Well, not exactly the picture I had in my mind. But, I did get snow and birds in the same shot.
Monday, January 30, 2023
San Gabriel Mountains - January 30 Snow Edition
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Reflections on Eaton Canyon Reservoir
With the recent rains, Eaton Canyon Reservoir has a good amount of water. This is the view looking north from the medical buildings on Washington Blvd., across the street from St. Lukes. The San Gabriel Mountains are reflected in the reservoir water. Just a beautiful view.
This is the evening sunset view over the reservoir from New York Drive looking west to St. Lukes and the palms lining Washington Blvd. Very nice view actually. Can't do much about the Edison power lines but try to ignore them.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Wild Parrot Brewing -- 5 Star Review
Last night we had dinner (plus a flight of beer and glass of wine) at Wild Parrot Brewing Company, which is a fantastic addition to East Pasadena. They share space with Rosebud Coffee at the corner of East Colorado Blvd. and Roosevelt, just a few doors down from Fedde Furniture.
This is primarily a brewery and tap room with ample tables to hang out and enjoy some excellent beer. They had a fine selection of home-brewed beers and ciders on tap. I tried a flight of different beers (served in four-ounce glasses placed in a cupcake tin) and was happy with all the selections. But, I definitely favored the West Coast IPA.
Food is not the main attraction here, but their offerings were quite good. We enjoyed a spicy grilled carnitas sandwich and nachos topped with carnitas. Looks like they have special BBQ and hamburger days too.
Anyone living in East Pasadena will get the Wild Parrot name. The green birds are familiar local sights and the sound of their shrieks unforgettable. How the birds got established here is a distinctively East Pasadena story that is told (with some artistic license) in humorous posters on the walls of the Wild Parrot Brewing Company.
Now, about a decade ago, right here in this blog, I told the story of our local wild parrots. As the art depicts, the parrots' story is connected with the rise and fall of the old Simpsons Garden Town that was also located on East Colorado Blvd. In what remains one of this blog's all time most visited posts, I told the story of a scrappy entrepreneur named Hal Simpson, his nursery and bird farm, and the fire that both destroyed his business and liberated the forebears of our local parrots.
This bird looks like he could use a cold IPA on tap at, where else, Wild Parrot Brewing Company. Great new spot. We will be back.Wednesday, January 4, 2023
2023 Rose Parade -- from East Pasadena
Our New Years was brought in with a healthy dose of the Sierra Madre. We weathered a rainstorm at RT Rogers Brewing Co. where I enjoyed their red IPA. The next evening, we were back in downtown Sierra Madre to see the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association send off its 2023 rose parade float. Then, of course, it is never too cold or rainy for a stop at Mother Moo.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Road Trip to Field of Dreams - Return to Pasadena Continued
As we left our hotel in West Des Moines, we drove onto Mills Civic Parkway and saw a Scooters coffee across the street from a Caribou coffee. We chose Caribou and turned onto Interstate 35 heading south. Within a few miles, we were out of the city and back travelling through the green Iowa countryside. I liked that the city was so close to the country. I regretted that we had not seen more of Des Moines.
We charted a course to Abilene, Kansas, where we planned to see the Eisenhower Presidential Museum. I am not sure how I missed this, but Interstate 35 runs due south through Osceola, Van Wert and Decatur City and then right into Missouri. Surprise.... we were going to Missouri.
Just over the Missouri border, near Eagleville, we stopped at the Missouri welcome center. To say this was a welcome center or rest stop does not do the place justice. The usual brochures and local displays were there but also a beautiful mural depicting all things Missouri. Just off the parking lot there was an open field planted with flowers and grass. Amid all the plants was a herd of bronze buffalo. We spent some time wandering among the bronze herd. You could almost imagine what the plains must have looked like centuries ago.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Road Trip to the Field of Dreams -- Our Return Trip Back to Pasadena
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Road Trip to Field of Dreams -- Day 8 - at the Field of Dreams
At the table, my big surprise came to life as our two kids walked in to join us for breakfast. They had caught a flight from Dallas to Cedar Rapids (how many can there be?), rented a car and drove out to Dubuque. Near midnight they had knocked on our door and in a sleepy groggy state, I opened the door. They were so out of context, and I was so sleepy I did not believe what I was seeing. Did they know they were in Iowa? Or was this some kind of dream? Well, the next morning in the Hancock House dining room, the dream became real. All four of us were together in someplace we had never been. We were in Iowa, having breakfast at the Hancock House mansion. And we were going to the Field of Dreams. Crazy!
After breakfast, our family headed west. It felt good to have all four of us in one car. That's a routine thing when they were young. I am probably speaking just for me, but I loved those family road trips. Once the kids grow up, those trips together are but warm memories. Getting the whole family in the car is not so easy.
We drove up and over the Dubuque bluffs. Now, with the Mississippi River behind us, green farmland all around and the Field of Dreams ahead, in many ways my trip was complete. More than I could have imagined.
We passed through the farm towns of Peosta, Epworth and Farley, then turned off 20 and headed north on Jamesmeier Rd., then left on Prier and north on Black Hills. This was rural Iowa. Endless corn fields. A few farmhouses and silos. Signage is thankfully spare. Black Hills dead-ends into Lansing Road and a left turn takes you to the Field of Dreams. The Field is on part of the old Lansing family farm.