Mission San Juan Castrino (San Juan Castrino, CA) -- September 2015

DAY SEVEN, PART ONE (25 September 2015):

Mum had made a request of a place she wanted to visit while she was in the area, and it happened to coincide with something of international significance.  In order to get to that destination, it’d require a drive south of Pacific Coast Highway past Laguna Beach where we’d driven too earlier.  There was a brief stop in Dana Point to look around the area, and we even considered heading a bit further south to San Clemente where Nixon’s “West White House” had been located.  Ultimately, the reason why we were here was the Mission at San Juan Capistrano.

The mission was founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra, and covers a decent amount of ground.  There was a more celebratory atmosphere in this place, as Serra was being canonized this week to become Saint Serra.  The Pope was visiting the US this week also, so there were was a bit of religious fervor in the area that I normally didn’t see.

The tour of the Mission is self-guided, so patrons could go at their own pace.  For a few extra dollars, and audio guide was available too.  Since it was one of the hottest days during the week of our visit, and most of the Mission was outdoors, not-shady, or had no air conditioning, it was a slow pace we went it.

I was glad to see there were other bits of history presented here, like the background of the Acjachemen Indian tribe who used to live in the area before the Spanish conquest.  And the first vineyard in California was located at the Mission, as here was the vat room used to process the grapes.

Not every portion of the Mission was open to the public, as some serviced as offices for the site and some were still in the process of being restored.  Of the rooms which could be viewed, many of them were devoid of furnishings or other decoration so the only way to know what those chambers were used for was to listen to the audio guide and use your imagination.  The rooms which had artifacts of the time period, like this Spanish barracks, I found more interesting due to the historical aspects.

One of the rooms which has remained in decent condition, and pretty continual use, was the Serra Chapel.  This was a very ornate presentation, and I thinking much of this was updated and added to after Father Serra’s death (considering the balcony above where I was standing contained a pipe organ).

From a historical perspective, I liked checking out the ruins of the Great Stone Church which sat on the Mission grounds.  Construction was completed in 1806, and is was destroyed by an earthquake a few years later in 1812.  It was never rebuilt, but the two bells which survived the disaster are rung only a few times of the year during specific observances.

One additional item of note which happens here is the “miracle of the Swallows of Capistrano.”  On St. Joseph’s Day (19 March) every year migrating swallows return from Argentina, where they nest within the walls of the Mission.  The birds stay until the Day of San Juan (23 October), where they head south to enjoy the summer in South America.

The flock has been tracked so it’s confirmed the same birds return every year.  Was there a specific water or food source here, do the trade winds naturally bring the birds here, those were some of the questions I asked the location.  Of course, no scientific explanation could be provided (or as speaking with one of the docents, even considered).  I’m sure it’s been verified, but that would require additional research.

This is a good place to go for some early history of California, and the surrounding streets contain a number of places where lunch could be obtained.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Pacific Coast Highway:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1

Laguna Beach (CA):  http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/

Dana Point (CA):  http://www.danapoint.org/

San Clemente (CA):  http://san-clemente.org/

Mission San Juan Capistrano:  http://www.missionsjc.com/

Junipero Serra:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra

Acjachemen Indians:  http://www.juaneno.com/

Miracle of the Swallows of Capistrano:  http://www.sanjuancapistrano.net/swallows/

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California Science Center (Los Angeles, CA) -- September 2015

DAY SIX (24 September 2015):

When visiting a place, there’s certain things on the target list to see, and downtown Los Angeles had a couple items for specific reasons.  Today we were heading to the California Science Center.  One of the reasons why I wanted to check this out was because I like science museums, and I like to check out the layout to see what works and what doesn’t.  While I’m there as a tourist, I’m also there scouting things for Texas Museum of Science & Technology to see what ideas we can borrow when we build our permanent location.

Admission to the museum is free, although a donation is “recommended.”  The IMAX theatre in the facing building has a cost.  We decided to stick with the museum, and I was more than happy to provide a donation.  The first thing I noticed as we entered the lobby of this multi-level building were the large objects hanging from the ceiling.  I had to laugh because it was a humpback whale with two Air Force jets behind it.  What did that poor whale do to get chased by the military?

The item I’d come here to see was the first thing on the list, and I figured it was good to get there before the museum started to fill up for the day.  The first portion was an informational section which talked about space travel, mission control, and what it was like to be an astronaut.

There was also a short film about the engineering skill it took to bring this prized item to the area.  It was a slow process, road signs had to be removed, and traffic diverted, but the effort was well worth the results.  In an adjacent building was a hanger designed specifically to hold the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Commissioned in 1992, it was the last Space Shuttle to be built, but it still flew just about as many missions as the others in the fleet.  Situated along the wall were plaques which showed every launch of the entire shuttle program, including date, crew, and a short mission synopsis.  The ones showing the final missions of Challenger and Columbia have a portrait of the crew, so you can remember those who died during the missions.

We could take all the pictures we wanted of the shuttle, there was no touching allowed.  A vehicle which could survive the heat of re-entry could withstand the poking of hundreds of visitors each day, but sooner or later that wear could damage.  It’s best to preserve it as much as possible.  A way to do that was the contraption Endeavour sat upon.  Built with seismic isolators, during an earthquake the shuttle will gently rock back-and-forth on these low-friction sliders to absorb the energy generated by the quake, and not cause damage to the vehicle.  The yellow bars are what holds the shuttle in place, and the blue columns they rest upon are the isolators.

Our visit was timed perfectly, because we had a bit of time to quietly reflect in awe of this engineering marvel before a swarm of noisy and disinterested school kids flooded in.  We saw what we wanted, and then ventured back into the rest of the museum.  There were sections of the ecosystems of the area, and specific exhibits to the functions of life.  About half the displays were designed for hands-on exploration.

Spaced throughout the museum were replicas of some of the more famous probes we’ve launched into our solar system, like the Cassini-Huygens which entered orbit around Saturn in 2004…

…and actual items which were used in the early days of space exploration, like this Gemini 11 capsule.  Notice is was encased in a plastic shell to help preserve it.  While that made it harder to get a good look at it (because of the reflections on the shell), it also kept it from being damaged from hundreds of grubby human hands that would touch it every day.

There’s a café on the first floor if you want to get something to eat, so it’s nice to have that amenity available.  As we were leaving, I was able to get a picture of my favorite plane, which was parked outside.  It’s seems kind of random to have an SR-71 Blackbird parked outside, but that’s an indication of things to come.  Eventually the museum will expand to contain some other aircraft.

Right next door was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games.  The stadium has been in continual use for professional and high school sporting events, as well as other functions.  I asked if there was a museum we could go in and visit to see any artifacts of the Olympics, and was told there was a walking tour of the stadium, but not an actual museum.

I’m all up for walking up and down stairs outdoors, but that wasn’t something my parents had the stamina for.  Besides, we were more interested in seeing more of the historical aspects of the games that were held here.  The most we were able to do with that was look through the fence to see the plaques listing the names of medal winners.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Los Angeles (CA):  https://www.lacity.org/

California Science Center:  http://californiasciencecenter.org/

Texas Museum of Science & Technology (TXMOST):  https://www.txmost.org/

Space Shuttle Endeavour:  http://californiasciencecenter.org/exhibits/air-space/space-shuttle-endeavour

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum:  http://www.lacoliseum.com/

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Warner Bros Studio Tour (Burbank, CA) -- September 2015

DAY FIVE (23 September 2015):

Our planned agenda for today was one of those things that if you’re going to be in the vicinity to take the time to do it.  I’d asked my parents since we were close to Hollywood if they wanted to do the Walk of Fame.  Since it’s require a lot of walking, they declined (as they’d seen the pictures from when I did it).  But Mum said because she was this close to Hollywood she wanted to do a studio tour.  There were a couple different studio we’d picked up brochures for, but there was specific she wanted.  Mum wanted to see Bugs Bunny.

While Warner Brothers (WB) is more than Bugs Bunny, as they were the parent company to DC Comics, it was the agreeable choice as far as I was concerned.  Because we’d made the arrangements the previous day, we had the tickets sent to us electronically (which I recommend as being the best way to do it).  In the morning, it was an easy drive up the interstate to past Griffith Park to Burbank to reach the area.  From the angle we came in from, we couldn’t see the Observatory or the Hollywood Sign.

This section was very residential, with houses sitting on the street across from the studio.  Figure as the studio expanded, it closed the distance between its land and the private residences.  As a point of information, both the studios for Disney and Universal were located nearby.  Upon our arrival, the first we saw was the famous water tower which bares the WB trademark (and at one point was where three monkeys were locked within).

The tour began with a short film about the various productions the studio had done over the years, both in movies and television, and then we boarded a tram to drive us around the back lot.  We were asked where we were from, and what some of our favorite shows or movies were.  I mentioned Troy and Smallville, which our guide gave a less than enthusiastic response.  What, you don’t know your own productions?  Sorry I didn’t say something more current or popular.

The tram took us around some wooded areas where there were various buildings used for exterior shots for productions, like the tavern from True Blood (pictured above).  Of course, any interior shots would be done on a sound stage.  We had to be quiet through this section, as the “street portion” of this area was currently being used to film a sequence for Dirty Little Lies.  We then moved to city portion of the back lot, which had been used in a number of different productions by simply redressing the exteriors.

We were able to enter into a building which was set aside for rotating exhibits, basically dedicated to what was popular at the moment.  The ground floor had a tribute to 75 years of Batman (and all the movies back to the first Michael Keaton one), and the upper level was for Harry Potter.  I went for the ground floor first, as Mum headed upstairs.

In addition to displays showing the costumes and props of each of the movies, there was a wall of all the different Batman masks, and a preview for the upcoming Superman V. Batman movie.

Upstairs in the Harry Potter section were various props used in the movies, like a replica of a Deathly Hollow, and Quidditch gear.  I liked the Sorting Hat which was setting there, as someone would hold it over you, and a movie sound effect would randomly play.

My favorite house was Ravenclaw, which was the only one not mentioned in the movies.  I pointed that out to the tour guide, who acknowledged my astuteness of that.  He also laughed when I asked about the monkeys in the water tower.  (For those who didn’t get the reference the first time, that goes back to the 1990’s Animaniacs cartoon.)

From there we were brought into a room which contained all the Batmobiles from the various WB movies.  Again, I liked the original Michael Keaton one the best.  Keep in mind as the tour was on a tight schedule this section (like the previous area) we were allowed 10-15 minutes in the area to look around, so you couldn’t linger.  You had to absorb what you could as quick as you could.

The next portion of the tour had us walk through the props department.  Any item which could conceivably be used in a shoot was stored here, and there were group by category.  Imagine a shelf full of various office phones, or a room full of stuffed animals.  If it could be used, they had it.  I asked the guide if the stuff was purchased new, gotten from GoodWill, or donated, and the response was “all of the above.”

Additional items stored here were all the statutes from The Maltese Falcon, the desk used in The West Wing, and the piano from Rick’s Café Americian used in Casablanca.  Given the time, it would be fun to spend the whole day here just guessing what was used where, as there were no informational signs to show that.

From there were moved into a section which had posters and other behind-the-scenes information about what was needed to make a production.  I liked the pile of rejected scripts, because it reminded me of all the early drafts my writer’s group went through, as each one was a written story which will never be published.

After stopping for a photo shoot at the Central Perk coffee shop from Friends…

…we stopped at what was called the “forced perspective table.”  The table is designed a special way so when viewed from a certain angle, it creates the illusion of different sizes.  The actors would sit on either side of the table (not directly across from each other) and look at the monitors in front of them.  That way they could interact in proper sequence.  So this shot of Dad and I sitting at the table makes him appear to be hobbit-sized purely from the way the camera’s perception is tricked.

The last portion of this building (before the gift shop and Central Perk-themed café) was a series of green screens to allow you act out a short sequence.  Dad put on the spacesuit from Gravity, while Mum and I did the Harry Potter broom ride (as that allowed for a bit more range of involvement).  The patron stationed there would give direction (“lean left,” etc) as it was filmed.  Our images would then be matted on to a pre-selected piece of footage, so it appeared that we were really in the scene flying along the English countryside (or in space).

The tour was very thorough, and we were completed by lunch time.  Keeping in mind the time constraints, it was a sizable amount of money for what we got out of this.  Having the tour last another hour or two, and having more time to soak in the exhibits would’ve been nice.  We were still glad we took the opportunity to do this.

One thing that Dad observed was the amount of people that worked behind the scenes.  Every set needed to be constructed, so blue-collar labors (like painters, electricians, and foreman) were busy moving about, as well as drivers and other gopher-type assistants.  Certainly for those who live in the area, this was a major employer.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Hollywood (CA):  https://www.latourist.com/?page=hollywood

Hollywood Walk of Fame:  http://www.walkoffame.com/

Warner Bros Studio Tour:  https://www.wbstudiotour.com/

DC Comics:  http://www.dccomics.com/

Griffith Park:  http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/griffithpk/

Griffith Observatory:  http://griffithobservatory.org/

Hollywood Sign:  http://hollywoodsign.org/

Burbank (CA):  http://www.burbankca.gov/

Walt Disney Studios:  https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/southern-california-vacations/

Universal Studios Hollywood:  http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/

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Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach, CA) -- September 2015

DAY FOUR, PART TWO (22 September 2015):

Our destination wasn’t too far from Shoreline Village, but the GPS unit sent us to the parking lot right before we should’ve gone for our destination.  A quick drive around the area figured that out, as there weren’t very good signs to direct us to the correct parking garage.  Still, we’d arrived at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Upon entering the facility, the first I noticed was the whale suspended overhead.  Want to talk about something that grabs your attention.  Whales are the largest mammals on the planet, and seeing one over your head really puts that into perspective.

The aquarium has a long central corridor with galleries on either side, although the main entrances to those are located on the second floor.  The two main galleries focused on the northern Pacific Ocean, and the tropical region.  There were smaller sections for the southern Pacific, and marine mammals.

One of the exhibits we found the most fascinating were the jellyfish.  There are many species present of these fabulous creatures, and they’re so unlike anything else we have on our planet.  We want to go looking for alien life on other planets, yet you can’t get something more alien than this.

And to think about what other interesting things nature has come up, look no further than the sea dragon.  I’d never seen one of these before, and could see why they could be mistaken for a branch floating in the water.  Like their sea horse relatives, the males carry and give birth to the young.

It was nice to stop and look at the fish swimming by in the tanks, and sometimes it was just as interesting to look at all the various colors and shapes of the corals.  Being able to maintain living coral is difficult due to factors like light and temperature sensitivity, so it’s impressive this exhibit is present.

I sent this picture to a couple of my friends telling them I’d found a face-hugger.  Since when I go on these trips, no one really knows where I am or what I’m seeing until after, so sending out strange random pictures is fun.

After passing the otter enclosure, the aquarium opens to an outdoor section with a penguin habitat…

… and a section where guests were allowed to reach out and touch a ray.  With a light two-finger touch, I felt the leathery-skin as the critter glided by.

There’s also animal shows which happen throughout the day, as well as the Ocean Theatre to view 3D and 4D movies, and a kiosk at the Ocean Science Center showing presentations from the NOAA.  The guide book which comes with the admission has a good map, as well as a visual guide for the animals within the facility.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Shoreline Village:  http://www.shorelinevillage.com/

Aquarium of the Pacific:  http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration):  http://www.noaa.gov/

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