JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

   Pasadena Evening Post,  December 31, 1920. Some newspapers end a year with reflections on the previous 12 months. Other express their hopes for the next 12. As 1920 gave way to 1921, the  Pasadena Evening Post  decided what would really cheer readers up (and keep advertisers happy) was to publish in its New Year's Eve edition a ton of ads and photos depicting grinning members of the paper's staff and the local business community. While some of those depicted look relaxed and friendly to talk shop with, others have strange expressions generally associated with membership in cults. Originally this post was going to be a long image dump, but I couldn't resist digging deeper, finding out more about the gentlemen featured in these ads. Newspapers.com has a decent selection of Pasadena papers, which to led to a two-day research adventure which yielded some interesting stories. I'll admit that I've developed a soft spot for Pasadena (and neighbouring Altadena) in re...

My last day in California proved to be the only one during the trip where I made a major miscalculation in terms of distance. The goal was to drive from Ukiah to Coos Bay, Oregon, where I prebooked a room at a casino (it seemed the best option when scouting hotels online). All I had to do was drive back to the coast and be on my merry way northward. Miscalculation #1: the amount of time required to drive to the coast. The highways between Ukiah and Mendocino are scenic (see above for a shot from California 128), but their winding nature took longer than anticipated—just over an hour to the ocean. Once I arrived, I wandered into Mendocino, which was in the midst of Heritage Days . Despite hordes of people, I couldn’t resist the lure of the landscape, even as I couldn’t shake Talk to Me of Mendocino out of my head. It's always important to know where you won't find yogurt in an unfamiliar town. Mendocino was a magnet for unusual vehicles adornments that day... ...

Once across the Golden Gate Bridge, I had a decision to make: head west to return to the Pacific Coast, or head inland and take a leisurely drive through Sonoma County? Figuring I had enough time to dawdle before spending the night in Ukiah, I took the wine country option, via the Valley of the Moon scenic route. The town hall in Sonoma. One of the most postcard-worthy shots from the entire trip. I decided to limit myself to one round of wine tasting, so that I could continue to operate a boat-sized motor vehicle the rest of the day. Having done little background reading, and faced with no shortage of choices, I decided I would stop at the first winery with a significant number of cars in its parking lot. The winner: B.R. Cohn . Sampling was straightforward—$10 for any four wines, with the price waived if you bought a bottle. After trying both ends of the price scale, I settled upon a chardonnay. Since there were as many olive oils, vinegars, and other food prod...

I left the Mission via Valencia Street, stopping into book stores with comfy couches to rest my feet. The blinding facade of the thrift store shown above drew me in...and I walked out with 1960s issues of The Atlantic , Harper's and Ramparts . It was inevitable I'd wind up taking a trip on a cable car. Since my feet were aching, I sat on the inside, which reduced the number of photo ops. C'est la vie. *** Day three took me to Berkeley, where I arrived in the midst of graduation ceremonies. The campus and downtown were filled with students wandering around in gowns and mortarboards. One set of scholars made repeated attempts to capture their joy mid-air —I couldn't tell if the photographer wanted a pile of shots to work with or if the perfect ledge jump was proving elusive. Outside the Free Speech Movement Cafe, I was able to check out what was happening back home. The Globe and Mail was among that day's front pages on display. Until that mom...