James Hathaway – Page 63

Travel: SF to Wisconsin Day 5, we are tourists for the day!

What fun we had today! First, we drove to Mount Rushmore. What a spectacular National Monument. The weather was perfect this morning. Low 70’s and clear.

Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.

There is a wonderful loop trail for an intimate look at the monument. Also a great restaurant and a huge gift shop.

Next we drove through Custer State Park. It had beautiful scenery, lovely facilities, well maintained roads and several surprises like scenic drives through unspoiled forests, narrow one lane tunnels through granite mountains and wildlife including buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs, and birds of all sizes.

Antelope are everywhere including near the roadways.

Buffalo are also plentiful in all State and National parks in the area.

Donkeys are common in Custer State Park. Look in the mirror, it’s John taking the shot.

Thousands of these little cuties are everywhere.

Leaving the park we drove the Needles Highway, a narrow windy road through some of the most beautiful and unique terrain we have ever seen. All and all, a delightful day.

Several of these stone one lane tunnels connect parts of the State Parks, widths are between 9 and 13 feet.

There are thousands of pinnacles throughout the Needles Highway.

With narrow roads, and so much to see, driving was a huge challenge…but well worth it!

Tomorrow, back on the road for 2-1/2 more days! Stay tuned!!

Travel: SF to Wisconsin, Day 4: Casper, WY to Rapid City, South Dakota

Another state, new national parks, and a town from the old West.

A big HELLO to friends and family! It is day 4 of our journey. Today we traveled 345 miles. After leaving Caspar we headed north. We drove to Devil’s Tower National Monument. As we drove we discovered the high plains and its oil wells, vast ranches, antelopes and more colorful rock formations.

We drove through the Black Hills National Forest and spent a couple of hours exploring the old town of Deadwood with it’s casinos, shops and restaurants nestled at the foot of the National Forest.

We will spend 2 nights here as a small break and tour a bit more tomorrow. Then back on the road for our last few days of travel. More tomorrow!

Devil’s Tower soars more than 800 feet above the river and forests below.

Spring is in full bloom in the high plains and mountains.

We spent a wonderful few hours exploring the beautiful Black Hills forests, waterfalls and vertical cliffs.

Hundreds of cliffs and towering trees everywhere.

Restored buildings of Deadwood with shops, gambling, hotels and restaurants.

Travel: SF to Wisconsin, Day 3: Salt Lake City, UT to Casper, Wyoming

Greetings from Casper, Wyoming! What a day. We traveled 449 miles today. A chilly morning was tempered with clear sunny weather. By contrast, most of the day was driving on I-80. There were at least three major construction projects, most spanning many miles of one lane traffic at slow speeds. Augh! (BTW, this was true for Nevada as well. Also of note, we did not see one worker either day.)

Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day. The farther away from home we get the more remote and expansive the scenery becomes. We are reminded what a beautiful country we live in.

Tonight we spend in Casper, 120 miles north of I-80. This afternoon we explored the downtown area and were impressed how well preserved and active it was, including three old movie theaters still in use.

We are looking forward to the next 2 days. We will spend less time driving and more time exploring the monuments near and around Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here are some of the pictures we like most from today.

A lake in the mountains just outside of Park City, Utah.

A wind farm on the high plains of Wyoming and Wasatch Mountains in Utah beyond.

A cabin dating to another era.

The road to Casper went through varied landscapes both beautiful and vast.

Travel: Road Trip to Wisconsin, Day 2: Winnemucca, NV to Salt Lake City, UT

Greetings to all! Day 2 is slipping into evening. Mileage today was 372. The countryside was quite rural. We drove over several summits, the highest being 7100 ft. Traffic was light and posted speeds were 75 to 80 mph.

We arrived relatively early and had an early check in at our hotel. We deferred exploring Salt Lake City as we have been here before. We decided to catch a movie and found a huge shopping center and multiplex about 2 miles from the hotel.

We saw Wonder Woman. The review will follow once we see two or three other films when time permits. The theater was packed. We had two of the few remaining seats. Maybe it was the warm weather, temps in the upper 80’s.

Tomorrow will be a long day. Salt Lake City to Casper, Wyoming. Here are some pics from today.

Todays freeways covered several mountain summits stretching as far as you can see.

Several mountain ranges today, all with peaks over 10,000 feet.

A view of just the tip of the Great Salt Lake before entering Salt Lake City.

Travel: Road Trip to Wisconsin, Day 1, San Francisco to Winnemucca, NV

Today was our first day on the road to Wisconsin. It ended up being a long day but a fun one all the same. Day 1 mileage: 397. Our first stop was at Donner Lake in the Sierra Mountains near the Nevada border. After living in the Bay Area for over 35 years, we had never made a stop before. No crowds, light traffic, we stopped for a brief visit at Donner Lake State Park.

Next stop was Reno, Nevada. We stopped for lunch with one of Jim’s former colleagues, Anna and her daughter. We had a delightful sushi lunch.

Our afternoon drive took us to Winnemucca, Nevada and our hotel for the night from where this post is being written. But the drive was both bleek and beautiful.

Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

Hi all! This will be the last movie reviews for a week or so as we make our first road trip to Wisconsin for the summer. It will be mostly an I-80 route but some new territory with a detour to South Dakota and onward East. We hope to post some articles from the road. Over the summer we plan to explore the area, State(s), and maybe wander into Canada as time permits.

Spending time with family, learning to operate a pontoon boat, discovering restaurants (John actually found three Dim Sum restaurants in Milwaukee!) and other adventures in the region. So stay tuned and be sure to keep those comments coming.

Best wishes to all! J&J

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Oy Vey. Where to begin…Jack Sparrow slips into misfortune when a deadly ghost ship and its ghostly sailors track Captain Sparrow. In order to survive, Jack teams up with the legendary Trident of Poseidon. And so on…

There is a huge cast. Most noteworthy are Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, an awesome, but creepy, performace by Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and at least a dozen more character actors.

It is probably an unintended message that the story parallels the degradation of the franchise. This sequel fails to impress audiences with the same production quality of previous editions.

It is rated PG-13, genre is Fantasy/Action and runs a long 2 hours, 33 minutes. Unless you are a die hard fan, save your money and time or wait and see it on a long plane ride.

Rating

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

Apparently this is the 4th in the Wimpy Kid series. Our local newspaper reviewer gave this film a good, if modest, review that prompted us to consider and ultimately see the movie.

From the opening scene, we were concerned. The entire story line and every scene bordered on absurd slapstick. The acting was inconsistent except for the scenes that were brazenly overacted.

The genre is noted as a Road Movie/Comedy. The run time is 1 hour, 31 minutes. We cannot recommend this film. It delivers several poor messages to audiences and quickly becomes tedious.

Rating

Food: Acquerello, 1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

We were fortunate to recently dine at one of the consistently best restaurants in San Francisco, Acquerello. Owner/chef Suzette Gresham and her highly skilled team have been delivering seasonal Italian fare for over twenty years, and have earned a two star Michelin rating.

This is ideal for a special occasion. The dining room was formerly a chapel. It has been transformed into a beautiful intimate setting much like a sophisticated club or retreat. It is known for its service, extensive 100 page Italian wine list and consistently inventive food.

A complementary starter from the kitchen.

The menu offers three, four or five course dinners that allow customers to select from a lengthy list of options. There are also many complementary surprises. Ours included a pre-dinner cocktail of fresh orange juice and sweet vermouth, followed by two amuse bites. Later extra sweet bites for our special occasion, and before we left, a box of almond biscotti freshly baked that day. That made coffee the next morning a special event.

We ordered the four course dinner and a bottle of white wine from Umbria.

Also complementary, Crab tart with caviar ring.

John’s pasta course, Artichoke mezzelune, salsa rossa, Urfa bread tuile, lemon, and marjoram.

Jim’s pasta course, Pork filled ravioli with white bean, roasted ramps and fried sweetbreads.

Jim’s main course, Ora King Salmon, Monococco, walnut, Morels, fava and nasturtium.

John’s main course, Maine lobster, heirloom tomato, sourdough, ‘nduja salami, Borlotti beans, and basil.

John’s desert, Canoli special of the evening.

Jim’s desert, chocolate with dark chocolate and carmel.

Movies: The Wedding Plan, Wakefield, Angkor Awakens: A Portrait of Cambodia

The Wedding Plan

This film is a fascinating peek at ultra-Orthodox Jewish matrimonial culture. It is concurrently layered, ambiguous, zany and consistently interesting. It is directed by Rama Bursttein who is based in Isreal.

Leading lady Michal is wonderfully played by Noa Kooler, who gets dumped by her fiancé one month before their planned wedding. Michal refuses to cancel the wedding plans, faithful that God will produce a groom.

The production is excellent. The cast is outstanding. Most notable are Oz Zehavi as the rock star, Amos Tamam as the first groom, Irit Sheleg as the Mom, and Oded Leoplod as the wedding venue host.

The genre is listed as a Drama/Romance with a PG Rating. It runs 1 hour, 50 minutes. Hebrew with English subtitles.

Rating

Wakefield

This is a gripping story that takes a mid-life crisis to a new level. Bryan Cranston delivers yet another brilliant performance that dominates the film. His character decides to “withdraw” from his normal life and takes up residence in the attic space above the garage from where he observes and critiques his family’s day to day lives.

There is a good cast as well. Jennifer Garner is the wife. Jason O’Mara, the replacement love interest, and a dozen other tertiary roles.

As a viewer, the story is often implausible and the ending is totally unsatisfying, but Cranston’s performance is compelling and well worth the 1 hour, 46 minutes. It is rated R for some violence and listed as a Drama.

Rating

Angkor Awakens: A Portrait of Cambodia

This Documentary on the current state of the people Cambodia and their reflection on the genocide in the recent past and their vision for the near future.

With a population of only 7 million people, the Khmer Rouge killed around 2 million ( +/- ) people between 1975 through 1979. Today Cambodia has one the youngest populations averaging 25 years old.

It is sometimes painful to watch. The film does a good job explaining the history that led up to the killing. There are also several segments that share the emotional impact of the period. Ultimately, the message is optimistic.

The film is not rated and runs 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Personal Note: We visited Cambodia in about 15 years ago were impressed with how welcoming and gracious the people were. We also noticed there were virtually a missing generation of middle aged and elderly. It was a wonderful visit but also a painful realization of recent history.

Rating

Movies: Alien Covenant, Everything Everything, Like Crazy

Alien Covenant

This rendition of the Alien franchise is actually a prequel to the original film. It is an interesting, thoughtful, moody, gory film. There is an interesting twist with leading man, Michael Fassbender, playing two synthetic human robots, one David (bad), and one Walter (good).

There are at least another 14 characters rounding out the cast with bit parts going to Billy Crudup, James Franco and Guy Pearce.

Director Ridley Scott earns a solid R rating for the ‘horror’, sometimes ferocious violent qualities in this movie. It is listed as a Science Fiction/Thriller running 2 hours, 3 minutes. If you are a fan of the previous Alien films you will most likely enjoy this edition.

Rating

Everything Everything

This is the story of an 18 year old girl with a poor immune system that confines her to her hermetically sealed home. That is until the boy next door moves in and everything changes.

This film works because of the two lead actors, Amanda Stenberg (Rue from the Hunger Games) and Nick Robinson (Jurassic World) who demonstrate great chemistry on screen. The story is adapted from the novel by the same title.

There is a surprise ending for this PG-13 Drama/Romance. It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes.

Rating

Like Crazy

This film won best picture and numerous other awards recently in Italy. It is the story of Beatrice and Donatella. Both suffer from mental illness under care at a psychiatric clinic in coastal Tuscany and decide to run away to find love and happiness.

The acting is exceptional. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi plays the delusional Beatrice and the painfully thin Micaela Ramazzotti plays the damaged Donatella.

It is a tender, funny, madcap romp. It is also sad, heartbreaking and compassionate.

This film is not rated and is listed as Art House, International, Comedy, Drama. It runs 118 minutes. It is well worth seeking out. It is in limited release and is in Italian with English subtitles.

Rating

Movies: Chuck, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Snatched

Chuck

This film is based on the true story about Chuck Wepner, the pride of Bayonne, New Jersey set in 1975 when Wepner fights Mohammed Ali. It is nicely produced, well acted and successful at weaving several aspects together at the same time.

Liev Schreiber plays Wepner brilliantly, Pooch Hall nails the Mohammed Ali role, and Elizabeth Moss gives a stunning portrayal of wife Phyliss. There are at least a dozen more actors rounding out the cast.

It is rated R for violence, drugs, and adult content. It is listed as a Drama/Sport genre. Viewing time is 1 hour, 40 minutes. It is very entertaining and well worth viewing.

Rating

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

The Legend of King Arthur has been around since medieval days. This film by Guy Ritchie has lots of intrigue, swashbuckler, and loads of special effects.

It has a great cast, starring Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur, Lude Law as the evil King Vortigern, Astrid Berges-Frisbey as The Mage, Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon and Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bedivere. There is also a bit part by David Beckham.

Since the story is mythology, the production takes full advantage of the storyline. Lots of hocus pocus stuff and latitude on the traditional story line was not greeted kindly by many critics and some audiences. Most ratings fall well below the midline.

So we are among the few that found some of the new twists interesting and intriguing, even thought provoking.

It is rated PG-13 but viewing by young children is cautioned. The genre is noted as Fantasy/Drama. Viewing time is 2 hours, 6 minutes.

Rating

Snatched

This Mother/Daughter/Son comedy wasn’t terrible…well, err, yeah, it really was…corny, crude, awkward, often absurd, ridiculous, raunchy…

It’s a shame because both Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer have great chemistry on screen. Unfortunately the script does not! Ike Barinholtz plays the Hawn character’s son who ultimately is a hoot. The funniest characters are Wanda Sykes and a silent Joan Cusack who were ex-undercover covert agents on “holiday”.

It is appropriately rated R. It’s listed as an Action/Comedy and runs 1 hour, 37 minutes.

Rating