Oak Glen, California

Last fall Kimberly and John invited us to share their special day as they tied the knot under a full moon on Friday the 13th. Both of their birthdays fall on the 13th of their months (not this one) and they wanted to get all of their "bad luck" out of the way at once.

The wedding was beautiful. The bride was stunning. The groom's eyes were filled with love as he looked at his new wife. It could not have been a more perfect evening. The found subtle ways to tie the moon into their night.

As is only possible in few places, the wedding and reception were held outdoors at The Homestead in a town called Oak Glen, California. Where is Oak Glen? you ask. It is in the mountains of California about an hour north of Anaheim (home of Disneyland).

At first the timing of the wedding was pretty ideal. Given our NJ weather the past few years, we would not use any snow days and get out on June 11th. Umm, did you hear about this winter? We used all three snow days and then some. (This winter was so relentless, I never did blog about it, I just wanted to forget it.) Then I took a librarian job, with a last day of school date pushed back to June 19th because of snow. I was up front at the interview -- my last day (it was a one day a week job) would be on June 5th.

 It all worked out in the end. We enjoyed a wonderful family vacation out west. We went to places other than Disneyland (*gasp*) and spent time together as a family.

Back to Beaumont. We flew in on Thursday night and had most of Friday to ourselves. What to do? Fortunately the hotel lobby had a flyer about Apple Country: Oak Glen, CA, and a list of all of their tourist destinations. 

Oak Glen is about a mile above sea level. They get snow in the winter. It is about 10 degrees cooler there than it is in Beaumont (where our hotel was located 15 minutes away). The ten degrees is just a guess.

Our goal was to find someplace for light hiking. I only brought sandals on this trip, but after flying in from the East Coast I wanted to stretch my legs. The first stop we tried was the Oak Glen School House Museum and Park. It was closed.

We continued on the path to The Wildlands Conservancy. They just opened Phase I of their trails that Spring:

Just call us tree huggers! This part of the
trail also had giant pine cones.

Phase I of the Botanic Garden is on 220 acres of wild lands that include oak woodland, conifer forest, chaparral, grasslands, wetlands, springs, ponds and two year-round streams with riparian corridors. Initially, more than 100 native species have been signed and many new signs are in development. New native plantings are being added monthly.

The place was beautiful! Just what we wanted and needed. There were a few parts of the 4.8 mile trail, though, that were marked "Caution Steep Trail." We probably did not have on the best footwear for those sections of trail. As you can see in our pictures, the terrain varied a lot -- from wetlands to mountains to forests to streams it was a microcosm of California terrains. It was also free.

After hiking we were hungry, so we heeded the advice of the clerk at our hotel and went to Apple Annie's Restaurant and Bakery. The food was delicious. I had the Ultimate Grilled Cheese: 

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese
A delicious 3 cheese grilled sandwich stuffed with grilled onions and tomatoes served on golden grilled sourdough bread.

It was a good attempt at eating vegetarian on vacation.

Annie's is best known for their mile-high apple pie. We did get one to share. Though huge, it didn't seem quite as big as we were led to believe.

This birdie kept a lookout for scraps. I got the impression he is a regular. Fortunately we were able to finish our meal without his help!

All too soon it was time to hightail it to the hotel room to look presentable for the wedding. I think we were successful, though Ashley wanted me to curl her hair the way our hairdresser did the week before. I tried, but that is not my talent. Besides, that hairstyle makes her look at least three years older.

We will probably never return to Oak Glen, California, but we are very glad we did get to go there and would recommend it to friends looking for a quiet get-away.

Adventures in Dining

Every so often I impress myself with how organized I can be. Last weekend we decided to drive up to Boston to see Don's Aunt Elva. Four weeks ago she suffered a stroke. At 97 you expect the worst. Fortunately she is not like most 97 year olds -- she lives in her old place and that night entertained family for dinner. She rocks!

Back to the topic: adventures in dining. Before leaving NJ I decided to research a lunch location halfway to Boston. We are one of those last hold outs for getting a Smart phone. Looking at the route, Danbury, CT would be the halfway point. I went to Tripadvisor's website and narrowed down the search until I found a sandwich shop. It found Amigo's Deli -- a restaurant serving Dominican food. It seemed to get good reviews. As a bonus, it was only a mile out of our way and was next door to a pizza place and a Chinese restaurant.

Don and I each had rice, beans and chicken for lunch. Ashley had a burger. The owner was very helpful. He explained everything and gave us a sample of oxtail and plantain. Yes, I tried them.

It was very good -- and cheap. We'd be willing to go again.

Rossi's

Rossi's. For Trenton area people the one word conjures up an image of a Rossiburger way too big for one person to finish, yet somehow we all manage to do it. 

Well, maybe it was too big for Ashley. She ate at least half of the burger.

When news started coming out that Rossi's planned to close their original location in the Chambersburg section of Trenton -- their home for 81 years -- and moving to Hamilton, we realized we wanted to have one last meal at Rossi's.

Other than the statewide ban on smoking, the place hasn't change in 80 years. No sign of a vegetarian entree. The burgers still get top billing. The new location will be near the Golden Dawn diner, but the exact spot is still a secret. The plan is to shut their doors in Trenton on May 31, and reopen in Hamilton in mid-June. We'll let you know if the burgers are still the same.

COSI museum (Columbus. OH)

1964 was a momentous year. Don was born. Ashley's school was founded. Wawa was started. It was also the year that COSI was started in Columbus, OH. 

When taking Ashley to COSI last might I made a stab at what the acronym stands for. I came up with Columbus, Ohio Science Institute. I got one out of four letters right. It stands for the Center Of Science and Industry. 

I remember visiting the place years ago when it was in its old location -- downtown near the original Wendy's. A "few" years ago (read that as more than a decade) it moved to the site of a former high school. Some elements of that old building have been retained, but it mostly feels like a brand-new place.

For Ashley the highlight was riding a unicycle on a high wire and waving to me down below. She had no troubles waiting 45 minutes with our friend Heidi and our cousin Laura.

I am very proud of her for doing that AND making it look easy. Many others needed the "hook" to come out and rescue them.

We did not spend nearly enough time in the museum. I loved roaming the halls of Progress. Back in the old building they just had the 1898 section, where you could see what life was like a LONG time ago. They have since added 1962, where kids could see what life was like a LONG time ago, while adult reminisced about those times. For instance, Heidi taught Ashley what it really means to "dial" a phone. Our phones are old by most standards, but even we have upgraded to push button phones. 

When we went we were lucky that their traveling exhibit was about Sherlock Holmes. Of course Laura, Ashley and I immediately through of our Uncle Drew (follow the link to visit his blog). Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in this section. It was all so cool! Via a gramophone recording, Sherlock Holmes instructed us on how to solve a mystery. We had to study the clues and go to different stations to gather more information. In the end, only one of us (Heidi) got it right, but we all had fun trying.

There is so much more to do! Next time we need to bring Don and allow a lot more than just two hours.

Time Traveling at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ever since reading "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" to Ashley I have wanted to take her to explore The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are fortunate to live close enough to the Princeton University Art Museum, and have explored their treasures many times. Still, there is nothing quite like the original. As an added bonus, kids under 12 are free! Yes, it is a pay what you want museum, but I feel less guilty about it when one of us is clearly free.


We started in the ancient worlds of Egypt, Greece and Rome because this year Ashley is studying these cultures. Even limiting ourselves to a an eighth of the museum we still had a lot to see and too much to absorb. 


While wandering through the ancient world we stumbled upon a room filled with Japanese screens. It reminded me of the Kano school artwork we saw in the Nijo Castle in Kyoto last summer, and of our visit with Masumi and Hiroko. I had the odd sensation of feeling most calm and relaxed in this part of the museum. It could be because this area had less visitors, or because the artwork was bigger, therefore there was less of it, or because I had less of a learning curve with it since was saw similar artwork last summer in Japan. After battling crowds in "Ancient Egypt," it was a nice sensation.

After 90 minutes, Don and Ashley were done. Ashley in particular looked like the girl in the red sweater in this painting. 

I tried to find the French Impressionist art, and a bench for Don and Ashley, but got trapped in Modern Art instead. *sigh* Instead we headed through Medieval Art to the exit.

While there we learned the Costume Institute will be opening in May. Sounds like a good excuse to go back.

They are now open 7 days a week (even Mondays), which should make a return visit easier. We wanted to visit last year when we went to see Newsies, but they were closed on Mondays.

Ahh... the Metropolitan Museum of Art where you can travel 5000 years in 5 minutes.

Aladdin on Broadway

When the announcement was made that “Aladdin” was moving into the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City, our family knew we wanted to see the show. We had two main questions: 1) How did the Broadway version compare with the Hyperion Theater at California Adventure, and 2) How was the theater transformed from Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane to Agrabah.

2007: Ashley's first Broadway show was Mary Poppins,
in the same theater

I’ll answer the second question first because it is shorter. The theater was spruced up between shows, but the essence is the same. The stage was gutted between shows. For a while a giant hole existed. In the year between shows the theater held an awards show and a special Muppets performance. Olive the ghost was free to roam around. The 111-year old theatre maintained its early 20th century classic look. They did get a new curtain to tie in Agrabah.

We were the first people upstairs.
We had some fun posing in the wall of mirrors

Back to the first question: how does the Broadway version differ from the theme park version of the tale of Arabian Nights. The Broadway version is three times as long, plus a 15-minute intermission. They use that extra time to add in a back story and give Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) three male friends. The back story is that Aladdin’s mother died 2 ½ months ago, causing Aladdin to turn over a new leaf and become honest. As his friends Babkak (Brian Gonzales), Omar (Jonathan Schwartz), and Kassim (Brandon O’Neill) point out, he still doesn’t have any money. Aladdin makes exceptions for stealing food. He sings an amazing solo “Proud of Your Boy” to his dead mother, which was reprised twice.

As with the theme park and animated feature versions, the Genie steals the show. Instead of the storyteller, Genie (James Monroe Iglehart) opens the story and captures everyone’s attention from the first second. He has such a command of the theater. “A Friend like Me” is an 8½ minutes long showstopper, which has included a standing ovation at the end of each performance. Genie injects a bit of humor into the songs. For example during “Arabian Nights” song while describing Agrabah there is a line “where everyone has a minor in dance,” that is so appropriate as the ensemble dances their hearts out. That type of humor is sprinkled throughout the performance, along with amazing singing and dancing and 84 illusions and effects.

I was told by someone involved with the show Genie and Aladdin have permission to ad lib a little, and that it is even funnier when they do. Still, we missed the timeliness of the jokes told by Genie at the Hyperion Theater. My favorite example was the afternoon performance after the Disneyland Half Marathon. Genie jogs on stage huffing and puffing and declaring he is the final finisher of the race. Wearing my half marathon medal, I roared alongside the many others resting our tired feet in the air-conditioned theater.

The Broadway show includes the familiar songs “Arabian Nights,” “One Jump Ahead,” “Friend like Me,” “Prince Ali,” and “A Whole New World.” They also added a few songs to flesh out the story. We hoped Jasmine’s song about the bird inside a gilded cage would be one of the songs. The stage is set with a giant birdcage on it, as if to allude to the Hyperion Theater song. Instead she sings “These Palace Walls.” Another moment where the Broadway version seemed to play homage to California Adventure’s version was when Aladdin hands the bread he stole to an old beggar woman in a blue dress, like he does to Jasmine, during the “One Jump Ahead” song. Instead it takes three more songs before the couple meets and starts to fall in love.

On Broadway, Aladdin and Jasmine (Courtney Reed) have more time to get to know each other before falling in love. Jafar then uses his knowledge of their romance to convince Aladdin to go inside the Cave of Wonders. Incidentally, Jafar is played by Jonathan Freeman, the actor who provided the voice for Jafar in the animated movie. According to his Playbill bio, this is the first time that has ever happened. Also according to his bio, he was in Mary Poppins, which played in the same theater.

The second act was just as amazing as the first. It opens with “Prince Ali.” After the show I spoke with one of the members of the ensemble. He mentioned many of the men have four costume changes during that scene, he only has three. With a bit of “Disney magic,” his quickest costume change is 17 seconds long. During the “Prince Ali” number the cast seems to multiply before our eyes. Other fast costume changes take place on stage. Overall there are 337 costumes in the show – all hand-crafted by Tony Award winner, Gregg Barnes, using fabric from 9 different countries.

The magic carpet ride was really neat, but did not fly over the audience as it does in the Hyperion Theater. Since Mary Poppins flew over the audience, we expected the magic carpet would, too. It is an amazing feat in other ways. The cast also does not come through the theater, as they do during the “Prince Ali” number at the Hyperion Theater. Another big difference was that all cartoon aspects were taken out of the Broadway version. Iago, instead of being a puppet, is played by a man (Don Darryl Rivera). The magic carpet is just a carpet and not an acrobatic side kick. The Genie is a person. There are no puppets or animals in this production.

Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end. At 10:30 sharp the show ended and we followed everyone outside. All good theater-goers know to head to the stage door and hope for some autographs, after all they have to go home at some point, right? The cast of “Aladdin” were all amazing! Each one came out armed with a Sharpie pen and a winning personality. Each one walked from one end of the line of fans to the other, pausing to take pictures, sign autographs and answer questions. Then they left to go home and melded into the NYC crowd and anonymity. The crowd waiting was extremely polite and friendly, as well as patient. As the show is only two months old, the cast spent time after the show giving their friends backstage tours (lucky friends!). Even an hour after the show closed, they were still friendly with their fans. 

Aladdin: Adam Jacobs

Jasmine: Courtney Reed

Genie: James Monroe Iglehart

Each one is a class act.

It was a phenomenal experience overall.

Addendum: speculation for the next Broadway shows include "The Muppets" or "Frozen." Take that with a grain of salt as the former prediction was for "Peter Pan" or "Dumbo," and instead "Aladdin" became the next show.


Addendum 2: You can read the same post on DAPs Magichttp://dapsmagic.com/2014/04/29/whole-new-world-disneys-aladdin-broadway-review/

Let it go

It has been said if you have been friends with someone for at least 7 years, you will always be friends with that person. I'm struggling with what to do when it seems the person on the other end does not want to be friends with yo. They don't want to be enemies, just fond acquaintances. 

It has always taken me a while to make a friend. While on vacations, my middle sister would make friends with anyone around her, I never could do that. When I someone into my heart as a true friend, it is hard for me to let it go when life changes. 

This is especially true for friends I made over 21 years ago -- back when I was Jacquie, and not Don's wife or Ashley's mom. The really true friends who know me as me, and I know them as them. The ones who knew my dreams and my likes and passions before life changed them, or life simply got in the way. They are the ones when I spend time with them (either online or in person) I feel half my age -- and, quite frankly, I like that! The ones where months can pass between conversations, yet we still pick up and laugh.

Recently, though, I've had to accept some of these friends have moved on and I am not a part of their lives anymore. Part of me is happy for them -- both of our lives are just fine, in each case there has been no trauma, just life getting busy with families. The selfish part of me mourns the loss of our friendships. 

The signs have been on the wall a long time (hey, I wasn't called "Clueless" in Kappa for nothing). The time between messages and visits grow further apart. The visits are forced. They are easy to cancel when something else comes up. They take longer and longer to reschedule. When they do happen, they are cut short.

Still I remember these friendships. I remember smiling and laughing with my friends. I remember sharing in their milestones. I smile when their names pop up in my in-box.

I have to let it go. 

As I was talking to Ashley about this post, she said even at her age she realizes she is moving apart from some of her friends, too. Rather than mourning her old friends slipping into the land of fond acquaintances, though, she is making new friends and having fun. 

As Elsa says "the past is in the past."

Growing up isn't easy, even at my age.