#59: A Clown, The Weather, the Lobster Roll
Hi Friends!
This week and next week will be crazy weather weeks for anyone living in California. Weather advisories are all over the web; we're sharing a few here for locals.
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Mark & Patti
WEATHER ADVISORIES!!
California officials urge preparations as first of 2 atmospheric rivers enters state
by Lauren Sforza, The Hill
The kind of atmospheric river headed to the Golden State on Thursday is known as the “Pineapple Express” because its tail of moisture stretches back toward Hawaii. While the rain from the weather event is set to dissipate by Friday, a second atmospheric river is expected Sunday, in what federal forecasters say could be a stronger storm.
Highest-rated Italian restaurants in San Francisco by diners
by Stacker.com
Luckily, today you don't need to be in a major metropolis like New York or Los Angeles or an area with a large Italian or Italian American community to score top-notch buon cibo. You can find excellent Italian offerings in almost every city from coast to coast. To celebrate all things mozzarella and marinara, Stackercompiled a list of the highest-rated Italian restaurants in San Francisco based on diners' reviews on Yelp as of January 2024.
When I moved to California in 2005, I lived in North Shore, which is next to Mecca, California. I could see and smell the Salton Sea from the home I lived at.
My friend's Mom, who lived here all her adult life, worked at the Yacht Club there and told me stories of the bygone era when the Sea was the place to be. Celebrities and the townspeople all mingled at this great lake in the desert.
We went to the condemned yacht club one day, and she gave me the outside grad tour of it and the surrounding areas.
She had photos from back in the day, with celebrities coming to the yacht club to eat and drink. Many of her images were of her and Sonny Bono, who fought hard to repair the devastation of the Sea. Now, it's all about lithium.
Salton Sea: Mecca, California
by Atlas Obscura
The Salton Sea near the Mexican border in Southern California has been at various levels for three million years. Technically a “saline lake,” it is saltier than the ocean, though slightly less salty than the Great Salt Lake. The basin was nearly dry until the beginning of the 1900s when failed irrigation canals diverted the Colorado River into the large basin, and the raging river brought the snowmelt from the Rockies into the Salton Sea.
Bay Area restaurant has 'one of the best sandwiches in America.' Is it actually good?
by Madeline Wells
The hype around Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay is overwhelming. In 2007, “The Today Show” crowned the coastal seafood restaurant’s lobster roll one of the top five sandwiches in America, beating out lobster rolls from New England. It’s a must-try on every list of the best restaurants in Half Moon Bay. A fan on Reddit even declared it the “perfect lobster roll.”
There's a Brand-new Resort Opening Near California's Yosemite National Park
by Stacey Leasca, Travel & Leisure
Today, the Yosemite Hotel Collection announced the addition of Firefall Ranch, a rustic-chic getaway just minutes from the park's northwest entrance.
The brand-new resort includes 55 stand-alone cottages and villas in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations, on the 300-acre property. Inside each cottage, guests will find a double-sided indoor/outdoor fireplace, covered decks, and luxury bedding to ensure a restful night's sleep after a day of adventuring in the wilderness.
This clown has polarized California for more than three decades
by Paula Mejia, SF Gate
Los Angeles has no shortage of lovable local oddballs, but even by average standards, the Venice Boardwalk stands out. The cluttered, heavily touristed stretch south of Santa Monica is known as much for its characters as its proximity to the beach. Sculptor Jonathan Borofsky had long taken stock of the quirky people strolling, skating and singing along the breezy thoroughfare. So in the late 1980s, when developer Harlan Lee commissioned him to make a sculpture as part of a new mixed-use building on a busy corner, Borofsky’s observations about Venice’s irreverent spirit took concrete shape in the form of a sculpture.
Outside California
Aungier Street Lidl-Dublin, Ireland
Mitchell Park Domes-Milwaukee Wisconsin
As a kid, my dad and brother and I used to go fishing at the Salton Sea. I grew up in San Bernardino, so it was a quick-ish trip to go fish.
One of my favorite ways to pass the time when I lived in SoCa and when I go back to visit is to stroll along Venice Beach and people watch. You can see everything along the boardwalk and it makes me happy to live in a place so unlike it.