Full exterior view of Idle Hour, in the center is a large barrel with smaller buildings attached at either side.

Idle Hour: Eat Inside a Giant Hidden Dog at California’s Last Barrel Restaurant

April 15, 2026, Leave a Comment on Idle Hour: Eat Inside a Giant Hidden Dog at California’s Last Barrel Restaurant

As many of you know I’m an architecture junkie, and one of my favorite forms of architecture is programmatic, or fondly known as “California Crazy” that is to say, buildings that are constructed to look like something, which California was wildly known for. Sadly, there are very few examples left, but at Idle Hour you…

Myself, wearing a blue western wear shirt, cream cowboy hat with blue stars, leaning against a barrel bar.

A Return to the Kern County Museum: Home to Country Legends and More

January 21, 2026, Leave a Comment on A Return to the Kern County Museum: Home to Country Legends and More

Back in 2021 Patrick and I made our first visit to the Kern County Museum, an outstanding museum with over 50 buildings across 16 acres in Bakersfield. Our visit was amid COVID restrictions, and meant that few of the buildings were open, and between then and now, it has opened a Bakersfield Sound exhibit and…

A 74 foot long lunch counter stretches into the distance with mint and white barstools. A large colorful mural of Black people seated at a lunch counter hangs above.

Revisiting America’s Last Woolworth’s Luncheonette

January 14, 2026, 3 Comments

While many may blow by the small town of Bakersfield en route to Los Angeles, it is well worth the stop for a variety of reasons, but perhaps its star attraction is that it is home to the last operating Woolworth’s lunch counter. Woolworth’s first opened in Bakersfield in 1911, but by the 1930s they…

The wold Methodist church, made of wood with a small bell tower at the front.

Boom to Bust: A Visit to the Abandoned Mining Town of Bodie

September 17, 2025, Leave a Comment on Boom to Bust: A Visit to the Abandoned Mining Town of Bodie

The last two times we have traveled to Idaho we have tried to go to Bodie, one of California’s famous ghost towns turned state historic park. One year there was an earthquake and the park was closed to inspect for damage, and next time there was still too much snow to allow us to drive…

At the top it reads "Patsy Award Winners" with "1956 Wildfire (dog)" on the right, and paw prints on the left.

Paw Prints of the Stars at the Animal Walk of Fame

April 9, 2025, Leave a Comment on Paw Prints of the Stars at the Animal Walk of Fame

Burbank residents looking for a furry addition to the family may find the perfect companion at the Burbank Humane Society, but they will also find a unique piece of Hollywood history during their visit, the Animal Walk of Fame. Beginning in 1951, Hollywood started to recognize the animal contributions to the film industry, and created…

Myself standing in front of the barn, behind me a large white sign atop the porch that reads "Hollywood Heritage Museum Lasky-DeMille Barn Est. 1913"

Farm to Fame: Tales of Glitz, Glamor & Eminent Domain at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

April 17, 2024, Leave a Comment on Farm to Fame: Tales of Glitz, Glamor & Eminent Domain at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

At the turn of the 20th century despite its bustling downtown core Los Angeles still had many agricultural elements and in 1901 Jacob Stern built a little barn on the corner of Selma and Vine, just one block south of what would become the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over the next century the little barn…

Myself, wearing a kerchief made like a slice of boysenberry pie, a purple velvet vest over a purple handkerchief print maxi dress, and purple shoes, sitting on the steps of a small yellow building.

A Slice of Boysenberry Festival

April 11, 2024, Leave a Comment on A Slice of Boysenberry Festival

Springtime means it’s Boysenberry Festival time at Knott’s Berry Farm! The berry that made Knott’s Berry Farm famous is being celebrated by being used as the key ingredient in dozens of delicious items. Whether you like sweet or savory, you’re bound to find something you love! It’s also the perfect excuse to come up with…

View of the parlor, with a mustard colored sofa and several chairs, as well as portraits hanging above the sofa.

Step Back In Time at the Stagecoach Inn Museum

November 22, 2023, 1 Comment

Like many small towns surrounding Los Angeles, the sleepy area of Conejo Valley experienced a post-war boom, and by 1964 some of its older structures were in danger of being demolished. One such building was the Stagecoach Inn. The Stagecoach Inn was constructed in 1876 and opened as the Grand Union Hotel. After the original…

Myself, wearing a large straw hat, denim dress with lacing in the front, and white cowboy boots, standing in front of a large bowler shaped sign reading "The Brown Derby" in large yellow neon letters.

Behind the Curtain of the Museum of Neon Art at Their Warehouse

May 11, 2023, Leave a Comment on Behind the Curtain of the Museum of Neon Art at Their Warehouse

As some of you know, one of my favorite museums in Southern California is the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale. As amazing as the museum is, it’s quite small, and neon signs tend to be quite big, so it’s no surprise the museum has a warehouse where they house signs not currently on display,…

Myself standing in front of the gold wings from Wonder Woman '84.

Revisiting the Warner Bros. Studio

January 11, 2023, 2 Comments

This year is a big year for the movie industry with lots of anniversaries, including both Disney and Warner Bros. Studios turning 100. While Disney’s icons are of the less tangible, animated variety, Warner Bros. offers incredible studio tours that allows guests to step inside their most beloved films and television series. Way back in…

Atomic Redhead

unique places to visit in California

Idle Hour: Eat Inside a Giant Hidden Dog at California’s Last Barrel Restaurant

A Return to the Kern County Museum: Home to Country Legends and More

Revisiting America’s Last Woolworth’s Luncheonette

Boom to Bust: A Visit to the Abandoned Mining Town of Bodie

Paw Prints of the Stars at the Animal Walk of Fame

Farm to Fame: Tales of Glitz, Glamor & Eminent Domain at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

A Slice of Boysenberry Festival

Step Back In Time at the Stagecoach Inn Museum

Behind the Curtain of the Museum of Neon Art at Their Warehouse

Revisiting the Warner Bros. Studio