastinating!).

It’d be great to go “check out my roots” or whatever other cliché term here applies. Of course, the most wonderful thing would be to find a means to travel there with her as my guide, but as a poor student, that doesn’t seem too likely in the near future…

(BTW, the related photo is actually of my great-uncle & great-aunt, circa 1930s)

ditto to the last comment.
though the last two times i was on the backlot tour, it was closed because of filming.

I live here. It’s got secret ranches (reachable only via dirt alley-roads), giant metal dinosaurs, an office building that looks like a Victorian manor, an old circa-1940s theatre that used to show B-movies (I once saw an old photo of it advertising the “Swamp Monster” movie) & has been abandoned since the 80s (but now has a multi-million dollar grant to turn it into a dinner-show theatre), a Wright house, a “river” (albeit, a domesticated one: the Los Angeles River), & plenty of other stuff mostly unnoticable until you’ve lived there at least 15 years. I used to think of it really negatively, but it’s more interesting now. (At least it’s not Van Nuys or Panorama City!)

Must be one of the most photograph-able places on Earth; I got SO many gorgeous pics out of this place. I love the “arrested decay” state of the place—it really conveys a sense of the weightiness of time, as well as making it a wonderfully spooky place to be.

I posted a few pics of it on Buzznet: http://scarletlark-elsewhere.buzznet.com/user/photos/?id=3303571

Gorgeous place with a massive lake (it boggles the mind to think how deep it is, too—frozen cowboys?! wow…). Also cool ‘cuz Mark Twain was there.

BTW, I recommend visiting Silver City while there. It’s a little out of the way, but makes a cool day-long activity, what with the old west history being constantly replayed before your very eyes in a functional ghost town (check out the “Bucket of Blood” saloon!). Mark Twain lived there, too. (It was the location of his first job on a newspaper, & he did some silver prospecting there, too. It’s all in his book “Roughing It”.)

I don’t gamble, but I like the shows & the atmosphere (at least the non-nasty parts). The fountan show @ the Bellagio & the outdoor/indoor Roman-style mall (complete with talking statues, flames, lasers & fountains going off every so often) are not to be missed. It’s fun for a few days; just don’t stay much longer than that. Oh, and air conditioning will save your life (120 degrees isn’t a surprising temperature there).

My friend lives about 3 blocks from it…

I just got back this Saturday from visiting my friend in Chicago for a week. Never been to any place like it (though all the bricks & trees made me think of Portland & Seattle, a little bit). Downtown’s awesome - the architecture is stunning, the layout makes sense (a big point for me, coming from the LA sprawl), the “L” actually gets you where you want to go, and there’s plenty of culture to keep things interesting. The humidity didn’t bother me very much (but I may have been lucky); I’d be willing to try spending a little time in Chicago’s notoriously fierce winter season, another time - just for the experience (and then afterward feel a little better about So. Cal.’s mono-seasonal climes).

If you’ve got only a little time to spend there, I recommend going on a boat tour, which starts by the Tall Ships near State Street. It covers most of the city, via different branches of the Chicago River, so you get to see almost all the city all at once and also get a good taste of architectural knowledge, as well. Also fun was the Haunted Chicago ghost tour, during which a couple of my favorite stops were “Death Alley” at the site of the original Irquois Theater, the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, & Hull House, which is considered one of the most haunted places in the nation.

Another word of advice: clubbers under the age of 28 shouldn’t go to the Excalibur. Despite all the hype and the fun idea of another club on each floor (which cost another $5 to enter, each; on peak days it costs $20 to get in), most of the people there were much older than myself (many of which my friend & I thought to be of the creepy, perverted variety). Also, on the day we went there actually wasn’t much variety (it was pretty much all salsa & disco), and the DJ didn’t have anything by the artist we wanted played (is Scissor Sisters so much to ask for?).

I worked & lived there for 5 months in the spring semester this year as part of the Disney College Program. It can be both hell and a lot of fun. Only a very unique person can survive it.

Best part: Well, the rides… duh! (and the unlimited access, especially via the backstage areas)

Worst part: Night shifts at the All-Star Resort. (But the other cast members who worked with me rocked, so it wasn’t entirely unbearable. Most of the guests weren’t too bad, either; unless you count the onslaught of competing cheerleaders & their crazy, goal-obsessed mothers…)