Journey with us down Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena to Tournament House, home of the Tournament of Roses Association. You'll arrive at an Italian Renaissance-style mansion that was once owned by chewing-gum pioneer William Wrigley Jr. Built between 1906 and 1914, the house is a reminder of Pasadena's early years, when it was one of the many grand houses along this spacious street.After Mrs. Wrigley's death in 1958, the house and the surrounding land were donated by the family to Pasadena with the stipulation that they would be used as the TOR's permanent headqueaters. The house's exotic wood paneling, marble staircase and fireplaces, and ornate molded plaster ceilings truly provide a majestic setting. Outside the house, the Centennial Rose Garden features the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) award-winning Tournament of Roses rose, just one of the attractions in the 4 1/2 acre floral display of more than 1,500 varieties of roses, camellias and annuals.
Now the house can be toured for free on Thursdays from 2-4pm between the months of February and August, but is closed for the rest of the year. The gardens, however, are open year-round...
Which takes us to the cache. You can park within feet of the cache, but please enter the gardens the proper way - there's no need to hop any fences or trample anything. We placed this cache in an easy spot to get to, even for a child (hint) - it is not buried, and no digging in mud or wet leaves is necessary (hint) - and we took care to pick a spot that affords the most shelter from potential prying eyes in the house itself (hint). GPS reception is iffy under the canopy of trees - especially that gigantic ficus (hint) - but if you pick your spot you should be able to get better than 20' accuracy, as we did. The absence of metallic objects caused us to use an ordinary 35mm film canister on this one - please replace the cache EXACTLY as you find it. Enjoy the search and GOOD LUCK!