Spring Break 2009, Part 2

Part 2 of Spring Break took place in the greater LA area when a friend from Notre Dame came to visit from Chicago.

Who needs dreary days that have a high of 18 degrees?

We decided to stay on the Queen Mary, which is now a hotel. While it was designed to carry about 3000 people, it holds the record for most passengers in one vessel: 16,082 (Learn more about this fantastic ship at Wikipedia.)

We took a tour of the haunted ship for a few hours, and tried to conjure up spirits, along with just enjoying the various parts of the boat. We were let into the bow cargo hold and engine room among other.

The next day we headed inland to see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. (These dinos achieved fame in "PeeWee's Big Adventure, a movie made in 1985).

They were fun to see, and climb in, but we had trouble learning from the creationist museum on site. (The museum shows medieval soldiers pelting dinos with rocks, and has plans to build a replica of Noah's ark. Ugh.)

Next up was lovely old town Pasadena. Perfect sunset, architecture, food, and the arts.

Dancers at the public library, displaying traditional Mexican dances.

Last stop of ArtNight (highly recommended!) was the Norton Simon museum, with some amazing Degas and Monet pieces, along with an exhibit on Asian religions. Love it.

No visit to LA would be complete without a stop at Venice Beach where we saw a busker jump over 9 people (the guy on the left, the 10th, moved out of the way).

Venice Beach drum circle at sunset on a Saturday night. Much better in person (or YouTube).

Katy and I enjoying the arts a bit more on Saturday night at a local community theatre performance of The Secret Garden.

Finally, the Santa Monica Farmer's Market for some ridiculously big quesadillas and a few strawberries and fudge, to keep our strength up!
(No fozzies were hurt in the making of this coat.)

Christchurch itself

Just a quick note to say thanks to the generous AV folks who live in Christchurch (J & J W), for finding me and picking me up at the airport in Christchurch, putting me up for the night, feeding me, helping me plan fun adventures, and sending me on my way in the morning!

I spent about a day on my own in Christchurch, watching some street performers at the 2008 World Buskers Festival! See the video for more on that. Then spent the afternoon wandering around town, snacking, seeing the botanical gardens, art galleries, and the river Avon (they really think they're still in Britain).


Met up with another group of backpackers who were heading out of town in the morning for Queenstown, and after some deliberation regarding timing, traveling with complete strangers, and advice seeking from across the globe, decided to take the ride. More on that in the next post! Needless to say, that for the city of Chch itself, 1 day was plenty. I realize that there's tons of good hikes along the foothills and Banks peninsula. Maybe another day!

Oh, and they had a cool chess set in Cathedral square, too.