You know, for me one of the things that makes living in Pasadena a
little more exciting, is the movie industrys frequent activity
around town. I often see the film crews at work, but I never seem
to recognize locations later on in theaters.
A month or so ago Momma Skidbone and I were blessed with some
baby sitting time from Grandma. We tried to use the time together
to grab a bite and see a movie. Unfortunately our free time was
badly synced with the theaters movie starting times, so we were
faced with the limited choice of Transformers or some horror movie.
As neither picture were high on our "to see" list, we took a chance
on the action movie and chose Transformers.
Boy did we pick a winner! It was way better than I expected.
Visually stunning to say the least, and not nearly as goofy as a
skeptic like myself, might think. The best part though, was I
recognized locations. A number of the scenes shot during the first
quarter of the film were done here in Pasadena, and some in South
Pasadena I think.
This cache is hidden at the second location in the movie I
recognized. This little old gas station is often used as a movie
location. In Transformers, it was known as Bolivias Used Car Sales.
The slick and fast-talking used car dealer Bobby Bolivia was
humorously played by Bernie Mac. In the scene shot here, the
antihero Sam Witwick purchases a car from Bobby Bolivia which
neither of them knows is really a robot in disguise named Bumble
Bee. The next thing you know there are robots running crazy all
over the place. It was awesome! I would recommend seeing this one
while it is still in the theaters as this is definitely a big
screener.
I wrote this cache before I had a hiding place. When I went by
yesterday, I wandered around scoping out possibilites. Ronnies
Automotive Repair was open and the garage was alive with activity.
Being a lawful geocacher, I did what I always do 
, I went and asked for permission. I
walked up to a mechanic who seemed busy, but was quick to ask if he
could help me. I sheepishly asked him if this really was the
Transformers set for Bolivias Used Car Sales. He happily confirmed
my observation. I then, even more sheepishly, asked him if he had
heard of geocaching, since I was looking to place a hide here
abouts. He lit up and said yeah check out this spot. He told me
that he had been wanting to try geocaching, and actually had a
hiding spot in mind already. I couldn't believe what luck I was
having here and I ended up using his hiding place.
The cache is a 3x3x6 container with some little trades and such.
Please be careful to respect the location, the cache hiding spot,
and keep track of any loose parts. Keep the cache finger
accessable. Enjoy, and maybe say hello to the mechanics because one
of them could be a future geocacher in disguise!
