Where's Huell 5/3 - 5/9

Few men go to a grocery store looking for an adventure. And even fewer find one. But when you're Huell Howser, there is always a chance for adventure — even in the produce section.

Monday - May 3, 7:30pm: Catalina Casino - The Catalina Casino has been the focal point of Santa Catalina since it opened over eighty years ago on May 29, 1929. Now ompletely restored, the ballroom retains its original romantic style — with beautiful rose-hued walls, an arching, fifty-foot ceiling and five Tiffany chandeliers. Huell gets special tour of this California icon, nestled in the small community of Avalon. Apart from being the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island, Avalon is also the site of unrequited love for turn-of-the-20th-century superstar Al Jolson:

Tuesday - May 4, 7:30pm: Backdrops - Join Huell as he literally gets a look at what is behind the scene when he visits Grosh Backdrops. They have been providing backgrounds to movies, TV shows, theaters and even school plays since 1932. And we have Grosh to thank for the happiest place on earth. The comapny was hired by Walt Disney to transform a small stretch of land in Anaheim into a place of pure escapism.

Wednesday - May 5, 7:30pm: Grocery Store Stories (NEW) - Huell meets two nice ladies at his local grocery store and sees where their story takes him. Hint, think pawn shop and neon! Huell didn't end up at the Museum of Neon Art in downtown, but this quick tour of the gallery space will whet your appetite for neon.

Thursday - May 6, 7:30pm: Jojoba - Huell visits with Larry and Donna Charpied at their 10-acre jojoba farm located in the Eagle Mountain/Desert Center of Eastern Riverside County, in the shadow of Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness. Huell learns about the many uses for this desert wonder plant — including serving as the primary ingredient in retro shampoo and conditioner. Want silky, manageable, and healthy hair? Jojoba extract might be just what you need.

Friday - May 7, 7:30pm: Rocks in Water - In this episode Huell visits not one, not two, but three rocks in water. First, Huell travels to scenic Lake Tahoe and boards a boat to Emerald Bay where he climbs all over Fannette Island, the only island in the entire lake. A sparsely-timbered, brush-covered upthrust of granite that rises 150 feet above the turquoise water, this island is believed to be a resistant rib of rock which was overridden by the glacial ice that carved out Emerald Bay. But the payoff comes when Huell reaches the very top of the rock and visits the historic stone "tea house" built in 1928 and hears about its colorful history. Curious how Huell plans on getting to Emerald Bay to start his rocks in water journey. Well, it probably went something like this:

Next Huell travels to the very northern coast of California to see first hand some of the most unusual rocks you'll ever see in the water. They're part of the jetty system built to protect ship traffic in and out of Humboldt Bay. These huge, reinforced concrete shapes resembling children's toy jacks, are 15 feet high and 43 tons each, with two eight-sided arms and an eight-sided connecting beam. This unique assemblage of rocks is the only design ever to hold up under the constant pounding of the heavy seas, and Huell not only walks out on the jetty for a close-up look, but is taken out to sea by the U.S. Coast Guard for an exciting view from the ocean side.
Huell's final destination is the most unusual because he ends up in the Mojave Desert — far from any water, fresh or salt -- and what he finds on the desert floor are rocks that you'd never even notice under normal circumstances, but were once under water and, in fact, have a rich human story to tell.

Sunday - May 9, 7:00pm: Mono Lake Today - Huell revisits Mono Lake, and sees how it has changed in the 15 years since he was first there. We'll learn all about the tufa towers, the many migratory birds, as well as the efforts of the dedicated people who have worked so hard to restore and keep Mono Lake the amazing place that it is. And before Huell made his way to Mono Lake, it served as home for the Paiute Indian people.