#3 negative - traffic

august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  i am going to start with ten positives and ten negatives, alternating back and forth each day.  concluding with my top ten things about life in pasadena.

#3 negative - traffic

just your average friday afternoon on the 210.  i will not miss traffic.

pasadena

as my time at fuller seminary draws to a close i find myself growing more nostalgic about our experience in southern california.  this photo was taken in 2007 on our last day of the four day journey from virginia to california.  we snapped this photo as we got on the 210 freeway for the last bit of driving before we arrived at our new home.

we still don't know what our future holds, but for this stage of life, pasadena has exceeded our expectations.

the land of the freeway

pasadena's really not that bad compared to the rest of los angeles county, but we do have a few massive freeway interchanges in town - this one being no exception.

golden horizon

another friday rolls around, and another beautiful (and slightly jarring?) pasadena sky.

sky-watching photography from around the world can be found right here.

skywatching in pasadena

i thought this sky was pretty bizarre - sunset on the bottom, dark clouds, but some clear sky poking through.  strange.

drive me crazy

busy traffic on an evening in pasadena along the 210 freeway. 

i hope your weekend is traffic free!

november theme day: public transportation

 los angeles county isn't exactly known for its public transportation system, but it is getting better.  pasadena is linked in by several bus lines and the metro gold line, pictured above, a light rail system that runs to union station.  plans are in motion to run the line further east - eventually all the way to azusa.

as usual, on the first of the month, hundreds of bloggers from the city daily photo world are working with this theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

pasadena police - the chase is on!

while walking with the baby a few weeks ago, i was passed by a fleet of police vehicles.  there must have been about ten of them, all driving with the pedal to the floor.  these were the only two i caught by the time i pulled out my camera.  the composition of the photo isn't the greatest, but i like the movement that came out in this shot.

friday commute

my wife meredith took a few photos recently, and graciously allowed me to post them on my blog. i'll be featuring her work over the next few days.

today's photo is a pictorial example of why we don't drive on the highway on friday afternoons.

this photo needs a title

aside from the lack of a title, i turn 27 today. imagine that!

skywatch friday: la canada fire

temperatures above 100 degrees have created a perfect wildfire environment. in pasadena we've had fires burning to the east and now to the west with the recent la canada fire.

this photo is of our view of the sky last night looking toward the fire. look closely and you can actually see an orange glow from the flames where the smoke rises from the horizon. hopefully the fires will be put out soon.

petrea has some more great shots right here.
here is the pasadena star news' take.

another post on the fires at kchblog and an update
and another at little homestead
and yet another at hometown pasadena
and of course our public information officer


more skywatch friday photos can be found here.

northwest pasadena from an airplane

you can make out the 210 as it snakes north, as well as the golf course at the rose bowl and parts of la canada flintridge.

mixed messages?

freeway entrance and do not enter. love it.

vivid

more skywatch friday photos here.

210 east

los angeles county is known for its highways and traffic. california interstate 210 (known in these parts as the two-ten) is one of pasadena's access points to the massive county highway system. it is also a geographical dividing line which unfortunatley symbolizes a economic split between the constantly developing southern upscale part of town, and the older and more gritty northern part of town (which happens to be where i live).

pasadena from mt. wilson

i went with a group of friends yesterday to take a 10 mile hike around mt. wilson. although this picture is pretty hazy, we were pretty impressed with the view of our city from above.

along the 210, approaching pasadena

pasadena downtown - next 2 exits. i played around with several attributes of this photo before posting, and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

sky watchin'

this image is from a little while ago, in fact i had to check my blog's history to make sure i hadn't posted it before. i'm not sure why it took me so long - the colors leap off the screen. you can make out st. andrews clock tower on the horizon, and the 210 below. i hope you like it! there are many other people celebrating sky watch friday, check them out.

framing the 210

i ride over this highway every day on my way to class or work. likewise, my wife drives on it to get to work. it's noisy and sometimes congested and a part of our lives whether we like it or not. this image ended up on my camera while i tried to take a picture of something else. i like how the fence is emphasized and the highway is simply background fuzz. what does this say about me?

another picture of my new friend

boy, do i ever love my new bike. i know being a show off isn't exactly a desirable quality, but i can't help myself! not sure if i've ever listed the specifics of this bike, but they can be found right here. this image is on the los robles overpass which is on top of the 210.

just one of the many things in my life i am thankful for. happy thanksgiving everyone!