Back in February, I posted about making quick getaways from San Francisco life (thanks to my friend Jean who encouraged me to make weekend trips at least once a month just to relax and clear my head.) In March, I took a trip to (and blogged about) Santa Cruz.
April's getaway was meant to be a trip to Folsom, CA where I could tour the area and attend its antique festival. The sole purpose was to find The Victrola Man, but since I had already found him and purchased a victrola from him at Alameda Antique Faire, I thought it best to cancel and reroute my trip. I decided to fly down to Los Angeles for the weekend.
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| Art Deco Airport |
During my stay, I visited with my parents. They have the most peaceful house nestled in the hills. The only sounds are the humming birds, the wind chimes and rustling trees dancing in the breeze. We usually wander around in the backyard tending to the plants and chatting about random topics. Those are always my favorite moments with my parents; enjoying the morning with a warm cup of coffee and letting time pass us by. We drove down to Old Town Orange to dine at a Mexican restaurant that was once a church. It had the most beautiful stain glass. Afterward, we walked around Old Town browsing all the antique shops; another one of our favorite past times.
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| Old Town Orange |
I spent Sunday with my brother at his loft in Downtown Los Angeles. My brother has always been the urban nightlife type of person whereas I tend to prefer quieter, peaceful environments (like HMB). Though he lives on the top floor (with spectacular views of DTLA), you can hear urban life quite clearly, especially all the sirens. I just smiled and sighed, "ah life in the big city." My brother sort of laughed to himself. Like San Francisco, DTLA has everything within walking distance. We had dinner at the Los Angeles Brewing Company while watching our L.A. Lakers take game 1 over the Spurs.
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| Relaxing with my hermanito |
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| Downtown Los Angeles structures |
After the game, we dressed up in our 1930s best and walked down to The Cicada Club. Each Sunday they have a weekly swing band and dance. On this particular Sunday, they had a Jive Aces and Satin Dolls collaboration. It was a classic jazz ensemble paired with a chorus girl act reminiscent of the prohibition era. I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my SoCal swing dance friends in attendance. It had been quite awhile since I last danced with them; at least 8 months. But it was like old times; only this time it was in classic Art Deco elegance.
I didn't get to do as much vintage shopping as I'd like. However, I finally got to patronize the Remix Vintage shop. I'm not too fond of buying clothing and shoes online because I prefer to try on an item before purchase. This is why I always stick to antique/vintage fairs for my purchases. I don't purchase reproduction clothing (I've amassed a large collection of vintage threads), but I do make exceptions for shoes especially when they're designed from authentic vintage styles. I've kept my eye on the "It Girl" shoes (a la Clara Bow) and they definitely cost a pretty penny. But they are oh so worth every cent I spent; perfect for collegiate shag dancing. I've strayed from wearing early 1950s attire in favor of 1920s-1940s (that will be another post for later). The It-Girl shoes are the classic 1920s style.
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| The "It-Girl" shoes. |
The one thing I did not get to do was contact my tattoo artist for more work. I found a really great design, but I just didn't have the time to fit it in my ultra short schedule. Perhaps on my next visit (June?).
About the only downer of the trip was my return home to SF. As much as I abhor SoCal (I've become quite the NorCal girl), it does sadden me to leave my family. I have the greatest, most supportive and loving parents a person could have and it always pains me to say goodbye. But I know it's not the last of my visits. Thankfully my preferred airline always has fare sales.
So that was my getaway for April. May's Getaway is still in the early planning stages. Stay tuned.