Two and a Half Years in Azusa
This blog entry is actually being released on the third anniversary of our moving to Azusa.
In February we celebrated two and a half years living Azusa, very close to Covina, and both in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). We bought our first home together right before the housing bubble burst, so some might think we didn’t make the best investment. Not long after celebrating two and a half years we discussed everything we had experienced since we moved here, things that we wouldn’t have if we had stayed in Downtown L.A. We made a list, some of it may be from after February:
1. The gym we regularly go to for power pacing (A.K.A. Reaction Cycling or Spinning) class with instructors Joseph and Pat.
2. Our church that’s only a few miles from our home but requires us to drive through three city limits. Some aspects of it include:
a. Father Brian, the retired pastor, Father Jeff, Father Jim, and Father Bill, the current pastor with his funny laugh and pet chihuahua.
b. The new parish center, Cavanagh Hall, named for Father Brian. They had Easter services there to handle to overflow from the church, a great idea.
c. The other parishioners including a former classmate of my wife’s and a little girl who likes to shake people’s hands.
d. The Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry (see earlier review).
e. Saturday night spaghetti dinner and hot dog dinners.
3. Our local CVS Pharmacy that’s very close to our home. It has great coupons and deals and sells Jarritos soda.
4. Our views of the mountains and foothills to the north and northeast that usually get snow in the winter. One hill sports the “A” for Azusa.
5. Lots of great restaurants and eateries:
a. Off Citrus with its cake and the fact that it sells (or used to sell) Alaskan Amber Beer.
b. Nick’s Taste of Texas, a large space with long tables and Texan décor. They serve Tex-Mex barbecue. Since they’re located near the Covina Metrolink train station, we can sometimes smell the barbecue as we walk from the station to the parking lot.
c. Farmer Boys in Irwindale, our regular fast food place with its varied menu and coupon mailings.
d. Sandwich City in downtown Covina is affiliated with Off Citrus. It’s only open for lunch on weekdays and serves sandwiches named after nearby streets. The School Street is peanut butter and jelly.
e. Tulipano in Azusa is one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve tried and is just up the street from us.
f. Green Fields in Covina, the all-you-can-eat Brazilian Churrascaria. It’s near the gym and we can sometimes smell it from there.
g. Donut Man in Glendora with its fresh strawberry doughnuts in the spring, fresh peach doughnuts in the summer, and always good apple doughnuts year round.
h. North Woods Inn in Covina with its sawdusted floors, stuffed game, peanuts, delicious steaks, and the best red cabbage slaw.
i. Crabby Chad’s in Covina that serves all kinds of fresh seafood including delicious New York Clam Chowder. They moved to the area not long after we did.
j. Dino’s Chicken and Burgers in Azusa. See earlier review.
k. Mr. Pollo, Peruvian food in West Covina near the gym. We celebrated our third anniversary there. See earlier review.
l. El Gallo Pinto, the Mexican-Nicaraguan restaurant in Azusa where our server spoke only Spanish. See earlier review.
m. Jake’s Hot Dogs and Sausages, Azusa’s outdoor version of The Stand. See earlier review.
n. Juan Pollo in Azusa. See earlier review.
o. Country Bar-B-Que Chicken & Ribs in Azusa. See earlier review.
p. Olamendi’s Zona Rosa in downtown Covina where we celebrated two and a half years in SGV. See earlier review.
6. The genuine Route 66 is just a few miles north of us. Probably as a consequence there’s lots of charming classic cars driving around the area. We’ve seen all kinds, even a classic police car. All the flat open roads and the nice weather attract lots of people on motorcycles. There’s a Harley Davidson shop in nearby West Covina. Rocky Dennis, the subject of the movie Mask, lived in Azusa, Covina, and Glendora. He and his mother were part of a motorcycle group. His mother died in a motorcycle accident at age 70 in late 2006 not long after we moved to the area.
7. Speaking of history, the president of the Azusa Historical Society, Jeffry Lawrence Cornejo Jr., is in his later 20’s/early 30’s. He assembled and wrote the captions of a book of historic photos taken in Azusa. I got it and had him sign it. At the signing he was dressed 1920’s style with suspenders (A.K.A. braces) and a black hat. We later used the book to figure out how to dress 20’s style for my wife’s grandmother’s birthday party.
8. Moving to Azusa allowed us to take the Metrolink commuter train to work in Downtown L.A. and school in L.A. We’ve also seen the Metrolink Holiday Toy Express. I’ve written the first drafts of nearly all my blogs and reviews while riding the train.
9. Brian Wood Automotive in Glendora where we have our cars maintained. We call them Woody because the sign at their shop near the Covina Metrolink station said to ask for Woody.
10. Azusa is a “Jack Benny City.” There was a segment of the old Jack Benny radio show where Mel Blanc voiced a train conductor announcing a train was leaving for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga. The joke was that no train actually went to all those places in one route. There’s a statue of Jack Benny at Victoria Gardens honoring him for this segment that put the town on the map. We go to Anaheim often for concerts and to Rancho Cucamonga for Victoria Gardens. Between March 28-30 we went to all three of the places: on March 28 to attend the Billy Joel/Elton John concert in Anaheim and on March 30 to have dinner at King’s Fish House in Rancho Cucamonga to celebrate our anniversary two days early.
11. Our local Olympic champion is Bryan Clay who won gold in the Decathlon in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He went to Azusa Pacific University and now lives in Glendora. He appeared a Wheaties box that we’ve saved.
12. Moving to Azusa puts us only 20-30 minutes away from Victoria Gardens shopping destination in Rancho Cucamonga. My wife likes the clothing store Buckle. I got a great watch from Time Depot. We’ve had some great meals at King’s Fish House, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Lucille’s Barbecue, and Richie's Real American Diner.
This is just a sampling of what we’ve experienced. Not everything has been good such as those aggressive Covina police, but overall we’ve had many good experiences. We haven’t lost touch with Downtown L.A. At least one of us has worked there the entire time we’ve been in Azusa and both of us worked there for 19 straight months. We’ve shopped at Famima!! and Ralphs Fresh Fare near our old apartment building. We’ve been to L.A. Live several times. We’ve eaten at Blue Velvet restaurant, Redwood Bar, J Restaurant and Lounge, e3rd, Lawry’s Carvery, Yang Chow, The Yard House, Panini, and Bottega Louie to name a few. We’ve seen a Clipper game, the Spice Girls at Staples Center, the Grammy Museum, and attended a Clippers Draft party at ESPN Zone.
Azusa and the surrounding east San Gabriel Valley is probably the most “working class” and youngest area I’ve lived in. It’s not a gentrified hipster area but a place where “real” people live. Moving here has widened our world. The investment in experience overshadows any financial investment.
This blog entry is actually being released on the third anniversary of our moving to Azusa.
In February we celebrated two and a half years living Azusa, very close to Covina, and both in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). We bought our first home together right before the housing bubble burst, so some might think we didn’t make the best investment. Not long after celebrating two and a half years we discussed everything we had experienced since we moved here, things that we wouldn’t have if we had stayed in Downtown L.A. We made a list, some of it may be from after February:
1. The gym we regularly go to for power pacing (A.K.A. Reaction Cycling or Spinning) class with instructors Joseph and Pat.
2. Our church that’s only a few miles from our home but requires us to drive through three city limits. Some aspects of it include:
a. Father Brian, the retired pastor, Father Jeff, Father Jim, and Father Bill, the current pastor with his funny laugh and pet chihuahua.
b. The new parish center, Cavanagh Hall, named for Father Brian. They had Easter services there to handle to overflow from the church, a great idea.
c. The other parishioners including a former classmate of my wife’s and a little girl who likes to shake people’s hands.
d. The Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry (see earlier review).
e. Saturday night spaghetti dinner and hot dog dinners.
3. Our local CVS Pharmacy that’s very close to our home. It has great coupons and deals and sells Jarritos soda.
4. Our views of the mountains and foothills to the north and northeast that usually get snow in the winter. One hill sports the “A” for Azusa.
5. Lots of great restaurants and eateries:
a. Off Citrus with its cake and the fact that it sells (or used to sell) Alaskan Amber Beer.
b. Nick’s Taste of Texas, a large space with long tables and Texan décor. They serve Tex-Mex barbecue. Since they’re located near the Covina Metrolink train station, we can sometimes smell the barbecue as we walk from the station to the parking lot.
c. Farmer Boys in Irwindale, our regular fast food place with its varied menu and coupon mailings.
d. Sandwich City in downtown Covina is affiliated with Off Citrus. It’s only open for lunch on weekdays and serves sandwiches named after nearby streets. The School Street is peanut butter and jelly.
e. Tulipano in Azusa is one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve tried and is just up the street from us.
f. Green Fields in Covina, the all-you-can-eat Brazilian Churrascaria. It’s near the gym and we can sometimes smell it from there.
g. Donut Man in Glendora with its fresh strawberry doughnuts in the spring, fresh peach doughnuts in the summer, and always good apple doughnuts year round.
h. North Woods Inn in Covina with its sawdusted floors, stuffed game, peanuts, delicious steaks, and the best red cabbage slaw.
i. Crabby Chad’s in Covina that serves all kinds of fresh seafood including delicious New York Clam Chowder. They moved to the area not long after we did.
j. Dino’s Chicken and Burgers in Azusa. See earlier review.
k. Mr. Pollo, Peruvian food in West Covina near the gym. We celebrated our third anniversary there. See earlier review.
l. El Gallo Pinto, the Mexican-Nicaraguan restaurant in Azusa where our server spoke only Spanish. See earlier review.
m. Jake’s Hot Dogs and Sausages, Azusa’s outdoor version of The Stand. See earlier review.
n. Juan Pollo in Azusa. See earlier review.
o. Country Bar-B-Que Chicken & Ribs in Azusa. See earlier review.
p. Olamendi’s Zona Rosa in downtown Covina where we celebrated two and a half years in SGV. See earlier review.
6. The genuine Route 66 is just a few miles north of us. Probably as a consequence there’s lots of charming classic cars driving around the area. We’ve seen all kinds, even a classic police car. All the flat open roads and the nice weather attract lots of people on motorcycles. There’s a Harley Davidson shop in nearby West Covina. Rocky Dennis, the subject of the movie Mask, lived in Azusa, Covina, and Glendora. He and his mother were part of a motorcycle group. His mother died in a motorcycle accident at age 70 in late 2006 not long after we moved to the area.
7. Speaking of history, the president of the Azusa Historical Society, Jeffry Lawrence Cornejo Jr., is in his later 20’s/early 30’s. He assembled and wrote the captions of a book of historic photos taken in Azusa. I got it and had him sign it. At the signing he was dressed 1920’s style with suspenders (A.K.A. braces) and a black hat. We later used the book to figure out how to dress 20’s style for my wife’s grandmother’s birthday party.
8. Moving to Azusa allowed us to take the Metrolink commuter train to work in Downtown L.A. and school in L.A. We’ve also seen the Metrolink Holiday Toy Express. I’ve written the first drafts of nearly all my blogs and reviews while riding the train.
9. Brian Wood Automotive in Glendora where we have our cars maintained. We call them Woody because the sign at their shop near the Covina Metrolink station said to ask for Woody.
10. Azusa is a “Jack Benny City.” There was a segment of the old Jack Benny radio show where Mel Blanc voiced a train conductor announcing a train was leaving for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu-ca-monga. The joke was that no train actually went to all those places in one route. There’s a statue of Jack Benny at Victoria Gardens honoring him for this segment that put the town on the map. We go to Anaheim often for concerts and to Rancho Cucamonga for Victoria Gardens. Between March 28-30 we went to all three of the places: on March 28 to attend the Billy Joel/Elton John concert in Anaheim and on March 30 to have dinner at King’s Fish House in Rancho Cucamonga to celebrate our anniversary two days early.
11. Our local Olympic champion is Bryan Clay who won gold in the Decathlon in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He went to Azusa Pacific University and now lives in Glendora. He appeared a Wheaties box that we’ve saved.
12. Moving to Azusa puts us only 20-30 minutes away from Victoria Gardens shopping destination in Rancho Cucamonga. My wife likes the clothing store Buckle. I got a great watch from Time Depot. We’ve had some great meals at King’s Fish House, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Lucille’s Barbecue, and Richie's Real American Diner.
This is just a sampling of what we’ve experienced. Not everything has been good such as those aggressive Covina police, but overall we’ve had many good experiences. We haven’t lost touch with Downtown L.A. At least one of us has worked there the entire time we’ve been in Azusa and both of us worked there for 19 straight months. We’ve shopped at Famima!! and Ralphs Fresh Fare near our old apartment building. We’ve been to L.A. Live several times. We’ve eaten at Blue Velvet restaurant, Redwood Bar, J Restaurant and Lounge, e3rd, Lawry’s Carvery, Yang Chow, The Yard House, Panini, and Bottega Louie to name a few. We’ve seen a Clipper game, the Spice Girls at Staples Center, the Grammy Museum, and attended a Clippers Draft party at ESPN Zone.
Azusa and the surrounding east San Gabriel Valley is probably the most “working class” and youngest area I’ve lived in. It’s not a gentrified hipster area but a place where “real” people live. Moving here has widened our world. The investment in experience overshadows any financial investment.
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