Holiday Elegance by the Bay: Balboa Bay Club

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo


Thanksgiving conjures multitudes of memories and impressions in our minds of stupendous family meals. There is the enduring image of going to grandma’s house where she spent all day in the kitchen cooking up homemade ravioli and other special holiday dishes - a feast for her eager family.

While the adults snuggled around the dining room table, the kiddies caused a ruckus in the kitchen.

These days I’m no longer the young mother with small children, but the grandmother, who has never made homemade ravioli. The shame of it haunts me – but only for a little while.Times change. This year I engineered our Thanksgiving dinner, but did not cook it, as we dined in comfort and charm at the splendid Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, California. I’m sure my mother never enjoyed such luxury back in Chicago.

The BBC provided the ideal venue for an elegant family Thanksgiving dinner, serenely soothing with tinkling piano in the background, and I knew every song being played, including the lyrics. It wasn’t just recorded noise…it was authentic music. The four-course menu offered several choices ($75 adults; $37 children) – and all were declared “delicious.” Though I am the only person who actually ate turkey – the others opted for prime rib, sea bass, and, in the case of the youngest, peanut butter and jelly, even though it was not on the menu...

Every one of our family of nine enjoyed the beauty of the bayside scenery just beyond the wall of mullioned windows. The children liked watching the magnificent yachts gliding past or moored just beyond the glass. The BBC is perfect for watching the famous Newport Beach Christmas boat parade, Dec. 14-18.

This was the best Thanksgiving dinner in recent memory – great food, excellent service, all amid what is possibly the prettiest dining room on the water. It is not overdone, with gaudy appointments – it is a symphony in creamy tones with touches of terra cotta. Tables and comfortable rattan chairs are spaced at distances, which make for a secluded sense. For those who value a dining experience which leaves one happy and content, this is the place. There are many opportunities in the next month to savor the season’s festivities at the beautiful BBC.

Balboa Bay Club Holiday Events

Wed., Nov. 30th6- 7 p.m. Complimentary
HolidayResort Lighting Ceremony – cookies& hot beverages.
Featuring the 1st Marine Corps Band, Camp Pendleton
Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.

Thurs. Dec. 1 –The Four Preps Holiday Concert
Grand Ballroom 6p.m.
Tickets $25 949-630-4120

Dec. 14-18 Christmas Boat Parade
Starting at 6:30p.m.

Dec. 1st-23rd Holiday Afternoon Tea
Two seatings – 2 p.m.& 4 p.m.
The Library
Traditional Tea $34
Governor’s Tea – w/champagne $39
949-630-4145

Dec. 23rd The Night Before Christmas Eve
Featuring the All-American Boys Chorus
6 p.m. & 9p.m.
The Grand Ballroom
Please considerdonating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.
$68 adults; $34 children
949-630-3120

And these special evenings -
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners
New Year’s Eve Black Tie Gala
New Year’s Eve in Duke’s Place

Balboa Bay Club
1212 West Coast Highway
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949-645-5000
For details visit http://www.balboabayclub.com/
www.balboabayclub.com
Reservations - 949-630-4145

Angela Rocco DeCarlo copyright 2011

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo


Even a three-year old understands the concept of saving old things for the future.

Michelle Christine, my toddler granddaughter looked around our house one day at the children’s table and chairs and toys she knew had been her daddy’s.

“You saved this for me, “ she stated, not asked. She knew.

I pounced on her thought and told her there were people we didn’t even know who had saved things for us in big buildings called museums. Would she like to go see them? She said, yes, and so our museum adventures began ten years ago.

With my second granddaughter,Serritella Dainelle, I was late starting. She is six years old and last Sunday we went to the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA. The facility is having great success with its China exhibits - China’s Enduring Legacy - Warriors, Tombs and Temples; and Ancient Arts of China, but we were there to see the memorial to Christopher Columbus and the small gallery of oil paintings tucked upstairs in an out of the way location.

You are not likely to find Columbus’ bust as it is secreted deep in a courtyard near the entrance, but set back so it is not in plain sight. It is worth seeing. Serritella brought a long-stemmed rose from our garden to place on the monument. We’ve been talking about the great age of exploration and how important Columbus was in turning terra incognita into the world we now know. She was interested to see a likeness of the man she’d been learning about. Though it is generally agreed by scholars that no known portrait of Columbus shows the man as he appeared in life.

After we had paid homage to our cultural cousin we headed for the little picture gallery I remembered from past visits. In particular I wanted to see the oranges again…a vibrant painting of parchment-wrapped fruit that is as beautiful as anything I’ve seen in European galleries. As we slowly made our way around the small gallery, Serritella was entranced by the room’s ceiling of painted decorations. Then she seemed to study the paintings and asked: ‘Why are there trees in all the paintings?” I was rather astounded she had realized, without knowing the name, that she was viewing examples of California plein air paintings. This school of artists captured the natural beauty of old California with its canyons, streams and towering trees.

Painting outdoors became more likely once paint tubes were invented in 1841. Artists were able to abandon mixing their own pigments and carrying them in pig bladders or glass vials. Paints could now be produced in bulk and sold in tin tubes with a cap. The cap could be screwed back on and the paints preserved for future use, providing flexibility and efficiency to painting outdoors. The manufactured paints had a balanced consistency that the artist could thin with oil, turpentine, or other mediums. Paint in tubes also changed the way some artists approached painting. The artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir –“Without tubes of paint, there would have been no Impressionism." For the Impressionists, tubed paints offered an easily accessible variety of colors for their plein air palettes, motivating them to make spontaneous color choices. With greater quantities of preserved paint, they were able to apply paint more thickly.

Serritella and I talked about the scenes of trees, rivers and mountains which the California plein air artists had painted. She reminded me of having seen “Blue Boy” and “Pinkie” with her mother and brother at the Huntington Museum and Library, Pasadena, CA. The galleries in which those paintings reside are mostly portraiture, so she obviously was comparing the differences between those pictures and the outdoor scenes at the Bowers. Not a bad introduction to the world of art for a very little girl.

Westrolled around the Bowers for a while after leaving the paintings looking at the artifacts displayed in the large galleries. As we were leaving Serritella asked if she could paint outside when we got back home. And that’s what she did.

Upon arriving back at our home she gathered up her water color paints, brushes,smock and set up her work on the little picnic table outside under the trellis facing the garden and pool. She worked with deep concentration for some time, creating pictures of the pool, another of the flower beds and others of the scene before her. Meanwhile, her brother, Sam, who had gone to a hockey game, not the museum with us, worked on his own picture of the yard. He chose to do a draftsman-like rendering of the pool, complete with brick coping in great detail. Their individual work indicated again, every artist has his or her unique vision and each is to be nurtured and treasured. We plan to return to the Bowers again and again for longer visits as the children gain in age.

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
2002 N. Main St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706
714-587-3600

Days & Hours – Tues. – Sunday
10a.m. to 4 p.m.
General Admission
Adults $12, reduced rates of $9 for younger visitors.
Free Sundays –first Sunday of every month, Target Free Day

Special ticketed exhibits, such as the Chinese exhibits, require additional fees.

Credit: Angela Rocco DeCarlo, is a veteran journalist.She covers culture, travel and lifestyle.

“Blithe Spirit” by Noel Coward at Costa Mesa Playhouse

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo,copyright, 2011

“Blithe Spirit,” the 1941 Noel Coward comedy, playing at the intimate Costa Mesa Playhouse until September 25, allows theater-goers the opportunity to enjoy good talent, brilliant dialog, all amid some zany antics designed to conjure back to life the dear departed. The three-hour production is directed by David Anthony Blair.

Coward’s play opened in 1941 London during the worst of the German bombings – The Blitz - of Britain during World War II. So it might be easy to see how a creative exercise onstage, of retrieving loved ones from the grave, would resonate at that time in history. However, the play has enjoyed long life, with many revivals, during the past 70 years. It’s most recent incarnation on Broadway was in 2009 with Angela Lansbury in the key role of Madame Arcati, the eccentric medium, who accidentally conjures a dead wife, much to the chagrin of the current, alive wife.

The Costa Mesa specter hits the right notes of comedy and British sophistication without creeping anyone to pieces. The seven-member cast of this well-staged production is fortunate to be well-clothed and placed onto a nicely designed set, as they handle the required British accents with success. Author Coward took the title from the Percy Bysshe Shelly poem, “To A Skylark” – “Hail to thee blithe spirit, bird thou never wert….” Coward’s London office was destroyed in the wartime bombing and it is said he went away and wrote the play during a week in the countryside. “Blithe Spirit” ran for nearly 2,000 performances in London and more than 500, later in 1941, on Broadway. It’s still around because it is beautifully written and works. Actors have sparkling speeches, situations are amusing and the people never lose their cool – even when highly exasperated. What a treat to never have to hear dialog that resorts to vulgarity and code curse words. It is worth the ticket if only to hear humans speak so eloquently in every situation.

English socialites Ruth and Charles Condomine, well-played by Jennifer Pearce and Paul Griffiths respectively, host a dinner party and séance featuring a well-known local eccentric, medium Madame Arcati, played with a light zany touch, by Judy Jones. Charles plans to use the evening to research psychics for his next novel. Friends, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, played by suitably scientific Dan Henry and charmingly giddy Norma Jean, respectively, round out the guest list. The doctor is a skeptic and his wife is willing to believe whatever may turn up once Arcati goes into her trance. The maid, Edith, played by Danielle Macinnis, is too-noisy a presence in early scenes. Though necessary later on.

Of course, the evening goes bump in the night and Arcati accidently conjures Charles’ dead first wife, Elvira, strongly played by Emily Price, to plague the proceedings. Her initial appearance is appropriately ghostly, until she settles in to demonstrate she just showed up to finish aggravating her husband, a job apparently left undone in life.

It is a marvelous tribute to art in the abstract that individuals such as these fine Costa Mesa actors work so hard to provide an evening’s entertainment for a group of strangers. The audience was suitably appreciative for the laughs and opportunity to contemplate what it would be like to have departed loved ones return. But most of all for an evening of sophisticated intelligent entertainment, without a hint of current TV sitcom mentality, marked by the lowest common denominator – usually inane “sex up your nose” nonsense. If only contemporary writers might grab a dictionary or thesaurus and write dialog that sings, instead of slangs, but there was only one Noel Coward. His works is still worth experiencing.

Costa Mesa Playhouse has an excellent website with prompt ticketing applications. Future productions include "Earthlings Beware!"; "Nunsense"; "The Crucible"; "Hedwig & the Angry Inch". Ticket prices are modest, discounts for students and seniors. Learn more at http://www.costamesaplayhouse.org

Costa Mesa Playhouse
661 Hamilton St.
Costa Mesa, CA92627
949-650-5269

Angela Rocco DeCarlo copyright, 2011

Balboa Bay Club Concerts

Nothing says summer like an outdoor concert. There are plenty of these around OC in public parks and other such venues. Unfortunately, sometimes these involve parking hassles to distant grassy areas – if there is room – with long walks back to the performing areas.

If you are one who desires a little bit more upscale ambience, here’s the spot for you. I recently enjoyed an evening at the posh Balboa Bay Club and am anxious to return for more relaxation along side the fabulous marina.

The Balboa Bay Club & Resort, at Newport Beach Harbor, provides the perfect constellation of beautiful setting, fine entertainment and tasty foods. The Club is located at 1221West Coast Highway, Newport Beach. www.balboabayclub.com; 949-646-5000.

The BBC is hosting three concerts this month that offer up summer fun at its finest.

“The Four Freshman - Live Concert“

Friday, August 12, 6:30 p.m.;

“Surfin’ Safari.- The UltimateTribute to the Beach Boys!”

Friday, August 19, 6:30 p.m;

“Mariachi Sol de Mexico”

Friday, August 26, 6:30 p.m

Tickets for these concerts are $25, each performance (non-refundable).

BBC’s Burger Bash BBQ will be available for purchase at the “Freshman…
and “Surfin’” concerts. See below for the menu and prices on foods.

“Mariachi…” concert will have available the BBC’s dinner buffet, $21.50 for adults; $15.50 for children.

BURGER BASH BBQ MENU – Aug. 12 & Aug. 19 concerts.

BBC POWER BURGER w/ fries $8.50*
TURKEY BURGER w/fries $8.50*
GRILLED CHICKEN w/fries $8.50*
SANDWICH w/fries $8.50*
GRILLED HOT DOG $5.50*
CHICKEN FINGERS $5.00*
BBC CHILI $3.00*
CORN ON THE COB $3.00*
SOFT DRINKS $3.00*
ICE CREAM $2.00*

For information on the concerts call 949-630-4120.

Reservations online: http://members.balboabayclub.com/

Balbo Bay Club & Resort
1221 West Coast Highway
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949-630-4120

Angela Rocco DeCarlo, is a former Chicago journalist, who resides in Orange, CA.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS FROM 1961...

Fifty years ago - July 15, 1961 - my Resurrection School fourth
grade students - not all 48 of the nine-year olds - attended my wedding to
Daniel DeCarlo, at St. Francis Church, Cicero, Il.
    
They proudly presented us with a beautiful rococo silver serving
tray which has been a treasured reminder of those wonderful students. It is
as pretty today as it was when new. They happily told me they each "chipped
in" 25 cents and one of the mothers - Mrs. Cotton, I believe - made the
purchase. Thanks again to all for a memorable gift which has been used for many
happy family events.
     
I turned to journalism when my sons, Mark, Michael and Danny,
were in elementary school. I didn't continue to teach long-term in elementary
school. Instead, I wrote for newspapers, magazines and businesses and taught
writing classes in colleges.
     
It is hoped my Resurrection School 1960-1961 students went on to
success and happiness in their lives...to me, they remain the darling
nine-year olds of my first fourth grade class.
     
Wherever they are I send my best wishes - God Bless.

         Angela Rocco DeCarlo

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo - copyright 2011

Friends from Chicago were visiting and we were giving them the Huntington Beach, CA tour... lunch at Duke's on the beach downtown while gawking at the wetsuited-surfer dudes, who to Midwesterners, are exotic indeed.

They can't quite believe that surfing can be, and is, for talented people, a profession.

Celebrating with old friends from back home is always special. That's the time when a plain red plastic cup won't do for your wine toast. It's fine for the beach, but otherwise something more refined is required.

As we checked out the various gift shops around the beach area we came upon one store which had a collection of hand painted wine glasses that offered a surprise. There are several brands that produce these custom items.

There amid the flip flop and ladies' shoe glass designs was a tulip wine glass featuring a fantasy Chicago Cubs marquee, city skyline and sailboats on Lake Michigan - all capturing the fun of a Chicago summer. Obviously, no one is going to memorialize a Chicago winter - that's for sure.

Travelers love to take home treats from vacation destinations to remind them of happy times. It isn't often one in on a California beach where the option to take home a memento of home is realized. A bit offbeat.

The hand painted glasses on display featured a wide array of designs, including a handful of cities other than Chicago, including Las Vegas and New York. The problem was there weren't two of Chicago and we both wanted to buy several for families members. Of course, courtesy demanded my friend get to take home the lone Chicago wine glass.

Our family of former Chicagoans,living in "exile" in Southern California, remain devoted Cubs fans. So when we spotted the Chicago wine glass we were delighted - it was fun and unique. I thought it was perfect for my three Cubs-loving sons who would get a kick out of the glasses. They are already in possession of Chicago shirts, blankets, hats, and other accouterments - a wine glass would make a good addition.

As I wanted additional Chicago glasses I did a little research on the brand. It seems the creative source behind the vast catalog of drinking implements is Lolita Healy. Her Designs by Lolita started out about ten years ago with martini glasses and expanded to the tulip wine glasses and then other household products. All have her distinctive stamp of eclectic fantasy. The wine glasses sell for under $25; they are not dishwasher safe.

If I were planning a party for next year with a guest list of 1200 or so I'd consider ordering our own special Chicago DeCarlo family design. Just a nice little fantasy...(info@designsbylolita.com). Meanwhile, I'm hunting down more of the Chicago wine glasses. I need three to surprise my boys.



Angela Rocco DeCarlo
copyright, 2011

Meeting George and Abe at the Nixon Library

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2011

"I've got something special for you, " said President Abraham Lincoln to the young boy and girl.

With that he pulled from his trousers' pocket a handful of the shiniest of new US Lincoln copper pennies.

This Lincoln enactor, Bill Peck, was pitch perfect in appearance (with a real beard) and demeanor at the annual Presidents' Day free event at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, CA. He spoke gently to the children as he explained the 2009 "Rail Splitter" pennies* he presented to them were keepsakes. Sam, 7, and Seritella, 5, our grandchildren, were awestruck as they accepted the shiny pennies. I admit, I was, too. He suggested the children learn not only the Gettysburg address, but Lincoln's second inaugural address filled with hope and prayer. It was a small moment of pure theater just for two little kids - beautiful.

The Nixon Museum has been a favorite destination for us to take our four young grandchildren over the past ten years. They've scampered up and through the presidential helicopter, which is a part of the permanent collection of Nixon objects. The Apollo astronauts and their accouterments were an exciting up-close encounter when on special exhibit. Today, Sam and Serritella walked in the set-in-cement-bootprints of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon. The beautiful gardens and lawn enticed the children to games of tag. No "keep off the grass" signs here. This is a museum visitors can really enjoy in all aspects.

The children also were presented to President George Washington who graciously sat for photos with them. The Washington enactor, the Rev. Gary B. Beard**, appears throughout the US in his colonial uniform engaging with visitors to tell the story of early America using his vast array of authentic artifacts, including Bibles, cannonballs and antique currency. The patience and enthusiasm displayed is remarkable, providing a satisfying learning experience for children and adults.

President Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Peter Small, held a copy of "his" Declaration of Independence as he circulated through the throngs of Nixon guests. It was fun to chat about our personal heroes Lewis and Clark and their great achievements in exploring the vast Louisiana Purchase territory, 1804-1806. Jefferson reminded us Lewis had been his personal secretary prior to appointing him captain of the expedition. He also made haste to laude their brave and resourceful guide Sacagawea. The brave young girl, who not only lead the explorers, also saved their precious journals from water destruction.

Later in the day the presidents would gather in the Nixon Library's White House East Room replica. The program would include a question and answer session allowing guests to learn more about these great US presidents.

The Museum hosts many free programs thorough the year to educate and entertain. There are free Sunday concerts, a fabulous miniature holiday train exhibit, displays of presidential gifts to the Nixon family received from heads of state and a fashion gallery featuring bridal gowns from the Nixon daughters.

The Nixon Library and Museum is the perfect size...it has not yet been overindulged to gigantic proportions which often happens to successful museums. It is intimate, charming and educational. Our grandchildren love it.

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
714-983-9120
http://www.nixonlibrary.gov
Admission: adults; $9.95; seniors $6.95;
children$3.75.

*Four new Lincoln pennies were minted in 2009 in celebration
of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. Each of the four penny designs
depict different aspects of his life and career. Our pennies were the "Rail
Splitter" design.
** George Washington enactor, the Reverend Gary Beard,
visits schools and other venues. www.washington1776.com.

copyright 2011 Angela Rocco DeCarlo

Trains and Treasures:Nixon Museum Yorba Linda, CA

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo,copyright, 2011

The Richard Nixon Library and Museum is an intimate facility highly suited to families and children, especially grandparents with young children. It does not overwhelm in size and so is an enticing destination at any time of the year.

Every Christmas season we take our grandchildren to enjoy the model train exhibits. Last year there were two rooms of spectacular model train layouts – a densely constructed Lego cityscape with many bridges, buildings and encampments. In the second room was the marvelously imagined tiered landscape with various-sized model trains choo-chooing across a fantasy America dotted with charming towns filled with miniature people.

This year’s visit found a smaller, though still interesting, Lego exhibit, which continues until January 28, 2011, with the second room devoted to “Treasures from the Vault:” A collection of valuable gifts given to the Nixon family, but owned by the U.S. government, by many foreign heads of state.

The Lego train exhibit is housed in the museum’s lobby all set about with various themed Christmas trees hugging the perimeter of the space. There’s the Presidents’ tree; the First Ladies’ tree; the Asian tree; the USA tree and others.

The Lego train curators created a little game with a series of items to be found. It made the viewing a fun challenge for children old enough to engage in a scavenger hunt. Finding the girl with the blue balloon proved impossible, but our gang of four, ranging in ages from 5 to 12, managed to locate some of the other game pieces, but not the curved staircase or the Christmas tree being decorated. Last year it was the tiny Superman that was highly sought after and finally located on the top of a building.

Favorites of the display included the large suspension bridge, the barrel tunnel and the colorful carnival scene alongside the little marina, complete with tiny sailboats. The Legos certainly struck a chord with our grandsons, Andrew, 10, and Sam, 7, who is now busy putting together a large Lego passenger airplane from his New Year’s Eve birthday.

The girls, Mish, 12, and Serritella, 5, toured the Legos and then visited the historic fashion gallery where the Nixon daughters’ bridal gowns are displayed together with First Lady Pat Nixon’s gowns. They moved on to the “Treasures of the Vault” (closed Jan. 30) and loved the gorgeous silk paneled screen with brilliant red background upon which white embroidered cranes cavorted. Junior fashionista, Mish, was impressed with the black crocodile Gucci ladies handbag, shown in a case with a companion handbag fashioned from authentic leopard fur – both exquisite.

Pope Paul VI’s gift to the Nixons of a 17th century painting of St. Peter’s Church, Rome, Italy – the largest Christian church in the world, is understated but spectacular. The beautiful forecourt and majestic elliptical piazza bounded by colonnades created in 1629-67 from Bernini’s designs, is seen without the surrounding buildings visible today. Many artists and architects put their brains and hands to the design, but it was Michelangelo, who in 1546 was made chief architect, who designed the great dome and finished part of it. Under the dome is the high altar which itself is above the tomb of St. Peter, the first pope.

My personal favorite was the dazzling gift of a Sultan in 1974 of emerald and diamond jewelry presented to Julie and Tricia Nixon. Nearby was the spectacular King Hussein gift of double strand pearl necklace. As it is the gift of a king it might be inferred the pearls are genuine, not cultured. In another display case was a splendid gold-encased 16th century Bible presented by Israel to President Nixon. All this beauty makes one wonder how the thank you notes could have adequately expressed appreciation for such riches. There are no details on what gifts were presented to the foreign leaders by the Nixons. One can only hope they were as tasteful and well-chosen as those displayed as gifts to the U.S.A. No VCRs back then.

The Nixon Library is part of the U.S.archives and museums which include eleven other presidential libraries. The wealth of historical documentation available at the Nixon is a resource for history buffs as well as students and scholars. The museum offers many programs to the community including free Sunday concerts. Also onsite is the actual Nixon house which is said to have been built by President Nixon’s father from a kit.The presidential limo and helicopter are also on display, as well as a giant version of the iconic photograph of President Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley. From this I learned the photo was not a “photoshopped” creation, as I had supposed, but an actual photo of a real encounter. And that’s what museums are for…letting our imaginations soar among the scenes of the past featuring real people in real situations…preserved here at the Nixon Museum.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA92886
714-983-9120
http://www.nixonlibrary.gov
Hours – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mon – Sat.
11a.m. – 5 p.m. Sun.
Closed Christmas Day, Thanksgiving & New Year’s Day

Admission
Adults (over age 12) $9.95
Child (7-11) $3.75, under 6,child is free
Seniors – 62 + $6.95
Military w/ID $5.95
Student $6.9 05

Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Copyright, 2011