Road Trip-Pasadena. ( 2013 Rose Parade floats, Lucky Boy for Breakfast, shopping at Wholesome Choice)

Hello.  This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  We write about food: eating food, cooking food and adventures related to food.  Cathy is posting today: Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy doing something related to food.

Last month, I posted about a road trip The Mister and I made to watch Rose Parade floats having a road test. This past Saturday, we woke early (4 a.m.) and drove North, (leaving around 5 a.m.) and around 7 a.m., parked a block from Raymond Street,

where we could walk to a Starbucks and then continue across the Gold Line Trolley tracks

and be on Raymond Street, where the floats were already lined up and on their road tests.

The Shriner's float is painted-marked with all the areas ready to be covered by flowers.  It should be magnificent.

The City of Los Angeles float will be an ode to LAX- the major airport and hub where many of us have connected.

It will be promoting the new Tom Bradley International Terminal which will open early in 2013. 
The City of Alhambra float is complete and that center has a working fountain!

It looks like the City of Glendale float has 'searchlights' lighting the sky.

The HGTV float, which has also been welded in the last month, has many types of houses on it- I see a bird house and igloo shape and the back house in this photo is lowered, as part of the testing to see that it will fit under the street and signal lights along the Rose Parade route.

The Trader Joe's float, which was only a rebar outline in the July road testing, is complete and so detailed with many moving parts.  This is the view of it you won't see- the side which will be away from the television cameras.

From this camera side view, you can see the giant orange thing is an espresso machine, a few more details and also that a 'gravy boat' is following the larger boat of a float...and the back of the main float has a hand mixer (with spinning blades) and cracked eggs, and appears to have been blending up a fluffy meringue at the back of the boat. 

Here's a little more detail at the center: a hand held can opener is in front of the espresso machine and under the open cookbook.  This float is most certain to win a prize; it is unique and so well done.

So after we viewed these seven floats, The Mister and I walked back across Arroyo and North a block and we were once again at Lucky Boy.

(This is the view from the Trader Joe's)

Once again, creature of habit, I ordered the egg sandwich ($3.25) but neglected to ask for it on rye bread, and it was on white toast..not bad and still filling, it's just that I really like rye toast. I swear it is three scrambled eggs. 

The Mister tried the bacon burrito this time, and I wanted you to see the grill marks on the tortilla, as well as the amount of filling which really does make it weigh around a pound- cheese, hash browns, eggs and ...bacon!  

We did walk over to the Trader Joe's and purchased some Goddess salad dressing, which I had read about (it is good; has tahini, soy and garlic).  Then we were headed home, and decided to drive on the 210 toward Interstate 15 for our trip South...

knowing that if we took the 210 to the 57 to the 71 and went West on 91 (instead of East, which goes to the 15) and three or four exits, we would be at the Anaheim Hills location of Wholesome Choice, a fascinating Market which I posted about more than two years ago. 

The store has good prices and selection of fruits and vegetables 

as well as several areas of various ethnic cuisines in steam trays for easy grab and go.

as well as gelato,

and six glassed bakery cases...

There is also the area I migrated to- the olives (although those figs stuffed with coconut on the left caught my eye)...

and the various house prepared salads, including hummus and baba ganoosh, which were purchased...

along with *hot* out of the oven, almost three feet long, just baked , placed on a piece of brown paper

sesame covered, spongy soft, bubbled and a little burned fresh Sangak bread ($2.79).  The bread lasted four meals, only because we resisted tearing off pieces while driving home.

We were home by 12:30 and had a great Saturday adventure.  I hope all of you did, too. 

Lucky Boy Drive In 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena, CA 91105Website It is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, otherwise it's open. 

Wholesome Choice 5755 East La Palma Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 (Open 7-11 daily) (Food Court area open 11-8 daily) website

 

 

 

Comments

[caninecologne]

Thanks for sharing about how the Rose Parade "road tests" their floats. Very fascinating to see all this months before we see it on TV and before the floats are covered with flowers and such.

Funny, we were also on a road trip yesterday....

[Dennis]

Hi Cathy, I love an egg sandwich! I actually dropped by Pasadena tonight on my way back to SD for some tacos. Was a 20min detour but worth it. The very first Trader Joe's is not too far away in South Pas which I also visit time to time.

[Cathy]

The Rose Parade really is one of those "when I grow up I want to" things for both of us, cc! As long as we live so close, I want to take advantage...and share. It's fun to be able to do a one day road trip, isn't it? Food has to be part of every day, so add in a bit of adventure. Dennis- you were up in Pasadena, also, how fun! It is a great small town with wonderful places to go and things to see and do.

[caninecologne]

hi cathy - we were up in Hell-Lay. Had a great meal (at a mall of all places, but not at a food court)...

whenever we travel, whether it's a long vacation or just a one day thing, food is definitely part of the equation!

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Food is sometimes the answer to the equation. X=food.

Nice post. You've actually got me watching some of the Rose parade with pleasure.

[Cathy]

Hah, cc! How fun that you found great food in a mall. We do all eat and virtual sharing of meals makes perfect sense.
Thanks, ed. The parade is an American tradition and really does not happen overnight...I think it is interesting to see how it happens, kind of like putting ingredients together before the actual meal...to use a broad analogy.

[Laura Monteros]

How amazing that you got up so early and drove so far to see the road tests! Hope you make it to the parade.

Just FYI, the high parts on the floats lower to go under the 210 Freeway overpass on Sierra Madre, just before the post-parade area. All the overhanging streetlights along the parade route are removed before the parade.

The door to the float barn at Phoenix Decorating is exactly 17' high, which is the maximum height for floats when they go under the overpass.

[Cathy]

I thought I had commented back to you, Laura; there must have been a computer glitch. We were at the September road test also and are already signed up for a Detail Day of decorating. Thanks so much for finding our blog and taking the time to add details.