January 26, 2011

A Picture Perfect Day



I walked out of the station just as she was walking into the station.


Some friendships are special. Some are worth going that extra mile to keep. I confess that I need to make more of an effort rather than fading into maintenance. I have excuses, but instead I need to fly in the face of them.

G and I got up well before dawn to drive to the Santa Fe depot downtown. It was easy to get tickets, easy to board, and the coffee and paper were free. I noted that I was the only morning passenger without a laptop.



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The train flowed us all through the pink of sunrise into the amusements of the big city. There, just as I exited these wonderful marble and cork walls, was my friend Bee.





We journeyed over familiar freeways to Sierra Madre high in the hills over Pasadena. The air was gloriously clear in this small town of mixed Craftsman, Victorian, and Mid-Century modern buildings. The small town feel that I so like and Bee doesn’t was a comforting envelope.



We walked, we shopped, we lunched and coffeed as we talked under a beautiful blue sky and warm air….and I didn’t buy any fabric.



She bought a little of this and a little of that plus a couple of skirts that look just like her. I bought a felt pin….and a little silk rope….silly me, from a wonderful shop called "Belles Nest. We stopped a moment to watch the shop owner make tiny little collage pins. Delightful.





We stopped downtown to go to MOCA, but MOCA was closed. After we wandered in the Japan Town noting the great effort of the community to preserve their heritage, we wandered through the exhibits at The Japanese American National Museum. I was greatly moved to see an actual cabin from the Heart Mountain Camp. The shock value was tremendous.





The flag was woven by an artist who lived on 30th street. In the blue are listed the names of the camps, and in the red are the names of the families who were moved away from their homes, jobs, educations, and lives to the cold and shock of Montana.









Emerging from the museum into the heat of the day, we drove the few short blocks to the LA Union Station. Tired, wanting the day to last longer, we sat in the big leather lobby chairs and talked for a short while before she went home to watch the State of the Union Address and I boarded my southbound train.

13 comments:

  1. What a glorious and wonderful day! I am so happy for you!

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  2. Those train stations are magnificent, what a great day. Thank you so much for sharing your friend and your pictures.

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  3. A day well spent. Congrats!

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  4. It does sound perfect. Any day that begins with a train ride to visit a dear friend is bound to be wonderful.

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  5. It's my kind of day; you know I love trains. Nice train, nice stations, and a wonderful sightseeing kind of day. Thank you for sharing it.

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  6. What fabulous day!!! And thank for the wonderful photos -- especially the ones on the internment which I consider one of our country's greatest travesties. I love old train stations -- they have so much character. Today's buildings seem so sterile and dull.

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  7. Sounds like an interesting and emotional day. A good one for photos.

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  8. Looks like you had a wonderful day. And great photos to prove it.

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  9. How fortunate that your friend is a short train ride away, and it seems you had a wonderful Visit!!

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  10. OMG! You were in my town. Sierra Madre!

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  11. Your thoughts about friendship resonate. It took me a long time to realize that being a friend is different from having a friend. I am glad this eventually kicked in for me, as I have found that I really enjoy making the small and regular efforts it takes to keep a friendship easy and rich. It is my pleasure.

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  12. How moving (the quote from the camp)!

    What a marvelous day you had.

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  13. wow! it looks beautiful there! sigh. been so long since i've been out West... kiss hello from the east!! xoxo c!

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