The doors to the former Pasadena Manor Retirement Hotel on Colorado Boulevard, just east of Lake.

We saw a group of people standing on a 210 freeway overpass looking down at the freeway at 9:30 this morning, so we pulled over and got out, too. When we couldn’t see anything unusual happening on the freeway, we asked one of them what was going on. We learned that a bunch of motorcyclists were on their way from Glendale to Pomona as part of California Bike Week, and that Jay Leno was going to be among them. We didn’t stay long enough to see the big mass of motorcyclists that were on their way, but we did see a few groups of bikers who were ahead of the pack.

We also saw one Santa biker.

Here’s the meme: If you could go back to any time in history (for a visit, or you can stay if you really want to), what time would you go back to?

Make a list of four. Name the place, year(s), and event and/or person you’d like to see first hand. In the fifth item (optional) you can put your four honorable mentions. Then tag four people, and send them an e-mail to let them know you’ve tagged them. That’s it!

1. 1760-1790: I’d like to have seen the founding fathers in action deciding to declare independence and drafting the constitution.
2. 1850-1865: I’d like to have known Abraham Lincoln.
3. 1590-1616: I’d like to have seen Shakespeare’s plays performed while he was alive.
4. 5000 B.C.?: I’d like to have seen beer invented or discovered.

I absolutely would not like to stay at any of these times in history — I much prefer living right now, although I might be tempted to stay in the future if I could visit there.

I’m tagging Miss Havisham.

* We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.

* Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

* People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

* Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I’ve been above the arctic circle in winter.

2. Once, in a small town in the middle of the Mexican rain forest, I got so sick with Montezuma’s revenge that I had trouble standing up long enough to take shower for three days.

(That’s not me)

3. I used to have a window office on the 33rd floor of a skyscraper in downtown.

I was a paralegal during and after the tech boom. I formed corporations and issued stock. (My sister Sarah took this picture.)

4. I love the desert.

5. I can be pretty messy.

6. I made this teddy bear when I was about twelve:

7. I have a big rubber duck.

8. Stepfamilies rock. There are a lot of good things about them. I like being in one. Not a lot of people will tell you that. It’s like it’s a secret. Even the hardest parts are good in the long run. My life is so much bigger and richer than it ever was before.

I’m tagging Hollywood Flakes, Publius and Centinel at Foothill Cities, 2020 Hindsight, erin’s kitchen, Superspark, Movingarden, Captain Crochet and Under the Dome. If anybody else wants to be tagged, leave a note with a link to your blog in the comments.

Check out Aaron’s and West Coast Grrly Blather’s and adopted virtual neighbor Bill Howdle’s (Dying Man’s Daily Journal) eight random things, too.

Pasadena – Mahalo

The city of Pasadena had to give its fleet of electric cars back to Nissan to be turned into scrap metal. From what I understand the city wanted to buy them, but Nissan wanted to destroy them after the lease ended.

Hypermini rear

I loved these cars.

Hypermini on the street

I hope we get another fleet of electric cars soon.