Mon.-Thurs., April 3-6, 2023
The week started with a celebration . . .
On Monday our son Michael
celebrated his 47th birthday!
He has led a diverse
and extremely fun life
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!
Monday evening I received a call from long time UW Husky friend/blog groupie Paul Sabolic in need of a favor.
He had two tickets to the Colorado Rockies game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, a.k.a., "Blue Heaven on Earth," set for Tuesday night. Unfortunately for him, he had a college class to teach and could not make it to this crucial National League West showdown.
He wondered if, on such short notice, Laurie and I could go to the game in his place.
INDEED WE COULD!
Thus Laurie and I drove down to Pasadena on Tuesday afternoon to visit my Mother for three hours before heading to historic Chavez Ravine, the site of Dodger Stadium.
We would have some time to kill after leaving my Mother who continues to have several good days in a row thanks to the quality of care that she is receiving at her skilled nursing facility.
Thus we delved into this book
Los Angeles is just one of several cities throughout the world that has merited one of these "111 Places in ________ That You Must Not Miss" books. We used their Milan edition to the max while coaching the Varese Skorpions in 2018-20.
These books do not take you to the main tourist stops in these cities but instead to offbeat but still interesting sights that most tourists and locals alike have never visited.
We opted for place #111 York Boulevard - The coolest shopping street you've never heard of.
Located in Highland Park on York Blvd.
between Avenue 50 and Avenue 52
Once the hub of Los Angeles' Arts and Crafts movement, the surrounding neighborhood saw an influx of Mexican Americans in the 1960s, followed by a wave of post-millennium gentrification.
Good spot for a Fika Break
Today this area reflects a cross-section of Los Angeles, a combination of cultures and ethnicities. These two interesting blocks are a clash of old and new, wealthy-ish and working class, all still fiercely independent.
The cappuccino here was Top Notch!
Devoid of glamour and glitz, York Boulevard's lack of landscaping and no-frills architecture simply add to its urban charm.
Healthy Smoothies . . .
. . . not on this pleasant afternoon
We took our own sweet time touring the boulevard and buying a few gems along the way.
Then we saw this Virgen de Guadalupe
painting complete with what looked
like a locked chastity belt
I could be wrong.
We realized that we were getting quite hungry and that we needed to discuss this religious sighting a bit more, but where to go?
This was the PERFECT spot!
The Hermosillo's ambience definitely
fit in with its neighborhood
The world's last functioning overhead
projector is in the Hermosillo's bar
It serves to project the beer menu up on the wall. I ordered the Harlot hoping for a cold beer but in this eclectic bar, one never knows.
In the 1970s, when I started my teaching career, an overhead projector was a staple of every classroom at Thousand Oaks H.S.
It warmed my heart to see this faithful one still on duty.
As for their food, I HIGHLY recommend their spicy, crispy potato tacos to go with that Harlot.
We had a little more time, so we
stopped at historic Olvera Street
If I hadn't had those delicious tacos at the Hermosillo Bar, I would certainly had ordered some of Cielito Lindo's wonderful taquitos.
We took one lap but on this Tuesday many of the Mexican themed shops were closed.
On to the main event . . .
We made it into Dodger Stadium
without a hitch
Paul's seats were incredible!
"It's time for Dodgers baseball"
Vin Scully
My sister Linda's favorite Dodger is pitcher Julio Urías who played for his home country Mexico in the recent World Baseball Classic.
This photo is of Julio's first pitch tonight, a strike as I recall.
There is Julio Urías on a
Dodger Stadium mural
He pitched six masterful, scoreless innings in scattering five hits, allowing no walks and striking out six Rockies.
The Dodgers relief pitchers had a
rocky ninth inning but a win is a win
Julio Urías now is 2-0 on the season as the Dodgers finished their opening week of the season at home with a 4-2 record and in first place in the NL West.
The Colorado Rockies finished the week at 2-4 and in fifth, last place in the NL west standings.
THANK YOU PAUL!
From the Wonderful World of the Internet . . .
Name, Image and Likeness
The top two on this NIL list are 18 years old and have yet to play in a college game.
What would your 18 year old self have done with a $7,200,00 or $3,700,00 NIL deal back in the day?
This popped up in Italian based
Facebook post today
This exact thing happened to me in the Sicilian hilltop city of Enna back in 2008.
All because I trusted Garmin, an early GPS gizmo, that still needed much improvement as it turned out.
Backing down a street like this one, without killing anyone, may be the significant achievement in my near 60 years of driving.
Life Continues to be GOOD!
No comments:
Post a Comment