Okay, maybe we won’t do 4 days in the Magic Kingdom. Here’s the deal: I’ve got 4-5 days with the family (pregant wife at 24 weeks with twins in the oven, and 4 year old daughter), to run some errands, hang out, buy baby stuff, make a day trip to disneyland (or if pursuaded to a “better” place), etc. I’ve got some friends in San Marino coincidentally enough with twins themselves. Think we’ll probably stay in the Westin Pasedena, and will have a rental car.
Chinawife puts big emphasis on ease of shopping, and nearby restaurants. Me, as long as there is beer, and the wife and bambina are happy, I’m pretty easy to please.
OK, Pasadena resident (to be precise South Pasadena resident checking in).
The main tourist attractions in Pasadena aren’t geared for little kids. Old Pasadena is a fun area to walk around with a lot of restaurants and night life. But it’s not a place I’d want to have to keep tabs on a little kid.
There is a fairly new shopping area called Paseo Colorado that you can hang out in. There are shops and kiosks and stuff like that. It’s more upscale than Old Pasadena. It has a movie theater too and it likely has a G-rated show playing in case you want to get inside.
The Huntington Gardens and Library in San Marino are pretty, but it’s not exactly a kid place. I suppose you could just stay in the gardens, but it’s not good for running around in.
If you have a car, you head over to Griffith Park in Los Angeles and go to L.A.'s not so hot zoo and also to Travel Town where you can ride around in a little train.
You may find an excursion to Griffith Park to be less of a hassle than going to Disneyland. It definitely will be closer and cheaper.
There’s the Glendale Galleria (if you are into shopping malls). And there’s Brand Library (very cool library, often used in movie shoots because of its exotic architecture), and—uh, what else? I love Glendale, but it’s just another town. Pasadena is somewhat cooler.
If you are not from an area that has Trader Joe’s, check out one of the many in the area. There’s a Trader Joe’s (or was last time I was in town) on Glendale Blvd., and there’s a few up on Foothill Blvd. in the La Crescenta area of Glendale (yes, it is part of Glendale—my dad was a postman in Glendale and he got very anal about that), and at least one more Trader Joe’s more east, towards La Cañada-Flintridge.
Okay, I’m tapped out. That’s all I’ve got. Other than to give you the obligatory speech about how Yosemite National Park is only 5-6 hours north, that is. (I recommend you visit there when you have more time and when the wife is not quite so pregnant!)
But much of La Crescenta isn’t in the city limits of Glendale, although it is served by the Glendale Post Office and kids there go to Glendale District schools.
I don’t really know much about it, other than it was a sore spot for my dad. We lived near the 210 freeway and there was a sign that you passed when you neared our exit that said “Glendale City Limits.” So I think that we, at least, lived in Glendale. My dad also often asked who the mayor of La Crescenta was, (there isn’t any, as far as I know). La Crescenta doesn’t seem to be its own city, it’s jut an area, or something. (?) Not that I ever would get as worked up about it as my dad did.
