This week, my first Pop Up Adventure was a trek to my Cardiologist in San Gabriel, California. I have a love/hate relationship with Public Transit. I appreciate that it exists because it's an environmentally friendly way to get around town, but because I live in Altadena, the bus only shows up once an hour.
The total commute from my home to my Cardiologist is less than 15 miles, yet it takes me 2 hours round trip to get there....each way. Rather than complain about not having my own vehicle, I've decided to make some tasty lemonade and document my travels.
Phase I - I started my journey by catching the Metro Bus in front of a Jack-In-The-Box in Altadena. Is it me or do most of the bus stops in Los Angeles sit in front of a JIB or Yoshinoya? Never ceases to amaze me. It's actually pretty smart to generate some extra foot traffic. Going "down the hill" is an expression that we have in Altadena for travelling up and down Lake Avenue. This particular instance has me headed south to Colorado Boulevard.
Phase II - This was the coolest part of the trip, as the entire Metro Bus fleet is paying tribute to Kobe Bryant with a poignant message on their bus signs. The entire city has been somber, since we got the news and things have seemed just a little bit colder. Seeing this sign actually lifted my spirits and made me appreciate their gesture more.
Phase III - This part of the trip was uneventful, as I made it to my Cardiologist appointment to get my defibrillator checked out. After waiting for 2 hours, I walked over to a CVS Pharmacy (next to the 168 Market on New & Valley in Alhambra) and purchased a Diet Peach Snapple for the trek back. I'm already 4 hours into this trek and I still have 2 more to go. After my purchase, I walked over to the Metro 76 stop and headed back.
Phase IV - To get to San Gabriel, the bus takes me through Pasadena, San Marino and Alhambra. The next connection is at, yet another, Jack-In-The-Box in Alhambra. Along the way, I saw an intersting city monument with a "mini" park that had some shrubs, flowers and overlooked the mountains. From there, I walked over to the bus bench and hung out for 45 minutes, waiting for my connection.
There wasn't anything interesting worth taking a picture of, along the "heel toe express" during the last leg of the trip. All in all, I ended up walking 2.5 miles and traveling close to 6 hours. When I can't afford to take a Lyft or Uber, public transit is my last resort. I could have saved 4 hours of time, but it would have cost me $45 round trip. Time wasn't of the essence, so I decided to go exploring and see what this town could give me. I've had worse pop up adventures, I've had better. The highlight was that it was a sunny day.