Grand Opening

Melody Soul Food Restaurant, on Washington Blvd. at N. Hudson Ave., is having its grand opening. I haven't eaten there yet, but I intend to remedy that situation before the balloons come down.

Balloons make things more festive. It's a proven fact.

Companions

As usually happens, I was on my way to take pictures of something else when this pair of old friends caught my eye in East Washington Village, on Washington near Hill.

Good things come in twos. And in pink!

Out of Line

Built in 1898 as an annex to the long-gone Hotel Green, Castle Green on Raymond Avenue is one of Pasadena's most recognizable buildings. Maybe not from this angle.

You can rent grand, Victorian rooms for filming, weddings or other events. Or if you love the place (and if there's an opening) you can live there. The Castle is normally closed to the public, but at holiday time, tours of the building take you into private apartments.

This gate on the south side of the building guards the castle. Although it looks like one of the guards is breaking ranks.

Peeking Under the Devil

While I show you around Pasadena, I'm learning to use my Olympus SP-350, which I had for a year and a half before I bothered to read the manual.

Under the Devil's Gate Dam I found shadows and light. This relatively simple camera (by today's standards) picked them up pretty well.

That's Boz in the lower right corner of the photo. He often accompanies me when I shoot. He's not particularly interested in photography, so usually he stays out of the frame. But I can't guarantee he won't show up from time to time.

Sign Sign

I wonder how many times I've driven past this. I suppose it's a good thing I never noticed it, because when you're driving you're supposed to watch the road. But lately I've been parking the car and getting out to take photos. When you do that, you see things you never noticed before. Today I parked across the street from this parking garage on Union Street, intent on taking photos of something else.

And there it was.

Water Everywhere

Tucked up above Devil's Gate Dam and below NASA's (or, as we like to think, Pasadena's) Jet Propulsion Lab, is a hiking/biking/dog walking heaven called Hahamongna Watershed Park. Most of the time you'd be hard pressed to find much water there. But after a weekend of rain, boy howdy! Devil's Gate Dam was doing it's job, and the watershed basin lived up to its purpose.

Where did they get that name, Hahamongna? Try saying it five times fast. I shouldn't complain. People have trouble pronouncing my name all the time.

Those river rocks I mentioned before--I believe they're manufactured in places like this.

Ubiquitous

River rocks are everywhere. They seem to have always been basic Pasadena building material. Fences, walls, columns, fountains--all kinds of things are made of them. This retaining wall caught my eye while I stood on the Holly Street Bridge shooting pictures of the Rose Bowl the other day. I had never noticed the wall before.