Because I had the day off...

One of the great things about being a teacher is that you get some of the smaller holidays off.  Mid-January, we had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr. day and I went on a little adventure.  Lately, I've been trying to work off of my bucket list for all of my grand (and not so grand) adventures.  Last time I went to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, I had to go for school, it was raining, and I couldn't just look around for my enjoyment; I had a checklist of stuff I had to see and do.  So, I'd been wanting to go back and do it at my own pace.  I mentioned that I was considering going to my mom and she mentioned it to my dad and all of a sudden, it was decided that we were all going to go!  I was excited to have the company, so it all worked out.  We took our time and saw some cool stuff, as well as some ridiculous stuff and had a great time.  We got to see the Burghers of Calais, which I love because of the awesome story behind it.  It was also pretty cool because we had also gotten to see it at the Met, in New York City, this past summer.

We also saw this piece of "art".  I know that the arts are somewhat subjective, but really???

I do, however, like that it's orange.

Heres's The Thinker:

Us in front of the museum:

Just a couple of days before we went on this adventure, my parents had been watching one of those "California's Gold" types of shows with Huell Howser and he went to this place, called Galco's, that sells all kinds of old drinks that you can't find anywhere anymore, and they're all sold in the glass bottles.  My mom looked it up and discovered that it was only a few minutes from the museum, so we went there too.  It was pretty cool!  My parents, especially my dad, were able to take a walk down memory lane and reacquaint themselves with sodas they hadn't had since they were kids.  As for me, I got to hear their old memories and become acquainted with some new flavors.  It was fun!  Plus, the guy (the owner), who was giving the tour on the TV show was actually there and he showed us around a bit.

After we left Galco's, we went to dinner at one of our very favorite restaurants, North Woods Inn, in Covina.  Yum!

Afterwards, we headed home, but decided to make one last stop, at Richie's Diner, by Victoria Gardens because I had never been there and my dad wanted to show me that they also sell some of the old time-y sodas in the glass bottles.  They don't have nearly the selection that we found at Galco's, but still had a few gems.  All in all, it was a very fun day!