Southern California - Stuff to do -- I need ideas

dear forumites (and friends):

my boyfriend wants to "do something" this monday, since i have the day off, and he doesn't have any gigs. his idea is to "go somewhere" -- anywhere to get away from the four walls of his house and OUT of los angeles. which i can appreciate because i think he gets cabin fever playing his guitar 8 hours a day, every day, by himself.

however, i'm finding myself balking at the idea of contributing to environmental muck and spending $100 on gas by driving 2+ hours to a place like santa barbara or san diego. (i guess "anywhere but here" always sounds more exotic than boring ole "here.")

So, here's the challenge -- we both live in altadena, and i've had a chance to "try him out" in the saddle, and found that he's got similar strength and endurance to mine, and maybe a little more, on a bike. so, what are some ideas for things that would be fun and exciting (and beautiful) that we could get to by bicycle, that would get us "out of the house" but close enough to get to by bicycle, that maybe include a little bit of shade and beauty (I really DON'T want to be spending six or more hours on an ugly bike trial in the hot sun). nor do I really want to spend the whole day doing an organized century. but stuff that we can bike a reasonable distance (like 20-25 miles) to get to, and then have something nice to do or see when we get there -- one idea I had, bike down to this park I saw in Alhambra, have a picnic, and then maybe take in a museum like the Norton Simon or the San Gabriel Mission, bike somewhere else, see/do something else, etc. Stuff like that. Plus, I think my guy might balk at the idea of a long day of sustained biking, but if we do it in short bits, we could actually rack up some serious miles during the day.

So, ideas, please!! For some reason, Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley seem like such a boring, dry, ugly, wasteland compared to the beautiful shangri-la of Santa Barbara, and I KNOW that is not true. So, gimme bike routes, parks, sights, etc. Even just a nice ride down a beautiful street looking at unusual architecture (Descanso Gardens area, San Marino) will turn me on.

The Velodrome Phoenix, transforming into local tourist (just brush up on your Greek, Happytime -- it's not THAT hard to spell)

The Velodrome Phoenix, transforming into local tourist (just brush up on your Greek, Happytime -- it's not THAT hard to spell)

Oh, I can spell it. I'm just too lazy to actually do it. VP is easier. :p

How about a nice ride down the beach bike path? Cruise down from MDR into PV. Lots of places to eat, nice view, weather's always nice. Might be a bit touristy but it wouldn't be too crowded if you got an early start.

Whoa, 'Velodrome' is Greek? Who knew! ;)

ps...don't really know Alta Dena well at all.

My question for you is, what is your boyfriend doing playing guitar for 8 hours a day by himself...and is he getting paid for it?

/wouldn't mind playing bass for 8 hours a day and get paid for it.

If you have racks on your bikes you can load them up and go on a picnic and spend the afternoon at a park or somewhere secluded. Although these parks will be crowded you can hit any one of the parks located off any of the river trails. Yep, that's what I would to.....or even load the bike with bongos and join the drum circle in GP.

As for me, on Memorial Day, I'm riding my bike to work, closing shop early, taking a nice little detour on the way home, and doing carne asada at home and just relax the remainder of the day....:D

I wasn't aware that PHOENIX used any Greek letters. Here I went and brushed up on my Greek to no avail...argh

It's all Greek to me.

It's all Greek to me.

Hey, that is the punch line of my 2nd grade joke!!

I would say I can speak any language except Greek. When a classmate would say, "ok Spanish", I would say "that's Greek to me".

I accomplished very little in 2nd grade.

LOL

I accomplished very little in 2nd grade.

I accomplish very little while spending time on BF. :rolleyes:

I accomplish very little while spending time on BF. :rolleyes:
+1 It's probably why I'm behind, but I'm not gonna make that as an excuse.

I must be getting old cause I think everything is pretty much boring nowadays. I love driving but hate paying $65 to refill with a 1/4 still left. I say say home and get your freak on! Use the guitar for props!:D

You know Orange County is not so far from Altadena and it has beautiful bike paths, roadway and lovely beaches to ride along. Not so much a commitment of time and energy to come down here. I would suggest parking near Back Bay, take the bike path down along Back Bay to PCH and meander either North to HB or South to Corona Del Mar or Laguna Beach. Even just doing the ride around Back Bay is lovely. And then there are lots of cool places to hang out after the ride, sip a cool one and enjoy the ocean.

Whoa, 'Velodrome' is Greek? Who knew! ;)

ps...don't really know Alta Dena well at all.

My question for you is, what is your boyfriend doing playing guitar for 8 hours a day by himself...and is he getting paid for it?

/wouldn't mind playing bass for 8 hours a day and get paid for it.

Yes -- "velo," meaning "cyclist" (or more correctly, "speed,"), and "dromo" meaning race "course." A hippodrome was a race course for horses, ("hippa" = horse) and a dromedary was a kind of a camel thing-y that Bedouin's and such would race around the desert. And the phoenix is a mythical bird, devoted to the sun god, which would either sacrifice itself by flying into the sun, or simply spontaneously combust, consuming itself in a burst of flame, only to be reborn again out of its own ashes. whatever -- my name in French means, "born again"

Anyway. Back on track. Yes, my guy is a professional musician -- he earns his living 100% as a musician, and has been doing so continuously, without a break, since he was 18 years old. when he isn't performing (he consistently averages about 5 gigs per week, sometimes 5 gigs per weekend alone), he is preparing music, learning new songs, writing new songs, refining his mastery of old repertoire, arranging music for various band configurations, preparing charts for the different bands he belongs to, studying and learning new instruments, reading up on music history and theory, biographies of great musicians and song writers, buying new instruments, taking lessons from reknowned masters, recording in sessions, etc. Since we started dating, he's written at least 5 new songs, 3 alone in the last week (he had a few days off, and decided to write some new songs).

Being a professional artist is a tough, tough gig, but the work is nice if you can get it. The Muse is a difficult taskmistresses, however, very jealous, and very demanding.

VP

however, i'm finding myself balking at the idea of contributing to environmental muck and spending $100 on gas by driving 2+ hours to a place like santa barbara or san diego.
Your car only gets 10 MPG? I wouldn't want to drive anywhere either.

is the huntington library open?

Your car only gets 10 MPG? I wouldn't want to drive anywhere either.

No, I was exaggerating ever so slightly -- I get about 22 mpg. But at $3.30 for gas, that's about $0.15 per mile. Yuck. So, that's about $15 for a 100 mile trip. But of course, it's another 100 miles back, for another $15. I can think of a lot of nice things I'd rather do with $30 than give it to some oil company and then spend 5+ hours crawling along the freeway at 2mph in the HOT sun because 75 trillion people in LA all have the same idea of escaping from Los Angeles for the weekend and going up to Santa Barbara (or San Deigo), polluting the environment, wasting time and money, getting all hot and hungry and grumpy and upset.

#1 choice -- go riding my bike. saves the enviroment, saves my temper, saves my money, saves my relationship. can't beat that with a wet skinsuit.

VP

I like the Marina del Rey/Palos Verdes idea. And I'll have to check the Huntington Gardens website. I think normally they're closed on Mondays, as a general rule, but since this is a special holiday, it may be open.

my guy is talking to his brother out in Fontana -- we may get an invitation to go spend the day out there -- my idea would be roll down the hill from Altadena to Cal State LA and pick up the metro link train, and then take that out to Fontana, then ride to the brother's house. We'd have the whole day there, and then we could go for a little ride in the area sometime during the day.

I just remembered, I may have a tango lesson on Monday evening. That's in Alhambra, so that's another little bike ride from the train station in CSULA to Alhambra, then back up the hill afterwords to home.

VP

My wife suggested we take a day trip on the train, which could include Santa Barbara, San Diego, and other points up the coast. No dealing with traffic, just relaxing and enjoying some sights, so I like the idea. We haven't decided where to go, but I know there are plenty of options.

btw what does he play? I'm a trumpet player... well actually I'm a music teacher. No time for gigs anymore, unless you count playing for my church every now and then for free.

weather has been ****ty in SB this week, and should continue to be cool and cloudy throughout the weekend. You are much better staying down south and riding.

Unless of course you want to come to SB and ride. :)

Thanks for the heads up, although time with the wife means no time on the bike. Although she does like those trike things... go figure. Maybe we'll go back to San Diego for the animal park or something.

You can always ride over to Chantry Flats, lock up the bikes and go for a nice hike, complete with a picnic in front of the waterfall . . .

Get a shuttle ride to the Mt. Wilson and ZOOOOM back down the mountain road to Alta Dena. There must be a taxi cab company or a friend or two that would be willing to drive you up there.

My wife suggested we take a day trip on the train, which could include Santa Barbara, San Diego, and other points up the coast. No dealing with traffic, just relaxing and enjoying some sights, so I like the idea. We haven't decided where to go, but I know there are plenty of options.

btw what does he play? I'm a trumpet player... well actually I'm a music teacher. No time for gigs anymore, unless you count playing for my church every now and then for free.

The train up the coast!! Why didn't I think of that? Well, next time. Mem-Day BBQ with the brother in Fontana has been confirmed. But there's still the early morning . . . .

My guy is a "long-legged guitar pickin' man."

VP

You can always ride over to Chantry Flats, lock up the bikes and go for a nice hike, complete with a picnic in front of the waterfall . . .

That was another plan -- hike up into the mountains above Pasadena. He likes to walk and hike, which is probably why his CV fitness, hill climbing ability, and long distance endurance are better than mine, in spite of my hours on the bike -- he's doing all that Zone 2 work in the mountains above La Canada.

VP

Thanks for all the suggestions, people!! I'm sure there will be lots of other holidays and spontaneous days off when we can take advantage of all these ideas.

as I said, we're heading east for the day, and spending it with family.

Of course, I COULD take a three hour head start and ride my bike out Foothill to Fontana and meet him there -- that's about the same mileage as our Club's regular Saturday ride. Now THERE'S an idea . . . .

VP