Union Station first…

Union Station on Alameda, built in 1939.
Sexy man in the yellow shirt, built in 1956.

Dark woods, iron and art deco signs create a warm interior in an expansive setting.
The old ticket concourse now sectioned off and silent.Can’t you just hear the clicking of heels of the 40’s on this marble floor?

The lower part of the walls are covered in tile and travertine. Gorgeous.

There is something about brass signage I just love. It’s permanent and historical.

It was an incredible warm spring day so I opened the sun roof and let my chauffeur lead the way.
I was surprised to see so much beautiful ornamentation on the buildings.

I took these photos from the sun roof.

Waiting for the signal. Us, and the birds.

Every time we go into LA, Mr. PM has to say, “I remember when City Hall was the tallest building”. E-v-e-r-y-t-i-m-e! This building has good memories for him as it is located near Parker Center where his Dad worked. His Dad was LAPD as was his grandfather.
We were not stopped for this shot.
I cannot believe it came out centered and straight!

Next we hit Chinatown a few streets over.
There was another dragon on the other side. Very cool.

To me, this is a quintessential LA scene on the eastern side of town. One can enter Chinatown from Cesar Chavez which runs near Olvera St. two streets over. Dodger Stadium sits just up on the hill to the left. Did you know Olvera St. was LA’s first where the city was founded in 1781?
This part of the city is so multi-cultural. I just love it.

My Dad also worked close by so it is an area I am familiar with from my youth.
Turns out Mr. PM and I both used to go to Little Joe’s with our dads for lunch.
It was an Italian restaurant in the heart of Chinatown.
We drove by to pay homage as it’s doors closed long ago but the building and sign are still there.

Olvera St. and the surrounding area was very busy today being Palm Sunday. Vendors were selling braided palm fronds on the street with a picture attached to them. Next Sunday is the blessings of the animals, an Easter tradition since 1930. I wish I had taken pictures but didn’t think to grab my camera when we were over there after lunch at Phillippe’s.

More Chinatown.The orchid trees were blooming.

Very auspicious architecture where the chi flows up from the upturned roofs.

Tourists. Geesh! 🙂

Wait! Mr. PM found a T-Mobile store and pulled over in front of this building and left the car running with the windows down! I looked up through the sun roof and saw this wonderful site! Jackpot!

This little cherub was looking right at me and I swear he knew I was parked in a ‘loading only’ zone!

His friend on the other side was more preoccupied with a dove.

Another noteworthy detail.
There were two of these skulls flanking the doorway.
A little unsettling, no? I wonder what the story was here.

Not surprised to find this filming notice on the door.
I should have gone up to read it but I was looking at every person walking by the car as a potential carjacker. “Dorothy, you’re not in South OC anymore”.
I finally turned off the car and got out to take this shot.
The icons in this window were right next door to the building above.
Such extremes. I loved the dichotomy.

We then headed to the east valley where Mr. PM and I grew up.
This was the end of my street. I saw this every morning on my way to school from kindergarten through to high school graduation and beyond. I know it means nothing to anyone else but it feels like home when I look at it. 🙂

My grandfather used to tell my mom if she ever got lost to look for the mountains and she’d know which way was north. I always knew my way because of this story.

We even went to our old high school since we attended the same one. We walked around and it is very different now, of course. We talked to some nice boys hanging around and told them we were alums from 36 and 35 years ago. I think we shocked them with the numbers.
They said we had their respect. Very cute.

Senior Court is gone but as we walked around where it used to be, Mr. PM said he was suddenly feeling that same warmth and tingling feeling he had when we talked there in 1974 and he was given the epiphany he was going to marry me. I told him he must be kidding or nuts but he said he wasn’t and grabbed me and kissed me.
It kind of spooked me but whatever he was feeling, me likey!

Reminiscing makes one hungry (maybe that’s what he was feeling at the high school), so we went to Twohey’s (former drive-in and big date-after-football-game hangout) where we had the onion rings, burgers and sundaes of our youth. I remember eating all three back then without any weight gain repercussions. Tonight? Not so lucky.

Then we drove down Huntington Dr. (one of my favorites) past the church where we were married at in San Marino. Still beautiful especially in the moonlight. We wound our way up through San Marino and So. Pasadena driving up El Molino where I played tour guide and showed off the Father of The Bride house which was lit magnificently. The citrus blossoms were heavy in the air around every corner. This is my favorite time of year in this area for this reason alone. I could have driven till dawn listening to oldies on KRTH with the windows down cupping the fragrant night air with my hand as it rode the currents .