TIRED DOGS AND PJ QUEENS – FRIDAY OF QUEEN MARY ART DECO FEST 2012

Friday of the Queen Mary Art Deco Festival, cohosted by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, could best be summed up by the phrase tired dogs and PJ queens.  Tired dogs being my aching feet.  PJ queens because of all of the gorgeous ladies in their best silk negligees.  But I’ll come back to those later.

Long Beach Art Deco

While the entire weekend could be a lesson in what not to do to your feet, Friday was the worst.  As part of the fest, I was the volunteer for the Long Beach Art Deco Walking Tour.  No lolling about my cabin or seated in a chaise longue for me (well I was, but only later because I couldn’t stand up any more.)  I was pounding the pavement of Long Beach in blistering heat helping corral attendees.  While I wore my most sensible Clarks oxfords, but I was still a sweaty, smelly (did I say smelly? ladies don’t smell) dog-tired gal at the end.  However, along the way we did see some lovely architecture.

Long Beach is unique in that there is a lot of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architecture preserved. Sites we saw included the Rowan Building, Metropolitan Apartments, the Lafayette Hotel,  and a mosaic once housed on the demolished Municipal Auditorium, just to name a few.  Someone pointed out I looked a bit like this lady in the mosaic, dressed as I was that day. What do you think?

Cocktails in Historic Places

After a shower and a tour of the current exhibit on the Queen Mary, one featuring dresses from Princess Diana, but also including artifacts from other royals, including the Duchess of Windsor, it was time to change for the third time into my cocktail dress for the Cocktails in Historic Places in the Verandah Grill on deck.  The cocktails were lovely, the friends charming, and the lounge chairs especially pleasant after a long day of walking.

Pajama Party

However, my evening was not over, not by a long shot, for I had to change for the fourth time that day (and you wondered about all of the clothes I brought in my earlier post) into my pajamas for the pajama party, which featured lovely beverages and a steeplechase dice game (I even won a race, though I didn’t get the prize.) The pajamas were regrettably what I wore last year.  My new pajamas didn’t arrive in time, but I still love my trapunto robe.

So as we watched the astronomical seasonal definition of a blue moon rise over the Queen, I bid you goodbye.  Next post will detail our Saturday adventures.