beckman auditorium

this striking building doesn't really match the look of the rest of caltech's campus, but is impressive - and stands out even more when contrasted with a stormy sky and looming mountains. it functions as the campus entertainment and academic event center.

cocktails at the 35er

never been, but we often walk by this bar along colorado. this photo was taken in the alley behind the bar and seems to advertise that they will make you a cocktail if you are so inclined. i don't think this place would stand out to me if not for two things - an excessive amount of neon beer signs in the front, and shortly after arriving in pasadena someone asked me for directions to the 35er while i was riding on the metro gold line.

any pasadenians out there want to give a review of this establishment? from the outside it seems to be kind of a dive bar that is trying to come off as part night club, part sports bar. interesting.

this weekend we are heading out of town to visit sequoia national park - the next few days are on autopilot, so try and behave while i'm gone.

photo request #3: people on a bench

my very creative sister suggested that i post a picture of people sitting on a bench. she also noticed that my blog often lacks people as the subject and thought i should branch out a bit (she's right). since we have family in town, today's post is starring them on our recent visit to caltech. a beautiful pasadena location, family, jacaranda tree, rose garden, and... people on a bench :)

the getty on a sunday afternoon

the getty center has got to be one of the most photogenic parts of los angeles county. it's an art gallery, museum, botanical garden, and scenic outlook all rolled into one. the best part is that aside from parking, it's free. if you haven't been, be sure to check it out when you are in the area.

photo request #2: a blooming yuca plant

a little while back i asked for photo requests. palm axis, a faithful reader of this blog suggested that i get shot of the beautiful yucca plant that is currently blooming all over southern california. my quest had been unsuccessful until a trip to the la county museum of art. their fantastic "phantom sightings: art after the chicano movement" exhibit included an artist named margarita cabrera and her artwork. as you can see, it included the above vw bug as well as cactus and a blooming yucca plant made from reclaimed border patrol uniforms. very cool indeed - and the perfect way to snap off a photo that filled the request of my reader, and yet was also very uniquely different (much like her wonderful blog). go check out this exhibit in person if you are in the area.

thanks so much for the photo suggestion, and everyone else can feel free to keep the photo suggestions coming. i still have a few more requests to fulfill, they should be posted in the next few weeks.

music under the stars

the pasadena pops orchestra performed a free concert last night in front of city hall. quite the site to behold in person! this kicked off the summer concert series held annually in downtown pasadena.


happy long weekend everyone!

photo request #1: at cal tech

my immediate question was "what about adding animals to the pond?"

i need to give credit to this shot to juhie and a.me who stopped by my blog long enough to suggest a trip to caltech to check out the campus. more photos to come, and keep the requests coming!

99 cents only

loyal readers of this blog might recognize the style of photo from this one posted way back in january. taken on the same day in the same plaza, it's really no coincidence.

99 cents only stores are famous for their affordable items and the incredible amount of stores that dot the southwest, but did you also know that the most expensive photograph ever sold was taken in one of their stores? or that there is a gourmet cookbook being marketed using only items found in this store?

cuisine of india

featuring a very fine lunch buffet, this restaurant also sports a nice overhead view of colorado blvd. indian food seems to be something you either love or hate. I'm outing myself as a lover.

trip through your wires

someone recently mentioned that pasadena should use the palm trees instead of installing or replacing telephone poles. either way, they sometimes blend together creating a jumble of lines.

which way is up?

these trees which line east mountain street have a distinctive lean. my guess is that they are probably pointing in the direction of the most consistent sunlight, but it's just a guess. this picture was taken on a sunday morning ride to church.

green parking?

this parking garage behind wolfe burgers on lake avenue is almost covered in ivy. looks pretty cool, eh?

a big thank you for all who have visited this blog. today marked my 5000th visitor to the site! thank you for checking out "the sky is big in pasadena"!

thai me up and leave me here

saladang is one of the many thai restaurants we are fortunate to have here in pasadena. it is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to go to dinner. not only is the food award winning and reasonably priced, it is also delicious! our table ordered - starting at the top - spinach curry, prik king, bell peppers with beef, sizzling beef skillet, ginger curry. i'm starting to be convinced that you could order anything on the menu and not be disappointed.

and we're finally getting over the loss of taste of thai - our favorite restaurant back in virginia.

bell tower

today's image of the bell tower at pasadena pres. is inspired by my photoblogging buddy josh over at no rhyme or reason.

happy bike week!

this photo was taken during last night's heaven on wheels ride as a part of pasadena bike week. i love the mix of red bicycle tail lights, the green traffic lights, and the dome of city hall in the distance. if you haven't had a chance to be a part of any of the festivities yet, at least check out the bike expo happening at one colorado today.

aaardvark's odd ark

what i assumed was a local thrift store turns out to be a much larger chain of stores. i stumbled across one while riding around los angeles and then found another on our recent trip to san fran. this place seems to have everything from wigs (as seen floating in this image) to prom dresses. a friend even mentioned that you can often get a good price on a wet suit here if you are considering taking up surfing.

silhouette

another picture of the jacaranda trees, in very different light.

villa park farmers market

this is the closest farmers market to where we live and sadly this is the first image i've posted of it! pasadena and the surrounding area is blessed with farmers markets on pretty much every day of the week. so far i've been to this one on tuesday, south pas. on thursday, monrovia on friday, and the one at pasadena's high school on saturday. pretty cool, eh?

the sun will come out

the pasadena sky has been awfully gray lately. fortunately the sun is supposed to be out in full force by this weekend. this photo was taken last fall on a hike we took at the park at the top of lake ave.

also, i'm looking for picture suggestions. ideas on what to photograph around town. you'll be credited in the photo description as my inspiration for the shot. start the requests!

j p l

nestled at the foot of the san gabriel mountains, just to the north of pasadena, is nasa's jet propulsion laboratory. it seems most people around here just refer to it as jpl. from above it looks like a city of it's own. it borders flintridge/la canada on one side, but has a security gate limiting the people who actually enter. i hear they offer tours of the place, maybe we need to go sometime.

up on the roof

perched on a rooftop in old town, this couple was barely noticeable. i was hoping to get a good look at the faint bowman sign that used to be painted on the building, but found them instead.

flintridge sacred heart academy

snapped off this profile of one of the beautiful buildings at fsha. their campus has really interesting architecture and an amazing view of the pasadena skyline.

l.a. critical mass neon

this installment of friday neon is taken from last months critical mass bike ride in los angeles.

purple trees

driving down del mar blvd the other day we noticed the abundance of these purple leafed jacaranda trees (thanks to the comment section i now know the official name). not only do they decorate the treetops but they are also currently deposting a purple carpet on the sidewalks along del mar.

overlooking the 210

i wonder if this house was built before or after the highway was added. they certainly have quite a view from up there - just north of the rose bowl, they have a bird's eye view of pasadena.

san francisco sunset

i think that's all for now from our trip to san fran. tomorrow i'll start posting pasadena pictures once again.

this raises an interesting debate. if you are a member of the city daily photo community, do you ever feel like you can post pictures that aren't from your home city? i must not have too much of an issue with the practice since over the past several months i have posted pictures from san fran, sonoma, san diego, washington dc, central pennsylvania, and toronto...

what a photogenic city

we had a great time in san fran with tim and debbie (pictured here in front of the painted ladies). this city is a photographer's dream. i'm very envious of these bloggers who live there among the beauty.

those full house fans out there may recognize this scene from the intro song.

golden gate bridge

our trip north also included a stop in san francisco. it was my first trip and i was simply blown away with this city. i have a few more non-pasadenian photos to post over the next few days, i hope you don't mind!

weekend in wine country

benzinger is doing some cool stuff combining eco-friendly practices with making quality wine. we really enjoyed our weekend in sonoma among the vines.

pashgian bros

a late post for this past friday, just one of the many neon signs along colorado blvd.

may 2008 theme day: numbers

happy theme day! these new apartments on marengo avenue - appropriately christened cinema lofts - have a pretty striking way of displaying their street number. the photo below shows the incredible detail - it's actually a mosaic image made up of thousands of tiles.


we're heading out of town for a few days, so this is the last post until sunday (at which point I will attempt to back publish friday and saturday). try not to miss me too much!

there are 181 other blogs participating in today's daily photo theme, check them out!

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