How long does it take? 9am – 5pm.
How far is it? Pasadena and La Canada, near the Rose Bowl
How much $$? Gamble House Guided Tour is $8, Descanso Admission is $3. Add another $6 for lunch.
If
you’re into architecture and mansions and big estates, this is a tour
for you. We begin by
driving to the Gamble House (the 
Gambles
of “Proctor and Gamble” fame originally lived there).
We take a guided tour of the mansion and learn all about one of the
more uniquely Southern California architectural styles: The Craftsman
Bungalow style. If you want to see the house right now, learn about the
architects, or take a virtual tour, refer to http://www.gamblehouse.org/.
Tours
cost $8, start after 10am and are usually res
erved
for big groups like ours.
Following
the tour, it’s time to hike around the estate of another millionaire
several miles away. When
E. Manchester Boddy, the 1930’s editor of The Los Angeles Daily News,
purchased the land, it was nothing but a grove of oak trees.
He built a 22-room mansion and developed the surrounding 25 acres
into a fantastic flower garden.
Descanso Gardens is most famous for 
its
camellia forests, where flowering shrubs grow 20 feet high.
There are always a variety of flower gardens on display, especially
in the spring, and visitors enjoy touring the Japanese Garden and tearoom,
the Rose Garden and lots of lush jungle-like areas where it’s easy to
lose oneself. For
general info on Descanso refer http://www.descansogardens.org/Trial/general.cfm.
Admission is $3 for students with I.D.
Everyone is usually starved by the end of our adventure, so a trip to Old Town Pasadena is suggested to round out the day. Ruby’s Diner, Johnny Rockets or Soda Jerks Ice Cream Parlor are possible destinations for a cheap meal with a decadent dessert. Try http://www.rubys.com/home.html, http://www.johnnyrockets.com/, or http://waszup.com/sodajerks/index.htm for more tantalizing info. And don’t forget to bring extra money. Yummm.
