California Dreaming: Tom and Tracy’s California Journal
From The Maitai Vault
What’s great here in the Golden State? There are some stops in California that demand extra time and energy to explore. Others require just a quick stop. That’s what we’re here to do. From magnificent museums to gorgeous settings to events unique to our great state…and even a fork in the road…this section gives you a unique cross section of California, and the places you should spend some time exploring while visiting. My most recent posts are at the top as we keep adding places that we travel, and add additional information to spots we revisit more frequently. Hopefully this will give you some ideas on what to see in our great state.
February 17, 2017
“Pasadena’s Stained Glass Marvel”All Saints Episcopal Church – Pasadena Last Visited: February 2017 For those who have never read anything I’ve written about (you have lots of company), although not a religious person per se, I am very fascinated with places of worship. It’s has been nearly a year since […]
July 28, 2016
“Downsized” Mansion Pasadena Museum of History/Fenyes Mansion – Pasadena It’s not often that when a family plans to downsize, they decide to build a 21-room Beaux Arts mansion, but that’s exactly what Dr. Adalbert and Eva Fenyes did back in 1906 (well, a few rooms were added in 1911). Recently […]
July 14, 2016
An Historic Pasadena Church St. Andrew Church – Pasadena Visited: July 2016 Thanks in part to a lost necklace and a good deed by yours truly (yes, I’m as shocked as you by this random act of kindness), I was able to glean much more information about an historic Pasadena […]
June 28, 2016
The Wonderful World of (Walt) Disney Walt Disney Family Museum – San Francisco June 2016 If Walt Disney wasn’t the most innovative and creative person on the planet in the 20th century, he’s certainly close. So when Kim and Mary told us about the Walt Disney Family Museum at the […]
June 14, 2016
The Great Mausoleum Art Tour…and much, much more Forest Lawn – Glendale Visited: June 2016 How is it possible to witness some of the world’s greatest art masterpieces located in Rome, Florence and Milan in the span of just a little more than an hour? Easy…just visit the cemetery. Well, […]
June 2, 2016
“The air is wine…I have everything to make me glad I am alive.” Jack London State Historic Park – Glen Ellen Visited: May 2016 Time for a little Northern California love! In all the times we have traveled in and around the Sonoma County area, there was one place I […]
May 14, 2016
“Luxury Heaped Upon Luxury” Millennium Biltmore Hotel – Los Angeles Visited: May 2016 Having made reservations a few weeks in advance with the Los Angeles Conservancy, Tracy and I headed to downtown Los Angeles on what turned out to be a very hot Sunday afternoon to check out their tour […]
May 8, 2016
Early 20th Century Elegance Castle Green – Pasadena Last Visit – Mother’s Day Tour • May 8, 2016 (the self-guided tour I took is below this original report) When I have friends visit from out of town, one place always grabs their attention as we drive around town. In the […]
April 13, 2016
A Stadium Full Of Cherished Memories Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles Visited: April 5, 2016 It’s the stadium where I attended my first baseball game back in 1959, my first college and pro football games in the 1960s, plus the venue where I saw my only Olympic Games. […]
April 2, 2016
Hometown Heroes Jackie & Mack Robinson Memorial – Pasadena Last Visited: April 3, 2016 Located across the street from the Pasadena City Hall is the memorial dedicated to two of the city’s famous sons, brothers Jackie and Mack Robinson. The bronze sculptures were dedicated in 1997 and the memorial was […]
March 28, 2016
Figueroa Corridor Icon St. Vincent de Paul Church – Los Angeles Visited: March 24, 2016 Being an equal opportunity historic church seeker, on my late morning sojourn, I traveled near downtown Los Angeles to the famed Figueroa Corridor and the beautiful St. Vincent de Paul Los Angeles Church, the second […]
March 17, 2016
Everything Is Ship Shape Los Angeles Maritime Museum/Port Of Los Angeles Tour – San Pedro March 8, 2016 Thanks to the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association wanting me to write an article for them (you see, I do work occasionally), recently I was afforded the opportunity to mix a little business […]
February 24, 2016
My Big, Gorgeous Greek Cathedral St Sophia Cathedral – Los Angeles Visited: February 23, 2016 When we travel to Europe (or anywhere else for that matter), I’m always intrigued by churches…especially their interiors. Why? I haven’t a clue. It doesn’t matter what the denomination, churches fascinate me, even when they’re […]
February 21, 2016
A Century Of History Balboa Park – San Diego Visited – February 8, 2016 Throughout 2015, Tracy and I must have said 50 times that we wanted to visit Balboa Park in San Diego because it was celebrating its 100th year. Well, we finally made it, just in time for […]
February 8, 2016
Ain’t It Grand! Grand Central Market – Los Angeles Visited: February 5, 2016 Los Angeles has so many cool spots to visit, and last week I had some time before a business meeting to check out a venerable old establishment that has undergone a recent transformation from past to present, […]
January 23, 2016
Pasadena’s “Secret” Japanese Garden Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden – Pasadena Visited: January 21, 2016 Always on the search for new gardens, I was alerted by a Facebook post about a garden I had never heard of and only located only ten minutes from our house in Pasadena. Far from being new, […]