A few weeks ago I saw a status update on Facebook, from my friend Tim, suggesting that he had recently discovered that he was related to the outlaw, Jesse James. I figured he was using Ancestry.com or something like that and like many that responded to his update, took it with a grain of salt. A little over a week ago, Tim posted another status update informing us that he was adopted and had learned of the whereabouts of his birth mother and a sister. This was followed with another update that he had spoken with his newly found sister, and then that his mother was coming to Los Angeles so the two could meet. Two days ago, Tim asked me if I would meet them at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and photograph the reunion. Naturally, I was extremely flattered to be asked and readily agreed to be there this afternoon for the reunion.
As I was walking the dogs this morning, I thought about the upcoming reunion and decided I would ask Tim if he would mind if I told his story as I am sure there are many others out there in his situation and I felt his experience might be of help to them. Tim immediately agreed, saying, \”I want to give props to the people who helped me.\” This is his story. Continue reading
These photos were taken Sunday at Enegren Brewing Company in Moorpark, CA and Lab Brewing Company in Agoura Hills, CA. A few days ago I was at El Segundo Brewing Company and was introduced to Joe Nascenzi, one of the owners of Enegren Brewing Co., a microbrewery in Moorpark, CA. After talking with him for a while, and hearing what kind of beers they were brewing over there, I knew that I had to head out there with Tanya. While I am a definite hophead, Tanya is more into saisons, porters and stouts. When Joe told me about their oatmeal stout and chili pepper saison, I promised to pay them a visit.
While one microbrewery is frequently like the others, with the only difference being the taste and variations of the beers they brew, Enegren Brewing is definitely different than any other I have visited. Brew Captain Chris Enegren studied mechanical engineering at Loyola Marymount University and when he graduated from brewing in his kitchen he put this knowledge to work in designing a proprietary brewing system unlike any I have ever seen. Complete with a computerized command center, their brewing system is entirely automated. It is a very cool system to check out, and they produce a quality product. When we got there Sunday they were in the process of building a new refrigeration unit as they had moved their larger one to a unit next door. In other words, they are expanding, with the hopes of beginning to bottle beers in the near future. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday at a new gastropub, Schooner at Sunset, which is located at 16821 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach, CA. For those not sure where Sunset Beach is, it is the very north end of Huntington Beach, just south of Seal Beach. Your car\’s GPS is most likely going to call it Huntington Beach, so don\’t worry, it is all the same place.
To be honest, I am not really in the habit of going down there unless I am taking a weekend motorcycle ride down the coast. The fact of the matter is, when I initially left the house this afternoon I was headed north; but since the destination I had in mind was not to be found on the Charger\’s GPS, I remembered hearing that Schooner at Sunset had opened, and put their address in the GPS instead. The only reason I knew of Schooner at Sunset was that a friend of mine, Daniel Drennon, told me he was involved as their Director of Craft Beer. Having met Daniel during the last American Craft Beer Week when he was the \”beer guy\” at LA Weekly, I knew that the craft beer menu would be something I could get into. When I saw his list of available craft beers on tap for their grand opening I was very disappointed that I was going to have to miss it due to a schedule conflict with a couple event photography gigs I had. Continue reading
These photos are from our Business & Beer gathering at Brewco, a gastropub in Manhattan Beach, CA. Brewco was initially opened about 20 years ago as Manhattan Beach Brewing Company. From what I can tell, they stopped brewing beer on location sometime in 2009 at which point it re-opened as Brewco. Brewco offers about 50 beers on tap, with most of them being craft beers from around the world. They also offer several bottled craft beers and frequently have hard to find brews available.
This was the first time that we brought Business & Beer to this location and it was a great success. We had about 15 people show up, with many of them being first time attendees. I would venture to say that even if this was not our largest group, it may have had the most productive networking of any of our events to date. I know that one of our first-timers sells stained glass, and we had someone that was in the process of trying to find someone that does stained glass. Talk about a random hookup; this is exactly what Business & Beer is all about. Supporting local businesses and enjoying craft beer while generating business for our attendees. Continue reading
These photos are from the 2013 Easyriders Bike Show held at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 5, 2013. The Easyriders Bike Show Tour is put on by Easyriders Events and travels to numerous locations around the country. It features 100\’s of custom show and street bikes of every genre. It is always a visual treat; even if it is difficult to focus in all that chrome. I made it there a little earlier today than last year, when I got there a couple hours before it ended, so there were a lot more people to get in the way of my photos; but it gave me more people shots to get as well, so it all worked out.
The Easyriders Bike Show Tour continues next week in Sacramento, CA; then two weeks later they start again in Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN and ending in Columbus, OH. You can find all the details on http://www.easyridersevents.com. I actually have a little history with the Easyriders, besides being a subscriber, in that I was in their first motorcycle rodeo and was in their first Grand Nationals. Anyway, it was a good time and I ran into a few friends. I discovered that Anaheim Brewery was right around the corner from the convention center so after checking out all the bikes I stopped in and checked out what they had on tap. All in all, it was a pretty good day. Continue reading
These photos are from our return visit to the Alpine Inn with our Business & Beer networking group. The Alpine Inn is a German gastropub that has a nice selection of craft beers from the United States, Germany and the Czech Republic. This was our third visit to the Alpine Inn and it seems that every time we meet there we have a nice turnout of about 15 people. When you consider that Alpine Village is the furthest south we take our group and that it was only three days after New Year\’s Day, I was pleased to see the turnout.
If networking is important to your business and you live or work in the South Bay area, you should check out Business & Beer, the networking group that takes away the stress of meetups during normal working hours. Every Thursday at 6:00 PM we meet at a different microbrewery, brewpub or gastropub; if you enjoy good beer and social networking, Business & Beer is for you. Feel free to sign up to the mailing list or Like Us on Facebook to be kept aware of upcoming network events. You will meet some nice people and probably discover some new craft beers. There are no dues or rules, so there is no reason to not give it a try. Continue reading
These photos are of the floats of the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which was held Tuesday, January 1, 2013 in Pasadena, CA. As I took far too many photos to be viewed easily in one gallery, I broke the photos up into two groups; the floats of the parade and one of the people of the Rose Parade which includes the marching bands and equestrian units. This gallery includes all the floats as well as the cars transporting the Grand Marshal, President of the Tournament of Roses, Hall of Fame Inductees and others of that type. Due to the number of photos, you might find it easier to use the slideshow feature.
There were about 40 floats entered, several of which had been covered in my previous articles. I would like to once again thank the following for helping me gain access to watch the floats being built over the last month: Fiesta Parade Floats, Pollack PR Marketing Group and California Cut Flower Commission. The watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation; they will appreciate it. Continue reading
These photos were taken at the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, held January 1, 2013. Once again, I have taken too many photos to put in one gallery, so I have broken them up into two groups. This gallery consists of basically anything that was not a float; marching bands, equestrian units and basic people watching. I was set up at Colorado Boulevard and Allen Avenue, primarily on the southeast corner. As this is a very large gallery, you might find it easier to view using the slideshow feature; you can use the full screen option for the best viewing.
It was a cold morning, but that did not seem to dampen anyone\’s spirits. By the time the parade got down to us, I think most people had forgotten about the chill in the air. A portion of the watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation and perhaps consider making a small donation to the cause. Continue reading
These photos are from last night\’s New Year\’s Eve Party at the Redondo Beach Castle; hosted by the Lady of Magic, Sisuepahn Phila. We met Sisuepahn last year when we attended her New Year\’s Eve Party 2011. We liked her immediately and immediately recognized that along with being a nice person, she is a really good magician. Sisuepahn puts on various fundraising events using her magic as a draw. She supports several orphanages in Laos and provided assistance to local charities, such as the Midnight Mission in downtown Los Angeles. Last night\’s event was to assist the Midnight Mission.
While Sisuepahn did not perform last night, she had several well-respected magicians and mentalists performing including Brian Gillis, Todd Reis, Ryan Oshwald, Jimmy Hunsinger and starring The Amazing Johnathan and Anastasia. It was a great time for a great cause and everyone seemed to be having a great time. It seemed somewhat fitting that the Lady of Magic fundraiser would be the way I started 2012 and it was how I ended it. Have a great 2013, everyone. Continue reading