one more from washington

a nice walk with friends to finish up our trip to the northwest.

give thanks

my sister has critiqued my blog for not having enough photos with people in them.  well, i figured this one would satisfy for a little while!  this photo is of a recent fondue night with our good friends.  i'm thankful for many things in my life, but food, friends, and family are a good place to start.

have a very happy thanksgiving!

oh yeah, and fondue night with our friends was way too fun.  does anyone else feel like you do not do stuff like this often enough?

walking back to the waterfall

just a small glimpse at some of the path to get back to the eaton canyon waterfall.

cd saturday: led zeppelin's iv

last year we took a hike with some friends on echo mountain.  the day started out hazy and misty.  you might even say it was a misty mountain hop.  okay, i know, i'm stretching a bit, but when i thought about what picture to use for today's album review, this one seemed like the perfect choice.


i want to start off by saying how much i regret putting an album on this list that includes one of the most overplayed songs in the history of pop music.  never the less, this is an album that deserves to make my top 20 favorite albums list.

when i play zeppelin's prog. rock masterpiece, i think of a few things.  first, it reminds me of sitting around with friends (especially mike and steve) trying to duplicate the sounds we were hearing on our own instruments, or simply tapping or clapping out the rhythms.  second, it makes me think of the incredible way that john bonham's drumming shapes my enjoyment of this record (especially on "black dog").  third, it makes me realize how different this album is to ANYTHING else i own or listen to.  zeppelin was a band that was ground breaking and revolutionary in ways that have never quite been duplicated.

this album only has eight tracks, and they are all incredibly good (if not for one particular track being a bit overplayed).  ones that stand out - favorites - are the aforementioned "misty mountain hop" and "black dog", as well as their take on the beautiful song "when the levee breaks".

this is a classic album, and i'm sure many of you feel the same way.  to take a look at the other 16 albums i've reviewed so far on my way to my 20 favorite albums, check out the list below.

1. u2 - the joshua tree
2. dave matthews band - crash
3. cake - comfort eagle
4. blue rodeo - five days in july
5. the beach boys - pet sounds
6. coldplay - viva la vida
7. weezer - pinkerton
8. mates of state - re-arrange us
9. radiohead - ok computer 
10. nickel creek - this side
11. u2 - how to dismantle an atomic bomb 
12. the beatles - the white album 
13. sloan - one chord to another 
14. o.a.r. - risen
15. paul simon - graceland 
16. jack johnson - brushfire fairytales

the zataar factory

the other day while out on a bike ride through burbank, we discovered the zataar factory - a fantastic little bakery that specializes in lebanese flat bread and savory middle-eastern treats. the above picture is of "the zataar special" - zataar spice, cheese, egg, olives, tomatoes, and fresh mint. oh my!

march theme day: passageway

i promised to spend this week showing a few pictures from my first experience seeing a concert at beckman auditorium. this image is the passageway into the building with its massive stairways.

as usual on the first of every month, today's theme day is being explored by bloggers around the world.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants




one more thing today,

my home and native land is still celebrating from this moment... oh, canada!

snow peaks from a guest blogger

my friend ryan makes his second appearance as a guest photographer on this blog with his picture of the snow-capped mountains from last week. loyal readers may remember that ryan provided the photographs from our recent trip to eagle rock brewery.

head on out for a bike ride with friends

if only it would stop raining on the weekend.

enjoy your super bowl sunday! i'll be making these for the big game.

january theme day #2: best photo from 2009

city daily photo (of which i'm a proud member) typically has theme days on the first of the month. this month is a little different, as they are asking members to use the 15th of january to re-post their favorite photo from this past year.

as i looked back through my year in photos, i had several choices. some were photos of meaningful experiences or significant sporting events, others were photos of significant pasadena moments, while others i just liked the artistic value. the one i chose combines all of these things - good times with friends, in a pasadena setting, with a picturesque artistic value. it is a fun picture, and i really like it. and thus, is my best photo from 2009. for those who are curious, it was posted all the way back on january 28th.

you can also check out what all of the other bloggers selected.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

thanksgiving wrap-up

thursday was a wonderful day. a bike ride in the morning followed by a turkey frying experience and then capped off with a fantastic afternoon and evening of food, friends, and fellowship.

this is what happens when you blow bubblegum on your bicycle

thanks for the candid moment, ryan.

oh my! manuel's original el tepeyac cafe

we took a nice little bike ride on saturday through griffith park and los angeles before ending up at manuel's original el tepeyac cafe - a wonderful little mexican restaurant with a unique item on their menu - A FIVE POUND BURRITO. no, i did not eat that whole thing myself, however ryan and i split it - with room to spare - and helped our friends finish off their burrito. it was a wonderful moment!

father's office with friends

while their food and drink may be slightly overpriced, father's office has one of the tastiest burgers and best beer selections in l.a. county. and i do love burgers and beer...

biking after the station fire

a few weeks ago, taking a long ride on our bicycles was out of the question. the air was so thick with smoke and ash that it occasionally looked like it was snowing on me when i rode my bike to work. we are happy that the smoke is gone and the sky is clear, yet we are also sad that this fire took our forest with it. this la times article and accompanying video is worth a look.

more skywatch friday can be found right here.

one more from our grand adventure

here is another shot of the breathtaking imagery we found while visiting the grand canyon last week. we had a great time with our friends and can't wait for our next camping/hiking adventure!

heading out for a hike

we're hitting the road this evening for a long weekend trip with some friends to the grand canyon. we've never been and we're pretty excited! i'm sure i'll have plenty of photos to post when we get home, but until then, enjoy a few pasadena photos.

4.7 miles back down

from the top of inspiration point we headed back down the mountain, and as you can see from the sign, we had a significant walk back down.

i hope you enjoyed journeying through echo mountain with us over the last few days.

remains of yesteryear

the top of echo mountain contains the remnants of the mount lowe railway and the buildings and hotel that used to exist on top of the mountain. little remains beyond the foundations and some old machinery, but it is still worth checking out if you are in the area.

it is an incredible place to walk around and take in some local history.

rollin' into south pasadena

we got two 30+ mile rides in this weekend. one of them took us over the bridge which crosses over the 110 from highland park to south pasadena (where this photo was taken).

post race hang out in the street

after successful completion of the solvang century, ryan, tim, and i sat down on the pavement and waited for the last of our group to finish. these are the faces of three guys who just spent 7 plus hours on a bicycle.

in spite of the cool weather and the fact that the sun was absent for most of the ride, we had a good day.

if you want to donate to the cause we were riding for, you can still do so. my fund-rasing page can be found here, while tim's can be found right here.

i obviously didn't take this picture. that credit goes to my lovely wife meredith.