Xploration Studios

I’ve been experiencing a bit of tech problems recently and I’ve been busy, busy, busy reading! But, instead of telling you what I’ve been reading (that will come another day!) I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing.

We went on a trip to Baja to visit the seaside village of historic Rosarito Beach. We made a promise that we’d visit again and spend more time, but we had to move on our journey to the Xplorations Studios near Puerto Nuevo. This is a small movie studio complex located along the Pacific Ocean and was originally built for James Cameron’s film, TITANIC. Since that time other movies, television shows, and commercials have been filmed at this location.

We watched TITANIC (again) before our visit so our visit would have more meaning for us. We had a fabulous time visiting the sets and learning how visual and sound effects are made. It’s a small complex with great guided tours (in English or Spanish).

We had a terrific time, but I’ll offer you this advice: Eat before visiting. We should have, could have, would have had lunch before our visit if we had known that the only places to get lunch at the Studios was Dominos Pizza and Subway. Both are fine, but not nearly the same as enjoying a delicious Mexican lobster meal before the visit. If we had known . . . so I share my advice with you.

That’s all for now—I’ve read 60+ children’s books, but I’ll share the best-of-the-best later.

Adios!

Pageant of the Masters

Bob and I went to the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters last night. If you haven’t been, you really should try to attend. It’s an amazing celebration of art and music. Art comes alive as “living pictures” in this annual event with 75 years of history.

The setting is an outdoor amphitheater with a professional orchestra, original score, and live narration. Classical and contemporary works of art are recreated with real people who pose and look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces of art.

One contemporary piece of artwork, “Olympic Spirit,” is on display at the Festival of Arts and we were able to take a close-up look at it before the Pageant. The bronze sculpture was created by Edward Eyth (www.edwardeyth.com) who was one of only eight Americans selected to exhibit in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Landscape Sculpture Design Exhibition.

This year’s theme was “All the World’s a Stage” and celebrates theater from its primitive origins to its many modern variations and includes work by Wedgwood, Toulouse-Lautrec, Leonardo da Vinci, and Edgar Degas.

The program had some wonderful quotes I’d like to share:

”Spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you.” —Saint Bartholomew

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” —Edgar Degas

“Laughter is an instant vacation.” —Milton Berle

Terra Cotta Soldiers

We visited the Bowers Museum yesterday. It currently has the largest exhibit of Emperor Qin's Terra Cotta Army ever seen outside of China.

From the Bowers Museum website:

“China's First Emperor, the boy king who united the country in 221 BC and began construction of the first Great wall, was not only obsessed with building but also a fanatic about death. After experimenting with potions to prolong his life, the megalomaniac king resigned himself to death on his own terms. He would build a standing army of 7,000 soldiers to enforce his rule over the afterlife.”

“Since his birth in 259 B.C., China's First Emperor was destined to become one of the most important political leaders to rule the country. Beginning at age 13, and for the next 38 years, he assigned over 700,000 workers to build an enormous mausoleum with life-size terra cotta warriors to protect him throughout eternity.

This terra cotta army of soldiers, servants, musicians, acrobats, and animals silently remained underground for two thousand years. Until, in 1974, Chinese farmers digging a well made the startling discovery of a terra cotta head.”

There was another visiting exhibit, GEMS! Colors of Light and Stone, an amazing collection of colored gemstones, diamonds, and gems.

The Terra Cotta Soldiers exhibit will be at the Bowers Museum until October 12, 2008, but the GEMS exhibit is closing in August.

Gene Autry Museum

I went on a Joyce Swan Tour to the Autry National Center yesterday. A bronze statue of Gene Autry and Champion with the label “Back in the Saddle Again” welcomes guests. The museum “is committed to displaying, explaining, and sharing its extraordinary collections and program.” They are “keepers of the tradition of storytelling as each object” they conserve, preserve, and share is a “collective history of those who have come before us.” I especially liked the area with the TV and movie cowboys and their outfits and vintage collectibles. Who wouldn’t enjoy a room where you can see the Lone Ranger’s outfit along with Gene Autry’s guitar? I had a buffalo burger for lunch! Yum. Here’s their website: www.autry-museum.org/.

We also stopped at the W.K. Kellogg Arabian horse center at Cal State Poly Tech in Pomona. The great race horse, Abu Farwa, was born here. We were guided through the complex and the horses were quite amazing.

Here’s a little history from their website at www.csupomona.edu/~equine:

“The W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center traces its origins back to 1925, when the late W. K. Kellogg, founder of the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michigan, purchased land and built his ranch in Pomona. In 1949, Kellogg donated his ranch to the state of California, providing that (1) the property be used for educational purposes, and (2) the traditional Arabian horse shows, started by Kellogg in 1926 to demonstrate the beauty and versatility of the Arabian horse, be continued. The program at Cal Poly Pomona has been developed with these wishes in mind.”

Happy Trails to you!