Discovery Cube (Santa Ana, CA) -- September 2015

DAY THREE, PART TWO (21 September 2015):

Part of the plan we had this week was to get to a location right when it opened, so we could potentially visit other locations of interest in the area in the afternoon.  Leaving Yorba Linda, it was a quick drive over to Santa Ana for our second item of the day:  Discovery Cube.

I first noticed this during one of my drives between dealerships, as it was rather difficult to miss a giant cube sandwiched between two sets of highways.  Research showed this to be a hands-on science museum, which for me are always fun to check out (especially because of my connection with TXMOST, as we like to see what works for other places so we can adapt it).

The initial view of the venue made it appear this was targeted towards younger kids, and may not have much towards things to keep adults (even “kids-at-heart adults”) interested.  Still, it was worth the investigation.  The ground floor was filled with some hands-on science displays, although not all worked well or were that impressive.  The geyser had a sign saying that every 10 minutes it would go off, but it took closer to fifteen (yes, I timed it) and the results were rather anti-climatic.

There were three seats with different pulleys in order to demonstrate the variations of lifting weights.  I liked the idea of this, but the gloves provided to guests (to keep from getting rope burn, and to provide better grip on the rope) were rather worn down.  I still succeeding in getting some burn on my hands due to the thinness of the material.  The smoke signal generator was a little more interesting.

Upstairs was a mock mission control room to use computers to launch satellites, and a replica of the Mars rover Curiosity.

This lead to an outdoor section, which was actually modeled within the actual cube this place was named after.  There were a few displays which allowed you to see how high you could fire weights on a wire, which were very neat.  One thing we had a lot of fun with was a mock rocket engine you’d stand under and get engulfed in smoke in a blast-off simulation.  Some of the younger kids in the area seemed to be unsure about trying it until they saw how much fun Mum was having with it.

Back inside the upper level was a room with a sphere-shaped projector, very similar to the Magic Planet we use at TXMOST.  This projector was much larger, and set in the room on a higher level.  The clarity on this image of Jupiter was good, but the Great Red Spot was eye-level to me as I stood there.  As it rotated through various images of the Earth, it was difficult to see what was trying to be represented in the northern hemisphere.

In addition to a wind tunnel, and a machine to recreate seismic activity, I really enjoyed the section which was three mirrors in a triangle pattern facing each other.  Can you count how many times you can see my reflection here?  I took a short video of me spinning around singing a particular tune by 1980’s New Wave band Flock of Seagulls in an attempt (admittedly a poor one) to recreate one of the few hits songs they had.

One thing I found very interesting in the Discovery Cube was the section devoted to the “Science of Hockey.”  I guess the vicinity to Anaheim might’ve been a factor.  In addition to shooting pucks at a net to gauge how fast you could hit them, you do a skating simulation, and even try on the protective gear.  All of that was old hat to me, but it was still nice.  Mum liked being able to climb up and pretend she was driving the Zamboni.

Nestled next to the exhibit were signed jerseys and memorabilia from when the hometown team (Anaheim Ducks) won the Stanley Cup in 2007.  That was a welcome surprise to me.

Other indoor exhibits included a market to push your shopping cart around to find the “healthy” foods or the correct items on the list, and a special exhibit on Hot Wheels cars.  Outside on the ground level area (at the base of the actual cube) was the dinosaur-themed section.

In addition to some skeletons and dirt pile to dig up bones, there was a correct-scale Apatosaurus which you could enter the chest cavity to see how its circulatory system worked.

I had to take a picture with both the dino and the cube in it (as much as I could, given available locations) without any other “man-made” objects in it.  I texted this to a couple of my nerd friends with a caption that my stolen Borg ship had crash-landed in the Jurassic.

Discovery Cube was a fun museum, but not worth the price we paid for it.  Yes, there were some interesting things, but not as many as the things which didn’t work properly.  It had just finished a major expansion back in June (as evident by patchwork design of the parking lot), and it felt like other exhibits had been rotated back in yet.  It was good for an afternoon diversion, and something to check out in the area, but in the end it was still aimed for a younger audience.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Santa Ana (CA):  http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/

Discovery Cube Science Center:  http://www.discoverycube.org/oc/

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

Curiosity (Mars rover):  http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/

Flock of Seagulls (“Ran So Far Away”):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpfWORQWhU

Anaheim (CA):  http://www.anaheim.net/

Anaheim Ducks:  http://ducks.nhl.com/

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Richard Nixon Presidential Library (Yorba Linda, CA) -- September 2015

DAY THREE, PART ONE (21 September 2015):

Considering what we visited the day before, it made sense to head to this destination today.  We’d been told this place was getting ready to close for renovations, so visiting it was imperative.  We were smart enough to call over to make sure they’d be open before we drove over to Yorba Linda.  Our destination was the Richard Nixon Presidential Library.

We arrived at the appropriate time, as we were informed the museum was getting ready to close for a few months while there would be some modifications to location, including changing some of the exhibits and updating the technology.  I honestly doubt it will be that drastic of a visual change when completed, but still something to note that it may look different later.

The docent made some good recommendations of how to tour the site.  We were there right as it opened, and the weather was still cool.  We were told we should go outside to the far side of the complex to see the presidential helicopter first, then the boyhood home and rose garden, before coming back in the air conditioned interior.  The docent noted that when it got too hot in the day, they may close access to the helicopter.  Made perfect sense to us.

We passed a wing which had a special collection of Israeli artifacts, but didn’t stop in, as we’d decide to hit that later.  That section also had a recreation of the East Room of the White House, which currently wasn’t open as a crew was prepping it to be used as a setting for a film shoot.

The property used to be part of a large orchard which was owned and maintained by the Nixon family for years.  While much of the original acreage has been parceled off and developed (which was not uncommon), there was enough space available to place the VH-3A Sea King presidential helicopter.

Pictures were not allowed inside, but suffice to say the ceiling was low, and the space felt cramped, even with just us few in there.  During an administration, the helicopter was transported for use overseas to create a secure environment for sensitive discussion, and reliable transportation.  There was a photo inside of the helicopter flying over the Great Pyramid of Giza which I thought was interesting.

Next to the area was the house which Nixon was born in.  While the property remained in the family for a time, it did change hands a couple times.  At one point a teacher for the local school lived there.  Even though it had been modernized as time went on, the interior had been restored to resemble what it looked like during Nixon’s youth.

There was a flower garden, which presently didn’t have anything blooming, and the burial sites of President Nixon and First Lady Patricia.

Once we headed back inside, we watched a film on Nixon’s career, both before and after his presidential terms.  I found it interesting about the public speaking he did for years afterwards.  There was also a diorama of the West White House (in San Clemente; now a private residence), and the brooches worn by Secretary of State Madeline Albright during her term of service.  Each brooch had a particular theme she was trying to convey during the situations she was in.  No pictures were allowed of the brooches, which I believe was because they didn’t want the pieces to be copied.

From there, we were look at the various exhibits of Nixon’s early career, from pins from his terms in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the unsuccessful presidential bid in 1960.  I liked some of the promotional items which were featured, like these ice cream wrappers.

A statue gallery contains likenesses of various leaders who Nixon interacted with…

…and next to that is a room which contains a testament to Nixon’s work on improving relations with China.

There’s also a piece of the Berlin Wall there…

…and beyond there is a whole section dedicated to Patricia Nixon, and then one focusing on the space program.

You have to keep in perspective that while Nixon was President during the historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing, he was also responsible to slashing NASA’s budgets which forced the cancellation of the final Apollo missions, and an ambitious plan for a permanent lunar base by the end of the 1970’s.

The flip-side of this was having those funds devoted to the creation of the Space Shuttle program.  So that makes one ponder how the 1980’s and 1990’s would’ve been different if we didn’t have the Shuttles?  Would the economic crises of the 1970’s ended the lunar base plans?  Would we have the same level of technological prowess now?  Would the Hubble Space Telescope, for an example, even been launched?

Leaving those questions to be pondered for another time, we moved into the final section which had the presidential limo…

…and a breakdown on the events of the Watergate scandal which has led to Nixon’s resignation.  I do want to note that Nixon was never actually impeached; that was done to a later Chief Executive who remained in office after it, and wore the impeachment like a badge of honor.

We arrived at the museum just as it opened, and by the time we’d gone through all of these sections we were ready for lunch.  Even if we’d looked at the replica of the East Room and the special collections area, it probably would’ve only added another hour.  It made a great visit, and we still had the rest of the day to explore other places in the area.  It’ll be interesting to see what the museum looks like after the renovations have been completed.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Yorba Linda (CA):  http://www.ci.yorba-linda.ca.us/

Richard Nixon Presidential Library:  http://nixonfoundation.org/

Great Pyramids of Giza:  http://discoveringegypt.com/pyramids-temples-of-egypt/pyramids-of-giza/

West White House:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Casa_Pacifica

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

Madeline Albright:  http://www.biography.com/people/madeleine-albright-9179300

Apollo 11 Moon Landing:  https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html

Watergate Scandal:  http://www.history.com/topics/watergate

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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Simi Valley, CA) -- September 2015

DAY TWO (20 September 2015):

To get to today’s destination, it was a nice easy drive north on the 405, west on the 101, and a north turn after Thousand Oaks brought us close to Simi Valley.  The view going up the mountains was nice, although most things were brown.  Signs were clearly posted for our target destination, so it wasn’t hard to make our way to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

This looks like a small Spanish-style ranch nestled in the hills, until you realize how much the complex sprawls out.  Upon entrance, once of the docents informed us of a deal.  For about the cost of the three of us today, we could join the Presidential Library Foundation, which would grant entry into any of the dozen locations for the next year.  Considering what we planned on doing tomorrow, it made perfect sense to us.  We noted the attendance for the venue was high today, but it wasn’t too packed, so that made it nice to view the exhibits.

After viewing a short introductory film, the museum portion winds through various bits about Reagan’s boyhood and love of football.  It also touches upon his broadcasting career, spokesperson for GE, and then his tenure as an actor.  One of the exhibits allows guests sit in front of a green screen and read the opening narration of an episode of General Electric Theatre, as others can see you on the monitor in the finished form.  It was fun doing that, but machine busted after I did mine, and it wasn’t playback any previous sequence.

There’s a bit on his governorship of California, but I found the next chronological areas of more interest, as it was things I remembered well.  Mum and I took turns standing behind the podium which was during the inauguration.  It was commented that Mum looked like she could be a candidate.  I just earned chuckles from those around me as said with authority “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Say what you will about us being a television-driven society, it was interesting to be able to see the assassination attempt footage, as well as the snipets of the various news reports which came afterwards.  This was back in the days before the 24-hour news channel, when your regularly scheduled programs would get interrupted by a “special report.”  As someone who worked in media for a bit, it also interesting to see the history of how reporting styles had changed, and what hadn’t.

After passing a section which had a recreation of the Oval Office, the next section focusing on the glamor of the administration, from gifts which were given to the Reagans by foreign leaders…

… like this selection of Nancy’s dresses…

… and memorabilia from the anti-drug campaign.  I don’t recall this game *at all* when I was younger.  Considering how much I’d mock things then (and now), it would’ve been a prime target.

From there, you exit the main complex and go down a long hall to an annex building which houses Air Force One.  From looking at the terrain out the window, you know it was a feat of engineering to get this jet in here, and properly secured.

The tour takes around the outside to the other side of the vehicle, and leads to the front entrance.  No pictures were allowed to be taken inside Air Force One.  Since the technology is a few decades out of date, I’m not sure what the rationale behind that was.  It was interesting to see how the interior was divided up into small offices for the President, the Secret Service, and the press.

Exiting the rear of the plane brings you to an elevator to which drops you down to the lower level, where you could walk under Air Force One.  There’s also a mural of various planes which have had the Air Force One designation which stretches across the far wall.

Parked on this level is the presidential helicopter, known as Marine One.  As an FYI, any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President using “Marine One” as their call sign.  The aircraft carrying the Vice President are known as “Marine Two.”  Nearby is the presidential limo, a 1984 Cadillac which was “state of the art” (for the time), and sported a vanity license plate.  Because of my connection with GM, I had to give it a thumbs up.

One side of the entire structure here is glass, so you can see the mountains out the window.  There’s also a patio area where you can walk outside to enjoy the view.

Nearby was a portrait of Reagan made completely out of different colored jelly beans.  If you’re going to look for a medium to use for this person, choice his favorite snack.  It’s nicely done, and really captured the likeness.  I zoomed in on the mouth to show the detail, and the skill which it took to do this.

About this time we were looking for lunch.  While there was a pseudo-Irish pub in the area right next to Air Force One, it only served pre-wrapped items.  We decided to venture to the other eating establishment in the museum, which was the Reagan Café.  That had a number of made-to-order grill items available.  The café has a large dining room, but it was closed this day for a seminar, and there was limited seating outdoors.

Near the area was a piece of the Berlin Wall.  I’m glad to see a piece of this here, considering how instrumental Reagan’s policies were in thawing the Cold War to the point where the Wall was able to be torn down.

We resumed the tour of the museum with an area which showcased the domestic policy Reagan was facing when he took office.  I commented to my parents that the concerns of “rising taxes, falling wages, and lack of affordable houses” are still here, and even more present, thanks to the current administration.

The next section was one which I rather enjoyed, as it focused on the Cold War.  There was a section which was made to resemble the Berlin Wall, complete with Soviet propaganda posters.

While the leaders of the Soviet regime were best remembered during Reagan’s tenure, there were displays with other foreign nationals of interest, like the Ayatollah Khomeni and Daniel Ortega, the invasion of Grenada, and the airstrikes against Libya.

I really would’ve liked to see the video footage of some of the speeches related to these events, especially the Libyan situation.  While portions of the song have been used in “Gods of War” by Def Leppard (from 1987’s “Hysteria” album), being able to see the speech in its entirety would’ve added some nice context to it.  As it starts with “Today, we did what we had to do…” demonstrated the tough stance Reagan had on foreign policy.

There was a lot of video footage of Reagan’s memorial service.  One of the things I found really touching was one of the people clearly visible in the guests-of-honor was Mikhail Gorbachev.  He and Reagan may’ve been adversaries in the Cold War, but there really was a great understanding and admiration between the two men.  The flag which was draped over Reagan coffin is displayed here.

Outside the museum, not far from where the Berlin Wall piece stands is the Reagan memorial site, where he was interred.

One side exhibit in the museum was dealing with the history of football, due to Reagan’s love of the sport.  While there are various jerseys, trophies, and other memorabilia from current NFL teams…

…there’s also historical items dealing with when Reagan played, as well as items from the very early days of the sport.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has so much material, this can easily be an all-day visit.  Any opportunity you get to visit a presidential library (or even see pieces of the Berlin Wall), you should take advantage of it.  It’s an opportunity to see history.  For me, being aware of these events as they happened made it nice to revisit those memories.  Mum had commented this had been her father’s favorite President, and she knew that he would’ve loved seeing everything here.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

Thousand Oaks (CA):  https://www.toaks.org/living/about/default.asp

Simi Valley (CA):  http://www.simivalley.org/

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library        :  http://www.reaganfoundation.org/

General Electric Theatre:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_Theater

Air Force One:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/air-force-one

Grenada:  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-invades-grenada

Mikhail Gorbachev:  http://www.britannica.com/biography/Mikhail-Gorbachev

Berlin Wall Pieces Location:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Berlin_Wall_segments

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Visiting the Hellmouth Before Returning to Seal Beach (CA) -- September 2015

DAY ONE (19 September 2015):

This vacation trip to the Los Angeles region had been in the planning stages since the end of 2014, when I first started going out there for work.  I’d pick up brochures from the kiosk at the hotel of interesting places that I wanted to check out if I had the opportunity.  Since my yearly vacation with the parents has been consisting of them flying to another city and me meeting them there, it made since to do it here as I was quickly getting familiar with the area.  And I figured all the reward points I was earning from hotel stays and car rentals would build up so it would offset the cost to visit.

The plans to visit here got put on hold at the beginning of 2015 when my personal life exploded, and the person who was supposed to be joining us on this trip (as part of the “meet the parents” stage of the relationship) was no longer in the picture.  As the year passed the half-way mark, and I began to heal from those events, the plan was set in motion again.  The only change, other than the obvious, was the logistics of it.

As my company had decided that it cost too much to send my counterparts and I to our respective regions in the L.A. basin (as it was said it “wasn’t necessary” to interface directly with our dealerships and customers), I hadn’t earned as many reward points as previously planned.  Also, the original idea was to be in the region for my “work week,” and then pick up my parents when they flew into LAX, so we’d have the following week as “vacation week.”  They would’ve stayed in the same hotel I’d been staying in, so I wouldn’t have to change reservations and crap like that.

The L.A. travel journals I’d been keeping while at work had started to get repetitious, as there were only so many ways I could describe the same places I was going for work.  The last full entries of daily travel had been the January 2015 entries, as February I only noted a couple of the special side trips I did, and didn’t keep any notes on the subsequent visits (excepting for what was needed to write Trip Advisor articles).  And since it’d been a couple months since my last business trip here, I was looking forward to returning to the area, and seeing what (if anything) had changed.

I booked myself the earliest flight as possible from Austin, so I’d arrive in L.A. after 8 am.  While it’d still be hours until the hotel would allow me to check-in, I figured I could make a couple quick stops before Mum & Dad arrived … then they let me know they were coming on a 10 am flight.  Well, no reason to hang about the airport, but I didn’t want to go too far away either.  I had the idea of visiting a couple of my dealership for a social call (at least the ones who the contacts had moved from business relationships to friendships), but many of them didn’t work the weekends.  I then remembered something which had been on my list to do on the last couple trips out, but I was just never able to fit it in.

I drove down to Torrance to make a quick visit to a place which had been on my list ever since I realized where it was.  On my business trips, I’d always visit my dealer in Torrance on the morning of my final day, as it was easy to get to the airport from there.  I knew a particular building had been used for the exterior shots of a show I liked, and I didn’t even consider looking for it until my March trip.  Turned out this place was only mere blocks from my dealer, but visiting there on a week day could’ve presented a problem.

Torrance High School was used as “Sunnydale High” in the late-90’s television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I think some of the interiors were used as well.  But to go down and visit a school, while school was in session, just sounds damn creepy.  And I’m sure the campus security (if there was any) would ask why I was taking a couple pictures.  These days, I can understand the concern they’d have of some stranger scoping out the school.  So to go down there on a weekend day seemed to make more sense to me.

It was easy to get to, and had a small car park in front of it where I could leave Becca (which was the name my rental car had given me).  I was able to snap a few exterior shots, and that was it.  I could see some landscaping was going on, and I didn’t want to go wandering around the area.  While it’s a public place, there’s still the creep factor of doing that.  Had I seen an authority figure there, I would’ve asked if it was okay to do so (which I’m sure I wasn’t the first tourist asshole to do so).

In order to take pictures, I use the actual camera (because it has an awesome zoom, and able to take steady shots), and the phone (for when I want to quickly send a shot in a text message).  I sent a picture of the school to a couple of my friends with the caption of “I’m visiting the Hellmouth” to those few who’d get the reference.

After that, I find a nearby coffee shop that I was able to sit in a shaded outdoor patio area to have a drink and a light snack until it was time to head back to LAX to pick up Mum & Dad.  I knew we were going to have lunch once they’d arrived, I wasn’t going to be able to hold out that long without something light to nibble on.  Oh, by the way, the coffee shop I was at was an annex to a gas station, so it wasn’t even worth writing a Trip Advisor article on.  When I was nearly at LAX, I could see a SouthWest plane coming in for a landing.  Since it was around the time of Mum & Dad’s projected arrival time, I knew I’d joke with them later that I saw them land.  I parked Becca and went across to the baggage claim area I was only at a couple hours earlier.  I felt like a local waiting for them to appears, although I guess you could say in a way I was.

Once we gotten their luggage, it was a quick drive down the 405 to Seal Beach, where we’d be staying.  I commented that driving in Los Angeles was like driving in Austin, except instead of three lanes of traffic going in one direction there were six.  Mum’s comment was better me than her having to drive it.  Since it was still early to get into the hotel, our first stop was lunch, and what better place to do that than Main Street, Seal Beach.  One of my favorite places there was The Hangout, so that was a good place to start.  Since I’d been to most of the restaurants in the immediate area, I knew what recommendations I could make for them.

Arriving at the Hampton Inn, the people behind the front desk did recognize me from my previous business trips, which was a nice touch.  With our baggage dropped off and tummies filled, today would be a short day (as Mum & Dad had been up at an even earlier hour to make their flight, and they’d be catching up on sleep tonight).  In order for them to get the guided tour experience, I drove them down Pacific Coast Highway all the way past Laguna Beach.

It was great to enjoy the view, but hard for me to take pictures as I drove.  We noted not how close various houses were to each other, but the way they were built in the terraced landscape.  Now when you hear about heavy rains causing mudslides which wash away homes, you understood.  But the natural vistas were what we preferred to see, and Mum commented that she thought Crystal Cove was very pretty.

After a light dinner where we planned the next day’s activities, I took in my ritualistic sunset view from the Seal Beach Pier.  Every night when I was here for business (when possible), I’d walk the pier and watch the sunset, and I planned to do that as many evenings as possible this time.  Being able to see that was always something I’d considered a work-perk and a gift, and I wanted to enjoy that gift as much as possible this week.

One of the reasons why I chose to stay at this property for the vacation was not just the location, but the breakfast.  There are cheaper places in the area to stay, but then it’d end like the Houston trip we did in 2013 where we ended up needing to purchase food every morning (thus creating a greater trip cost).  And I had a plan to use the exercise room both morning and evening in order to get some additional miles in, as Mum & Dad aren’t into doing things where they have to walk a long distance.  There is a method to my madness when I plan things.

More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:

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

Torrance (CA):  http://www.torranceca.gov/

Torrance High School:  http://ths.tusd.org/

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer

Seal Beach (CA):  http://www.sealbeachca.gov/

The Hangout:  http://www.thehangoutrestaurant.com/

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

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

Crystal Cove:  http://www.crystalcovestatepark.org/

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