RAMONA PAGEANT

The pageant in Hemet is an outdoor dramatization of  Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel  about  the Indian’s eviction from Temecula with a cast of more than 400.  The stage is  a hill with a ranch house on the part of the flat section and steep trails that actors and horses use as well  The story revolves around  fictional Ramona and Alessandro and destruction of the Luseno village.  The drama is told through a large chorus of Spanish singers, over 50 local Indians performing native dances and music,  dozens of horseback riders and many actors who create the joys and sorrow of  early  California

history. This year is the 88^th season.  There are only a few performances on a couple of weekends in April each year.

The Lions club has a BBQ lunch available before the mid-afternoon  show. There is a small museum with the history of the pageant, a gift shop, snack booths and entertainment in an open area before show time. I took this day trip with Kathy Wong with an Oasis group. 

This video will add to my description about the pageant as well. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dClE9A71fVU

SPRINGTIME AT THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY

Henry Huntington built a financial empire with railroad companies, utilities and real estate.  He amassed one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a significant art collection and developed an array of botanical gardens.
                                   

The library houses one of the world’s greatest collections of rare books and manuscripts including  a Gutenberg Bible and early editions of works by Shakespeare.

The European art collection is in the original Huntington mansion.   The British portraits of the 18^th and early 19^th century is considered one of the greatest outside of London. There are several by Thomas Gainsborough including Blue Boy. Pinkie is among paintings by Thomas Lawrence.  Landscape paintings by well known J.M.W. Turner and John Constable are represented.  Priceless French furniture is seen in the period rooms. There is much to see with 2 levels of many rooms.

The Virgina Steele Scott Gallery of American Art displays paintings from the 1730s to the mid-1900s as well as Arts and Crafts architecture and furnishings of Greene and Greene.  There are wonderful examples of the Hudson River School landscape paintings, American Impressionism, Colonial Period paintings etc. The lighting in this newer building is especially good.

Spring is a good time to see the botanical gardens that cover over 120 acres of  with groupings of cacti, succulents, roses, herbs, etc. as well as Japanese and Chinese themes. Part of a large conservatory is a teaching greenhouse. 

A café with outdoor tables under shade trees was a good spot for sandwiches and snacks.  An English Tea is served in the Rose Garden Tea Room.

It is a challenge to see everything in one visit so it is worth several visits to see the seasonal flowers and changing exhibits.  We took this trip with DayTrippers.

San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is a sanctuary for thousands of animals, a landscape of rare plants from all climates and a living classroom that entertains as well as educates. Sometimes the native habitats show animals that are found together in the wild.   These are photos from  a recent visit.


The Galapagos Tortoise exhibit was recently updated for the herd of 17 tortoises including 10 of the original tortoises which are all over 100 years old!

The Siamangs are joined by the Orangutans with plenty of space for aerial antics and objects for play.


The Giant Panda exhibit features the zoo's panda conservation efforts.









Winter is a good time to visit the zoo when many of the animals and birds are more active.

The Marston House

The Marston House is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts movement and was built in 1905 for George Marston and his wife Anna Gunn Marston.  The property was built by William Hubbard and Irving Gill.  The formal gardens and canyon pathways on the 5 acre property are worth exploring as well.


George Marston had a chronic respiratory ailment and came to San Diego in 1870 to live in a better climate for his health.  He had the only department store in San Diego which was very successful and made him quite wealthy.  He was a generous philanthropist in the city.


George Marston was a civic leader interested in historic preservation and conservation. He hired an architect to develop the first plan for Balboa Park in 1902. Marston served as chairman of the buildings and grounds committee for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.



The Marston House was donated to the City of San Diego by Marston's daughter Mary in l987. Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) took over the operations in 1907.

February is a good month to visit San Diego museums including SOHO when admission is half price with a free museum pass from Macy's.  This was part of a day's outing with Ed to the Marston House and the San Diego Zoo

Getty Villa

The Getty Villa in Malibu is modeled after a first-century Roman county house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy. The Villa dei Papiri was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A. D, 79 and much of it remains unexcavated. The Getty Villa museum architecture and landscaping are based on elements from other ancient Roma houses in Ponpeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. The plantings include herbs and shrubs grown by the Romans for food and medicine.

The main entrance to the museum is like the traditional entryway to a typical Roman home. Inside the museum are new and renovated terrazzo floors and other Roman inspired interior details. New skylights and windows fill the galleries with natural light.

The cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria are shown by antiquities arranged by themes including Gods and goddesses, Dionysos etc. along with the architecture and gardens

A café featuring Mediterranean fare with an outdoor dining area adds to the enjoyment while basking in the view of the villa.  Ed and I took a DayTripper bus trip for this. 

Going Solo

Doug and I met at UCLA.  We found that we had common interests in music and the love of nature. Doug was a city planner with the City of  San Diego.  After retiring we continued our love of traveling the U.S and International travel. We spent his final days remembering past travels and our friends and family while peacefully listening to classical music.   Doug was a kind and caring person who touched more lives than I ever imagined.  Don't grieve for what is lost, rejoice in what you have shared.

It has been just over 6 months since Doug passed away. I will try to add blogs from time to time as I learn how to use the site. The Norton Simon museum visit will be my first effort. Marie

Mingei Museum Tour to Pasadena

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The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. Over a thirty-year period 20th-century industrialist Norton Simon (1907–1993) amassed an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years.

Mingei International’s Director of Exhibitions, Christine Knoke, will lead a curator’s tour of HIROSHIGE: Visions of Japan, the last exhibition she curated while at the Norton Simon Museum, where she was Curator of Asian Art prior to joining the Mingei International staff. The exhibition features 175 woodblock prints by the celebrated and prolific Utagawa Hiroshige

The grounds of the Museum have a long history of beautiful gardens. The original garden was planted in the 1870s when Dr. Ezra and Jeanne Carr created Carmelita. It was the most extensive garden in Pasadena, filled with plants from all over the world, many being planted by the donors themselves, including botanist John Muir, who was a friend and former student of Dr. Carr. This was part of a day trip sponsored by the Mingei museum that Ed Inskeep and I took.

An excellent Thai lunch was enjoyed by the group at Saladang.

In the afternoon we enjoyed a tour of the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts style

Architecture. The House and furnishings were designed by Charles and Henry Greene in l908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Proctor and Gamble Company. The house, a National Historic Landmark , is owned by the city of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California. 

Ed outside the Norton Simon museum

"Staycation" Walk: Kensington

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Today was Marie's birthday, so before a dinner out, we decided to stroll through the bucolic Kensington neighborhood. Only downside: streets were torn up for a major water project, and an utility undergrounding program. Nonetheless, the homes and gardens were beautiful.