01-01-2017 The 128th Tournament of Roses

Current Location: Catalina Spa and RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

Amazing.  Before I say anything else, I have to say that the Tournament of Roses Parade is the grandaddy of them all, America’s New Year’s Celebration.  This was the 128th Rose Parade, celebrated every single year except 1942, immediately after Pearl Harbor.  In all that time, it has only rained ten times, and we were a bit nervous about the predictions for rain.  Those rains never materialized, and once again, the weather gods shined down on the celebration.

I have agonized a bit over writing this post.  Attending the parade was the main focus of this trip, the reason we signed up for our first group “Rally”.  I have been excited about doing this for a year now, ever since we signed up on January 1, 2016. 

Was it all that I expected?  In some ways, more, in some ways less, and yet the overall experience was definitely all that I wanted and more.  The parade itself?  Maybe I was still caught up in my childhood memories of spending the night on Colorado Boulevard with a campfire on the sidewalk.  I have agonized over this post because part of me wants to make it easy and write about the parade, talk about the facts, the floats, how we got there and what we did.  That is easy. 

I have an incredible number of photos, processed and ready for uploading, but that will have to wait until I return home to free bandwidth.  In the mean time, I have had the daunting task of picking favorites.

We were on the bus in the dark at 5 AM ready for the 5:15 departure.  Everyone was excited and as we rode the fast commuter lane from Pomona to Pasadena, the anticipation was palpable.  We were early enough that the bus parked along the sidewalk and there was plenty of room for our table loaded down with hot drinks, pastries, and fruit.  Just across the street was a bank of porta potties, one of several groups of such necessities, and the lines weren’t terrible and the potties were pristine. 

This float is called “Echoes of Love”, sponsored by of all things, a TV show, “The Bachelor”.  It was on my top favorite list, but even more so after seeing it up close the next day at the post parade show.

Our group had three rows of seats, just back and up a bit from the sidewalk.  We were warned to do the necessaries before we attempted to sit in the stands, for good reason.  Once in the stands, it is not only difficult to get out, but difficult to even move around.  After 2 hours of friendly knees in our backs and rubbing shoulders tightly with our neighbors, we were ready to stand up.

This float is called “Teammates in Life” made professionally by Paradiso.  The images are portraits of organ donors, done in many different shades of seeds and grains.  Up close it was breathtaking.

I spent so many years seeing the parade close up, and fighting the crowds, often standing the entire time, that I was tickled to finally have a chance to view it from the grandstand seats, something I had once coveted.  I discovered that grandstand seats are nice, but somehow you are a bit insulated from the thrill of the floats up close.  Everything seemed to pass by so quickly, and with no HGTV announcers to tell us what we were seeing, we had to refer to the parade program to figure it out, during which time the float was already gone. 

Our friend Laura did the parade a bit differently this year.  She rented a space for their RV in a lot facing the street and set chairs up right on the parade route along the pavement.  I think she saw things up close in a way we didn’t, but we got to see things from above in a way that she didn’t.  A bit of a quandary.  One that was completely solved by the next day’s event, the Post Parade Float viewing along Sierra Madre Boulevard. 

Buhos Marching Band from Mexico

The parade lasted almost exactly 2 hours, with 42 floats, 21 marching bands, and 20 equestrian units.  Most of the bands performed as they passed our grandstand, located right at the beginning of the parade route at the base of the Orange Grove Boulevard hill.  Of course I had a few favorite floats, but as I reviewed my photos, I could see that the gray skies and viewing location didn’t really give me that old feeling I was searching for.

This float is called “Spirit of Hawaii” made by Dole to remind us of the rich history between Hawaii and Dole.  As you can see, the amazing detail wasn’t easily seen as the float passed by, but the after parade show revealed all.

That old feeling came back full force the next day, as we entered the Post Parade show.  Finally the fragrance of the flowers and the amazing complexity and magical colors of the floats were right there in front of me.  I was so happy I was beside myself, and that tiny disappointment that I felt from the day before completely evaporated.

“The Monkey King” by BDK, weathers countless trials on his journey to success.  Celebrating the ending of the year of the monkey.  This float epitomized what the commercial floats can do with unlimited funds and resources.

We spent four full hours walking the length of the show along the closed boulevard, enjoyed the most expensive big pretzel we ever ate for five bucks, and I took so many photos I wore out two batteries for the camera. 

However the very best part of the day could have been the worst.  Stopping to buy a street taco for lunch, I put my wallet in my Adventure Caravans burgundy jacket to walk over to the kiosk.  Back to the bench for lunch, and then Mo and I wandered off to leave the show, with the jacket still on the bench.  I realized at the last minute before we reached the exit gate that it was gone and ran back to find it was no longer there.  No problem, I thought, I can replace the jacket, entirely forgetting that I had put my wallet in the pocket instead of back in the bag we were carrying.

A long walk and then a shuttle ride to the waiting bus, and as we were getting ready to pull away from the curb, Mo thought to check the purse. No wallet.  You know that sinking feeling?  Yeah, that one.  I jumped off the bus, in a panic, asking Claudia if anyone knew of a lost and found number. 

“Doing Good in the World” by the Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee. Not a professional float builder.

Here is where the story gets really good.  Hex, our wagonmaster/rally leader jumped in, took my arm, and said, “I’ll walk back with you.”  He got us back into the show without tickets, talked to the white coat guys, found the lost and found where the first person had no clue how to use the radio, talked to more people, found a person with a radio, and lo and behold, some really kind family had turned in my jacket with the wallet still in the pocket.  Hex called the bus driver, who had to negotiate some crazy traffic barriers to get back to us, and we walked as fast as we could almost all the way to the freeway to meet up with the bus.

The Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team from Norco, California

I have to say thank you to Hex, for jumping in so quickly to help me, and to all the folks on the bus who waited so patiently for the two of us to get back on the bus.  Finally, still a bit shaky over the whole thing, I settled in with Mo for the long ride back to Pomona and our final afternoon at the fairgrounds. 

Adventure Caravans treated us to a catered dinner for the last night of the Rally, with folks gathering around the big tables, sharing stories of where they were going next, and praising the rally crew for the great job they did.

Here is a shot of Hex at the grandstands, still trying to herd cats, aka rally folks

Finally, would we do another rally or caravan with Adventure Caravans?  Possibly not.  Not because they didn’t do a great job, they most certainly did.  However the busy schedule and the focus on social activity is a bit much for our independent style of travel.  Most of the attendees were great people, with just a single exception, but that exception could make traveling in a group not much fun, and of course, there always seems to be “that one”.

Both of us were extremely glad we chose to do this rally, however, saying over and over again how grateful we were to not have to deal with all the logistics of attending the Rose Parade.  We loved having the extra venues, the extra shows, and loved not having to drive much in that traffic or try to find parking, or pay for parking, which often cost as much as the event itself.  We saw and experienced things we probably wouldn’t have managed on our own.  In that respect, it was a truly great trip and an excellent choice for what we wanted to see and do.

Another favorite from the post parade show, by Ragu Pasta Sauce, called “Simmering in Tradition”.  I barely saw this one as it passed by in the parade.  What a difference up close.

I fulfilled my dream of once again attending the Rose Parade, and now I will be perfectly happy to watch it full screen on the big TV with the HGTV announcers telling me all about the floats, the bands, and the horses.  When I close my eyes and remember, what I remember most isn’t the parade, but that amazing BandFest performance, waiting in the dark for the parade to start, and staring in awe at the incredible floral work on the floats up close.

Just one example of the incredible floral artistry that covers every square inch of the floats.

Remember this CalPoly float from the pre-parade show?  It was incredible.

I had to chose, and it was incredibly difficult.  There were several floats that I really loved that didn’t make the cut for the actual parade, but are in my gallery of post parade floats.  If you want to get a taste of the up close flowers, the incredible artistry, the creativity and imagination that goes into this, check out the gallery here.

12-31-2016 An End and a Beginning

Current Location: Catalina Spa and RV Resort, Desert Hot Springs, California

We have settled into a familiar space here in the desert on Eleventh Street in the older 30 amp area of Catalina Spa and RV.  Mt. San Jacinto is shrouded in heavy dark clouds and the wind is blowing, but here we are bathed in sunshine.  A far cry from the heavy snows that are pummeling southern Oregon at the moment.  Daughter Melody keeps sending pictures and updates, and it does the trick.  I don’t complain a bit about the drippy days or the cool weather here in Southern California.

At last I have a day with no busses to catch, no events to go to, no shared gatherings to attend, except for the dog park perhaps.  Nothing on a schedule at least, and I do hope to get completely caught up on the last few days since the New Year began.

I do love a marching band.  All parades should have marching bands in my opinion, and sometimes small town parades can’t manage to include local bands, and without them a parade is much too quiet.  I knew that one of the highlights of this rally would be visiting BandFest, a three day event that included many of the prize winning marching bands from around the world that would be marching in the Rose Parade 2017.

Even the cloudy morning and threat of rain wouldn’t have kept me from joining our group at the grandstands of Pasadena City College to see the performance.  To say it was breathtaking would be an understatement.  Each performance was better than the last, with the final show by the Pride of Broken Arrow band from Oklahoma so far over the top that we watched in utter disbelief at what we were seeing.  Marching bands are NOT what they used to be.  I marched in the Azusa High School Band as a member of the drill team, competed at state wide events, but never saw anything like this.

The beginning of the show seemed almost normal, but as each band appeared, with more and more instruments, and more and more choreography, it was obvious we were seeing performances that would never make it to the street for the official Rose Parade.  I took a lot of videos with my phone, a Samsung Note 5, which replaced the old iPhone last summer.  Little did I know that every single one of those videos would be recorded vertically and require video software and lots of time to convert to a horizontal view.  Very frustrating.  I also did do a couple of facebook Live videos, which were great, but with gazillions of people attempting to access the internet at the same time, by the time Broken Arrow took  the field, the internet was completely unavailable.

All I can say is that if you like marching bands, check out this video of the Broken Arrow High School Marching Band to get a taste of what I am trying valiantly to describe that is really beyond words. Just watching the long line of marimbas, xylophones, pianos and other instruments rolling onto the fields was a bit of a surprise.  I have never seen a marimba in a marching band.  Of course, the marimbas were not part of the official parade, since they probably wouldn’t roll down the pavement very easily.

These guys not only played perfectly, they did it while marching backwards, doing crazy gymnastic moves, and balancing on low rider bikes while playing.  It was just beyond crazy, and incredible to watch.  No video or description can even come close to what it was like to experience in person.  I would say that if you plan to go to the Rose Parade, make sure you spend the time and $15.00 to attend at least one of the performances, each of which highlights different bands.

The predicted rain never appeared, although by the time our bus returned to the fairgrounds I did have a fairly deep bone chill going on.  Time to get back in jammies for a bit while waiting for the afternoon snacks that would hold us until our evening festivities.

It was a bit of a distance to Fontana, and the Center Stage Theater, where we were treated to dinner and a live show.  The theater is a wonderful historic venue, first built in 1937 as a one screen movie theater, closed down after many years, limping along as the location of various organizations, including the Elks, before reopening in 2008 in its current form.  Since then, Center Stage has produced over 20 Broadway musicals, and 16 original productions.

(Just for fun, I didn’t try to get the red out of the photo.  We had red lights, red tables, lots of red and everything looked red.  Thought you might get a kick out of it.)

It was a dinner show, and as we were seated at the big round tables, we didn’t really know what to expect.  Our waitress came by asking for drink requests, informing us that she would be serving us throughout the evening, in between singing in the performance.  What? 

As the evening progressed, with excellent food, and the great company of our friends Nickie and Jimmy at our table, in addition to another couple, we laughed and regaled each other with stories.  Sitting next to Mo was Dot Bolton and her husband Mel, who were from Pacifica, California.  We had not met them previously during the tour. In the course of the conversation it came up that Mo taught PE, Science, and Health at Terra Nova High School for almost 30 years.  Dot Bolton’s kids and grandkids were students of Mo’s and remembered her well.  What a crazy small world we share.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures inside the theater or of the show.  Somehow my training with kids in theater had me thinking it wasn’t ok to do that, even though no one actually said photos were not allowed.  Thanks goodness Nickie was there with her trusty camera clicking away.  Once again I will have to send you over to Nickie’s blog to get all the inside scoop about this great dinner and show. 

Afterward, I shook hands with the actors, telling them that I had kids in theater and knew what it took to do a performance like the one we had just experienced.  It was amazing to have 8 people who never had a mis step or a  missed note, made us laugh and had truly fabulous voices, in addition to serving our dinner and laughing with us at the table.  So much fun.  We celebrated the New Year at 9pm, right along with the big ball in New York, much like we do at home. 

Back at the MoHo, we heard a few fireworks go off during the night, both before and after midnight, but no guns, and we wished each other a happy new year to come.

The next morning dawned gorgeous and sunny, and with predictions for no rain, it seemed like a great day to skip the long bus ride to LA, Hollywood, and all that tourist stuff, and go for a nice hike instead.  Jimmy and Nickie thought that was a great idea as well, and we jumped into our tow cars (2 cars required since theirs is a 2 seater and ours was full of stuff).

I knew of several different trails into the nearby San Gabriel mountains, not really thinking that the sunny New Years Day would make almost every trail completely inaccessible.  As a Girl Scout I hiked Monrovia Canyon to the waterfall over and over, and loved the idea of returning. What I didn’t expect was cars lined up miles before the locked gate into the trail head, and literally hundreds of people coming and going.

Thinking that maybe the Chantry Flats trails would be a bit less popular, we traveled farther west, up Santa Anita Boulevard to the winding road that leads to Chantry, another childhood favorite where I rode horses, and later took my kids for day picnics with friend Maryruth when we were young mom’s living in Arcadia.  Once again, cars were parked a mile or more from the main parking area, and we simply gave up on what seemed like a good idea at the time. 

The drive into the canyon was curvy and dramatic, with spectacular views across the San Gabriel basin and toward downtown Los Angeles.  It was worth it to see the views and then amble back to Pomona on the old Huntington Drive Historic Route 66.  I lived just a couple of blocks from Santa Anita Boulevard as a very young kid, and then later just two blocks from Huntington Drive, although in the 50’s it was not “historic” but simply route 66. 

We shared an early evening meal of chicken enchiladas with Jimmy and Nickie in their rig and spent the rest of the afternoon resting and trying to catch up a bit on all the activities.  It was a sweet end to the first day of the New Year to come.

The next morning we would get up at 3 to have a couple of hours to walk Mattie, eat a little breakfast, and be ready to board the bus by 5am for the big event of the rally, the Tournament of Roses Parade, 2017.

12-30-2016 Visiting the Float Barns and the Huntington Library

Current Location: Pomona Fairgrounds Exposition Park

At the moment, it is just after 3 AM.  I woke with the thoughts of what we have seen crammed into my head, fighting for supremacy.  Staying on top of my thoughts is almost as hard as staying on top of the blog.  I have learned over the years that the only way to do that is get them out, write them down, and then they give me a little peace.  A little.

In the dark, I went outside to open the black water and then the gray water tanks.  With the sewer fully hooked up and ready to go, it is easy to forget that those tanks should be monitored a bit.  I think one was pretty close to full, the one you don’t want to be full. 

The air smelled murky, and thinking maybe it was just stinky LA air, I then detected a note of skunk.  I guess LA really doesn’t smell like skunk, so I can’t blame the stink on the excessive population. Our camping sites are on pavement, and as I walk across the wet grass, that is turning into a bit of a muddy mess, I am glad for the pavement.  The big lights that are right over the RV’s are obnoxious, but at least they go off sometime during the night.  I had to use a flashlight to see the levers. It hasn’t been particularly uncomfortable to be in such close quarters.  Not much of a view, but then we aren’t here that much either.  Lucky for us, our neighbors on the dining room window side are Nickie and Jimmy, insulating us from some of the less compatible participants on this tour.  Our direct neighbors on the other side are in a very big rig, with their door on the far side.  We never see or hear them, in spite of their slide being feet from our door.

The MoHo looks very small lined up with all these 40 plus footers.  Jimmy and Nickie are only a foot longer than we are, but they are taller and have one of those big front windows that grace a Class A.  In spite of all the rain, and yes it has been raining a lot in between the sun here and there, the MoHo is still shiny and clean.  Hopefully as we travel east she will at least stay a little bit sparkly.  Our route to Desert Hot Springs is a short 90 minute drive.  I am ready, very ready, to hang loose, have no schedule except the pools and a hike when I feel like it.

Yeah, yeah, I know.  I am doing that rambling thing that I do when I start writing at three AM.  It is how I get going, I guess.  It is a lot easier to ramble on in the moment than to attempt to return mentally to three days in the past.  But let me try.

Waking to pouring rain, it was an uhoh moment, but knowing that we were going to be touring inside venues on this day I wasn’t worried.  I donned my Bogs rain boots and our Adventure Caravans water resistant burgundy jacket thinking I had it covered.  Taking the umbrella seemed a bit silly for a bus ride and inside tours.  Wrong.  We arrived at the float barns adjacent to the Rose Bowl early enough to get a great parking spot for the bus.

Searching the internet, it seems that there are several locations throughout greater Los Angeles where volunteers decorate the floats.  I also discovered that the Phoenix Float Builders, a commercial company, are responsible for many of the floats.  That explains the signs we saw touting “self built float” at some of the locations. 

The tour of the barns was rather disjointed, nothing to do with our tour company, who secured tickets and parking and managed to get us there.  Once there however, the Rose Parade guys in white coats were less than helpful, routing us around the entire perimeter of the barns in the pouring rain before returning to the main entrance where we originally arrived.  Once in the Brookside Pavilion, there was no indication of where to go or what we were seeing.  We wandered around a bit, and enjoyed watching the volunteers arrive, and seeing the bare bones floats before many of the flowers were added.

Best of all, in my opinion, was the CalPoly self built float, with some incredible animation and creativity.

We walked through more rain to another barn, The Rosemont Pavilion.  Here we enjoyed a catwalk above all the activity, and a chance to see the flowers all staged for adding to the floats at the last minute.  The volunteers work all night before the parade adding the most delicate flowers at the end.  Maybe it was the cooler temperatures and rain that kept the fragrance from being what I remembered, who knows, maybe my smeller just isn’t what it used to be.

After the short and wet tour, we dried out a bit on the bus before continuing to the Huntington Library.  The Huntington has venues and restaurants for eating, and didn’t want us bringing our own food, but as our wagonmaster Hex said, they are not inexpensive choices.  Someone working with Hex at the Huntington worked out a plan for us to bring our own lunches and eat at the tables near the entrance.  There was a plan to set up a sandwich table with fixin’s and extras but with the predicted rain, Hex decided that making the sandwiches in the tent before we left camp was the smarter idea.  Lunch was a tight affair as we ate our sandwiches on the bus as we watched the rain outside. 

Since Mo and I had decided to leave our umbrella home for the day, we were grateful for the nice umbrellas provided by the Huntington for our 45 minute outdoor docent tour.  Outdoor being the important word.  The skies remained gray and a bit drippy, enough to make a rainbow for Nickie which I completely missed, but at least the hard rains held off for the time that we explored this magnificent treasure.

There is more at the Huntington than could possibly be seen in the time we had, even though 3 hours seemed like it would be a long time.  I had heard of the Huntington throughout my childhood, and many people went there, but again, for no reason I can imagine, I never visited.  I was a repeat visitor to the amazing LA County Arboretum in Arcadia, but the gardens at the Huntington rivaled anything I remember from the Arboretum.

Rather than repeat all the information about the gardens, I’ll let you take a peek here at the website.  In 1903, Henry Huntington purchased the San Marino Ranch, a working ranch with citrus groves, nut and fruit orchards, alfalfa crops, a small herd of cows, and poultry. There are now more than 12 gardens on 120 acres of the estate that are open to the public.

Our docent walked us through several of the gardens, pointing out the various buildings that now serve as world class art galleries, and regaled us with stories about Henry Huntington and his second wife Arabella, among the wealthiest people during that time period, who like the other “big four” gained their wealth mainly through railroads and real estate.  Once again, I’ll let you decide to read on your own (at this link) about “one of the world’s great cultural, research, and educational centers”. 

Henry was one of the country’s most prominent collectors of rare books and manuscripts. In 1920 the library building was completed to house his outstanding collection. Arabella was a collector of art and was the one responsible for most of the art now housed in the Georgian mansion that was once their home. In 1919, Henry and Arabella signed the indenture that transferred their San Marino property and collections to a nonprofit educational trust, creating The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

As we walked the estate, viewed the collections, gardens, and buildings, I thought that while we often visit the great houses and castles when traveling overseas, we don’t often make an effort to see some of these great houses right here in our own country.  Great wealth is interesting, and often overwhelming, whether it be in St Petersburg, San Simeon (home of the Hearst Castle), or Ashville, North Carolina.  We have yet to visit the great Biltmore estate, checking it out from afar and deciding that the $60 price tag was more than we wanted to pay on that day. I do know that the $25 weekend admission (the highest price) for the Huntington, would be money well spent.

Even in late December the gardens were filled with flowers, many in bloom, including many early blooming camellias and late blooming roses. The long grassy lawn with the San Gabriel mountain vista framed by trees and sculpture was lovely.

I loved the reflections in the Chinese Garden, the rock work and sculpture, and as we walked from the Chinese Garden to the Japanese Garden it was interesting to see the two kinds of gardens in such close proximity, and to notice the differences.  I have seen many Japanese gardens, but do not remember a Chinese garden.  The buildings were a bit more ornate, and the garden itself was my favorite. 

I took this photo from the Huntington website since I neglected to get one of the entire gallery of portraits.

Mo and I decided to spend our time in the galleries and first explored the European gallery in the mansion that was once a private home.  Room after room opened up, each with art, carpets, tapestries, and intricate furniture.  The rooms were sparsely furnished, and I found myself wondering what it looked like when someone actually lived there.  I couldn’t imagine, but images of Downton’s Abbey came to mind. 

The most well known room contains one of the most comprehensive collections in this country of 18th- and 19th-century British and French art. It serves as home to Gainsborough’s Blue Boy and Lawrence’s Pinkie. I did want to see these two paintings, but was thrilled at the array of full length portraits throughout the room.  In our day of billions of photographs it is fascinating to look at each portrait, read about the subject, and how the artist attempted to depict personality traits in a single portrait.

I have no idea why the two images became so incredibly popular, but Blue Boy and Pinkie at one time seemed to be on every grandmother’s wall, big or small, in the obligatory gilt frame.  Experiencing these paintings up close was a treasure, and the old cardboard images faded away in view of the real thing.

Upstairs in the mansion was another gallery of French paintings, and without barriers, I was able to get very close to look at the detail of the painting, the lack of brush strokes in the oil.  So many times art must be viewed at a distance from behind a rope.  I could have touched these paintings if I had been so inclined, but of course I didn’t.  A favorite was one of a country scene with sunlight depicted so brilliantly the painting seemed lit from within.  Loved that!

We walked again through the gardens to the American gallery, where a display of old quilts caught my eye, and a wonderful yarn storage rack.  Finally, in the far reaches of the gallery, I found what I wanted, a small gallery dedicated to the Arts and Crafts era, with items from the famous Craftsman artists Greene and Greene, of Pasadena.

Although our new home to be built this year will have nods to the Craftsman era, it won’t be purely authentic, since the style is gorgeous, but too dark and heavy for us.  Still, the Craftsman bungalow style is a favorite, and Pasadena is the heartland for much of this work. There will be more to come on this subject in the next couple of weeks since we plan to visit the Pasadena Museum of History for the Batchelder (a pioneer Arts and Crafts tilemaker) exhibit, and to spend some time again wandering the streets of Pasadena’s Bungalow Heaven, a famous historic district.

As we returned to the bus for the trip east to Pomona, the rains that had held off a bit during our tour of the Huntington started once again.  Nickie and I had discussed sharing a meal when we got home that evening, but when the time came, we were all a bit overloaded and worn out and decided to save our shared meal for another day.  I can’t even remember if we ate a supper of any kind, but I know for sure that I didn’t cook!  A very full day.

Later:  Thank goodness for photos.  As I was searching about for photos for this post I found some images of our late afternoon Mexican hot dogs, with all the trimmings, which I had completely forgotten, provided by our hosts.  Here is a great photo of Adventure Caravans CEO, Tina, and Claudia, also a staff person for Adventure Caravans, who happen to be along on this rally.