Did I see rain?

I believe there were some drops this week, even a few on Saturday morning, the day of USC Homecoming! But it all cleared up for game time. I was advised to stay clear of campus during homecoming, so I went in the opposite direction - on a bike ride in the San Gabriel mountains with son Eric. We drove east of Pasadena on the 210 to Azusa and then headed north on 39 to the "trail head." The trail was actually a paved service road along the San Gabriel river leading about 8 miles up to the Cogswell dam. I thought I was weak from running in pancake-flat Los Angeles but on the return trip I realized that we had climbed a significant amount. This web site gives an idea of where we were: http://www.nearfield.com/~dan/sports/bike/mountain/sgwf/ .

Friday night I heard the Calder Quartet in concert at Los Angeles Harbor College, as part of the South Bay Chamber Music series. There was a repeat performance today at Pacific Unitarian Church in Palos Verdes. What a view from the church! a panoramic vista of Los Angeles and the bay, looking north all the way to the mountains in the north. I heard both performances - of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven op. 130 including the Grosse Fuge. The fugue boggles the mind; it's impossible to decipher all the voices at once. The Quartet is sounding excellent - very polished, great ensemble, lots of energy, and much finesse.

I finished reading Life of Pi, another art work to boggle the mind. The symbolism and allegory stretch the imagination, just as Beethoven does. At the end you shake your head and say to yourself: did I get that?