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,

Exploring Angeles National Forest

Dan and I went for a Sunday afternoon drive in Angeles National Forest. This time, we went beyond the Mt. WIlson turnoff and went deeper into the forest. We even hit areas with signs that told us that we could not park without an Adventure Pass. We had no idea what that was, but figured that it was something that we ought to buy. We had quite the driving adventure, but maybe next time we can get the pass and do some hiking or maybe even try camping. Truthfully, we are more the "Let's Camp at the Four Seasons and rough it with room service" types, but the idea of pitching a tent in the forest does appeal to our sense of adventure! It also appeals to our sense of shopping for gadgets. Camping equipment is pretty darn cool. Here we are, only thirty miles from home, yet it feels like a completely different world.

We found a dirt road and decided that the Smart car could handle it.

The road looks wide in the shot, but it got narrow and bumpy. Of course, the Smart handled it just fine. Who needs a truck? Not us!

Looking up at a pretty tree while on the dirt road.

Burnt trees while on the trail. We were in a fairly remote area and didn't see too many other people.

It was closed, but we stopped by the visitors center, which was a cool looking building.

We encountered some unusual signs. I learned about Vetter Towers, Sunday drives can be educational!

We all drove passed this dive. Next time, we might join the bikers for a burger and beer.

I still can't believe that all of this is so close to home. There is still so much that we have yet to explore.

One last picture, the Smart needed a bath after all of the dirt roads, so we took her to a car wash in La Canada. Pretty rainbow colored soap! I always revert to a five year old when I go through the car washes.

Theatre Review- War Horse

Months ago, my boyfriend's father was in town and he was raving about a production of War Horse that he saw in London. He enjoyed it so much, that he bought tickets for us to see it at the Ahmanson theater last night. (A huge, huge thank you if you happen to be reading this blog!).

I had mixed feelings going into the show. I was trying hard to separate the stage version from the movie. I can't sugarcoat it, the 2011 Steven Spielberg adaptation was a piece of crap. An overwrought, painfully sentimental piece of horse crap. In my opinion, one of the worst movies of 2011. I couldn't believe that it got an a Best Picture nomination.

That said, my first exposure to any incarnation of War Horse was during the 2011 season at the Ahmanson. In the lobby, they had a video loop of clips of shows coming for the 2012 season and War Horse was featured. I was absolutely mesmerized by the amazing horse puppets and immediately knew that I had to see the show. This was before seeing the movie or knowing much about the plot, if I could only catch one big show in 2012, it was going to be War Horse.

I wish that I hadn't seen the movie first. I feel like the stage production would have been a very different experience and much more moving, if I had not known what to expect. The plot is clunky and the pacing is uneven, often running slow.

However, that does not diminish the fact that the show is incredible on many levels. First and most obvious, hands down the best puppeteering that I have ever seen. Each horse (at times the stage was filled with horses) has three puppeteers controlling the movements. It's flawless. It really felt like real horses were on stage. The puppeteers all create distinctive personalities for each horse and they were as much of a character as any actor on the stage. The actors were fine, but overshadowed by the horses, the real stars. Completely stunning to watch. The goose puppet was a favorite character!

The set was simplistic and perfect. Mostly a giant space with minimal props and a giant project screen to help set the scene. The use of lighting was imaginative. If someone was interested in becoming a lighting designer, this was the show to watch and take notes. Even though the show had the spectacle of the amazing horse puppets, this was not a show that relied on gimmicks. Nothing was extraneous. This is probably the aspect of the show that I respected the most.

I respected that the theater version did not beat me over the head with sentimentality. It had a bit, but wasn't overbearing like Spielberg's version. The play was much more balanced and cutting out the the last fifteen minutes that were in the movie went a long way. It ended just on the right note. I may have felt the story was slow, but there is so much about the production that they got right, I can't help but write an overwhelmingly positive review.

Go see War Horse!!!