Look how happy that t-shirt is!

I’ll be honest.  I’ve been debating posting about this for over a year now.  As much as I wanted to tell everyone about this super cool laundromat, I also wanted to keep it to myself.  Most of the time, when I’m there it’s just me or me and 1 or 2 other people.  I enjoy not having to wait for that one machine to open that I need, or waiting with damp clothes for a dryer to open up.   But posting this on here doesn’t just help you find a better laundromat.  It also helps the owners get more business, which is most important.  If they can’t pay their bills and have to shut down, where will I go??

My favorite part of the laundromat is not the cleanliness, emptiness or closeness, but the friendliness.  I won’t lie, the people who come here aren’t too different from your average laundromat (good or bad…you decide) but the best part is the lady who works there.  Next to the detergent dispenser is a little room behind a caged door.  Here sits this nice lady waiting to either help you if you’re not sure how the machines work or to provide you with change because you forgot to break the $20 bill before you came.  She greets everyone with a big smile and a “HELLO!  Welcome!  Good to see you again!”  I love her!

Here she is with her husband. He brings her lunch everyday.

So if you’re unlucky enough to not have your own washer/dryer or you live in an apartment that is either too busy or, in my case, has terrible equipment, and you find yourself needing to visit a laundromat, go to Laundry Club!  Maybe we’ll see each other there and can sit awkwardly near each other smiling but not talking.  Because we all know you NEVER talk with people at the laundromat.  Or at least, that’s how it seems.

These are my dryers! Don't touch!

You can use these instead.

She even put up pretty flowers.

Minus the sleeping bags, this is a typical load for me. This is why our 1 washer and 1 doesn't-dry-so-well dryer aren't very useful to me.

The door is open, waiting for you!

The address: 2020 N Tustin St Orange, CA 92865 (located between BevMo! and Zito’s Pizza)

I just so happen to LOVE the fire pits.

I don’t know that I’ve used the ones in Newport as often as the ones around Huntington Beach, but my memories of them stretch back to high school, where we would all gather around and, uh, innocently have a good time.

Really, we weren’t all that bad.

But the rings have always been magnets for partygoers, as there is something sort of hypnotizing about a huge flaming pile of wood blazing at sunset and beyond.

Now we use the fire pits as a family.  My son loves nothing more than to hang out, play in the sand, have a picnic, and help his dad build the fire.

I hope that Newport doesn’t ban the use of the rings, but instead beefs up enforcement. 

And let’s hope that Huntington Beach doesn’t get any bright ideas from Newport, either.

This is Disney at its best people. If you haven’t gotten out to the park to see it, then you’re really missing out!

The video features Jay signing his book Knott’s Berry Farm: The Early Years inside the famed Chicken Dinner Restaurant on Aug 29, 2009. Nearly 300 people lined up to see the author – including Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter.

It’s about time Anaheim got a taste of the delicious frozen Yogurtland treat. Yougurtland’s newest location can be found at 683 N Euclid St. Anaheim, CA 92801. Maybe I’ll see you there, cause you know, that’s where I will be spending all of my spare time.

Two more pictures after the jump…

[Photo courtesy of The Knott’s Berry Farm Museum]

A nice feature over at The OC Register quotes Jennings as saying ”I hope my book brings back fond memories of when families visited Knott’s Berry Farm and Ghost Town and the sheer fun and joy of walking up and down Main Street“. Indeed it does! With all the recent hubbub about D23 it’s nice to see a little history and street-cred being bestowed on Orange County’s original theme park!

There was a book signing on Saturday but, alas I was being burned alive in LA on that day so I was unable to attend. There is something to be said for an event that is smaller, more personal and rich with history. I encourage you to check it out the KBF Museum web site and of course, order that book! One more photo after the jump…

I cannot accurately describe how much I want that blue platter in the back! Swoon!

[Photo courtesy of The Knott’s Berry Farm Museum]

Have you had breakfast at Bob’s? What did you think?

There are so many things I love about Old Towne Orange (the houses, the people, the shops just to name a few), but I have one spot that has been my favorite since I discovered it several years ago.
Pitcher Park-

Pitcher Park sits at the corner of Almond and Cambridge in an entirely residential area, minus the school across the street. The park is small, taking up no more width than 1 house and no more length than 2 houses. It has benches, tables, greenery…all the things you expect to find in a park. But when you look closer, you see the little details that I love so much about the park.
Well don’t just sit there, follow the link to hear what they are and see more pictures!

I’ve done much research on the park and little information is available. It wasn’t until I googled the original property owners’ names, Henry and Grace Pitcher, that I got anything of significance. According to this LA Times article Henry and Grace moved to Orange from Kansas in 1912. They lived on this property until the late 1980s. At some point, Henry built himself a honey house (picture below) and a barn (also picture below). When the family donated the land to the city in 1992, work began to restore the two structures. Today they look amazing and serve a purpose. The honey house holds the equipment for the OC Beekeepers. They are at the park every 4th Sunday for a tour of the honey house and the use of the equipment. The barn holds not only many of the tools used by the Pitchers, but also Orange’s first museum, the Orange Fire Museum. It is open Saturday & Sunday from 11am to 3pm.

Now let me talk about the drinking fountain pictured above. I couldn’t tell you how old it is, but I would put this drinking fountain to be circa early 1900s for sure. As far as an exact year I couldn’t begin to guess, but isn’t it so cool looking? I’ll admit, I get a little weary when I want to drink out of it. Thanks to the design, when you step on the pedal you have to wait for the water to rise through the fountain and eventually come out. I love it though.

Fire flower!

The flowers. Oh the flowers. I don’t know how many different types of flowers there are, but they’re all BEAUTIFUL!

Apples!!!!....or Nectarines. I forget.

Fruit! There’s all different types of fruit trees and plants here. The ones I remember are apples, nectarines, peaches and avocado. I’d be willing to bet there’s a citrus somewhere too. Also, my guess would be that there are persimmons there because there is an Annual Persimmon Party held at the park. I’d really like to go because it says they provide park history, but shocker of all shockers….I have school. BTW Sunday is the 8th, not the 9th. In case you wanted to mark your calenders.

A barn!

A honey house!

Buildings! Here you see the barn and honey house I mentioned above.
The last few pictures are random pictures from the park. For more information on the park, click here!
I hope you get the chance to check out the park. It’s really beautiful.

Maroon leaves? Neat!

Butterfly! See him in the middle? I always see them in the park when I go.

A little artistic shot to leave you with.

The new campaign for 2010 will allow anyone a free ticket to Disneyland, but only after they complete a certain number of volunteer hours in their community with a Disney approved charity or nonprofit organization.

Say what? Really? That’s sounds like an administrative nightmare!! Still, I really like the idea of encouraging volunteerism and rewarding people with a magical experience. If they really do bring this concept to fruition it will be one of the most unique promotions the Resort has ever seen. I like high concept ideas like this and am interested in seeing it in action.

Would you complete a certain number of volunteer hours to earn a free ticket?

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CLICK HERE TO SEE Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.