AntSol Travel

It’s December in Pasadena. Do you know what that means? The Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game are almost here on New Year’s Day! If you come to Pasadena for either, it will be busy here, driving & finding parking will be a headache, but taking transit from the Anaheim Resort area to Pasadena, will make it a breeze since you don’t need to deal with driving in & parking. I am not planning to be in Pasadena during then. However, if you are going to Pasadena from Anaheim as your base area for your Southern California vacation, you can get there car-free! I will also show how to get to the Rose Bowl from the LA Metro station, showing some of the places to check out around town, Pasadena Transit, and more. Let’s go!

Welcome to AntSol Travel, showcasing Southern California destinations by taking transit from Anaheim as the base area for your SoCal trip. 

It is New Year’s Eve, and you and your family are coming to see the Rose Bowl game the next day between the University of Michigan & University of Alabama and spent nearly $500 each on a ticket for the nose bleeds of the Rose Bowl over 92,000 seats. You made Anaheim your base area for your holiday vacation since you also went to Disneyland for three days and then going to the Rose Parade and then the Rose Bowl game. Your family is still determining if they want to drive & pay $55 for parking, or take the Metrolink & LA Metro to Pasadena.

Pasadena is roughly a 34 to 45-mile drive from Anaheim, depending on the combination of freeways that your navigation app recommends, as traffic always varies between congestion and accidents. Drive times range from an hour to two hours depending on traffic, do you want to drive that, especially when the Rose Bowl & Parade are happening on New Year’s Day? I did not think so. So let me show you how to get from Anaheim to Pasadena by transit and show you around town while we are there. I am Anthony Solhtalab, welcome to AntSol Travel, showcasing how to get to destinations via transit from Anaheim and about those places & destinations. 

Segment one: Anaheim Resort Area Hotels to ARTIC

If you are staying in the Anaheim Resort area, you can take the OC Bus 50 line along Katella to the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) for $2 per person per way on the OC Bus app or $2.50 cash at the fare box. OC Bus is not as expensive as Anaheim Regional (formerly Resort) Transportation bus services, they can do on demand for $6 for a full day pass or $4 per way with their A Way We Go app. If you are going to take Amtrak Pacific Surfliner or Metrolink like we are going to do next, bus transfers are included, so make sure to pre-purchase your passes before making your on-demand request and show the bus operator the pass. I recommend getting to the station about twenty minutes before train departure sure you have your train ticket situation settled before leaving. 

If you are going to the Rose Parade, Metrolink has two additional trains on New Years Day to and from Los Angeles on the Orange County line. The OC 659 to L.A. with 6:37 AM departure from Anaheim & arrive at 7:25 A.M. to L.A., and a return trip at 1 P.M. from L.A. & arrive back in Anaheim at 1:49 P.M.

At the ARTIC, you will be dropped off at the bus bays where you will be welcomed by a steel & plastic arch that is the ARTIC to make it a distinct feature in the Anaheim skyline that opened in 2014. You then go through the building in the waiting area, where you can buy Amtrak $16 per person to Los Angeles and Metrolink tickets for $8.25 per person to L.A. if you haven’t purchased already. Then get a to go snack with a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s before departing or Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Then you take the elevator or escalators up to the walkway to the platform and take the stairs or elevator down. Platform one is for northbound, two is for southbound. Make sure to follow the transit agencies on Twitter (now X) for Metrolink & Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, and their train trackers for Metrolink & Amtrak to get live updates if any congestion or accidents arise.

Segment Two: ARTIC to Los Angeles Union Station 

*Metrolink Chime* “Amtrak 765 service to Los Angeles, now arriving platform one.” When the announcement is chimed, get your belongings and party ready to board and please be behind the yellow line as the train arrives. If you have business class seats, you are in the first one or two cars next to the locomotive and reserved for that train only with drinks & snacks included, the other cars are for the unreserved coach car with the last car being the cab car where the train operator can operate the train in the other direction, along with storing luggage and up to six bikes with separate bike reservations. Since the coach is unreserved, you can use it for any Pacific Surfliner train, not the train you booked if you need to leave earlier or later. Bikes are reserved for that specific train only due to the limited capacity of six bikes per train in the cab car, but foldable bikes can be stored in luggage holds when folded. 

On board, all Pacific Surfliner cars are bi-level with the lower level being for passengers who cannot climb stairs like seniors and people with disabilities, while the upper level is for everyone else who is fully able. While on board, conductors will scan your ticket for each person. Each coach seat has reclining chairs, an overhead reading light, a footrest, a fold-out tray, an outlet set of seats so taking along a USB charger with multiple ports are recommended, window curtains, and Wi-Fi that can get bogged down and can only browse the internet. Around the train car, there are tables of four seats for groups of three or four people, restrooms on each level of the cars, overhead luggage storage, large luggage storage holds, and even check baggage in the cab car. If you are feeling a bit hungry, the last coach car between the business and the coach car has the café car for snacks, drinks, hamburgers, sandwiches, pretzels, coffee, soda, and more.

Rolling along from Anaheim to Los Angeles is about forty minutes with the only intermediate stop at Fullerton. Passengers use the time to relax, listen to music or a podcast, finish some last-minute computer work on their tablet or laptop, and talk on their phone at full volume when they should wait until they get to their destination. When I was on a train, it was a workday so work colleagues were talking about work & life. Due to all the work & phone chatter, I had to put music over the footage I captured on the train ride to LA as some topics were sensitive work information. Overhearing some of the business trip passengers, many of them work remotely but take the train to downtown Los Angeles on their mandatory office days of couple times a week or month. When you would be going to Los Angeles on New Year’s Day to Pasadena, it would be everyone heading to the Rose Parade or Rose Bowl depending on which train you take. 

When you arrive at Los Angeles Union Station, the 500 series trains terminate there, while the 700 series continue north to terminate in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara, or San Luis Obispo, depending on the train’s destination. Then you walk down onto the platform and take the stairs or ramp to the lower concourse level to the station. The station area has several quick service eateries including Starbucks, Wetzel’s Pretzels, a convenience store, and more if you need a snack or refreshment. 

According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Los Angeles Union Station opened in 1939, and is a huge hub for transit serving Metrolink commuter trains, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner & long-distance routes, Amtrak motorcoach, Megabus, LA Metro Bus & Rail, and many more. However, it came at the cost of moving Chinatown north of the station, displacing many residents & businesses, which the history of the former Chinatown now has as an exhibit of the businesses & buildings lost in the process. We will pass by relocated Chinatown on the Metro A line.

Segment Three: LA Metro Rail A Line to Pasadena

For us to get to Pasadena, we are going to take the LA Metro Rail A line to Azusa, which recently changed from E to a line from Azusa to Santa Monica with the new regional connector that opened earlier this year, made the switch possible so now you can take the Azusa train to Long Beach. Both lines work to switch destinations as the Santa Monica trains now go to East Los Angeles on the E line.

Before going up the A-line platform, you need to purchase a ticket at the ticket machine as proof of payment, which is $1.75 per person per way. I recommend buying the $2 Tap card, which is the contactless payment system for all Los Angeles County transit systems, and preloading at least $5 to $10 so you can just tap on the bus or Metro Rail. Then go upstairs to the A-line platform and wait for the Azusa-bound train. 

Like in any urban area, many people take transit, however, you always need to be aware of your surroundings and keep your valuables close to you in your bag or pockets, per the LA Metro Rail automated announcer.

When I was waiting, an out-of-service train passed by for my first Metro video shot of the day, and then the Azusa bound train arrived. The first car smelled like smoke, so I went to the second car with clean air. A couple of other people boarded the car and seemed okay, so I filmed a few clips of the Metro train ride. Between Los Angeles Union Station, we rolled by Chinatown and headed out to North East Los Angeles’s older neighborhoods of Cypress Park, Highland Park, and South Pasadena, a separate municipality from Pasadena, as Pasadena incorporated into a city in 1886, while South Pasadena did that two years later. 

Segment Four: Jogging Around Pasadena

After South Pasadena station is Fillmore Station, the first stop in the city of Pasadena at Fillmore Street. It is located three miles from the Rose Bowl I would jog to & a mile south of Old Pasadena’s Memorial Park station with Rose Bowl shuttles on Pasadena Transit’s 51/52 with a 75-cent fare. Parking at the Rose Bowl is $55, including off-site parking as well. For how I was going to the Rose Bowl, I didn’t need parking or a bus, just my own two feet! 

From Fillmore Street, I went up South Raymond Street, left on East California where it is mostly commercial & office zoning. There are plenty of new office developments, including a new USC building for the School of Medicine, and even Huntington Hospital by there as well. Then I went through an older residential area and then right on Orange Grove Boulevard, and I came on to stuff getting set up for the Rose Parade on December 5th!

The Rose Parade dates back to 1890 by the members of the Valley Hunt Club for the Tournament of Roses hunting competition. Even in the middle of winter, flowers still bloom in Southern California. They add a parade to the hunting competition by decorating horse-drawn carriages with winter-blooming flowers. Over the decades, the parade has grown over time with the popularity of the parade. It later coincided with a college football game played at Tournament Park in 1902, and then they moved to Rose Bowl stadium in 1922, which both coincided with New Year’s Day every year. The parade carriage also grew in technology to be full-scale floats by various cities & organizations, decorated with natural flora, and with many moving parts as well. In 1958, the Tournament of Roses had huge donation of the Wrigley mansion by the Wrigley Family, who owns the gum brand, to use the mansion as the headquarters for the Tournament of Roses for planning the parade & football game.

Now at the Rose Bowl Stadium, called “Welcome to the Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl!”- broadcaster Keith Jackson. The Rose Bowl opened in 1922 with a modern-day capacity of 92,500. It is owned by the city of Pasadena and operated by Rose Bowl Operating Company. The Rose Bowl game started in 1902 at Tournament Park near CalTech and then it moved to the Rose Bowl when it opened. It now serves as the semifinal game for the college football championship, for this season is the University of Michigan vs University of Alabama. Both are huge football schools, so ticket prices for the game are well over $500 for nosebleeds, along with $50 parking, concession stands, lodging for out-of-towners, and more. I am sure the city of Pasadena rakes in so much money from the parade and the game. 

There are three statues outside the Rose Bowl. First was Jackie Robinson, ,who played for UCLA football scholarship in 1939 and later broke the color barrier in 1947, to be the first black Major League Baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers. There was also the U.S. Women’s Soccer team, who won against China in the 1999 Women’s Fifa soccer cup tournament at the Rose Bowl. Along with broadcaster, Keith Jackson, who was a commentator for many of the games broadcasted on ABC & ESPN and coined the phrase of the Rose Bowl being “…Granddaddy of them all…”. The grounds outside the Rose Bowl is Brookside Park so it is open to walk around on nongame days. After that, I jogged back two miles to downtown Pasadena. 

Downtown and Old Pasadena are the main urban centers with many shops, restaurants, apartment buildings, offices, city hall, and even the Pasadena Convention Center. Just down the street from Memorial Park & the LA Metro Rail station is Pasadena City Hall. According to Giggster, where the exterior shots were used as Pawnee, Indiana city hall in the NBC show, Parks & Recreation, which aired from 2009 to 2015.

Just down the street is the Pasadena Convention Center, hosting 130,000 square feet of event space and a 3,000-seat civic auditorium. It was the venue for the first DesignerCon, a vinyl collectible convention in 2006, that later expanded to the Anaheim Convention Center as a show for art & design, and I was media for the 2023 show and did a huge write-up if you want to see what is about. There are many hotels in the area to give attendees & vendors a place to rest up before their long days of conferences & conventions, such as the Hyatt Place Pasadena. 

It was noon, time for lunch, I was craving ramen, which Old Pasadena was not short of. I went to Tatsunoya Ramen house. They only have two locations, here in Pasadena and Silver Lake. They specialize in pork broth ramen, which was good. To drink, I got a cold brew green tea. They had an option for a two-dollar noodle refill, which I did not get, however, I should have gotten it since was burning so many calories from jogging.

After lunch, I jogged a mile down Colorado Boulevard to Vroman’s Bookstore, a local bookstore founded by Adam Clark Vroman in 1894. Inside, there were books of all genres, including travel books of Los Angeles, called “Secret Los Angeles: an Unusual Guide,” for interesting locations and things around Los Angeles County, perfect for future Los Angeles trips. After purchasing the book, I was so exhausted from jogging that I decided to head back to Anaheim. 

Just up Lake Street from Colorado Boulevard is Lake LA Metro Rail station, a popular stop to see the Rose Parade. However, it is built in the median of Interstate 210, making it noisy, I exaggerated the noise level in the video by yelling into the mic that it was so loud. The LA Metro Long Beach bound train just arrived, so I tapped my Tap card and dashed on board as I did not want to wait for another train in the loud highway median, another reason to buy a Tap card. Then relaxed on my Metro train ride back to Los Angeles Union Station. 

At Los Angeles Union Station, I wanted to take footage of the train departing, however, the LA Metro train operators were taking a while switching shifts & the platform reeked of pee, so I decided to go to the station. In the station, it was 2:20 pm, so I bought a Wetzel’s Pretzel and ate it in the waiting area before my Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 580 to San Diego departed at 3:10 pm. The station food court also has a Starbucks, a convenience store, and a couple more counter-service restaurants as well. At 2:50 pm, the boarding call for my Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 580 was announced, and I headed to platform 14. Unlike San Diego where everyone has to wait in line, in Los Angeles, everyone just waits at the platform before the doors open. Then doors opened at 3 pm and departed at 3:10 pm. 

On board the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 580, I got out my GoPro with a tripod on top of the foldout tray table and recorded the scenery go by. I could technically now combine my video from Anaheim to San Diego, to a full-length 500 series train from Los Angeles to San Diego. I now needed to get Anaheim to San Luis Obispo to get the full length of the Surfliner, a video for another time that my video rendering software & YouTube will be mad as the full length is trying to render, upload, and process it. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope this helps for your adventure from Anaheim to Pasadena via transit!