An Evening in Claremont CA

 Claremont, CA

Saw this sweet Low Rider in Claremont

Numero Uno Market

Today we lounged around the Airbnb and then took a walk to our local Numero Uno Market.  We needed to buy a few things for Enchiladas!  

We bought a pineapple too.  We can't pass up a bargain on fruit.

The many flavors of Crema and Queso Fresco

34 Miles in 88 Minutes

Our plans led us to Claremont, CA which is 34 miles away.  We were meeting some friends for Happy Hour at 4:30 so we were heading out with the somewhat early commuters on a Friday afternoon.  We drove over on I-10.  All of our time in Orange County and our last 2.5 weeks in LA has led us from US-101 to I-5.  We discussed the fact that we had never taken I-10 from LA, which was interesting.  The drive was slow but not stop and go (slow is better than stop and go in this driver's opinion).  We passed through cities we had heard of, but didn't know much about.  We also tried out the carpool lane when it changed from a toll road to a regular carpool lane.  We pulled into Claremont Village at around 4:25 and headed right to the parking lot that Donna found from home.  We did a quick walk and ended up at Happy Hour 2 minutes late.  Not bad!

Our first stop was at Union On Yale, a gastropub with great cocktails, and a very large outdoor seating area.  The weather was perfect for a beer on a patio so I had a beer on a patio.

My Claremont Brewing Company "Baseline" IPA

The amazing patio with half price beers and cocktails until 5pm.

I assume these are the records they are playing today

You know you are in SoCal when you see Oingo Boingo

They may have purchased their records from Rhino Records across the street.

This historic place will be moving out of the area soon

After our half price tipple, we explored the Claremont Packing House. This historic building was one of the centers for processing and shipping fresh fruit grown in the Claremont area.  In 2007 it was restored and filled with retail boutiques, restaurants, and bars.  It has created a lot of activity in the area and is the center of a really cool downtown experience.

I was excited about The Four Candles

They have done a great job of keeping the cool vibe of the old building

Historic artifacts to hammer home that you are in an historic building

Artsy knit steps

Old me would have dumped a bunch of $ in this place

The sign says it all

I have owned most of those consoles at one time or another.  I still own a few.

After our sight seeing, we ended up at The Back Abbey.  This Belgium Beer and Food bar is housed in a restored historic building.  The place was hopping!  Their Belgium Beer selection is really solid and they have beers on tap I haven't seen anywhere else.  The food was also really great.  

I didn't take many photos of the place so I am including this photo of a happy couple we don't know. 

My Barrel Aged Delirium Black came in a glass that was shaped like an Elephants Foot

We decided to take I-210 back so complete the loop and log more highway segments.  It was an easy drive with no traffic.  It's really fun coming back to a place you have kind of explored and then realize you hadn't really explored it all that much.  There is so much to see and do here and we are running out of days in LA.

Did you know there are Tiki Bars in LA? You can read about the one we visited yesterday here.