Claremont Wilderness Trail

It's been awhile since I've been to the Claremont Wilderness Park to hike the loop. I'd been reading in the Courier about the new parking lot and the expanded parking lot and the myriad of parking problems, and today I saw that first hand. I have never seen so many people and cars there. It felt like trying to get into Disneyland. We couldn't use our resident parking sticker since that lot was full, so we parked on Pomello, and there are some photos here which show the many cars that were still there when we left at 10:15 or so.

The best part of the hike for me today was that it was much easier for me than it has ever been. For the past two months at the gym, I have put myself on a little regimen of interval training, and it seems to be working well. I have also been much better about working out on a regular basis, especially since school has been out. Anyway, if you take the loop to the left (Burbank Canyon) the hardest part is from mile marker 1 to 2. Usually I have to stop a few times on that part, but this time I not only walked it straight through, but no one passed us, and we passed four people. Hooray! My usual time for the loop is 1:35, but today we made it in 1:29, even with a stop to watch some deer.

We saw the little house that used to be in the Pomona College wash. I guess they moved it here.

Here is one of the three deer we saw on the way downhill.

Parking on Pomello Dr.

Parking on Mills

Quakes

Every summer we make at least one (and usually one) pilgrimage to a Quakes game. Often we make a group outing with the chemistry summer research students. The stars aligned for these two last night. 

During the game I heard something about a Flickr page for the Quakes, so I looked it up this morning. You can see many fan photos here. 

LACMA Again

In between Canter's and book club, we had time to kill and a desire to stroll through LACMA. Although we had just been there earlier in the month, I knew there would be art to revisit and perhaps something new to see. I've read that the best way to get to know a work of art is to have multiple encounters with it, so I was ready to see some of my favorites. What I had not realized that when we were there in early June was that we had totally missed the special exhibition of Hans Richter art. Granted, I think I had heard his name, but was not familiar with his art, film or writings. This retrospective has so. much. stuff. that it was overwhelming, so I concentrated on the pieces which caught my eye. I particularly liked these works (and I checked with the guards to make sure that I was allowed to photograph). Apparently these are scrolls which he made as a model for a film: The Orchestration of Color. I found this video online.

Now that I've seen that little clip, I think that this exhibit makes a great companion to the James Turrell exhibit that is also currently at LACMA.

Canter's Deli in LA

I'll file this story under the column of "I'm Learning to Like LA".

H and I have been part of a co-ed book club for about eleven years now, and the couple who invited us to join have, in the past year, moved to the Mid-Wilshire District of LA so they don't have such awful commutes to Santa Monica and Downtown. That has not stopped them from attending book club in Claremont, and June seemed to be the right time for a book club field trip to LA.

We carpooled with other friends who were jonesing for a meal at Canter's Deli, and we were happy to help in their pre-book club stop at this 80-year-old landmark eatery. I loved the step-back-in-time atmosphere of the place. You get a sense of what you are in for when you see the signs outside. The food was excellent, and Kim bought some cookies to take to book club which were also yummy - melt-in-your-mouth. I'm sure there must be a Huell Howser episode about this place that I should look up and watch. We'll be back.

Bridges to Prosperity

In May, my nephew graduated with a his masters in engineering from the University of Colorado and almost immediately left the country. The travel bug is pretty darn strong in him, and this excursion took him for a month to Bolivia with a group called Bridges to Prosperity. My sister says it's kind of like an "engineers without borders".

B2P "provides isolated communities with access to essential health care, education and economic opportunities by building footbridges over impassible rivers."

I took this picture from my nephew's Facebook page and he is the handsome guy in the middle!

Baby Shower

It hardly seems possible that it was a year ago that we had a tie-dye baby shower for one of our yoga teachers. Yesterday we celebrated another one of our yoga teachers with a more traditional baby shower. We played a few fun games and enjoyed the lovely weather.

Drowsy Maggie

Drowsy Maggie, our Celtic Fiddle and Cello duo, played last night in front of the Chamber of Commerce. I think it was our best and most fun outing yet. The more we play, the better we get. We had lots of foot traffic, including this fabulous dog who would just lie down and watch us intently while we played. She was incredibly well-behaved and her owner said she loves Classical music. You can see a photo of her here with two little girls who danced to our music. The weather was perfect and we saw many of our friends who wandered by.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman's latest book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, a fairy tale novella for grown-ups, is my favorite read so far this year. I enjoyed the view of the world through the gauze that is a 7-year-old's perception, the three women who reminded me of the Mrs. Who, Whatsit and Which in Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and the magical elements.

I thought that the review in the NY Times was good, as well as the NPR story.

New Twist on Potato Salad

We enjoyed yet another year of the Claremont 4th of July Parade and potluck with friends afterwards. I was to bring my favorite potato salad, but I thought I would try to find a new favorite recipe. Here is what I did.

I searched for sweet potato salad and cilantro online and came up with this recipe. It looked pretty good to me, but I altered it a little bit (adding some Trader Joe's cilantro dressing and not adding the jalapeno pepper). It was a hit! Here is my version:

Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro

4 cups medium-diced sweet potatoes

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

½ C chopped cilantro

½ C minced red onion

Dressing

½ C non-fat Greek yogurt

¼ C Cilantro dressing from Trader Joe’s

juice of ½ lime

1 t cumin

Boil sweet potatoes in large saucepan until tender (10-15 minutes)

Drain potatoes and cool to room temperature.

Mix dressing and adjust flavors to taste. Add to sweet potatoes to coat. Add other ingredients: celery, red pepper, red onion and cilantro.

Cool in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Pella, Iowa

During our Iowa trip, one group of people went to the shooting range, but some of us (the sisters-in-law and me) went to Pella. Pella was founded by Dutch immigrants and retains a pervasive Dutch flavor. I saw at least four windmills, Dutch-inspired architecture and handicrafts.

This information booth sits in the town square

Dutch Delft Blue 

Dutch wooden shoes, of course

Some of the architecture

We just happened to be at the Klokkenspel when the little figures appeared with music. We watched as each character appeared and tried to figure out what it meant. This particular guy came out with his rifle while the chimes played Home on the Range. When I finally went over to the sign to find out what we had seen, I saw that he was Wyatt Earp, a Pella resident.

As we left town, I saw a Little Free Library, and a look on the internet shows that this is the one such library in Pella.