Don't Lance Boyle Heights!

Who me?

Boyle Heights?! Why would anyone want to go to Boyle Heights?  By some accounts, Boyle Heights is a boil on the landscape of LA and should just be lanced once and for all!  I find that before undergoing any painful medical procedure, it is imperative to inspect "the Boyle" just a little bit closer to find the hidden gems in one of Los Angeles' great, old neighborhoods and determine its favorable qualities.  I'll make a list..."Great Things About Boyle Heights":  its proximity to Downtown LA, the freedom to paint one's house tangerine and pink without fear of outshining the neighbor's turquoise/fuschia color scheme, the ease of procuring cheesy-mayonnaise corn on the cob, and the home of wacky tacky wunderkinds Ben & Erika!

The happy homemakers

Never were there two bright, shining examples of wacky tacky as are found in Ben & Erika.  From the front porch right on through to the kitchen, one is enveloped in their wacky tacky dreamscape!

One of my favorite spots is the front porch where gnomes
tend the miniature succulent garden.

Walking into their house, one comes to the conclusion that the architect of their mid-1920's, craftsman-style bungalow is doing one of three things - rejoicing, turning over in his grave, or (more likely),  stuffed and staring at you from the far corner of the living room.

wacky tacky has no list of design rules or any overwrought, organized system of beliefs. There is no doubt however, that wacky tacky resides here.  Ben & Erika embrace the spirit of wacky tacky through their often-unusual combination of collections and themes - and sometimes not so unusual...

Pee Wee & Dick

Ben & Erika do not just respect different people, places, and cultures - they collect!  Their collections of mid-Century novelties, ephemera, toys, art and music could fill a space much larger than their humble home.

They have Cowboys...

 ...and Indians...

...and Cowboys & Indians!
(I want these)

Of course, taxidermy is almost always a part of the wacky tacky equation.

As I have said before, I love vignettes that tell a story
about the home owner - or at very least their sense of fun.

As packed as the shelves may be, there is always room for the spooky, random and weird!

Their bedroom is a happy combination of nautical & aquatic, where seashells, velvet paintings, chalkware fish and ships rule the waves.  However, they did not follow through with the theme completely - no waterbed.

"Clipper ships sail in the ocean; Clipper ships never sail on rivers or lakes."

The thing that I really love about this wacky tacky home is that it is an amalgam of family heirlooms, thrift store/flea market finds, and the marriage of their collections, tastes and sensibilities when they themselves got married.

The kitchen is a little bit foreign country and a little bit rock n' roll.

I don't think there is a flat surface in this house that isn't occupied by some collection of tschotskes.

The master of this house still has to keep it clean.

The wackiest part about this - it was Sunday!!!!

In all of the wackiness, there is still a place to pause and reflect.

On a recent visit to their home, we actually made friends with the neighbor kids and hung out on the front porch.  We had an impromptu jam session; several guitars came out, maracas and a tambourine were involved, and two Fisher-Price Pull-A-Tune Xylophones rocked the house.

You may not believe it, but I can jam on this thing!

As we played, the ice cream man came by and a kindly, old gentleman tipped his hat, welcomed us to the neighborhood and stopped to chat for a while.  

It almost felt like we had joined The Colonel on a Tijuana Picnic!

The man asked where we were from and Erika politely responded that she was raised in the area and that they have lived in the house for years.  Understandably, the man viewed our young group of people from varying ethnic backgrounds as a bit of an uncommon sight in this particular area.  The man expressed that he was genuinely pleased that neighborhood was turning around and residents were taking a little more pride of place.  Which brings me to the topic of gentrification.  The word gentrification carries with it a terrible connotation.  People assume that it involves cultural enclaves  being destroyed and entire socio-economic groups being forced to flee their family homes.  However, I find that the term is used most by "gentrifiers" who employ the term only to make themselves appear more hip, culturally-aware, and to dissociate themselves from the other "gentry."

I must say that as far as gentrification goes, I'm all for it!  I love to see beautiful, historic neighborhoods resurrected.  What can be horrible about creating a more diverse community, raising property values, and investing in areas that are crying out for some much-needed attention?  Of course, I am not for the displacement of families and local businesses, but I wholeheartedly love to see neighborhoods reborn.  Also, at least in Southern California, it seems like "ungentrified" neighborhoods are the only ones in which first-time home buyers can afford to invest.

Herman agrees so wholeheartedly that he moved in and joined the Shriners!

As you ponder the pros and cons of gentrification and question the ability of Ben & Erika to clean all of those knick-knacks, I thought I'd leave you with a few extra photos of more cool things around their pad.

"Kindly Control Yourself, You Devil"
This one is hung above the fridge.

By now you should know that I love light fixtures!

Some pretty ladies

Heroes
Roy & Dale

Ben & Erika's dog is pretty harmless.
Thus, forcing them to invest heavily in a watch-deer!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Nice of You to Drive-In!

What is the mystique of a drive-in movie theater?  Is it the old-timey novelty?  Is it the comfort and convenience?  Is it the snack bar?  Or is it just the romance?  I didn't grow up around drive-in theaters so my formative years did not include late night, drive-in shenanigans.  To be fair, even if I did grow up around drive-in theaters, the activities of my formative years provide no indication that such shenanigans would have occured.  Maybe one day I will get to make out with someone at the drive-in.  Until then, I will just have to accept the fact that watching Cars 2 and Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides is about as wild as I'm going to get.  Whatever the appeal, Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre does the drive-in experience right!  From the tiki-hut, ticket booths to the Moai Garden to the carved totems, the Mission Tiki is an oasis of wacky tacky in Montclair, CA.

Moai Stone Garden
Source

I was first introduced to the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theater through my favorite (now defunct) summer event, Tiki Invasion.  Tiki Invasion was a car show, music festival, vintage drive-in, tiki culture extravaganza that sadly fizzled after only two events.  Spending a hot day vending our merchandise, terrorizing people on a mini-bike, getting sunburned, eating concession-stand grub, listening to great music and watching drive-in movie classics was my idea of summertime perfection.  I really hope the tiki gods, in their infinite wisom, smile on us and bring it back!

The Mission Tiki opened in 1956 and has operated continuously for over 50 years.  In my estimation, that is a tribute to the owner's courage in the face of changing attitudes, culture and economy.  I also applaud the people of Montclair for embracing the theater as part of their community and advocating for the drive-in with their attendance.   Needless to say, the theater has endured  many ups and downs over the years but when, in 1996, it received a tiki transformation, it sealed its place in the annals of wacky tacky landmarks.

The concession stand/projection room
Source

Tiki totem
(photo by Bea White)

One of these things is not like the others.
Hint: it's the one on the left.  That one is a lady.
(photo by Bea White)

Going to the drive-in was actually not on our to-do list - just a happy accident.  We arrived a little late for the first feature, Cars 2, so we carefully maneuvered the car over the drive-in's asphalt ridges, stealthily weaving our way between vehicles so as not bother the other patrons of the wacky tacky arts.  Because we missed the beginning, we didn't feel too committed to the film and decided that it was a good time to explore and take photos.  We were making full use of the facilities when Mary, that dainty little flower, decided she was too cold.  She gingerly tip-toed back to the car and with the delicacy of an angel managed to set off every flashing light, horn and siren that the car had to offer.  The best part was that the person with the keys was, shall we say, indisposed, so the laser-light spectacular continued for about five, glorious, retina-burning minutes.  Surprisingly, our apologies did not fall on deaf ears; we explained that it was actually an interactive, 3-D experience and our car was just part of the movie.

Amazing signs point the way to refreshments that are really
quite tasty for movie theater fare.
(photo by Bea White)

Inside the tiki-fied concession stand
(photo by Bea White)

 Imagine capturing the difference between men & women so precisely yet so succinctly.

(photos by Bea White)

The Mission Tiki also hosts a swap meet to which we have gone but cannot endorse with the wacky tacky seal - unless, of course, you are in the market for a public massage, drinking out of a coconut (it only sounds like a good idea - a childhood, cartoon dream destroyed, yech!), or various and sundry tools and/or international sweets.

One of my two favorite drive-in-movie-within-a-movie sequences is from Walt Disney's That Darn Cat (1965) starring my personal favorite, Hayley Mills and Dean Jones.  The other is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure; sadly, that clip however is nowhere to be found.  So, pretend you're in your car and enjoy the film!

That Darn Cat (1965)

Mission Tiki Drive-In Theater

10798 Ramona Ave.

Montclair, CA

(909)628-0511

missiontiki.com

BONUS: Cool sign of the day!

The Sire - Riverside, CA
(photo by Bea White)

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

I'm an Oom-Pah-Pah Papa!!!

Is it ever too soon for second helpings of schnitzel?  I think nicht.  Not so very long ago we explored the wacky tacky wunderbar-ness of Old World Village in Huntington Beach.  We determined that it was high time to discuss her older sister - Alpine Village in Torrance.

This is about as artsy as I get...
you can see my reflection in the automatic doors.

As with Old World Village, Alpine Village was started by German immigrants looking to bring a bit of Bavaria to the California coast.  Opened in 1968, the history on this place is difficult to determine as none is provided on the website and my research abilities are weak.  Much like Old World, Alpine Village is host to a market, restaurants, a chapel, and various businesses and shops.  There are, however, several differences between the two locations.  Alike in spirit, the villages actually have no connection beyond being havens to all things German.  Because Alpine Village is home to a daily swap meet, it is much more populated and therefore possesses none of the creepy-cool factor that is so prevalent at Old World.  In fact, every storefront that we passed was open for business and beckoning for us to enter with their air conditioning (yep, no joke, it was April 1st and the temperature was 90 degrees!!)

The market is much more expansive than its Huntington Beach counterpart and the aisles were filled with hungry shoppers.

The signs were very cool.

The bakery looks impressive but really, bleh...

The fleische counter puts Old World's to shame just by sheer volume.

I thought McDonald's invented the fish/cheese combo with the Filet-O-Fish.
Boy, was I wrong!

Just horsin' around.

Alpine Village's chapel doesn't hold a prayer candle
to the chapel at Old World, but it is quaint.

A few of the store shingles

The Alpine Inn is home to a weekly dance that we have yet to attend.
Sounds fun!

Mary found a pebble-mosaic art piece at the swap of which she was very proud.
Actually, we have found some killer deals there in the past.

Overall, Alpine Village is a must-see but it is much more engaged in reality than Old World and is therefore, not as much fun.  Because we didn't find as much mystery or excitement as we had hoped for at Alpine Village, we needed to get our adventure fix elsewhere.  I had heard tales of a "sunken city" in San Pedro and determined that it had to be our next destination.  Truthfully, Mary had been there before and made it sound so exciting that I just wanted to be "in the know."  I was expecting a Goonies-level adventure - ORV's, Baby Ruths, Truffle Shuffle, the whole bit.

The "No Trespassing" sign quickened my pulse and
kept me on the lookout for Data, Sloth and One-Eyed Willy.

To reach the "sunken city," one must climb over a short wall and wriggle underneath a fence.  Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a picture of said fence.  Needless to say, Mary was wrong and I could fit under the fence!

Truth be told, the "sunken city" (I continue to use quotation marks advisedly), is really just a small number of homes that once stood on the cliffs above the ocean but could no longer be supported by the terrain.  All that is left of the homes is cracked foundations.  The area is really a beautiful place and provides lovely views of the ocean and Catalina Island.

Remnants of the homes

No treasure, no pirates, nothin'...

The large, flat slabs of concrete are an obvious canvas for graffiti artists

The foundations also provide a great place to climb and play.

We were about to leave San Pedro when we noticed a trolley car and without a second thought, we hopped aboard.  The beautiful trolleys are careful replicas of the original 1909 Pacific Electric railcars that once covered a vast area of Los Angeles County.  We were thrilled to be riding a "Red Car" but soon found out that the trolley was really just a leisurely ride to nowhere.

Cool sign of the day!

Alpine Village

833 West Torrance Blvd.

Torrance, CA

(310)323-6520

alpinevillagecenter.com

The Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line
Harbor Blvd. @ The Port of Los Angeles
San Pedro, CA
sanpedro.com/spcom/redcar
Operates Friday-Sunday 12-9:30 p.m.

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny