Well, if you’re going to do that: tell him that you’d like to see the Huntington Library. It’s in San Marino, near Pasadena. It opens at 10:30am, so you can wander the grounds before it gets too hot.
After you’ve wandered a while, convince him to head over to Lake for lunch. I’d suggest Green Street for lunch; their salads are great and they’re just a bit off Lake. It’s also not a chain, unlike a lot of what is on Lake. Or go with some of anu-la1979’s suggestions. She’s more adventurous than I am foodwise.
After lunch, do some shopping on Lake. Then suggest a breather: take your man over to Paseo Colorado. That’s where the Jigsaw and DSW are. Stop at the wine bar there and have a glass of wine, sitting outside and people watching. Then shop.
Afterwards, suggest dinner in Old Town. That way, you can hit the last of your shopping. Again, anu-la1979 has suggested some interesting places, most of which I think are in or very near Old Town. I’d also suggest the Crepe Vine (which is actually down an alley, but signed on Colorado, so it’s easy to find), Cafe Santorini (down another alley and upstairs), or Villa Sorriso (at the end of Colorado on the south side). All three of them have great ambiance; I like Cafe Santorini because of the outdoor terrace on which you can eat and people watch. All three have good menus and good wine lists.
My two cents about Pasadena. Now, if you head up the coast to Ventura, consider taking a cruise through the Channel Islands. This group is pretty good, and when I went, we saw a number of (gray) whales and loads of dolphins (we went in April). It looks like blue and humpback whale season is starting. But this would give you more to do when you head up to Ventura than simply eat. Of course, you could also go see the missions, but I never found them all that fascinating. I’d prefer the whale-watching.
I hope that helps. Also, if Mr. Wonderful turns out to be a psycho killer, email me. Mi guest room es su guest room.
But I remember the days when you couldn’t walk three blocks down Colorado without being solicited, offered drugs, and attacked by street thugs. Now an old lady could walk down the length of Colorado and even (if she so chose) into the 35er without seeing a single incident of atavisitic violence, and the only panhandlers are the kids making hats out of palm fronds and the bop-jazz guy with the cool dog. What fun is that?
I’m not sure how I feel about cutting out in the middle of it to go meet other people, or hauling him along to meet a much of people when he’s just meeting me, ya know what I mean?