As a child I always LOVED the month of June. It meant the end of the school year, the opening of the backyard swimming pool and the longest days of the year to play more kick ball, red rover and hide and seek. What more could a kid from Brooklyn ask for?
Even today, I still love the month of June. Outside of the beginning of summer, this month is always a month of celebrations and recognition in many families. With the graduation season already in full swing, I would like to congratulate all who are graduating this month from grade school, high school or college. A special shout out goes to all of our UCLA and USC grads and their families who stay at our hotel for the big weekend. What a special time to reflect on the past curricular and extra-curricular accomplishments of each grad and to celebrate the exciting future ahead. Congrats to all the Grads of 2011!
Of course, the month of June also brings us Father’s Day this upcoming weekend. Is it just me or does Father’s Day seem less celebrated than Mother’s Day? Not sure why, but it sure feels that way. Nonetheless, Fathers do deserve their day of thanks and recognition to celebrate their parenting and fatherhood. The first Father’s Day in America was celebrated in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910 in honor of William Jackson Smart. His daughter threw a big party for Smart to thank him for raising six children as a single parent. The party became an annual event across Washington and the rest of the country. So make sure you make it a special day for our Dads and let them enjoy the day free from mowing the lawn, painting the garage door, and running to Home Depot!
Lastly, this month I have seen more articles, websites and news coverage on what is now one of the hottest fads in Los Angeles (and many other American cities): Food Trucks. These roaming restaurants feature a huge variety of food and show up all over the city at announced times. Many people follow their favorite Food Truck on Twitter to get something to eat. Some trucks park outside office building complexes for lunch and the hottest bars and clubs at night until 3am. Some of the most popular Food Trucks are the Grilled Cheese Truck, Fish Lips Sushi Truck, Korean Bar b Q Truck and even a Lobster Truck which appropriately was parked in Beverly Hills this past week a few blocks from our hotel. For dessert, you will find the Sweets Truck, Chunk n Chip Truck and Cupcakes A Go Go. The latest in this fad is for 4-8 trucks to converge on one block at the same time. Talk about a buffet, right!? Bon Appetit!
Be well and more to come!
Michael D’Amodio
