A Day in Adriana's Life

Remembering Hollywood Park

Two legs of the Triple Crown have been completed, and California Chrome is poised to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. This seems an appropriate moment to pause and remember the beautiful track where California Chrome first trained – Hollywood Park, in Inglewood, CA. The seventy-five year history of this exquisite racing venue came to a close at the end of the 2013 season, on December 21. We thought readers of our Riders Up series, set in the horse racing industry, would enjoy a photo tour of the facility.

My husband and I were fortunate to finally visit this track in person last November 15, a few weeks before its demise. Crowds were thin – part of the reason it closed is the popularity of off-track betting with those who follow the horses. But the venue still shone with its historic Hollywood glamor, at least to us. In addition to California Chrome, Hollywood Park was the training home of Seabiscuit, Citation, Swaps, Native Diver, Lava Man, Cigar, Zenyatta, and I’ll Have Another. Hallowed ground, for us. Here’s the paddock area – I’ll let you envision those famous horses saddling up as you stand at the paddock rails watching.

Several thrills for the day:

Meeting the TVG staff and getting my picture taken with them (Todd Schrupp, Paul Lo Duca, Simon Bray). We’ve been following the TVG network since 2000, shortly after its beginning, so we feel as though we “know” them, even though they’d never met us before. We’d be TVG network members if we could, but we live in Nevada, where it’s not permitted.

Having a chat with the Hollywood Park bugler, Jay Cohen, also the bugler for Santa Anita and Del Mar, so we learned he isn’t out of a job with Hollywood Park closing. He roams the crowds between calling horses to the post, and we enjoyed his occasional additional solos.

Seeing trainer Bob Baffert in person – totally recognizable with his shock of white hair. We watched his horse Infosec win a $30,000 claiming race and got to see him in the winner’s circle. Unbeknownst to us, Infosec was claimed in that race, and moved to Golden Gate Field under trainer Frank Lucarelli; he ran third to California Chrome’s win in the California Derby this spring

And of course watching the races, cheering for our choices and reaping the benefits of hubby’s handicapping skills. We had a good day :).

Of course, you don’t have to own horses or visit a track (though we hope you do!) to experience the thrill of the race – Books One and Two in our Riders Up series are now available in Kindle format at Amazon:

 

Riders Up

Book One

Cassie’s Hope

High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal rancher

BUY LINK  Amazon

 

 

 

 

Riders Up

Book Two

Heat Wave

Hang onto the land–but at what cost? Feisty widow hires ace racehorse trainer to salvage her family’s heritage. Can they survive escalating threats to life and limb?

BUY LINK  Amazon

I’ve never lived in the desert before, but I’m coming to love it.

Sunday a college friend who lives here in Tucson invited me to brunch at the Tohono Chul Bistro – a delightful component of the Tohono Chul Gardens. After delicious omelets and sangria tea (fruit juice and tea, minus the alcohol 🙂 ), she guided me through the gardens, where she’s spent many hours writing and meditating.

Tohono Chul garden is  listed by National Geographic Traveler as one of the top 22 Secret Gardens in the U.S. and Canada, and I can see why. Designed to be a place where nature, art and culture connect, it is exquisite – and it was in bloom.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

The moment grabbed me from out of nowhere. Hubs and I were walking in the neighborhood (a daily practice, whenever weather permits). We rounded the corner, scuffed through the rustling golden maple leaves that had magically carpeted the sidewalk since only yesterday, and I was suddenly a five year old child in the front yard of the house I grew up in, where four mature sugar maple trees dropped their colorful bounty just for me, without fail, every autumn. A child’s paradise!

I’ve been thinking about the moment and about writing fiction – about the power of our sensory memory to transport us across time and distance, about the power of sensuous imagery to propel us into the moment. Four of my five senses were involved (well, okay, I never tasted them, now or as a child :)). Any sense by itself might have sufficed, but the combination was compelling. You can scuffle all sorts of other leaves in your path, but maple leaves have a light crisp sound all their own. It must be the sugar in them that creates their unique scent – I can smell them coming, and I wait for it every autumn. There’s the common musky autumn dried leaf scent, but there’s an added punch if it’s maple. The touch? Well, I didn’t pile them up for a tumble (they were my neighbor’s leaves, after all), but I did pick one up, crumble it in my hand and remember. And the sight – the intense color of any single leaf, the transformation of entire neighborhoods from green to gold (some years, mixed with some red and orange.)

Skillful authors use these details to pull us into the scenes they’re creating – here’s to more sensory images in everything we read, write, and do! And here’s a little taste of the autumn bounty from our neighborhood ~ the end of the lane, the view from our deck, and across the road from the front  of our house: