Mellow Wanderer

Category: CALIFORNIA

And The Oscar Goes To…You! Inside The Academy Before Hollywood’s Big Night.

Mellow Wanderer
Steve Geiger is an EMMY‑winning former national television news producer turned globe-trotting storyteller and creator of Mellow Wanderer

No flashing cameras. No orchestra swell. Just me, standing inside the very institution that decides who takes home Hollywood’s most coveted prize.

Photo: Steve Geiger

Weeks before millions tune in to watch the Oscars, I step inside the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum in Los Angeles and discover something unexpected. For a few quiet moments, it feels like the Oscar could go to me — or to any of the movie lovers wandering through this remarkable place.

Photos: Will Springer & Steve Geiger

I make an afternoon visit with longtime college friends after brunch at Canter’s Delicatessen, an iconic Jewish deli near CBS Studio City and The Grove.

Photo: Will Springer

It’s the perfect place to fuel up with towering pastrami sandwiches, hand-carved corned beef, and pillowy blintzes. From Canter’s, it’s about a 30-minute walk to the museum — just enough time to digest and build anticipation.

The sprawling, multi-story complex occupies an entire city block. Sleek, modern, and architecturally striking, the building feels worthy of the industry it represents. Admission is reasonably priced, making Hollywood history surprisingly accessible.

Escalators ascend to multiple exhibition levels, many thoughtfully themed. A major highlight during my visit is the 50th-anniversary celebration of Jaws, one of my all-time favorite films. The exhibit features iconic characters, including the menacing mechanical shark, Bruce, suspended overhead and looking as fierce as ever. Seeing original props — from Quint’s boat to vintage arcade games — adds an immersive layer of nostalgia. Walking through the exhibit feels like stepping into Amity, the fictional seaside village on Cape Cod.

Photos: Steve Geiger

Another standout moment: the recreation of Don Corleone’s office from The Godfather. The dark wood paneling, the imposing desk — it’s all there. Visitors can even sit behind the desk — an offer I can’t refuse — and channel their inner Marlon Brando. Classic Hollywood at its finest.

Photos: Steve Geiger

Photo: Will Springer

Throughout the museum, you can take a deep dive into the art and craft of moviemaking. Interactive displays spotlight the behind-the-scenes specialists who bring stories to life. You explore the precision of sound design and audio effects, discover how film editors shape pacing and narrative tension, and listen to screenwriters explain how characters and scenes evolve from imagination to screenplay. A sweeping costume design gallery showcases wardrobes worn by some of cinema’s most beloved characters. The magic of the movies comes alive before your eyes.

Barbie Movie Set Model Video

For a breathtaking view of the Hollywood Hills and the iconic Hollywood Sign, make your way to the top floor and step onto the Barbra Streisand Bridge — named for the legendary singer and actress Barbra Streisand.

Cross the glass-enclosed bridge and enter the museum’s soaring spherical theater, where floor-to-ceiling views reveal Hollywood’s sprawling cityscape. Step outside onto the terrace, and suddenly you’re eye level with the hills, the palm trees, and that famous white-lettered sign.

For a moment, you don’t just feel like a visitor — you feel like a Hollywood mogul on top of the world.

And then, just when you think the experience can’t rise any higher, you come face to face with the industry’s ultimate symbol of achievement.

Oscar.

Photo: Will Springer

That golden statuette — the prize filmmakers dream about and audiences celebrate — appears throughout the museum. The symbol of excellence the film industry covets most is closer than you think. In one unforgettable moment, you can even hold a statuette — carefully, it’s heavier than it looks — and deliver your own acceptance speech.

Photo: https://www.academymuseum.org

If you love movies, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences offers more than a museum visit. It delivers a chance to step inside Hollywood’s most exclusive circle — if only for an afternoon.

Steve Geiger is an EMMY‑winning former national television news producer turned globe-trotting storyteller and creator of Mellow Wanderer
Iconic Landmarks On The Pacific Coast Highway: A Big Sur Adventure

As I start my journey along the Pacific Coast Highway, I find myself in Pebble Beach, a place where history and nature seamlessly blend. The air is misty and crisp, carrying the scent of salt and pine, as I make my way to the iconic Pebble Beach Lighthouse. Standing tall against the backdrop of the vast Pacific Ocean, the lighthouse has guided mariners for over a century, its weathered stone a testament to the forces of nature and time. Nearby, the famous golf course offers a breathtaking view of the ocean, where the legendary 18th hole, framed by a windswept California Monterey native cypress tree, has become a symbol of both the sport and the rugged beauty of this coastline.

Leaving Pebble Beach, I head north on the Pacific Coast Highway, with all its tight twists and turns. My next stop is Point Lobos State Park, a place so alive with color and sound that it feels like stepping into another world. The walking trails here wind through cypress groves and open onto cliffs that plunge dramatically into the ocean below. The sand is pure white, the water a striking turquoise, as if someone has painted the scene with the most vibrant colors in their palette. Sea lions bask on the rocky shores, their barking calls mixing with the sound of waves. Otters play in the kelp forests. Shorebirds flit about, adding to this symphony of nature.

I leave Point Lobos and continue along the highway, the road climbing higher as I approach the famous Bixby Bridge. Built in 1932, this architectural marvel spans a deep canyon, its graceful arches a familiar sight from countless movies and commercials. Driving across it, you feel a sense of awe, knowing that this bridge, with its spectacular views of the ocean and cliffs, has connected travelers to the beauty of Big Sur for nearly a century.

My final stop on this awesome journey is Molera State Park. The beach here is nothing short of spectacular, a wide stretch of sand dotted with driftwood that has been sculpted by the waves. Beachgoers have created tepee huts from the driftwood, perfect for relaxing in the shade and taking in the serene surroundings.

The Big Sur coastline, with its lush rainforests and steep cliffs diving into the Pacific, is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Walking through these ancient forests and along the wild beaches, you feel a deep connection to nature, a sense of being part of something far larger than yourself.
A Museum Where The Telegraph Is Alive And Well And Still On-The-Air

They report for duty in uniform — khaki shirt, name tag over the left breast shirt pocket, and a cap with an embroidered emblem that looks like lightning bolts. A patch on the left sleeve identifies who they are: National Park Service Volunteer. They’re surrounded by electronic relics— most still working— that take up space and make a lot of noise.

Before the Internet, email, and satellite communications changed our lives, there was the telegraph—the lifeline of dots-and-dashes called Morse code, transmitted over the airwaves so ships at sea could talk to land-based radio stations. There were hundreds around the world and dozens in North America. Most have disappeared, with only one still on-the-air in North America— KPH radio station, San Francisco. The NPS volunteers are keepers of the faith, inside an art deco style building at the end of a long road canopied by Calfornia cypress trees on Point Reyes National Seashore.

KPH Radio Station/Point Reyes

In the heydey of the telegraph, mighty RCA (Radio Corporation of America) owned KPH. Before moving to Point Reyes, KPH first operated from San Francisco’s Palace Hotel in 1905. A year later the Great San Francisco Earthquake struck and forced the station to relocate. It was regarded as the “wireless giant of the Pacific.” The station received incoming telegraph messages from its transmitter in nearby Bolinas, California, including the infamous message of December 7, 1941— the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor. At the time, Morse code was the only way ships could send distress signals. It was the standard ship to shore communication for 100 years, eventually replaced by advances in electronic communications technology near the end of the 20th century.

The last Morse code ship messages to and from KPH ended on June 30, 1997. The National Park Service then stepped in and took over the KPH property. The building was shuttered for two years before Richard Dillman, president of the Maritime Radio Historical Society—a small volunteer group of self-described “radio squirrels”— convinced the National Park Service to let them bring KPH back to life. The non-profit group pays for the operation through small grants, donations, fundraisers, and money out of their own pockets. Dillman says he and others in the group find creative ways to fix and maintain some of the electronic relics. After all, spare parts are hard to find. A storage room inside KPH is a trip back in time as shelves are stacked with vintage radio receivers. Before the coronavirus pandemic, visitors to Point Reyes National Seashore could visit the KPH building every Saturday for tours, and observe volunteer radio operators communicate via telegraph over open maritime channels to the few ships around the world still equipped to send and receive telegrams. Now the KPH radio building is closed and will remain that way until California moves to phase 3 COVID-19 reopening. The state is currently in phase 1. Still, the closure has not deterred the KPH volunteers, according to Roy Henrichs, who heads operations and maintenance for the Maritime Radio Historical Society. “We are working to resume transmitting Morse broadcasts on maritime frequencies from an alternate transmit site in Valley Springs, CA, ” explained Henrichs via email. “That is experimental development work, but initial testing began last Saturday (September 5, 2020). That should keep us on the air through the end of the COVID event, as well as any future event that takes us off the air at Point Reyes.”

A dedicated bunch of radio squirrels doing whatever it takes to stay on-the-air and preserve history.

KPH PHOTO GALLERY
Point Reyes National Seashore Is On Shaky Ground In Northern California

NPS Photo

One of America’s most natural wonders sits directly in the path of one of the world’s most well-known earthquake zones: the San Andreas Fault. Point Reyes National Seashore has spectacular beauty, abundant flora and fauna, and magnificent coastal cliffs. Yet the ground under it all is constantly on the move.

Earthquake Trail San Andreas Fault Marker

The San Andreas Fault is the tectonic plate boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. That plate boundary slowly moves an inch-and-a-half to two inches a year — about the same speed a fingernail grows. The last time stress between the two plates built-up and slipped was 1906, which caused the Great San Francisco Earthquake. The quake remains the worst natural disaster in California’s history. More than 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The San Andreas Fault is approximately 750-miles long and runs through most of California. At Point Reyes National Seashore, you can hike the Earthquake Trail, an easy paved loop around the fault zone. The trail is less than a mile and has signs posted with information about the fault line’s history and impact on the local landscape. Earthquake Trail is just a short walk from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Tomales Point Trail

The Tomales Point Trail parallels the fault line. While hiking Tomales, you’ll likely be awestruck by the stunning scenery along the peninsula. On one side is Tomales Bay; the other is the Pacific Ocean. The one-way trail is approximately nine miles roundtrip, but you don’t have to hike all the way out to Tomales Point, where the trail becomes more rugged. There’s only a slight elevation during the first several miles. Stop and admire the wildflowers, especially in spring and summer when they are in full bloom. Along the way, you’ll probably see a herd of free-range Tule Elk. The herd grazes near the trail, but hikers are advised not to approach or disturb them. It’s best to stay on the trail the entire time. Tule Elk are only found in California. Tomales Point is a 2,600-acre reserve for the Tule Elk to roam. About half the herd is less than five years old. The best time to view elk is between August and October during mating season. You can often hear bull elk bugling from the top of the hills as they round-up females. Bring binoculars and a camera with a telephoto lens for great close-up views and pictures.

McClures Beach

From the same Pierce Point Road parking lot where you enter the Tomales Point Trailhead, you will find another hiking trail descending to remote McClures Beach, a small cove hugged by towering rocky cliffs. The hike is about a half-mile and follows a meandering creek down to the beach. Walking along the water’s edge is peaceful, refreshing, and mostly isolated. You can explore tidepools, or just sit on the beach and drink in the fabulous views. If you go for a swim, beware of rip currents and sneaker waves. A sneaker wave happens suddenly and is higher, stronger, and extends farther onto the beach than a normal wave. There are no lifeguard stations. The surf here is alluring, but intense, so stay alert. Also, be cautious of the cliffs and bluffs while on the beach. They can be unstable since they’re formed of soft rock and are vulnerable to landslides and rockfalls. You certainly don’t want to setup a beach camp next to the cliffs. Save enough energy at the end of your beach day for the half-mile ascend on the trail back to the parking lot. (Click the video below for scenic views of McClures Beach and the Tomales Point Trail)

Chimney Rock

Another popular trail is Chimney Rock, where Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean meet. This is a relatively easy hike of less than two miles. Keep a lookout for gray whales, as the waters here are popular migration routes and feeding grounds.

Elephant Seals

Take the trail to the Elephant Seal Overlook. These incredible sea mammals almost became extinct at the turn of the 20th century due to overharvesting. Back then, their blubber was a popular source of fuel. Once protections took hold, elephant seals returned to Point Reyes in the 1970s. The population bounced back in a big way. There are now over 3,000 elephant seals at Point Reyes National Seashore. Chimney Rock is an excellent viewing area.

Map Your Journey

(Click The Title Below Each Map For A Full Screen View)

Point Reyes National Seashore

Earthquake Trail

Tomales Point

Chimney Rock/Elephant Seal Overlook