Birthday Trip, part two

You have been very patient. Unfortunately, I have a lot of pictures, but some fuzzy memories about why I took those pictures. I'll do my best.

Each part of this post could be its own post, but here's the short version of our second day.

As I write this in the heat it is hard to remember cycling in the drizzle and fog and being cold, but it was still a good ride. I am guessing the views would have been great if it had been clear.

After the ride we headed to the public library, which I make sure I visit each time I am in Redlands. 

I love the Leo Politi mural

and stained glass windows.

We visited the Friends bookstore for the first time.
Of course, I had to support them by buying some books.

We visited the heritage room to learn more about Redlands

and found information about the original water
station for dogs (seen in the first Birthday Trip post).

Right outside the library door was an arts festival. 

We did not buy anything, 

but enjoyed seeing the Mona Lisa-themed art contest.

Other highlights of the day were 

"The Lincoln Memorial Shrine is the only museum and archives dedicated to the study of Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War west of the Mississippi River."

house tour by bicycle

Finish line of local bike race

We had an early dinner at a Thai restaurant and enjoyed 

some great shave ice, which was new to me.

We did have a couple questions.

Why does the city have so many logos?

What do the numbers on the old lampposts mean? I thought they were locations, but they were inconsistent from to the next.

Headline News

On April 3 our history calendar highlighted the first mobile phone call.

On April 4 the New York Times used their Headlines in History to mention
 that the wire-less telephone had been introduced the day before.

I think this is the first time it has happened, but I keep looking for another connection.

Mysterious Fountain

It looks like this fountain in Memorial Park has been here for a while even though I can't remember noticing it before. It may have been around a while since it is dedicated to Allan John Carter, who passed away in 1949. I have not learned anything else yet.

There is also this fountain. It is the same color I don't think it is the same era.

Neither fountain is functional.

Local Adventure

 It was so much fun to ride close to home and find places I had never seen.

We started by delivering some postcards to a house in the north part of town and since we were in the neighborhood we cycled up to Padua Hills Theater. It is kind of nice to be going slowly uphill so one can look at all the houses and gardens.

From there we headed to the historic Lincoln Park area in Pomona. I love that so many houses have beautiful porches, but the only pictures I took were of the peacocks wandering around.

When I was looking for a route to get to our usual area I saw something on the map called Pioneers Monument 1934. 

I found a few pictures on this great public art site, including this one from the dedication. 

Their pictures are better than mine and I encourage you to check out the link.

We almost cycled right past it because it is small and on the side of the road. I wonder what this area looked like in 1934.

Also on the map were points of interest that included public art.

carved by John Mahoney
This eagle was not added to the stump but was carved from it. 

We found this eagle and a few other animals in Ganesha Park, but that was not our destination.

We were headed to the Soroptimist Redwood Grove, which is written about here by one of my favorite journalists.

Working Woodpeckers

The Raven

The grove was not looking healthy, but John Mahoney had carved many of the trees, making it a nice place to visit.

From there we rode over to our regular route and headed home. How nice to have a tiny vacation close to home!

Local Detention Camp

"...As a result of hysteria and racism.
May such injustice and suffering never recur."

Outside the L.A. Co. Fairgrounds there is now a remembrance plaque memorializing the Japanese-Americans held there before being sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Center.


As I put out our flag today it was a good time to pause and consider not only our country's past, present, and future actions, but also what happens locally.

Start of Vacation

On our way to Mammoth we made two stops. 

A visit to Manzanar is not an upbeat occasion
but we did not regret learning a bit more.

Not far away is Erick Schat's Bakery, which is a popular place
on a Sunday in the summer. After getting a few things
we enjoyed a picnic in the city park across the street.

When we first arrived in town we had time to get in a little ride. The guys went off to meet friends and do a more technical ride.

I rode the uptown trail to

Earthquake Fault, which is really an enormous fissure.

I rode the downtown trail back to the room, which was not a whole lot easier for me than going uphill. I guess I am more of a pavement kind of person. The good thing was that it was late enough in the day that there were very few people on the trail. The other good thing was staying at a place a very short distance from the trail.

U-Pick

The day started with A. riding with his team and D. and I riding out to a bike store to check out a new mountain bike for D.  Riding with bigger wheels, full suspension, and a dropper post would make it easier to ride with the teenagers on the team, not to mention that it is fun!

After everyone had returned and showered we headed over to to Heritage Park in La Verne, which maintains an orange grove, historic house, and historic barn.  For five dollars a bag anyone can pick oranges starting in January until they are gone, which is usually early March.

I love old oak trees. I wonder how quickly they grow and what
size this was when people were living in the Weber house. 

Plenty of people were picking oranges but it didn't feel crowded.

Pickers, long poles with a hooked basket on the end, are provided.

Wintertime and the living is easy.

Not sure if this is an historic turkey, but it reminded A. of clothing worn by women long ago.

Spring Break

We didn't get the impression that Riverside was a big tourist destination, but we had fun exploring.

Our first stop was the Heritage House.
Volunteers have a done a great job making maintaining the house and giving tours.

We are always looking at fireplaces, but these did not seem a good match for our house.

This plain fireplace is upstairs because if you were sleeping over you were
probably a family member or close friend and did not need to be impressed.

This fireplace is in the former YWCA downtown, which was designed by Julia Morgan.
There is now a modern YWCA closer to the Heritage House.  Details to follow.