Olvera Street

Saturday afternoon we began our journey to Olvera Street from Santa Ana Station to Los Angeles' Union Station via Metrolink. This was the first time we decided to use public transport to venture into LA. The ride was relaxing, much more enjoyable than driving (although we were delayed 30 minutes because of another train). The biggest problem is the lack of service, there are only four trains going to Union Station from Orange County, every four hours. How I wish our transportation system was much more convenient.
Union Station is a beautiful example of 1930s Los Angeles. It was one of the last great train stations built before cars and planes ended a long lasting era that brought millions of people to settle California. The interior is beautiful; it transports you to another time. I'm sure many people arrive and depart at the station without taking a second look at the history and architecture that are around every corner. Both Jamie and Dave were pretty impressed with it.
Olvera Street is right across the street from the Station and is one of the oldest streets in LA. It includes the oldest adobe house in the city, built in 1818. It's a small street filled with Mexican merchants and restaurants. Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of Mexico's traditional holidays reuniting and honoring beloved ancestors, family and friends. This celebration dates back more than 3,000 years. Life was seen as a dream and it was believed that only in dying could a human being truly awake. It's an important time to keep good relations with the dead, to come to terms with mortality, and to honor beloved ones which have gone before us. The tradition is filled with the skeleton motif, mainly to remind and emphasize that both rich and poor, king and peasant, will all end up the same way in the end, just bones. The procession was the best part of the evening...

I've enjoyed learning about Aztec culture and tradition. Luckily, through school we read some of the works from classic Aztec poets translated from their language, Nahuatl:

I comprehend the secret, the hidden:

O my lords!

Thus we are,

We are mortal,

humans through and through,

we all will have to go away,

we all will have to die on earth...

Like a painting

we will be erased.

Like a flower,

we will dry up

here on earth.

Like plumed vestments of the precious bird,

that precious bird with the agile neck,

we will come to an end...

Think on this, o lords,

eagles and tigers,

though you be of jade,

though you be of gold,

You also will go there,

to the place of the fleshless.

We will have to disappear,

no one can remain.

Poet: Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco; Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World by Miguel Leon-Portilla.

The drums and dancing were amazing, so much energy and passion. We made it back to the train station on time for the last train. We'd definitely take the train again and will be returning next year.

Lastly, Halloween was a lot of fun. We started off the evening carving pumpkins. The kids began coming around 6 pm and we were out of candy by 8:15 pm. We then turned out all the lights and quietly watched TV in the dark, hoping no tricks would be played on us.

Halloween

Happy Halloween

We've finally made it to the 31st! Tonight we've been told to expect around 200+ kids trick or treating in our neighborhood! We've been buying candy every week for the last few weeks so that we have enough to last the evening.

David, Jamie's younger brother is here visiting and experiencing his first American Halloween. We do things a bit differently over here. He will probably be surprised at some of the costumes and ages of trick or treaters. I'm sure I will have plenty of fun pictures to post come Sunday. Tonight it's pumpkin carving and Spooky Movies (Ok, probably It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but its just not Halloween without it) and tomorrow it's down to Olvera Street for Día de los Muertos. More on that to come later...

Some interesting facts about Halloween:

• 93% of American children will go trick or treating
• The pumpkin originated in Mexico about 9,000 years ago and is one of America’s oldest known vegetables
• Americans spend $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, which makes it the 2nd largest commercial holiday
• In England, it is associated more with begging because poor citizens would beg for food, so families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for their dead relatives on all souls day

We will see what tonight brings; princesses, witches, pirates, ghosts...

Calico

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Calico Ghost Town. It's about a two hour drive into the desert. Calico was established in 1881. It was a boomtown that would provide millions in silver and borax, and a town population of 1,200. However, the boom didn't last long and by 1904 it became a ghost town.

This was Jamie's second ghost town, the first being in death valley, but this one turned out to be a bit more of a theme park! It was donated to San Bernardino County by Walter Knott, who happens to be the founder of Knott's Berry Farm (a theme park in Orange County). It was a nice day out, with gun fights, a train ride and some interesting people. Let's just say, some people have spent too much time isolated in the desert. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the day. Luckily, it was only about 90F or 32C. I thought it was nice but Jamie felt it was a bit hot. We do have a temperature difference.

Here are some pictures...

History, Trifles, and Citrus...

We had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful, we had some great company, we got a lot done, and we still had time to relax.

Could you ask for anything more?

Saturday morning we went on the Santa Ana Historical Society's 11th Annual Cemetery Tour at Fairhaven Memorial Cemetery. The tour focused on the medical history of Santa Ana, as told by costumed actors, of people buried in the grounds. Here is a photo of one of the scenes performed.

Yes, they are oranges; advertising their fruit. Hilarious!!!

Later, that night we had our friends, Kenny and Jill, over for dinner.

And in true Griffin fashion we made them a proper English dinner; Steak and Kidney Pie (complete with a blackbird pie vent), Rosemary and Thyme Potatoes with Butternut Squash, and veggies of course.

For desert a very traditional English Trifle...

Well, slightly californianized with a candy corn topping,

but A huge hit.

Before dinner we took them on a tour of the neighborhood to look at the old homes from the 1890s - 1940s. We learned the Segerstroms and McFadden's still lived in the neighborhood and met an amazing man who was "flipping" some of these historical homes but staying true to their time period and architectural style. He only does homes in Santa Ana, it's his way of bringing the city back to it's former grandeur and he even let us tour his latest project. What an incredible artist. All I can say is Japanese Soak Tub, totally amazing. We had a great time, we all cleaned our plates, had a history lesson, a private tour, and got to know two truly amazing people.

After such an eventful Saturday, Sunday was back to the house. Joy was so kind to give us her Lemon and Orange trees which she no longer wanted. So we accepted her offer and spent a few hours digging them up and re-planting them in our backyard. Thank you so much Anthony for helping us out, without you we would have never been able to get that Orange tree out of the ground. Your physical strength amazes me.

Here they are in their new home,

plus our little lime tree that my parents gave us.

The Party's Over...And Now It's Windy

Anthony's graduation party was a huge success. Everyone had a great time and stayed to about 10pm. Which is late for our family. It was the coldest day this fall with a low of 55F (12.8C). Luckily, my parents had canopy's up to keep the heat in. The food was great and the margarita's and beer were flowing. But now the party is over and Anthony is stepping into the new world of full time work. Best of luck!

Last night the Santa Ana Winds started up. They usually occur between September and March. The winds come from the dessert causing hot air and really dry weather. They are blowing at 36 mph right now with only 5% humidity. The county is under a fire weather warning and a high winds advisory. I always thought the wind was hot because it was coming from the desert but apparently that is not true. According to the UCLA website, it is because the Great Basin resides (where the wind is blowing from) is at a higher elevation than the LA/Orange County Basin, which is near sea level. Thus, in flowing towards us, the Santa Anas flow DOWNSLOPE. When air descends, it is compressed, and its temperature rises. Dry (unsaturated) air warms on descent at a rate of 10C/km or almost 30F per mile. That means if you take a piece of air located only one mile above your head, and brought it down to your feet, it would wind up 30 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than when it started. You don't need to change the altitude of air very much to alter its temperature significantly. So there you go. For the next few days, everyone in Southern California will be miserable. Hot, dusty, dry air blowing as much as 70 mph. Here is my reason for the Santa Ana Winds. Since very few trees lose their leaves in Autumn, we need high winds to sweep through and blow them off for us. A tough price to pay to make the seasons align with the rest of the country. Well, I'll be on my allergy meds for the next few days and hoping that our Halloween decorations outside don't blow away!

Anthony's Graduation...What a Party!

More written details to follow, but for now some pictures...

Autumn is Here...For California That is

You can definitely tell the weather is changing. This weekend we were suppose to get rain, but of course we didn't. It has been cooler and some of the leaves are falling off the trees. Ok, so it's not anything like the east coast but it's there and it's a nice change of scenery. I love the summer but it's still nice to put on warmer clothes and cuddle on the couch on a cold day.

This weekend wasn't the most eventful. Jamie and my Dad successfully shaved all the doors in the house that are on the carpet. Thank you so much to both of you. We can now open them all with ease and we finally have a door on our bedroom. However, we couldn't ignore the fact that they desperately need to be painted, as the last families kids lovingly spread their artistic creativity onto them. One more thing to add to the list; covering the crayon, water colors, and pencil marks left on all of the doors in the house.

Sunday, we were suppose to go to the Bowers Museum First Sunday Open House. Jamie and I walked over from our house, it only takes about 20 minutes to get there. Unfortunately, the rest of Orange County and possibly L.A. decided to go as well. We arrived around 10:30 am to find a line that wrapped around two block corners and a traffic fiasco that involved bus loads of people wanting to get into the museum. Unfortunately, the Terra Cotta warriors exhibit sold out around 11 am (The museum opened at 10 am). We just wanted to see the permanent museum collection but once the Terra Cotta exhibit sold out everyone went into the permanent collections. My mom was driving down to meet us because she wanted to see the exhibit but we quickly decided there was no way we would see anything comfortably. So as she was turning left near the museum we jumped into her car and hastily sped off for a cup of coffee and to quietly complain and amuse over our museum experience. Thanks Mom for always being a great sport and always being able to go with the flo, no matter where we end up in the end.

Later, we decorated our front yard for Halloween. We had a blast decorating and are pretty happy with how it turned out.

Lastly, Hull City have done it again.

Tottenham 0 - 1 Hull City

Another North London Victory...Hull is shockingly in 3rd place!