wish i were there

high desert test sites

the annual andrea zittel-sponsored high desert test sites is coming up out in joshua tree on may 12-13...  i highly recommend it.  it's a great opportunity to be able to be a part of something sponsored by one of contemporary art's most notable artists - not just by or about the artist, but her collective vision and community.  um, can you tell that she's one of my favorites?  she makes me want to only eat out of bowls and live in one tiny room to maximize my efficency.  (ps - be sure to check out her show at moca right now, too.)  anyway, we went last spring and weren't able to see everything because we just drove out, spur of the moment, from los angeles.  some of the work we saw was quirky, some was unimpressive, some was definitely stimulating.... overall, it was a great experience.  it's supposed to be a smaller presentation this year, but we recently invested in a bunch of camping equipment for our trip to big sur so we are going to try out some desert camping and spend the night at the indian cove campsite just inside the park from 29 palms.  i have heard really good things about other campgrounds in the park, specifically ryan campground, white tank campground, and belle campground, but  indian cove is a bit closer to HDTS, and accepts reservations, so there it is.  i bought this guide to the park by james kaiser and it has been really helpful - he's very frank about his opinions.  the author also maintains a helpful website with some links to lodging; you can find it at jameskaiser.com. 

as far as hotels go, i remember hearing about a cool little place to stay in town where many of the rock climbers and joshua tree adventurers stay after a long day of adventure.  i can't remember the name, but here are some decent-seeming options i found from a google search and from the afore-mentioned site:

• 29 palms inn - unambitious (but doable) cabins and bungalows.  rates anywhere from $85 to $280.
  
• joshua tree inn - where gram parsons spent his last days, and other music legends (rolling stones, donovan, emmylou harris, the eagles) have stayed "over the years"... i'm sure it wasn't recently, but it looks like an interesting place with a good amount of history, nonetheless.  rates are $75 - $95 per night, with deals for a weekly rate
• spin and margie's desert hideaway - 4 suite hacienda-style bungalows, each with a kitchenette.  colorful, semi-crazy decor with mexican blankets and brightly painted walls.  could be better in person than it looks online...  rates are $115 - 150 per night.  i'm generally not into the b&b scene, though.
• rosebud ruby star - a small inn with 4 private bungalows.  2 night minimum.  of the four, i think i like the biltmore bunkhouse the best - $370 for 2 nights.  but again, not usually in love with b&b's...
• harmony motel - where U2 (one of my least favorite bands of all time) stayed as they worked on their joshua tree album.  recently renovated, but with not much charm - very boring cheap-looking decor, and by boring i don't mean minimalist. anyway, not at the top of the list, but very inexpensive - $70 a night.  also has one private cabin, the "jack kerouac cabin" for $80 per night.

considering the burgeoning art connection in joshua tree,  i wish there were a motel that rocks it like the thunderbird motel does in marfa, texas... there's enough style in palm springs, i guess, but it would be nice if someone did it in a more remote area.  if you don't mind not staying in the thick of joshua tree, i highly recommend hope springs out in desert hot springs, just next to palm springs.  what an gem - we stayed here last november, and i cannot recommend it highly enough.  serene, lovely, well maintained, out-of-the-way but not too disconnected, with friendly but non-intrusive hosts.

oh, and here's the wikipedia travel guide to j-tree. 

liveblogging big sur....

naw, just kidding.  but we are heading out today, and i'll be sure to post a trip report when we get back.  have a great weekend, everyone.... to any who are doing coachella this weekend, give bjork my love!  and the arcade fire!  and peter bjorn and john! and air!  and of montreal! and... aw, shucks.  you get the picture -  i'm just a little bit jealous.

my architect...

continuing with architecture.... some serious destination inspiration came to me from the 2003 documentary my architect.  since seeing that film, i have been slightly obsessed with the idea of visiting louis i. kahn's national assembly building in dhaka, bangladesh. The building began construction in 1962 and was not completed until 1983, and was truly the pinnacle of kahn's career.  whether you enjoy the movie or not, hopefully you can see past his flaws as a human and just respect his life's work (see the imdb message boards for a little bit of comical shortsightedness).  there is an utter serentity to kahn's works - they seem strong and confident, but very much at peace, which definitely seems at odds with his personal affairs.  check out this site for some intriguing photographs of various kahn works, including the national assembly, by an architect/photo-hobbyist, as well as this book  - an incredible, in-depth exploration of the national assembly. 

the only kahn i've seen was when the husband and i were in la jolla a few months ago, and on our way to visit a friend... we passed the salk institute and couldn't help ourselves - we pulled in and walked around the exterior, peeking up into the building from the front of the fountain (it was a saturday, and the building is not open to the public except for special tours at noon every monday, wednesday, thursday, and friday, with reservations required).  we'll have to go for one of those tours next time, it definitely seems worth it.

speaking of modernists...

johnson in 1949 at glass house

budget travel online has a nice article about the recent opening to the public of philip johnson's glass house, and a great accompanying slideshow that mentions other modernist residential masterpieces that one can visit.  here's the rundown, in case the slideshow disappears:

• the glass house by philip johnson - new canaan, connecticut; tours from $25. 
• fallingwater by frank lloyd wright - mill run, western pennsylvania; tours from $16.
• villa savoye by le corbusier - poissy, france (40 min from paris); tickets €5
• maison la roche by le corbusier - paris, france; tickets around $4
  • also operated in paris by the fondation le corbusier: immeuble molitor - appartement de le corbusier.  refer to same site for information.
• schindler house by rudolph m. schindler - west hollywood, california (around the corner from me!);  admission $7.
• gropius house by walter gropius - lincoln, massachusets (about 30-45 minutes from boston); tickets $10.
• paul rudolph house by paul rudolph - new york city; only open the first friday of every month for a $20 tour - reservations required.
• rietveld schröder house by gerrit rietveld - utrecht, netherlands; tickets €16 and reservation practically required.
• farnsworth house by mies van der rohe - plano, illinois (about an hour from chicago); tickets $20.

and might i add a few recommendations of my own? 

• check out this old post about the sonneveld house in rotterdam, the netherlands; russel wright's dragon rock in upstate new york; and mies van der rohe's krefeld villas in krefeld, germany.
• for some reason (maybe it's the oppressive government, maybe it's the pollution, who can really say...) china is one of the least appealing places in the world to me.  really, i am dying to go everywhere, except there.  well, okay, i'd go, but it's maybe the very last location on my list.  my husband is all up in china's grill, though, and is dying to visit.  we'd both be happy, though, if it meant going to the great (bamboo) wall house, by kengo kuma, which is located outside beijing near the great wall.  bamboo house is part of a development which may deserve more of a post later, but for now go here to whet your appetite or check out this beautiful book about all of his work.  okay, so he's not a modernist, but whatever.

one more reason for india....

hey, did you know that le corbusier designed a city called chandigarh in india? according to this lonely planet article, "when pakistan was created in 1947, chandigarh was established to replace lahore as the punjabi capital."  Since the borders of those regions have changed so much, this area is now in india - it's located halfway from new delhi to the pakistan border.  anyway, more info to come, but i'm there.  architectural gems abound in that region, but i wasn't aware of this.  pictured above: the chandigarh assembly building.

big sur bakery

a couple of popular places that we want to check out when we get to big sur....

• big sur bakery - when we get sick of camp cooking! looks like they have some great treats...
• henry miller library - to check in with the parton saint of big sur
• a hike into the julia pfeiffer burns SP - to see the only waterfall that runs into the pacific over 80 ft. granite cliffs!
• deetjen's - possibly for a meal, or at least to check out this historical little haunt.  would love to stay here on a non-camping trip sometime!
• nepenthe - for a drink on the terrace to take in the can't miss view (i hear the food, however, is definitely missable - mediocre and overpriced)
• monterey bay aquarium - maybe a side trip before we head home?  only if we've had enough of the wilderness...

big sur is on the books!

so, it took me quite a while to post, and yes, i have managed to travel a bit in the meantime....  but the next adventure on the books is my very first camping trip as an adult!  I haven't camped since girls scouts in the 5th grade, and my husband is in about the same place, so we are pretty much starting from scratch with this whole "roughing -it" thing, as you may have gleaned from previous posts.  we will be heading up to big sur at the end of april, and  will be staying in the pfeiffer big sur state park (in the redwood canyon) - not to be confused with the julia pfeiffer-burns sp (closer to the ocean).  i had some input from friends when trying to sort out where to stay in big sur, but in the end i chose the pfeiffer big sur state park since it seems like the classic.  it's also quite large and seems to have great facilities.  i managed to reserve us a site amongst a pocket of tent-only sites over in the weyland area, just off the river that runs through the park.  i hope it's lovely!  more to come as i prepare for the trip throughout the month, and any suggestions are welcome!

el dorado hotel, sonoma

i'm in love with this place - the el dorado hotel in sonoma, california.  so many wine country inns and hotels have that "quaint" grandma's house feeling - maybe i am particularly averse since my grandma's house never  felt like that, and thank goodness.  anyway, i don't like victoriana in my everyday life - why would i want to vacation in it? 

the el dorado hotel thankfully gets it right, from the looks of their website.  clean vintage-inspired lines with a touch of nor cal character, and a fabulous looking restaurant to boot.  It's located on the sonoma plaza, which is a charming little downtown-ish square.  prices are decent - ranging from $155 to $225, depending on the room and season.  i have some family (not grandma!) in sonoma, so when i make it up there - maybe this winter - i'll be sure to post a review.  have you been there?  post a comment and let me know how it was!