The Morrison Hotel

Hey Ya'll,

I'm happy to announce I have been able to cross off another item on my bucketlist.  Visit the Morrison Hotel.

As long as I can remember I have always enjoyed the music from the band The 

Doors.  If you don't know who The Doors were click here for a quick bio. I truly enjoy listening to their music, but it is there fifth album that I am most intrigued with.  The Morrison Hotel sometimes referred to as Hard Rock Café from the title of the first side of the LP, whose second side is titled Morrison Hotel.  

The cover photo was taken at the actual Morrison Hotel located at 1246 South Hope Streetin Los Angeles. The band asked the owners if they could photograph the hotel and they declined, so the band went inside when nobody was looking and took the photograph. The rear cover features a photograph of the Hard Rock Café on 300 East 5th Street, Los Angeles.  The founders of the later and otherwise unrelate Hard Rock Cafe chain used the name, having seen iton the Doors' album. The original cafe is no longer open for business.

Seeing that I live in Los Angeles, it just made sense to go visit these "landmarks." First, I went looking for the album on vinyl.  Somehow having thealbum on vinyl made this more real and exciting.  It wasn't easy finding the album.  I went to a local swap meet 2 times, going around asking if anyone had the album.  No! No one had it.  Grrrr!!! I then went to a local record store and they also did not have it.  My brother has tons of vinyl albums and I asked him if he knew of any place I would be able to find it.  He suggested Amoeba records in Hollywood.  On a nice Sunday afternoon I drove to Amoeba records and FOUND IT! :) Total excitement.  I was ready for my visit.

Two weeks later on Saturday 02/04/12 my two best friends and I drove to what was once The Morrison Hotel.  Not far at all from my home in East Los Angeles.  We mapquest the address and off we went. We arrived at about 10:00AM.  It's located not far from the Convention Center.  We stayed there for about 20 minutes.  Took pictures but of course right when we started taking pictures the memory cardwas full.  I totally forgot to check the memory on the card before leaving.  Ugh! I hate when I do things like that.  We had to use our phones to take pictures.  The building is now closed.  There is really nothing to see but the outside of the building.  Once we were done, we headed to the Hard RockCafe.  The bar is located in skid row, not far from The Morrison Hotel. However, unfortunately there were too many homeless people around. First we couldn't find parking and second we felt uncomfortable getting off and taking pictures of what seemed to be a liquor store surrounded by homeless people.  It was skid row; I don'tknow what I was expecting.  So we drove away.  Despite not being ableto get off we had a great time exploring these “landmarks.”  Even though this was my “thing” to do, I’m glad that both my best friends enjoyed it as much as I did. 

It was a little adventure, and so close to home.  As I stood there posing for pictures I thought of The Doors and of Jim.  Imaging how they were once there and what had become of the hotel.  But above all I thought of all the people who love The Doors and pass “The Morrison Hotel” day in and day out and not even know it. 

What was once the entrance to the hotel....Peace!

1246 South Hope Street

Behind us, the window were the cover picture was taken.  With me  the BFF Yadi. 

With the BFF Karla.

Being silly and trying to do our version of the Abbey Road cover from The Beatles...lol

This car was sooo annoying me.  It HAD to get in the way!

A big special thanks to my two best friends Yadi and Karla for joining me.  You girls made it so much fun!

Thank you for reading.

XOXO

AlcatrazesDeColor

Letter

Hey Ya’ll,

One of the items on my bucket list is to write myself a letter, seal it, and read it in 10 years with my best friend. I’ve written a three page letter. It basically states that I wish myself good luck and that I hope to accomplish everything on my bucket list. I hope to find happiness and love. It is also a reminder to me that this is the beginning of something new. I hope that in 10 years when I read the letter I will look back and remember that this was the beginning of something great and new in my life. Leaving the old behind.

Below are pictures of the actual letter.

Thank you for reading.

XOXO

AlcatrazesDeColor



Bucket List

IHey Ya’ll,

Follow me in my bucket list adventures! I’ve created a list of things I would like to do or places I would like to visit before I die. Some easy, some difficult. I’m excited to start on my list, so follow me as I take life by the horns. I’ve already been able to cross out some stuff out. That will be on a different post. Check out my current list, it is in no particular order nor will it be completed in any particular order.

• Have Laser Eye Surgery
• Learn to Pole Dance
• Perfect a Cupcake Recipe
• Go on a Hot Air Balloon ride
• Zip Lining
• Help end animal cruelty
• Visit a Chocolate Factory
• Visit Japan
• Attend a Masquerade Party
• Learn Sign Language
• Visit France (See Jim Morrison’s grave, The Louver, Eiffel Tower, eat a crepe)
• Visit Stonehenge
• Stand one foot on one side of the Equator and one on the other side
• Take my mom on her dream vacation
• Visit Greece
• Visit the Titanic on a submarine
• Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Own something from Tiffany& Co
• Adopt a child
• Visit Spain and eat Tapas
• Fly first class
• Write a letter to myself and open in ten years
• Live & design my own dream house
• Become a Pastry Chef
• Visit all 50 states
• Be the maid of honor in a wedding
• Eat only popcorn for an entire day
• Visit Vosages Haut-Chocolate in Chicago
• Make a perfect Thanksgiving dinner
• Milk a cow
• Volunteer at an animal shelter
• Own a Channel handbag
• Hug a penguin
• Help the children of Africa
• Ride a horse on the beach
• Watch a meteor shower
• Kiss under the mistletoe
• Be at a healthy weight
• Meet my other half, my soul mate
• Go Snorkeling
• Visit all Hard Rock Café restaurants
• Go on a helicopter ride
• Learn how to swim
• Celebrate St Patrick ’s Day in Ireland
• Have a margarita in Margarita Island
• Learn how to play the guitar
• Learn how to speak Italian
• Meet Oprah
• Stay in an ice hotel
• Live in a beach house
• Touch a dolphin
• Find and go on the largest roller coaster in the country
• Have the “usual” somewhere
• Eat at Hell’s Kitchen
• Shop Rodeo Drive
• Have a keen sense of fashion
• Visit Mount Rushmore
• Visit the 7 wonders of the world (Great Wall Of China, Petra, Christ The Redeemer, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Colosseum, Taj Mahal, Great Pyramid of Giza)
• Read “Letter to Myself” with the BFF Friend in 10 yrs
• Visit the Morrison Hotel
• Learn how to sing
• Laser hair removal
• Visit a nude beach
• Watch all the seasons of the show “How I Met Your Mother”
• Walk on fire
• Learn how to make tortillas by hand
• Swim in all 7 seas
• Visit Napa Valley
• Complete the P90X program
• Visit Bora Bora
• Write a cookbook
• Go Hang Gliding
• See the Grand Canyon
• Learn to play poker
• Try every cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory
• Visit Abbey Road and recreate The Beatles album

Once I complete an item, you’ll get to hear allllll about it. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you all. Thanks for reading. J

 xoxo

AlcatrazesDeColor