For the first Off-Ramp podcast episode, let's go back to that amazing day in 2013 when my friend Chris sent me a message:

"Hey, John. My sister and her husband just bought a home in the Valley with a fallout shelter that hasn't been touched in decades. Wanna do an Off-Ramp piece about it?" 

Would I? Should you wear a sport coat to Musso & Frank? Are horizontal fence slats getting old? Are you legally required to take visiting relatives to The Huntington? Yes!

The piece you're about to listen to was probably the most popular one we ever did, in no small part due to the great photos by Mae Ryan. 

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Welcome from host John Rabe, a public radio veteran and bon vivant who turned exploring Southern California into a radio art form on KPCC's Off-Ramp. Now, he's sharing stories from the Off-Ramp archive - in a lead-lined vault deep beneath Mt Wilson - with you!

Check your feed every Friday, then sit back, listen, enjoy ... and then get out and make your own SoCal adventures!

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios)

Virtual Tour of China: Chinese Artists look Outside; Dinner Party Download; Putting the Brakes on Fast Food; E is for Idiot; Virtual Tour of China: Shaved Ice in the SGV and beyond; L.A.'s Own Water Polo Olympian; Lawn Bowling: Beijing or Bust?; Tower of Terror; Going for Gold in the Smog; The Mayor of Gladys Park; Virtual Tour of China: Absurd Recreation; Handy Man

Dinner Party Download; Sushi Zen; Sushi 101; Hot Ramen; I Eat Ramen, Here Me Roar!; Would You Eat Granny?; Urban Survivalist; El Pollo Chino; Some botanas, por favor; Umami=Yummy; The Best Milkshake in Riverside; Too Fresh Fish; Sushi Delicacies; Your Own Sushi Chef; Sushi Wrap-Up

Happy 2nd, Off-Ramp!; There's Gold in These Hills!; Dinner Party Download; Newsletter Alert!; Shaken and Stirred; The Earthquake As it Happened; Gold Fever; Charles Perry, Renaissance Man; Monster Movie Sets: Built for Destruction; Tanker Planes Take a Hit; It Was Worth the Wait, Right?; No Jalapenos? Well try these peppers; Music on Off-Ramp: "My Dwarf is Getting Tired"; Music on Off-Ramp: "Use Me"; Music on Off-Ramp: "There's a Goldmine in the Sky"

The Debut of the Dinner Party Download; A Tribute to Theme Songs; The Art of Theme Songs; Song for Night; Song for Night; On the Righteous Path; The Watson Twins; Hollywood's Hungarian Rhapsody; Hooked on... Jane Austen?; Olive Oil in California; Music: Anat Cohen

Welcome to Doo-Dah; Doo Dah Surf - Part One; The Duke of Surfing; Doo Dah Surf - Part Two; Doo Dah Surf - Part Three; Hang Tiki; Surf Break; Time Capsule; A Nest for the Homeless

It's a Wonderful Life; You Knew Him As Bozo; Onion Rings in the I.E.; Mock Me Gently; Compton Remembers the Williams Sisters; How Green Was My Valley?; Tom Disch Remembered; The New Beverly Cinema; Tarzan of Tarzana; L.A.'s Screenplay: "Right of Way"; Doo-Dah Surf on July 19th

Anime-niacs!; On Being Faithful; Coming to America; New Citizens; "El Piolin," American At Last; Full Metal and Tiny Toys; Attention!; The Voice of Anime; Say NET-SKAY!; Yowee!; Representative Spendthrift; He's Ba-ack...; Banana Oil!; Remembering Summer

1984 Revisited; Cruisin' for Neon; Megapuss Live at the Hammer Museum; Harvard Glee Club Celebrates 150 Years; Look Ma--No Hands!; George Carlin Remembered; Reporter's Roundtable; It's a Costume, Savvy?; Cheech The Art Collector; A Late Composer's Early Birthday Bash; Pomp and Circumstance; They're back...