Category: The Seattle Times

We completed our troll hunt! This is Vashon Island’s Oscar the Bird King. Here’s a list of all 5 Seattle-area trolls and where to find them: 1️⃣ Bainbridge Island: Sakai Park, about a mile north of the ferry terminal 2️⃣ West Seattle: Lincoln Park, next to Colman Pool 3️⃣ Issaquah: Rainier Trail, a 3-minute walk…

Seattle City Hall is just a building; Pasadena City Hall is a WORK OF ART. The 1927 Beaux Arts building is so strikingly beautiful, it’s the second most photographed location in L.A. County, behind Beverly Hills. A city attorney waiting out front for his ride grumbled about having to sidestep photo shoots and confetti constantly. (Party…

Why is the Super Bowl called the Super Bowl? The term “bowl” comes from the Rose Bowl. “The granddaddy of them all,” our tour guide told us. “It all started here.” It’s Pasadena’s crown jewel, Pasadena’s cash cow, and my kid’s favorite part of our trip. The century-old stadium holds 15 events annually, including six…

The Huntington is so drop-dead beautiful, I decided on the spot this is where my next wedding is going to be held. Then I went and looked it up. Weddings START at $40,000 and go up to $100,000. That’s just for using the venue, not including food, a dress, a diamond-encrusted carriage. The Huntington is the former…

These children in an art museum. How are we genetically related again?? But seriously, the Norton Simon gave me such a good art fix. Lots of crowd-pleasers here, from Rembrandt to Picasso to van Gogh. The courtyard is inspired by Monet’s garden in Giverny, and Gehry designed the interior galleries in the ’90s. (P.S. The guy working…

Yesterday evening, recycle artist Thomas Dambo unveiled his 5th and final Seattle-area troll at the National Nordic Museum in Ballard. “I believe there is no such thing as trash,” Dambo told the sold-out crowd. “Yet the world is running out of resources, while we are drowning in trash. Here’s a link to my story about…

Best sandwiches and best boba of MY LIFE at Burlington Arcade. Bonus: the place looks just like Diagon Alley! Or London, I suppose. It’s a super cute shopping plaza, with Float Coffee Shop on one end and Oink Moo Tea Bar on the other. From Float, we got: bagel and lox, turkey club, open faced…

Was not expecting to find seriously legit dim sum in Old Pasadena! It made sense once I realized Chef Tony Pasadena is the same Chef Tony in B.C. Old Pasadena used to be run-down, but they fixed it up nice. Now the neighborhood is filled with restaurants and shopping. (Sadly, we did not have time to…

Cougar fans have one last shot for the foreseeable future to cheer on their team at the Rose Bowl, when WSU plays UCLA on Oct. 7. (RIP, Pac-12.) We went to scope out family-friendly Pasadena ahead of the game. Some snaps from sunny Pasadena here, and a link to my story for Seattle’s Child.

I usually love color, but this picture from Pasadena City Hall really wanted to be black and white. Just got back from a quick trip to SoCal, and I love how a change of scenery helps you see with fresh eyes.