cliffys

adam had heard about this place called 'cliftons'. he had heard that it was kind of strange, set up like a cafeteria, but was supposedly cool. so we figured we would give it a try. wow, were we in for a treat! this place was amazing! when we first got in there we were blown away by the ridiculous decor. it looked like really a really cheesy outdoor scene, complete with animatronic animals and all. we got our food from the cafeteria line and found a seat. we werent quite sure what to make of the place. was this for real or was it meant to be a joke? we were by far the youngest people in there, the average age was probably about 65, at the youngest... we were convinced that most of these people were probably regulars and had been going there since the nixon administration.

we wandered around a bit after we ate our lunch and happened upon this strange place- it was a small chapel built into one of the 'trees' on the second floor. it was incredibly tiny, so we figured we would all four crowd into it. the photo at the left shows just how tight the quarters were. when we were in there there was a diorama set up of a forest, and a button to press to listen to a sermon about Gods beautiful creation. what a trip!

the true magnitude of the place sunk in when we wandered up to the third floor. it was filled with all kinds of photos of the place from when it was first built and newspaper clippings from that time explaining what it was all about. it was truly amazing! it had been around since 1931, and was quite the popular place to be! at the time the idea of a cafeteria was brand new- exciting and modern! but to see some of the pictures of stars coming to dine there, the neon lights that used to adorn its exterior, and the good things they were able to do in the community at the time all really showed us how cool of a place this must have been. you know, before there was an inch of dust on all the decorations... check out its website, it is really interesting.

(more pics)