Out of the past...

Being a royal procrastinator I've waited at least three months and change to post anything even remotely relevant to the history of Pasadena that I promised at the conclusion of the last entry. Needless to say there's not a wealth of exciting history flowing out the peninsula that's flanked by the Magothy river to the south and the Potomac to the north, yet its humble beginnings hold water in Baltimore's canon.

Like most early colonies in the country, Pasadena began as a series of farm land owned by early English settlers. For a long stretch of its early history farms were the dominant feature of the landscape, contrasted only by a few churches - one of which (Magothy United Methodist on Mountain Rd.) is still active today. It was this church specifically that drew any outside interest to the area. Families would come from as far away as what is now Dundalk and Middle River to attend services there every Sunday. These weekly pilgrimages provided the foundation of what was to become the resort industry in the late 1800's.

I'm jumping ahead though, still earlier it was the farms that took produce (at that time mostly strawberries, cantaloupe and tomatoes among others) to market at the Lexington and Cross St. markets. Roads had not been adequately developed for horse and carriage at this point therefore the most direct route to the city would have been by boat - up the Potomac, usually pushing off from what is now the east end of the Lake Shore area, and on into the Baltimore Harbor. It was this same trade route that later ushered in the Golden Age of Pasadena's resort allure.

As mentioned before, the families coming over for religious worship were some of the first "tourists" to the area. On weekends after church service families enjoyed some quality time on the beaches of what would later become Fort Smallwood park before returning to their respective homes. Along the way back from church these same families had a chance to sample some of the local produce and later on some sweet treats as well for the kiddos from the produce stand that later became Angel's market (still family owned and operated).

The Golden Age that I mentioned earlier was due in part largely to an interest to explore the fertile soil that provided richly flavored produce to the markets located in and around the Baltimore Harbor. Affluent families that could afford to began making their way down to Pasadena by boat on the weekends to get away from the hustle and bustle of blossoming industrialism. What these families began to discover was that the beaches on the north and eastern fringes of Pasadena were a calming respite from their frantic urban locales. Within a decade there were at least two steam boats regularly ferrying passengers to and from Pasadena from Baltimore Harbor every weekend.

These weekends were a time for families to enjoy day long picnics and swimming and later on, once the locals caught on, a chance for entertainment as well. On the grounds of what is now Fort Smallwood park large gazebos were built to serve not only as a stage for orchestrated music (mostly of the big-band, lazy summertime flavor) but also as a dance floor for the day trippers.

This continued on into the early dawn of the 20th century and relics such as Fort Smallwood park are a faded reminder of the weekend deferments favored by well-to-do's a mere hundred years past. It should also be mentioned that what became Riviera Beach also attracted wealthy investors from the north. Here however the idea was to build summer homes along what was then a fairly unpopulated area. These tracts of land were eventually subdivided to the Nth degree but along the water the views that lulled the hearts and deep pockets of successful businessmen still manage to hold a captivating audience.

It was at this time that automobiles became widely available and as a result better built roads. Residents of Pasadena were now able to find work in the city, making their way in on one of several bus companies. Produce also began to be shipped by truck up to Baltimore and down to Annapolis, eventually killing off the shipping industry that served the markets for better than a century.

Ironically it was the trucking industry that all but killed the farming standard in Pasadena. Refrigerated trucks brought exotic produce from southern states like North and South Carolina which began to dominate the produce markets in Baltimore. With the waning of its once main staple, Pasadena land began to be divided up and sold as individual lots by farmers who could no longer afford to keep up the broad swaths that had sustained them and their ancestors for so long.

This was the beginning of the suburbanization of what is now called Pasadena but back then was not known by any one moniker. There was the Lake Shore area, Jacobsville and later on Riviera Beach and Green Haven - names familiar to anyone that grew up there. It wasn't until a wealthy heiress came west from Pasadena, CA in the early 20th century to invest in what was at the time cheap land. She ended up buying in an area that Edwin Raynor boulevard now runs through and, possibly for a lack of originality, decided to name her slice of the pie after her hometown. Later on when the United States Postal Service was mapping out zip codes for a more efficient delivery service it was Pasadena that was chosen by committee.

The rest of the history of the 21122 outpost leading into the present day is akin to most suburban narratives. Better schools, better roads, a direct route by way of highway route 100 from either routes 95 or 295, chain fast food restaurants, Lauer's (my high school employment alma-mater) to name a few. You can still hit a few produce stands that are run by local agrarian die-hards and boating and jet skiing are a way of life during the summer months for most residents. If you ever have a chance while in Baltimore city you can look almost directly south by south east to see the mammoth twin smoke stacks (now defunct) rising out of the melee that are rooted in the Baltimore Gas and Electric power plant - that's us.

The Swine Demigod

I can't remember exactly how long I had been standing in the bank parking lot that I was backing up into, trying to frame up a shot of the iconic Pasadena 3-B's bakery. If you've ever driven through the area, which all told you could achieve in under ten minutes on the highway, then you've no doubt been distracted by the immensity of the signage. An estimated fifteen (my own) foot pig wearing a pastry chef's apron and hat holds out a tray of glazed treats and cold milk to the drone of hot afternoon traffic on Ft. Smallwood road below.

One could almost imagine a a nomadic tribe in a post-apocalyptic world stumbling across the remains of the white cinder-block building. The left overs from some unthinkable man-made atrocity pledging their allegiance and sending up offerings to the towering monument of glutton. But that digression is for another narrative...

After capturing this sweet sliver of Pasadena's culture, I brought the camera down to my side and stared up at this living memory through a thick July atmosphere. This pig takes residence in some of the furthest reaches of my memory. I can't remember a time when I wasn't aware of its stoic presence and its benevolent offering of an unassuming breakfast.

Raking through the scattered remains of the early eighties I realized that I don't know much if anything about this area's history and its relevance to the Baltimore canon. A quick interweb search provides a weak Wikipedia page, giving a lackluster overview of the 21122 zip. The online encyclopedia gives little more than map coordinates and an unimpressive list of notable citizens who had there beginnings here. To boot, Pasadena is listed as a CDP or Census Designated Place which I found to be more than a bit depressing.

On first impression that term defines the peninsula as an area where a substantial amount of people live. An area that the government recognizes for tax and zoning purposes but for little else. That thought leaves little room for any distinctive cultural elements, which admittedly Pasadena has few of anyway. My distaste for the CDP label is more rooted in the shame that I experience due to the ignorance of, or apathy toward, any of the origins of my own hometown.

What I can recall from my great aunts and uncles is that Pasadena used to be a summer retreat for well-to-do's in Baltimore city. Beyond that I can only say from observation that there used to be a wealth of farming. My mother's parents moved here in the fifties from Baltimore city, and my father's parents from rural southern Virginia around the same time.

With these meager impressions, and much thanks to the gregarious 3-B's mascot, I have decided to investigate for myself how exactly Pasadena came to be. As a love letter to this suburban enclave I will publish what I find out in the next few weeks before I leave it again, most likely for good...?

Rising out of the tree line across from the farm are two candy striped smoke stacks that are wrung by a collection of smaller buildings. I'm not sure what purpose it serves except that it was a great back-drop for what is now my favorite summer memory in Maryland. I understand that it isn't technically solstice as of right now, but all of the hallmarks have revealed themselves without apology.

Fireflies swayed in the golden dusk as we wrapped the first of two days on the Yuengling spot. I had easily sweat five pounds of water weight that afternoon before the local volunteer ladder created the archetype of a summer storm that approaches with ferocity, drenching ill prepared backyard revelry.

Last week I had the pleasure to serve as a grip/electric on an ad for one of my favorite, and one of the most reliable beers - Yuengling of Pottsville, PA. There wasn't much creativity going on with the composition, but we did shoot on a Canon 5D digital SLR. This is exciting for me because now I get to plug a short horror film that I shot with the same camera titled "Beneath". I won't digress any further.

Returning to why this is already one of my favorite memories of summer, we shot on location in Middle River, MD. I don't know much about the area and I think that's why I enjoy being over there so much. On the surface it seems to have retained some of the nostalgia from a classic 1950's area suburb, replete with a fully functioning drive-in movie theater - Benjies. In fact we shot there the second night, well into the early hours of the following day. There are also some infamous landmarks from this area, most notably the sewage treatment plant that can be seen for miles around on the eastern lobe of 695. Anyone that has lived in Maryland for longer than five years has seen the magnificent golden orbs of the waste treatment plant that loom above the roadway. At any rate for some reason my mind clings to this mystique around Middle River.

So the setting was ideal, next were the cast (or crew in this case) of characters. The crew wasn't large but was populated by some of my favorite cohorts. All of the old Serious Grip staples were there - Stew Stack, Mark Elzey and Scott Perryman. To bring up rear with the younger muscle were Steve Scott, Todd Norton and myself. I developed a strong fellowship with these two on several productions. On the big shows it's a boy's club and I've thrown down with them on some pretty tough set-ups, though I don't regret a single one. Behind the lens we had Bill Gray, one of the most thoroughly informed guys on virtually any subject that has ever crossed his path. At the helm of the entire circus was Steve Blair, a talented producer/director that won our hearts with his decadent pretzel bread pleasantries. To round it out with the best in portable rations was Scott Russell. I've never had a problem talking with any of these guys and every time I see them we pick up right where we left off on the last show, regardless of the time in between.

If this all seems a touch nostalgic you should know that I plan to walk away from this exciting yet incessantly frustrating industry. For my own reasons I've decided to pursue other crafts and I stand to leave a huge piece of myself lurking in the hindsight that is sure to plague me after I call it quits.

It could have been my own foresight for this that prompted me to declare this one of the best spots I've ever worked on. It could have been the auspicious collection of some of the most interesting people I've had the pleasure to make company of. It could have been the free beer that the clients handed out at the end of both days. It could have been just a bit of dust in my eye as I sailed over the Key Bridge, returning to the peninsula in the darkest hours before the dawn. Whichever variable played more into my affirmation, no doubt will I ever forget nor regret having relished in such a seemingly trivial occasion.

Point A

Welcome to the newly re-tooled travel blog. I may be jumping a bit ahead of myself considering that Leslie and I are currently living Pasadena, MD where I grew up. Being here isn't exactly what I had in mind when we began making plans to get out of Baltimore city. Although the past couple of weeks have been enlightening. I've found myself marveling at some of the sites around the neighborhood that I left, at the time I thought forever, over twelve years ago. Coming back has given me an opportunity to look around with an appreciation that I never could have as a teenager, and I find it serendipitous that we'll be pushing off from the old haunt as we begin a new year of traveling at the end of this summer.

For anyone that isn't familiar, here's an abbreviated version of the travel gig. Leslie works as an Occupational Therapist through a company, Med Travelers, that places her in temporary assignments throughout the country, although some companies are world-wide. An assignment typically lasts thirteen weeks, and if you are placed more than fifty miles outside of your "home-base" the company provides an apartment. The apartment is furnished and the cabinets are stocked with minimal amenities.

At the end of the thirteen weeks you can choose to either extend at the current position or opt to move on to another. If you choose to move on the company will begin looking for a new position in a new facility in a new region if that's what you want. Basically Leslie gives them a list of five regions, anywhere from a specific city to smaller metro areas, and Med Travelers attempts to find a need for staffing as close to her choices. Fast forward a couple of weeks and Leslie has a phone interview with a facility and if she is accepted we pack the cars up and head out.

This process repeats roughly every three months unless you decide to continue filling the position. In some cases the facility will offer the therapist a permanent position. Actually, when we traveled in 2008 almost every facility that Leslie worked at made that offer.

Some folks keep this schedule for their entire career. If you find an area that you like you can continue to work for the company, taking positions in that locale only. In our case we're hoping to find an area that we like and cross our fingers that Leslie will be offered a permanent position. Upon that we would work out the details of finding our own housing, moving our stuff from Maryland out to wherever, and all the other pleasantries that go along with that.

That's the brass tacks of what we're doing. It still overwhelms me that a program like this exists, allowing for a rich experience to so many willing professionals. As for myself, I try to find temp or part time work wherever we go. When we moved around before I worked at a Starbucks in Bakersfield, CA (eh...), the IT office at the ROSS department store headquarters in Pleasanton, CA and on the set of "My One and Only" in Albuquerque, NM.

I had trouble finding work when we were in Portland, OR so I ended up volunteering with an electronic recycling center in the Southeast neighborhood of Hawthorne. The place is called Free Geek and they're set up to educate their volunteers in the mining of valuable computer components that are then used to build a new computer with specific capabilities. If you get involved in the Build Program you are allowed to keep your sixth computer built free of charge, and then one a year after that.

At any rate, we plan to hit the road again after Leslie serves out her next assignment that starts in May. That should take us to mid-August and we have hopes of landing in New England soon after. Maine is on the radar as well as Boston, and then we're taking a cue from our feathered cousins and heading south to Florida at the first suggestion of winter.