Avoiding Regret

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Avoiding Regret

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The personal blog of writer and photographer Sandi Hemmerlein, author of "The Los Angeles Breakfast Club: A Century of Hollywood, Hi-Jinks, and Ham & Eggs!"

09/29/2026

Next week, my co-author and I head up to Northern California to spread the word about The Los Angeles Breakfast Club at Resort-O-Rama, taking place at Flamingo Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa, CA. https://www.avoidingregret.com/2026/09/hitting-road-to-resort-o-rama.html

Images courtesy of LABC

09/16/2026

It had been 11 years since I'd visited the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant. It was time to go back. Here's an update to my 2015 blog post: https://www.avoidingregret.com/2015/07/history-in-making.html

09/15/2026

Wing Howard's mural "The Whale's Last Stand" has been reinstalled at the reopened, reimagined Whaling Bar at La Valencia Hotel—cut down from 20 feet into 4 pieces and heavily damaged. Here's an update on my blog post about the hotel, known as "The Pink Lady" of La Jolla. https://www.avoidingregret.com/2019/05/photo-essay-pink-stucco-palace.html

09/08/2026

The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round has been closed for repairs since 2022. Here's a detailed look at the carousel from a recent open house https://www.avoidingregret.com/2026/09/photo-essay-griffith-park-merry-go.html

08/22/2026

You guys I've been really busy finishing up the book I've been writing for The Los Angeles Breakfast Club — and I'm thrilled to announce that the club historian and my partner-in-book and I will be appearing at Resort-O-Rama in October to introduce new folks to The Democracy of Ham and Eggs and share some fun mid-century stories and images!

08/08/2026

The world is watching as Jackie the bald eagle remains in critical condition under the care of Ojai Raptor Center. Here's a look behind the scenes at the rehab facility, which I visited in 2018: https://www.avoidingregret.com/2018/11/photo-essay-ojai-raptor-center-open.html

07/24/2026

A quick but pretty thorough walk-through of Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara during the local theatre organ society's open console event https://www.avoidingregret.com/2026/07/photo-essay-rare-pipe-organ-hides.html

07/23/2026

I've driven past the Cinerama Dome so many times since it closed in 2020, hoping to spot some signs of life. Now, after a passionate preservation campaign by Save the Cinerama Dome, Sony Pictures has announced that its subsidiary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will reopen it in 2028. Here's my blog post from 2018: https://www.avoidingregret.com/2018/04/the-dome-on-sunset-boulevard-that-makes.html

07/16/2026

The San Diego Padres play at a ballpark that was built around an existing brick building from 1909—and it's fantastic. https://www.avoidingregret.com/2026/07/photo-essay-petco-park-home-run-for-san.html

07/06/2026

I took a boat cruise to see the fireworks over The Queen Mary in Long Beach https://www.avoidingregret.com/2026/07/photo-essay-celebrating-americas-250th.html

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3333 Bear Street
Costa Mesa, CA
92626

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https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wGInYUZ, http://www.avoidingregret.com/, https://bio.link/avoidingregret, https://www.labre

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