Les and I became friends in college. We both lived in Chicago for a
time until I moved to Florida and Les moved to California. Our visits
have been few but we have kept up with each other largely through
lengthy annual letters sent at Christmas.
But Les and husband Alan are the kind of friends that make you easily
forget how much time has passed between visits. We quickly fell into
comfortable conversation as if we were returning for an annual visit.
In fact, this was our first visit to Pasadena. Our previous get-
togethers have been meetings in other cities. We had a great time as
well as a happy reunion. Pasadena felt more like our Midwestern roots
than typical California I had experienced. We toured beautiful
neighborhoods, visited the Gamble house and learned about Green &
Green and arts & crafts architecture. We saw the Rose Bowl and
visited the rose garden at the Tournament of Roses headquarters. We
ate in Old Pasadena and mingled with lots of others enjoying the
evening in cafes, dining rooms and late open shops. Although we
learned the museums were all closed on Tuesdays, it was clear that
Tuesday was still a good night for socializing.
I had followed the life of McCloud for many years and was honored to
finally meet him. Our visit to the stable was in a fascinating
equestrian community that was on its way to being converted to mega-
mansion lanes.
We hope to visit again sooner with our good friends, maybe a trip
together to Catalina will be planned in the next couple of years. In
the meantime, I'll continue to look forward to those letters at
Christmas and the special joy they always give me in knowing we are
still good friends who care so much about each other.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Pasadena was the first childhood home I remember - I lived there with the fam. in the 1960's ha! such a long time ago... lived on Valley View Avenue... one thing I always loved was how the home owners of Pasadena decorated their front yards at Christmas time. Different neighborhoods had themed yard ornaments... our block had the "three wise guys" (as we called them)they were life sized cut-outs of plywood, of the three wise men. They were painted blue - and they were lit up with spot lights - I knew it was Christmas soon when we would all pile in the Ford station wagon and drive around the neighborhood in amazement.... ahhhh - thanks for letting me relive a nice memory. I wonder if they still do that anymore.... Nancy
ReplyDeleteMaybe Les or Alan will give us a report on current practices in Pasadena. You were fortunate to be able to live in such a beautiful place ... even for a short time!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first attempt at commenting. In recent years, we haven't seen themed holiday decorations by block or neighborhood around Pasadena. There is a section of town called Hastings Ranch where homeowners try to one-up their neighbors' decorations, but every house generally does its own thing. Les
ReplyDelete