Arroyo June 2018

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA 

JUNE 2018 

EXPERIENTIAL 

TRAVEL 

TAKES OFF 

Luxury Tours that Focus on Place, 

Not High-thread-count Sheets 

TABLE FOR ONE? 

MUSINGS ON A SOLO 

TRAIN TRIP TO NEW MEXICO 

A LOMPOC GETAWAY 

AWARD-WINNING WINERIES 

IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY 

DAVID HENRY HWANG 

On His Vibrant New 

Musical, Soft Power

4 | ARROYO | 06.18

arroyo 

VOLUME 14 | NUMBER 6 | JUNE 2018 

27 

10 34 

PHOTO: (Top) Courtesy of Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali; (bottom left) Leslie A. Wesbrook; (bottom right) Michael Cervin 

TRAVEL 

10 EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL TAKES OFF 

More luxury travelers are opting for rare experiences, rather than over-thetop 

hotels. 

—By KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

14 TABLE FOR ONE? 

An overnight solo train journey offers memories, views and dining companions. 

—By LESLIE A. WESTBROOK 

27 A LOMPOC GETAWAY 

The picturesque valley, just three hours from Pasadena, is an 

oenophile’s arcadia. 

—By SCARLET CHENG 

30 DAVID HENRY HWANG 

A native son returns with a new musical. 

—By SCARLET CHENG 

DEPARTMENTS 

08 FESTIVITIES Three Vignettes at A Noise Within, Beastly Ball at L.A. Zoo and 

more 

18 ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX 

33 KITCHEN CONFESSIONS A sweet to serve your favorite Tutmaniacs 

34 ALCOHOL IN THE ARROYO Pig in a Barrel 

35 THE LIST Castle Green turns 120, Pasadena Playhouse Block Party, Pasadena 

Chalk Festival 

ABOUT THE COVER: Courtesy of Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali 

06.18 ARROYO | 5

EDITOR’S NOTE 

You’ve probably heard some variation of the 

saying, “True wealth is discretionary time” 

(sometimes credited to author Alan Weiss, 

although the concept certainly predates 

him). A corollary is the latest trend in luxury 

travel — the emphasis is on “being” rather than 

“having.” It’s called “experiential travel” and, as 

Kathleen Kelleher learned, Frette sheets aren’t 

enough for an increasing number of luxury 

travelers — they’re opting for rare experiences 

at their destination, not the trappings. 

You can train in high-altitude running with Kenyan athletes before running 

a marathon in Nairobi and glamping in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. 

Or hike along Spain’s Christian pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago. 

Or photograph penguins in Antarctica, a remote destination growing in 

popularity among tourists. As Kelleher puts it, experiential travel is about 

“whatever rocks your world.” 

For Leslie A. Westbrook, that sometimes involves solo travel, which can 

be a mixed bag when it comes to doing things like dining alone, even 

though yours is the only vote that counts in picking the restaurant (that’s 

the good part). But in a recent solo trip by train to New Mexico, Westbrook 

discovered a lovely balance between solitude and conviviality — in her own 

roomette, she was able to engage in such satisfying solo pursuits as reading 

and contemplation. And when it came to dining, Amtrak seated her with 

interesting companions who were full of travel tips. Westbrook offers plenty of 

her own — she breaks down solo travel into pros and cons, and lists resources 

for singles ready to take the plunge. 

Closer to home is the weekend getaway destination of Lompoc in 

western Santa Barbara County. As Scarlet Cheng discovered, Lompoc is 

evolving into a hub of award-winning wines and cuisine. In this issue, Cheng 

also talks to one of Arroyoland’s most accomplished artists, the playwright 

David Henry Hwang, who shot to fame with his 1988 Broadway play, M. 

Butterfly. His new musical, Soft Power, is drawing plaudits for its verve and 

originality. Producers are mum on its future beyond noting its next run at The 

Curran in San Francisco, but if I were a betting woman, I’d put my money 

down on seeing it here at the Ahmanson (through June 10) before ticket 

prices quadruple on the Great White Way. 

—Irene Lacher 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Irene Lacher 

ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres 

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Richard Garcia 

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Rochelle Bassarear 

EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine 

COPY EDITOR John Seeley 

CONTRIBUTORS Denise Abbott, Leslie Bilderback, 

Léon Bing, Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet 

Cheng, Richard Cunningham, Kathleen Kelleher, 

Jana Monji, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, 

Nancy Spiller 

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brenda Clarke, 

Leslie Lamm 

ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

Bruce Haring 

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker 

PAYROLL Linda Lam 

CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian 

ACCOUNTING Alysia Chavez, Perla Castillo, 

Yiyang Wang 

OFFICE MANAGER Ann Turrietta 

PUBLISHER Dina Stegon 

arroyo 

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA 

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING 

V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden 

PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin 

CONTACT US 

ADVERTISING 

dinas@pasadenaweekly.com 

EDITORIAL 

editor@arroyomonthly.com 

PHONE 

(626) 584-1500 

FAX 

(626) 795-0149 

MAILING ADDRESS 

50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, 

Pasadena, CA 91105 

ArroyoMonthly.com 

©2018 Southland Publishing, Inc. 

All rights reserved. 

6 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 7

FESTIVITIES 

Ann Sunshine, Rachel Fine, Alison Lifland and Fernando Malvar-Ruiz 

Phylicia Rashad and Shonda Rhimes 

Norm Nixon, Vivian Nixon and Debbie Allen 

Deborah Strang 

Dr. Drew and Dr. Timothy Wilson 

In an unusual collaboration, A Noise Within joined the Pasadena 

Conservatory May 17 in staging a French-accented fundraiser, “Three 

Vignettes,” at the repertory company’s Pasadena theater. The onenight-only 

fundraiser served up wine, music and scenes from famous 

French plays, followed by a pop-up French café modeled on Paris’ 

famous artists’ hub, Les Deux Magots… Gladys Knight, Common and 

Halle Berry were among the many stars honoring Debbie Allen and 

Phylicia Rashad in a vibrant May 7 tribute, A Tale of Two Sisters, at 

the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. 

Annenberg herself was honorary co-chair of the event benefiting the 

theater’s artistic and educational programs… The Greater L.A. Zoo 

Association’s Beastly Ball on May 19 drew nearly 1,000 guests, who 

helped raise $1.52 million for the zoo’s conservation and education 

programs. Animal expert Jack Hanna was honored with the Tom 

Mankiewicz Leadership Award, followed by a concert performed by 

Nancy Wilson, Slash and other animal lovers… Pasadena addiction 

expert and radio personality Dr. Drew Pinsky was honored with 

the Father of the Year Award by the John Wayne Cancer Institute’s 

Associates for Breast and Prostate Cancer Studies (ABCS) at the 

support group’s Mother’s Day Luncheon in Beverly Hills on May 9… 

Pasadena arts supporters turned out in full force May 7 for the Blue 

Ribbon’s general meeting lunch, celebrating its 50th anniversary as the 

premier women’s support group for the Music Center in downtown L.A. 

Nancy Wilson and Liv Warfield 

Suzi and Jack Hanna 

(Seated) Marguerite Marsh, Jill Baldauf, Margaret Sheehy Collins, Beatrice Bennett, Valerie Foster Hoffman and Terri Kohl; (standing) Janet Stanford, Carol Henry, Alyce Williamson, Mona Tromble Mapel, Eileen White 

Read, Annette Ermshar, Erika Riley and Frances Biles 

8 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 9

EXPERIENTIAL 

TRAVEL 

TAKES OFF 

More luxury travelers are opting for rare 

experiences, rather than over-the-top 

hotels. 

BY KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

When Stacy Fong talks about her trips to Antarctica in 2009 and to the 

Arctic in 2015, she can’t help but be effusive. 

“There is something about the glaciers and snow and being in that place, 

where probably 140 people even take these trips to,” said Fong, an architectural and 

landscape designer who lives in Santa Monica. “It is dead quiet, no architecture, 

just wilderness. It is just magical. It is what I imagine perfection to be. Pure. Every 

sense is either negated or enhanced. You are out there in the middle of nowhere and 

you feel like you are the first one to explore it. You really feel like [explorer Ernest 

Henry] Shackleton. You are not the first one to explore it, but you feel like it.” 

Like Fong, many of today’s affluent travelers are less interested in traditional 

luxury travel, with stays in over-the-top marble-decked hotels and resorts. Instead, 

they are opting for awe-inspiring experiences. Indeed, “experiential” is the buzzword 

in luxury travel, with customized trips, often planned and packaged by high-end 

travel advisors to be immersive, authentic experiences of place, evoking discovery 

and wonderment. 

“The luxury industry has taken a gigantic, seismic change over the last 10 to 15 

years,” said Barak Hirschowitz, president of the nonprofit International Luxury 

Hotel Association (luxuryhotelassociation.org) based in Florida. “The trends we see 

now are consumers looking for experience over status. This is going to continue to 

grow and [industry market researchers] don’t think it is going to shift back.” 

Above and background: Sultry landscapes at Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali 

10 | ARROYO | 06.18

Hiking Spain’s Camino de Santiago 

A Kamar room at Spa Village Resort in Bali 

PHOTOS: (Top right) Courtesy of Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali; (bottom left) Courtesy of National Geographic 

Consumers spend big on this style of travel, said Hirschowitz. The global “experiential 

luxury” market, classified as consumer spending on hotels, travel, dining, 

furniture and wine, is 399 billion euros ($470.26 billion at presstime) compared to 323 

billion euros ($380.7 billion) for “personal luxury” — watches, perfume, purses and 

apparel, according to a 2017 report by Boston Consulting Group, a global management 

company that issues yearly reports on the luxury industry. The emphasis on 

“being” rather than “having,” the report notes in existential-sounding terms, is the key 

consumer trend shaping present and future global luxury goods through 2022, a 1.5 

trillion-euro ($1.77 trillion) market that includes luxury travel and hotels. 

Experience-driven travel is anything travelers want it to be. It can mean destinations 

with natural wonders, such as glaciers, polar bears and blue whales in the 

Arctic, a safari in Tanzania, trekking to view lowland mountain gorillas in Rwanda or 

Uganda and swimming with humpback whales in Tonga. Or “transformative experiences” 

of spiritual discovery via mindfulness, yoga, spiritual reflection or hiking along 

the Christian pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago, in Spain. It can also be trips 

to world cultural and culinary meccas, like Paris, Barcelona and Mexico City. It is 

whatever rocks your world. 

The National Geographic Explorer travels from pole to pole every year. 

The transformative experiences trend also embraces wellness and health stays at 

resorts, spas or glamping (nature plus amenities) environs where learning new ways to 

eat, cook, exercise, live and care for oneself are the focus. These destination experiences 

can be housed in luxury hotels and spas. Take the Spa Village Resort Tembok 

Bali in Indonesia (spavillageresort.com). Here travelers can experience a “vibrational 

detox juice class” or take a “special journey around Bali that celebrates the Femininity, 

the Purity and the Balance traditions,” according to the website. A personal wellness 

regimen that melds “physical, spiritual and intellectual activities that lead to personal 

fulfillment” is designed for guests upon request. (The nightly rate was $247 at presstime.). 

Cox & Kings (coxandkingsusa.com), a private luxury tour company based in L.A. 

and New York, customizes travel experiences for clients based on their answers to a 

questionnaire about their needs and preferences. Travelers are then placed in accommodations 

expressly suited to what they are looking for. If a client likes staying at 

a Four Seasons or a St. Regis Hotel, then Cox & Kings may put them in an Aman 

Resort rather than an earthier eco-lodge. As for top destinations, last year Colombia 

overtook the previous year’s favorite, Peru’s Machu Picchu, said Warren Chang, CEO 

–continued on page 12 

Machu Picchu in Peru is a top destination. 

06.18 | ARROYO | 11

Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya 

–continued from page 11 

of Cox & Kings, The Americas. But Peru still ranks as a favorite destination. 

“We combine Peru, primarily Machu Picchu, and Bolivia,” said Chang. “After 

visiting Peru, we will put our clients in an Airstream trailer on the salt flats of Bolivia. 

We also had a client who went swimming with sea lions off the Palomino Islands, 

located off the coast of Callao, Peru.” 

The cost for an 11-day “experience” in Machu Picchu, plus the two-day stay in an 

Airstream trailer in Bolivia, starts at $6,995 per person based on two travelers (flights 

excluded), according to Cox & Kings. Travelers typically stay in the Inkaterra Machu 

Picchu Pueblo Hotel, an ecotourism luxury hotel, or the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, a 

five-star luxury hotel at the entrance to the legendary Incan ruins, said Chang. 

Travelers’ desires for “authentic experiences” is often coupled with an interest in 

learning something new, Chang added. For example, Cox & Kings also arranges trips 

to Kenya that include a four-day stay at the High Altitude Training Center in Iten, 

where runners can train for a marathon at high altitudes with world champion Kenyan 

runners. Triathletes, mountain bikers, swimmers and other sports people are welcome 

to train at the facility, which has a pool, fully equipped gym, running track and miles 

of dirt roads. 

The training experience is followed by a two-day tour through Kenya’s Lake 

Nakaru National Park, where travelers stay in lodges, then a trip to Nairobi to run 

the marathon. Running the marathon is optional, but marathon day is followed by a 

three-day safari through the Masai Mara Game Reserve with glamping-style tents 

replete with four-poster beds and modern en suite bathrooms. For two people, the cost 

is $8,395 each?. As Chang sees it, true luxury is the opportunity to see and do what 

you want to, at a time when you are able to do it. 

“We have clients that are staying with indigenous people in their abodes and they 

are able to get a really authentic experience,” said Chang, who stayed with a local family 

in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, whom he helped prepare a meal of chicken tagine, a 

traditional dish. “We do it in places off the beaten track in El Salvador, Asia, Africa or 

Latin America. Then a few days later, to round out the trip, they stay at a luxury resort.” 

Another shift in the luxury travel market is a lack of fealty to a particular hotel 

brand. “People are not brand loyal,” Hirschowitz said. “So they want to have the best 

experience for their specific trip in a given amount of time. So if you are going to 

Portland, Oregon, and if you look at the top three hotels, the ones guests want to stay 

at are not luxury hotels but hotels that evoke a sense of place. They are Portlandy — 

like the boutique hotel, Kimpton Vintage [standard room rates are $198 a night]. They 

express the purpose of place and fit the vibe of the place.” 

Stacy Fong, who has traveled to Bhutan, India, Nepal, Morocco, Jordan, Israel, 

Mongolia and Tanzania, to name a few destinations, is hoping to head back to the 

Falklands Islands and South Georgia. Her 11-day trip to the “land of the polar bears” 

(i.e. the Arctic) with National Geographic Expeditions (nationalgeographicexpeditions.com) 

today ranges in price from $10,430 to $19,520 per person (double-occupancy 

room). Her 14-day “journey to Antarctica” trip with Nat Geo ranges from $13,890 

to $26,600, depending on room choices. 

“I love their ship, the Nat Geo Explorer!,” said Fong. “Beautifully designed 

interiors! That is always one of my criteria.” Fong added that when the Arctic expedition 

did not find any polar bears (apparently it was the lowest polar bear sighting in 

10 years), the captain felt so bad that he sailed the continental shelf of the Svalbard 

Islands to search for blue whales. When in sight of a small group of whales, the ship 

staff awoke everyone on board at 5 a.m. to see them, the largest mammals on earth. 

For Fong and fellow travelers, experiences cannot be measured in dollars. She has 

taken her three children, all adults now, on nearly all her trips, and for her, sharing 

awe-inspiring experiences in far-off places is invaluable. “You don’t want to be morbid, 

but what do you have in the end?” she said. “You only have memories of those experiences.” 

|||| 

12 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 13

TABLE FOR ONE? 

An overnight solo train journey provides memories, views and dining companions 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY LESLIE A. WESTBROOK 

I 

enjoy traveling solo, perhaps thanks to my mother, Marcella. When I was 7 years old, 

my parents entrusted me to the friendly staff on The Santa Fe (a precursor to Amtrak) 

for two-hour trips from Union Station to Riverside’s Santa Fe Depot to visit my 

grandmother and other relatives. I still remember the kindly porters looking after me in 

the dining car as a 1950s California landscape rolled by. 

A half-plus century and many solo trips later, my mother once again dropped me at 

downtown L.A.’s historic Union Station (out front this time!) for an overnight trip to 

New Mexico via Amtrak. For the first time, I would experience a roomette with a bed. 

I climbed “all aboard” the sleeper car for my 18-hour journey and was directed upstairs 

to my quarters, No. 6, a compact space with two super-wide seats facing each other, 

a box of Kleenex, two bottles of water, a small fold-down work desk for my laptop (and 

a place to plug in it or my cellphone) and two pillows, as well as a very narrow closet to 

hang up my coat and scarf. 

“Have a seat as we take off,” instructed Brian, our attendant. “Dining car instructions 

will be forthcoming.” 

The train departed at 6:10 p.m., leaving a bit of light as we headed east on the Southwest 

Chief to the Land of Enchantment. Brian welcomed us aboard over the intercom, 

offering basic information for the journey ahead, noting, “There’s a shower and restrooms 

downstairs — grab a towel!” 

Soon after, the dinner menu and pricing were announced over the intercom by the 

dining car steward: “The land and sea combo — steak and shrimp and crabcakes [$39!] 

… Norwegian salmon, sweet potato gnocchi with kale, butternut squash risotto.” All 

meals are included in sleeper-car fares. 

AN URBAN INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE 

I settled comfortably, if compactly, into my roomette and said hello to the passenger 

across the narrow corridor. Sliding compartment doors and blue curtains kept us from 

seeing each another or engaging, so I gazed out my window. Puffs of white smoke dissipated 

into the gray sky as the train moved slowly past industrial yards, rusty buildings 

and a trickle of the L.A. River, its concrete walls pocked with graffiti. A freight train 

passing on the opposite side of the river and shipping containers stacked and rolling past 

on another track were also graffitied. A smattering of homeless encampments dotted the 

channels as I spotted one person bathing in the concrete riverbed at dusk. Morning light 

will give way to landscapes that show less of mankind’s impact and distress, I thought to 

myself. 

I was jolted from my observations by the dining car attendant moving through the 

train to take dinner reservations. I make a reservation for 

7 p.m. and was handed a “table for one” paper confirmation. Dinner alone is probably my 

least favorite thing to do, but I planned to make the best of it. Also making the earliest 

reservation was the gentleman in the sleeper car opposite mine, whom I was tempted 

to invite to join me, but didn’t. Meals are best shared with good friends or at least, over 

hopefully interesting conversation with strangers. 

In the Amtrak dining car, I discovered that solo travelers like myself are seated with 

others. My dinner companions were my neighbor Jayme, an Australian adventurer riding 

the rails around the U.S. on a generous severance package, and Dee, a retired grandmother 

from Torrance en route to Kentucky to visit family. I brought along a split of a 

decent cabernet that I was allowed to enjoy with a very filling dinner of salad, salmon, 

The Southwest Chief stops in Winslow, AZ. 

14 | ARROYO | 06.18

A view of New Mexico hills from the train 

baked potato with sour cream, green beans 

and a chocolate raspberry tart for dessert 

that I was unable to finish. As it turned out, I was 

glad for the pleasant company of my fellow travelers. I 

returned to my roomette to discover that the two-seat chair 

had been converted into a single bed made up with crisp white 

sheets. I stretched out and laid my head down on my two pillows to 

read and write as the world rolled by on my solitary journey. 

A FITFUL NIGHT’S SLEEP 

I’d assumed (incorrectly) I’d be gently rocked to sleep in my very comfortable, firm 

bed. Instead, it was “shake, rattle and roll,” keeping me up all night (and not “rock-a-bye 

baby”). I did get some sleep as I dreamt I was playing a very small piano in Mick Jagger’s 

band. He kept prancing past me in a variety of colorful outfits. 

I awoke to the sound of the woman down the hall preparing to depart at the 4:30 

a.m. stop. She’d lost an earring the night before and was still lamenting the loss to those 

within earshot. I had neglected to latch the sliding compartment doors and made a 

mental note to secure the latch on my return trip. 

BREAKFAST AND WE’RE IN NEW MEXICO 

I pulled back the curtains at our next stop, the historic train station in Winslow, 

Arizona. My breakfast companions were a couple traveling home to Albuquerque from 

a few nights at Winslow’s historic La Posada Hotel. She was a retired schoolteacher; he 

works for the Federal Aviation Administration. We discussed dementia, grandchildren, 

quilting and Internet shopping, among other things. They told me that though there 

wasn’t much to do in Winslow, they were impressed by the hotel’s museum-quality 

collection of Native American artifacts and contemporary art exhibition of paintings of 

former presidents and first ladies. It made me want to visit in the future, and I appreciated 

the briefing from them over bacon and eggs. 

After breakfast, I popped into the observation car, where six women were laughing 

loudly while a man who was a dead ringer for Abraham Lincoln fiddled with his cellphone. 

The view gave way to mesas, ochre-colored desert and chaparral beneath 

gray skies and kitschy teepee architecture. 

The Wi-Fi was iffy, leaving more time to gaze, write or decide if I 

wanted to be more sociable. But nature won out. The sunlit, redrippled 

mesas out my window invited quiet contemplation, one 

of the main benefits of solo travel. Someone recently drilled 

into my head that “isolation is fatal.” Contemplation, 

however, is a different matter. 

I remembered taking this same journey 

many, many years ago while reading 

Willa Cather’s Death Comes to the 

Archbishop and being delighted 

to discover her descriptions 

of the landscape exactly 

mimicked the views from my train window. 

Another vote for solo travel — with a good 

book. 

We’re two hours from Albuquerque, and perhaps an 

hour more to my final destination for this journey, Lamy, New 

Mexico. Golden sage and scrub brush, layers of earth in muted 

shades roll past my window. Little round balls of green piñon and 

juniper trees dot the landscape beneath the famous New Mexico skies. The 

clouds on this day are white wisps melting into a blue-gray sky. I am grateful. 

We make a stop in Albuquerque, where Native Americans sell wares at tables in 

front of the train station and smokers take a cigarette break. The last part of my journey 

is lovely. We pass San Felipe Pueblo and a landscape of bare gray cottonwood trees 

and feathery plants tinged with red as far are the eye can see. A pair of black crows are 

silhouetted overhead; in the distance undulating mountains form the backdrop to the 

winterscape. Horses and cows pop up within view occasionally in pens and fields. The 

backyards of putty-colored adobe houses blending into the desert landscape are often 

junkyards. We pass the historic Santo Domingo Trading Post, then just desert dotted 

again with piňon and juniper trees. The sky seems to go on forever. Solo travel — there’s 

no better way to contemplate the vast world and our small place in it. 

It’s almost time to disembark and thank my steward, Brian, for looking after me. 

I forget to tell him about my childhood memory of the porter of yesteryear who put a 

spoon in my hot chocolate to keep it from sloshing over the cup edges as we rattled down 

the rails. Tables in those days were set with real china and white tablecloths. Today’s 

dining car china is plastic, drinking cups are paper or plastic, but utensils are metal. 

A treasured friend greets me at Lamy and helps me with my luggage. My solo travel 

journey ends. It will be good to enjoy his company while I visit New Mexico, but I look 

forward to solo revelations and contemplations on my return trip home. 

For train schedules and tickets, call (800)-USARAIL or visit Amtrak.com. |||| 

A mural in Lamy, New Mexico 

–continued no page 16 

06.18 | ARROYO | 15


SOLO TRAVEL: PROS 

AND CONS 

PROS 

Do your own thang. You don’t have to check in with anyone and ask if they want to go 

to a certain art museum, take a walk somewhere or visit the restaurant you want to try. 

Make new friends. You meet strangers and sometimes make new friends. I even fell in 

love once after meeting someone on a cross-country flight. 

A good night’s sleep. My mother is a fitful sleeper, which means the lights go on and 

off all night if she wakes up and decides to read for a few hours. One of my best friends 

snores. 

No arguing or hurt feelings. Some travel pals don’t want to do the same things. You 

can get into arguments. Backseat drivers are a drag. (I have been guilty of this.) 

Room service. Sometimes to avoid dinner alone when traveling, I indulge in room 

service and luxuriate in my room. I do enjoy being pampered with a tasty (and hopefully 

hot) dinner, a glass of wine and something entertaining on TV. 

Self-reflection and self-improvement. Time for books, music and reflecting on 

what you’re experiencing. Learning about yourself and your self-sufficiency skills. 

CONS 

Two heads are better than one. Nice to explore travel options and/or get a second 

opinion. Safety in numbers, too (especially for women traveling alone). 

You did it your way. You lack a companion to share meals, experiences, memories and 

expenses with. 

Dinner alone. I am the first to admit that I am not a fan of dining alone. Breakfast is 

not bad, lunch so-so, dinner an absolute bummer, as far as I am concerned. 

You pay more. One of the disadvantages of solo group or ship travel is the single 

supplement charge. (Some cruise lines have recently addressed this — see resources.) 

Not sharing travel costs. 

Getting lost. It’s easy to get lost by yourself. Better to get lost with someone else so you 

can laugh (or fight) about it.. 

—LAW 

Winslow, AZ 

SOLO TRAVEL RESOURCES 

Sometimes you just “vant to be alone.” Other times, you end up traveling alone and would 

like the company of others. 

Whether you choose a solo trek through Nepal, skiing or cruising with a group of 

like-minded single travelers or book a trip to save elephants in Thailand or participate in 

another philanthropic effort, these resources can pair you with fellow travelers who are on 

their own. 

Cruises 

Norwegian Cruise Lines, (866) 234-7350, ncl.com 

This company has received awards for introducing single-traveler staterooms. Guests meet 

and mingle with other solo travelers in the private Studio Lounge. NCL began the trend 

of designated single cabins at a discounted rate and no supplemental fee for solo travelers. 

Hawaii, anyone? 

Uniworld, (866) 883-3684, uniworld.com/en/ 

The solo traveler option on luxurious, all-inclusive river cruises includes open seating during 

meals for mingling with fellow travelers. Single supplement fees for many of the most 

popular itineraries have been discounted due to the popularity of single travel. 

Riviera River Cruise, (888) 664-2218, rivierarivercruises.com 

A passionate European river-cruise operator with trips specifically for solo travelers from 

the Blue Danube to Burgundy, the Rhône and Provence. 

Tour Groups 

Encounter Travel, encountertravel.com.au 

This Australia-based tour company’s slogan is: “Travel solo, not alone.” Encounter matches 

single guests with likeminded travelers in their age group. Solos Only Tours span the 

globe, from the Great Wall of China to the beautiful squares of Rome. 

Explore! Worldwide, (800) 715-1746, exploreworldwide.com 

Explore! unites ardent travelers the world over for adventure tours (e.g. cycling trips, polar 

expeditions) that include Last Minute Solo Trips and Small Group Holidays for Solo 

Travelers, with destinations from Africa to South America and beyond. 

GuruWalk, guruwalk.com 

Affordable “pay-what-you-like” strolls. Locate your city of interest on the website to find 

a multitude of walking tours. Many tours (conducted in a variety of languages: English, 

Spanish, German and many more) are geared to specific interests, like a “street art walk” 

in Athens, Greece. 

Ski Souls, (833) SKI-SOULS, skisouls.com 

Weeklong luxury ski and snowboard trips from Canada to Colorado for solo travelers 

include hotel accommodations, ski passes, mountain tours, group activities and skiing 

or snowboarding at all ability levels. Travelers make new friends on the mountain and at 

group lunches and dinners. 

For Grown-Ups 

CamelBak Pursuit Series, pursuit.theoutbound.com 

CamelBak Pursuit offers all-inclusive outdoor adventure camps for adults in New York 

and Northern California, where solo travelers can immerse themselves in trail-running, 

climbing, yoga, meditation and more. Instead of camp counselors, expert guides and pro 

athletes lead the charge. Also included are meals, nightly socials, open bars, firepits and 

live music, plus all expert instruction. 

For Younger Travelers 

Under 30 Experiences, (888) 839-2086, under30experiences.com 

The emphasis is on gathering young simpatico adults with a passion for global travel. Under 

30 Experiences offers opportunities for travelers 21 to 35 to immerse themselves in rare 

experiences from snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands to dancing the flamenco in Seville, 

Spain, while engaging in philanthropic overseas projects. 

Hostelworld, hostelworld.com 

Hostels offer living rooms and kitchens for socializing with other travelers as well as staff 

who can plan or suggest outings, which make hostels affordable places to meet other solo 

travelers. 

—LAW 

16 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 17

arroyo 

~HOME SALES INDEX~ 

April 

2017 

HOME SALES 

-0.530 

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT. 

0.06% 

381 

HOMES 

SOLD 

ALHAMBRA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 

Homes Sold 31 14 

Median Price $588,000 $578,357 

Median Sq. Ft. 1260 1244 

ALTADENA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $880,000 $833,731 


ARCADIA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $1,050,000 $1,100,594 


EAGLE ROCK APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $810,000 $786,000 


GLENDALE APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $674,500 $1,086,227 


LA CAÑADA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $1,570,000 $2,058,643 


PASADENA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $739,000 $1,089,379 


SAN MARINO APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $1,840,000 $1,500,000 


SIERRA MADRE APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $967,500 $1,154,200 


SOUTH PASADENA APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Median Price $1,070,000 $1,515,000 


TOTAL APRIL’17 APRIL’18 


Avg Price/Sq. Ft. $586 $625 

 

April 

2018 

179HOMES 

SOLD 

HOME SALES ABOVE $750,000 

RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT 

source: CalREsource 

ADDRESS CLOSE DATE PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT. YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD 

ALHAMBRA 

2907 West Ross Avenue 04/11/18 $775,000 2 1407 1936 

2100 Glenview Terrace 04/06/18 $1,362,500 3 2482 1952 

637 Chaparral Court 04/05/18 $1,350,000 5 3329 1999 $1,252,000 07/13/2017 

ALTADENA 

3475 Canyon Crest Road 04/19/18 $1,100,000 3 2817 1949 

2757 Winrock Avenue 04/13/18 $960,000 3 1891 1955 $365,000 09/21/2000 

1289 Sonoma Drive 04/20/18 $900,000 3 1368 1951 $680,000 01/04/2006 

2132 New York Drive 04/11/18 $850,000 3 1794 1951 

ARCADIA 

1885 North Santa Anita Avenue 04/09/18 $3,027,500 3 2629 1949 

65 Woodland Lane 04/10/18 $2,830,000 5 3691 1964 

1610 Mayfl ower Avenue 04/09/18 $2,430,000 0 0 

800 Magnolia Lane 04/13/18 $2,225,000 0 0 $800,000 03/14/2016 

1816 South 6th Avenue 04/12/18 $1,450,000 4 2366 1962 



2020 South 7th Place 04/20/18 $968,000 2 1266 1950 $870,000 09/30/2015 

2115 South 2nd Avenue 04/05/18 $950,000 2 1882 1938 $829,000 04/09/2013 

700 East Wistaria Avenue 04/05/18 $900,000 2 1626 1950 $340,000 03/28/2002 

E AGLE ROCK 

5162 Windermere Avenue 04/20/18 $987,000 2 1248 1925 $525,000 04/23/2009 

5021 Onteora Way 04/16/18 $920,000 2 1750 1938 $300,000 02/08/2002 

2727 El Roble Drive 04/12/18 $852,000 2 1007 1926 $502,000 09/06/2013 

1300 North Avenue #45 04/13/18 $788,000 3 1174 1928 

5032 Mosaic Court 04/12/18 $785,000 3 1788 2013 $595,000 01/31/2013 

GLENDALE 

605 West Kenneth Road 04/12/18 $2,225,000 4 3277 1974 $1,125,000 06/19/2003 

1902 Rams Horn Court 04/16/18 $2,150,000 5 5289 1987 $1,470,000 02/12/2013 

724 Prospect Drive 04/11/18 $1,830,000 5 3460 1930 

3423 Ayars Canyon Way 04/10/18 $1,825,000 5 4830 2004 

1734 Hillside Drive 04/17/18 $1,782,000 7 3320 1929 $1,250,000 10/30/2014 

2300 Blanchard Drive 04/12/18 $1,650,000 4 2849 1935 $1,075,000 06/22/2010 

1162 Raymond Avenue #A 04/17/18 $1,500,000 8 4278 1964 $875,000 11/20/2009 

1570 Arundle Place 04/10/18 $1,395,000 4 2844 1979 

1346 Ethel Street 04/13/18 $1,225,000 3 2861 1926 $787,000 10/31/2013 

1860 Greenbriar Road 04/10/18 $1,170,000 3 2366 1964 

3316 Montrose Avenue 04/05/18 $1,091,500 8 3246 1923 

1005 West Kenneth Road 04/05/18 $1,050,000 3 2392 1963 

1846 Calle Fortuna 04/06/18 $1,025,000 4 1943 1993 $890,000 09/29/2017 

305 East Randolph Street 04/12/18 $1,006,000 2 1572 1906 $720,000 10/20/2004 

1311 Romulus Drive 04/19/18 $990,000 6 2748 1947 $339,000 12/29/1999 

3229 Buckingham Road 04/10/18 $960,000 2 1408 1960 

912 Briarwood Lane 04/19/18 $952,000 3 1993 1951 $837,000 05/25/2016 

1320 Spazier Avenue 04/20/18 $930,000 3 1610 1936 

2760 Hermosa Avenue 04/06/18 $925,000 2 1157 1940 $645,000 12/22/2017 

1304 Carmen Drive 04/10/18 $907,500 2 1446 1926 

1531 El Miradero Avenue 04/13/18 $875,000 2 1409 1940 

958 Coronado Drive 04/06/18 $853,500 3 1366 1925 

3239 Pontiac Street 04/05/18 $850,000 3 1417 1951 

2519 Piedmont Avenue 04/17/18 $840,000 3 1680 1930 

2075 Chilton Drive 04/06/18 $828,000 3 1656 1924 

400 North Jackson Street 04/05/18 $825,000 2 2107 1947 

666 West Lexington Drive 04/17/18 $801,000 3 1352 1920 

1551 Sheridan Road 04/18/18 $800,000 3 1665 1956 $188,000 04/04/1986 

2450 Mary Street 04/16/18 $800,000 3 1541 1947 

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra 

Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2018. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly. 

18 | ARROYO | 06.18

LA CAÑADA 

616 Chatham Place 04/06/18 $3,007,000 4 3082 1962 

1101 Olive Lane 04/11/18 $2,888,000 5 3815 1935 

4340 Beulah Drive 04/17/18 $2,880,000 4 2368 1949 $1,388,000 01/29/2016 

4935 Oakwood Avenue 04/20/18 $2,350,000 5 3972 2011 $500,000 12/29/1999 

2042 Los Amigos Street 04/13/18 $2,180,000 4 2904 1952 

4610 Alcorn Drive 04/16/18 $2,100,000 4 2637 1963 $975,000 10/24/2003 

332 Baptiste Way 04/20/18 $2,070,000 5 3166 1999 $1,550,000 06/17/2005 

4917 Burgoyne Lane 04/09/18 $1,960,000 4 2732 1950 

1040 Vista Del Valle Road 04/10/18 $1,890,000 5 3008 1949 

229 Mariners View Street 04/12/18 $1,855,000 4 2661 1967 $665,000 07/09/2001 

5640 Stardust Road 04/16/18 $1,531,000 3 1659 1958 $1,183,500 09/21/2016 

1517 Riendo Lane 04/09/18 $1,485,000 3 2228 1952 

2116 Los Amigos Street 04/06/18 $1,425,000 3 2116 1961 

5144 Gould Avenue 04/19/18 $1,200,000 2 1701 1957 $340,000 09/13/1994 

PASADENA 

1380 Lombardy Road 04/12/18 $4,900,000 6 5777 1927 $1,670,000 06/02/1995 

280 South Orange Grove Blvd. 04/10/18 $3,480,500 4 5131 1910 

1450 El Mirador Drive 04/06/18 $2,300,000 3 2928 1961 

3438 Vosburg Street 04/10/18 $2,100,000 3 2137 1889 

1111 Church Street 04/13/18 $2,080,000 4 3099 1959 $760,000 11/26/2003 

655 South Madison Avenue 04/16/18 $2,010,500 6 3791 1902 

1532 Rose Villa Street 04/13/18 $1,850,000 3 1987 1925 

1121 Charles Street 04/19/18 $1,825,000 3 2565 1949 $1,320,000 08/30/2005 

3819 Laurita Avenue 04/13/18 $1,818,000 0 0 

1111 Laguna Road 04/18/18 $1,700,000 4 2426 1942 $1,125,000 04/15/2004 

526 La Loma Road 04/09/18 $1,680,000 4 1961 1906 

1261 Afton Street 04/11/18 $1,500,000 2 2140 1953 

920 Granite Drive #413 04/13/18 $1,488,000 3 2190 2009 

45 Club Road 04/12/18 $1,425,000 5 3740 1993 

141 South Hudson Avenue #40104/05/18 $1,365,000 3 1880 2006 $700,000 10/01/2015 

1007 South Euclid Avenue 04/13/18 $1,300,000 3 1722 1950 $1,070,000 09/16/2013 

633 South Lake Avenue #5 04/05/18 $1,290,000 2 1810 2010 

3880 Valley Lights Drive 04/05/18 $1,150,000 3 1898 1956 

3755 Valley Lights Drive 04/13/18 $1,150,000 4 2641 1977 $134,000 11/24/1978 

1572 North Altadena Drive 04/06/18 $1,100,000 3 2350 1953 

505 Cliff Drive 04/19/18 $1,087,000 2 1560 1951 

3772 Blanche Street 04/13/18 $1,058,000 2 808 1924 

1000 South Orange Grove Blvd. #1904/18/18 $1,050,000 3 1870 1957 $900,000 01/13/2015 

2337 North Arroyo Boulevard 04/12/18 $950,000 3 1696 1969 $730,000 12/17/2015 

1400 Tropical Avenue 04/10/18 $910,000 3 1331 1952 

1140 North Mar Vista Avenue 04/12/18 $900,000 3 1625 1912 

3220 East Sierra Madre Blvd. 04/09/18 $885,000 3 2190 1950 

1555 North Michillinda Avenue 04/10/18 $880,000 3 1940 1956 

1910 Rosemont Avenue 04/05/18 $870,000 3 1679 1959 

1304 North Catalina Avenue 04/17/18 $869,000 5 1980 1907 

80 North Raymond Avenue #20204/16/18 $865,000 3 1470 1996 $635,000 06/13/2012 

67 North Oak Avenue 04/06/18 $861,000 4 2400 1922 

1385 El Sereno Avenue 04/06/18 $850,000 6 3014 1905 $400,000 05/29/2014 

2167 East Dudley Street 04/06/18 $800,000 3 1206 1925 $335,000 12/31/2001 

700 South Lake Avenue #104 04/13/18 $800,000 2 1583 1974 $645,000 12/01/2011 

260 Cordova Street 04/11/18 $785,000 3 1439 1978 

690 South Marengo Avenue #6 04/12/18 $768,500 3 1440 2006 

2454 Galbreth Road 04/19/18 $765,000 2 1450 1948 

SAN MARINO 

1505 Euston Road 04/16/18 $4,590,000 5 4307 2014 $1,968,000 04/03/2013 

620 South Allen Avenue 04/18/18 $4,150,000 7 4537 1925 $99,500 08/06/1971 

2930 Kinghurst Road 04/06/18 $2,000,000 3 2245 1946 

SIERRA MADRE 

375 East Grandview Avenue 04/09/18 $2,402,000 8 3362 1948 

505 Lotus Lane 04/19/18 $1,489,000 4 4075 1991 $1,500,000 07/28/2006 

119 North Lima Street 04/06/18 $1,350,000 3 2066 1914 

503 Manzanita Avenue 04/20/18 $1,168,000 2 1862 1913 $765,500 09/27/2012 

650 Chaparral Road 04/06/18 $1,094,500 2 2220 1961 

241 North Lima Street 04/20/18 $1,068,500 4 1658 1946 $780,000 10/13/2017 

491 Crestvale Drive 04/10/18 $845,000 3 1365 1953 

645 Skyland Drive 04/13/18 $770,000 3 1512 1964 

SOUTH PASADENA 

1116 Glendon Way 04/09/18 $1,515,000 5 2752 1920 

1901 Via Del Rey 04/19/18 $1,370,000 3 1729 1962 

1017 Avon Place 04/05/18 $1,225,000 3 1512 1911 

1263 Huntington Drive #D 04-12-18 $960,000 3 1662 1984 

1204 Indiana Avenue #2 04-17-18 $884,000 2 1650 1971 $575,000 03/30/2007 

06.18 ARROYO | 19

20 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 21

ARROYO 

HOME & DESIGN 

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT 

IS YOUR HOME 

MAKING YOU SICK? 

The materials in your home may host hazardous toxins. 

Here are some things you may need to consider. 

BY BRUCE HARING 

22 | ARROYO | 06.18 

PHOTO: Courtesy of Saxom Tile

06.18 | ARROYO | 23

24 | ARROYO | 06.18

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT— 


PHOTO: Courtesy of Catalina Paint 

Ask a group for a show of hands - who wants to live in a toxic environment? 

Chances are, you won’t get anyone volunteering. 

But toxic materials in the home don’t raise their hands and declare their 

unhealthy effect on your life. That’s because they are typically installed before you 

arrive in your domicile, so you are unaware of their presence. Few of us ask about 

the materials that make up our interiors and are found in the metal, fabric, wood and 

paints that are part of our home. 

As such, we wind up living in an environment that may be making us sick, or 

at the least, aggravating allergies. And often, you won’t really realize the damage 

to your health until you are fairly far along in the effects. The problem is that most 

building materials - plumbing, flooring, insulation, drywall and paint - can be part of 

the problem, and it often takes some expertise to know what to watch out for in your 

home. 

Fortunately, homeowners have become more aware of the hazards that can 

be found in most products, and are demanding that toxic chemicals not be part of 

their design. In fact, most homeowners will pay a premium for assurances that the 

materials used in their home’s construction won’t make them sick, and it’s driving 

major design trends in many areas. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR 

Although no list comprehensively covers every contingency on home design, 

there are some common issues to watch for when remodeling or moving into a new 

environment. 

With drywall, joint compounds can emit contaminants like mercury and sulfur. 

These are not only problems for those with breathing difficulties, but they can accelerate 

the deterioration of wiring and appliances. One of the big offenders is drywall 

made from synthetic gypsum, a creation of coal waste that can be contaminated. 

When you get new drywall, choose selections made after 2016, when new US regulations 

kicked in for low sulfur emissions. Greenguard-certified drywall is a product that 

has been tested for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and is a mark of assurance. 

Also of note: Make sure your installer is using low VOC and compounds free of biocide, 

formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. 

Flooring made headlines a few years ago when a huge retailer had to confess 

that it was selling flooring that had problems with chemicals. That awakened a few 


06.18 | ARROYO | 25

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT— 


consumers, who realized that formaldehyde could be present in the materials under 

their feet. But tainted lumber isn’t the only source of problems with flooring. Carpet, 

laminate, and vinyl flooring can all be treated with chemicals in the glues and resins 

that bond flooring and can cause problems. Low VOC glue, nails and interlocking 

installations are all recommended to counter this hazard. 

Most homeowners are aware of the problems of insulation, thanks to asbestos 

being identified years ago as a problem. But even without asbestos, insulation can 

be treated with flame-resistant materials and formaldehyde, and spray foam insulation 

can also spread toxins through the air. Again, certification is a key - Greenguardcertified 

materials are an assurance of testing for hazardous compounds. You 

can also opt for cork board or mineral wood for your insulation, materials that can 

contain less hazardous material. 

Finally, beware of the carpeting in your house. In addition to being a repository 

for all sorts of germs and dust, the materials used to make carpeting are typically 

synthetic and are attached with toxic glues which can have a high VOC content. 

Experts recommend wool carpets or wool and felt padding to lessen the impact, 

along with low-VOC adhesives and hook fastener systems. 

There are other issues throughout the home, found in the bedroom, kitchen and 

even in the patio areas. Fortunately, there are Pasadena area vendors who specialize 

in creating a healthy environment with the products that they sell, all designed to 

create a less-toxic living space. 

LOCAL SOLUTIONS ABOUND 

Camilla Kim of Palmpring USA says customers for her mattress store began to do 

more investigation into healthy bedding about a decade ago. “Now they are looking 

up everything to make sure that the items that they use are good for their health, 

environment, and for the people around them” she says. “Some people do it out of 

needs, when they have an allergic reaction to certain products.” 

To service these choosy patrons, “We carry organic mattresses. Our mattresses 

don’t have any chemicals in them. We only use 100% certified organic latex, coconut 

coir fibers, cotton and wool. That’s it.” 

John Cohn of Catalina Paints also has a focus on the environment created by 

his products. “The paint world has gone through tremendous changes,” Cohn said. 

“Just 40 years ago, it was all oil based paints-even for flat interior walls. The strong 

odor of solvent (paint thinner) was predominant everywhere there was any painting 

going on and it could linger for weeks after it dried. In the 70’s water based paints 

came in the market which allowed paint to dry by the evaporation of water instead 

of solvent. In the 80’s and 90’s oil based paints were still being used on doors and trim 

and molding because of its super smooth finish but as water based technology kept 

improving the need for oils kept diminishing. Nowadays water based paints are a 

superior technology for several reasons but the number one reason is the lower VOC 

and odor.” 

Cohn says most of his paints are now low or zero VOC paints. “A far cry from 

the VOC levels of years past,” he notes “However, there are still some people that 

are sensitive to paint smells, which even a zero VOC paint can have, and others 

are concerned with any allergies or sensitivities. So we sell a line of paint called 

Natura by Benjamin Moore, which is not only zero VOC, but has no odor as well. 

It is ideal for settings such as hospitals or any area where people are concerned 

with the smell of paint. Mainly pregnant women are the ones asking for this specific 

product.” 

While Kim Gould of Saxum Tiles doesn’t manufacture her wares, she does 

carry materials that do not carry the toxins that many flooring materials can exhibit. 

“Porcelain, quartz slabs and other non-porous materials are great, since they do not 

need to be sealed on a regular basis like stone does,’ she says “Sealer products are 

chemicals that are engineered to repel water and stains. 

Cambria Quartz recommends cleaning with as little as warm water and a soft 

cloth to keep your counters looking like new.” 

How can you tell if you have materials in your home that should be exchanged 

for less toxic choices? Debbie Talianko of Talianko Design Group notes that there are 

companies that specialize in coming to your home and doing an analysis. 

If you’re not into hiring an expert, your best bet is to stick with “Made in America” 

choices, Talianko says. “In this country, manufacturers are held to strict standards for 

building with wellness in mind,: she says. “Tile, drywall, wood flooring, paint, etc. are 

all required to meet building codes in order to keep people safe. The elimination of 

formaldehyde and VOCs is critical in maintaining the health of people inhabiting 

home and other spaces.” |||| 

PHOTO: Courtesy of Palmpring 

26 | ARROYO | 06.18

A LOMPOC 

GETAWAY 

The picturesque valley, just three hours from 

Pasadena, is an oenophile’s arcadia. 

BY SCARLET CHENG 

A Lompoc mural: Fields of Gold, 2014, by Colleen Goodwin Chronister 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Explore Lompoc 


06.18 | ARROYO | 27


Lompoc, on the western end of Santa Barbara County, seems a sleepy town when 

you drive in, but it has become an important center for viticulture, with its own 

designated AVA (American Viticultural Area), Sta. Rita Hills. With about 

three dozen tasting rooms, many concentrated in downtown’s so-called “wine ghetto,” 

visitors can get a quick introduction to the region’s wines in a day or two. “The valleys 

run east-west here,” says Barbara Satterfield, the executive director of the Sta. Rita 

Hills Winegrowers Alliance and a manager at Hitching Post Wines. “It’s foggy in the 

morning, and then the wind blows it away,” she says. Thus, a cool climate with sunny 

days, perfect for pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. Add to that other attractions well 

worth taking in, and you have a weekend getaway filled with cuisine and culture. 

The drive up is one of the pleasures of this trip. Lompoc is about three hours 

northwest of Pasadena. Yes, you could do it as a day trip, but it would be a lot more 

fun and relaxing to stay a couple of days. Shoot up the 101 past Santa Barbara to 

Route 1, where you enter a verdant and picturesque valley dotted with occasional 

cattle and vineyards. 

Scratch Kitchen 

WINE TASTING 

Many were introduced to Central Coast wines through the 2004 movie Sideways. 

Patrick Frank, who writes a wine column for the Palisadian-Post, was one of them. 

“By then, the region was already producing some very good pinot noir and chardonnay,” 

he says. “The Santa Rita Hills region specializes in those two grapes.” 

The pioneers of the area’s wine industry are Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict, 

who bought land in the Santa Rita Hills in 1971. First they planted cabernet 

sauvignon and Riesling, then pinot noir and chardonnay. They converted an existing 

dairy barn into the district’s first winery, and their first vintage debuted in 1976 to 

much acclaim. Another pioneer is Richard Longoria, a veteran winemaker who still 

owns the namesake winery he founded in 1982. Like many wineries here, Longoria 

Wines produces relatively small quantities — about 3,000 cases a year — because 

they focus on quality. 

Today there are about 40 wineries in the area, many with tasting rooms. Sanford 

Winery & Vineyards offers tasting in a roomy hacienda surrounded by acres of idyllic 

vineyards. (Both Sanford and Benedict have gone on to other winemaking ventures 

and are no longer involved in its management.) Back within Lompoc’s city limits, 

Longoria Wines has a tasting room next to its winery on East Chestnut Avenue. 

Close by is the wine ghetto — some 20 tasting rooms tucked into a warehouse 

district with two pockets along Chestnut — between D and H streets, and 7th and 

12th streets. Most of the tasting rooms are open Friday through Sunday, with a few 

open on other days. (Some wineries also make and/or store their wines there.) 

During our visit to the ghetto, we enjoyed sampling wines at Fiddlehead, Flying 

Goat and LaMontagne. Fiddlehead is notable for its terrific sauvignon blancs 

and pinot noirs, as well as their provenance — proprietor Kathy Joseph started her 

business in 1989 and is one of the handful of women who run wineries in the area. 

I thought her 2017 Pink Fiddle Rosé of Pinot Noir was lovely — crisp and dry with 

a nice hint of fruit. Some of Patrick Frank’s favorite ghetto wineries are Palmina, 

Pali, Piedrasassi and Stolpman. “None of these wines are cheap, but they are good,” 

he says. “At some of those wineries you will also find syrah and Italian varieties from 

other parts of Santa Barbara County that are worth a sip.” 

HISTORY 

Lompoc has a rich history, and some of its highlights are illustrated in colorful 

murals in the old town section. The murals are part of the Lompoc Mural Project, 

founded in 1988, says artist Ann Thompson, who was giving us a tour. “Two of our 

residents, Gene and Judy Stevens, visited Chemainus in British Columbia, and they 

found out about the murals program there — it had really revitalized the town. 

So they brought the idea back here.” Today there are more than 30 murals, says 

Thompson, who created two of them: Surf Depot, depicting the coastal train station 

that existed in the early 1900s, and Tragedy at Honda Point, showing a calamity that 

resulted from a peacetime military error. (You can pick up a brochure locating the 

28 | ARROYO | 06.18

murals around town, including the Chamber of Commerce & Visitors 

Bureau, or refer to lompocmurals.com/gallery/mural-map/ for locations.) 

The first mural, commissioned in 1989, was the Flower Industry by Art 

Mortimer, showing fields of irrigated land and some of the men who ran that 

industry. Chumash Indians (1992), painted by a team under the direction of 

Robert Thomas, celebrates the Chumash people who had lived in the area for 

centuries before the arrival of Europeans. They are shown paddling canoes and 

spearfishing in a lake. 

Also completed that year is the mural Temperance (1992), a very large and 

dramatic painting by Dan Sawatsky of Chemainus, British Columbia, which can 

be found in a parking lot off South H Street, near East Cypress Avenue. Lompoc 

was founded in 1874 as a temperance colony, which meant they banned alcohol. 

In the 19th century, drinking was a serious social problem — as Prohibition, the 

excellent 2011 documentary series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, demonstrates, 

working men plowed their time and money into drink, leading to financial and 

social ruin. The mural depicts key moments from the town’s temperance history. At 

left, a woman swings a hatchet at a barrel of whiskey. The middle section depicts 

townsfolk gathered together to pull a saloon off its foundation (they succeeded and 

dragged it for about half a block). The mural shows a team of women pulling at the 

rope, although histories recount men involved in the melee as well. 

A grilled artichoke at Scratch Kitchen 

THE MISSION 

The area was, of course, once Spanish territory, and the Franciscans built a 

Spanish mission there in 1787. Mission La Purisima Concepción, or La Purisima 

Mission, is located to the east of downtown, and is well worth the short drive. Start 

at the Visitor’s Center and learn about the Chumash, their lives before and after the 

coming of the Spanish, and about the mission system. 

Then stroll down the hill to the mission itself. It is today a state park, and the 

most restored of California’s 21 missions. There are 10 adobe-brick buildings, 

including the church, living quarters for priests and soldiers, and workshops for 

making wool and weaving. In its heyday the mission would have been self-sufficient, 

a community living on its own crops and animals. The park encompasses 1,900 

acres of forests, fields, walking trails and a small working farm, so one can clearly 

visualize how a mission would have looked in the early 1800s. 

FOOD AND LODGING 

In addition to several of the typical chain hotels, a spiffy new Hilton Garden 

Inn (1201 N. H St.) opened in Lompoc earlier this year. It offers all-suite accommodations 

for reasonable rates well under $200. If you stay there, don’t miss the 

superior dining available at Valle Eatery + Bar in the lobby, meticulously supervised 

by executive chef Conrad Gonzales. 

Elsewhere in town, fine dining has arrived in places like the Scratch Kitchen 

(610 N. H St.). Chef/owner Augusto Caudillo offers an inspired menu focusing 

on the seasonal and the local. When we dined there this spring, we enjoyed a delicious 

butternut-apple soup and a delectable mushroom, gouda and onion tart large 

enough for two or three to share as an appetizer. They also put a sizzle on meats, 

such as crusted filet mignon and braised short ribs. Also worth checking out are 

the brews and pizza at the Hoptions Taproom and Eatery (234 N. H St.) — beer 

grains are used in the crust. At any given time a dozen-plus Solvang Brewery beers 

are on offer, and you can arrange to tour the brewery on the premises. 

For more information on food, lodging and even more fun things to do while 

you’re there, check out the Explore Lompoc website (explorelompoc.com). |||| 

A weaving demonstation at La Purisima Mission 

A train along the 

Lompoc coast 

06.18 | ARROYO | 29

DAVID HENRY 

HWANG 

A native son returns with a new musical. 

BY SCARLET CHENG 

David Henry Hwang’s imagination is working overtime. Famous for his landmark 

1988 play about race, racism and the epic capacity of man for self-delusion, M. 

Butterfly, Hwang has penned a new musical, Soft Power, which runs through June 10 

at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The story begins on the eve of 

the 2016 elections, just as the power balance between China and the U.S. begins to 

shift. A Chinese business executive working in America meets and falls in love with 

an American politician. That politician happens to be Hillary Clinton — a detail 

revealed just a week before previews. Again, Hwang, who wrote the book and lyrics, 

takes a theatrical form to address very real issues between East and West, and when 

the twain collide. 

Soft Power (which in international relations refers to influencing other countries 

through cultural or economic means) grew out of a commission from Michael Ritchie, 

artistic director of Center Theatre Group. “Collectively, we’re responsible for not only 

maintaining the art form,” Ritchie has said, “but pushing it forward by commissioning 

and developing new plays... without the commercialized limitations of Broadway.” 

Four years ago, he offered the playwright a commission for a new work — as well as a 

production slot. Hwang had a musical in mind and suggested award-winning Jeanine 

Tesori do the music — she’d won the 2015 Tony for best original score with Fun 

Home. 

Plot details were deliberately kept under wraps until recently. As a courtesy, the 

30 | ARROYO | 06.18

Playwright David Henry Hwang (right) with his stage alter ego, DHH, played by Francis Jue, 

backstage at the Ahmanson on opening night 

production team felt it necessary to inform Hillary Clinton of her “appearance” in 

the musical, a role played by a vivacious Alyse Alan Louis (Amélie on Broadway and 

at the Ahmanson). Hwang has also written himself into the action, as a Chinese- 

American playwright named David Henry Hwang (played by Francis Jue, who was in 

the original M. Butterfly, Yellow Face). DHH is desperately trying to write a TV show 

for Xue Xing (Conrad Ricamora, ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder), the Chinese 

businessman who’s set up a Hollywood branch of his production company. At first 

DHH argues that characters, even leading ones, can’t be completely good — that 

would be unconvincing. But Xue disagrees, arguing that characters should be role 

models. 

While walking home from the grocery one night, DHH is attacked by an anonymous 

assailant — stabbed in the neck. He manages to make his way to the closest 

emergency room, and then goes into a coma. (This happened to Hwang in real life 

two years ago; that he managed to survive is a miracle. “I’m super lucky,” the real 

Hwang says.) DHH then has a fever dream about what happens after the 2016 elections. 

“The basic idea is that it starts as a comedy, a play that takes place in 2016, and 

then jumps 100 years into the future. It’s like a reverse King and I,” says Hwang, 

referring to the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, which he has long 

loved. “The King & I is about an Englishwoman who goes to Thailand to teach the 

king of Siam how to rule his country, and they have a kind of platonic romance. This 

is about a Chinese film executive who comes to America and becomes the confidant 

of Hillary Clinton, and they have a romance in the dark days following the 2016 

election.” Various Big Topics are worked into the play and songs, including, what 

are the intrinsic differences between Chinese vs. American worldviews? Why do we 

have a convoluted voting system like the Electoral College? Does democracy even 

work? 

Though a longtime New York City resident, Hwang, 60, is a native of the San 

Gabriel Valley. Both his parents were born in China, although his piano-teacher 

mother, Dorothy Hwang, was raised in the Philippines. They met and married in the 

U.S. and had three children; David Henry, the first, was born in 1957. He grew up in 

San Gabriel, and in 1974 his father Henry Y. Hwang, who now lives in San Marino, 

founded Far East National Bank. 

His old neighborhood, says Hwang during an interview at the Ahmanson, was 

“pretty solidly middle class.” Dressed in casual chic and sporting a head of unruly 

graying hair, Hwang clearly loves to tell a good story. Of course, the neighborhood 

has changed. “When I go back, all the Mexican restaurants are now Chinese restaurants,” 

he says with a smile. “It’s very Asian.” It wasn’t that way when he was growing 

up, and the language the family spoke at home was English, since it was his parents’ 

common language (they spoke different Chinese dialects) and the kids “wanted to be 

American.” 

His parents moved to San Marino in the ’90s. “Of course, it used to be the home 

of the John Birch Society,” he says of the West Coast hub of that far-right organization, 

based in San Marino from 1964 until 1989. “So the thought was always that the 

San Gabriel Valley and San Marino were where the conservative rich people lived, 

and the liberal rich people were on the Westside.” 

After attending San Gabriel High School and the private Harvard School in 

North Hollywood, he attended Stanford University, where he started writing plays. 

His first play, FOB (“Fresh off the Boat”), was produced at college the year he graduated, 

1979. By then he had decided he wanted to be a playwright and so moved to 

New York. There FOB was restaged, winning the prestigious 1980 Obie Award for 

best new play. 

Then in 1988 came M. Butterfly, a postmodern take on the popular Puccini opera 

Hwang with Soft Power composer Jeanine Tesori and star Conrad Ricamora after the 

world premiere 


06.18 | ARROYO | 31

Conrad Ricamora and Kendyl Ito 


in which a Japanese geisha falls in love with an American naval officer, only to be 

abandoned by him. Hwang’s version was based on the true 1960s story of a French 

diplomat who fell in love with a Chinese opera singer, mistaking him for a her — or 

so he said, when later tried for passing sensitive information to his beloved. The 

production proved a major critical and popular success, winning Tony awards for 

best play, best direction and best actor (for B. D. Wong in the title role opposite John 

Lithgow, who was also nominated). 

Last fall, after a rewrite by Hwang, the show was revived on Broadway, under 

director Julie Taymor, but closed early. “Though it bent (and blew) the minds of rapt 

audiences with its elusive opalescence nearly three decades ago,“ wrote Ben Brantley 

in The New York Times review of the revival, “David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly returns 

to Broadway on heavier, drabber wings.” (South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa 

just announced it will produce the new version for the 2018–19 season.) 

In between those two productions of M. Butterfly, the playwright penned a number 

of other plays and productions, including new books for Aida (with music by Elton 

John) and the revival of Flower Drum Song, plus new plays about East-West collision 

Yellow Face and Chinglish. 

For Hwang, theater remains a powerful art form, allowing audiences to share a 

live collective experience and explore controversial ideas. “People have been saying 

that theater has been dying for at least 100 years or so,” he says. “The fact is that the 

musical right now is closer to the center of American popular culture than at any time 

since the 1950s. So musicals have, if anything, become more valuable in the digital 

age.” 

Soft Power runs through June 10 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. 

June performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, 

and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday (except for June 10, which has no evening performance). Ticket 

prices range from $30 to $130. Call (213) 972-4400 or visit centerthreatregroup.org. |||| 

32 | ARROYO | 06.18

The Curse of the 

Pharaoh 

A SWEET TO SERVE YOUR FAVORITE TUTMANIACS 

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK 

One weekend in 1979, when I was a kid growing up in the Bay Area, I got 

all dressed up with my mom and headed to the de Young Museum in San 

Francisco. There, we stood in a long line to enter the most talked-about museum 

exhibition in the history of museum exhibitions — The Treasures of Tutankhamen. 

Everyone who was anyone was seeing the golden death mask that summer. The crowds, 

the exorbitant ticket price ($2.50) and the hype was all over the news. It was the largest 

collection of Tut treasures to ever leave Cairo, and all thanks to Richard Nixon. The United 

States interceded on Egypt’s behalf during the Six-Day War against Israel, and Nixon became 

the first American president to visit Egypt since World War II. That visit, with newly minted 

President Anwar Sadat, ended in the goodwill gesture of a loan from the Cairo’s Egyptian 

Museum (which was in desperate need of renovation). The Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act 

helped defray insurance on the priceless objects, and the Navy’s 6th Fleet transported the 

collection free of charge. 

The tour, organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was originally scheduled to 

hit six cities — Washington, D.C., Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle and its 

hometown of New York. San Francisco was a last-minute addition, thanks to the vocal art 

community and ballsy museum trustees who flew 

to Cairo to negotiate a seventh stop. 

The show attracted more than 8 million visitors and raised over $10 million for the Cairo 

museum. It was the first time museums presold tickets, the first time a museum exhibit sold 

out and the first time museum tickets were scalped. The tour completely changed the way 

Americans viewed art, enhanced America’s perception of Egypt and certainly didn’t hurt 

Jimmy Carter’s Camp David Accords. 

The exhibit was designed to replicate the layout of the tomb as archaeologist Howard 

Carter discovered it in 1922. Having dug unsuccessfully in the Valley of the Kings for 

several seasons, Carter was sure there was still a tomb to be found. As the excavation season 

came to an end, a last-minute discovery of flint chips prompted his team to uncover stairs 

that led to a sealed doorway. They quickly covered it back up and waited for the arrival of 

the sponsor, amateur Egyptologist Lord Carnarvon (whose English estate was the setting 

for TV’s Downton Abbey decades later). Together, they were the first people — along with 

Met photographer Harry Burton — to lay eyes on the tomb since ancient times. Burton’s 

photographs were used in the traveling exhibit to help the public better put these items into 

context. 

I knew none of this prior to my visit to the de Young in 1979. But it put me in a place and 

time that sparked my imagination, and an eventual course of study. I used the exhibition 

catalog in countless research papers. The iconic poster hung in my bedroom, then dorm room, 

then first apartment, until it eventually had no corners. I became a huge fan of Steve Martin. 

I loved King Tut. 

So, you can imagine my excitement in getting the chance to see these objects once again, 

this time during my stint as an art history teacher. Of course I encouraged my students to 

attend (for extra credit points) and, of course, I immediately got tickets. The price 

was considerably higher than $2.50, I did not get all dressed up and it was not at 

an art museum. Still, it was a chance to see that mask again! What a treat! 

The exhibit is at the Science Center — Field Trip Central of the Southland. 

In hindsight, this was a clear red flag that my nostalgic eyes were blind to. One 

of the most unfortunate signs of my old age is the repeated realization that 

there are simply more people than there used to be, and that things will never 

be like they were in the old days. It’s sad because each time I somehow can’t 

believe I just figured that out. 

My day of Tutmania was truly maniacal. Crowds were ushered into 

dimly lit, haphazardly organized galleries in groups of 50 to 60 at a time. 

Cases of objects were scattered randomly around the room, each surrounded 

by such crowds that placards, placed low on the displays, were impossible to 

read. There was no obvious order in which items should be viewed, which isn’t 

a problem unless the crowds take on a life of their own and determine your 

path. To view anything at close range meant waiting your turn while the 12 

ahead of you appreciate each item, take a picture of it, then take a selfie with it, 

then scroll through their camera admiring their photographic genius. 

Never have I been so repeatedly shoved in a museum. Never have my 

heels been clipped by so many strollers at a museum. Never have I been to a 

museum with such a lack of security personnel. Despite clear rules against flash 


06.18 06.18 

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33

ARROYO COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH 


photography, flashes were a-poppin’ sans consequences. I guess I am the only one who knows 

this damages the artifacts. I took it upon myself to inform my fellow museumgoers of the 

damage flashes can do, until I realized that scolding increases the shoving. 

At the end of the exhibit we saw light beaming from around a corner. “This must be the 

mask!” But no. It was a monumental sculpture of the pharaoh and, while impressive, I felt 

somehow robbed. If I had gone to the website and read the FAQs, I would have realized 

that the death mask can no longer leave Cairo, as it is too fragile to travel. And I would have 

realized that the banners all over town depict not the mask, but a miniature sarcophagus, 

which was on view. It was not a secret, but I still felt baited and switched. 

The obligatory exit through the gift shop held the most oppressive crowds of all, and my 

dream of a replacement poster was quickly dashed. The new poster wasn’t nearly as cool, 

anyway. 

As an art historian I have become as persnickety about museums as I was about 

restaurants as a chef. Knowing how a thing should be best presented makes it all that much 

worse when it isn’t. And yes, I realize that seeing these artifacts was certainly a privilege. 

But the melee that formed around each fascinating 3,000-year-old object made the whole 

experience more mosh pit than museum. I am not suggesting that you don’t go see these 

objects, because they are, indeed, amazing. But be prepared. Don’t think, as I did, that it will 

be a hassle-free experience. It is, in fact, hassle-rich. I’ve come to the realization that hassle is 

the name of the game these days. I think the only way I can be satisfied at my age is to start 

saving for a ticket to Cairo. |||| 

This recipe is based on a Middle Eastern cross-cultural cake, known in Egypt as basbousa 

(baz-boo-sa). Made with semolina and soaked in a fragrant syrup, it is a simple but 

decadent staple of the month of Ramadan, which runs through June 15. I’ve made some 

additions to the traditional recipe to celebrate the treasures of Tut. 

SYRUP 

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup honey 

1 cup brown sugar 

2 cups water 

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange 

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup golden raisins 

1 cup chopped dates 

1 teaspoon orange fl ower water 

2 cups water 

10 ounces unsalted butter 

3 cups coarse semolina 

Tutankcaken 

1 cinnamon stick 

4 crushed pods of cardamom 

2 whole cloves 

1 tablespoon orange fl ower water 

METHOD 

Combine all ingredients but the orange flower water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove 

from heat and set aside to cool. When cool, strain, then add the orange flower water. Set aside. 

CAKE 

1½ cups brown sugar 

2¼ cups buttermilk 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt 

1 cup chopped pistachios 

METHOD 

1. Coat a baking sheet with pan spray. Combine raisins, dates, orange flower water and water. Microwave 

for 2 minutes, then set aside. (Alternatively, you can soak these overnight, or heat on the stovetop.) 

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the semolina and cook, stirring, for 10 to 

15 minutes, until the semolina begins to brown. 

3. Turn down the heat to low and stir in the sugar. Add the buttermilk and vanilla, and continue to cook 

until the mixture thickens. Stir in the baking soda, salt, raisin mixture and pistachios. 

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spread evenly, then set aside for 1 hour. This gives the batter a 

chance to thicken and absorb all the flavors. Preheat oven to 350°. 

5. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. 

6. Remove from the oven and score the pan into 2-inch squares or diamonds. Pour half the prepared 

syrup evenly over the cake, and let it soak in. Wait 10 minutes, add remaining syrup, then let the cake cool 

completely. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and an additional dust of ground pistachios. Or gold 

leaf. Or lapis lazuli. It’s all about the Tut. 

Leslie Bilderback is a chef and cookbook author, a certified master baker and 

an art history instructor. She lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques 

online at culinarymasterclass.com. 

If one were to update a Prohibition speakeasy for 21st-century customers, it 

would look a lot like Room 31 — an intimate space with limited seating, 

tucked away virtually unseen in the back of another business. Located inside 5 

Line Tavern in Eagle Rock, Room 31 was opened two years ago by owner Marcos 

Menendez, who creates a variety of mixed drinks. “People love a cozy speakeasy, 

and we wanted to create an elevated experience, a love letter to Eagle Rock,” he 

says. 

There are just seven vintage-style stools at the bar and additional seating at 

five white marble two-top tables. The ambient music is vintage too — soul, R&B 

and jazz. The Pig in a Barrel cocktail boasts not only visual interest, with smoke 

wafting around it like a ghost, but a multilayered and complex taste. It offers 

a combination of woody and spicy notes, a potent bourbon kick with a hint of 

sweetness and herbs as well as subtle notes of smoke, mandarin, honeysuckle and 

vanilla. |||| 

INGREDIENTS 

PIG IN 

A BARREL 

STORY AND PHOTO 

BY MICHAEL CERVIN 

Two dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-aged 

bitters 

1½ ounces James E. Pepper 1776 Bourbon 

½ ounce Amaro Nonino Quintessentia 

½ ounce Zaya Gran Reserva 12-year-old Rum 

PIG IN A BARREL 

Small bar spoon (2½ ml) Blank Slate Vanilla 

Syrup 

Smoke infuser 

4 slices smoked bacon 

METHOD 

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet, and pour off fat (about 1 ounce) into a small bowl. In a large glass 

bowl, combine bourbon, bacon fat and 1 bacon slice. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 

for 5 hours, then freeze for 8 hours. Remove solidified fat and bacon slice and discard. Pour 

bourbon through fine-mesh strainer, coffee filter or cheesecloth. 

2. Combine bacon bourbon with the other ingredients in shaker and shake vigorously. Place large ice 

cube in tumbler, pour in liquid. Place covering over tumbler (preferably clear glass), use smoke infuser 

to blow in smoke. Let sit covered for a few minutes. Serve. (Note: Pipe smoke can be used in place of 

smoke infuser.) 

34 | ARROYO | 06.18

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS 

COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER 

THE LIST 

Native Themes Meet Modernism 

in Autry Show 

Ongoing through Jan. 6 

The Autry Museum of the American West 

presents Rick Bartow: Things You Know 

but Cannot Explain, the fi rst major retrospective 

of the contemporary artist and 

member of the Mad River Band Wiyot 

tribe. It features 40 years of his deeply 

personal work across a variety of media, 

referencing and responding to the 

impact of colonization while emphasizing 

Bartow’s contributions to art history 

and his role in pushing contemporary art 

in directions both cultural and inclusive. 

The exhibition is on view during regular 

Autry hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays 

through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Saturdays and Sundays. Included in 

regular Autry admission of $14, $10 for 

students and seniors and $6 for children 

ages 3 to 12; free for children 2 and 

younger, members and veterans. 

The Autry Museum of the American West 

is located at 4700 Western Heritage Way, 

Griffi th Park. Call (323) 667-2000 or visit 

theautry.org. 

Musicians 

Emerging at 

Boston Court 

Boston Court’s 

Emerging Artists Series 

spotlighting local up-and-coming musicians 

runs from June 1 to 18. Vocalists are accompanied 

by their mentors. Tickets cost $10 for 

each performance, free for students. 

June 1 — David Rodgers, piano, mentored 

by Susan Svrcek, 8 p.m. 

June 2 — Liv Redpath, soprano, mentored 

by Lisa Sylvester, 8 p.m. 

June 8 — Brendan White, piano, mentored 

by Mark Robson, 8 p.m. 

June 9 — Ian Walker, baritone, mentored 

by Brent McMunn, 8 p.m. 

June 17 — Alyssa Willis, soprano, mentored 

by Mark Robson, 8 p.m. 

June 18 — Jack Dettling, piano, mentored 

by Vicki Ray, 2 p.m. 

Boston Court Performing Arts Center is located 

at 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. Call 

(626) 683-6801 or visit bostoncourt.com. 

Tommy Boy 

Launches EatSee- 

Hear Season 

June 2 — The traveling 

outdoor movie 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 

CASTLE GREEN 

June 3 — Pasadena’s Castle Green celebrates its 120th birthday with a spring tour 

from 1 to 5 p.m. The Victorian building with Moorish and Mediterranean architecture 

is a city icon. Many of the former grand hotel’s private apartments will be open to the 

public. Guests can view the finished restoration of the bridge’s interior and enjoy the 

Grand Salon, lush front grounds and lemonade on the veranda. Hidden treasures 

from the Castle’s archives will be on display for the first time. Jack’s Fat Cats provides 

live music. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $35 at the gate on tour day. 

The Castle Green is located at 99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 824-8482 or 

visit friendsofcastlegreen.org. 

and music series comes to Pasadena’s 

Centennial Square next to City Hall for 

an 8:30 p.m. screening of Tommy Boy 

(1995), starring Chris Farley and Brian 

Dennehy. It’s the story of Tommy Callahan, 

who inherits his father’s nearly 

bankrupt auto parts factory and, against 

the wishes of his stepmother, tries to 

resurrect it. The “Eat” part of the event 

is provided by onsite food trucks. Gates 

open at 5:30 p.m., followed by live music 

at 7 p.m. and the fi lm. Tickets are $8 to 

$21. 

Centennial Square is located at 100 N. 

Garfi eld Ave., Pasadena. Visit eatseehear.com. 

Diamonds and Roses Bash for 

Five Acres Birthday 

June 2 — Five Acres child and family service 

agency hosts its annual Diamonds 

and Roses birthday bash, celebrating 

the organization’s 130th anniversary, 

starting at 6 p.m. at the La Cañada Flintridge 

home of Mariann and Tom Nolan. 

The evening includes a reception, silent 

auction, wine, dining, a video premiere, 

a live auction and an afterparty with 

1980s rock cover band Past Action Heroes, 

birthday cake and libations. Tickets 

cost $300. 

Call (626) 773-3776 or visit 5acres.org/ 

gala. 

Biking for MS from Bowl 

June 3 — Bike MS, Los Angeles and the 

National Multiple Sclerosis Society invite 

cyclists to ride a course through the San 

Gabriel Mountains and other locales, 

starting and ending at the Rose Bowl. 

The fundraising event to fi ght multiple 

sclerosis offers 30-, 60- and 100-mile 

routes, starting with registration at 7 a.m. 

and continuing through noon. Registration 

cost is $75 (minimum age is 12). 

The Rose Bowl is located at 1001 Rose 

Bowl Dr., Pasadena. Call (855) 372-1331 

or email fundraisingsupport@nmss.org for 

information. Visit bikecal.nationalmssociety.org 

for information and registration. 

Tea and 

Imagination 

June 3 — The Langham 

Huntington, Pasadena 

hosts Imagine 

Tea, a children’s tea 

event, where junior magicians from the 

Magic Castle perform and guests dine 

on a specialty tea menu of sandwiches, 

dessert, pink lemonade, milk and a 

selection of fruit-infused, caffeine-free 

teas. Seatings are from 10 to 11:30 a.m. 

and 1:30 to 3 p.m. Cost is $48 for adults, 

$36 for children ages 4 to 11. 

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena 

is located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., 

Pasadena. Call (626) 585-6218 or visit 

langhamhotels.com/en/the-langhampasadena. 

Music, Wildlife Woes at Descanso 

The Descanso Gardens summer music 

season starts this month, with the annual 

Music on the Main jazz series from 6 to 

7:30 p.m. Thursdays (June 7 through July 

26) and the World Rhythms world music 

series from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays (June 

19 through July 24). Both are included in 

regular Descanso admission of $9, $6 for 

seniors and students and $4 for children 

5 to 12; free for members and children 4 

and younger. 

Music on the Main: 

June 7 — Carol Welsman 

June 14 — Louie Cruz Beltran 

June 21— Carey Frank 

June 28 — Kevin Kanner, featuring 

Danny Janklow 

World Rhythms: 

June 19 — Kátia Morales & Brazilian Hearts 

June 26 — Las Colibri Mariachi Ensemble 

June 9 — Descanso explores the issues 

surrounding habitat and biodiversity 

at 10 a.m. today in “Mountain Lions 

and More,” with wildlife photographer 

Johanna Tuner (cougarmagic.com) and 


06.18 | ARROYO | 35

THE LIST 

MAGIC AND JAPANESE 

DRUMS IN ARCADIA 

June 2 — The Japanese drumming ensemble Makoto Taiko (makototaiko.org) 

presents Gathering Currents, a 7 p.m. concert at Arcadia Performing Arts Center. 

The concert features Grammy-winners Koji Nakamura and Daniel Ho. Tickets cost 

$15 to $40. 

June 17 — Arcadia Performing Arts Center presents grand illusionist Gary 

Peterson in a Father’s Day magic show with Las Vegas--style illusions, a Broadwaystyle 

dance troupe and storytelling. Tickets are $15 to $45. 

Arcadia Performing Arts Center is located at 188 Campus Dr., Arcadia. Call (626) 

821-1781 or visit arcadiapaf.org. 


Tim Martinez from the Arroyos and Foothills 

Conservancy (arroyofoothills.org) 

discussing their work in understanding, 

documenting and protecting wildlife. 

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 

Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Call 

(818) 949-4200 or visit 

descansogardens.org. 

All the Arts at 

Playhouse 

Block Party 

June 9 — The Pasadena 

Playhouse hosts 

a block party celebrating its centennial 

in partnership with the Playhouse District 

Association, from noon to 10 p.m. Two 

stages offer live entertainment, including 

the band Culture Clash, the Bob Baker 

Marionettes, the Nine O’Clock Players, 

Pasadena Civic Ballet, Ballet Folklorico, 

Japanese drumming by Makoto Taiko, the 

Professional Child Development Associates 

Youth Choir, School of Rock Pasadena 

and acts from the Ice House Comedy 

Club. The free family-friendly event includes 

food and drink vendors, interactive 

exhibits, a kids’ zone and guided tours. 

The party is located on El Molino Avenue 

at Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. Call 

(626) 356-7529 or visit 

playhouseblockparty.org. 

Salastina Season Closes 

June 9 — The Salastina Music Society’s 

season closes with a concert titled 

Composers of Los Angeles at 8 p.m. in the 

Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s Barrett 

Hall. Works include Julia Adolphe’s “Veil of 

Leaves,” Thomas Kotcheff’s “Scratch Cradle,” 

Philip White’s “I Am a Little Church,” 


36 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 37

THE LIST 


JAC Redford’s “Alphabet of Revelation-IV 

Dance,” Stephen Cohn’s “Sea Change” 

and Reena Esmail’s “Nadiya.” Artists are 

Maia Jasper White and Kevin Kumar, violin; 

Meredith Crawford, viola; Ross Gasworth, 

cello; Ben Smolen, flute and Hye Jin Kim, 

piano. Tickets cost $32. 

The Pasadena Conservatory of Music is 

located at 100 N. Hill Ave., Pasadena. Visit 

salastina.org. 

Chalk One Up for 

Dad’s Day 

June 16 and 17 — 

The annual Pasadena 

Chalk Festival, hosted 

by Paseo Colorado 

and the Light Bringer Project arts organization, 

returns to the Paseo for Father’s Day 

weekend. The free festival features the 

work of some 600 chalk artists, using the 

sidewalks of the Paseo as their canvas, 

from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Also 

included are live music and a children’s 

area where kids can create their own Father’s 

Day cards while being entertained 

by a balloon artist and a face painter. 

In addition, Animation Alley showcases 

chalk artists’ work, and the Chalk of Fame 

features movie-themed chalk art. The Artist 

Gallery offers small affordable painted 

canvasses and other merchandise for 

sale; a silent auction is also included. A 

classic car show hosted by the Pasadena 

Police Department runs from 10 a.m. to 

3 p.m. Sunday on the Green Street side of 

the facility. 

The Paseo Colorado is located at 300 E. 

Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 795- 

9100 or visit pasadenachalkfestival.com. 

Symphony and 

Pops at 

Arboretum 

The Pasadena Symphony 

and Pops host 

a variety of events this 

summer at the Arboretum. 

June 16 — The Pasadena Symphony’s annual 

Live at the Arboretum show presents 

Grammy-nominated country star and 

veterans’ advocate Trace Adkins at 7 p.m. 

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 

to $55. 

June 23 — The Pasadena Pops summer 

series begins with That’s Entertainment: 

Gershwin to Sondheim, featuring Gershwin 

classics from the jazz age and modern 

Sondheim hits, including “I Got Rhythm,” 

“Broadway Baby,” “Send in the Clowns” 

and others. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for 

picnicking; the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. 

Tickets cost $25 to $92. 

The L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic 

Garden is located at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., 

Arcadia. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit 

pasadenasymphony-pops.org. 

Add Your Art to 

Norton Simon's 

at Garden Party 

June 30 — The 

Norton Simon Museum 

hosts its annual "A Night in Focus: 

Garden Party" from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Guests 

can explore the Sculpture Garden, 

inspired by Manet’s garden at Giverny, 

pick up drawing supplies and sketch 

en plein air or collaborate on creative 

projects with fellow art enthusiasts. Live 

jazz in the Garden Café accompanies 

the event. Included in regular museum 

admission of $15, $12 for seniors; free for 

members, students and visitors 18 and 

younger. 

Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 

W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 

449-6840 or visit nortonsimon.org. 

Listening to the Muse/Ique 

June 30 — The Muse/ique orchestra 

presents its summer music series in its 

new venue, the Huntington Library, Art 

Collections and Botanical Gardens. 

The “States/United: Mapping Musical 

America” series of outdoor concerts led 

by Artistic Director Rachael Worby opens 

today with Limitless/Lenny. The program 

embraces the streetwise sound of Harlem 

jazz, Leonard Bernstein, coast-to-coast 

rock and soul and songs inspired by the 

Midwest, Las Vegas, Route 66 and L.A. 

Joining the orchestra are the L.A. Choral 

Lab, violinist Charles Yang and choreographer 

Kitty McNamee. All concerts start 

at 8 p.m., with mingling and dining from 

6 p.m. on meals brought or bought there. 

Tickets cost from $30 to $130. 

The Huntington Library, Art Collections 

and Botanical Gardens is located at 

1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 

539-7085 or visit muse-ique.com. |||| 

38 | ARROYO | 06.18

06.18 | ARROYO | 39

Arroyo June 2018

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