THE COCKTAIL HOUR: St Patrick's Day Gold Line Pub Crawl

Highland Park Bowl (click on the play button - 10 seconds)

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed)  What were we thinking trying to do a pub crawl on one of the busiest drinking days of the year? Yeah, I admit, those thoughts were in my head but I couldn't get everyone in the party to commit to any other days so here we are, heading out on the Gold Line light rail train for a day of bar-hopping amidst the crowds of temporary Irish.

Metro's kind of dropping the ball for us today, too. Their attitude is why would anyone want to take the train instead of driving on this very busy day of revelry? At least that's what it seems like as they're doing a lot of maintenance on the tracks with trains only coming by every 20 minutes instead of the 6-10 minutes they usually do on weekends. Plus, they're only running 2-car trains instead of 3 making for some very crowded trains today.

30 seconds

Well, let's see if we can still make the best of the situation...

There are eight of us on this crawl today. In the best of times, it's always like herding kittens trying to keep people moving along. This will be a challenge but I'm up to it! We just miss the train so it's a 20 minute wait on the platform until the next one, then a 45 minute ride to our first destination, Tacos El Hermano, sitting next to the Pico/Aliso station in East L.A.

We'll fill our tummies with Mexican food here before throwing all the alcohol in later. Back on the train, we go one stop to Little Tokyo and walk one block south to our first drinking stop, Angel City Brewery.

This massive, former steel cable factory (it made the cables for the Brooklyn Bridge) has a wide-open floor plan where drinkers can hunker down into various corners, play games, or sit at the picnic tables facing out the patio doors where food trucks come by to serve their wares.

To me, the beer is a bit medicine-ny...a bit to herby and harsh...but there are a few gems on the tasting menu. The blonde is an easy choice to make if nothing else sparks your fancy.

Moving along, we get back on the train for our second stop. I give my brothers-in-law a choice of destinations and they pick Highland Park Bowl, a short block from the Highland Park station.

L.A.'s oldest operating bowling alley (since 1927), the Bowl underwent an extensive makeover in 2016. It is in a word, stunning.

With a bit of a steampunk vibe, old bowling equipment  is used as decoration throughout. Old pinsetters have been repurposed as chandeliers over the bars (two!) behind the eight lanes. Ball return mechanisms hold the top shelf liquor bottles. Walls have been removed to allow us to see the current pin setting machinery at work (click play on the video at the top of the post to take a look).

While much was done, a lot was left undone on purpose such as the raw plaster walls and the old wooden stairway railings leading to the restrooms upstairs (a ground-level restroom serves guests with special needs).

It's a few Jameson shots chased by PBRs for the guys and Moscow mules for the ladies as we squeeze into the booth before making our way back to the station.

Next, it's on to South Pasadena where we're headed for our only Irish pub of the day, Griffins of Kinsale. It's just four doors away from the station. It's packed, standing room only, and a very loud band is play David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."

I love it but I turn around and see that I have lost the rest of the party. I go back outside and they're on the sidewalk..."it's too loud," they say. Oh well, instead we opt for the quieter confines of Nicole's around the corner.

This French store and cafe serves us well while we're here in South Pas. The ladies have a glass of the house chardonnay while the guys have a glass of Craftsman lager before getting back on board.

The next stop is a little more like it. Near the Memorial Park station in Old Pasadena, we find The Blind Donkey pub and have some sour gose beer.  The two staff members are a bit overwhelmed by the holiday merry makers so service was a bit lacking.

The beer was good, though.

Next stop was the Arcadia station and the Vendome liquor store across the street. Usually at this point, we would head to Mt. Lowe Brewery down the back alley but they were having an indoor kids movie festival today while Vendome (which has a nice little beer bar up front) was serving Irish specialties.

I forgot all about that, though, as I had a Belgian quad (name escapes me) while we exchanged bar info and restaurant information with the bartender who was glad to finally see some customers in his little bar that day.

One more stop as we end the day in Azusa at the Catholic school themed Congregation Ale House and brewery here for dinner outside on their patio while we all tipsily recount the day.

That's it from our latest crawl, maybe we'll catch you on the next one.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018
All Rights Reserved

A Trio Going for a Trio of Tapas, AKA Another Gold Line Pub Crawl

We doing something a little different. Instead of our usual Saturday night out-to-dinner, we've decided to take advantage of a rare spell of cooler weather here in Los Angeles.

In place of one big meal for dinner, we're heading out on the Gold Line light rail train to have a mini pub crawl, this one only visiting three stops where we'll have an appetizer and a drink before moving on.

First stop is at the Chinatown Station in downtown Los Angeles. We cross the street and head into some desolate looking territory.

No worries, though, because at the other end of that dusty lot is Highland Park Brewery.

Our app here is this delicious sausage plate featuring their mild housemade chorizo with some salsa verde, pickles, okra, and some very delicious slices of bread.

This, along with the house lager...Refresh beer...whets our appetite to continue on and get some more.

The next stop is the Highland Park Station, where a short walk takes us to...

...the Highland Park Bowl, a very retro cool bowling alley with a nice, overwhelming steampunk vibe to it.

App here is calamari, serviceable but not my favorite.

It's washed down with a wit beer made back in downtown L.A. at Boomtown Brewery, one of our favorites.

Back on the train to Pasadena where we get off in Old Pasadena and take the short walk to the Blind Donkey, a tavern that is starting to get a nice, divey sheen to it.

It's happy hour! Our discounted selection includes another wit beer, this one from Pasadena's own Craftsman Brewery, a pilsner from New Belgium, and a tequila sour.

This is our last stop so we pull out a few stops and have more than one app. Here's fritos and salsa with garlic parmesan fries.

Letty shared the fries with Tim and also had some elote.

Tim and I shared the fritos along with some delicious Vienna Beef corn dogs.

That's our limit today, so we hop back on the train to go home and watch the Angel game.

Stop by the Musick Channel Garage Sale to pick up your own copy of some of our classic vinyl LPs. Click on the link, above, for more.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Enjoying Gentrification in the City of Roses

Once a year, Pasadena is a tourist hot-spot when the Tournament of Roses takes over New Year's Day. The rest of the time, you need a giant crowbar to get travelers to come east of the 110.

That's too bad because Pasadena is fun all year round.

Recently, the wife and I had a chance to take advantage of a day and date night in the Rose City but first, if you would like to come here, there are pricey but generally nice hotels in the Old Pasedena neighborhood (the center of the city's action)...such as the Westin, Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton, and the Sheraton...or you can stay a little farther east on Colorado Boulevard in less expensive digs like the Ramada, The Saga Motel, or the retro delights of the Hi Way Host. The Marriotts, Hiltons, Sheraton, and Ramada are your best bets for accessible rooms.

Cars are not really needed as Pasadena has tried to become a true transit destination. The Gold Line connects it to downtown Los Angeles through Union Station. Stations in Pasadena include Fillmore, Del Mar, Memorial Park (the Old Pasadena station), Lake, Allen, and Sierra Madre Villa in East Pasadena. Foothill Transit's 187 line connects all locations along Colorado Boulevard to the last four Gold Line stations and the Pasadena ARTS bus handles the rest of the city. All of it is 100% wheelchair accessible.

We start off with a shopping highlights tour for my wife. She likes to crochet and knit, so I take her to Abuelita's Yarn Shop located in a pretty little arcade at 696 East Colorado to visit with the friendly staff and get some quality yarn and needles.

Vroman's Bookstore is across the street and we wander over and browse the racks.

Next, we continue east on Colorado to a camera shop that sells used lenses but we just missed the 2:00 closing time.  My wife and I both like to check out pawn shops when we can.  We head to Diamond Jim's on Lake Avenue. The staff is friendly but the selection is light when we check it out so it's time to park it in Old Pasadena and head to Crown City Pawn with it's much larger selection of inventory. Still, we couldn't find anything we wanted to negotiate on.

We're parked at the One Colorado lot, one block north of Colorado Boulevard at Fair Oaks (the location of the Cheesecake Factory made famous by the Big Bang Theory...yes, it really exists) where we can leave the car all day on Saturday for six bucks. If you're driving and need accessible parking, in addition to the parking structure, there are about a half-dozen free handicapped spots directly behind it in the alley.

A lot of little shops and boutiques line Colorado and the side streets here. The Genius Bar at the Apple Store is always crowded but you can almost literally get away at the Distant Lands travel bookstore on Raymond (readers of this blog will love Distant Lands) or settle in for a nice pint at any of the several pubs here like Lucky Baldwin's or King's Row.

We're in need of a pick me up before dinner so we look for coffee. Just a quick cup of coffee, which we find is increasingly hard to do here. We settle for a pretentiously made cup of Balinese coffee served at a pretentiously high price after waiting twenty minutes for the Barista to make it "just so" at Copa Vida on the corner of Raymond and Green. Yes, we asked for, and said, just a plain old cup of coffee...that was the closest we could find.

A cupcake bakery was across the street so we went to check it out. Expecting more pretentiousness, we were surprised at the delicious and quite reasonably priced treats at Sugar Fix.

A last stop at the Container Store on the corner of Fair Oaks and Union finished off the shopping part of today's excursion. The Container Store is two stories tall, large elevators are available at the back of the store.

Dinner was a steak au poivre and a seafood pasta at the always reliable and reasonable Cafe Bizou on the corner of Raymond and Union, across the street from the Memorial Park Gold Line Station. We like to come here because we always get great food and service. The low $2 corkage fee is handy when I have a special wine like the 2006 Spencer Vineyards Cabernet that uses grapes grown in the same vineyard as Opus One..."almost Opus" as my wine merchant describes it. It is very good.

We end the evening a short block away watching "The Lego Movie" at iPic Theater.  The theater itself is pretty neat. Before the movie, there's a restaurant and cocktail lounge.

After a nice drink, Letty and I head into the theater itself where we are seated at power recliners, with blankets and pillows. A server comes up to take a drink order and we get a couple of sodas for the movie. Another server comes by to give us each a bag of popcorn.

It's very nice and plush but very expensive and you still have the same people annoying you as you do at a regular theater. I liked the move, not great, but fun...Letty couldn't stand it. You can see my review of "The Lego Movie" at Tim's TinseltownUSA blog.

With that, we call it a night and head home. It's always a lot of fun in Pasadena and this is just a tiny, little part of it.

Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

Happy New Year's Day from The World on Wheels! In our neck of the woods, the biggest happenings for today is in Pasadena. Here's a little primer on the City of Roses.

Each New Year’s Day, you either want to be here or stay the hell away.  We’re talking about Colorado Boulevard, the main drag going down through Pasadena, California and the Tournament of Roses Parade that takes place the first day of each year…unless it’s a Sunday…and serves as the pre-game festival for the Rose Bowl.

Watch the video - "A Day Off in Pasadena"

Sitting just a 20 minute trolley ride northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena resides in L.A.’s orbit but is definitely its own city.  If you're in L.A., it's very easy to get here on the Gold Line train that runs from Union Station to 7 stations across Pasadena.  Once there, the ARTS or Foothill Transit line 187 buses can get you around the city easily...both are wheelchair accessible as is the Gold Line.

Where L.A. is car culture, Pasadena is actively trying to discourage its use.  L.A. is not known for being pedestrian friendly…it’s even hostile to the walker at times.  Pasadena is made for strolling.  Los Angeles is gritty, hard, unwilling to let its guard down.  Pasadena is genteel, reserved, pretty, and upscale. L.A. is Two and Half Men…Pasadena is The Big Bang Theory.

This city of just under 150,000 was founded in 1886 and is the second oldest incorporated city in Los Angeles County, younger only than Los Angeles itself.  It has presented the parade each year, except in war time, since 1890.  The Rose Bowl dates back to 1902.

Now, it’s a city of distinct neighborhoods stretching six exits along Interstate 210 between Glendale and Arcadia pushing up against the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Rose Bowl sits on the west side of town in Brookside Park.  Along with its famous New Year’s Day game, it is home to the Bruins football team from UCLA.  A huge flea market is also held here on the second Sunday of each month.  If you’re here on a non-event day, you can take a peek through the south entrance.

The area around the bowl is also popular with joggers and bikers.  Golfers can head out on the adjacent Brookside Golf Course.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Mike Dillon under CC BY-SA 2.5 license

Just south of here is Suicide Bridge…or as it’s officially known the Colorado Street Bridge.  This beautiful arched span crosses the Arroyo Seco right next to the 134 freeway and, as its nickname suggests, has seen a few jumpers in its time.

Move east along Colorado Boulevard and you enter into Old Pasadena, the heart of the city.  Here at the intersection of Colorado and Orange Grove is where the parade starts each year.  This is also where all the TV cameras set up and is what you see when you watch.

The Norton Simon Museum is on the north side of the street, an excellent art museum set up by the billionaire before he died.

This area is a hive of activity with dozens of restaurants, night clubs, bars, and shops.  The original Lucky Baldwins is on Raymond, just a couple of doors south of Colorado.  If you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory, this is the neighborhood that TV show is set in.  The Cheesecake Factory that Penny is supposed to work in is on the corner of Colorado and Fair Oaks.

Go a couple of blocks south of Colorado on Raymond Avenue and you’ll see the massive Green Street Apartments.  This was originally the Castle Green Hotel, Pasadena’s main hotel way back when.  It is now apartments but just about the only original old hotel building left in the city.

Moving east, you’ll get to the Playhouse District centered around the Pasadena Playhouse.  This historic theater is the official state theater of California and produces some great plays.  Across Colorado is Vromans, a very good and large bookstore.  If you’re hungry, stop into little Yahaira’s across from Vromans for some very good, artisanal Mexican food.  If you’d like something more traditional, El Portal…run by the parents of the man who owns Yahaira’s…is just behind it.

Going south on Los Robles, behind the big Paseo Colorado Mall, you’ll find the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.  

Just east of the Playhouse District is Lake Avenue, one of the city’s main North-South thoroughfares.  South of Colorado is a nice, trendy shopping area with a few good restaurants.  Diner fans will want to take a meal at Pie ‘n Burger, on California just east of Lake.  Skip Burger Continental, a locally legendary restaurant that has definitely seen better days.

Photo by Michael Slonecker

Head south on Allen and you'll end up in the parking lot of the Huntington Library and Gardens.  The former estate of Henry Huntington (of the Pacific Electric red car trolley system) is gorgeous.  Acres and acres of masterfully landscaped gardens along with a world class art museum makes this a wonderful place to spend an entire afternoon.

North of the freeway, Lake gets more ethnic and you’ll find many taquerias mixed in with some soul food and barbecue.

At the top of Lake Avenue are several trails leading up into the mountains.  There are the remains of a large estate here and you can walk over to the ruins of the Mt. Lowe Railroad that used to take tourists up to a grand resort on the mountain.  If you have the time and inclination, you can follow the roads and trails all the way up to the top of Mt. Wilson.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Ava Alamsha under CC BY 2.0 license

As we move ever east, the area around Pasadena City College (PCC) has many inexpensive eateries catering to students on a budget.  Zankou Chicken, just west of Hill Street, has some of the best rotisserie chicken you’ll find accompanied by their addictive, creamy garlic sauce.  North on Hill is the Dog Haus, which makes a variety of hot dogs and sausages.  The regular (snappy) and jumbo dogs are served on King’s Hawaiian rolls, which have a bit of sweetness to them.  The jumbos definitely go better with the sweet rolls.

We’re getting close to the edge of Pasadena when we move east to Rosemead Boulevard.  You won’t find too much here except for a few shopping centers and restaurants.  Nothing in this area really stands out but you can make your way over to Sierra Madre Villa and Foothill Boulevard and take the Gold Line light rail train back to the other end of Pasadena.

This is just a sample of what the city has in store.  There’s also the site of the original Busch Gardens, hiking in the Arroyo Seco, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and Cal Tech.  Tea at the Langham, drinks at the Raymond, and the world’s first Frisbee golf course. 

Although there are plenty of low budget and low quality motels along Colorado Boulevard, here are four hotels I can definitely recommend...the Courtyard by Marriott on Fair Oaks; the Sheraton on Cordova; the Hilton on Los Robles; and the best of them all, the Westin on Los Robles.

In Pasadena, you’ll find the antidote for that other big city to the south.
 Darryl

Copyright 2011 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Riding the Rails in the SGV: What to do Along the new Gold Line Foothill Extention

Residents along the foothills in the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley have been waiting decades for this day. The Gold Line extension has finally opened, bringing light rail east from Pasadena to the edge of Glendora.

As the traffic woes of Route 66 and the 210 Freeway continue to build, this will provide just a bit of relief valve for those crowded roads as workers can now commute easier to jobs in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and beyond without having to drive.

This also opens up many more opportunities to get out and enjoy our region without the hassles of traffic, worrying about having too many drinks or finding a place to park. You can find dozens of articles this week about what there is to do near the new Gold Line stations but a problem I've found with them is that nothing they list is remotely within walking distance...Din Tai Fung is great but it's two miles from the Arcadia station and the Santa Anita Racetrack is almost as far; we love Old Town Monrovia but that's another mile hike and uphill at that; Slaw Dogs is one of the few good places to eat in Duarte but be prepared for another two mile jaunt.

With that in mind, here are our suggestions of attractions, sights, and places to eat and drink within walking distance (our limit is two blocks) of the new stations (follow the links for more information)...

Arcadia - Going east from the former eastern terminus of the line, the first station is in the town that Lucky Baldwin built.  Santa Anita Racetrack is here but that's about a mile slog from the station.  Nearer is Arcadia Regional Park (formerly known as Santa Anita County Park, two blocks south on Santa Anita Avenue) where you can picnic, climb trees (really, a place you can still do that!), lawn bowl, and even golf 18 holes.

Outdoorsy types can hit up the REI store, right next to the station, for all their equipment needs.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - Nearer the station, you can grab some Mexican food and a margarita at Villa Catrina, just west of the station, across Santa Anita Avenue.  Of course, Arcadia is known for Chinese restaurants but the pickings are slim around the station. Asian food fans will love the Korean barbecue at Young Dong Garden, on Huntington Drive just west of Santa Anita. There's an old-fashioned, double-drive thru In 'n Out just northwest of the station at Santa Anita and Colorado Boulevard.  You can pick up sandwiches at Claro's Italian Market and Deli and have a picnic across the street in the park. Don't forget to have an incredibly good Liege waffle, some ice cream, and a great cup of joe at Taza, just west of Santa Anita on Huntington next to the Jiffy Lube on the corner.


A block or two to the east, on Huntington Drive, a lot of people like the beer and sandwiches of Matt Denny's Ale House (I'm not one of them) and there are a number of chain restaurants like BJ's Brewhouse, Claim Jumper, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, plus a very solid Chinese restaurant...Gold Dragon.

Monrovia - The city has big plans for it's station and will eventually develop the entire stretch on Myrtle to connect it to Old Town Monrovia about a 1/2 mile north.  For now, a new park and plaza at the station provides occasional entertainment at the attached amphitheater and kids can burn off energy at the new playground.

The old train station is yet to be developed but it should be a very nice place to stop in a few years.  Bill Monroe (the town's namesake) and other names from local history are buried at Live Oak Cemetery, one block west on Duarte Road.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - For now, places to eat are very limited within walking distance. Aside from the Jack in the Box, across the street, there's a taco stand next to the adjacent car wash; a donut shop and burger stand a block south, and a dive bar that serves a better than expected breakfast (Tall Pines) a block north, near the 210 Freeway.

More is planned.  Expect to see food trucks take up the slack soon and Paul Kalemkiarian, owner of the Wine of the Month Club, has secured the right to develop the area around the station parking lot.  Expect a wine bar and cafe in the near future.

One block south, just past the donut shop, is Pacific Plate Brewery, a small purveyor of some mighty fine craft beer to wet your whistle.

Continuing on from Monrovia, be sure to look on the left side of the train before it gets to the next station to get a glimpse of the massive train yard for the Gold Line trains.

Duarte - This is a 'waiting for future development' station but there's still a little bit here.  Directly across the street is the City of Hope, one of the worlds premiere cancer research and treatment hospitals.  Between the station and the hospital itself is an outstanding rose garden to wander through.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - Not too much around here but there are a couple of Mexican restaurants and a decent burger stand a couple of blocks west at the corner of Duarte Road and Buena Vista Avenue. On the other side of the 210 Freeway at Buena Vista is an outlet of the Old Spaghetti Factory housed in an historic Duarte schoolhouse.

Irwindale - This is mostly just a commuter stop and start point. Thousands of workers are expected to commute to jobs at the adjacent Miller Brewery (no tours, sorry) and the large Southern California Edison complex. The giant parking structure is in hopes that a lot of other workers will start their commutes to Pasadena and Los Angeles from here as well.  It would do well to get those cars off the 210 before clogging up the choking points at the San Gabriel River.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - You're in a decidedly blue collar neighborhood here but that doesn't mean there's nothing to eat. McDonald's and Farmer Boys sit next to each other across the freeway. Callahan's is a decent watering hole with decent food, as well, a couple of blocks south. Picasso's server some more upscale food at it's deli one block south but closes before dinnertime as does Chica's Place across the street.

Azusa - Humble Azusa is primed to give the other stations on this segment a run for it's money in the dining and drinking sweepstakes.  Just a few blocks south of the entrance to the new San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (or Azusa Canyon, as it's known to locals), the train lets you out at the entrance to a monumental sized Target store and a block east of the pretty, old City Hall and Civic Center.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - Right now, Azusa probably has the best and most varied selection of great places to eat within walking distance of the station.  A block south on Azusa Avenue is a burgeoning restaraunt row featuring City Cafe, Congregation Ale House, Bambino's Pizza, and Max's Mexican Cuisine who also serves one of the best margaritas in Southern California.  On the other side, a very short block west, you have Canyon City Barbecue, a donut shop, Cocinero's Express (for tacos and such), and Flo's Coffee Shop for breakfast and lunch.  On the other side of City Hall is California Grill...an excellent slightly above fast food place with beer and wine on tap...Taco King, and Tom's Burgers. Adjacent to the station is Tardino's Italian Deli and Kanpai Sushi.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Simon Sheck under CC BY 2.0 license

Azusa/Glendora - Won't anyone think of the kids? Well, Metro did here by putting the last station on the line here, across the street from two colleges. Students of Citrus College and Azusa Pacific University can now take the train to classes helping to ease up congestion in their massive parking lots.

I'm Hungry, Where Can I Eat? - Other than college cafeterias and snack bars, there's really nothing adjacent to the station. A burger shack sits two blocks east on Foothill Boulevard and you can walk two long blocks south to Citrus and Alosta where you can find many chain outlets like Chick Fil A, McDonalds, and Applebees.

There you go, all the good places you can hit with your $1.75 basic fare.  If you've got more time and a thirst for more, you can go beyond to Pasadena, downtown L.A., Long Beach, Hollywood, and beyond.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP - Route 66 - Part 1

Note: This story was originally written in 2002...I've tried to update the information to 2010 where applicable.

This is a very low key trip, yet it is connected very well with some very major tourist destinations. It's served by excellent, accessible public transportation yet you will be hard pressed to find other tourists while you're here. You'll find yourself on possibly the most famous...and fabled...highway on earth but you won't feel you're at a tourist mecca.

Route 66 of course is that fabled route to California from Chicago made famous by the likes of John Steinbeck and Bobby Troup. Although the highway was decommissioned, hundreds of miles of it still exist.

One stretch that almost no one talks about any more is the part that winds its way though San Bernardino County into the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. The past icons along this stretch are quickly succumbing to encroaching suburbia, but there is still much to see and do here.

There are three areas of lodging that are particularly good here, depending on what's important to you. Staying in the lovely little college town of Claremont gives you superb access to the area's transporation grid...even if it is a bit out of the way. It's also close to our hiking area, noted below.

Staying in Pasadena puts you right in the thick of things and gives you great transit access via the Metro Gold Line. You'd probably want to avoid it around New Year's day unless you're doing the Rose Bowl or the parade.

The third choice is my choice for the best compromise. There is a hotel/restaurant row right on the border of Arcadia and Monrovia that gives you great affordable lodging in a good neighborhood with a very short walk to dozens of good restaurants.

For lodging, you have budget (Oak Tree Inn), midrange (Springhill Suites, Hilton Garden Inn), and upscale (Doubletree, Embassy Suites) to name but just a few. All the hotels in this area are newer and have good handicapped rooms.

You can fly to Ontario, Burbank, or LAX to get here. Ontario or Burbank would be best.

OK, on to the report...

Day 1

Since this is our hometown, we are going to have to imagine some of the following, but...apart from staying in the hotels...all of this actually happened.

The Springhill Suites is located just east of Santa Anita Racetrack n Arcadia.  We sleep in a bit, wanting to shake off travel fatigue. Just up the street from the hotel, we indulge in an early lunch at BJ's Pizza, Grill, & Brewhouse just west of the hotel. There are so many restaurants here that the only problem will be choosing which ones to eat at.

I have a superb french dip sandwich, my wife has a pot roast sandwich, and Tim has a BJ's burger. It goes very well with BJ's own beer and cider. For three people, it's less than $25.

After lunch, the Foothill Transit route 187 bus (the 187 traces mostly along Historical Route 66 from Colorado Bl. in Pasadena to Foothill Bl. in Claremont) picks us up across the street and drops us off a minute later at Santa Anita Racetrack (for those up to it, it's about a quarter mile walk from restaurant row to the track). We enter the back entrance which leads into the infield and spend the afternoon watching the ponies and trying not to lose all of our money. We actually end up about forty dollars ahead. (Santa Anita has live racing in October and from late December through April...it is pretty much open all year for sattelite wagering)

One note here, although we had a lot of fun and met some wonderful people who work at the track, we did go up to the clubhouse restaurant (we had clubhouse passes) for drinks and ran into the rudest people who work there. After receiving very poor service and attitude, we left before ordering anything and returned to the friendlier confines back at ground level.

After the races, we returned to the hotel and had dinner at the Claim Jumper, just half a block east of BJ's. Priced moderately to expensive, you get three meals worth of food for each order. You could very easily split something, or take leftovers if you have a place to store it and heat it up.  Even better is their monday through Thursday happy hour where a pizza costs just $3.  It's all very tasty...and filling!

Day 2

Wanting to exercise some of those Claim Jumper calories off, we again board Foothill Transit's 187 line heading east right in front of the hotel. In Claremont, it's an easy transfer to Foothill's line 292 at Mountain Avenue and Foothill Bl. The 292 drops us off at Baseline and Mountain and we walk three blocks west to the Thompson Creek Trail.

This trail, owned and maintained by the City of Claremont, is a very wheelchair friendly paved path that traces the edge of civilization. On one side are the tract homes of Claremont...which progress from humble bungalows to stately mansions at the end of the trail...on the other is mostly wild area, scrubby chaparral.

Thompson Creek is really a concrete lined drainage ditch, but other than that, the scenery is wonderful. My wife, ever the bird watcher, pointed out hundreds of Cedar Waxwings, a Flicker, dozens of Robins, warblers, and the occasional hawk or eagle. I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye and stopped. Up on a ridge about 100 yards away sat a family of four deer keeping a wary eye on our progress. The two mile trail (four miles round-trip) ends up in a brushy field in the shadow of Mount Baldy. Another more primitive trail starts just north of this one. We'll save that for another trip.

Retracing our way back, the 187 westbound takes us to a true Route 66 treasure, Pinnacle Peak in San Dimas. On the menu here are big, juicy, cowboy steaks cooked over hardwood charcoal served with beans and bread. What's not on the menu here are ties. Thousands of forbidden ties hang from the rafters. They are cut off the offending owner's neck and strung up. If you do wear a tie to dinner here, just to add to the collection, be aware that they have a big ceremony where everybody in the place stops what they're doing just to see your tie get sliced. That's the voice of experience talking there...

Day 3

Today we want to expand our horizons a little. After breakfast, we take the 187 west to the the Sierra Madre Villa terminus of the Gold Line.  If you stayed in Claremont or Montclair, you would have easier access to Metrolink but be farther away with less amenities...the choice is yours.

First, a word about tickets. Metro offers no transfers, so get a day pass instead of a single ticket. We ride the Gold Line into Los Angeles where we get off at Union Station and take the elevator downstairs to the Metro Red Line.  The North Hollywood bound train takes us to the Hollywood and Highland Station. Upstairs is the Hollywood and Highland complex which includes a shopping center with great views of the Hollywood sign, restaurants ranging from hot dogs to very expensive sit down dinners, the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards), and the Chinese Theater...a true Hollywood landmark.

We grab a couple of hot dogs and compare shoe sizes with the stars in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater. The shopping center has great access from the subway and is nice if a little bland. It does make a big improvement to a very nasty neighborhood. That's a big step in the right direction.

Back downstairs, the Red Line continues on. The next stop in Universal City.

At that stop, we cross the street to catch a shuttle up the hill to Universal Studios. The shuttle pulls up and...it's not accessible. No problem, the driver radios up the hill and a lift-equipped van is dispatched to pick us up (you don't want to walk up this steep hill in a wheelchair...even if you're up to the challenge, the curb cuts stop half-way up, forcing you into a very busy street).

Universal Studios is a lot of fun. We take the studio tour, see the Backdraft special effects walk-through, ride Jurassic Park, and see the Waterworld stunt show. In between, we have a few beers at Mulligan's Pub and then out from the pub to see Terminator 3-D across the way. Afterwards, we have a nice dinner at Karl Strauss Brewery and Gardens at the adjacent CityWalk. The Red Line takes us back to Union Station where we catch the Gold Line back to Pasadena and take the 187 back to the hotel.

Stay tuned for part 2, the finale.

-Darryl
Copyright 2002 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved