night

Kaylon Miller was on the six yard line in the fourth quarter, blocking on a USC run play when he saw King Miller, his running back and twin brother, blow right past him.

“Run, run, go, go!” he remembers shouting as King bumped it outside and crossed the Nebraska goal line for the go-ahead touchdown that would ultimately be the game winner in the Trojans’ 21-17 Big Ten win last Saturday in Lincoln.

When King turned around in the end zone, it was his brother who was the first to greet him; the two brothers shared a moment as their facemasks clashed into each other. Both walk ons. Both finding opportunities to get on the field as redshirt freshmen — and both making the most of those opportunities.

“You owe me a burger,” King remembers Kaylon telling him.

Kaylon has been happy to see his brother succeed — King Miller was pressed into duty last month due to injuries, and he responded with big games against Michigan and Notre Dame — but he continued to wait for his moment. Then in the first quarter against the Cornhuskers, right guard Alani Noa went down with an injury. Kaylon was standing next to USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who turned to him.

“This is your opportunity,” Hanson told him. “Let’s go.”

It was Kaylon’s turn.

“Honestly, just a remarkable story that I’ll be able to tell when I’m older,” he said. “Obviously, everybody wants their opportunity to go and play and you just have to be ready when your number’s called on. It just so happened that mine had to be that night.

“I just knew that when I got that opportunity I was gonna make the most of it.”

And make the most of it he did. Despite taking all of his practice reps that week at center, Miller stepped in at guard and didn’t just hold it together — he elevated the o-line in a low-scoring slugfest against a tough Nebraska defense.

Allowing zero pressures on the night, Miller recorded a pass block grade of 88.2, the third-best in the Big Ten last week and the sixth-best among Power Four guards.

“Played awesome. He really did,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “He was physical, he pass pro’ed well. He was really physical in his pull game, was really sharp assignment-wise, which — I know I’ve mentioned several times — was all the more impressive because he really hadn’t been able to take a lot of practice reps at guard. Thoroughly impressed.”

While Miller still says he feels more confident snapping the ball due to the more compact nature that comes with playing center, he attributes his success at right guard to being able to rely on his teammates. The o-line, especially at guard, is a symbiotic relationship. So much of it is depending on the tackles and center for help (and vice versa), and Miller was 100% confident in his teammates next to him.

Things could’ve gone south with Miller playing for the first time in an intense road environment at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers, and the 86,529 fans in attendance, were dressed in all black. Black balloons were released by a raucous crowd each time Nebraska scored. But in between series, left tackle Elijah Paige — who made his return from a knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against Michigan State — kept Miller’s mind right.

“Just treat it like practice,” Paige said. “Obviously, that’s a pretty hostile environment. It’s one of the best environments out there. So obviously that can get to you, the noise can get to you, everything can get to you. But I kind of just tell him to focus in and act like this is a Tuesday or Wednesday practice.”

As the Trojans prepare to host Northwestern on a short week, Miller’s trying to think too much about what happened the week before; he knows opportunities can be taken away just as quickly as they’re earned. He likes to lean on a saying he tells his twin brother all the time:

“Never look back upon any situation that you’ve ever been in, just look forward because nothing that you did in the past can be taken back. You can only have your eyes in tunnel vision, forward.”

As for the burger that King still owes him?

“I ain’t get him it yet, but I got to,” King said with a laugh. “I don’t know when it is, he gonna keep asking me about it for sure, but I got him one day.”

US President Donald Trump admitted that the federal government shutdown hurt Republicans in Tuesday’s elections, saying it was time for his party to eliminate the Senate filibuster to prevent further losses.

Somehow in Los Angeles, everything comes back to traffic.

While making their works featured in the Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. biennial, artists Patrick Martinez, Freddy Villalobos and Gabriela Ruiz set out to capture the essence of the city’s crammed streets through different lenses.

For over a decade, the Hammer has curated its Made in L.A. series to feature artists who grapple with the realities of living and making art here. It’s an art show that simultaneously pays homage to legacy L.A. artists like Alonzo Davis and Judy Baca, and gives a platform to newer faces such as Lauren Halsey and Jackie Amezquita.

This year’s show, which opened last month, features 28 artists. As part of that cohort, Martinez, Villalobos and Ruiz bring their lived experiences as Latinos from L.A. to the West Side art institution, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of their upbringing.

While creating their displayed works, Martinez took note of the many neon signs hanging in stores’ windows, leading him to make “Hold the Ice,” an anti-ICE sign, and incorporate bright pink lights into his outdoor cinder block mural, “Battle of the City on Fire.” With flashing lights and a shuttered gate tacked onto a painted wooden panel, Ruiz drew on her experiences exploring the city at night and the over-surveillance of select neighborhoods in the interactive piece, “Collective Scream.” Villalobos filmed Figueroa Street from a driver’s perspective, observing the street’s nighttime activity and tracing the energy that surrounds the place where soul singer Sam Cooke was shot.

This year, Made in L.A. doesn’t belong to a specific theme or a title — but as always, the selected art remains interconnected. These three artists sat down with De Los to discuss how their L.A. upbringing has influenced their artistic practice and how their exhibited works are in conversation. Made in L.A. will be on view until March 1, 2026.

The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

All three of you seem to put a spotlight on various elements of L.A.’s public spaces. How is your art affected by your surroundings?

Ruiz: I really got to explore L.A. as a whole, through partying and going out at night. I prefer seeing this city at night, because there isn’t so much traffic. That’s how I started my art practice. I would perform in queer nightlife spaces and throw parties in cheap warehouses. With my commute from the Valley, I would notice so much. I wouldn’t speed through the freeway. I’d instead take different routes, so I’d learn to navigate the whole city without a GPS and see things differently.

Martinez: That’s also how I started seeing neons. I had a studio in 2006 in downtown, off 6th and Alameda. I would wait for traffic to fade because I was staying in Montebello at the time. I would drive down Whittier Boulevard at night. And you see all the neon signs that have a super saturated color and glow bright. I thought about its messaging. None of the businesses were open that late. They were just letting people know they were there.

Ruiz: Specifically in this piece [“Collective Scream”], there’s a blinking street lamp. It reminds me of when I would leave raves and would randomly see this flickering light. It’s this hypnotizing thing that I would observe and take note of whenever I was on the same route. There’s also a moving gate, [in my piece,] that resembles the ones you see when you’re driving late at night and everything’s gated up.

Villalobos: You do experience a lot of L.A. from your car. It’s a cliche. But f— it. It’s true. When I moved out of L.A., I felt a little odd. I missed the bubble of my car. You can have what seems to be a private moment in your car in a city that’s packed with traffic and so many people. It made me think about what that means, what kind of routes people are taking and how we cultivate community.

Patrick Martinez’s “Battle of the City on Fire,” made in 2025, was inspired by the work of the muralist collective, named the East Los Streetscapers.

(Sarah M Golonka / smg photography)

It’s interesting that you all found inspiration in the biggest complaints about L.A. Maybe there’s something to think about when it comes to the way those born here think of car culture and traffic.

Martinez: I see its effects even with the landscapes I make. I’ll work from left to right, and that’s how we all look at the world when we drive. I always think about Michael Mann movies when I’m making landscapes, especially at night. He has all those moments of quiet time of being in the car and just focusing on what’s going on.

Beyond surveying the streets, your works touch on elements of the past. There’s a common notion that L.A. tends to disregard its past, like when legacy restaurants shut down or when architectural feats get demolished. Does this idea play any role in your work?

Martinez: The idea of L.A. being ashamed of its past pushed me to work with cinder blocks [in “Battle of the City on Fire”]. One of the main reasons was to bring attention to the East Los Streetscapers, the muralists who painted in East L.A. [in the 1960s and ‘70s as a part of the Chicano Mural Movement]. There was this one mural in Boyle Heights that was painted at a Shell gas station. It was later knocked down and in the demolition pictures, the way the cinder blocks were on the floor looked like a sculptural painting. It prompted me to use cinder blocks as a form of sculpture and think about what kind of modern-day ruins we pass by.

Villalobos: Speaking about L.A. as a whole feels almost too grand for me. But if I think about my specific neighborhood, in South Central, what comes to my mind is Black Radical Tradition. It’s where people are able to make something out of what other people might perceive as nothing. There’s always something that’s being created and mixed and mashed together to make something that, to me, is beautiful. It’s maybe not as beautiful to other people, but it’s still a new and creative way to see things and understand what comes before us.

Ruiz: Seeing my parents, who migrated to this country, come from nothing and start from scratch ties into that idea too. Seeing what they’ve been able to attain, and understanding how immigrants can start up businesses and restaurants here, speaks so much to what L.A. is really about. It’s about providing an opportunity that everybody has.

So it’s less about disregarding the past and more about making something out of nothing?

Martinez: It ties back to necessity, for me. Across this city, people come together by doing what they need to do to pay rent. It’s a crazy amount of money to be here. People need to regularly adjust what they do to survive. Recently, I’ve been seeing that more rapidly. There are more food vendors and scrolling LED signs, advertising different things. Once you understand how expensive this backdrop can be, that stuff sits with me.

Freddy Villalobos’ “waiting for the stone to speak, for I know nothing of aventure,” is an immersive work in which viewers can feel loud vibrations pass as they, figuratively, travel down Figueroa Street.

(Sarah M Golonka / smg photography)

We’ve talked a lot about how the past affects L.A. and the role it plays in your art. Does a future L.A. ever cross your mind?

Villalobos: I feel very self-conscious about what I’m gonna say. But as much as I love L.A. and as much as it helped me become who I am, I wouldn’t be too mad with it falling apart. A lot of people from my neighborhood have already been moving to Lancaster, Palmdale and the Inland Empire. When I go to the IE, it feels a little like L.A. and I’m not necessarily mad at that.

Ruiz: It’s really difficult to see what the future holds for anybody. Even with art, what’s going to happen? I don’t know. It’s really challenging to see a future when there’s a constant cycle of bad news about censorship and lack of funding.

Martinez: It’s murky. It’s clouded. This whole year has been so heavy, and everyone talking about it adds to it, right? We’re facing economic despair, and it’s all kind of heavy. Who knows what the future will hold? But there are definitely moves being made by the ruling class to make it into something.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will miss the Lakers’ game in Portland on Monday as the team ruled both out with injuries.

One night after recording a 29-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, Doncic is out to manage a lower leg contusion. Reaves, who scored 26 points and 11 assists in the Lakers’ 130-120 win over the Miami Heat, is out with right groin soreness.

This will be the fourth game Doncic has missed this season as he was also sidelined with a minor finger injury and a left leg contusion.

Playing in their second back-to-back of the season, the Lakers will again be short-handed. They had seven standard contract players when they hosted the Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back last week. Portland won 122-108 as Reaves attempted to carry the team with 41 points.

The Lakers could also be without Deandre Ayton, who is questionable with back spasms. He missed Sunday’s game after experiencing pain last Friday in Memphis.

Forward Maxi Kleber was upgraded to questionable with an abdominal strain that has kept him sidelined all season.

THE clocks have gone back and we are facing months of dark skies, morning and night. 

But long-stay holidays are perfect for those able to escape for the dreariest months of the year. 

Whether it is retirees or workers on a career break, heading off for a longer trip can often mean less money spent on energy at home as well as the chance to boost your vitamin D. 

Lisa Minot picks some great multi-week options from just £25 a night. 

21 NIGHTS IN FLORIDA

from £38pp per night 

ESCAPE the chills and head for Orlando’s thrills with a great-value 21-night stay at the 3* Grand Hotel Orlando at Universal Blvd.  

Perfectly positioned for those seeking theme park adventures, there are complimentary shuttle services to Universal Orlando, Walt Disney World and SeaWorld and there is a golf course a 15-minute drive from the property. 

GLOSSY MAZAGAN

I stayed at an African resort which is more like a palace & is hot in autumn

BARGAIN HOLIDAY

Spain’s hottest island has 20C temperatures in winter & flights are £18

With 334 rooms across four floors, there’s a spacious outdoor heated pool with loungers and fitness gym.

Breakfast is included and features pastries, pancakes, fresh fruit and yoghurt. 

Three weeks’ B&B is from £789pp including flights from Gatwick on January 15. See loveholidays.com. 

29 NIGHTS IN CYPRUS

from £65pp per night 

SWAP grey skies for golden sands this Christmas and see in the New Year with a sun-kissed escape to the all-inclusive Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort.  

Set amid beautiful, lush gardens and close to the beach, there’s plenty to tempt you to relax by the pool and in the spa.  

And this 29-night holiday, departing Manchester on December 15 or Gatwick on December 16, includes all your food and drinks. 

The extended break also comes with six excursions, such as a winery tour with tasting, and guided tours of Paphos, Episkopi, Kourion, Kolossi and Omodos.  Prices from £1,899pp. See justgoholidays.com. 

30 NIGHTS IN GOA

from £107pp per night 

SPLASH out a little more and you could be enjoying a month in the sunshine in North Goa.  

With its mix of Portuguese and Indian influences, you’ll get to explore Calangute and the surrounding areas, with a choice of three excursions included on this holiday. 

Enjoy a Latin quarter food trail, Old Goa heritage walk and trips to Saligao Village and Fort Aguada.  

And don’t worry about the cooking.

This all-inclusive stay at the 3* ocean-front Clarion Ocean Palms resort costs from £3,199pp and includes flights from Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester in November, February and March. Plus all transfers and excursions.  

See justgoholidays.com. 

21 NIGHTS IN THAILAND

from £42pp per night 

HEAD to the bright lights of Bangkok to enjoy sizzling temperatures and all the excitement of a big city.  

Comfortable 3* The Orchid House is a great choice for couples looking for a budget stay, with colonial-style rooms complete with air conditioning. 

Set in the historic Bangkok Old Town district, there’s a peaceful garden and terrace to return to after busy days exploring the sights, including the famous Khao San Road, just an eight-minute walk away. 

Three weeks room-only is from £879pp, flying from Gatwick on November 26.  

For more information, see loveholidays.com. 

21 NIGHTS IN MALTA

from £29pp per night 

ENJOY three weeks of pampering for the price of two at the 4* Preluna Hotel and Spa in the coastal town of Sliema.  

The hotel is known for its Feel Good Wellness Spa with heated pool, whirlpool, sauna and beauty salon.  

Standard rooms feature satellite TV, minibar, free wifi and tea and coffee-making facilities.

And if you upgrade, you’ll enjoy balconies and sea views.

This 21-night break includes B&B as well as a free third week.

Prices are from £603pp with flights from Heathrow between November 14 and December 21, and then from January 4 up until March 1, 2026, at mercuryholidays.co.uk. 

34 DAYS IN BENIDORM

from £59pp per night 

IF you’re not a fan of flying, this is the one for you. 

Travelling by coach from the UK, you’ll enjoy a leisurely journey to sunny Benidorm, with overnight stops in the charming French towns of Troyes and Montpellier, plus a lunch stop in picturesque Macon. 

Once in Spain, relax with 28 nights all-inclusive at the 3* Hotel Port Fiesta Park in Benidorm.

You’ll also get to head out and explore with guided tours of Guadalest, Valencia, Villajoyosa, Alicante and Elche and excursions to Altea, Albir and Calpe markets.  

The 34-day trip, including return coach travel, is from £1,999, departing on January 7 or February 4.

See justgoholidays.com. 

21 NIGHTS IN PORTUGAL

from £25pp per night 

MANY hotels reduce their rates for long stays – and Mercury Holidays is currently offering a third week free on selected packages.  

Portugal’s mild winters and stunning Algarve coastline are perfect for an extended trip. 

The Muthu Clube Praia da Oura is just a short walk from Albufeira’s golden beaches and sits in lush tropical gardens. 

Enjoy 21 nights from £516pp including return flights from Gatwick. 

The third week is free self-catering when the first two weeks are booked B&B.

There’s also an option to upgrade to half-board or all-inclusive. 

ALL CHANGE

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Price are for stays until December 26 and from January 4 to March 31.

See mercuryholidays.co.uk. 

In the working-class city of Commerce, where cars speed past on highways and the Citadel Outlets tower over neighborhoods, there is a steakhouse named Stevens. By day, it’s a classic and charming old restaurant where working people go for quiet, hearty meals.

But every Sunday night, the outside world disappears.

As waiters whisk about in starched button ups, couples lead each other by the hand toward the dance floor in the restaurant’s ballroom, where Stevens’ tradition of Salsa Sundays has been bringing the community together for 73 years.

At 7 p.m. every Sunday, beginner lessons start at Stevens Steakhouse.

(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)

An eight-piece band plays brass, electric guitar, bongos and timbales, filling the room with music as dancers twirl in a dizzying array. One attendee, 29-year-old Amy Hernandez, greets a few familiar faces before she steps onto the dance floor, spinning in confident steps with a wide smile on her face.

Hernandez is part of a revival that’s been getting younger people excited about salsa music — and flocking to Stevens. She grew up watching her father dance salsa, but started diving back into the genre on her own to find comfort during the L.A. wildfires earlier this year. She credits Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” for re-sparking her interest.

“It was very healing for me,” she says of the album, which blends old-school Puerto Rican boricua samples with Latin dance and reggaeton influences for an emotional imagining of Puerto Rican identity.

For decades, Stevens has brought friends, couples, and families together for live music and dance.

(Emil Ravelo/For The Times)

When college friends recommended Stevens as an affordable place to dance, Hernandez mentioned it in passing to her dad. “He laughed and said, ‘I remember that place. I used to dance there too,’” Hernandez says.

The increasingly mainstream artists of Latin fusion genre reggaeton are returning to tradition. Along with the music of Bad Bunny, who’s headlining the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, you can find classic salsa references in reggaeton star Rauw Alejandro’s latest album “Cosa Nuestra,” and in Colombian pop star Karol G’s multi-genre summer album “Tropicoqueta,” which will be at the center of her headlining Coachella set.

“You can feel the younger energy,” says longtime Stevens salsa instructor Jennifer Aguirre. “It makes me really happy to see a younger generation take on salsa. Because I was worried for a bit. I didn’t know how salsa is going to continue.”

Los Angeles has a unique relationship with salsa, the Afro-Caribbean dance born from Cuban mambo. In cities like Miami and New York, salsa arrived with Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants. Instead, L.A.’s salsa influence came from Golden Age Hollywood, where Latin dance in movies produced a singular, flashier Angeleno style, characterized by quick turns and theatrical movement, according to salsa historian Juliet McMains.

The 1990s were another high for the genre, when West Coast pioneers like the Vazquez brothers and their first-of-its-kind dance team Salsa Brava sparked a local dance craze. The Vazquezes introduced the “on-1” step and innovated a flashier, dramatic style of salsa in L.A. that brought crowds to competitions and congresses through the 2000s. Legendary late promoter Albert Torres founded the L.A. Salsa Congress in 1999, the first congress on the West Coast, drawing a worldwide audience for Angeleno salsa.

Opened in 1952 by Steven Filipan (and located on Stevens Place), Stevens in Commerce became a local hub for Latin music. “The interesting part was that the area wasn’t Latin at all,” says Jim Filipan, Steven’s grandson and now the third-generation owner of the restaurant. “My grandfather had a foresight that this genre would be the future.”

Jim recalls his childhood growing up in the restaurant. “We would have hundreds of people on Sundays,” he says. “The ballroom, the restaurant, everyone was dancing salsa, and it was incredible. My dad took over in the ‘70s, and I was running it with him in the ‘90s.”

Yet by the 2010s it was apparent that another genre was taking hold of the Latin dance scene: bachata, ushered in by smooth-singing New York stars like Prince Royce and Romeo Santos. Salsa quickly went from being considered hip to rather old-fashioned.

During a Stevens dance lesson, guests learn how to spin on the dance floor.

(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)

Aguirre witnessed the genre lose interest firsthand. “It was like an immediate switch,” Aguirre says. “Salsa just wasn’t as popular anymore, and people would walk over to the other side of the restaurant to take the bachata lessons.”

The pandemic also dealt a large blow to local salsa clubs, as peers in the long-standing dance club industry fell to lower attendance rates and rising rent. And in the last year, two historic venues, the Conga Room and the Mayan, closed permanently.

Stevens almost had the same fate. The financial burdens during the pandemic made Jim consider closing for good. But he couldn’t help but consider the responsibility of his family’s legacy and the special place Stevens holds for local dancers.

“It’s very emotional for me because I have four generations in this restaurant, and now my daughter works here,” he says.

When Stevens reopened, the community came back in droves, ushering in a new era of excitement for salsa.

These days, at the beginning of every class, dance instructor Miguel “Miguelito” Aguirre announces the same rule.

“Forget about what happened today, forget about your week, forget about all the bad stuff. Leave it at the door,” Aguirre says. “It’s going to be better because we’re going to dance salsa.”

Dance instructor, Miguel Aguirre, right, mans the DJ booth alongside DJ Pechanga, another longtime employee of Stevens. Every weekend, the duo brings Latin music to the forefront of the space.

(Emil Ravelo/For The Times)

Aguirre has taught salsa at Stevens for 30 years. In many ways, the steakhouse has shaped his life. It’s where he discovered his love for teaching dance and much more.

“I started coming here in the ‘90s, sneaking in through the back door. I was a teenager, so not old enough to show my ID, but one day, Jim just said, ‘You guys cannot come in through the back anymore. You can come into the front,’” Aguirre says. “And then one day he said, ‘Hey, we are missing the instructors. They’re not coming in. Can you guys teach the class?’ And, I’m still here.”

Jennifer Aguirre, a fellow dance teacher at Stevens, is his wife. She met him one day at Stevens’ annual Halloween party.

“He asked me to join his class because they ‘needed more girls,’” Jennifer says, laughing.

Now Jennifer teaches the beginner’s class, while Miguel is on intermediate. But once 10 p.m. hits, it’s social dancing time. The whole floor comes together and a familiar community converges. If attendees are lucky, they might catch Jennifer and Miguel, a smooth-dancing duo, letting loose, stepping and dipping effortlessly.

On a recent Sunday night, the low-lighted ambience of the restaurant met the purple lights of the dance room, with people sitting all around for a peek at the moves on display. Buttery steaks and potatoes cooking in the kitchen tinged the air as the dance floor came alive with women spinning in dresses and men in shining shoes gliding to the rhythm of the music. Miguel Aguirre manned the DJ stand, asking two singles if they knew each other and encouraging them to dance.

Gregorio Sines was one of the solo dancers on the floor, swaying partners easily under Miguel’s encouragement. Years ago, his friend, who frequented Stevens, dragged Sines out to dance socials, telling him it would be the best way to meet people and open up.

As someone who began with anxiety to dance in front of others, Sines now performs in Stevens’ dance showcases. He says consistently returning to the steakhouse’s historic floor and immersing himself in the supportive community not only changed his dance game, but brought him out of his shell.

“I tell anyone, if you’re scared to dance, you just have to get out there,” Sines says. “There’s a community waiting for you.”

Elliot Zwiebach was 62 years old when he sang in front of a live audience for the first time.

The retired reporter had always loved show tunes, but he’d never considered singing in public before.

“I sang for my own amusement, and I wasn’t very amused,” he said recently.

But one night, after attending a few open mic nights at the Gardenia Supper Club in West Hollywood as a spectator, he got up the nerve to step onto the stage and perform a tune backed by a live band.

For his first song, he picked the humorous “Honey Bun” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific.” It was frightening and he didn’t sing well. And yet, the following week he came back and did it again.

Newbie Ian Douglas, left, and longtime singer Elliot Zwiebach look over a sign-up sheet at the Gardenia’s long-running open mic night.

Sixteen years later, Zwiebach, now 78, is a core member of what the event’s longtime host Keri Kelsey calls “the family,” a group of roughly 25 regulars who sing jazz standards, show tunes and other numbers from the Great American Songbook at the longest-running open mic night in L.A.

“It’s very much like a community,” Zwiebach said on a recent evening as he prepared to sing “This Nearly Was Mine,” another song from “South Pacific.” “Everyone knows everyone.”

For 25 years, the small, L-shaped Gardenia room on Santa Monica Boulevard has served as a musical home for a diverse group of would-be jazz and cabaret singers. Each Tuesday night, elementary school teachers, acting coaches, retired psychoanalysts, arts publicists and the occasional celebrity pay an $8 cover to perform in front of an audience that knows firsthand just how terrifying it can be to stand before even a small crowd with nothing more than a microphone in your hand.

“You are so vulnerable up there with everyone staring at you,” said Kelsey, who has hosted the open mic night for 24 years and once watched Molly Ringwald nervously take the stage. “But it’s also the most joyous experience in the world.”

Director and acting coach Kenshaka Ali sings “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

The singers are backed by a live, three-piece band led by guitarist Dori Amarilio. The rotating group of musicians — a few of them Grammy winners — arrive not knowing what they will be playing that night. Some singers bring sheet music, others chord charts. And there are those who just hum a few bars and allow the musicians to intuit the key and melody enough to follow along. Poet Judy Barrat, a regular attendee, usually hands the evening’s piano player a copy of the poem she’ll be reading and asks him to improv along with her.

“It’s totally freeform,” said Andy Langham, a jazz pianist who toured with Natalie Cole and Christopher Cross and often plays the Gardenia. “I read the stanzas and try to paint pictures with the notes.”

Keri Kelsey, singing “Mack the Knife,” has hosted the Gardenia’s open mic night for 24 years.

The Gardenia, which opened in 1981, is one of the few venues in L.A. specifically designed for the intimacy of cabaret. The small, spare room has table service seating for just over 60 patrons and a stage area beautifully lit by an abundance of canned lights. Doors open at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights, but those in the know line up outside the building’s nondescript exterior as early as 6 p.m. to ensure a reasonable spot on the night’s roster of singers. (Even though there is a one-song-per-person limit, the night has been known to stretch past 12 a.m.) Nichole Rice, who manages the Gardenia, takes dinner and drink orders until the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Then the room falls into respectful silence.

Pianist Andy Langham and guitarist Dori Amarilio perform live music accompaniment for each open mic participant at the Gardenia.

“This is a listening room,” said singer-songwriter Steve Brock, who has been attending the open mic night for more than a decade. “I’ve been to other rooms where I’m competing with tequila or the Rams. Here, when anyone goes up in front of that microphone, everyone stops.”

On a recent Tuesday night, the show began as it always does with an instrumental song by the band (a piano, guitar and upright bass) before an opening number by Kelsey. Dressed in a black leather dress and knee-high boots, she had this time prepared “Mack the Knife.” “This may be one of the loungiest lounge songs ever,” she said. “Maybe that’s why I really like it.”

People begin to line up outside the Gardenia at 6 p.m. to get a spot for the Tuesday open mic night.

The first singer to take the stage was Trip Kennedy, a bearded masseur who performed “The Rainbow Connection” in a sweet tenor. When he finished, Kelsey shared that she was cast as an extra in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”

“It was the most ridiculous thing,” she said, filling time as the next singer consulted quietly with the band. “I was a college student who dressed up as a college student for the audition.”

Dolores Scozzesi, who sang at the Hollywood Improv in the ’80s between comedy sets, performed a moody arrangement of “What Now My Love.” “This is a [chord] chart from 2011,” she told the audience before she began. “I want to try it because these guys are the best.”

Monica Doby Davis, an elementary school teacher, sings the jazz standard “You Go to My Head” at the Gardenia.

Zwiebach performed a medley of two Broadway hits, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” (which he altered to “his face”) and “This Nearly Was Mine,” easily hitting all the notes. After, his young friend Ian Douglas, a relative newbie who started attending the open mic night in the spring, sang the jazz standard “You Go to My Head.” Zwiebach praised the performance.

“I know that song very well and you did a great job,” he said.

Monica Doby Davis, who once sang with the ’90s R&B girl group Brownstone and now works as an elementary school teacher, also performed “You Go to My Head.” Although she had left the entertainment business decades ago, she said finding the Gardenia open mic night 13 years ago “brought music back to my life.”

Tom Nobles, left, sings alongside bassist Adam Cohen, center, and pianist Andy Langham at the Gardenia.

There were many beautiful, intimate moments that night, but perhaps the best was when Tom Nobles, an actor and retired psychoanalyst in a purple knit cap and thick plastic glasses, forgot the words to “Lost in the Masquerade” by George Benson.

He stumbled for a moment, a bit perplexed, before turning to his friends for help.

“Whoever knows the words, sing it with me,” Nobles said to the crowd.

Quietly at first and then louder and stronger, the whole room broke out into song.

We’re lost in a masquerade. Woohoo, the masquerade.

My first reaction, when I heard about the proposed $2.3-million fence around MacArthur Park, was skepticism.

Yeah, the park and the immediate neighborhood have long dealt with a nasty web of urban nightmares, including homelessness, crime and a rather astonishing open-air drug scene, all of which I spent a few months looking into not long ago.

But what would a fence accomplish?

Well, after looking into it, maybe it’s not the worst idea.

Skepticism, I should note, is generally a fallback position for me. It’s something of an occupational duty, and how can you not be cynical about promises and plans in Los Angeles, where each time you open the newspaper, you have to scratch your head?

I’m still having trouble understanding how county supervisors approved another $828 million in child sexual abuse payments, on top of an earlier settlement this year of $4 billion, even after Times reporter Rebecca Ellis found nine cases in which people said they were told to fabricate abuse allegations.

The same supes, while wrestling with a budget crisis, agreed to pay $2 million to appease the county’s chief executive officer because she felt wronged by a ballot measure proposing that the job be an elected rather than appointed post. Scratching your head doesn’t help in this case; you’re tempted instead to bang it into a wall.

Drone view of MacArthur Park looking toward downtown Los Angeles.

(Ted Soqui/For The Times)

Or maybe a $2.3-million fence.

The city of L.A. is primarily responsible for taking on the problems of MacArthur Park, although the county has a role too in the areas of housing, public health and addiction services. I made two visits to the area in the last week, and while there are signs of progress and slightly less of a sense of chaos — the children’s playground hit last year by an arsonist has been fully rebuilt — there’s a long way to go.

In a story about the fence by my colleague Nathan Solis, one service provider said it would further criminalize homelessness and another said the money “could be better used by funding … services to the people in the park, rather than just moving them out.”

The vast majority of people who spoke at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, which voted unanimously to move forward with the fence, were adamantly opposed despite claims that enclosing the space would be a step toward upgrading and making the park more welcoming.

“Nothing is more unwelcoming than a fence around a public space,” one critic said.

“A fence can not solve homelessness,” another said.

The LAPD underwater dive unit investigates activity in MacArthur Park Lake.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Others argued that locking up the park, which is surrounded by a predominantly immigrant community, recalls the ridiculous stunt that played out in June, when President Trump’s uniformed posse showed up in armored vehicles and on horseback in what looked like an all-out invasion of Westlake.

But another speaker, Raul Claros — who is running against Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in the 1st District — said he’d spoken to residents and merchants who support the fence, as long as it’s part of a greater effort to address the community’s needs.

Claros said he has three questions: “What’s the plan? What’s the timeline? Who’s in charge?”

Hernandez, by the way, is not opposed to the fence. A staffer told me there’s a fence around nearby Lafayette Park. Other fenced parks in Los Angeles include Robert Burns Park, adjacent to Hancock Park, and the L.A. State Historic Park on the edge of Chinatown, which is locked at sunset.

As for the long-range plan, the Hernandez staffer said the councilwoman has secured and is investing millions of dollars in what she calls a care-first approach that aims to address drug addiction and homelessness in and around the park.

Eduardo Aguirre, who lives a couple of blocks from the park and serves on the West Pico Neighborhood Council, told me he’s OK with the fence but worried about the possible consequences. If the people who use the park at night or sleep there are forced out, he said, where will they go?

“To the streets? To the alleys? You know what’s going to happen. It’s a game,” Aguirre said.

Last fall I walked with Aguirre and his wife as they led their daughter to her elementary school. They often have to step around homeless people and past areas where dealing and drug use, along with violence, are anything but infrequent.

Families and others should be able to feel safe in the park and the neighborhood, said Norm Langer, owner of the iconic Langer’s deli on the edge of the park.

A visitor takes in the view at MacArthur Park.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

“I completely understand why you’re skeptical,” Langer told me, but he said he’s seen improvements in the last year, particularly after fences were installed along Alvarado Street and vendors were shut down. Police say some of the vendors were involved in the drug trade and the resale of stolen merchandise.

“The point isn’t to limit access,” Langer said. “The fence is intended to improve safety and quality of life for the people who live, work, and spend time here. It gives park staff a fighting chance to maintain and restore the place, especially at night, when they can finally clean and repair without the constant chaos that made upkeep nearly impossible before.”

LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes of the Rampart division told me police are “trying to make it not OK” to buy and use drugs along the Alvarado corridor. Drug users often gather in the northeast corner of the park, Fernandes said, and he thinks putting up a fence and keeping the park off limits at night will help “deflect” some of “the open-air usage.”

The park has a nice soccer field and a lovely bandstand, among other popular attractions, but many parents told me they’re reluctant to visit with their children because of safety concerns. If a fence helps bring back families, many of whom live in apartments and have no yards, that’s a good thing.

But as the city goes to work on design issues, questions about enforcement, opening and closing times and other details, it needs to keep in mind that all of that is the easy part.

It took an unforgivably long time for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials to acknowledge a social, economic and humanitarian crisis in a place that’s home to thousands of low-income working people.

The neighborhood needs much more than a fence.

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TORONTO — As soon as Blake Treinen entered for the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw dropped his guard and began to look around.

For the previous three hours, the future Hall of Fame pitcher had been locked in on the game, mentally preparing for a potential relief appearance from out in the bullpen.

But when that didn’t come, the 37-year-old Kershaw then let himself relax, took in the scene of an October night at Chavez Ravine, and soaked up the final moments of what was his final game ever at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s a weird thought, of like, ‘This is your last game ever there,’” said Kershaw, who announced last month he will retire at the end of this season. “And not a sad thought. Honestly, just a grateful thought. Just like, ‘Man, we spent a lot of great times here.’”

Win or lose in Games 6 and 7 of this World Series, Kershaw’s overall career will end this weekend at Rogers Centre in Toronto. But on Wednesday night, he closed the book on the ballpark he has called home for all 18 seasons of his illustrious MLB career.

Dodger Stadium is where Kershaw first made his big-league debut back in May 2008, as a highly anticipated left-handed prospect with a big curveball and quiet demeanor. It was the stage for his rise to stardom over the nearly two decades that followed, as he went on to capture three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League MVP honors and a career 2.53 ERA that ranks as the best among pitchers with 1,000 innings in the live ball era.

It is where he experienced some of the most defining moments of his career, including a no-hitter in 2014 and his 3,000th strikeout earlier this year. It’s also where he suffered repeated October disappointments, none bigger than the back-to-back home runs he gave up in Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series.

In other words, it was always home for Kershaw, the place he would return to day after day, year after year, season after season — no matter the highs or lows, aches and pains, successes or failures.

“I just started thinking about it when the game ended,” said Kershaw, who elected to traverse the field to get back to the clubhouse after Wednesday’s game instead of the connected bullpen tunnel. “I was like, ‘Man, I might as well walk across this thing one more time.’”

About an hour later, Kershaw would linger on the field a little longer, joined for an impromptu gathering by his wife, Ellen; their four children; and other family and friends in attendance for his last home game.

“Ellen just texted after and was like, ‘Hey, we got a big crew,’” Kershaw said. “So I was, ‘Well, just go to the field. I’ll try to shower fast so we can hang out.’”

Television cameras caught Kershaw laughing as his kids ran the bases, tried to throw baseballs at a hovering drone and enjoyed a diamond that had become their own personal childhood playground over the years.

At one point, Kershaw posed with the Dodger Stadium grounds crew for a picture — standing on a mound they had manicured for all of his 228 career starts in the stadium.

“Honestly, it was awesome,” Kershaw said. “It was the perfect way to do it. Just have everybody out there, running around … It was unplanned, unprompted, but a great memory.”

Kershaw, of course, is hoping to add one more Dodger Stadium memory next week. If the team can reverse its three-games-to-two deficit in the World Series this weekend in Toronto, it would return to Chavez Ravine for a championship celebration.

If not, though, he’ll have a couple parting moments to cherish, from Wednesday’s postgame scene down on the field, to his final career Dodger Stadium outing back in Game 4 in which he stranded the bases loaded in the 12th for one of the biggest outs in his entire career.

“I’m super grateful with how that went, as opposed to the last time before that,” he quipped, having given up five runs in his only other Dodger Stadium appearance this postseason. “You can’t plan any of that stuff. Who knows if it ever works out. But yeah, to get that one last out was pretty cool.”

So, too, was his one last night Wednesday.

Oct. 30 (UPI) — Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 2 storm, was heading toward Bermuda on Thursday evening after battering the Caribbean over the past few days, forecasters said.

Forecasters said Melissa was forecast to pass Bermuda, where a hurricane warning is in effect, on Thursday night.

The eye of Melissa was about 260 miles west-southwest of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. EDT update.

It had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, and was making its way northeast toward Bermuda at 21 mph. Earlier in its lifecycle, the storm was largely stationary, moving at about 2 mph as it made its way toward a Jamaican landfall Tuesday.

Forecasts indicate the storm would pick up more speed as it moves away from the Bahamas. It was forecast to pass to the northwest of Bermuda on Thursday night and should become a strong extratropical cyclone near the southeastern tip of Newfoundland on Friday.

The outer bands of Melissa could pour an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain over Bermuda through Thursday night, while a brief period of heavy rain was considered possible for the southern Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland on Friday night.

Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday at about 1 p.m. as a powerful Category 5 storm, with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It was the strongest direct hit on Jamaica since records have been kept in the Atlantic basin. It was also the first storm to make landfall in the Caribbean this season.

The storm lost some strength as it traveled over Jamaica’s western mountains, but maintained major hurricane status as it headed for Cuba. It remained a hurricane when it reached the Bahamas.

Melissa is the 13th named storm and fifth hurricane of the season. The other Category 5 storms in the Atlantic this season have been Erin and Humberto.

In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and devastated the Bahamian islands, including the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, as a Category 5 storm.

The all-time highest sustained wind speed recorded in the Atlantic was Hurricane Allen at 190 mph in August 1980 over the Yucatan Peninsula before weakening to a Category 3 when it struck South Texas.

The most destructive Category 5 storm in the United States was Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, causing $27.3 billion in damage. Hurricane Michael, also a Category 5 storm, struck the less populated Florida Panhandle in October 2018.

Hurricane Gilbert struck Jamaica in 1988 as a Category 3 storm.

Sometimes, the best place you can go is a dead end. Especially when that dead end is surrounded by crashing surf on empty beaches, dramatic cliffs and lonely trails through forests thick with redwoods.

That’s the situation along Big Sur’s South Coast right now.

A chunk of the cliff-clinging highway has been closed for a series of landslide repairs since January 2023, making the classic, coast-hugging, 98-mile San Simeon-Big Sur-Carmel drive impossible. Caltrans has said it aims to reopen the route by the end of March 2026, if weather permits.

That means the 44-mile stretch from San Simeon to Lucia will likely be lonely for at least six more months. Travelers from the near north (Carmel, for instance) will need to detour inland on U.S. 101. Meanwhile, many Canadian travelers (usually eager explorers of California) are boycotting the U.S. altogether over President Trump’s tariff policies and quips about taking over their country.

And so, for those of us in Southern California, the coming months are a chance to drive, hike or cycle in near solitude among tall trees, steep slopes and sea stacks. The weather is cooler and wetter. But over the three October days I spent up there, the highway was quieter than I’ve seen in 40-plus years of driving the coast.

Moreover, those who make the trip will be supporting embattled local businesses, which remain open, some with reduced prices. Fall rates at the Ragged Point Inn, 15 miles north of Hearst Castle, for example, start at about $149 nightly — $100 less than when the road was open.

“It’s kind of perfect,” said Claudia Tyler of Santa Barbara, on her way from Salmon Creek Falls to two nights of camping at Plaskett Creek in Los Padres National Forest.

“I am sorry for the businesses…,” Tyler said, “but it’s good for the traveler.”

Further north, David Sirgany, 64, of Morro Bay, was getting ready to surf at Sand Dollar Beach, thinking about coastal erosion, climate change and this moment in history.

“To me,” he said, “it feels like the end of a time that will never be again.”

The Ragged Point Inn stands at the southern end of Big Sur.

The closed area, known as Regent’s Slide, begins about 26 miles north of Ragged Point, toward the south end of Big Sur, and covers 6.8 miles. Thus, you’d need to detour inland via U.S. 101 to reach most of Big Sur’s best-known attractions, including the Bixby Creek Bridge, Pfeiffer Beach, Nepenthe restaurant, Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, McWay Falls and Esalen Institute.

But there’s plenty to explore on the stretch from San Simeon north to the roadblock at Lucia (milepost 25.3). Just be careful of the $8.79-per-gallon gas at the Gorda Springs Resort. (At $6.99, the Ragged Point gas station isn’t quite so high.)

San Simeon Bay Pier at William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach.

Here, from south to north, are several spots to explore from San Simeon to Lucia. Be sure to double-check the weather and highway status before you head out.

See Hearst’s castle. Or just one of his zebras.

I’ve been hoping to see some of the Hearst zebras in the hills of San Simeon for years, and this time I finally did — a single zebra, surrounded by cows in a pasture beneath distant Hearst Castle.

That was enough to make my brief stop at the castle visitor center (which has a restaurant, historical displays and shop) well worth it. Other travelers, however, might want to actually take a tour ($35 per adult and up) of the 165-room Hearst compound (which is officially known as Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument).

The state park system’s visitor tallies from June through August show that 2025 was slightly slower than 2024, which was slightly slower than 2023.

Perhaps with that in mind, the castle last fall added “Art Under the Moonlight” tours, which continue this autumn on select Friday and Saturday nights through Nov. 16. The castle also decorates for the holidays.

If you’re spending the night, the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort has 90 rooms (for as little as $169) and firepits overlooking the sea.

A zebra, part of the Hearst Castle animal collection, is seen from the visitor center off Highway 1 in San Simeon.

San Simeon Bay Pier or hike San Simeon Point Trail

My southernmost hike was at the San Simeon Bay Pier. From the parking lot there, walk north on the beach and follow a path up into a eucalyptus grove. That puts you on the 2.5-mile round-trip San Simeon Point Trail (owned by Hearst Corp. but open to the public.)

At first, the route is uneventful and surrounded by imported eucalyptus (now being thinned) and pines. But there’s a payoff waiting at the point, where tides lap on a little sand beach, waves crash on dramatic black rocks and pelicans perch on sea stacks. Look back and you see the beach, the pier and the hills of the central coast sprawling beyond them.

Then, if you’re as hungry as I was, you rapidly retrace steps and head to the Seaside Foods deli counter in Sebastian’s General Store, a block from the pier. (I recommend the Coastal Cowboy tri-tip sandwich, $21. But you could also take your meal across the street to the Hearst Ranch Winery tasting room.)

Find the Piedras Blancas elephant seal viewing area, then go beyond it

California’s coast is a catalog of uncertainties, from rising tides and crumbling cliffs to private landowners discouraging public access. But we can count on the elephant seals of Piedras Blancas.

Elephant seals gather at Piedras Blancas, north of San Simeon.

Once you pull off Highway 1 into the observation area parking lot, no matter the time of year, you’re likely to see at least a few hulking sea creatures flopped on the sand and skirmishing for position.

Because it’s a great spectacle and it’s free, there are usually dozens of spectators along the shore. But most of those spectactors don’t bother to follow the boardwalk north and continue on the Boucher Trail, a 1.9-mile path along the bluff tops and across a meadow, leading to striking views of sea stacks and Piedras Blancas Light Station.

Along Boucher Trail, just north of the elephant seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas.

(BTW: Visitors need an advance reservation to tour the Piedras Blancas Light Station. At press time, all tours were canceled because of the federal government shutdown.)

At Ragged Point, that Big Sur vibe kicks in

About 10 miles beyond the elephant seals, the raw, horizontal coastal landscape morphs into a more vertical scene and the highway begins to climb and twist.

Right about here, just after San Carpoforo Creek, is where you find the Ragged Point Inn, a handy place to stop for an hour or an evening. It has 39 rooms, flat space for kids to run around, cliff-top views, a restaurant, gift shop, gas station and a snack bar that’s been closed since the highway has been blocked.

Right now, this stretch of the highway “is a great place to cycle,” said Diane Ramey, whose family owns the inn. “I wouldn’t do it at a normal time. But now the roads are uncrowded enough.”

To recover from the “frightening” drop in business when the road first closed, the inn has put more emphasis on Sunday brunch, the gift shop and live music on summer weekends, Ramey said.

At Salmon Creek Falls, roaring water meets tumbled rocks

At the Salmon Falls trailhead, 3.6 miles north of Ragged Point, there’s room for about 10 cars in the parking area on the shoulder of the highway.

When the highway is open, those spots are often all full. Not now. And it’s only about 0.3 of a mile to the base of the 120-foot falls, where there’s plenty of shade for the weary and boulder-scrambling for those who are bold. In the hour I spent scrambling and resting, I encountered just two couples and one family, all enjoying the uncrowded scene.

If you want a longer, more challenging hike, the falls trailhead also leads to the Salmon Creek Trail, a 6.6-mile out-and-back journey through pines, oaks and laurels that includes — gulp — 1,896 feet of elevation gain.

The yurts and quirks of Treebones Resort

Treebones, about 14 miles north of Ragged Point and 2 miles north of the rustic, sleepy Gorda Springs Resort, is an exercise in style and sustainability, producing its own power and drawing water from its own aquifer.

Treebones Resort, just off Highway 1 in the South Coast area of Big Sur.

Born as a family business in 2004, Treebones has 19 off-the-grid units, mostly yurts, whose rounded interiors are surprisingly spacious. Its Lodge restaurant offers chef’s-choice four-course dinners ($95 each) and a sushi bar.

If you book a yurt (they begin at $385), you’ll find your headboard is a felted wood rug from Kyrgyzstan (where yurts go back at least 2,500 years). The resort also has five campsites ($135 nightly, advance reservation required) that come with breakfast, hot showers and pool access.

A deck at Treebones Resort.

“For the last 20 years, we were basically 100% occupied from April through October,” assistant general manager Megan Handy said, leading me on a tour. Since the closure, “we’ve stayed booked on the weekends, but we’ve seen at least a 40% decline midweek.”

Once you’re north of Treebones, beach and trail possibilities seem to multiply.

Stand by the edge (but not too close) on the Pacific Valley Bluff Trail

Several people told me I shouldn’t miss the Pacific Valley Bluff Trail, a flat route that begins just north of Sand Dollar Beach. It runs about 1.6 miles between the roadside and the bluffs over the Pacific. Here you’ll see sea stacks in every shape, along with a dramatic, solitary tree to the north. In about 45 minutes of walking amid a land’s end panorama, I never saw another soul. Plenty of cow patties, though, and a few patches of poison oak, which turns up often near Big Sur trails.

A little farther north, I did run into four people walking the beach at Mill Creek Picnic Area. I found even more at Kirk Creek Campground, which was booked solid because it has some of the best ocean-view campsites in the area and it’s on the ocean side of the highway.

Waves crash near Sand Dollar Beach.

Big trees and a meandering creek at Limekiln State Park

Limekiln State Park is one California’s youngest state parks, having been set aside in the 1990s. But its occupants, especially the redwoods, have been around much longer.

And now, after park closures over storm damage and infrastructure issues and a reopening early this year, we have a chance to enjoy the place again. Or at least part of it. The park’s campground, Hare Creek Trail and Falls Trail remain closed.

But there’s still plenty of opportunity to check out the rare overlap of species from northern and southern California. As the Save the Redwoods League notes, “You can’t find both yucca and coast redwoods in very many parks.”

The park is about 4.4 miles south of the Highway 1 closure. Entrance is $10 per vehicle. I savored the 1.5-mile out-and-back Limekiln Trail, which is one of the best ways to see redwoods in the area. And once again, no fellow hikers.

Highway still too busy for you? How about an isolated lodge or a silent monastery?

Just south of the highway closure, the rustic, isolated Lucia Lodge and the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery, remain open for overnight guests.

But not everyone knows this. Unless somebody at Google HQ has just made a fix, Google Maps will tell you incorrectly that the hermitage and lodge are beyond the road closure. Nope. They’re both on the south side of the road closure, accessible to northbound traffic. And they’re both really quiet.

“People come here for silent, self-guided retreats,” said Katee Armstrong, guest ministry specialist at New Camaldoli Hermitage. Its accommodations, high on the slopes above the highway, include nine single-occupancy rooms and five cottages with kitchenettes ($145 nightly and up).

Meanwhile, on the ocean side of the highway, the Lucia Lodge’s 10 very basic units are visible from the road. Four of them are cabins that go back to the 1930s, when Highway 1 was new.

Some nights, there are only one or two guests, and those guests typically see no hotel employees, because there’s no lobby and the staff is down to a skeleton crew. (The lodge’s restaurant and lobby burned down in 2021.) The nearest restaurant is at Treebones, about 10 miles south.

“We have to have a conversation with every guest who books with us,” said Jessie McKnight, the lodge reservationist. Many “end up canceling once they understand the situation,” she said. “You’re kind of on your own.”

Ad yet, she added, “it’s so rare to experience Big Sur like this. Once the road opens, I think it’s going to be right back to being a zoo.”

The road to Ragged Point Inn.

These UK staycations could be an excellent choice for family get-togethers and getting into the Christmas spirit, offering everything from Santa visits to festive food

Trying to cram all your festive activities into December can be a challenge. From the big Santa visit to seeing a panto and Christmas markets, not to mention spending family time together, it sometimes feels like the month just isn’t long enough.

If you’re looking for an alternative that’s a little more relaxed, many holiday parks are now offering breaks in the run up to the big day. While you may associate caravan and lodge holidays with summer, these parks are opening in November and December for festive-themed breaks.

What’s on offer varies from park to park, but generally includes extras from Christmas-themed shows to Santa’s grottos, and even a Christmas tree in your accommodation. These breaks could be a great way to escape the pre-Christmas chaos, or to spend time with extended family without needing to host at home.

So, which holiday parks will be opening their doors for festive fun, and what’s on offer?

Haven – ‘sleigh-cations’

Four nights from £115

Haven will open the doors at nine of its locations in the run-up to Christmas: Craig Tara, Seton Sands, Devon Cliffs, Kent Coast, Cala Gran, Hafan y Môr, Primrose Valley, Seashore, and Rockley Park.

Staying at Haven means you can choose between accommodation from caravans to lodges, each with its own Christmas tree. The parks will also be adorned with decorations and lights, and Haven says there will be festive entertainment during the day and in the evening. Bookable activities will include pottery making, festive make-a-bear, and much more. Of course, there’s Santa’s Grotto, which will be an additional cost.

Haven will also be staging a Jack and the Beanstalk panto and promising “plenty of opportunities for a festive boogie.” Their on-site restaurants will serve festive food, including a three-course menu for Christmas day, while some Haven parks have their own Wetherspoons, which will offer the chain’s Christmas menu.

Find out more and book online.

Parkdean Resorts – Winter Wonderland breaks

From £145 for four nights

Parkdean Resorts will offer what it describes as the “full Winter Wonderland experience” at six parks in December: Camber Sands in Sussex, Warmwell in Dorset, Trecco Bay and Ty Mawr in Wales, Cayton Bay in North Yorkshire, and Cherry Tree in Norfolk. They’re also opening two parks in the Lake District with a “more relaxed festive atmosphere,” White Cross Bay and Fallbarrow.

Parkdean has a busy entertainment program for younger kids, promising Festive Milkshake! Mornings and Rocking Around the Christmas Tree with the PAW Patrol puppies. Families can enjoy breakfast with Santa or a trip to his grotto, watch a family pantomime, or even explore a festive market. Visit Warmwell and you can also enjoy their dry ski slope for skiing and snowboarding.

If you opt for a midweek break starting on a Monday, Parkdean also offers an all-inclusive option. This includes three meals a day, plus soft drinks and hot drinks, so you won’t need to worry about feeding the kids during your stay. Some parks will also have the option to book lunch on Christmas Day, so you can skip the washing up.

Bookings and more information can be found at the Parkdean website.

Center Parcs –Winter Wonderland breaks

Prices vary

Center Parcs arguably already has a festive vibe, thanks to its wooden lodges with open fireplaces. But during the festive season, they’ll be going all out to create a Winter Wonderland. Guests will be able to explore Enchanted Light Garden trails, watch the Santa’s Greeting Parade, or take a family photo in the Snow Zone.

They’ll also have Christmas shops stocking decorations and festive food, plus Tipis serving hot chocolates, Bratwurst and waffles, perfect for a stop after a chilly winter walk. Plus, the restaurants in each park’s village will have their own Christmas-themed food offerings.

There are also loads of extras that can be booked at a cost, including an elf pyjama party, a visit to Santa’s Workshop, or Christmas crafts. For an extra fee, you can also book a freshly cut Christmas tree for your accommodation, with a range of bows and baubles that you can take home with you for the perfect festive atmosphere.

Find out more and book on the Center Parcs website.

Butlin’s – Family Christmas Breaks

Prices from £39 per night

Butlin’s is offering a budget-friendly option for a Christmas break that’s all about family fun. Unlike most of the holiday parks on this list, the cost of meeting Santa is included for all families taking a festive break. Kids can enjoy Father Christmas’ Express Delivery, an immersive experience where they write their Christmas letter and deliver it to the man in red himself.

Also included in the cost of Butlin’s Christmas breaks is festive entertainment, including a panto, Snow White and her Magnificent Friends. Other themed shows include the Skyline Snowstorm party and Christmas Goes Pop, and there will be Christmas movie screenings for the family to enjoy together. The pools will be open, with Butlin’s offering a Festive Pool Party on each break. Visitors also get unlimited fairground rides and can enjoy activities such as making their own Christmas decorations.

The parks are set to be decorated for Christmas, with lights and decorations throughout, giving them a festive feel. There’s also Christmas-themed dining, so if you order a dining plan, you can tuck into popular dishes, from roasts to festive puddings, depending on the day.

The cheapest option at Butlin’s is to book one of their standard rooms, but they also have hotel rooms, apartments, and other upgraded accommodation if you want to splash out.

Find out more and book on the Butlin’s website.

Would you dare to the stay the night in Cornwall in what is said to be one of the most haunted hotels in the UK? Well – one woman did, and it inspired her murder mystery novel

Perched on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, this hotel is renowned for its eerie tales and rich history, tracing back to the 1750s.

As we’re in the midst of the spooky season, there’s nothing quite as chilling as spending a night in a hotel reputed to be one of the most haunted in the UK. The Jamaica Inn, an old coaching inn with a dark past believed to involve smuggling and ghostly stories, is famous for its spine-tingling reputation.

Originally built in 1750 as a coaching stop, the hotel now serves as a pub, restaurant and hotel, with a dedicated area for learning about the alleged spectral encounters. The Grade II-listed building exudes charm – and fear – with its traditional oak beams and snug rooms.

However, before it became a popular spot for food and overnight stays, it was infamous as a hub for the Cornwall smuggling trade. Its isolated location on the moors made it notorious for smugglers transporting goods like tea, brandy and silks from the sea, hidden beneath the floors and panels.

The isolation of the Jamaica Inn was its greatest asset in those days, often frequented by mysterious figures under dimly lit lanterns. Despite its modern touches, it was creepy enough for English author Daphne du Maurier to base her entire murder mystery novel on her stay there in 1936.

Taking its name from the precise spot where it stands, Jamaica Inn became a literary sensation amongst readers and was subsequently transformed into a film under Alfred Hitchcock’s direction.

The movie marked the final British production he would helm before departing for Hollywood, where he would establish himself as one of cinema’s legendary figures, earning up to six Oscar victories.

Thus, despite its shadowy and occasionally unlawful past, the inn achieved immortality through du Maurier’s fictional masterpiece, as she found herself captivated by the brooding heritage and spooky presence of the establishment and its bleak landscape.

Today in the 20th century, Jamaica Inn has evolved into something of a regional icon, where visitors pause to rest and discover its enduring legacy. One guest posted on TripAdvisor: “Had a thoroughly enjoyable two-night stay.

“The views from the inn were amazing onto the moor. The atmosphere was as expected from an old smugglers’ inn, full of mystery and intrigue!”.

Another visitor, eager to witness a supernatural encounter or sense the presence of the smugglers who once trod these very boards, recounted their spine-chilling experience.

They wrote: “We had done some research before arriving and saw that some rooms in the new, and many rooms in the original, areas have had activity from the paranormal…”

They shared tales about their terrifying night’s sleep – or their lack of. “Within a few minutes I was in the bathroom getting ready for a shower and heard a very loud male whistle from inside the room (corner nearest the bedroom). When asking my partner if she had whistled and getting a response of ‘absolutely NO’ I suddenly felt on edge.”

It’s no mystery that whilst the hotel has been transformed into a contemporary cosy pub and inn popular with travellers, its spine-chilling past is renowned for good reason. Whilst many other guests claim to have never experienced anything of the sort, others can’t help but let their minds wander.

Exactly a year after the Eaton fire broke out, musicians are banding together once more for an upcoming benefit show, called A Concert for Altadena.

As a way to both raise funds and bring the community together, the night is set to include performances from musicians like Jackson Browne, Dawes & Friends, Aloe Blacc, Jenny Lewis, Everclear, Stephen Stills, Mandy Moore, Judith Hill, Brad Paisley, Ozomatli, Brandon Flowers of the Killers and more.

Many of the featured acts have ties to Los Angeles and Altadena specifically, like Dawes, an indie band from Altadena who notably sang a lively rendition of “I Love L.A.” at this year’s Grammys ceremony. Moore, who is also performing, similarly lost their homes in the fire.

“I’ve seen firsthand how music can mobilize people for good. This concert brings together artists, fans, and neighbors for something bigger than all of us — recovery, hope, and rebuilding lives,” said Grammy winner Eric Krasno. The guitarist, who also lived in Altadena, helped organize the event and is set to perform.

Even behind the scenes, people like Kevin Lyman, who founded the Vans Warped Tour and is a longtime Altadena resident, is working as the event’s lead producer.

“Music has always been a force for community. With this event, we’re not just putting on a show — we’re helping Altadena rebuild homes, restore businesses, and heal hearts. This night is about unity and purpose,” said Lyman.

All of the proceeds from the show will go to the Pasadena Community Foundation’s Eaton Fire Relief & Recovery Fund, which helps provide resources to families impacted, and the Altadena Builds Back Foundation, which focuses on the long-term recovery of housing in the neighborhood.

The Eaton fire is the second most destructive wildfire in California’s history, destroying more than 9,000 structures in an area of nearly 22 square miles. It is also one of the state’s deadliest fires, with 19 people killed. Since the January fire, rebuilding efforts have proved to be slow-moving in the face of bureaucracy and high overhead costs.

The benefit show will take place Jan. 7 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Tickets go sale Nov. 7.

Freddie, meet Freddie.

It was excruciating. It was exhausting. It was ecstatic.

It was Fred-die, Fred-die, Fred-die, forever.

Repeating history, rocking the Ravine, winning the unwinnable, Freddie Freeman has done it again for the Dodgers, knocking a baseball for a second consecutive October into probably a second consecutive championship.

In the 18th inning of the longest World Series game in baseball history Monday, nearly seven hours after it started, Freeman smashingly ended it with a leadoff home run against the Toronto Blue Jays to give the Dodgers a 6-5 victory and a two-games-to-one lead.

This time last year he was hitting an extra-inning, walk-off grand slam against the New York Yankees that propelled the Dodgers to the title. At the time, he was being compared to Kirk Gibson and his memorable 1988 World Series homer.

This time, he can only be compared to himself, a guy who was struggling so much in the postseason that both Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts had been intentionally walked in front of him late in the game.

Three times in extra innings, he could have ended the game with a hit. Three times he left runners stranded.

But, finally, Freddie once again became Freddie, driving the ball deep over the center field fence, thrusting his right hand in the air, and watching his teammates dancing and jumping and screaming with a jubilation not previously seen by this workmanlike team this postseason.

“I don’t think you ever come up with the scenario twice,” said Freeman. “To have it happen again, it’s kind of amazing, crazy, and I’m just glad we won.”

Nobody seemed happier than Ohtani, who left the scrum to run down to the bullpen to embrace teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Despite throwing a complete game two days ago, Yamamoto was preparing to pitch in this game because the Dodgers had run out of arms.

It was that kind of night. It was two seventh-inning stretches. It was umpires nearly running out of baseballs. It was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. eating in the dugout.

“It’s one of the greatest World Series games of all time,” said Dodger Manager Dave Roberts while meeting the media after midnight. “Emotional. I’m spent emotionally. We got a ball game later tonight, which is crazy.”

When Ohtani returned toward the dugout he was hugged by water-spraying teammates, and for good reason.

Throughout the night Ohtani once again wrapped Dodger Stadium in his giant arms and shook it down to its ancient roots.

The win was set up after Tommy Edman made a perfect relay throw to the plate to gun down Davis Schneider in the top of the 10th, then Clayton Kershaw dramatically worked out of a base-loaded inherited jam in the 12th.

But before Freeman’s homer, Ohtani owned the night.

He led off the game with a ground-rule double. Then he gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead with a third-inning homer. Then he closed a 4-2 deficit with a fifth-inning RBI double. Then he tied the game at 5-all with a seventh inning home run.

Then, his aura became even crazier.

Four times in a five-inning stretch from the ninth inning to the 15th, Ohtani was intentionally walked — drawing a fifth walk on four pitches in the 17th. Twice the bases were empty. Once he had to pause at second base to relieve leg cramping. It was nuts.

Imagine a player so dangerous he is given a base four times with a World Series game on the line. One can’t imagine. That’s Ohtani.

“He’s a unicorn,” said Freeman. “There’s no more adjectives you can use to describe him.”

Remember 10 days ago when Ohtani had three home runs and struck out 10? Monday night was nearly as impressive because it was in the World Series, his four extra-base hits tying a record that had last been set in 1906.

And, yeah, he pitches again Tuesday in Game 4, so by the time you comprehend all this, he may have done it again.

“Our starting pitcher got on base nine times tonight,” said Freeman with wonder.

Ohtani was so good, he was better than the Dodgers bad, which included bad baserunning, bad fielding, and a bit of questionable managing.

The Dodgers stranded the winning run on base in the ninth,10th, 11th, and 13th, 14th and 15th inning and 16th…and really should have won it in the 13th.

That’s when Roberts surprisingly batted for Kiké Hernández after a Tommy Edman leadoff double. Miguel Rojas bunted Edman to third, but Alex Call and Freeman couldn’t get him home.

That was only one of numerous potentially game-changing plays on a night when the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead, fell behind 4-2, tied it up at 4-all, fell behind 5-4, then tied it up again in the seventh. Who’d have thought it would remain tied for the next 11 innings?The Dodgers left 18 men on base. They were two-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Max Muncy went 0-for-7. Mookie Betts went 1-for-8. Freeman was just 2-for-7.

“Weird how the game works sometimes, huh?” said Freeman.

The official time of this one was 6:39, which wasn’t so long that one thought of actor Jason Bateman’s reminder to the crowd during a pregame cheer. He noted that the Dodgers had not clinched a World Series championship at Dodger Stadium since 1963.

Two wins in the next two days and they’ll finally do it again.

After Monday’s doubleheader sweep, it’s hard to believe they won’t.

Injuries nearly swallowed the Lakers whole Monday night, leaving them short on ballhandlers, key role players and star power.

They were down seven players and they were playing on back-to-back nights to top it off, leaving the task daunting for the Lakers.

Still, the Lakers had to press on against the odds, which they were unable to overcome in falling 122-108 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Austin Reaves did his best to keep the Lakers in the game, scoring 41 points one night after scoring a career-high 51 at Sacramento. Reaves now has scored 143 points in the first four games this season, tying him with Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor (1962) for the most points in Lakers’ history over that span to start the season.

Rui Hachimura (16 points) and Deandre Ayton (16 points, eight rebounds) tried to help out.

But with guard Luka Doncic (left finger sprain, lower left leg contusion) and LeBron James (right sciatica) out, it was going to be tough for the Lakers. Then with guards Marcus Smart (right quad contusion) and Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain) down, it meant the Lakers were in deeper trouble without much of their backcourt. Add Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain), Jaxson Hayes (right patellar tendinopathy) and Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery) sitting the bench in street clothes, and it was too much for the Lakers to deal with.

The Lakers have two more games this week, at Minnesota on Wednesday night and at Memphis on Friday, meaning L.A. will have played four games this week while not being whole.

Along with Reaves and Ayton, the Lakers started Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Jake LaRavia.

The Lakers’ bench consisted of Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Chris Manon and Christian Koloko, the last two of whom are on two-way contracts — leaving them with nine available players.

“I don’t expect anybody to do more than they’re doing,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “What we challenged the guys on before the game was playing with an edge. And that’s a habit that I think takes time to form. We saw glimpses of it throughout the preseason. You’re just kind of waiting on it. You hope you get it opening night. And then you finally start seeing it when we’re in Game 2 against Minnesota. And I thought the guys throughout the game yesterday [in Sacramento] just had a terrific competitive edge. That’s what we need. And that’s regardless if we have a full roster or … how many guys are out? Six? Seven? Seven. Seven guys out. Yeah, we gotta do it.”

Taking care of the basketball was one of the problems the Lakers had. Then again that wasn’t a total surprise, considering the Lakers really had just one ballhander in Reaves and he was harassed all night by Portland.

The Lakers turned the ball over 25 times, leading to 28 points for the Trail Blazers.

The Lakers didn’t do it from the three-point line in the first half, missing 11 of their 12 attempts. They finished the game going seven for 27 from the three-point line.

New York Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo had a long day Sunday, having suffered what appears to be a season-ending ankle injury and reportedly undergoing surgery that night.

Nonetheless, the player who has become one of the breakout stars of the 2025 appeared to be up early Monday.

Skattebo took to his Instagram Story to post a video showing clips of Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, receiver Darius Slayton, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor all expressing concern for their injured teammate following New York’s 38-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“My guys love tall boys,” Skattebo wrote in the caption, making an apparent reference to his relatively small (by NFL standards) 5-foot-11 stature.

Skattebo was injured midway through the second quarter after attempting to catch a pass over the middle. His right foot appeared to get caught under another player and was bent in an unnatural direction. Players from both teams huddled around Skattebo in concern as he was treated by medical staff.

Even the notoriously harsh Philadelphia fans gave their NFC East rival’s rising star a standing ovation as he was carted off the field with an air cast on his leg. Skattebo responded by waving in appreciation.

“I feel absolutely terrible for the young man,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “Looked bad. You feel for anybody that goes down and has a really bad injury. I know the players feel the same way about Skatt.”

Dart added: “That’s my boy, man. That sucks. It’s just the worst part of the game.”

The Giants said Sunday that Skattebo had suffered a dislocated ankle and would undergo surgery that night. ESPN reported Monday morning that the fourth-round draft pick out of Arizona State remained in the hospital after the previous night’s surgery and was “doing well given the circumstances of what was described as an emergency situation.”

Skattebo leads Giants this season with 410 rushing yards in 101 carries with five touchdowns. He also has 24 receptions for 207 yards with two touchdowns, including one on an 18-yard pass from Dart in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

Skattebo’s injury leaves New York with second-year player Tyrone Tracy Jr. and seven-year veteran Devin Singletary at running back. On Sunday, Tracy had 10 carries for 39 yards and two receptions for 14 yards while Singletary rushed twice for no yards but had a 28-yard reception.

For the season, Tracy has 45 carries for 159 yards with one touchdown and 10 catches for 68 yards; Singletary has 28 carries for 84 yards and three receptions for 28 yards.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

IF you enjoy a night out in the pub then you’ll surely enjoy a night in at the pub too.

A cottage-style Airbnb is offering visitors the chance to pull their own pints with a fully-functioning private pub on the premises.

Avoid queues for the loos and overpriced pints with this popular getaway spot in the Irish countryside.

Nellie’s Farmhouse is located just outside of coastal town of Carlingford in County Louth, Ireland.

Conveniently just an hour’s drive from both Belfast and Dublin, visitors can easily access this remote location for a secluded session.

Private pub rental

Nestled at the foot of the stunning Slieve Foy mountain, the property boasts stunning views of the surrounding countryside.

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The traditional farmhouse dates back to the 1800 century, and has been in the hospitality sector since the late 1980s.

This five-star accomodation sleeps up to eight guests across four bedrooms.

It features five beds, three bathrooms, and of course a private on-site pub complete with draught taps and a jukebox.

With prices varying depending on dates, the entire cottage is available to rent for a two-night minimum.

It averages around £960 for two nights, breaking down to just £60 per person each night.

Visitors can contact the host in advance of their stay to order half kegs to pull their own pints during their stay.

Local amenities

And guests can also enjoy a night out in Carlingford Medieval village, which is just a 10 minute drive away.

Local activities include hill walking, with one of the Train trails just a minutes walk from the cottage, golf, fishing, sailing, and horse riding.

A Sky Park Adventure Center and Green Way are also located nearby.

And for the ultimate relaxing night-in, the cottage has a five-person hot tub and wood-burning stove.

Suitable for groups of adults, the property is advertised as not suitable for children under the age of 10 years.

The award-winning cottage has received rave reviews from visitors, with one commenting on the “perfect Guinness” they enjoyed at the private pub set-up.

Another guest described the property as “beautifully renovated [and] packed with quirky interesting antiques”.

Meanwhile, others said it was “one of the best places” they’ve ever stayed in.

One visitors encouraged people to visiting, saying “the photos don’t do it justice”.

“This wee cottage oozes of comfort, all mod cons but keeping the cottage feel,” wrote another guest.

“If you want to experience the ole country cottage feel, surrounded by mountains and silence and still be spoilt this is the place to be.”

One person called the cottage “a real hidden gem”, while another visitors said it was “the best little holiday spot”.

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And a secluded English cottage where your garden is the beach and people say it “doesn’t even look real”.

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Plus, the coastal town nicknamed “Vienna by the Sea” that was once popular with royalty.

The spookiest UK holiday park comes complete with “human cauldrons”.

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And the top five places in the UK where you get the most hours of sunlight after the clocks change.