a little slice of canadiana

even though the sport i love the most is baseball, i do have a soft spot for hockey. i have many pleasant memories of saturday night games of pick-up hockey at the stouffville arena, and before that, long games of pond hockey with friends.

it has taken me almost three years to visit pasadena's ice skating center and i have no good reason why. maybe because living in the land of sunshine makes me forget about winter sports. maybe it is because it is tucked away behind the city auditorium, or that the area it is located in has been under construction almost as long as we've lived out here.

regardless, there is no excuse for a canadian boy to have taken this long to show the inside of the one local rink. stepping inside did make me a little homesick...

leslie knope and ron swanson in pasadena

it was just a few days ago that i mentioned that the nbc sitcom "parks and recreation" uses pasadena city hall for their exterior shots. well as it turns out, they use pasadena for a little more than that. thanks to a twitter tip from pasadenapio, i was there to capture some of the action of some filming for a future episode.

nibble bit tabby brewery

yesterday was a landmark day for los angeles craft beer culture, as nibble bit tabby brewery officially opened for business. i went down for the ribbon cutting event and was happy to find a small crowd ready to welcome them in to their new home. the brewery is located in an industrial part of down town los angeles, and are hoping to be part of the rejuvenation of that fascinating neighborhood.


aside from being an interesting name for a brewery, nibble bit tabby specializes in brewing traditional ales in small batches. their first (and currently only) offering is an irish red ale, and it is perfectly executed. they manage to fit a decent sized brewhouse into a tiny little space. i can't wait to see what they brew next.


the above photo shows head brewer brian lethcoe (on the left) chatting it up with some of the crowd who had gathered to celebrate the opening. it has taken a long time, but brian is finally living out the dream of owning his own brewery.


i was pleasantly surprised to meet the owners of the soon to be opened, ohana brewing company who were on hand for the occasion. after eagle rock brewery, and nibble bit tabby, they will soon become only the third brewery operating within los angeles city limits. you can read an excellent article about their new venture, right here.

glad to meet you guys, and good luck on your future endeavors!

mcc relief sale in upland

i grew up going to mennonite relief sales. in fact, i was born on the day of our local sale. "what is a mennonite relief sale?", you might ask. well, these events take place across the country in regions that have a sizable population of mennonites. they are organized to raise money for mennonite central committee - the global mission and relief agency of the mennonite church.


i've been to these events in southern ontario, virginia, northern indiana, and yesterday for the first time, southern california. certainly southern california is not a place most people think of when they hear mennonites, but we exist. and apparently, we also have relief sales. the one in southern california is a little smaller than the ones i grew up going to, but it still has all the essentials - a quilt and antique auction, fantastic home cooked food, and wonderful baked goods. the benefit of this particular sale is that the international migrant community adds a wonderful culinary touch to the festivities.


for those who might want to check out this wonderful event, it continues today. you can find more details at the event website - right here.

a tasty skywatch friday

the other day while sitting in class, i got a text message from a friend that said simply...

"dumpling truck on oakland"

i was thrilled. you see, oakland cuts down through fuller's campus, and it was getting close to dinner time. while pasadena boasts a growing number of food trucks, for some reason, few venture to fuller seminary (maybe seminary students are too poor for the gourmet food truck revolution?).

so after class, i headed over to check out the dumpling station food truck. dumplings come with a variety of fillings and can be ordered steamed, pan fried, or deep fried. in addition to dumplings, the truck offers a variety of other side dishes including garlic wasabi fries (i'm still mad i didn't try those). i ordered the beef kimchi dumplings and the pork sage dumplings - both pan fried. they were excellent! the food was ready quickly, and the service was very friendly.


it seemed like they were getting a decent amount of business from the fuller crowd. i hope this is a sign of things to come!

more skywatch friday can be found right here.

down in the depths

yesterday i said that i was done with pictures from our city hall tour, but i couldn't resist showing you one more. this image was taken on our ride down into the city hall basement. this old otis elevator is beautiful - carved wood, intricate ironwork - and of course that meant an excited group of camera-ready bloggers.

by the way... did you know city hall has a basement? or that it stretches beneath the entire inner courtyard?? i did not, but now i do!

one final classic shot

i have plenty more wonderful images from our tour of city hall, but i'll save those for another time. i'll conclude this series from our afternoon with the public information officer with a classic shot of the exterior - most recently featured in mainstream media as the exterior of the supposed "pawnee, indiana" city hall in the nbc sitcom, parks and recreation.

the clock at city hall

another image from our lovely city hall tour. there is so much going on here - the original clock, the beautiful arched ceiling, the stonework, the columns... so much to look at.

for the most part, our beloved public information officer kept us totally enthralled - a difficult thing to do with 20+ free-spirited bloggers. a sampling of which appear below...

can you name the bloggers?

as we walked around on our city hall tour (see yesterday's post for more details and links to some other bloggers who participated), i tried to get some city hall photos that actually had people in them. however in classic blogger fashion, no one is looking at the camera. preferring of course, to keep their identity hidden from their adoring fans.

bonus points if you can list the website of each blogger pictured.



on a totally unrelated note, i'd just like to give a shout out to my best friend mike. he is currently going through his cd collection, documenting his feelings and reactions to each album - at almost an album a day pace. i'm totally biased, but i think this is one of the coolest blog ideas i've ever seen. check him out right here.

blogger tour of city hall

in case you didn't already know, pasadena has one of the greatest public information officers of any town in the world. what makes ann so great? well for one, she has a fantastic blog where she fills people in on what is happening in pasadena, fascinating historical details about our amazing city, and even a "mystery monday" series where you can win pasadena related prizes.

ann invited local bloggers to join her this past saturday for a tour of our beloved city hall. over the next few days i'll post some images from our afternoon together. it was wonderful to finally meet some of my favorite bloggers face to face.

not to give too much away, but you can already read a full review of the day over at chris and kevin's blog. gina just chimed in over at mendolonium. mr. earl has some photos up from the day. irena's real estate blog is getting in on the action. the fabulous chieftess chimes in. our wonderful p.i.o. has her own review of the day.

i will use this space to add more blog posts as they appear (and please send me a link to yours if you don't see it here).

taco station on green street

after hearing glowing reviews from two of my favorite local bloggers - pulled porker and brigham yen - i had no choice but to venture to this fantastic little taco stand that just opened on green street. i've often admired this little gas station. in fact, it has been featured before on this blog.

well, i'm going to have to agree with my fellow bloggers. while the tacos were a little on the small side, the flavor was spectacular! i loved the fresh corn tortillas, and the pickled onions on the marinated pork taco were amazing. i'm really happy to see that this little quaint part of pasadena has a vibrant new life.

extra-special skywatch friday

this photo was taken from the hospital window on the day that our daughter was born. a rainbow is a special thing here in california (regardless of any religious symbolism) and we were extremely happy to have one in the sky on our daughter's birthday.

more skywatch friday can of course, be found right here.

meow!

another photo from the fabulous doo dah parade. i've seen this cat before. it must be an annual entrant into the foray.

by the way, if you haven't already, check out ray schiel's fantastic video tribute to this year's parade.

more from the doo dah parade

i feel like this image could easily qualify for petrea's zen monday photo series - you tell me what is going on in this image!

classic doo dah parade fun.

2010 doo dah parade

despite a new location, time, and day, this year's doo dah parade appeared to go off without any major problems. this event is an artistic reaction to the over-the-top rose parade. instead of immaculate parade floats, hand decorated cars, trucks, and even a motorized couch. instead of marching bands, heavy medal on the back of a truck. instead of beautiful choriographed dancers, a group dedicated to dancing to michael jackson's "thriller" over and over and over again (photographed above).

i had fun walking up and down the route, snapping off pictures as i went. the shift from old town, to farther down colorado seemed to create a more more festive atmosphere - if not a little cramped.

did anyone else make it to the parade?

smile!

our daughter was born on april 20. i knew she'd come at some point during the end of april or beginning of may, so i pre-arranged the whole mosaic park series so that when she came, you wouldn't miss a single day of this fascinating blog!

but now she's here, and she deserves her own blog post! we love our little girl, and she already has her mom and dad wrapped around her little finger.

oh, and if you're wondering about her name, we've decided to refrain from using it on this blog. but if you are close to us, or are my facebook friend, you should already know it anyway. if you're in the dark and are dying to find out, send me an e-mail and i'll see what i can do.


by the way - i did manage to make it to this weekend's doo dah parade. i'll post a few photos later this week.

pasadena's newest theater

the mosaic park sign series is in the rear-view mirror. are you still following the sky is big in pasadena?? thanks for sticking with me!

arclight cinemas recently transformed the theater complex at paseo colorado into one of their marquee upscale theater-going experiences. thanks to a heads up over at hometown pasadena, i was able to snag a media pass to check out what they had done with the place.


yes, the movie was free, and yes they did butter us up with plenty of free hors d'oeuvres and popcorn, but never-the-less, we had a great time. the theater now offers plenty of legroom and wider armrests (something a big guy like me appreciates), and the picture quality was excellent. seating is reserved - you select the seat you want when you buy your ticket - and the theater is staffed with ushers to make sure that no one is talking on their cell phone or disturbing the other movie-goers.

the full bar was not yet up and running, but we were able to try a beverage from their excellent coffee bar.


even the pricing is not as outlandish as i was expecting (approx. $11-$15, depending on when you go and whether you qualify for a child or senior discount). certainly this isn't like going to the $3 theater down the street, but for the extra money you do get a wonderful movie-going experience. the re-decorating is really very tasteful and the atmosphere is certainly more on the date night side of things rather than the teenage hang-out, at least compared to the former tenant.

may theme day: statues

may's theme day coincides with the final installment of my project documenting pasadena's mosaic park signs. this is one of my favorite parks because it is the setting of pasadena's free summer concert series. fortunately, memorial park includes a statue - thus fitting in with this month's city daily photo theme!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

i hope you have enjoyed this lengthy series. if you haven't been following, please scroll down to find the links to pasadena's 19 other public city parks with mosaic park signs. thanks for following along!

from the city website:

"Memorial Park is located at 85 East Holly Street. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 5.3 acres. One of the older parks in the City, this site is situated near Old Pasadena. The park is characterized by extensive shrubbery, landscaping, large trees and monuments. Other facilities include: band shell and seating capacity of 400: picnic facilities; benches; large open grass area; exercise walk; restrooms; and drinking fountains. Located in the park is the Pasadena Senior Center operated for and by Pasadena’s senior citizen population. The Center’s program of activities is planned, organized, and carried out by its own membership."



and the final run-down of pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park
16. eaton sunnyslope park
17. gwinn park
18. vina veja park
19. hamilton park

skywatching at hamilton park

the third park to be featured here on skywatch friday. hamilton park is tucked up in the northeastern corner of pasadena's boundaries - almost to sierra madre. it boasts a large playground and a large number of athletic fields.

from the city website:

"Hamilton Park is located at 3680 Cartwright Street. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 6.4 acres. Large community park with the following amenities: three softball diamonds (two with seating capacity for 400); two lighted tennis courts; basketball court; paved volleyball court; large multi-purpose field for flag football/soccer; large parking area; 2 picnic areas; children’s play area with equipment; restrooms; and drinking fountains."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park
16. eaton sunnyslope park
17. gwinn park
18. vina veja park

vina veja park

this park is the third park in a little cluster, joining eaton sunnyslope and gwinn to round out this little park-heavy corner of pasadena. aside from the powerlines, this is really a cool space with the funky pavilion design and wide open spaces. a birthday party was in full swing while we were there to take this photo.

the mosaic signs at this park are slightly smaller and appear to have been installed at a different time than all the others. anyone have any insight to that curious detail?

from the city website:

"Vina Veja Park is located at 3026 East Orange Grove Boulevard, near Eaton Sunnyslope Park. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 7.5 acres. This park provides a large picnic shelter; 3 additional picnic areas; and a dog park divided into two sections for large dogs and small dogs."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park
16. eaton sunnyslope park
17. gwinn park

gwinn park

we are nearing the end of the park series. only a few more to go!

as i mentioned yesterday, gwinn park is part of a cluster of three parks which include eaton sunnyslope (yesterday's featured park), as well as the park that is on deck for tomorrow. gwinn features a beautiful field of grass that was being taken advantage of by some frisbee players when i took the above image.

from the city website:

"Gwinn Park is located at Orange Grove Boulevard and Sunnyslope Avenue. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 2.7 acres. Neighborhood Park situated on almost three acres of open grass area dotted with numerous young trees. Amenities include a picnic table and a drinking fountain."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park
16. eaton sunnyslope park

eaton sunnyslope park

this quaint little park is tucked off the road amidst some little hills and tall trees. it is one of three parks in very close proximity (the other two will be featured on wednesday and thursday).

from the city website:

"Eaton Sunnyslope Park is located on Sunnyslope Avenue and Paloma Street. The size of the park is 1.88 acres. Hours of operation are from 6:00am to 10:00pm. This neighborhood park provides a children’s play area; picnic tables; drinking fountains; and an open grass area."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park
15. eaton blanche park

eaton blanche park

one of several parks that pop up along the wash out that starts from eaton canyon, eaton blanche park is in a quiet corner of southeastern pasadena. this is another park that i never knew existed until starting this project.

from the city website:

"Eaton Blanche Park is located at 3100 East Del Mar Boulevard. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 5.5 acres. Well-developed park located in the southeast section of the City provides facilities which include two lighted tennis courts; one softball diamond; one lighted basketball court; open grass area; playground equipment; 9 picnic tables; parking lot; and rose garden."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park
14. la pintoresca park

la pintoresca park

la pintoresca park isn't the largest park, but it does have a lovely grove of trees, a playground, and a branch of the pasadena public library. i haven't spent a lot of time commenting on the various mosaic tiles, but this sign is interesting in that one row of tiles around the outside is devoted to framing the image. interesting choice by the artists.

from the city website:

"La Pintoresca Park is located at 45 East Washington Boulevard. Hours of operation are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The size of the park is 2.9 acres. Well established Neighborhood Park with large trees and open grass area. La Pintoresca Library is also situated on site. Park facilities include one lighted basketball court; skate area; picnic tables; playground area; a water park; restrooms; and drinking fountains."



previous pasadena parks...

1. brookside park
2. singer park
3. central park
4. grant park
5. victory park
6. jefferson park
7. allendale park
8. san rafael park
9. robinson park
10. brenner park
11. washington park
12. villa park
13. mcdonald park