Oatman, Arizona: the WildWest

My father-in-law took us on a tour of Arizona. He drove us to Oatman and this is a place where the wild west is still a way of life. They have staged gun fights, an old historic jail, and burros everywhere. The burros are pretty crazy. You can buy a bag of feed and feed them in the streets. They are awful, noisy, and smelly. They demand you feed them as if they owed something. Some of them were laying down and taking naps. They whole thing was pretty surreal.













               
The downtown area is historic because it is the home of an old mining community. The buildings are historic and the few people that live there have major restrictions on building or reconstructing any of the old down town buildings, as in, they can't. As an student of Anthropology I completely understand what a hot dry climate does to preserve things and being in Oatman I experienced this first hand. The buildings are still in good condition despite their age and the fact they are built with wood, not stone. Everything creeks as you walk on the wooden floors.

We ate lunch at the old hotel restaurant. There were dollar bills plastering the walls. I had seen this before in other old mining towns in Arizona. I never knew what it meant, or what it was and I was kind of confused by the large velvet picture of Willie Nelson in the middle of the room. So in my mind I thought this was some sort of alter to Willie with maybe the dollar bills as alms? Although it didn't make any sense because, like I said, I've seen the dollar bills posted on walls before in other mining towns.   The man who was singing Willie Nelson songs and looking exactly like Willie started explaining. He said that the bills were how the miners paid for drinks. They wouldn't hold up well in the mines, so they would write their names on them and post them on the wall. That way when they came back they could get more drinks until it was used up. Like a tab of sorts. It sounded like a confusing situation to me and an easy way for a bartender to get a good tip.

So, for history, gun fights, and souvenirs, if you are traveling around Arizona and you want to see the wild west, find Oatman.

Scotland: Shooting Skeet

Growing up my best friend's father repaired guns for a living.  I have seen, handled, and and even in a my positions in retail, sold firearms. A lot of people I know hunt, I've gone with them. I've even taken classes to get my CPL (Concealed Pistol License). All of this has been in an effort to curb my fear of guns. It causes a great deal of anxiety for me, I'm not really sure why. Anyone who knows me knows this. I stress out at the thought of selling them, handling them, shooting them, watching other people shoot them, and hearing about them.  It was unimaginable  would participate in shooting.

This obviously was something I wasn't planning on doing. When we were invited to this fantastic wedding in Scotland (Thank you and congratulations Lauren and Neil) one of the activities they planned was skeet shooting (or also called inanimate bird shooting).  Randy got very excited.

Brian got five out of five on one round. He was excited. 

I was apprehensive. My husband asked me to go, I told him I would just sit back and take pictures. This is my comfort zone.  My anxiety wanted me to stay away completely, I almost didn't even go at all, but I thought it would be interesting at least for the pictures.


When it came time to sign up, I was encouraged to give it a try. When the pencil broke signing my name I thought it was a bad sign.  It wasn't. It just meant the pencil needed to be sharpened and my name would look like a 3 year old wrote it. I shook it off.

It seemed a lot less restrictive than it is in the states. For example, we didn't have to fill out a bunch of forms or even a waiver. We didn't have safety goggles, but we did have ear muffs which helped to narrow down the sound so the instructor's voice so we could focus on how to aim.

Part of curbing the stress of the situation (for me) is understanding what I'm doing and watching how others handle the situation. When I was up I asked a lot of questions. I had him show me different parts of the gun and watched him load it, turn the safety on and off. He was even kind enough to let me take a practice shot just so I could see how the recoil felt.

It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was, we used a type of double barrel shotgun (the zombie killing kind) and we shot at the disks as they flew through the air. We got to do 5 birds each turn, 4 times. We shot at 20 of the lifeless stone flyers over the course of an hour or so. Some of the people in our group hit a lot of them. It was an amazing feeling the first time I hit one. Major adrenaline rush. Then followed by disappointment when I couldn't hit the next one. I got 5 out of 20 total and figured that was pretty good for a person who wasn't even going to show up. When I mentioned that it was hard on the shoulder he switched to a different kind of shotgun cartridge for me, "it will be lighter" and it was. Overall, they were very thoughtful and careful, which is exactly as I would hope.

I'm glad I went on this little excursion. The last part, which scared me the most and seemed to break all the rules of handling guns, we all took pictures of ourselves pointing the gun at the camera. The instructor showed us it was empty each and every time.  This made me happy.

Edinburgh, Scotland: National Gallery, Scott Monument

I once met a Scottish man in a bar while I was in London. He told me several times how magical Scotland is and how someday I should visit. He was very, very drunk, but as the saying goes, "the drunk man's words are the sober man's thoughts" and ten years later I found myself in this magical place.

The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn. As if that was not charming enough the hotels we stayed were doubly so.  The dichotomy of the 300 year old building with brand new fixtures became standard around the city. Every where we went there was new technology mixed with ancient structures. It was incredible. There was WiFi everywhere around town which was nice because international data was not an option on this trip.

The first place I noticed when I we entered the city center was The Scott Monument. Love at first sight for me. It has these dark corners and points. Curvy arches and amazing statuettes create a Gothic atmosphere all around and it's very imposing on the other structures. I find it interesting that there was a giant glass H & M across the street but it took nothing away from it's beauty.  The buses, taxis, and cars, drive right past it reminding me that this is a very alive city.

A little history is always good. The monument was built in 1840 and completed in 1844. It is dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish writer. The reason it's so dark in spots is because of the industrial revolution and coal was used as energy. It stained a lot of buildings in the area.  It was 287 steps all the way to the top and the fee was 4 Pounds (about 7 USD). They only take cash and the man at the door was difficult for me to understand, but had a good humor about it.  One interesting part of the architecture is the statues are all attached by wire on to the building to prevent them from falling or pieces of them falling off on to the ground. I appreciated the safety portion of this and it didn't really impact the way the structures look from the ground.  There is no elevator or lift and the stairwell is very narrow so beware if you are claustrophobic. It gets worse after you take the second and third set of stairs. There are three levels like a platform, after the first initial set of stairs

Some of the greatest parts of the lovely city of Edinburgh were actually free or very affordable to see. The Scottish National Gallery was one of these interesting places.  This is the home to many great European works of art. Many of them had crazy stories which went with them. There was one about a woman who had a man's head cut off because he objected to the marriage of her daughter. The actual painting is her showing the head to her husband with a fork in the tongue of the severed head. A woman was explaining this scene to her children and it got awkward, there are several paintings like these, but this does not mean children should not go in, the images aren't really scary and if you just read the placard next to them it is easier to understand them.

Also free is the cemeteries which are excited to walk around because they are so old. This one is the tomb of the Scottish philosopher David Hume. There are many other but I think homeless people might occasionally sleep in there, I found some blankets and stuff. It added to the creepiness of the cemetery.

There are many other things to see in Edinburgh, like the castle and the parks. There is too much info to put into one blog, so there will be another on the city, possibly two. (It was a very large city).

Meeting Nigel Barker

Once again the wonderful city I live in never ceases to amaze me. The furniture company, Art Van, had an amazing event they hosted in Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Chicago. They gave away $1,000 shopping credit to winners at the events and they are also giving away prizes to the top 55 people with the most likes on their "SofaSelfies".  Nigel Barker, noted fashion photographer of The Face and America's Next Top Model, came along for this promotion. 

Nigel Barker. Ah, what can I say? I used to watch America's Next Top Model and I loved watching him. His accent, his polished look, his talent with analyzing the pictures. 

So what was he like in person? I only talked to him for a minute, after all he was very busy, photo bombing Sofa Selfies, talking to crowds of people, and helping them take better pictures. 

He was unbelievably nice what little I did talk to him. I was so nervous and I told him I wasn't clever enough to come up with something creative, he said, "Sometimes simple is always the best." He talked a little more about having friends to click like and using other forms of media.  He was amazingly calm, poised, and friendly. Watching him walk around and take pictures with others I realized how caring he was to all the people at the event. He spoke to everyone. He took pictures with everyone. He even let people climb around on him like they were monkeys. He picked women up off the ground, staged proposals, and at one point rubbed a woman's feet. It was sheer entertainment watching this. I realize it is his "Job", because of course he got paid to be at the event, but it was really above and beyond. 

In Grand Rapids there was a special game they played, "Musical Sofas". In this game it was basically a variation of Musical Chairs, just with sofas. This was the end of the event and it was really fun. I was out at the first time the music stopped. Boo. But my husband was in it for a while longer and our friend Chris actually won! It was very exciting. 

There is one more part of the contest. 55 of the highest liked and most shared Sofa Selfies will win a couch. My husband's picture is below and hopefully you can go to the link and click like on his picture on the Facebook page!  (Sadly that is my thumb in the corner. Maybe Nigel should have hung around a little longer and taught me how to take a picture....)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152317663032267&set=a.10150108971867267.283412.609797266&type=1&theater

Comic Con Chicago 2014: Matt Smith, Norman Reedus, William Shattner

My geographical position put me in a place where I could go to a fantastic event in Chicago, Comic Con (actually in Rosemont, Il, right outside Chicago). Comic Con is a huge deal for fans of many major Sci-Fi television shows and movies, also artists all over the world.  Many celebrities are on hand for autographs and pictures. It was an  amazing experience.

First of all anyone can attend with the purchase of a ticket. This Comic Con was $60 a ticket for entry,  $50 on Sunday because it's a shorter day. Prices vary for different Comic Cons and it also depends on who hosts it. Wizard World hosted the one I attended in Chicago.  Then you pay extra for any celeb photo ops or signatures that you collect. I purchased a VIP ticket that included entry for all four days and a signature and Photo op with Matt Smith and a panel discussion with Matt Smith and Karen Gillian from Dr. Who. It was an amazing panel. Fans could stand up and ask questions to the two of them. They were incredible.

The worst part is the lines. The VIP package helped reduce this a lot. There were lines for all the autographs, some were extremely long, some were pretty short. Some of the celebrities were really cool. They were fist pumping people as they walked to and from their appointments and/or the bathroom. They can't possibly talk to everyone, they get paid to do this, and they are, after all, just people. This being said when you get their autograph you have about six seconds, some people get this stretched out by giving them a gift, or saying something to them that is provocative, but still it will be over pretty quickly. There are lots of people vying for their attention.

I got an autograph and photo op with Matt Smith. Despite the VIP package I still probably spent about two hours in line total. The picture moved really fast once it was started, the autograph line, not as much. People were giving him gifts and chatting with him as much as they could. He was very friendly and I don't think I would be as patient as some of these celebs, these people were drooling and going nuts on them.

The best part was the costumes people dressed in, some where super incredible. Especially the ones people created for their children. The little girl in the Dalek, (from Dr. Who) was especially amazing. There were power rangers, superheroes, zombies, and anything you could possibly think of that was cartoon, Sci-Fi, or superhero related. The superhero costumes were the most predominate. The X-Men were the most obvious, but there were also a lot of wonder women and supermen and of course every color of power ranger imaginable. 

 My niece was excited because she saw celebrities from the Walking Dead.  There were a lot of them there. I have never seen this show, so I didn't know who these people were, in fact Michael Rooker drove past me in a golf cart and the only reason I took his picture was because this man I was talking to started freaking out about it.  So I got out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures of him.  I also saw two others, but the pictures came out kind of blurry. My niece got her picture taken with Norman Reedus, and he was so nice to her. He told her she was adorable and she had the best time meeting him. 

Then later on that same day we ran into William Shattner. That was super cool. He was walking to his autograph booth, so I snapped a couple of pictures of him as well. My mom is a Star Trek fan and always has been, so the second it was downloaded to Facebook she made it into her profile picture :). I kept joking to my sister that we shouldn't be standing around the Star Trek areas with my R2D2 tank top and R2D2 popcorn container. (Yes, I brought R2 with me, it seemed cruel to leave him at home.)

The artists were a really cool part of this event as well. Many of them will autograph the prints you purchase and they are more than happy to talk to you about their artwork. My niece got to meet one of the artist who draws The Walking Dead, I'm not real crazy about Zombies but his work is so interesting I couldn't look away. He had Norman Rockwell style zombies drawn. He was also Norman Reedus' neighbor. I think that's what had drawn (Mind the pun) my niece in to talk to him. He actually drew her a picture of Norman Reedus and signed it. His name was Arthur Suydam and he was facinating to talk to and just generally a nice guy.  She was a very happy 13 year old after getting a picture drawn and talking to this man. 

 My advice, bring lots of cash. Most all the vendors take credit and debit cards, but cash is easier. Make sure you know what you are buying. A lot of the stuff can be found online a lot cheaper.  The stuff you want is the artwork, comic books, original stuff that is hard to find.


Dress up in your favorite superhero and get going!


 Some things to check out:

http://www.wizardworld.com/
http://www.arthursuydam.com/

Movies in the Park

Grand Rapids, MI is a wonderful place for lots of reason. One (Of the many) wonderful things this city has going for it in the summer is "Movies in the Park". It's totally free to come down to the park, Ah-Nab-Awen Park next to the river in front of the Gerald R. Ford Museum. The location is idyllic for the movie because of the soothing background of the Grand River. The river and surrounding buildings add to the atmosphere, making it the perfect place to watch a movie.

 There were a variety of food trucks with different kinds of food available. People brought chairs, blankets, food, and drink. There was an ID checkpoint to get a wrist band so the police know you are over 21 and it prevents them from bothering people drinking who look young. You can bring your own wine or beer. 

Tonight when we went the movie of the night was Top Gun with Tom Cruise.  It was exciting to watch it outside in the open air, kind of like a a drive in, without all the cars. The movie tonight had a little something extra, an ice sculpture. My husband's company put the ice sculpture together in the park, so it was an exciting pre-show. Also there was a 30 minute fighter jet mini air show. It was very cool. 

If you are coming down for the next movie it is on August 22nd and it will be a double feature, Jurassic Park and The Sandlot. Come early for a good spot! 

Chicago Day Three: The Fairy Castle

Well, if you haven't figured out by now with my blogs, I love museums, or any place where you can learn new stuff. The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is my favorite museum because it's so hands on and I have found memories of visiting it as a child.  It also houses one of my favorite things to visit when I'm in Chicago, The Fairy Castle. The Fairy Castle was designed and created by silent film star Collen Moore in the 1920's. She designed it perfectly with people in Hollywood, then took it on tour to raise money for children's charities.  It has the most amazing rooms and each one is designed for Fairy Tale characters, like there are Cinderella's tiny glass slippers, and King Arthur's round table. Many of the items are made with gold, diamonds, real gemstones, blown glass, and ancient archaeological finds (tiny little vases). The items in this castle are priceless and this castle cost Colleen Moore over $500,000 (USD) back in the 20's and 30's. It has real running water and copper piping.  This was really the only reason I wanted to come back to this museum this visit, but it has a lot more to offer. 

We spent all day in the museum and I did not take any pictures, I was so wrapped up in every part of it. There was a exhibit about storms and they had a chamber with a created tornado and tsunami simulator. We also watched a movie in an Ommni Max theater called, "The Flight of the Butterfly." it was really informative about Monarch Butterfly migration. 

The special exhibit was Disney, they have several items from Walt Disney's life and costumes from the movies. At the end of the exhibit they are running a drawing class every fifteen minutes.  This is a temporary exhibit. 

Some of the highlights of this museum include the top floor has detailed information on anatomy, with examples of each of the systems in the body. I always found the circulatory system fascinating with all the different veins and arteries showing what they do and where they go. I also enjoyed the room of gemstones and the planes, there are real old airplanes hanging from the ceiling, there is also a simulation to go along with it. 

This museum has changed a lot over the years since I was a child, but it continues to be amazing. Every exhibit is curated with the most care and just about everything in the museum is hands on directed specifically for children. I recommend anyone to with or without children, it will keep you busy for hours and there is something for everyone.