Squeezing in Some Fun

We found a new place to hike.

We were grateful for some shade.

We also found a new (to me) library in La Cañada Flintridge.

It is part of the LA Co library system so I could check out books and return them in Claremont. 

It was not new, but it was nice to go back to the Lost Book Store

and to Paradis. Of course I had lemon sorbet. Mmmm.

Not shown, but I thoroughly enjoyed the children's bookstore and toy store.

Another Weekend

Major league spring training games were on the radio and 

I saw some baseball

and softball in person.

On Sunday we left early and drove

to get bagels.
Our bikes are parked in the background and we rode

to Melrose, which was closed for CicLAvia.

Maybe my favorite part is getting a free book.

Right next door was a real polling place!

We passed Paramount Pictures. 
I had no idea we were in Hollywood.

It was a four-mile stretch and we didn't dawdle too much so we could get back in time for

the Sycamore talent show.

There was magic, a lot of Taylor Swift songs, an interpretive dance, piano playing, and a great rendition of Working 9 to 5. 

Lots of rain this weekend so we'll see how things go.

Half-Day Outing

 

The morning started at one of the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles, according to this article.

From there it was a short drive to Griffith Park and I wanted to go up the Fern Dell Stairs just because they were on the map.

The Leif Erickson statue is on the map, too.

The three-mile hike to the observatory and back was a bit steeper than I expected, but the views were fantastic.

Not a natural stream but still nice to be by the water.

Imagine you can see the Hollywood sign

And then back home to avoid the Friday rush hour traffic. It was a good to go and good to get back.

Exploring

I am lucky to have friends who invite me places and offer to drive. One friend suggested going to Watts Towers, even though I countered by saying we could just watch a documentary.

 

We had read that there were tours, but that was not
accurate. We were still happy to walk around.

We were not in a rush so we poked around a bit.
The visitor center was closed 

but we enjoyed the outdoor art in the park

and in the neighborhood.

Someone else walking around told us about a garden.

The person working there said it was closed

but she let us pick peaches.

So many turtles!

From the Towers we headed to coffee,

which had an excellent little library.

There were pictures of lots of events here,
but we were the only ones on that morning.

Our last stop was IKEA, where I tracked my route.

Rabble Rousers

I have been writing about the Los Angeles County Fair for ages. This visit started a little differently because of this email exchange.

Guess how A. and I went to the fair?

There were already two other bikes parked there.

We did all the usual things and had a great time!

competitive table settings

cool quilt

oranges in the garden section

amazing costumed person walking around

in the art gallery

classic car show

and tricked out banana bikes

It was so nice to be able to go in May when the weather was better. I wonder if they will stick with the spring dates.

Expectations

 I love when everything goes even better than I expect, but maybe one day I won't worry ahead of time!

A. and I needed to renew our EU passports and I wanted to do it after he was 18 years old so that he could get a passport that was valid for ten years. We could not get an appointment for the weeks after his birthday before he left for college so we decided to do it this week.

The first step after getting an appointment was to gather our documents. Some were exactly where I expected them to be but one was missing. Glad I checked ahead of time because the next place to look would be our safe deposit box. 

The good news was that it was right near the top so that could be checked off the list. The bad news was that the next day I opened my wallet (not something I do every day so that was lucky!) and my driver's license was missing. I immediately realized it had not been returned by the bank after they took to verify my identification.  All I had to do was ride over to the bank and retrieve it, right? 

Ha ha. The person looked one place and said come back later. I went home, questioned my memory, and looked all over. No luck. Back to the bank, where I could see three different people looking here and looking there. Maybe I left in my box they asked? But I would have to go home and get my passport so they could verify my identity so they could let me get into the box. Aaagh. Time was ticking because I knew I would have to leave town before the bank opened the next day in order to get to LA in time. 

And then, miracle of miracles, it was is the fifth place they looked.
I guess I was the first person to ever leave identification at the bank.

But, wait.  There was another worry to add to the list.

A. wondered about that crack in the tire.

D. said it was fine since I was just going around town. I was relived until I remembered that the next day I would be driving to LA. The tires were going to be replaced over break and for now it would just have to be the fingers-crossed method of repair. I am thrilled to report it worked!

The drive in was uneventful. 

The most exciting thing was seeing the removal of the
Staples sign at the basketball arena. The Crypto sign was
up on by the time we were heading home.

We got there so early we had time to walk over to emili's cafe.
It wasn't the best view but the company was great.

We hustled back to the consulate on Wilshire Blvd., we were escorted to the elevator, and we were immediately helped. We had all the documents requested and even one that had not been on the list. Our pictures turned out ok and it was eight dollars less expensive than expected. What a great experience.

Nothing exciting on the drive home, stopped to get ingredients so A. could make dinner, and home by noon.

Definitely exceeded all expectations!