EL DIA de la BATALLA DE PUEBLA

This week's Friday Martini is temporarily supplanted by a wish for a 

Happy Cinco de Mayo, or "Fifth of May".

It's really more of an American holiday celebrating Mexican culture than a Mexican holiday,

but it gives us the opportunity to get together and accent one aspect of the overall American Culture, which is, by design, a melting pot for other cultures and peoples.

In many ways we have lost our way and lost our pride in being that cultural stew.

As Travelers we learn to understand and value peoples who are different from ourselves, and appreciate what it is that they bring to the cultural canvas. As Americans we welcome them into our lands and our hearts, as is our cultural priority - at least as it is elucidated in our longstanding ideals. 

We haven't ever really risen as a whole to the best that is in us, but in our past our ancestors showed us the way, and gave us the tools with which to be that "Beacon to the World" we imagine ourselves to be.

We've always strived to be better.

So, in celebrating the Battle of Puebla, we get the opportunity to 

reach across the social divides and find what unites us instead of dividing us.

And since I don't have an easily-located photo of the Mexican flag, I'll opt instead for

a shell full of Mexican peppers in the colors of the Mexican flag. A toast to the spice of life.

Feliz dia de la Battalla de Pueblo. Feliz Cinco de Mayo.

Happy day of the Battle of Puebla. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

VANCOUVER, BC - TAKE ME AWAY

There are times when things get tough. You start to dream of faraway places and the simple life.

At other times it's just a good cup of coffee that you need.

Pedro's Organic Coffee, Granville Market, Vancouver.

HONOLULU, HA - DAWN ON WAIKIKI BEACH

The day breaks on Waikiki and the beach lies waiting for the daily throngs of visitors.

LAGUNA BEACH, CA - A DAY IN THE SUN

Nothing like a good pickup game of volleyball on the beach.

Laguna Beach, where the town spills down onto the shore. Hang out for a while, and if you're up for a game you'll find other like0minded souls. And if that doesn't work, pull up a palm tree and relax.

I LOVE LA

Over the weekend we watched the terrific film La La Land. 

It's a beautifully shot, well acted, well written love letter to the City of Angels, as has been noted so many times before. I have lived and worked in the Los Angeles metro area for some 38 years at this point, starting in 1979 when I moved to LA from San Diego to study film and broadcasting at the University of Southern California.

The city has changed a lot since then, growing from what some writers* once called a bunch of suburbs in search of a city, to a strong and vibrant community of neighborhoods gathered around the central core and a handful of alternate downtowns**.

I actually live in the equally attractive Long Beach, a large city twenty three miles south of downtown LA. Our own metropolitan area, Long Beach and the South Bay form one of the several hubs which surround greater LA. Others include Orange County, The Inland Empire, and The San Fernando Valley (aka "The Valley").

It's a city I love and am proud to consider my greater metropolitan home.

L.A.

And since some of the film's more iconic moments happen at the Griffith Park Observatory, here are two samples from my archives of this beloved structure.

* - The comparison has been attributed to Aldous Huxley, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and others.

** - LA proper has three: True downtown, Hollywood, and Century City. Surrounding cities Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Beverly Hills and other also have strong downtown cores. Perhaps the quote ought to be modified to be "multiple downtowns in search of a hub".