Hollywood Tourist Traps- Part Two

After Ripley's we walked down Hollywood Blvd in search of a good place for lunch and ended up at the historic Pig N' Whistle.

Neither of us had eaten here before and I was rather underwhelmed. On the plus side, it's has a lot of Hollywood history (noted in the menu) and has very cool ceilings and fixtures. It was a perfect choice for our day of tourist traps. This is a tourist trap that also happens to be frequented by Hollywood wanna be types. The service was mediocre and the food was odd. Dan ordered a chicken salad that instead of sliced chicken breast, had a clump of unappetizing chicken salad mix, Yuck.. I had a bland turkey burger. I feel like this place might be okay if you're only having drinks. There are many better restaurants in the vicinity.

Our next stop was the Guinness Book of World Records Museum.

Here is our reflection in the globe.

The fact that this place dares to call itself a museum is very brash. The entire place is essentially a bunch of facts posted up on the walls without any actual objects. Dan pointed out that it would have been easier and cheaper to just buy the book, because all they did was recycle the information.

Example, here is the display about farm animal facts..

Just picture of animals (not necessarily the animal that won the award, sometimes a drawing). At least the Ripley's museum had artifacts, like the two headed calf!!! The real deal!

Here is a picture of the smallest dog.

They tried to make it more fun by adding an interactive component, here I am in the worlds fattest man's body.

Yes, it's amazing that a guy was that fat, but it still doesn't make for a great museum piece.

Here is another half-hearted attempt to bring a fact to life with the most tattooed lady. They didn't even have a picture of the real woman next to the prop.

And here I am with the most recognized video game character ( I really think that it's stretching it for a fact). I love Mario, but file it under, who cares???

Bottom Line- After visiting the Guinness Book of World Records "Museum" it became very clear why they included this in the package deal of three museums for the price two...no one who knows better would ever waste money or time on this museum. It's awful. It wasn't even entertaining in a cheesy way. We sized it up and declared it a waste of time and left in about fifteen minutes. Deal or no deal, don't bother with this place,

Hollywood Tourist Traps- Part One

Last weekend, Dan and I hit the three tackiest tourist traps on Hollywood Blvd, the Hollywood Wax Museum, Guinness Book of World Records Museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not Odditorium. Dan had never been to any of them and I had not been in probably fifteen years, so it was an adventure for both of us. It was a sweltering hot Saturday in August, so if anything, we were happy to get out of the heat and into air conditioning buildings. Note, the buildings are significantly hotter when everyone else has the same idea to escape the heat.

Our first stop was Ripley's.

It was at Ripley's that we were told about the package deal that let us visit all three museums for the price of two and we were sold. Good thing that we did Ripley's first, because the museums were definitely not equal value for money vs entertainment. In fact, Ripley's is the only one that could even be considered a museum and it doesn't even call itself a museum, it's aptly named an odditorium.

Each takes about forty-five minutes to walk through, but Ripley's has the most to see, really lots of strange stuff. So much strange stuff, that these pictures are only a small sampling.

A mummified foot.

I don't why anyone would do this, but here is a real dead bat that has had it's wings painted.

Speaking of vampires, here's a kit to ward them off..

I have a morbid fascination with taxidermy, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of taxidermy in a single room. It freaks me out. Well take that and have it all be animals with bizarre genetic problems that have been stuffed and I am all over it! Clearly, my favorite part of the museum.

There was much more...this is a SMALL sample!

One of my favorite things in the museum was this furry fish that for years hung in a museum until it was revealed that it was a hoax.

A few more strange things from the museum. I thought these were pretty, birds made from CD's.

A city from Lord of the Rings ( not a fan, so no clue what the city is called) made from matchsticks. This was enormous!

Last winter, when Dan's father visited, I learned about Gurning. For those not in the know, in England they have Gurning competitions, where people try to make the best distorted facial expression. I was very excited to see mention of Gurning in the Ripley's museum!

Lastly, here I am standing next to a model of the tallest man who ever lived.

Bottom line, the Ripley's museum is worth the price of admission, but even more so, if you can get a discount coupon. It's something to see once, especially if you love strange, quirky things.

Hot Air Balloon Adventure

Dan surprised me with a Hot Air Balloon ride for my 35th birthday. I was super excited and insisted on going, even though I was battling a terrible bronchial infection. Here is my first tip regarding ballooning, don't go when sick. I was so filled with various medications that I got motion sickness on the balloon ( it was a completely gentle ride) and nearly puked over the side. Luckily, I didn't, because that would have led to a memorable ride for all aboard. Other than being sick, it was a beautiful, amazing experience. A huge thanks to Dan for making my birthday special and allowing me to knock ballooning off of my bucket list! We did the balloon ride in Perris California, a city nicknamed the "Sky Diving Capital of the US". Since the ballooning required such an early start, we drove out the night before and slept at the Holiday Inn Express. Here is my other tip, if you are doing something fun in Perris, just get up early and drive. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the hotel, our room was nice and the staff was very nice..Perris is the problem. We dared to venture out at night for fast food and it's scary town. So much in fact, that we checked out of the hotel at 5am, rather than coming back to get more sleep after our ballooning. Perris is not a city that we wanted to spend any additional time exploring.

The balloon company is called Above The Rest and is owned by a very efficient woman named Dawn. We met up at the Perris Valley airfield at five-fifteen in the morning. I think Dan just wanted me to see a beautiful sunrise on my birthday. He's been trying desperately to turn me from a night owl into a morning person.

We were placed in a mini van and taken out to a field to set up the balloons. We were told to wear closed toed shoes. I am sure this in care of the emergency, but the field was covered in ant hills and snake holes.

Once the balloons were puffed up, they let us take pictures inside. Here is a shot of me, trying my best not too look completely sick.

We even had a guy suit up and sky dive off of the side of our basket!

Here are a few more pictures of the prep.

Here is our balloon driver. Each balloon held about eight people without being cramped. The sky diver was on our side, so it became more roomy once he jumped!

It was very noisy when he was using the flames, but once we were up in the air, it was mostly quite and serene. The views even made Perris seem like a nice place.

Here is the sky diver falling towards the earth.

Landing was interesting. Apparently, the balloons land wherever they can, even in the middle of a neighborhood street.

It was a very gentle landing. In fact, the entire experience was very gentle and felt safe. Other than being sick, I had a fantastic time. Here is a shot of the balloon being put away, while in the middle of the street.

We were driven back to the starting point for a toast with mimosas and a light breakfast of sweet rolls and fruit. A great experience and I would highly recommend going on a balloon ride ( or jumping off one) with Above The Rest.

We saw this little critter when we were heading out.