Sunday, February 08, 2009

Sleeping Atop Signal Hill

Last night, Eddie and I settled in for the evening atop Signal Hill in California. The hill, which rises 365 feet above the surrounding city of Long Beach, was named so because the local Tongva Indians used it for signal fires that could be seen throughout the surrounding area and even out to Catalina Island, 26 miles away.

We thought it was odd to see all the oil
pumpjacks in the city. Everywhere you looked, you'd see one. In the oddest places too; next to a residential home, near a park, next to a gas station. They were everywhere, even right in the parking lot of the Home Depot where we were parked.

The photo above is courtesy of the Atlantic Richfield Company and was taken in 1932, when Signal Hill was at the height of its
oil production. This area produced over over 900 million barrels of oil by 1980. This made Signal Hill one of the most productive fields per acre the world has ever known.

Today we have a free day and haven't decided what we're going to do (if anything) but these are some of our ideas:


~ Go to the Los Angeles Boat Show (Ed might really enjoy this)
~ Drive by my old place of employment, The Century Plaza Hotel and then continue on to show Eddie where I used to live, right in the vicinity of Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood; an area the old Jewish woman I used to live with said was 75% gay and 25% Jewish. I didn't fall into either group, but it was a cool little neighborhood!
~ Stalk the 51st Grammy Awards, which is being held at the Staples Center and if we go to the boat show, we'll be right in the neighborhood - maybe we'll see some stars!
~ Hit the Santa Monica Pier again (we were there last night) if it doesn't rain.
~ Shop. (This option is the most likely one)

I will report tomorrow on what we did. Likely I'll just be posting another recipe for the delicious meal I have planned; Chicken Frangelico served with Butternut Squash Mini Ravioli in a sage and hazenlut brown butter sauce. Oh my God, I can't even wait!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh sad that a vast area of land once used by signal fires is now boasting oil pumps. :(

Hope you did the grammy thing! Look forward to something other than a chicken recipe! ha ha ha

tornwordo said...

Hey, my old stomping grounds. I'm sure I spent thousands over the years at that Home Depot. Also, I lived in the Jewish Ghetto too Fairfax and Beverly. We've probably crossed paths!