This and that

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Another Adventure

We drove to Asuza and took the Gold Line to Little Tokyo. This time the sign said there were eleven spots when there were none. I asked the person giving out parking tickets to request a work order. I think next time we will not park at the end of the line but go one stop to the west.

Most of our time was spend wandering through stores.

Here are some things I did not buy.

Foot peeling pack, both matcha and regular

Origami paper, which I love but I should use up what I already have

Totoro fan, which we definitely could have used on such a hot day

Kendama for $75
(I guess they have nicer wood and workmanship
than the $15, $25, or $45 kendamas)

These eye shades did tempt me

I am always tempted by little plates and bowls

Cute nesting dolls

Bazillion dollar sneakers that you could actually
touch since they were wrapped in plastic

I was not tempted by potato chips with different flavors:

plum, cherry blossom, cucumber, wasabi, tomato,

Mexican tomato chicken, sea salt and black pepper

Adorable toe socks with a different picture on each toe

Adorable stacking stuffed toys

The one place we spent some money was at the grocery store.

When it is a cooler day we will go back and visit gardens and temples.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Two in One

After returning from the observatory we had a quick lunch and headed to the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

It is always fun to play, "If you had to pick one piece (or one set), which would you pick?"
These two sets were favorites from the Peter Pincus exhibit.

There was an amazing display of Juan Quezada pieces
and information how they are made (the brushes, the firing, etc.).

The last exhibit we saw had many large pieces and I was glad to see that they seemed to be weighted down with sandbags and stabilized with putty. I would not want to be in that museum after a major earthquake.

One of our favorite parts is the gift shop, where pieces can be handled and examined. I was so sorry for the person who also enjoyed this but dropped a piece. Pottery landing on the floor is a terrible sound

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Eagle Has Taken Off

I am guessing everyone else went to the Griffith Observatory on July 20 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first man on the moon. We went the next day when there were still special events but (I am guessing) smaller crowds.

We used the free parking at the Greek Theater and walked uphill to the observatory. Even though we felt like we had great views, we were really seeing only a small part of the park.

Before the observatory opened we were able to look around, including checking out the week-long demonstration of Apollo 11's path (see above). I was amazed how many tourists were there! It was a great place to take pictures and a fantastic free museum.

Once inside we made our way to the special exhibit and heard the museum staff highlighted some of the science behind the space mission. We could also listen to the live feed from fifty years ago on July 21, when the astronauts were on their way home. We also enjoyed hearing the director (Edwin C. Crupp, Pomona College '66) as he described some of the exhibits.

Other exhibits described space, how it has been explored, and
how to teach about it, including this analog star projector.

Being on the roof reminded me of being on the roof of
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.

If only it were closer and if only there weren't a small observatory just a mile from our house I might go more often.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Not as Planned

I have been going on some adventures with a friend and it was decided to go to Watts Towers (I even found the books we had, see above). While the local train is in a great location, it is expensive and runs infrequently. The more-frequent and cheaper train doesn't come to Claremont (yet?) so we drove to the end of the line in Asuza only to find the parking garage full, despite the sign that said there were seven spots. The local streets had signs forbidding parking so we drove a couple more blocks and found a spot. We were excited to see stairs to the tracks, but not so happy to see a fence around them. Sigh.

So it is not Amsterdam, but there were a few bikes at the station.

We made our way to the train, found good seats, and waited for the train to leave. Eventually an employee came through to let us know that this train and the next one would not be going anywhere any time soon because of maintenance on the track further along. Looking at the electronic map we could see that it was going to take us quite a while to our destination. It felt like the universe was nudging us (no parking! delayed trains!) so we adapted our plans and went somewhere else I had never explored - South Pasadena (which I learned is its own town, not just south of Pasadena).

The highlight of the trip was (I know you won't be surprised) the library! It may not have been Simon Rodia's work, but we did get to see Jolino Beserra's Smoke and Mirrors.

We loved the Friends of the Library book sale, too!

my receipt

Why an ostrich you may ask? There used to be a farm in South Pasadena started by someone who was hoping to "cash in on the popularity of ostrich feathers as fashion accessories".