mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food, and events leading up to acquiring said food. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are staying away from warm things (like computers and the outdoors).
Yes, it is that time of year again. Posts about Rose parade float road tests, float decorating and the Showcase of floats will be on the blog about once a month until January of next year. The related food/meal posts, will be changing quite a bit. The Phoenix Decorating Company, which constructs the floats where The Mister and I volunteer to decorate in December, has moved its barn about 20 miles East of Pasadena, to Irwindale. The drive there from here is a bit quicker, but we still left at 5 on Saturday morning, to see the floats lined up at 7 for their mechanical and maneuverability testing.
The Theme of the 2018 Rose Parade is "Making A Difference" and each float entry has its own interpretation of those words. Here are some previews of floats that were tested. We will get to the food in a moment.
The Shriners Hospitals for Children 2018 Parade float, "Caring for Kids Around the World", depicts their mascot, Fezzy Bear, in a space suit surrounded by planets and satellites. 
Kiwanis International has a tiger driving a race car on its "Racing to Serve Children" titled float.
"Planting the Seeds of Service" is the theme of the Rotary International 2018 Rose Parade float entry.
The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float, "Sacrifice To Serve" has another patriotic float entered in the Rose Parade, the title is in line with the 'Making a Difference' Theme. 
Western Asset is going to have at least a whale and turtle on their 2018 float entry.
The Lutheran Hour Ministries 68th entry into the parade is titled "Bringing Christ to the Nations".
There were two other floats (Armenian and Lions) which were in the 'rebar' stage of assembly which were also tested that morning.
Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706
Now, on to the food section of this post.
The first stop of the day (at about 6:05 a.m.) was at the Red Hill exit, to get to the Kolache Factory, mentioned in this post
We enjoyed the ham, egg and cheese stuffed dough ($3.19) and the simple, wonderful bacon and cheese stuffed treat ($2.26). The modern version of an Eastern European pastry roll was enough to keep us satisfied before arriving in Irwindale.
Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website
When we left Irwindale, we took side roads South, looking for a place to get breakfast and also scoping out possibilities for dinner after we decorate floats in December… We saw a variety of Mexican restaurants and taco shops, several 'Diner Type' places and then somehow got to this "HK2" mall. Kirk wrote about visits there 12 years ago. (Krua Thai is still there).
Because we were here before 9 a.m., only workers were showing up for early morning openings of the shops (I counted at least 20 restaurants, of so many ethnic varieties-Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Mexican and…the only one that was open when we were there- the American place, Penny's.
Signage, Specials, Services offered, Penny's has it all, especially good food. 
The weekday breakfast specials are 40¢ more on weekends. I went with a "Mini Breakfast" ($6.95 plus 40¢), two eggs (over easy-perfectly cooked) 2 sausage (or bacon) and home fries (also rye toast). This was great, really good; I love those sliced fried potatoes. The sausage was a good quality. 
The Mister chose the corned beef hash and eggs plate ($8.59). Very flavorful corned beef, with diced potato and crispy grill top fried. Those perfect over easy eggs and more of those delightful home fries.
He chose a biscuit and gravy as the side. Great gravy, a really nice baking powder biscuit.
Now that we (sort of) know this mall is here, we will be back a bit later in the morning to try some of the other restaurants when they are open.
Penny's Family Restaurant 969 S. Glendora Avenue West Covina, CA 91790 Open 7-2, daily
I hope your week is good so far!
Thanks for the Parade preview! The floats look great so far! I like the looks of those potatoes too.
Will the new beginning of the tournament of roses has begun if one of these girls will be crown queen of the royal court this year I love the tournament of roses 2018 will be a great year after 2017 but for me my 34th is on Saturday march 31 2018 now let the royal court begin
This was the second road test this year, Soo (I had to be elsewhere when the first road test was held), but seeing floats in this form is pretty nice, even though I kind of like ‘from the ground up’ in my descriptions. Those potatoes were great- and Penny’s in that mall was a really great find.
Welcome to the commenting side of our blog, Eric. Coincidentally, the Tournament just released its applications for the 2018 Royal Court just yesterday- https://www.tournamentofroses.com/rose-parade/royal-court -scroll down, there are so many requirements to be selected and so many duties for the young women selected.
Great first look of the floats Cathy! Irwindale and the surroundings cities will be fun for you and the Mister to explore.