On July 14, 2012, while packing up gear after another successful Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour, Esotouric tour guide Kim Cooper noticed that the skinny little balloons that Crimebo the Crime Clown uses to twist into toy shotguns for passenger are exactly the right diameter to pass through the holes in the pierced clown's hyper-extended earlobes.

"Crimebo, have you ever tried to make a balloon creature with the balloon passed through your ear?" she asked.

"Can't say that I have, little lady, but I'm itching to try!"

And so with Chinta Cooper's camera clicking away, Crimebo scratched that very odd itch. Here are the results, for you to "enjoy."

More Crimebo - http://www.crimebo.com

Come ride the crime bus - http://www.esotouric.com

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Recent posts in the 1947project time travel blogs include newly rediscovered film of a daredevil motorcycle act on stage at the Orpheum Theatre in 1928, and a glimpse of detective novelist Raymond Chandler, on the brink of fame, in the 1940 census. Esotouric grew out of these online history websites. Swing by and enjoy all the interesting digging we've been doing.

Part Four of our ongoing series on the rediscovered color restaurant photography of George Mann reveals a previously unknown and astonishingly sexy neon sign that once illuminated the Sunset Strip. The glimpse below is only the beginning.

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

On a warm April day, the Esotouric gang set off for points south, on a journey to explore some of the architectural and sculptural gems of our near-neighbor, Long Beach. Below, we'll share a few things spied along the way. Check out the full photo set here.

Our first stop was Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach. Note that this is not the Forest Lawn-run Sunnyside in Long Beach where we recently gave a free LAVA tour, but an older and more modest graveyard in the shadow of the oil fields. It is home to some handome carved monuments...

... and also to an extraordinary sculpted grave honoring local physician Albert Rhea, killed when his bicycle collided with a streetcar in 1907, and his family.

When Ansel Adams photographed the tomb in 1939, he framed it with oil derricks; oil is still drilled on the hill behind, but not so dramatically. Our beloved LAPL owns several prints from the same photo session.

The sculpture, known as The Angel of Sorrows, is remarkable. It is a very pretty thing in person, but when photographed it is astonishingly beautiful. We found ourselves moving from place to place, trying to take a photo that wasn't stunning. We failed.

Later in the day, we strolled the waterfront, pausing to marvel at the gothic pile that is the Villa Riviera...

and the sylvan sprawl of the El Cordova Apartments, with its marzipan Spanish balconies...

and a fine little WPA library in the Spanish style.

Saddest was our stop at the former Acres of Books, a landmark of the west coat literary scene for nearly a century, snatched away by the since-dissolved Long Beach redevelopment agency for a dumb project that remains, and shall remain, unbuilt.

But even in death, AoB has an undeniable gravitas.

These day trips exploring the near unfamiliar remind us how energizing it is to get out of our everyday habits and go out in search of something new. Stay tuned for more Esotouric day trips, and in the mean time, we hope you'll veer off your own regular routes and see what unexpected gems you'll find there.

Source: Flickr

Part Three of our ongoing series on the rediscovered color restaurant photography of George Mann explores the fascinating, sometimes dark history of Restaurant Row La Cienega.

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

The Aztec Hotel is a National Register landmark located along the old Route 66 alignment in Monrovia, CA. Built in the Mayan Revival style by the visionary English architect Robert Stacy-Judd (1884-1975) circa 1925, The Aztec has recently passed into new hands and closes today for refurbishment. While we await the re-opening of one of our favorite buildings, please enjoy this photo set and three panoramic photographs: #1, #2, #3 all captured yesterday (May 8, 2012) in this most lyrical and mysterious building, which has long been a highlight of our Route 66 tours.

Source: Flickr

Part Two of our ongoing series on the rediscovered color restaurant photography of George Mann explores the stunning venues to be found along one half mile of Atlantic Boulevard in the Bixby Knolls section of Long Beach. Click to see "The Most Beautiful Restaurant in Southern California".... and "The Most Beautiful Restaurant in the World!"

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Recent posts in the 1947project time travel blogs include a 1950s-era virtual drive to through Malibu with 3-D photographer George Mann, featuring incredible restaurant photos not seen in decades and explorations of what the recently released 1940s census tells us about Black Dahlia murder victim Elizabeth Short and the celebrated Hollywood residence hotel The Garden of Allah. Esotouric grew out of these online history websites. Swing by and enjoy all the interesting digging we've been doing.

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

On a drizzly February day, your intrepid Esotouric / 1947project gang (Kim, Richard and Nathan) set out for a road trip in our own backyard, seeking out the most beguiling and delightful examples of domestic architecture from Pasadena to Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills to the Palisades. Below you'll see a few of the gems which we found. Check out the full photo set here.

La Miniatura, glimpsed from a wee Arroyo, is Frank Lloyd Wright's most convincing Mayan temple.

Clinker brick is the junk that falls to the sides of the kiln. It took the clever folk of the Art & Crafts Movement to recognize how interesting and beautiful this industrial waste product could be.

A set of windows wittily echo the staircase behind.

What other weathervane for a hillside Storybook House than a witch on her broom?

Please, CalTrans, don't tear down the first Greene & Greene house (1897) to extend the 710 freeway.

The lesson from our day's exploration: you don't need to go very far off your regular path to be somewhere completely new and amazing. Go out and discover the magical things that are close to home... and bring a friend!

Source: Flickr