Reuniting

Thursday it was time to move on to Pasadena for TLE's college reunion.  Of course you always want to look your best so she had made a hair appointment with Amanda at Forte in Claremont, CA for 10 am.  Amanda has been a best friend of Sharon (our daughter who was just married) since they were wee little tykes and has become a very good hair stylist.  Whenever we are 'in town' TLE has her shape up her coif.  

We got there a little early so we dropped into the Starbucks just a half block away for some coffee and bagels before TLE's appointment.   Within an hour we were hugging Amanda goodbye and heading for the gas station to fuel up the VW one more time, then waiting for a call from TLE's sister, Phyllis, who was flying into Ontario International for the same reunion......around 11:45 we got the call that she had landed and zipped over to the airport to retrieve her.

The drive into Pasadena took less than an hour.....traffic at Noon is not too bad.....and we arrived at the Pasadena Hilton around 12:45.  Ironically, the Pasadena Hilton (Los Robles and Cordova) was where TLE and I spent our wedding night about forty-three and a half years ago.  This is our first time back since then.

Around 5:30 pm TLE's other sister, Laureen, and her husband, Glenn, arrived for the reunion, and we all headed off walking down Green Street to Dog Haus Biergarten, which was recommended by my oldest daughter, Meredith.  Since we were so close to where my brother Philip lives I called him and got he and his wife, Jeannie, to meet us there for dinner.  By the way, this place gets 4.5 stars on over 1,500 reviews on Yelp, and that rating is richly deserved.  Their main fare is hotdogs, and they are amazing, but they also have hamburgers that are equally amazing.  I had the 'Old Town Dog' (bacon wrapped dog, caramelized onions, roasted jalapenos, chipolte mayo, and cotija cheese)  and TLE and Phyllis split the Kung Poa Cajun sausage dog (cajun andouille, kung pao sauce, bell peppers, green onions, water chestnuts, and peanuts).  My 'dog' was amazing, but the heat provided by the roasted jalapenos lit my mouth of fire so it took two pints to get it down (:-)....they have several craft beers on tap and we had the 'Nitro' Coffee Stout.

Left side: moi, Philip, Jeannie

Right side: Phyllis, TLE, Laureen, Glenn

We had a great time sitting outside, which, by the way, is nicely heated, although the temperatures on this evening were quite pleasant outside.  The walk to and fro was about 1/2 mile each way from the hotel.  In fact, there are literally dozens of good restaurants in the Old Town Pasadena area near the hotel which are within walking distance!

So, our first day in Pasadena is in the books, and the main festivities of the reunion begin Friday.....for me the best part is already happening....spending time with family.

Thanks for stopping by!