Second City Rover

09/13/2024

Sorry for the delay on my final posting, but caring for aging parents sometimes goes sideways, which in my case it has for a bit, so I am finally getting some time to pull things together now.

My final Second City Rover walk was on August 30th and I invited my husband, Phill, to join me in walking the south perimeter of the city with the promise we would end up at Richmond Bar & Grill to feed and rehydrate ourselves. We ended up walking about 5.75 miles by the time we got to RBG. It was also fitting to end up at RBG since it is one of the oldest buildings in El Segundo.

When I set out to do Second City Rover and have sponsors supporting local non-profits I anticipated raising about $3500.00. Well, my 8 sponsors, plus generous individuals who joined me on walks and some who just wanted to contribute made it possible for me to raise $10,525.00 for 9 local non-profits. Thank you so much for the AMAZING support!!

The non-profits who benefited are as follows: Mychal's Learning Place, C.A.S.E., El Segundo Firefighters Assoc., El Segundo Auxiliary Children's Hospital, El Segundo Police Officer's Assoc., PAL Rescue & Adoption, Old Town Music Hall, El Segundo Woman's Club and Eagles of Eighty-Two.

Once again, I would like to thank my (8) SPONSORS for being a part of this memory and making it possible to raise this money for some of my favorite local non-profits: El Segundo Rotary Club, Gina Hoffman at Hoffman Real Estate, Scott Davis at CrossCountry Mortgage, Brenda Newman at The Jewelry Source, Santos Jimenez at Delgado Plumbing, Hair by Kim Huntoon, Dr. Michele Rogers and Troy Davis at Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy.

I would have to say this turned out to be a lot more work than I first anticipated, but in the end it was all worth it. I walked this entire city, every single block from Aviation to Vista del Mar and Imperial to Rosecrans and I used the time to walk as an observer of my city not as a person trying to work up a sweat. I have to tell you walking this way you really see things very differently and notice things you may have never seen before, even though they may have been there for years. You also see things differently by walking over driving. I know this town like the back of my hand, but I have to say there were some blocks I have never walked before. I had many people tell me they have walked every street in town, however, they only walked the residential part. I am glad I covered the entire city including the entire perimeter and some of the refinery. Surprisingly, it was only 85 miles, however, it felt like a lot more, possibly because Second City Rover walks would be my second of the day typically or the fact that El Segundo has no flat streets. No walk was without hills. Some were more strenuous than others and I tried to keep them 2 1/2 to 4 miles each. I took quite a bit of time to map out the entire city so I was sure to get every block and not repeat or backtrack too much.

I expected to do most of these 28 walks on my own, but I had so many friends ask to join me and make contributions to my selected non-profits so I was rarely walking alone, which was nice. And I had all of my sponsors join me for a walk as well, except 1 was unable to make it happen.

Then I had my FB followers, all of you who kept reading and asking when I would be walking or posting again. All of these posts took me quite a bit a time to put together and so many times I would post and then realize I had forgotten a photo or something, oh well, it was a work in progress and I figured next post I will not forget and then once again, I would forget another photo. Well, I do have an excuse, I turned 60! And now that it is all over, I have followers wanting me to continue. I still have plenty of old photos, sometimes some old memories may come up or I may be out roving and see something interesting, you just never know, you may see another post here and there. Or once I get to travel again, you may see me roving somewhere else. BYE FOR NOW . . .

Check out the photos for more walk descriptions . . .

09/06/2024

I have recently added some new historical photos to this post after finding them today at my mom's house. I thought my followers may be interested in seeing them.

Walk #26 of 28 was The Standard Oil Refinery Walk otherwise known as Chevron. I call it Standard Oil because I am from a Standard Oil family. My paternal grandfather, David Peterson, as you know from earlier posts, worked at the El Segundo refinery his entire career, 50 years.

In the planning staging and when my walk was first launched the refinery was going to be off limits. I was so happy when I was offered to be escorted inside the refinery to walk some of the roads so this would become a part of my Second City Rover adventure as well as to hear Chevron would also happily support one of my selected local non-profits with a generous donation. I asked Chevron to support Old Town Music Hall with their new theatre seating campaign. I am so pleased to say Chevron generously donated on behalf of Second City Rover $5000.00 to OTMH which will be matched with $5000.00 essentially purchasing 17 new seats out of the 176 needed for the theatre.

Check out the photos for the walk highlights and refinery history . . .

09/01/2024

Walk #25 of 28 was my last walk around town. It was the first day of school so the streets were a little busier and some kids were out early having to walk their dogs before heading off to school, the pups didn't look happy either! Good job kiddos!

When it comes to the land where the baseball fields where located does anyone know or recall the circumstances behind development of this area into housing? I know I knew the story when it took place but do not have the time to go back and research it for this post right now.

As usual check the photos for walk highlights . . .

08/31/2024

I am a few posts behind and it is the end of August tomorrow, but I am happy to say that I did complete my walking tonight!! I just need to catch up on the posts, I have a few to go.

For now I will post my last August sponsor making their contribution to their selected charity. Mr. Magic Hands, Troy Davis of Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy made a generous $300.00 contribution to the El Segundo Woman's Club yesterday. He presented the contribution to past president, Bebe Buchen. She just happened to be hanging out at Davis & DeRosa and was happy to accept the contribution. She was probably there to play with the pups, that's why I would be there. We needed to pause the photo shoot while Bebe hid her cane. Good job Bebe nobody will ever see it . . .

Thank you Troy for selecting the El Segundo Woman's Club as your charity. It was probably an easy choice as you probably have more than half of the members under the care of Mr. Magic Hands.

08/28/2024

This past Sunday, my August sponsor, Dr. Michele Rogers made a very generous donation of $1000.00 to Old Town Music Hall on behalf of Second City Rover. This generous donation is going towards the $100,000.00 new theatre seats campaign they are working on currently to replace the existing 176 seats. The first $45,000 in donations will be matched by an anonymous $45,000 donation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0w74VCHhk

If you have not visited Old Town Music Hall, you are missing out. It's a true historical GEM right here in our city on Richmond Street. Look it up, check out their calendar for shows, buy your tickets and go. It will only set you back $12.00, and the freshly popped popcorn is only $3.00, not $10.00!

This Saturday, August 31st they are showing the Blues Brothers!

08/27/2024

Walk #24 of 28 was my first my first time back on the road since having my gallbladder removed so let's just start out easy with a 5.5 mile walk covering the north perimeter of the city with one of my August sponsors, boss and friend, Dr. Michele Rogers. We had Phill drop us off in the north 40 and we would work our way west to the beach and eventually find nourishment and ice cream somewhere, just as long was we were home before the street lights came on as our mother's used to tell us. The overall walk was a little over 6 miles by the time we walked up Grand hill and back to Michele's house, I think we were at 17,000 steps and our doggies were tired as it was a long day for both of us. But these old girls made it.

Check out the photos for the walk highlights . . . Only 1 photo of us as somebody doesn't care to have her picture taken.

08/22/2024

Another August sponsor spotlight.

Are you having to move closer to the light, pick up that magnifier, look around the room for a stronger pair of readers and still squint to see if you have enough toothpaste on your toothbrush? Well it just might be time to have your old peepers checked. Just so you know, you should be having your peepers checked every year. If you want to have a great comprehensive eye exam by the best optometrist around, in my opinion, you need to make an appointment with Dr. Michele Rogers. You will not be disappointed and it will be the most thorough exam you have probably ever experienced. Dr. Rogers accepts most insurances and offers a great selections of eyeglass frames and contacts as well. Two locations, El Segundo & Redondo Beach (Saturdays
only).

Call now to get your peepers checked: (424)290-1520

Dr. Michele A. Rogers is proud to practice optometry in the South Bay. Born and raised in El Segundo, Dr. Rogers welcomes the opportunity to serve members of the local communities in her new El Segundo and Redondo Beach offices. She earned both a Doctorate of Optometry and a Bachelor of Science degr...

08/18/2024

Besides going to see Mr. Magic Hands, Troy Davis, at Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy when you need some therapy these two are the next best thing, Ryland and Neven, the PT pups. Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy is a Second City Rover August sponsor and if you are in need of physical therapy this is the place to go. My mom goes to Troy, he is her go to guy and her savior for various issues. Sometimes it is justing spending time, talking and having a visit with Troy and she seems to feel better. But let me tell you a true PT story to bring you to Troy and his Magic Hands and expertise, if you have not experienced it yet.

Two years ago my mom had hip replacement and was supposed to spend 1 night in the hospital, well 8 days later and enduring excruciating pain, being given tons of narcotics which were messing with her mind and things were still not improving. It was something in her groin/thigh area. Doctors, nurses, PT could not figure it out, so let's just give her more pain meds when it hits. They finally gave up and told me they were going to send her to a rehab facility because there was nothing else they could do for her. I had never seen my mom in so much pain when it would hit. I told them I would take her home as a rehab facility would just leave her in bed. I brought her home and stayed with her, set an appointment with Troy for the morning, knowing he would figure it out. Well the pain struck during the middle of the night, I called my husband to come to the house. We walked my mom around the house for 3 hours trying to keep the pain from returning. The appointment couldn't come soon enough. We arrived at Davis & DeRosa to see Troy, I explained everything and what brings it on and what happens, Troy checked her out. Ten minutes later, some painful releases and she was taken care of and it has never happened again. Troy or Mr. Magic Hands found that her abductor muscles were bound and needed to be released. WE SWEAR BY TROY DAVIS!!!!

If you are in need of Physical Therapy go to Davis & DeRosa you will not be disappointed with their services or therapists. They have an office in Hermosa Beach as well.

www.davisandderosa.com
Davis and DeRosa Physical Therapy

08/13/2024

I am a bit behind of posting this walk, #23 of 28. Just so you know this particular morning I was not sure I would even make the walk as just a few hours prior I was suffering from excruciating pain going thru a gallbladder attack, although I did not know it at the time. However, I was determined to make the walk in the morning as each of us had already canceled once and I did not want to do it again. So I didn't tell Drew, we did the 4 miles, had a great walk, talked about a lot of things and then I went to urgent care.

So I had plans for this walk with our Mayor, to walk PCH with him, and for the two of us to just walk and observe. I have learned so much as the Second City Rover by just being an observer on these walks and not using them as a workout. I know this city like the back of my hand, however, I have discovered so much by slowing down and just really looking around and being observant and nosy on my walks and taking my time. On this walk I started out by telling Drew, our Mayor, that I want him to be an observer because he probably only travels on PCH by car and really does not look around. When he got on City Council he worked hard to change Sepulveda Blvd. to Pacific Coast Highway because name recognition of PCH was so important and this was our gateway. Well I told him all the Council did was hang new signs and left it at that, they did nothing to spruce it up and to me our medians are embarrassing with the weeds, same plantings for the past 30 years, dead bushes and trash from Rosecrans to Imperial. We have building owners with vacant buildings that are not being held accountable for maintaining the property for many years now.

This walk was eye opening for our Mayor and he listened, took pictures and made notes for the entire 4 miles that we walked. The most impressive thing for me was for the 2 hours we walked, Drew did nothing but pick up trash all along the way. He hates trash!! I tried picking up as well and he kept telling me that he would get it, which he did. He would put it in the trash receptacles along the road, each time noticing the disrepair they were in as well and taking pictures. Any graffiti he would see, another picture was taken so he could report it, something I do as well on my walks. Drew kept telling me how you see so much more by walking, than you do by just driving by and how he really appreciated doing this walk with me.

When we got to the top of PCH at Rosecrans and we were standing at the City of El Segundo entry sign, he noticed it still said "Sepulveda Blvd". Another photo and note for City staff to address. The entry sign at PCH and Imperial says "Pacific Coast Highway", I guess someone forgot to order 2 sets. When we stood up there I told Drew about how this used to be Allied Chemical and the very spot where there was a giant mountain of sulfur when we were kids. That sulfur was neon yellow, uncovered and would just blow with the wind over town so from the south we had the smell of rotten eggs and from the west or Hyperion Heights we had the smell of p**p. I tried to find an old photo of the sulfur hill, but have not been able to find one anywhere. That was back in the day when just about anything goes with chemical plants, you just plugged your nose when you drove by.

Thank you Drew for joining me and listening to my complaints/suggestions along the way. I know they did not go unheard and things will be addressed along with issues you observed as well. You are truly a hard working and dedicated civil servant to this City and you have been and will continue to be a true asset to our City. And to think we met when our kids were in El Segundo Co-Op Nursery School another long-time El Segundo institution.

See individual photos for walk descriptions . . .

08/10/2024

I am a bit behind on posting my walks, I guess my gallbladder had other plans for me. At this point I am playing catch-up, taking a bit of a break to recover from the surgery and will hopefully be back on the road again next week. I have 4 walks remaining.

Check out the individual photos for the descriptions.

08/09/2024

It's August 9th already and I have not posted about my 2 August sponsors yet. This is the last month of Second City Rover, as I will be finishing up my walking of the 5.5 square miles. The loss of the gallbladder has sidelined me a bit, however, I will be back on the road next week. In the meantime, I wanted to tell you who my sponsors are this month along with the 2 selected non-profit organizations they will be supporting.

This month Dr. Michele Rogers is sponsoring me and will be walking with me on one of the city perimeter walks. She has chosen to support Old Town Music Hall, one of the gems of El Segundo. Summer is winding up and it's time to get back to school for the kiddos, have they had their eye exam? Or maybe you just can't see getting back to work? Dr. Michele Rogers can help you with the most comprehensive eye exam around.

My second sponsor is Troy Davis of Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy. Troy has chosen to support the El Segundo Woman's Club. I am sure most of the members of the ES Woman's Club are frequent fliers at Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy. In my mom's house we refer to Troy as "Mr. Magic Hands."

More to come on each of these sponsors and organizations.

08/06/2024

FYI - Second City Rover has been forced into a smoke break for a bit. I am behind in my posts from previous walks which I will get caught up once I return home, however, my last 4 walks are on a temporary hold, but I will finish in August, it just might not be on my birthday as planned. Although stay tuned, it’s still a maybe, just slow and steady wins the race.

Found on Google from imageresizer.com