Zen Stay-Cation - Japanese Gardens Tea Festival - Pasadena, CA

We had barely returned from our quick trip to Hawaii and there I was thinking about planning another! Like most times I travel, when we came home all I thought was, it is time to stay still for a while. That lasted for about 48 hours, long enough to unpack and catch up on jet lag before I got the itch to plan”where?” next.

My girlie had spring break and while we had a few days in Hawaii, she was recovering from pneumonia and didn’t get to swim. It was torture for her as well as me because she was heartbroken the entire time sitting by the pool or watching the waves break on the shore from our ocean view room. Now for the planning. Certainly we wouldn’t be planning anything that requires a flight. Even though our last trip was compliments of my wonderful employer, it still involved cost of food, excursions, and of course time away from work. So with little time and limited funds, what could we do????
Living in Southern California there are so many close options but nothing seemed right. After being here so long what could possibly be a new experience. In the end we opted for a stay-cation. Strangely enough it was a new experience after all. We stay home all day Saturday. PJs were the uniform of the day, leftovers were on the menu. As nice as it was, Sunday called for some activity. After a little research, I discovered there was a Japanese Tea Festival at a tea garden I’d never been to before, Storrier Stern Japanese Gardens. It is amazing how much you are not even seeing that is right in front of you.

It is quite small and hidden. It took three trips up and down the street to find the actual entrance. Street parking was fairly easy. You can pretty much see all there is to see when you enter. It is a Zen-ful place! The staff is helpful and kind. On this day we were ready to taste some teas. While I am more of a coffee drinker and came for the meditative atmosphere I thought It would be great for my mini-me and little tea drinker. Chado Tea Room did not disappoint. From An Alice in Wonderland blend for my girlie to the Champagne and Raspberries blend for me, we did not come away empty handed.

It was a nice little break away right in the middle of our hustle and bustle town that I knew at some point I would return. On the way out I signed the mailing list so I would get the scoop on future events such as jazz Thursdays and formal tea on Sunday.