Headed for San Diego

This weekend, October 18th and 19th, Concetta and are heading for San Diego. Yes, I know what you're thinking. I just got back from L.A. where I attended my 40th class reunion. Still, I'm always ready for adventure, so Saturday I found myself back behind the wheel for yet another eight-hour drive to the southland. Fortunately Concetta and I have a stock of Hammond Innes adventure novels on tape that I have been saving for just such an event.

The purpose of our trip is to rendezvous with Concetta's sisters, Paula and Phyllis who are flying out from Ohio. We're going to be staying with Concetta's aunt Mary in San Diego as well as spending time with one of her favorite cousins, Angie Campanella. Actually, the trip dovetailed (don't you just love that word?) rather nicely with something I've been wanting to do for many years: attend the Pasadena Heritage Society's annual craftsman home tour in Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre and other nearby L.A. County towns which just happened to be taking place this very same weekend.

I just love the craftsman style of construction that was in its heyday around the turn of the last century. It's all river rock, handmade tile, and satiny hardwood floors. Instead of the current trend of having houses look bright and sparkling like hospital operating rooms, craftsman bungalows tend to be dark and oaken and full of leather furniture. They have huge fireplaces and shingled exteriors and cut glass windows. Yes, I love them. And there is no better place to see this lovely work than Pasadena.

In fact, Charley Seims and I always spend countless hours exploring the various Pasadena and Altadena neighborhoods when we come for our annual hike in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains each November hoping to find a craftsman we hadn't seen before. It was Charley who turned me on to craftsman architecture in the first place.

Let me tell you, this event is VERY popular with the faithful! As you can tell from the photo of the line ahead of us at our second stop this morning (see pix 2), dozens, if not hundreds, of people turn out for the opportunity to get a glance inside some of these near 100-year-old treasures (though no cameras are allowed). Last night we had tickets to attend a cocktail party and tour of the Barnes house overlooking the Arroyo Seco, and today we actually did tours of six different houses. Let me tell you, by the time it was "ale time," this afternoon, we were dragging. Still, it was loads and loads of fun, and we even picked up an idea or two.

Tomorrow morning we're going to take our time leaving Pasadena as we plan to visit the Huntington Library and art museum before we head on down to San Diego. Hopefully, our trusty GPS will navigate us there without difficulty. It was a great help finding the tour houses today. So, until I find another hot connection for the ol' laptop here, I'll say...

ciao, tutti.