Bella Loves Roses

Journey End,

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 22:30:00 -0800

San Jose, United States

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 21:30:00 -0800

The Rose Bowl Parade, United States

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0800

The Big Day... (really, I'm thinking this whole trip is pretty epic, and I haven't even left yet). Our Airstream group is scheduled to be in the grandstands across from the Target on Colorado Avenue... seeing the whole thing unfold.
I remember being a little kid watching this in front of a TV the size of a piece of furniture. My SJ bestie Debbie remembers camping out wrapped in quilts to get a decent view. Seeing these big epic parades was something we looked forward to... I'm so grateful to have spent a few days being part of the creation of this.

On the grandstand with Susie and James

Our section of Airstream peeps

Flyover by the B-1

San Diego Zoo float celebrating 50 years of conservation

This band swapped out the majorettes for lasso twirlers

Trader Joe’s float

Goodyear blimp overhead

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

Budweiser Clydesdales

Beautiful drum majors in Monarch attire

SnapChat

Every float is required to contract a tow truck. At the end, all the tow trucks file through and blare their sirens. The crowd cheers almost as heartily for those proud tow vehicles as their pretty customers. It's Pasadena’s “after-party”!

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

Pasadena, United States

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 17:30:00 -0800

After last night’s washout, today - New Year’s Day - was absolutely beautiful. We all lingered over breakfast at the community tent, aired out our trailers from all the condensation, and began making preparations for our next stop on the journey. I went to the famous Vroman’s Bookstore and dawdled more than an hour. It was an exceptional day.

Pasadena City Hall... just beautiful

See Bella tucked in back there? Right in the heart of everything, exactly how she likes it.

Pasadena, United States

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 21:10:00 -0800

Pasadena - Rosemont Pavilion, United States

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0800

Float Day was a game-changer. I volunteered for a 7-hour shift with the Artistic Entertainment Services team at Rosemont Pavilion (aka “The Barn”). It was: bring your own scissors, bring your own chair, bring your own water… day. 😁 I met a new friend first thing when a fellow Airstream owner spotted my pink ball cap and we were new best friends. She had flown here from North Carolina (left her hubby and boys at home) just to work on the floats because she thought it would be cool. As it turns out, Katie was a very smart woman. We worked on the Blue Diamond (almonds) float and started out gluing cranberry colored seeds to a log. From there, I glued yellow daisies, then pinned greenery, and then layered hundreds of pink and orange roses (in water-filled vials) around the float. It was an amazing experience. Over 9,000 roses were budgeted for this single float. Being in “The Barn”, you really started to feel a sense of ownership in the process of being part of the parade. I'd totally do it again...

Cal Poly University’s float. I tried to volunteer for this one, but all those alumni had already beat me to it.

Cal Poly float

Huge cranberries on the back of this 3’ ladybug for the Cal Poly float

Cal Poly float

SnapChat float

NASCAR float

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one. That’s Gwen, she lives in The Valley (no, not Silicon).

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

Selfie. Sitting on the cold concrete floor, poking rose-filled vials into dense extruded foam on a Rose Parade float. Very happy moment.

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

New friend, Katie from NC with a vintage Airstream... We’re everywhere!

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

The Bees from the Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

Blue Diamond (almonds) float; I worked on this one

San Diego Zoo float was exquisite

San Diego Zoo float

NASCAR

SnapChat

Decorating cars for dignitaries - Grand Marshal Gabby Giffords, the Pasadena Mayor, etc.

The Hat (???), United States

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 20:30:00 -0800

Oh my godddd… it was literally an eight-pound plate of pastrami over chili cheese fries. Holy smokes. Speaking of smokes… returned to a few “urban campfires” around an aluminum jungle.

Fire, must make fire.

In “age reversal” mode…

Can’t stop man’s obsession with fire… or expensive whiskey.

Los Angeles Equestrian Center, United States

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 11:00:00 -0800

EquestFest. And, I get to meet (in real life!) my Chief buddy and Core Team guide, Heather Backstrom (Dr. Heather Backstrom, soon to be published author Heather Backstrom). It's another Chief #BellaMeeting! She's on the committee for EquestFest and I told her I wanted to bring home a cowboy for a souvenir -- she's working on it.

Coach, Author, Guide, Chief, Friend… so happy to have had a chance to meet Heather Backstrom.

Three Southerners… southern California, Tennessee, and Lebanon (not Tennessee)… very different “southerns”, not very different any other way.

Pasadena, United States

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 11:00:00 -0800

Little Old Lady From...
Admit… you said it! Today was a long day, and a good day. I drove The Grapevine for the first time. Albuquerque Airstream-accomplice Mike joined me for a portion of the ride via phone. It didn’t rain, so it didn’t snow… now I know why everyone frets about that. Yet still, more evidence of California’s diverse landscape. Absolutely beautiful. Speaking of beautiful - I love Airstream people… they are a consistently smart, diverse, and inclusive group. This group is great. I need to be here 35 days so I can do dinner separately with each couple. People drove from as far as Pennsylvania and Georgia to be at this rally. And they’re all fascinating. I went to Rosemont Pavilion to check out the float building and it was quite the production. This year’s parade theme is “Turning the Corner”… it’s all about surviving and thriving after Covid. Gabby Giffords is the Grand Marshal and the parade Queen’s name is Bella (omg!). I can’t wait to work on these floats on Saturday.

Bella and I are reppin’ NorCal 🦩

These floats… all made of florals, grasses, and seeds. Crazy elaborate. And enormous.

So cute, so colorful.

Bakersfield - The Links at Riverlakes Ranch

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:00:00 -0800

They may be excited that Buck Owens grew up there (and apparently Merle Haggard) but I'm from NASHVILLE -- Buck Owens was my breakfast snack every morning. I'm only here for one thing -- a safe place for Bella and me to sleep. And thank you Harvest Host, this lovely golf course will do just the trick. If I'm lucky, I'd love to see someone dressed like Payne Stewart. They don't make them like that anymore... Trip update: what an ordeal of a drive! Always is; that’s the fun. 1. If Apple Maps offers “Exit Utica and save 15 minutes? SAY NO.” 2. The 4hr drive took 6hrs. I will never reveal who… but I spent 4hrs of that time on the phone with a Chief colleague. Omg how productive (and a big atta-guy to her hubby for being such a sport about dinner 🫶🏻). I think we built-out two solid business ideas and cured world hunger. You wanted to know about the golf course? See pix below…

This California Pizza Kitchen pizza will not be my lunch/dinner en route tonight… kinda funny, so I had to post. This is why I’m so addicted to Alexa. It’s what happens if I don’t set a timer here at home (for evvvverything).

I DON’T know what’s out there. For thousands and thousands of miles, this was all I saw. It was the Twilight Zone. Not a single gas station. No homes to be found. Not even road kill. I couldn’t tell what was on the vast swaths of land on either side of the highway, other than a sparse/occasional stand of almond trees. Don’t take the bait… no exit to Utica… stay on I5.

This is a sweet deal. If you’re a Harvest Hosts member, this stop alone pays for your annual membership. I arrived just before the driving range shut down (the range is behind Bella). There’s a huge (level) empty paved parking lot, a restaurant, a driving range, a pro shop. I’ll grab a breakfast burrito on my way out in the morning. The driving range guys waved to me as they were getting in their cars to leave for the night (super chill - no check in… just get here before the gates close). So now Bella and I are locked in safe and sound for the night… at a golf course… surrounded by golf courses. Those of you with kids - imagine the value of turning your kids loose with a bucket of balls - they’ll sleep like babies. 😁. This place is gold.