Stan’s Obligatory Blog

So we went to Lucinda’s Holiday Program today. The kids actually did a pretty good show. Here is a picture of the kindergarten group. Other pictures from the day are in Lucinda’s photo album.

Today we went to Lucinda’s school for their Holiday program. Parking near the school is always a problem. But I am the Master of Parallel Parking. I got the car into this space, and it wasn’t too bad. I had three fingers clearance at the back and five at the front. So the space was actually a good six inches longer than the car. Not a record by any means. Still, it was amusing, since Cathy didn’t think it was going to fit.

Also, when we got there, I was kind of amazed to see the towers of downtown L.A. off in the distance. They’re about 15 miles away, but usually we can’t see them through the smog.

One of the fun things about Southern California is that citrus fruit grows on trees in our back yard. So we get to see all the weird fruits that would never make it to the grocery store. Lucinda was very excited when she found this tiny little tangerine on our tree. So she had to try it.

One more sign of the impending holidays here in Pasadena. The bleachers are going up all along Colorado Blvd. in preparation for the 24 hours or so of madness that is the Rose Parade. I really can’t understand the people who camp out overnight to see it, and it makes our neighborhood a zoo for three days afterwards. But it’s part of our local kitsch and culture. So it’s all right, and it’s even kind of funny.

On the day of the parade, they park all the trailers in our neighborhood to collect the horses. This means that every little girl is out running around with a bag of carrots to feed them. It’s really quite cute.

Today was one of those days when they take postcard pictures. It was exceptionally clear, and pleasantly warm. And today’s club ride was up Glendora Mountain Road. This is a nice 9-mile climb up the front range of the San Gabriels. We started out full of energy and smiling. And some of us were even still smiling when we got to the top…

There was a fire there two years ago, and there are still a lot of burned trees on the side of the mountain. But we’ve had some rain recently, so the hillsides were all green. And I had to stop and take a picture when I saw the towers of downtown L.A. in the distance. They are about 25 miles away from where I’m standing, and it’s pretty rare for the air to be clear enough to see that far.

When we got to the top, I had to take a picture looking back down to where we started. If you look carefully, you can see the road winding up the ridge in the photo. We also were marveling that not only could we see Catalina Island, but we could even see San Clemente Island, which is just to the left of Catalina, and about 100 miles away.

Then we went down into the East Fork of San Gabriel Canyon. It was a very warm day, but there were some very cold air pockets in shady spots on the way down. It was kind of startling to ride through them. We stopped for a snack at Camp Williams before continuing down the canyon. Right after we left Camp Williams, Gene got a flat. So we got to spend a bit more time admiring the scenery. Finally, we got down the bridge at the junction of Highway 39. Then we went down 39 the rest of the way back to Azusa. From there it was the standard route home through Duarte, Monrovia, Arcadia and Sierra Madre.

It was a fun ride. 52 miles.

I added an image to the header on this page, following the instructions I found here:

http://www.tamba2.org.uk/wordpress/graphicalcss/header/index.html

The picture is one that I took last Saturday when I was riding over Mt. Hollywood in Griffith Park.

I just found out that a new version of the old Grave Line Tour of Hollywood is launching in January. It’s being run by the same guy, who also runs www.findadeath.com. The new tour has a new name and a van instead of the hearse. But the tour sounds good. It’s going to cover more ground than the old one, including going out as far as the Sharon Tate murders in Benedict Canyon. So it should be a fun time. Be sure to check it out at Dearly Departed Tours.

This afternoon, we took the train in the rain to the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown L.A. We wanted to see The Chocolate Room. This is an installation piece which is a room with the walls covered with 264 (I counted them) pieces of paper with a thin, silk-screened coating of chocolate. Also, they have art projects for kids on the first Sunday of every month. Lucinda got to make a little gingerbread house there. It was a fun afternoon.

After that, we rode the train home. Lucinda was especially interested in the center section of the car, where the two sections are articulated. She rode most of the way home standing in the center of the car, watching it move every time the train went around a curve.

This morning, I got up and started making tamales with the meat I cooked last night. This is our first time making home-made tamales. Lucinda and Cathy made some, but I made most of them. I felt like I was getting ethnic, even though none of us here is even remotely Mexican. Note the use of the Chinese bamboo steamer for the tamales. Then, after they were steamed, we had them for lunch just so we could try them out. They were quite good.

Cathy took Lucinda to see the L.A. Children’s Chorus. They said that it was a nice show. I stayed home and cooked meat and sauces for tamales.