arlington garden

meredith and i ventured out on sunday afternoon to check out arlington garden - one of pasadena's most unique public park spaces. the garden was built on land that was marked for development of the infamous 710 highway, and so of course for some residents, it represents more than just a beautiful place to visit. the designers chose to emphasize drought resistant plants, plants native to the mediterranean climate, as well as plants native to california. this creates a beautiful and also educational space - hopefully for generations to come.


this week i'll focus my photography on pictures that i took on sunday (with the exception of something special planned for friday). i hope you enjoy the trip through arlington garden!

bcs national championship aftermath

i took this photo from the colorado street bridge overlooking the still illuminated rose bowl after thursday evening's national college football title game. the streaking car lights in the foreground are from the 134 freeway bridge.

mamma's brick oven pizza

heading to south pasadena for today's photo. what's better than really good pizza? really good pizza with friends of course. here jon and adam model the delicious pizza we picked up the other day for a movie night. fun times.

the tide rolls through pasadena

while i am neither passionate about college football, nor someone willing to spend hundreds of dollars to get in to the national championship, i was excited about the big game being here in pasadena at the rose bowl. and while i was not at the game, i did have several friends who were there in person - one of whom, my friend angela, sent me this photo from her seats at the game. what a view!

of course those of you who watched the game know that the alabama crimson tide knocked off the texas longhorns. i guess cows can't swim, or maybe crimson out shines burnt orange... i dunno.

more skywatch friday as usual can be found right here.

angels in the rose parade

this year's mlb all-star game is in anaheim at the historic angel stadium. the angels decided to participate in this year's rose parade by inviting a few former players to wave at the crowd. while it wasn't quite as cool as the dodger float from two years ago, i'm a sucker for anything related to my favorite sport.

yo ho ho!

my friend tim noticed that this float was playing music from the movie "hook". so what did we do? went to his house later that night and watched it.

a side note, i think the pirate ship would have gone over much better without the giant honda logo.

what in the world?

this was a fun float. we heard people cheering from down the street and wondered what was going on. then the float arrived but we still didn't know why. then we saw dogs wearing tutus, on surfboards, skiing down a snowy slope. certainly a crowd pleaser! can't see the dog in the photo above? look below for a shot of a dog ready to take off.


just a reminder that i've got a running list of blogger's reviews of the parade back on saturday's post. if i've left someone out, please let me know!

football floats

the two teams involved in this year's rose bowl game had their own floats in the parade. i think ohio state's float was a tiny bit better, and where i was watching the parade there were far more ohio state fans around than oregon. maybe that is why they were victorious on the field.

it's my air-o-plane

did anyone else at the rose parade sense a theme (beyond the official theme of "a cut above the rest")? i noticed that at least three floats in the parade had planes flying off the front. i really like the design, but don't these float makers get together to make sure they aren't doing the same thing?

2010 rose parade photos

yesterday's rose parade was pretty enjoyable. unlike last year, i was not sitting in the front row. however the perch i found to snap photos from gave me a pretty great vantage point. this first photo is of the first float of the parade. check out how tall it is! the photo does not do it justice. for those who didn't watch on tv, this band member raised and lowered the bugle throughout the parade. as a side note, i just noticed that i caught the goodyear blimp in this photo as well.

those who want a little more insight into yesterday's photo, i've posted a video clip from our ride through the streets. you can find it added to the post.

other area bloggers who were at the parade (i'll keep updating this list as they appear)...

cafe pasadena

east of allen x2

stan's obligatory blog

kchblog
pasadena daily photo x2
uncouth gourmands

january theme day: changes

happy new year!

last night we changed things up! instead of sitting by the road and spraying cars with silly string and throwing marshmallows, we hit the streets by bike doing that exact thing to the bystanders!

matt and i had a great time. sorry the video is so choppy.



happy new year! (by the way, the post date and time for this blog entry is 1/01/10 at 1:11am - cool, right? does anyone speak binary?)

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rose parade anticipation

pasadena, are you ready for the masses to decend upon our lovely town? are you ready for the streets filled with people and garbage? for shoving, elbowing, and jockeying for prime curb positions?

i'm going to head out tonight on my bicycle to document the masses, and then i'll be out tomorrow morning for the parade. this is what puts pasadena on the map, right? - should be a fun time.

more skywatch friday photos can, of course, be found at this link.

lake avenue metro stop

an off-balance shot of pasadena's lake avenue metro station make-over. this station is apparently utilizing solar panels in the finished product, as i recently learned from brigham yen's blog.

(the clock tower is new for those who are wondering)

snow-capped mt. baldy

while our weather has hovered in the 60s and 70s lately, snow is still visible from pasadena. how many cities are within an hour of both ski slopes and beaches? we may never be able to pull ourselves away from this wonderful place.

eagle rock brewery!

while eagle rock is technically not pasadena, i'm going to adopt it for the purpose of proclaiming that we have one more microbrewery on the local landscape! we recently visited as a part of their opening weekend and were extremely excited to be shown the facility by jeremy - the head brewer and co-owner, and his wife ting - marketing extraordinaire and perfect pint pourer. you can tell that they are extremely passionate about their beer, and are working at making their brewery one of a kind.


eagle rock brewery has done an amazing job of documenting their hard work at reaching this stage in their business. they have updated almost every moment in the process through their fantastic blog.

if you are interested in visiting, they are open by appointment this coming weekend from 4pm-10pm on saturday and sunday. give them a call at 323.257.7866 with your name, date, time and number of guests, and have a great time!


oh ya, i need to give a shout out to my friend ryan who took these pictures for me because i forgot my camera! what was i thinking???

christmas in holmes county

meredith and i traveled to visit family in holmes county, ohio for a few days this past week. we spent time with my grandparents and family on my mom's side of the family. we had a great time exploring walnut creek where my grandparents currently reside. as you can see from the above photo, this rural farming community is somewhat different than pasadena.


a week filled with plenty of good food, family, and fun. the above photo is from our christmas dinner that we enjoyed at an amish homestead.

christmas morning at all saints episcopal church

i ventured out on christmas morning and visited all saints for their christmas service. the church was beautifully decked out in its christmas best. it was a church experience that was pretty different than pasadena mennonite church (where i normally attend), but i really enjoyed it. i spent the rest of my day with my wife until she left for work :( and then just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day.

how did you spend your holiday?

merry christmas!

i spotted this illuminated cyclist while driving down green street the other day. while this image is slightly blurry, I like the way it came out.

have a blessed day.

twas the day before christmas

the tree at one colorado plaza, all decked out in its christmas glory. whether you celebrate christmas or not, i hope you can find a moment in the next few days to enjoy the holidays!

earth harp at one colorado

it is a little hard to tell, but the image above is of an earth harp played by a group called m.a.s.s. we stumbled upon this outdoor concert while walking around old town a little while ago. interesting stuff.

giant snowflakes!

another example of the "snow" we get here in pasadena.

snowflakes fall on old town pasadena

this is as close as we get to seeing snow in town.

we're heading east today to spend time with family in ohio. we may get to see some actual snow there, as well as a few family members. we'll be back for christmas day.

fountain in central park

this curious fountain reads:

1905
presented by
the national
humane alliance
hermon lee ensign
founder

gus's barbeque

by far, my favorite restaurant in south pasadena. although it can be a little pricey, they have some fantastic ribs, pulled pork, and barbecued chicken. the atmosphere is nice, and the service has been great on the two occasions we've been there.

oh ya, and it doesn't hurt to have a classy neon sign.

winter citrus

a photograph of an orange tree-filled sky taken at our thanksgiving celebration.

more friday skywatch found right here.

the rialto theater

i may be stepping on laurie's toes here - after all, she is our south pasadena daily photo blogger, and does have a soft spot for this beautiful old building(click on that link to get her take on this place). i hope she doesn't mind!

the pasadena trolley

i might need some help on this one. every once in a while I see trolleys shuttling people around old town pasadena, but i don't know how frequently this happens. is it just during special occasions? on weekends? help me out here people.

walking the red carpet to gold class cinemas

pasadena's newest movie theater is actually more of a lavish movie-going experience. gold class cinemas just opened their doors to movie goers looking for cushy seating, plenty of legroom, and the chance to order food right from your seat. of course luxury like this comes at a price - over $25 per ticket.

we don't have plans to go any time soon, but i'm interested if any pasadenians experienced this yet...

beyond the olive

beyond the olive is one of old town pasadena's newest shops. they specialize in - you guessed it - olive oil! most of their product is made right here in the state of california. best of all, you can sample anything in the store before you buy it. the metal containers on the left side of the photo are from the wide selection of oils that are available to be filled and re-filled from one of their house bottles. they also sell a wide variety of balsamic vinegars too. check them out!

castle green profile

one of pasadena's most eye-catching buildings. certainly not the first time that it has been featured on this blog.

lonely man

the single person walking through this image really stood out to me. and then it made me think of empty la. click on that link to check out some seriously spooky images of los angeles.

35 south raymond building

a building from another era that is in bad need of a new tenant and a face lift. this building reminded me of a project that my friend matt just completed - rephotographing philadelphia. you should all check it out - and i think someone should pick up that idea for pasadena or los angeles county.

more skywatch friday can be found right here.

busking in pasadena

i overheard this guy playing while parking my car in a garage last weekend. i looked down from my perch and snapped off this photo. i felt a bit like a spy. then i noticed his massive bottle of cola keeping him company and a smile crossed my face.

snow on our mountains

a cold snap and some heavy precipitation means that we have a lovely dusting of snow on our mountains right now. the first moment this happens every winter is always a fun time for me - someone who never imagined that pasadena was so close to the mountains, nor that they would ever be cold enough or high enough to have fluffy white stuff on top.

ten thousand villages

i'm ashamed it took me so long to post about pasadena's lovely little fair trade store. not only is this a fantastic little place to shop that is filled with fair trade artwork and handicrafts from around the globe, it is connected to me through my church tradition - yup, the pasadena location of ten thousand villages is actually part of a larger chain of stores that is operated by mennonite central committee, the mission arm of the mennonite church.

check out this not-so-recent la times article on the ten thousand villages movement.

brian mclaren at fuller seminary

i had a full weekend. after the wedding which i posted about yesterday, i dropped in on the last few minutes of a conversation on the future of the church in the united states between mclaren and fuller professors, barry taylor and ryan bolger. a really provocative event

congrats to adrianne and nathan!

i had the privilege of attending the wedding of some friends who i've known from both church and fuller seminary. i think those who attended will agree that it was one of the most beautiful and sacred weddings of all time.

blessings to both of you. congrats on this next stage of your life.

dive! - living off america's waste

i had the privilege of attending a screening of jeremy seifert's fantastic movie "dive!" last night at my church. it is a compelling film about dumpster diving and the food we waste in our culture. you can check out the excellent review of the film by my friend wess daniels. i enjoyed the film so much that i picked up a copy.

you may also be interested in visiting the film's website to find a screening near you (such as the one in glendale tonight!)

christmas in southern california

i'm not sure about you, but adding holiday decorations to sunny palm-lined streets doesn't really make me feel like christmas is just around the corner... do you see the green reindeer sitting on the red tree ornament?

more skywatch friday from bloggers around the world can be found right here.

finally some pictures of kogi bbq

the korean taco truck that started the foodie truck craze in los angeles was in our area last night, just up the hill in altadena, in the parking lot behind the coffee gallery. the above picture features their black jack spicy pork quesadilla with salsa verde, and both the short rib tacos and the chicken tacos.


i know, i know... i've had a lot of recent food-related photos... i'll try and bring you back to some non-food reality in the next few days.

dona rosa burrito friday

the tinfoil wrapped burrito is nothing new to southern california - you can get them just about anywhere, even if that place isn't known for their mexican food.

have a ton of great photos in the pipeline, so it seems a little random to show something like a burrito on this daily photo blog. however, the reason this photo is posted it to try and spread the world about dona rosa's friday burrito special. ALL DAY on friday, customers can purchase a small burrito for only $1.25. this isn't a typo, and it gets better. domestic beer is only $1.50 all day long. for under $5, you can get two small burritos and a cold beer - which in my books is a pretty spectacular thing. oh, and the tortilla chips are on the house of course. what a world we live in!

december theme day: waiting

first ultrasound picture from a few months ago. we're anxiously waiting for our first child in may! crazy, right?

this theme is being explored by hundreds of other daily photo bloggers...

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