With love in the air...

Upland City Council updates twice a month guaranteeed!! :D

The abundance of chain restaurants. Applebees, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and TGiF oh my!

and let's not forget Red Robin, Islands, Fuddrucker, Bostons, Mimis, Marie Calenders, Cocos, Carrows, Baker Square, Cheesecake Factory, BJs, Chilis, Chevy's, Border Grill, El Torito, Carinos, Spaghetti Factory, Black Angus, Outback, Sizzlah, Cask N Clever, PF Changs, Panda Inn.... more more more in Rancho and Ontario Please!

[I think our first two commenters are being a trifle sarcastic. -- DA]

I love the weather, the view of the mountains, the abundance of trees and of course lots of wonderful family run businesses who treat you like family. We can drive to the snow for the morning then enjoy a sunset dinner on the beach, all in one day. The Inland Empire is a gem and I love living here.

[Finally, a sincere person. Thank you, Nancy. -- DA]

The Sakura Taco.

I'm not kidding. It's on the Sakura Ichi happy hour menu, and is amazing. Also I love AMOCA's ceramic studio, all the Millard Sheets art around and KSPC. This area is a complete and total gem.

[I like your off-kilter choices, Megan. -- DA]

Our traffic is not as bad as the 213, 323, and 310, YET!

I'd just say "dittos" but I can't quite agree with Charles. Fortunately, we do have good train service if you happen to be going into and out of town at the right time.

Oh, and I almost forgot the fabulous Pomona Fox Theater as well as all of our other landmarks. History actually lives out here.

That coming soon, our very own, born in the 909 gourmet food trucks will launch after a 30 year hiatus. Ha-ha-nu-pod!

My family did just what Nancy said, I took my family to Mt Baldy to play in the snow in the morning, then we went to the end of Huntington Beach pier later in the day for some Strips, and if we wanted, we could have been in Tijuana in the night for tacos. I love all the freeways, I live by the 15/210. Great!

but Rob, with so many chain restaurants in the IE, who will pay attention to the little piddly diddily food trucks?

Roy Choi and his kind not welcome here! This is the IE!

I love living in the 909 because it's got everything I need and want. No need to travel far for the best of everything.

I'm not much for dining out - unless someone else is picking up the tab - but I appreciate the shopping, the live theaters, and nature spots such as the Botanical Gardens in Claremont. It's a haven of quiet in the midst of traffic and noise.

Maybe best of all I feel safe here.

Oh, and you're here, David, so that we're kept up to date on happenings.

What else could one want?

[Nice to be included on your list, Ramona. -- DA]

In the worst heat of summer I wonder why I still live here. Then one day it rains, and the next morning I get up to find the air washed clean, the sun shining, and snow on the mountains almost close enough to touch. And then I wonder why I would want to live anywhere else?

I love that it's a little less crowded out here, a little more friendly and open. I love that Pomona has a history, that there are still little hole-in-the-wall places to find food, services, books, etc. I love watching the fireworks at the Fairplex from my backyard, not to mention sitting at my desk listening to the drag races!

I also appreciate the growing ethnic diversity, the variety of yummy foods. The diversity in age groups is great, too - In Claremont alone we have a large population of college kids next to at least 3 large retirement communities. We have the Arts Colony and Antiques Row, and so much more. Again, why I would want to live anywhere else?

GREETINGS:
The majesty of the mountains that provide us scenic views, stature and stability. The tree-shrouded streets that offer a canopy of leaves and a home for the songbirds. The energy of commerce that fuels our days and enlivens our nights. The pulse of the freeways, affording access to all points and helping bring diverse people together. And the history that lives in local legends like Ramon Sanchez, who this May will be 98 years young and is beloved by family, friends and all those he's touched throughout the years.

You can keep the glamour and clamor down the roads in those other area codes. As for me, it's fine all the time in the 909.

Excerpt from Patrick Tonner's love-poem "Sweet Pomona"

Put away thy dainty frills,
Come and view our mountain rills;
Rippling sweet amid the hills.
Here at sweet Pomona.

Tropic fruit the orchard dapples,
Here the winter faintly grapples,
With our peaches, plums and apples,
Here at sweet Pomona.

Come; no blighting frosts are here,
Come; our mountain skies are clear;
Come; a lasting Spring is here.
Come to sweet Pomona.

[Some things never change, eh? -- DA]

When I journeyed from my home in Spain to the "new world"...and didn't fall off the edge, I was the one who held out and requested this beautiful Rancho from the King of Spain and Gov. Alvarado. Setting up my casa primera...first house...at Park Ave. and McKinley was great, but then when we built the larger adobe on Arrow Hwy. at Orange Grove, then we really started to "rock the I.E." Very few of my ancestors have ever left this area and for the many reasons...and more...that the previous replies mention. Vaya Con Dios, Senor David!

[Vaya Con Dios, Don Ygnacio! -- DA]

One more comment, many years ago I was taking my older sister to LAX for her deployment to Spain in the USAF, and as we were on a high freeway transition, she looked back toward the very snowy San Gabriel and San Bernadino mountains and said that that is what she is going to miss most.

I like living, in a town, that is only five-square miles in area, yet bordered by the larger cities. I am within walking distance, of the supermarket, Costco, shopping mall, post office, City Hall, and, if need-be, the PD and the train station. Everything else, including theaters, more restaurants, and the Dr. offices, are from five minutes, to a half-hour away, by car. I like it, that if I am in the mood to venture out, I can take a Metrolink to LA, and do lots of things--or if I want to stay within home range, I can drive surface streets to Victoria Gardens, spend an hour at the Library, on the computers (best place to go, if the laptop is, out of order, at home), and grab a bite at the counter, at CA Pizza Kitchen.

Proximity: close to the ocean, close to airports (a few), close to various libraries, close to the mountains, close to the desert (if you need to go), close to sports events, close to live theater, close to amusement parks, close to shopping "experiences," close to national parks, close to [insert forgotten places here].

Cue the Carpenters, "Ah, ah ah ahah...Close to you..."

What I like about living here...Much.

The mountainous view, the rocky soil, the century of history, the older towns and neighbourhoods, the potential...and what my now-getting-older memory can remember.

What I do not like about living here...Much that was not here when I was a kid. (But, that is for another blog...)