Why is the Super Bowl called the Super Bowl? The term "bowl" comes from the Rose Bowl. “The granddaddy of them all,” our tour guide told us. “It all started here.” It's Pasadena's crown jewel, Pasadena's cash cow, and my kid's favorite part of our trip.

The century-old stadium holds 15 events annually, including six home games for the UCLA Bruins and the annual Rose Bowl. It also hosted five Super Bowls, two World Cup finals and two Olympics.

Tip: On the last Friday of the month, you can attend a public tour for a backstage look at the stadium. Walk in the same halls as Beyoncé and Mick Jagger! The stadium hosts a huge flea market on the second Sunday of every month.

My Pasadena travel guide is on Seattle's Child here.

The Huntington is so drop-dead beautiful, I decided on the spot this is where my next wedding is going to be held. Then I went and looked it up. Weddings START at $40,000 and go up to $100,000. That's just for using the venue, not including food, a dress, a diamond-encrusted carriage.

The Huntington is the former private estate of railroad magnate Henry Huntington. This was his WINTER home. Better find myself a railroad magnate. There are 130 acres to explore and we only saw a fraction of that.

My Pasadena travel guide is on Seattle's Child here.

These children in an art museum. How are we genetically related again??

But seriously, the Norton Simon gave me such a good art fix. Lots of crowd-pleasers here, from Rembrandt to Picasso to van Gogh. The courtyard is inspired by Monet's garden in Giverny, and Gehry designed the interior galleries in the '90s.

(P.S. The guy working at the museum entrance is a character. Somebody give him a raise!)

My Pasadena travel guide is on Seattle's Child here.

Yesterday evening, recycle artist Thomas Dambo unveiled his 5th and final Seattle-area troll at the National Nordic Museum in Ballard. "I believe there is no such thing as trash," Dambo told the sold-out crowd. "Yet the world is running out of resources, while we are drowning in trash.

Here's a link to my story about the troll project for Seattle's Child.

Best sandwiches and best boba of MY LIFE at Burlington Arcade. Bonus: the place looks just like Diagon Alley! Or London, I suppose. It's a super cute shopping plaza, with Float Coffee Shop on one end and Oink Moo Tea Bar on the other.

From Float, we got: bagel and lox, turkey club, open faced smoked salmon (I like smoked salmon a lot, ok?), two ginormous cookies and a matcha drink.

From Oink Moo, we got: Ti Kwan Yin milk tea, white peach four season and fresh taro milk. Paul's eyes popped open at the first sip, and that's the highest level compliment from my picky eater.

My family-friendly Pasadena guide is on Seattle's Child here.

Was not expecting to find seriously legit dim sum in Old Pasadena! It made sense once I realized Chef Tony Pasadena is the same Chef Tony in B.C.

Old Pasadena used to be run-down, but they fixed it up nice. Now the neighborhood is filled with restaurants and shopping. (Sadly, we did not have time to stop at the Tiffany's or Maserati dealership. 😂) Check out the diagonal crosswalks!

My Pasadena guide is on Seattle's Child here.

Cougar fans have one last shot for the foreseeable future to cheer on their team at the Rose Bowl, when WSU plays UCLA on Oct. 7. (RIP, Pac-12.) We went to scope out family-friendly Pasadena ahead of the game.

Some snaps from sunny Pasadena here, and a link to my story for Seattle's Child.

I usually love color, but this picture from Pasadena City Hall really wanted to be black and white. Just got back from a quick trip to SoCal, and I love how a change of scenery helps you see with fresh eyes.

Seabrook underwent a $20 million expansion and debuted a new grocery store, outdoor pool, fitness center (complete with a Peloton!) and arcade this summer.

Link to my story on ParentMap here.

PINCH ME. Our over-the-top house had:

An elevator!!!!

An incredible view of the ocean

5 bathrooms (for the three of us)

3 fireplaces

5 TVs

2 balconies

A two-car garage (first time EVER parking our car inside)

We were thoroughly spoiled. *Though I would not want this to be our actual house. Who wants to clean five bathrooms?!

Blueberry scones, nom nom!