Day Before the Pasadena Chalk Festival

It's the day before the Pasadena Chalk Festival, and we've got nothing to do until later tonight! Our day is our own! 

To start our day, we made our way to the Colorado Street Bridge. 

This bridge was built in 1912 back when only 1 in 100 people had a car! Now 8 out of 10 people have a car! 

Below the bridge are flowering plants, so we always take time to stop and smell the flowers. 

Very nice. 

It's a pretty cool looking bridge! 

Trying to smell a couple little flowers. 

There's even a playground!

I had thoughts of walking across the bridge, but couldn't find an easy path. Instead we drove over it. 

With all the fences, it looks a little less magical from above. 

Afterwards, we went over to Chuck E Cheese again. 

I wandered around a little bit by myself to see more of Pasadena. 

City Hall. 

Then back over to the Civic Center where the umbrellas have been opened for the chalk festival this weekend. 

Last year, we thought we were getting an early start by painting our spot on Friday night. This year, it's 3:30pm on Friday and a few artists are already getting started! 

Like Emily, who is a camp counselor and won't be here past noon on Saturday. She's doing a mural of her sister with a butterfly on her nose. 

At 7pm, we wandered back to the festival. 

Because we're meeting up with friends! We chose 7pm because that's when the shadows start covering our spaces. 

It's a pizza party! 

Everyone brought some treats. 

Then it was time to get to work. We're all in a row together! 

Getting the area swept. 

Curt even remembered to bring a putty knife to scrape up and "gunk" that happened to be stuck to the ground. Smart. 

Getting a size preview of what is to come. 

Then getting the whole area taped off. 

Charlotte already getting her base coat down. I've seen what she's going to do, and it's going to look amazing. 

Ruston reading to us from the "Chalk Bible" of all the lessons we're learned in past years. 

Alli helping hold a tape section while we measure his out. 

Time to put down a white base layer! This will help the chalk stick better and provide a nice even surface. It's all washable tempera, so it'll come up easy. 

T getting to work. 

It was a fun pizza party with friends. 

The difference between 1 coat and 2 coats. 

X marks the spot Ruston. 

Being a beautiful Friday night, there were a few people wandering around the area. Quite a few stopped to ask questions, and we're always happy to take a break and chat with people. Many are amazed that it will all be power-washed off by Tuesday. It's all so temporary. 

Before we knew it, 2 hours had passed. We left Charlotte, Curt, and Ruston to go get showered and get the kids to bed. 

But first we say goodnight to Juno. 

It's super nice to be just a block away at the Hyatt Hotel! It will provide a nice air conditioned respite during the heat of the day tomorrow! Time to get to bed so we can start early on Saturday!