Amtrak's Coast Starlight

To contact us Click HERE

When you're planning a western trip or an extended vacation, here is an opportunity to see the west coast of the U.S. in a very unique and fun way. This is also a way to enjoy a relaxing vacation without the traffic hassles. See the California, Oregon and Washington state scenery while enjoying the views from a comfortable chair. It's a vacation that truly gives you the opportunity to unwind.

Out of all the Amtrak routes spread across the United States, the train name that many refer to as Amtrak's signature train is the "Coast Starlight". The Coast Starlight operates daily service between Los Angeles California and Seattle Washington in both directions.

Mount Shasta from Coast Starlight

Here is a route that runs through some of the most beautiful scenery found anywhere in the country. A blending of the picturesque California coast with the towering green mountains of the Pacific northwest. Amtrak's Coast Starlight service might be the most popular of it's routes and with a very good on time record. The other train which Amtrak operates along the California coast is the Pacific Surfliner. This route goes from San Diego up to Santa Barbara. The Pacific Surfliner daily schedule is as follows. The train departs Santa Barbara at 6:43 AM and arrives in Old Town San Diego at 12:17 PM. The northbound daily segment leaves San Diego Old Town at 9:30 AM and arrives Santa Barbara at 3 PM.

Klammath Falls Oregon Amtrak Station

The total scheduled time for the entire trip between Los Angeles and Seattle is about 35 hours and the total mileage is 1,377. It should be noted that the Amtrak Coast Starlight is the very first train that ran the entire west coast route from L.A. to Seattle. Prior to the Coast Starlight, the route up to Seattle was handled by the Southern Pacific Railroad via the inland San Joaquin Valley to Portland and then to Seattle via the Great Northern Railway.At the same time, the Southern Pacific ran sleeper car service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It wasn't until the start of Amtrak in 1971 that the entire Los Angeles to Seattle route was serviced with one named train.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight also offers something very unique, not found on any of it's other routes. This is the Pacific Parlour Car. The Pacific Parlour Car are  restored and refurbished two deck rail cars once owned by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. These rail cars were built in 1956 for ATSF's "El Capitan" service. The Parlour Car was first put into service on the Coast Starlight in 1995 on an experimental basis and became so popular and actually raised ridership that it became a permanent part of this particular Amtrak route.

Coast Starlight at one of it's stops

The upper level of the ParlourCar contains both four person booths and a lounge area with both sofa seating and eight upholstered parlor chairs. The upper level seats a total of forty people plus some standing room at the bar. The lower levels is a nineteen seat movie theater. Again, these highly popular Parlour Cars are found only on the Coast Starlight trains and are available for use by sleeper car passengers only.

The Amtrak Coast Starlight departs Los Angeles' Union Station at 10:25 AM each morning and is scheduled to arrive in Seattle Washington the next day at 8:45 PM.

The scenery along the Coast Starlight route is some of the best found anywhere in the country. The high snow covered peaks of Mount Shasta and the Cascade Range, thick green forests, fertile valleys and long portions of the Pacific Ocean shoreline set this route apart from all others. The route follows about 100 miles of the Pacific shoreline and is the longest ocean view train ride in the U.S.

Upper Klammath Lake Oregon

The Coast Starlight connects some of the greatest cities on the west coast. For those riding the Coast Starlight, the route and schedule lets you enjoy the trip up the California coast with daylight stops in such paces as Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Salinas. The train reaches Oakland's Jack London Square about 9:40PM. Daylight next occurs in far northern California just south of the Oregon border. The daylight hours then lets you enjoy such stops in Oregon as Klammath Falls, Eugene, Salem and Portland. Popular sights along that portion include Upper Klammath Lake and the Cascade Mountains as the Amtrak route goes up and over that beautiful range.

After a stop in Portland Oregon, Amtrak's Coast Starlight continues north crossing the historic and very scenic Columbia River. Stops on the way to Seattle include Vancouver Washington, Longview, Olympia and Tacoma. The train's schedules arrival in Seattle is 8:45PM. Amtrak thruway bus service is available from Seattle to Vancouver British Columbia.

Beautiful lake in the Cascade Range

The Amtrak Coast Starlight offers three meals per day served in the dining car. The food served is quite good and are included in the room charge for those passengers riding in the bedrooms and roomettes of the sleeper cars. Coach passengers can purchase meals and beverages in addition to their fare. The Coast Starlight had a reputation for running late on a somewhat regular basis. The late running Coast Starlight suffered passenger ridership declines as a result. The Union Pacific Railroad handles all traffic on this route and received a lot of the blame by railroad enthusiasts. They accused the Union Pacific of putting priority on their freight trains and the railroad answered that delays were attributed to track repair projects. Whatever the problem was, that situation fortunately has changed and the Union Pacific has given priority to the passenger trains. As an example of the improvement, the Amtrak Coast Starlight reported an 86 percent on time rate in 2008. The trip in 2012 that I took arrived in Oakland about 20 minutes late but arrived in Portland Oregon about 5 minutes early. Anyone familiar with train travel would agree that this would be considered as running on time.

Here are links to two additional articles with photos you'll enjoy.  On our Trips Into History site is the Amtrak Southwest Chief and on Western Trips, the famous old Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad's Super Chief.

I would highly recommend the Amtrak Coast Starlight to anyone looking for a different and fun way to experience the west coast of the U.S. It's the perfect western trip to unwind, meet people and simply enjoy scenic travel without hassles.

(Photos are from author's private collection)

Road Trips: A Drinker's Guide to Omaha, part one

To contact us Click HERE
"THERE'S A PLACE CALLED OMAHA NEBRASKA," Groucho Marx sang once, before misplacing the town on the map: "In the foothills of Tennessee." Singers don't seem to know just where Omaha is, come to think of it. All the Counting Crows knew was that the town was "somewhere in Middle America," while Bob Seeger placed himself "on a long and lonely highway, east of Omaha," which could be just about anywhere that's not west of Omaha. Way to be specific, gents.

Well, we at the Bottle Gang have been to Omaha. And not just in a passing-through-on-the-way-to-somewhere-else sort of way. We've been to parties with The Faint and Conner Oberst (and a lesser-known act from Omaha, Mulberry Lane, who once sent us a postcard from Japan). We've crashed three of Alexander Payne's shindigs, once wishing him a happy birthday when it wasn't his birthday at all, and made many calls to the Academy Award-winning writer/director, several times by accident, which he did not appreciate. We drunkenly strolled through the halls of the Joslyn Museum with Omaha's former mayor, Hal Daub, after dining with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who has a yearly theater festival in Omaha. We made friends with an enormous, bearded astrologer and blues guitarist who is reported to have once bitten off a man's ear. Also, we've been to a lot of Omaha strip clubs, although, on the whole, we prefer those in Council Bluffs.

So trust us when we say that Omaha is a great place to drink. We've drunk our share there. The alcohol is plentiful and it's cheap -- three cocktails made with middle-shelf liquor will cost you the same as one cocktail in Minneapolis's North Loop. But be warned: Omaha bars generally are not very well stocked when it come to liquors, generally carrying a small and generic selection, and Omaha bartenders, for the most part, are only capable of making a half-dozen of the most common drinks, and will look confused if you ask for anything fancy. What Omaha lacks in cocktail sophistication, however, it makes up for in character. Sometimes the city seems like a glacier flowed over it in 1964 and just recently melted, leaving the architecture of the period perfectly preserved, and so here we have a town filled with oversized Steak Houses and gaudy signage, an eye-popping, kitschy delight.

Drinkers, should you find yourself in Omaha, here is a travelogue of our favorite watering holes.

We begin, as we always do, on Saddle Creek at the Homey Inn. This small neighborhood bar has gotten quite busy recently, since Esquire named it one of the best bars in America; it used to be quite desolate, except on weekends, when all Omaha bars spring to life.

The Homey Inn seems constructed out of the fallen remains of previous bars, some in Omaha, some elsewhere in the Midwest. The walls are hung with fading newspapers and decorated with ancient menus, beer cans from long forgotten brands, and old novelty items from liquor distributors, such as Nude Beer, upon which photos of women in Eighties hairstyles wear brassieres that can be scratched off to reveal ample bosoms. Some have been scratched.

They also have champagne on tap, both sweet and dry. Of course, it's not real champagne, but rather a fruity and inexpensive sparkling wine, but who cares, really? They don't know how to make a champagne cocktail with the stuff, but they will gamely try, tossing in a few drops of bitters and a packet of sugar. You wouldn't serve it to Humphrey Bogart, but it's passable.

Additionally, the Homey Inn serves peanuts. In dog bowls. And you can order food from across the street, from a Beatles-themed pasta restaurant called Sgt. Peffers, presumably out off fear that if they called themselves Sgt. Peppers, Apple Records would sue. Interestingly, the Homey Inn has a wider selection of Irish beers than many Eire-styled pubs. We couldn't tell you why this is. And we don't care to ask. We're happy enough sipping our sweet sparkling wine, eating our peanuts, waiting for the delivery man to bring us a plate of spaghetti, and scratching the bra off a woman on an old beer label.

Next, it's onward to The Lynx Lounge, just a few blocks away on NW Radial Hwy. The bar is rather unassuming to look at from the outside, nestled in a strip mall between an assortment of low-rent businesses that have, in the past, included an off-brand makeup store and an erotic lingerie dealer. Inside, however, the bar is pure Seventies, including a fire pit and a recessed and mirrored alcove where couples can pair off for a more intimate drinking experience. The bar is kept dark, and the alcove may be the darkest spot on earth -- it is pitch black until a bartender lights a candle, and then the only thing visible in the alcove is the candle.

The bar is mostly patronized by African-American drinkers, who have, in the past, been so surprised to see the Bottle Gang sidle up to the bar that they have greeted us warmly and bought us drinks. Omaha is a disquietingly segregated town, with most of its black community living north of the city, and white Omahans can be unaccountably nervous around their black neighbors. Actually, this isn't just true of white Omahans -- we once brought a young girl of Korean extraction to the Lynx Lounge, and, upon leaving, she asked a surprising question: "Did you notice that we were the only white people in the bar?" We briefly considered reminding her that, as an Asian, she wasn't precisely white, but then we decided the whole discussion was crass and politely let it drop.

Anyway, we've been patronizing the Lynx Lounge for years, for their good selection of brandies, their swanky ambiance, and their terrific jukebox upon which you can find a marvelous selection of soul and R&B songs. We may be too light-skinned to pretend to be Billy Dee Williams, but that doesn't mean we won't drink at a place where he would seem perfectly at home. (SPARBER)

Read part two here.

Road Trips: A Drinker's Guide to Omaha, part two

To contact us Click HERE
CONTINUED FROM PART ONE.

AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT from a city that retains so much of the architecture of the 50s and 60s, Omaha has a tiki bar, a remainder of America's obsession with Polynesian culture. One day we at the Bottle Gang will tackle the enormous legacy of tiki culture, but it is a vast topic, and we shall limit our comments here to one point: There was almost nothing Polynesian about the way Americans expressed their interest in Polynesia. The word "tiki" is Maori. The tropical drinks served in tiki bars were generally inspired by drinks from the Caribbean. The style of music most associated with tiki culture, such as the lush exotica of Les Baxter, borrowed heavily from South American music. And tiki bars were often nestled in the back or the basement of Chinese or Japanese restaurants -- if you are looking for a well-made tropical drink nowadays, there is still a very good chance of finding one at a Chinese restaurant.

And so Omaha's tiki bar, the Mai Tai Lounge, is found in the basement of a Japanese restaurant, the Mt. Fuji Inn on Blondo street. It is a late-era tiki bar, dating back to the late 60s, and, at first, is unimpressive. The bar is a dark cavern of a place, smallish, with bamboo walls, a jukebox that plays contemporary music, a half-dozen portraits of comely Polynesian lasses painted on what looks to be velvet, and unfortunately, a television that plays sports events. Early tiki bars were enormous tropical fantasias, Disney-like monuments to faux-South Seas culture. This is not that. If it were, it might not have survived: As the popularity of tiki culture faded, most of the tiki palaces went out of business.

Unimpressive though it may seem, the Mai Tai Lounge does have two things to recommend it. Firstly, it has a terrific drink menu, which contains almost every classic, if kitschy, tropical cocktail, ranked like you would rank a movie. Their zombie, for example, is rated Triple-X, as is their Mai Tai and Fogcutter, while less alcoholic drinks, such as the Singapore Sling, get more family friendly ratings.

These are not fancy tropical cocktails. They have nowhere near the variety nor complexity of ingredients of a well-made version of the drinks, instead tending to consist of a mix of rums and one or two fruit juices. The Mai Tai's cocktails are stripped-down versions of tastier originals, but the bar uses middle-shelf alcohol and good fruit juice, and the resulting drinks are quite palatable. They also tend to be enormous.

The other thing the Mai Tai Lounge offers is Hawaiians. Not always, mind you: Sometimes the bar will be empty, and sometimes it will be filled with pasty skinned locals. But every so often, you'll walk in, and every customer will be Hawaiian. There is an unaccountably large population of Hawaiian students in Omaha, mostly at Creighton, and every so often they collectively decide to get drinks at the Mai Tai Lounge. The result is the rarest of experiences in Middle American tiki lounges: Finding a parking lot filled with cars with Hawaiian license plates, and walking into the bar to find yourself surrounded by dark skinned, brown-eyed drinkers who bandy about Hawaiian slang and chat idly about gossip from the Big Island. Out of the blue, one of America's least authentic Polynesian bars becomes absolutely, unmistakably Hawaiian.

Across town, on 13th Street just south of downtown, is another ethnic restaurant, one that has always been indisputably authentic. The Bohemian Cafe was started by a Czech family all the way back in 1924, and still features employees dressed in traditional Czech outfits. Their menu consists of Eastern European dishes such as jaeger schnitzel, or veal steaks in wine sauce and mushrooms, and the food tends to be meaty and heavy: We once ordered plum dumplings that came in a bowl filled with butter and cream, and took close to three weeks to eat.

They also have a small cocktail lounge, the Bohemian Girl, decorated, like the rest of the building, with hand-painted folk-art pictures of girls in native costumes and with little signs that read "We accept Czechs, not checks." They serve Pilsner Urquell and a Czech beer called Czechvar, which calls itself "The Czech Budweiser," and apparently was actually calling itself Budweiser long before the American beer of that name. It's a bland pilsner, tasting much like the American brand that they claim stole its name; stick with the Pilsner Urquell. Incidentally, you can also purchase bottles of these beers to take with you from the Bohemian Cafe.

Recently, they have introduced a few specialty cocktails, including one called Bohemian Shepherd Pie, made of plum brandy, Limoncello, Blue Caraco, and pineapple juice. This one frightened us, so we did not try it. We did order something called the Bohemian Sidecar, which drew gales of laughter from a rather asinine drunk at the bar, a stupid looking young man in a baseball cap and a bluetooth headset. This fellow was drinking himself into oblivion, bullying everyone nearby. When we discovered that he was the husband of one of the bartenders, a sweet-faced and recently pregnant young woman, we realized we were watching the makings of an American tragedy. Take the advice of some strangers in a bar, young bartender, should you read these words: A drunk who is belligerent to other drinkers, to bartenders, and to his own wife, is not worth the effort. Any man who must be taken aside and warned that his drinking will have to stop when the baby is born, and who responds by loudly proclaiming that he must get a new wife, and says this in a cocktail lounge in front of strangers, is a man to be avoided.

As to the drink that this young boor mocked, well, it was actually rather good. It is a sidecar, of sorts, but made with slivovitz, which is a Balkan plum brandy. It's a scorcher of a liquor, as anyone who has tried it can tell you. It's the sort of drink that grows hair on your chest, and then sets fire to those hairs. But the harshness of the brandy is undercut in this drink by Limoncello, Triple Sec, and lemon juice, and the resulting drink is actually quite satisfying. Fools may laugh at us for ordering it, and laugh harder that we like it. But fools will be fools, and, at the end of the day, as happened on this occasion, will have a second bartender, the mother of the first, threaten them with a baseball bat. (SPARBER)

CONTINUED TOMORROW

Chuck & Sean's Trivia: The answers for 09.09.07

To contact us Click HERE
Round 1


1. Who was the first woman to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court? Sandra Day O'Connor

2. What year of the Olympics were filmed in Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl's film Olympia Spiele? 1936

3. What is the first and last name of the character from that 70's show cast who is referred to as a "cocktail dad"? Red Forman

4. What is the highest waterfall on the Mississippi river? St. Anthony Falls

5. The rules of the very difficult and useless game golf is written jointly by two organizations, one in the U.S. and one in what country? Scotland

6. What rapper acted as the Mouse King in the Nutcracker at Baltimore's School for the Arts? 2pac

7. What Canadian-born architect, who designed a building in Minneapolis, also designed the trophy for the World Cup of Hockey? Frank Gehry

8. What month did Kurt Cobain die in in 1994? April

9. In 31 B.C. The Final War of the Roman Republic ended in the battle at Actium. Who won? Octavian, or Caesar

10. Billy Madison rises himself out of his hung-over pool side stupor at the beginning of the film Billy Madison when he realizes what special day it is. What day is it? Nudey Magazine Day

11. What city and state did Michael Moore grow up in? Flint, Michigan

12. What is the name of the first published novel by Chuck Palahniuk? Fight Club

13. What country is Lesotho entirely surrounded by? South Africa

14. What rite of passage, when directly translated is known as: one to whom the commandments apply? bar or bat mitzvah

15. Author Madeleine L'Engle died on Friday. What was her most popular book? A Wrinkle in Time

Round 2

1. What is Peter Griffin's sole response to all questions when he is on a parody of Jeopardy on the "Brian: Portrait of a Dog" episode? Diarrhea

2. What major Southern city was occupied by the Union early in the Civil War and was thus spared the destruction that many Southern cities endured during the Civil War? New Orleans (wikipedia.org)

3. In what city did Jimi Hendrix die? London, England (wiki)

4. Name the four inner planets? Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

5. What is the most populuous city in Vietnam? Ho Chi Minh City

6. What are the names of the crash test dummies who are the mascots for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration? Vince and Larry

7. Who was the lead role in the TV show Monk originally written for? Michael Richards

8. What movie did Kevin Spacey win his first Oscar for? The Usual Suspects

9. Hmong people's original homeland is the mountainous Southern region of what country? China

10. The U.N. recognizes 192 countries, but most scholars agree there are 194 countries in the world. One country missing is an island, and the other one is completely within the borders of another country, name both. Taiwan, Vatican City

11. What non-coastal Western state has the lowest median age in the United States with a median age of 28.5? Utah

12. Which county has a higher Asian population, Hennepin or Ramsey county? Ramsey

13. In rap slang, if someone is a crooked eye sipper what does that mean? they drink st. ives malt liquor

14. What living singer, born in 1940, is the only vocalist to win Grammy's in three separate categories, jazz, pop and R&B? Al Jarreau

15. What title, used in numerous fields, literally means "holding a place"? lieutenant

Music Round


Daughter – Pearl Jam
The Rat – The Walkmen
The Beatles – Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite
50 Cent – 21 Questions
Death Cab for Cutie – Soul Meets Body

Singer Songwriters / Roger Miller Museum

To contact us Click HERE

Roger Miller Museum, Erick Oklahoma

Erick Oklahoma, a town directly on the old Route 66 and approximately the halfway point along Interstate 40 between Ashville North Carolina and Barstow California, is also the home of the Roger Miller Museum. Roger Miller was a among the country superstar singer songwriters and a talented all around performer of such hits as "King of the Road," "Dang Me," "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd". Miller started his music career in the late 1950's after serving in the U.S. Army. Erick Oklahoma and the Roger Miller Museum is an excellent addition to your Oklahoma trip planner. Erick is located about 117 miles east of Amarillo Texas and about 144 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Erick Oklahoma was also called home to other performers such as Sheb Wooley who put out the 1958 hit " The Purple People Eater". Wooley acted in the movies "High Noon", "The Outlaw Josey Wales and appeared on television's "Rawhide". He also appeared on the 1950's television series "The Adventures of Kit Carson". Yet another Bluegrass musician from Erick Oklahoma was Herbert Mayfield. Mayfield performed with his brothers Smokey and Thomas Edd. Edd eventually left the group to join up with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.

Roger Miller Boulevard street sign

During the early part of Miller's career he moved to Nashville. While there he also worked as a bellhop and at the same time worked with Minnie Pearl playing the fiddle. When things get a bit tough for him in Nashville as a singer and songwriter, Miller, who was married with a child, decided to move to Amarillo Texas to become a fireman. While being on the Amarillo Fire Department, Roger Miller also did singing engagements at night. From Amarillo, Roger moved back to Nashville and worked with Ray Price as one of his "Cherokee Cowboys". This proved to be a good break for Miller. During this time in Nashville, Miller wrote "Invitation to the Blues" which ended up a number three hit on the country music charts.

With that success, Miller was hired by Tree Publishing for $50 a week and wrote "Half a Mind" for Ernest Tubb. Real success came for Roger with "Billy Bayou", his first number one song written recorded by Jim Reeves. Miller's first recording contract came in 1958 with Decca Records. After a few so so recordings for Decca, Miller went on tour with Faron Young as a drummer and ultimately got a recoding contract with Chet Atkin's at RCA. After coming out with a top ten hit on RCA Records, Miller's career and personal life slid where he was divorced and in Hollywood trying to get an acting career together. It was at this point he signed a small contract with Smash Records to put out sixteen recordings for $1,600. This did prove however to be the big career boost he needed and wanted.

Roger Miller's first motorcycle

Out of those sixteen recordings were the hits "Dang Me" and "Chug-A-Lug". Both were instant successes on both the Country charts and the Billboard Top 100. After several more hits, Roger Miller, the man who signed a contract for $100 per recording 1964 with Smash Records ended up with his own television show on NBC in 1966. While the Roger Miller Show was cancelled after thirteen weeks, Miller continued to record with good success.

Near the end of the 1970's, Miller's songwriting greatly decreased although he did write a Broadway musical score, even acted on Broadway for a short while and did work with Dwight Yoakam on for the country stars 1990 album. Born in 1936, Roger Miller passed away from cancer in 1992.

Two additional article and photos on Western Trips you'll find interesting are the Buddy Holly Center and museum in Lubbock Texas and Route 66 and Amarillo Texas.

More information about Roger Miller and his career can be found at rogermiller.com

Anyone traveling along Interstate 40 or any other road near Erick Oklahoma will absolutely enjoy a visit to the Roger Miller Museum. The singer and songwriter's museum is filled with photos and artifacts, instruments and writings that tell much of the Roger Miller story. One such artifact you'll see are the hand written lyrics for the hit song "King of the Road". The Roger Miller Museum, whose building it is in was constructed in 1929, is located at the corner of Roger Miller Boulevard (old Route 66) and Sheb Wooley Avenue right in downtown Erick.

(Photos from author's private collection)
View Larger Map

Historic Richmond California Ford Plant

To contact us Click HERE

History buffs of World War Two military production will enjoy a fun visit to the old Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Richmond California. Richmond is just northeast across the bay from San Francisco. This old Ford factory has been excellently preserved at the Point Richmond. This Ford plant, designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, produced some 49,000 jeeps and 91,000 additional military vehicles to aid America's war effort. Albert Kahn was noted for his "daylight factory" design which meant many windows. The factory measured 500,000 square feet. The building of the Ford plant in Richmond was part of the 1930's plan for having assembly plants spread throughout the country. While architects like Albert Kahn designed the outer look of the plant, Ford Motor Company's internal production designers planned the layout of the assembly equipment.

Old Ford Motor Richmond CA plant

When the plant was built in 1930, the plan was to produce about 400 vehicles in an eight hour work shift. Total employment at the assembly plant was planned for 2,600. Ford Motor Company, as a rule, always insisted that their building contractors have an open shop where union and non-union workers would be hired.

During the 1930's, the Ford Richmond plant was the third largest employer in the area. The first two were the Standard Oil Company and the Santa Fe Railroad. The Kaiser Shipyards hit peak employment during the war years. 


During World War Two, the entire area of Port Richmond was a production zone. The Kaiser Shipyards were located there along with the Ford Motor facility. This was one of the shipyards that turned out the famous "Liberty Ships" that at first, due to a contest among various shipyards, were built in an astonishing five days due to prefabrication of components. Still, when the ships were constructed by conventional means, they could be built in about two weeks. That also is amazingly fast. This kind of production as well as that going on at the Ford factory caused the population of Richmond California to explode during the war years. The Kaiser Shipyard number 2 at Richmond was considered the busiest of all the shipyards producing 747 ships. The Rosie the Riveter images seen during the war commemorated the women dressed in overalls and using industrial tools to help America's war effort. This poster was widely publicized in newspapers and magazines during the early 1940's. During the peak of war production, women accounted for 27 percent of the total Kaiser Shipyard workforce of 93,000.

Richmond CA Ford war plant

As far as automakers were concerned, during World War Two, President Roosevelt banned the production of civilian vehicles. The Ford Richmond factory switched over to producing military jeeps and finishing tanks built elsewhere. The plant even picked up the nickname as the "Richmond Tank Depot". Ford did a lot of work putting armor on the tanks and other vehicles destined for the Pacific War Theater. Many say that the combination of private and federal cooperation as evidenced at Point Richmond during the war were the beginnings of what would eventually be called the Cold War Military-Industrial Complex. During the war, the government and private industry, at least with heavy manufacturing, seemingly worked as one entity.

When the war ended, the effect on the local economy of Richmond was quite serious. This was started with the closure of the Kaiser Shipyard and was further aggravated when the Ford plant eventually closed down. While the Ford Richmond plant continued on with civilian auto production after the war to make up for the pent up demand for cars, the last Ford car built at this plant was in 1953 and the Ford plant closed for good in 1956. Assembly was ultimately sent to the plant which is now the San Jose Ford Assembly factory. Today, this historic landmark is part of the Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Rosie the Riveter poster in old Ford factory

The preservation of these historic sites in Richmond is a great victory for historic preservationists. Richmond California war production was so large that it was the natural location for a park commemorating this wartime work. While the park is owned by the City of Richmond, the park is administered by the National Park Service. Next to the old Ford plant is the park Museum which is probably one of the finest pertaining to west coast war production. The exhibits there are really one of a kind. Just about every facet of the work done at this location and the people involved in it is presented at the park museum.

Another very interesting attraction at Point Richmond is the SS Red Oak Victory Ship. Here you can tour the entire ship including the bridge and see more historic artifacts and photos. The SS Red Oak Victory Ship was built right there at the Kaiser Shipyards and saw service as late as the Vietnam War. Between the Ford Plant exhibit , the museum and the Victory Ship, visiting the park makes a great family outing.

Two additional articles with photos on Western Trips you'll find interesting are the USS Pampanito World War Two submarine on permanent display at San Francisco's Fishermans Wharf and the SS Red Oak Victory Ship on permanent display at Point Richmond California.

Rosie the Riveter Park Museum

Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park came into being on May 26, 2012 with it's grand opening. The goal of this new historic park, whose idea actually began back in 1998, is to honor the efforts and sacrifices of the American civilians who worked on the home front. Many interesting personal stories and perspectives are showcased and I think any visitor will find these particularly interesting. The museum will surprise you as to the authentic exhibits displayed. When visiting or vacationing in the San Francisco Bay Area, the park is easy to reach from either side of the bay via Interstate 580 which connects Richmond to San Rafael. The park Visitor Center is located at 1414 Harbour Way South, Suite 3000. Richmond, CA.  

(Photos are from author's private collection)

UH-1 / California Air Museum

To contact us Click HERE

When traveling in Sonoma County California, the Pacific Coast Air Museum , PCAM, is an excellent venue for a trip back into history. The museum located at the Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport just a few miles northwest of Santa Rosa California is a treasure. In addition to having on display the authentic First Responder F-15 military jet that was airborne over New York City on September 11, 2001, there is a marvelous collection of military aircraft of all types.

Pacific Coast Air Museum

One interesting exhibit is the UH-1 "Huey" helicopter. This aircraft was the first turbined powered helicopter used by the U.S. military and the Vietnam War was the first time the craft was used in combat situations. Some seven-thousand of these aircraft served during the Vietnam War. During that period about 3,300 were destroyed. They were manufactured by Bell Helicopter.

The UH-1H Huey on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum was restored and updated and displays markings of the 188th Assault Helicopter Company referred to as the "Black Widows". This particular helicopter saw combat action in Vietnam flown by "Black Widow" air crews. When the Pacific Coast Air Museum acquired this helicopter it was being used by the California National Guard. The restoration was performed by Vietnam Vets from the Black Widow unit. Other markings seen on this aircraft include the bulls-eye of the 269th Combat Aviation Battalion, white markings belonging to the 2nd Platoon and the 2nd Platoon's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" door marking.

UH-1H Huey at PCAM

Specs for the UH-1H include five separate fuel tanks. The fuel tanks did not have armor but were self-sealing. The armor was available for the pilots seats. Cabin capacity was generally two seats for the pilots and up to thirteen for the troops. The cabin area could also be utilized for six stretchers instead of the full compliment of soldiers. Seats were constructed of aluminum tubing with canvas. The cockpit area had dual controls which were operated hydraulically.

The UH-1H Huey Iroquois, thought by many to be the most famous helicopter in the world, as shown here has a Lycoming T-53L 1,400 HP engine with a top speed of 138 MPH and a ceiling of 13,600 feet. The range is 360 miles. First flights were made in 1956 with the U.S. Army adopting the helicopter in 1958.The term "Huey" was added as a nickname.

During the many years of the war, the Huey was modified and updated. The most significant change was a longer fuselage. The Bell 204 models were replaced with the longer 205's.

UH-1H Huey Helicopter markings

The UH-1's lasted until they were replaced as a first line helicopter by the UH-60 Black Hawk. There are still a few hundred that the army has kept in service. To give you some perspective between the Huey and the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, the Black Hawk has twin turbo-shaft engines delivering a top speed of about 200 to 220 MPH with a combat radius of about 360 miles and a ferrying range of 1,380 miles. The main rotor is four bladed and the craft has a single tail wheel. Just as was the case with the Hueys, the Black Hawk has several modified and upgraded models flying. It's weapons include several different caliber machine guns including anti-tank missile launchers. The Black Hawk helicopter first saw combat in 1983 in Grenada.

During the Vietnam War, the Huey was used for a vast array of purposes. This included ferrying troops into battle, medical evacuation, ground assault, observation, electronic warfare and search and rescue.

You will also be interested in our Western Trips article and photos of the F-15 First Responder jet and the Grumman S2-A Tracker on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum.

A visit to the Pacific Coast Air Museum is a great addition to a Sonoma Wine Country vacation or weekend visit. The museum, founded in 1989, this non-profit organization has done an excellent job of restoring vintage military aircraft and has a wide photo and artifact collection as well. It's well worth adding to your Sonoma County California trip planner. The museum is located at 2230 Becker Boulevard, Santa Rosa, CA at the Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport.

(Photos from author's private collection)


View Larger Map

Oregon City

To contact us Click HERE

View of Columbia River east of Portland Oregon

If your plans for a western trip call for a visit to the American Northwest, Oregon is a must destination. The state of Oregon and historic Oregon City, just a few miles south of Portland, tell much of the story of westward immigration during the middle part of the 1800's. The history found there and the unsurpassed beautiful scenery make Oregon an excellent vacation destination. Between the beautiful Columbia River Gorge just east of Portland, to the fertile Willamette Valley, Willamette River, Mount Hood and the mountainous coastline, Oregon can either be a part of you vacation or the entire thing.

The first United States citizens to arrive overland in present day Oregon were among the Lewis and Clark  Expedition of 1804-1805. This was followed in 1810 by the Astor Expedition which sought to establish a fur trading operation in the area. Fort Astoria was established at the mouth of the Columbia River at the site of today's Astoria Oregon.

A 2,000 Mile Route

The city of Oregon City itself is both historic and scenic. Located along the Willamette River, Oregon City was the final destination for most of the Oregon Trail immigrants. If you're looking for the end of the Oregon Trail, it can be found at Oregon City, Oregon.

Willamette Falls

The Oregon Trail was composed of a series of very old Indian trails and in some cases animal trails. These trails or paths were first used by white fur trappers and traders. The trail ran west from Independence Missouri through Nebraska and Wyoming. In western Wyoming near Fort Bridger, the trail parted. Those seeking to reach Oregon traveled northwestward along the Snake River and then down the Columbia River and finally up the Willamette River. Those heading to California would take a southwestward route over Utah and Nevada and eventually Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada. Some travel was by river and at times around the many mountains and hills in the region. It was a treacherous 2,000 mile journey. The dangers present were not only from hostile Indians and possible starvation but also from sickness, in most cases cholera and smallpox. After a steady rise, immigration to Oregon peaked in 1852.

The Founding of Oregon City

The entire area of present day Oregon and Washington state was at one time inhabited by workers for the Hudson's Bay Company. This was long before the Oregon Trail days. Their main base of operation was at Fort Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from present day Portland Oregon. In 1829, the Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver, Dr. John McLoughlin, planned a two square mile settlement at Willamette Falls on the Willamette River. He had three houses built which were burned down in short order by local Indians. McLoughlin was not deterred and had the houses rebuilt. From there the settlement grew with a mill being constructed using the Willamette Falls as a power source. These were the first buildings of a white settlement in Oregon. Most of the inhabitants were workers for the Hudson's Bay Company. At the time, the settlement was called Willamette Falls.

McLaughlin House

Willamette Mission

In 1834, the Reverend Jason Lee and his nephew, Reverend Daniel Lee, were approved by the Mission Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to establish a mission in the west. When the Lees arrived at Fort Vancouver, Dr. McLoughlin encouraged them to start their work south of the Columbia River in the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Mission was established in 1834 in present-day Marion County.

A key event occurred in 1839 when Reverend Jason Lee traveled to Illinois for a series of lectures. Reverend Lee was looking for recruits for the Willamette Mission as well as settlers to Oregon in general. His travels were met with success. The country was going through a financial depression at the time therefore there were many looking for a fresh start. This was the beginning of the Oregon Trail days.

The First Settlers

Heeding the call of Reverend Lee, the first settlers arrived in the Willamette Valley in late 1839 and early 1840. Each year thereafter, immigration to Oregon increased. Oregon City was the destination of most. From there they could obtain parcels of land and begin their homesteads. The early settlers in the 1840's called the falls,"Hyas Tyee Tumwater" which is generally translated into "Great Chief Falls". This was the name given by the Clackamas Native Indians of the area. Today there is a dam and locks at the falls including a fish ladder. The Indians eventually relocated to Grande Ronde Reservation by the 1850's with a few groups remaining in Clackamas County. It's estimated that about 53,000 settlers arrived in Oregon between 1841 and 1860.

Oregon City Municipal Elevator

Creation of America's Northwest

Ever since the end of the 1700's, the Pacific Northwest was a contested area between Great Britain and the United States. Great Britain's presence in the area was largely through the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1846, the United States and Great Britain finally divided the land of the Northwest. The U.S. obtained what is today Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming. Territorial status for Oregon would not happen until 1848 and not until a tragedy sped up the process. In November of 1847, the Whitman Mission near Walla Walla Washington was attacked by Indians. Both Mr. and Mrs.Whitman and several others were killed. Some 50 plus including women and children were kidnapped. This tragedy so shocked the U.S. Congress that the region was divided into Territories and Oregon received territorial status in 1848.

Oregon City from atop the bluff

Things To Do In Oregon City

The Willamette Falls- The Willamette Falls is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and only second to Niagara Falls in volume.

The Oregon State Welcome Center and Official End of the Oregon Trail- 1726 Washington Street.

McLaughlin House- 713 Center Street.

Two additional Western Trips articles and photos you'll enjoy are a trip on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and the Oregon Trail wagon ruts at Lake Guernsey State Park in Wyoming.

The Museum of the Oregon Territory- 211 Tumwater Drive.

The Oregon City Municipal Elevator- A very unique must stop on any visit to Oregon City.Most of the town during the early years was located along the river. When the city grew, there was a need to find an easier way to get up the ridge line to the east. In 1867, steps were built to help one get up the bluff. An elevator made of steel and wood was put into operation in 1915 powered by water pressure. In 1924, the power source was changed to electricity. The existing elevator was built in 1955. This is one of just four municipal elevators in the world. After ascending the bluff you'll have a terrific view of Oregon City, the Willamette River and the Willamette Falls.

This is a spectacular part of Oregon and filled with history.

(Photos from author's private collection)

Astoria Oregon

To contact us Click HERE

Ship on the Columbia River off Astoria

 Things to Do in Astoria Oregon

Astoria Oregon, located in the northwestern corner of Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River, offers the western tourist plenty of things to do and many sites to explore. Make a note of great attractions such as the Columbia River Maritime Museum, Fort Stevens and Fort Clatsop. The Columbia River Maritime Museum is one of the finest museums in the United States and is filled with many authentic boat exhibits, some interactive, artifacts, photos and everything that details maritime history of the Pacific Northwest and the Columbia River.

How Astoria Came into Being

Astoria Oregon first came into being by the efforts of John Jacob Astor to establish a base for his new Pacific Fur Company. This was a pretty aggressive move since Astor would be challenging the Hudson's Bay Company along with the North West Company. Astor actually sent out two different expeditions to locate a satisfactory trading post. One was sent overland beginning from Montreal. The other expedition set out by sea, rounding Cape Horn and sailing all the way up the South American and North American coastlines to the mouth of the Columbia River. This all occurred in 1811-1812, just five years after the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition which also ended at the mouth of the Columbia. The overland party reached the mouth of the Columbia River in February of 1812 and the seafarers about a month later.

Columbia River Maritime Museum

The members of the expedition met with some local Indian hostility and suffered some fatalities but the site chosen was eventually cleared of timber and a fort/trading post was erected. The most significant loss of life occurred when the ship that arrived from the Cape Horn route, Tonquin, sailed north along the coast to trade with Indians. This trading expedition met with disaster when the party was massacred by Indians they were trading with.

Relations With Local Indians

In the book, It Happened in Oregon, author James A. Crutchfield describes how the party back at Astoria managed to keep the Indians around their fort under control after hearing about the Tonquin tragedy. One of the expedition leaders, Duncan McDougal, who also feared that his group might be attacked by the Indians around Astoria, devised a plan. McDougal gathered together the leaders of local tribes. At this gathering he showed them a bottle he was carrying and said to them " The white men around you are few in number, it is true, but they are mighty in medicine. See here, in this bottle I hold the smallpox, safely corked up. I have but to draw the cork, and let loose the pestilence, to sweep man, woman and child from the face of the earth". This startled the Indians. They greatly feared an epidemic and as a result swore peace with the settlers. Shortly afterward, the expedition resumed trading with the Indians.

Logging industry along the Columbia River

Big Changes at Astoria

In regards to Astor's plans for his new fur company, by late 1813, the British owned North West Company took over Astoria including all of it's furs and furnishings after purchasing everything from Astor. This occurred after an Astor supply ship was late in arriving and because of the settlements vastly undermanned situation due to the Tonquin massacre. Interestingly enough, even though the fort was now owned by a British company, the British military took over the fort in 1814 and renamed it Fort George. The North West Company shortly thereafter continued it's fur operations from the fort. The British military aggressiveness in the region was an extension of the then War of 1812.

Eventually, in 1821, the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company. The Hudson's Bay Company wasn't satisfied with the location and constructed Fort Vancouver across the Columbia River from present day Portland Oregon. Fort Vancouver would go on to be the chief site of operations for the Hudson's Bay Company and eventually for the U.S. military..

Astoria Oregon

The major change in the American Northwest occurred in 1846 when the United States and Great Britain divided up the entire region. What the U.S. would obtain from this division is now the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Wyoming and Montana. Oregon's northern border with Washington was determined as being the Columbia River. Oregon would go on to become the official Oregon Territory in 1848 and eventually attained statehood status in 1859 as the nation's thirty-third state.

Today, Astoria Oregon is both a busy port as well as a very popular tourist destination. It's location at the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific coast makes it a very scenic area. Astoria Oregon lodging is plentiful and you'll find an excellent selection of restaurants.

Clatsop County Heritage Museum

 In addition to the Columbia River Maritime Museum mentioned above, the area is also home to the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, Fort Stevens State Park to the west on the ocean, the Astoria Riverfront Trolley, Fort Clatsop National Memorial, the Flavel House Museum, the Clatsop County Heritage Museum which is housed in the old City Hall building constructed in 1904 and pictured at right and several other historical attractions. You'll find many fun things to do in Astoria.

Two additional Western Trips articles that you'll find interesting are Historic Oregon City and the story of Fort Kearney Nebraska, the key fort for immigrants along the old Overland Trail.

When you drive south from the Astoria area on US Hwy 101, tourists enjoy several of the beachfront towns such as Seaside and Cannon Beach Oregon, twenty-five miles south of Astoria. It's estimated that these two coastal towns receive about 750,000 tourists annually. The beaches are excellent and there's a large number of beach rentals and B & B's available as well as a great selection of restaurants.

(Photos from author's private collection)
View Larger Map

Best Vineyards in Sonoma

To contact us Click HERE

Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Geyserville, CA

Among the best vineyards in Sonoma that you do want to add to your wine country trip planner are the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in the Alexander Valley region of Sonoma County and the B.R. Cohn Winery & Olive Oil Company on the Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen California.

Two additional Sonoma County articles and photos you'll find interesting are the historic Buena Vista Winery, the oldest winery in Sonoma County and the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens located in Santa Rosa California.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery / Geyserville California

The Francis Ford Coppola Winery is located at 300 Via Archimedes in Geyserville, CA, just west of US Hwy 101. This is absolutely one of the most unique wineries in Sonoma County. First of all, this is the only winery in Northern California that offers a swimming pool. This is no ordinary pool. It's 3,600 square feet in size. When you arrive at the winery and stroll through the front gate, you'll see a swimming pool that will remind you of some of the finest resorts you've ever visited. There's an outside bar adjacent to the pool and changing rooms for those who have checked in near the front entrance. 

Coppola Winery Swimming Pool

Daily pool passes are available. In addition to the pool which is available to visitors, you'll be able to enjoy a fine dining experience either inside or on the large patio overlooking the vineyards. Sandwiches, personal pizza and a great list of appetizers are offered. Beverages available include Coppola Wines, cocktails and beer. During our visits to the winery we have always been able to enjoy the outside patio for dining and I would definitely recommend it, weather permitting which it usually does. The scenery viewed from the patio makes it a great experience.

Francis Ford Coppola purchased the former Chateau Souverain winery in 2006. The idea was to create something very different in Sonoma County. The idea for the Coppola Winery had it's roots in the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. The winery and it's surroundings is really something for the entire family to enjoy.The Coppola Visitor Center is a two story building reached by a grand staircase from the parking area. Inside is the restaurant with it's patio, a wine tasting room and bar along with a gift shop.

Grand staircase at Coppola Winery entrance

Another special attraction at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery is a vintage car exhibit indoors. Exhibited is a very rare Tucker automobile from the 1940's. The Tucker is noted for it's sleek design, especially during the mid 1940's, and for it's three headlights. One reason the Tucker car is so rare is that there were only some fifty-seven ever built. The Tucker car exhibit at Coppola Winery is a rare treat in itself and classic car enthusiasts will enjoy visiting this truly unique Sonoma County winery. 

A visit to the Coppola Winery is an all around good time.

You will find an interesting article and photos about the Tucker car on our AutoMuseumOnline.com website.




The B.R. Cohn Winery and Olive Oil Company

This Sonoma County winery was established in 1984 by Bruce Cohn. The B.R. Cohn Winery features a full line of ultra-premium wines, extra virgin olive oils, handcrafted vinegars and a great selection gourmet food products.

The B.R. Cohn Winery

Like many wineries in Sonoma County, the B.R. Cohn Winery and Olive Oil Company schedules several events during the year which are a real treat for visitors. These include the B.R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival, a celebrity golf tournament and classic car shows. Like many California wineries, the B.R. Cohn Winery hosts weddings and other events. 

Bruce Cohn is known to also be a classic car collector who sponsors the B.R. Cohn Charity Car Classic held annually. This very successful  event helps raise money for Redwood Empire Food Bank of Santa Rosa. You'll be assured to view some extremely well restored vintage automobile and trucks at this charity car show. The winery also hosts Classic Car Cruise-Ins.  These are generally held on Sundays May to October. Classic car owners are encouraged to attend and bring their cars. Admission is free.

B.R. Cohn Winery grounds

Bruce Cohn is the long time manager of "The Doobie Brothers" California rock band. The Doobie Brothers have also performed during the wineries annual concert series. The B.R. Cohn Winery is known as a great venue where excellent wine blends with excellent music. Good wine and good music always go together in California. 

Bruce Cohn grew up on a dairy farm in the Russian River area of Sonoma County. The original 46 acre site purchased in 1974 has doubled in size. The property also consisted of 145 year old Picholine Olive trees. It was named the Olive Hill Estate Vineyard and produced world class olive oil. The olive trees are used today to make the ultra-premium olive oil sold at the winery today. After spending time selling grapes to local wineries and getting some expert advice, the property was turned into a winery itself in 1984. The olive trees are used today to make the ultra-premium olive oil sold at the winery today. Along with the award winning olive oils you'll find excellent hand made vinegars. 

(Photos from author's private collection)

Road Trips: A Drinker's Guide to Omaha, part one

To contact us Click HERE
"THERE'S A PLACE CALLED OMAHA NEBRASKA," Groucho Marx sang once, before misplacing the town on the map: "In the foothills of Tennessee." Singers don't seem to know just where Omaha is, come to think of it. All the Counting Crows knew was that the town was "somewhere in Middle America," while Bob Seeger placed himself "on a long and lonely highway, east of Omaha," which could be just about anywhere that's not west of Omaha. Way to be specific, gents.

Well, we at the Bottle Gang have been to Omaha. And not just in a passing-through-on-the-way-to-somewhere-else sort of way. We've been to parties with The Faint and Conner Oberst (and a lesser-known act from Omaha, Mulberry Lane, who once sent us a postcard from Japan). We've crashed three of Alexander Payne's shindigs, once wishing him a happy birthday when it wasn't his birthday at all, and made many calls to the Academy Award-winning writer/director, several times by accident, which he did not appreciate. We drunkenly strolled through the halls of the Joslyn Museum with Omaha's former mayor, Hal Daub, after dining with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who has a yearly theater festival in Omaha. We made friends with an enormous, bearded astrologer and blues guitarist who is reported to have once bitten off a man's ear. Also, we've been to a lot of Omaha strip clubs, although, on the whole, we prefer those in Council Bluffs.

So trust us when we say that Omaha is a great place to drink. We've drunk our share there. The alcohol is plentiful and it's cheap -- three cocktails made with middle-shelf liquor will cost you the same as one cocktail in Minneapolis's North Loop. But be warned: Omaha bars generally are not very well stocked when it come to liquors, generally carrying a small and generic selection, and Omaha bartenders, for the most part, are only capable of making a half-dozen of the most common drinks, and will look confused if you ask for anything fancy. What Omaha lacks in cocktail sophistication, however, it makes up for in character. Sometimes the city seems like a glacier flowed over it in 1964 and just recently melted, leaving the architecture of the period perfectly preserved, and so here we have a town filled with oversized Steak Houses and gaudy signage, an eye-popping, kitschy delight.

Drinkers, should you find yourself in Omaha, here is a travelogue of our favorite watering holes.

We begin, as we always do, on Saddle Creek at the Homey Inn. This small neighborhood bar has gotten quite busy recently, since Esquire named it one of the best bars in America; it used to be quite desolate, except on weekends, when all Omaha bars spring to life.

The Homey Inn seems constructed out of the fallen remains of previous bars, some in Omaha, some elsewhere in the Midwest. The walls are hung with fading newspapers and decorated with ancient menus, beer cans from long forgotten brands, and old novelty items from liquor distributors, such as Nude Beer, upon which photos of women in Eighties hairstyles wear brassieres that can be scratched off to reveal ample bosoms. Some have been scratched.

They also have champagne on tap, both sweet and dry. Of course, it's not real champagne, but rather a fruity and inexpensive sparkling wine, but who cares, really? They don't know how to make a champagne cocktail with the stuff, but they will gamely try, tossing in a few drops of bitters and a packet of sugar. You wouldn't serve it to Humphrey Bogart, but it's passable.

Additionally, the Homey Inn serves peanuts. In dog bowls. And you can order food from across the street, from a Beatles-themed pasta restaurant called Sgt. Peffers, presumably out off fear that if they called themselves Sgt. Peppers, Apple Records would sue. Interestingly, the Homey Inn has a wider selection of Irish beers than many Eire-styled pubs. We couldn't tell you why this is. And we don't care to ask. We're happy enough sipping our sweet sparkling wine, eating our peanuts, waiting for the delivery man to bring us a plate of spaghetti, and scratching the bra off a woman on an old beer label.

Next, it's onward to The Lynx Lounge, just a few blocks away on NW Radial Hwy. The bar is rather unassuming to look at from the outside, nestled in a strip mall between an assortment of low-rent businesses that have, in the past, included an off-brand makeup store and an erotic lingerie dealer. Inside, however, the bar is pure Seventies, including a fire pit and a recessed and mirrored alcove where couples can pair off for a more intimate drinking experience. The bar is kept dark, and the alcove may be the darkest spot on earth -- it is pitch black until a bartender lights a candle, and then the only thing visible in the alcove is the candle.

The bar is mostly patronized by African-American drinkers, who have, in the past, been so surprised to see the Bottle Gang sidle up to the bar that they have greeted us warmly and bought us drinks. Omaha is a disquietingly segregated town, with most of its black community living north of the city, and white Omahans can be unaccountably nervous around their black neighbors. Actually, this isn't just true of white Omahans -- we once brought a young girl of Korean extraction to the Lynx Lounge, and, upon leaving, she asked a surprising question: "Did you notice that we were the only white people in the bar?" We briefly considered reminding her that, as an Asian, she wasn't precisely white, but then we decided the whole discussion was crass and politely let it drop.

Anyway, we've been patronizing the Lynx Lounge for years, for their good selection of brandies, their swanky ambiance, and their terrific jukebox upon which you can find a marvelous selection of soul and R&B songs. We may be too light-skinned to pretend to be Billy Dee Williams, but that doesn't mean we won't drink at a place where he would seem perfectly at home. (SPARBER)

Read part two here.

Road Trips: A Drinker's Guide to Omaha, part two

To contact us Click HERE
CONTINUED FROM PART ONE.

AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT from a city that retains so much of the architecture of the 50s and 60s, Omaha has a tiki bar, a remainder of America's obsession with Polynesian culture. One day we at the Bottle Gang will tackle the enormous legacy of tiki culture, but it is a vast topic, and we shall limit our comments here to one point: There was almost nothing Polynesian about the way Americans expressed their interest in Polynesia. The word "tiki" is Maori. The tropical drinks served in tiki bars were generally inspired by drinks from the Caribbean. The style of music most associated with tiki culture, such as the lush exotica of Les Baxter, borrowed heavily from South American music. And tiki bars were often nestled in the back or the basement of Chinese or Japanese restaurants -- if you are looking for a well-made tropical drink nowadays, there is still a very good chance of finding one at a Chinese restaurant.

And so Omaha's tiki bar, the Mai Tai Lounge, is found in the basement of a Japanese restaurant, the Mt. Fuji Inn on Blondo street. It is a late-era tiki bar, dating back to the late 60s, and, at first, is unimpressive. The bar is a dark cavern of a place, smallish, with bamboo walls, a jukebox that plays contemporary music, a half-dozen portraits of comely Polynesian lasses painted on what looks to be velvet, and unfortunately, a television that plays sports events. Early tiki bars were enormous tropical fantasias, Disney-like monuments to faux-South Seas culture. This is not that. If it were, it might not have survived: As the popularity of tiki culture faded, most of the tiki palaces went out of business.

Unimpressive though it may seem, the Mai Tai Lounge does have two things to recommend it. Firstly, it has a terrific drink menu, which contains almost every classic, if kitschy, tropical cocktail, ranked like you would rank a movie. Their zombie, for example, is rated Triple-X, as is their Mai Tai and Fogcutter, while less alcoholic drinks, such as the Singapore Sling, get more family friendly ratings.

These are not fancy tropical cocktails. They have nowhere near the variety nor complexity of ingredients of a well-made version of the drinks, instead tending to consist of a mix of rums and one or two fruit juices. The Mai Tai's cocktails are stripped-down versions of tastier originals, but the bar uses middle-shelf alcohol and good fruit juice, and the resulting drinks are quite palatable. They also tend to be enormous.

The other thing the Mai Tai Lounge offers is Hawaiians. Not always, mind you: Sometimes the bar will be empty, and sometimes it will be filled with pasty skinned locals. But every so often, you'll walk in, and every customer will be Hawaiian. There is an unaccountably large population of Hawaiian students in Omaha, mostly at Creighton, and every so often they collectively decide to get drinks at the Mai Tai Lounge. The result is the rarest of experiences in Middle American tiki lounges: Finding a parking lot filled with cars with Hawaiian license plates, and walking into the bar to find yourself surrounded by dark skinned, brown-eyed drinkers who bandy about Hawaiian slang and chat idly about gossip from the Big Island. Out of the blue, one of America's least authentic Polynesian bars becomes absolutely, unmistakably Hawaiian.

Across town, on 13th Street just south of downtown, is another ethnic restaurant, one that has always been indisputably authentic. The Bohemian Cafe was started by a Czech family all the way back in 1924, and still features employees dressed in traditional Czech outfits. Their menu consists of Eastern European dishes such as jaeger schnitzel, or veal steaks in wine sauce and mushrooms, and the food tends to be meaty and heavy: We once ordered plum dumplings that came in a bowl filled with butter and cream, and took close to three weeks to eat.

They also have a small cocktail lounge, the Bohemian Girl, decorated, like the rest of the building, with hand-painted folk-art pictures of girls in native costumes and with little signs that read "We accept Czechs, not checks." They serve Pilsner Urquell and a Czech beer called Czechvar, which calls itself "The Czech Budweiser," and apparently was actually calling itself Budweiser long before the American beer of that name. It's a bland pilsner, tasting much like the American brand that they claim stole its name; stick with the Pilsner Urquell. Incidentally, you can also purchase bottles of these beers to take with you from the Bohemian Cafe.

Recently, they have introduced a few specialty cocktails, including one called Bohemian Shepherd Pie, made of plum brandy, Limoncello, Blue Caraco, and pineapple juice. This one frightened us, so we did not try it. We did order something called the Bohemian Sidecar, which drew gales of laughter from a rather asinine drunk at the bar, a stupid looking young man in a baseball cap and a bluetooth headset. This fellow was drinking himself into oblivion, bullying everyone nearby. When we discovered that he was the husband of one of the bartenders, a sweet-faced and recently pregnant young woman, we realized we were watching the makings of an American tragedy. Take the advice of some strangers in a bar, young bartender, should you read these words: A drunk who is belligerent to other drinkers, to bartenders, and to his own wife, is not worth the effort. Any man who must be taken aside and warned that his drinking will have to stop when the baby is born, and who responds by loudly proclaiming that he must get a new wife, and says this in a cocktail lounge in front of strangers, is a man to be avoided.

As to the drink that this young boor mocked, well, it was actually rather good. It is a sidecar, of sorts, but made with slivovitz, which is a Balkan plum brandy. It's a scorcher of a liquor, as anyone who has tried it can tell you. It's the sort of drink that grows hair on your chest, and then sets fire to those hairs. But the harshness of the brandy is undercut in this drink by Limoncello, Triple Sec, and lemon juice, and the resulting drink is actually quite satisfying. Fools may laugh at us for ordering it, and laugh harder that we like it. But fools will be fools, and, at the end of the day, as happened on this occasion, will have a second bartender, the mother of the first, threaten them with a baseball bat. (SPARBER)

CONTINUED TOMORROW

Chuck & Sean's Trivia: The answers for 09.02.07

To contact us Click HERE
EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT down at the 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis, writer Chuck Terhark and musician Sean McPherson throwdown on some kickass trivia, and The Bottle Gang is proud to sponsor it. Starting this week, we'll be posting the questions and answers from last week's trivia for ONE WEEK ONLY, so study up and learn from your mistakes.

Round 1

1. Recently a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees resulted in a score of 0 to 16. Which team got 16? Detroit Tigers

2. What Seinfeld character said “you could throw a dart and find someone better than me” and also described himself as “steeped in gayness” in the same episode? George Castanza

3. Please name all seven counties in the Twin Cities seven county metro area? Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington

4. What are the O’s made of on the logo for the TV show Divorce Court? Wedding rings

5. What college was the crap show Felicity based on? New York University

6. Alberto Gonzales is a dipshit. Spell the dipshit’s last name? Gonzales

7. What state pays the most for redeeming used cans? Michigan, 10 cents

8. What state is Arlen Specter a senator from? Pennsylvania

9. What date and day of the week did the 35W bridge fall down on? Wednesday August 1, 2007

10. Mississippi is the fattest and poorest state in the United States. What pseudo Midwestern state is the slimmest state, with only 18% of the adult population being overweight? Colorado

11. Rupert Murdoch’s company bought the Wall Street Journal two weeks ago. What is the official name of the company that bought it? News Corp.

12. How many weeks does Billy Madison get to pass the tests for each grade in the amazing film, Billy Madison? 2 weeks

13. Who founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity? Mother Teresa

14. Hurricane Felix is moving through the Carribean right now as we speak. What number Atlantic hurricane is Felix for this year? 6

15. Who is the first African-American Secretary of State? Colin Powell

Round 2

1. Was Saddam Hussein Sunni or Shia? Sunni

2. What was the 50th state to be joined into the Union? Hawaii

3. What year did Nixon unsuccessfully run for President? 1960

4. What is the capital of Egypt? Cairo

5. What was Bill Murray's character’s name in the Royal Tenenbaum's? Raleigh St. Clair

6. What is the name of the new head coach of the Gophers football team? Tim Brewster

7. What was Theodore Roosevelt doing in Minnesota when he first said “speak softly and carry a big stick” on September 2, 1901? Attending the Minnesota State Fair

8. Name one of the two closest bus routes that flank the 3-3-1 club. #17 & #11

9. Are the days on Mars longer or shorter than those on Earth? Longer, 24 hours 39 minutes

10. What is the total complement of genes in an organism or cell known as? Genome

11. Which gender is known as the homogametic sex in chromosomal studies? Women XX

12. What 2005 movie had the tagline, "the cure for the common man"? Hitch

13. Who is known as the father of geometry? Euclid

14. What type of Jewish bread is often used to make French toast in New York Diners? Challah

15. In 490 B.C. Pheidipides ran 26 miles, starting in Marathon to announce the Greeks success over the invading Persian. What city was he running to? Athens