Back in 1978, celebrity guest stars began landing via sea plane on television's "Fantasy Island," heralded by Tattoo's famous "da plane, da plane!" bell ringing and their characters shelled out $50k a pop for their visit.
Earlier this month, my good buddy Scott Michaels
and I arrived there by car, it didn't cost us a dime and lacked
fanfare, tropical drinks, Mr. Roark and Tattoo to greet us but it was
exciting anyway.
Many of the exterior scenes of "Fantasy Island" were filmed at the historic Queen Anne Cottage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden and the sea plane "landed" on the surrounding lake. 
For
someone who thought she's seen it all in Los Angeles, this was a real
treat. I had no idea the house was there, so big huge thanks to Scott
for taking me on a real day "trip" back in time.
More pix from
our visit (plus screen caps from the "Fantasy Island" pilot as well as
snaps from Mountain View Cemetery that day) are available for viewing at Flickr.
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