Where's Huell? From Sunset Boulevard to Calaveras County!
What's a week without the continued adventures of our Golden State-trotting hero, Huell Howser? It's like springtime without poppies, that's what. This week, Huell crisscrosses the state, heading as far south as the San Diego Arizona Railway and as far north as Calaveras County. Read on for previews!
Monday -- April 30, 7:30 PM: Crossroads of the World
Sometimes Huell's best finds happen right here in L.A., and this episode takes Huell to the local landmark at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Los Palmas Avenue. So aside from being an entertainment industry mecca that bigwigs such as Alfred Hitchcock once called home, what's this spot's claim to fame? It was Los Angeles's first outdoor shopping mall. Crossroads of the World, look what you've done.
Watch a preview here:
Tuesday -- May 1, 7:30 PM: Calaveras County Fair
Do you like Mark Twain? Do you also love Huell Howser? Have you long fantasized about these two figures meeting and sharing their thoughts on the American condition? Well, this episode of "California's Golden Fairs" is about as close you can get, given our current technological limitations. Twain's 1865 short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" actually inspired the real-life Calaveras County to incorporate jumping frogs into its annual county fair festivities, and you can bet that Huell sees it all.
Watch the full episode here:
Wednesday -- May 2, 7:30 PM: Trestle
Any train buff will tell you that the story behind the San Diego & Arizona Railway -- which linked California's southernmost regions to the rest of the continent's trains -- is one worth telling. Dubbed "the Impossible Railway," the line took a decade to be completed as a result of repeated calamities, both natural and man-made. Huell takes special note of the Goat Canyon Trestle, the highest curved wooden train trestle still standing in the U.S.
Check out this engineering marvel:
Thursday -- May 3, 7:30 PM: Nixon's Birthplace
A question worth asking: "What made Richard Nixon that way?" Huell gets unique insight into the late president's formative years with a tour of the Yorba Linda, Calif., farmhouse where he was born and raised. Leading the tour is none other than his daughter, Julie Nixon.
There's no video preview available for this episode, but whet your appetite with C-SPAN's laughably Huell Howser-free tour of the Nixon farmhouse:
Friday - May 4, 7:30 PM: Ferguson's Shells
Just outside Long Beach, there's the Ferguson's Marine Specialties, an international collection of seashells that Huell isn't afraid to admit he can't afford on a public television salary.
Watch a preview here:
