Attraction Review – Page 17

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Santa Barbara’s LotusLand

July 30, 2014September 3, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: LOTUSLAND, BEYOND BEAUTIFUL!

First atraction, first day: Santa Barbara’s Lotusland! Talk about a great way to start a vacation – this was it!

Hanging in SB

So, if our adventure started in Santa Barbara, why did we fly to LAX and stay in Carpenteria? Well, this was a road trip which would end in LA, so it was cheaper to fly into and out of LAX, not to mention avoiding a one-way rental car charge. And Carpenteria is only ten miles away from Santa Barbara and about a hundred dollars cheaper than any accommodations I could book in the more famous city.

The Beach

We left Carpenteria early enough to spend some time in Santa Barbara, because it’s one of our favorite cities. The list of things we would have loved to do would be quite long, but all we had time for was a leisurely visit to the beach. Next was lunch and we had fast food.

Finally, Lotusland!

Lotusland is one of those hidden travel gems people talk about, but it shouldn’t be such a secret. Their website says they’ve been having tours since 1993, so I don’t know why more people aren’t raving about it. I lived on the Central Coast of California for six years and in all that time I heard one person mention it in passing and they made it seem like a cactus farm.

Listen to me – you need to go to Lotusland. Beautiful, serene, amazing – these are the words that come to mind. Yes there are cactus gardens, but that’s only the beginning. There are twenty other gardens there, also. From a Japanese Garden to a Water Garden full of water lilies to a Topiary Garden – and the list goes on!

Here’s a map from our tour. At least, Trip Advisor lists it as the number two attraction in Santa Barbara,behind the famous Courthouse, but I’ve been to the Courthouse and it doesn’t light a candle to Lotusland. Santa Barbara Mission is pretty wonderful, but Trip Advisor rates that as number seven. What’s wrong with these people!

First you need to know Ganna Walska, the lady who planned and planted Lotusland, should have her own mini-series. A famous opera singer with five different husbands, ties to both the Polish and Russian royal families and over thirty acres of gardens in Santa Barbara – what’s not to love? Then there’s the gardens themselves. Breath-taking!

Next, you need to know that you can’t just show up at the address on the internet for a stroll through the garden. All tours are docent-led and there are two each day. To tour the garden you have to go online, make reservations and pay for the tour. Then you will get directions about where to show up for the tour. I have to confess that you might get a little sticker shock. The tours are $45/adult and $20/ child, but I am telling you it is completely worth the price of admission. Trust me on this.

We had quite a tour. About half-way through a sweet little old lady fell INTO a cactus plant, which sort of threw everything off – and certainly slowed us down on the next leg of our trip – but that’s for next week. Lotusland is one of those places that I could wear myself out talking about and still not capture the essence of it, so now I’m going to shut-up and show you some of our pictures. Just be sure and come back next week. There’s more fun to come.

The cactus mishap is just about to occur!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Witte Museum – San Antonio

January 15, 2014September 28, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE WITTE MUSEUM IN SAN ANTONIO

The South Texas Heritage Center sets the Witte apart from any run-of-the-mill science and natural history museum.

Our first stop in San Antonio was The Witte Museum. I’d never visited it before, even though I’ve been to San Antonio many times. Most of my other trips have been overnight, two days as the most, and I prefer art museums over all others, especially one like The Witte, which used to be billed as a science and natural history museum. I’m not into stuffed animals and models of the solar system.

A New Description Captures My Attention

The Witte no longer calls itself a science and natural history museum. Now they are “San Antonio’s premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science.” That sounds a whole lot more like something I want to see. They’ve also just finished a “South Texas Heritage Center”with a special exhibitions called “Porfirio Salinas: Capturing South Texas on Canvas.” That certainly peaked my interest.

Bill, bless his heart, goes to these places because I want to, but I thought he might enjoy a special exhibition called CSI. However, it was 3PM when we arrived, only two hours before closing, so the CSI exhibit was immediately deleted – especially since it required a separate entrance fee. Just ahead of us a bus tour was arranging itself in the first gallery, so we detoured into another one. OOOPS, stuffed animals! So I checked the map and exited out a side door.

The South Texas Cultural Center

Once we stepped outside the main building, the South Texas Cultural Center was right in front of us. Inside, it being December and all, we found an unusual holiday tree just outside the Salinas exhibit. Come to find out, Salinas was a painter of bluebonnets a la William A. Slaughter. Every bit as good and with his own style, but his primary subject was bluebonnets, just like the more famous Slaughter. The exhibition was housed in a small gallery, but Bill had a hard time getting me out of there.

The rest of the first floor was devoted to the Old Time Trail Drivers Association. There were wonderful old photos, gorgeous saddles, interesting equipment and lots of logbooks and journals, but time was a-wasting and we still had a lot to see.

The Witte Museum, San Antonio TX — Patriotism and Pageantry: Fiesta Honors the Military

Upstairs was a mock-up of a South Texas town with a lot of artifacts strewn among the scenery. We strolled along and picked up quite a bit of history, but didn’t linger overlong. Next on my list was the Betty Coates Textile Gallery, because that’s where the Fiesta dresses are.

Back Inside the Main Building

As far as I’m concerned, the textile gallery alone is well worth a visit to The Witte. One of my favorite things about the Tyler Rose Garden is the Rose Queen gowns museum. Well, the Betty Coates Textile Gallery is the Tyler museum in miniature, but instead of Rose Queen gowns, gowns from San Antonio’s Fiesta are displayed. Just like a Rose Queen, Fiesta Royalty chooses themes for their coronation finery and the gowns on display were devoted to patriotism. We got an eyeful of red-white-and-blue glitz and glamour there.

Magic Lanterns, a Special Exhibition

Around the corner we found a special exhibition, focusing on a form of photography most folks don’t even know about, Magic Lanterns. I happened to take both a photography course and a history of cinema course while I was completing my BA in performance arts, so Magic Lanterns were something I’d been versed in from several points of view. Magic Lanterns were fancy slide shows at the time photography was still in its infancy. It was the x-box of it’s day. I’m just guessing, but I’m betting this was Bill’s favorite part of the museum.

We whirled through the rest of the museum so quickly that I can’t give you a coherent report. Here’s the bottom line: The Witte is no longer a building full of dead animals. A lot more is happening. Put it on your itinerary next time you go to San Antonio. You’ll be glad you did.

So where are we headed next? La Mansion del Rio! Don’t miss it.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Texas’ Natural Bridge Caverns

January 8, 2014August 12, 2015 Jane Sadek

Natural Bridge Caverns, San Antonio TX — The Cavern’s Natural Bridge

TRAVEL THERE: JUMPING OFF INTO NOTHING AT NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS

Natural Bridge Caverns is an attraction in Central Texas with much more than a hole in the ground to explore.

Rambling around the southern half of the Lone Star State we found ourselves just around the corner from Natural Bridges Cavern. Having seen Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, we sort of thought we’d done the cavern thing, but I had a coupon, so we decided to check it out.

Cavern Tour vs. Zip-line

Truth be told, I checked it out online ahead of time and when I discovered they had zip-lining, then Mr. Bill developed an uncanny interest in the attraction. However, it appeared he wasn’t as interested in going down into the cavern as he was gliding above it. As we pulled into the parking lot, I handed him our coupon to the cavern. He stuck it in his pocket and asked where the zip-line was.

Gearing-up for Zip-lining

Now I’d seen zip-lining before and I thought it looked pretty fun. When Bill asked me if I would do it, I told him, “Sure.”We got directions to the zip-line area, forked over our credit card and geared up. At this point, I was actually excited. I still thought this was going to be fun. Then it was time to hook my gear up to their gear. “Who’s going first?” they asked. Bill and I looked at one another and shrugged. Then they asked who was the most afraid. Suddenly, that was me, so they hooked me in.

We started up the huge stairwell. I’d become somewhat apprehensive, but I was still all in. Then we got to the first landing, which required that I walk around an unobstructed edge with nothing to hold onto except the zipling gear which was hooked up to a cable. I’m a little acrophobic and that little phobia grew with every inch I sidled around that edge. Still, I wanted to go, so I started climbing the next flight of stairs. The problem was, my lungs didn’t go with me. By the time I got to the top I had no interest in zip-lining, but I could have done with some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The Walk-of-Shame

Apparently, I’m not the first victim of this malady. The lady at the top gently encouraged me to get into position, but I knew that wasn’t happening. When she also figured out that it wasn’t happening, she maneuvered my gear out of the way and started getting Bill lined up to take off.

I watched Bill step onto the platform and with a gentle push, he was gone. In seconds it was over and I had to take the walk-of-shame back down the stairwell. The problem was, I still had to make it around the edge of the first platform. Don’t tell anyone, but I thought I’d die before it was over. I didn’t, but tell that to my pounding heart.

At the bottom they removed my gear and sent me back to the ticket booth. I had been a chicken. Stepping off into nothing was just not something I could do. Bill loved it and he loves me, so he didn’t give me too much of a tough time.

We wandered back to the cavern desk and the next tour was forty minutes away. We decided to save the cavern for another day – you know, the one where we come back and eat at The Gristmill in Gruene? On to San Antonio! Come back next week and see what we visited first!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

South Texas Christmas Ramble

December 11, 2013August 13, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: SOUTH TEXAS CHRISTMAS RAMBLE – WACO, AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO & GALVESTON

Did you miss me last week? I missed being here, but not too much, because I was out having fun. For years I’ve wanted to visit San Antonio while the luminaries glowed on the Riverwalk. I finally headed that way and tacked Galveston’s Dickens on the Strand at the end of the trip. I didn’t know the North Pole would be traveling with us.

Rambling South

Having declared this a ramble, we did take it slow. Last Tuesday morning went like almost any morning at our house, except that my bags were packed and sitting next to the door. After my morning ride on the stationary bike, I made some breakfast and then headed for a bath. Meanwhile, my husband, the investor, checked on the market and made sure his trades were all properly lined up. About 10:30 we hit the road.

Waxahachie Drive Tour

First stop, Waxahachie. We were a few days early for the Gingerbread Tour of Homes, but thought we might take a sneak peek at some of the old Victorians all dressed up for Christmas. I’d found a copy of the tour map online and started putting Bill through his paces. He was very obedient, but by the fifth house we realized the effort wasn’t worth it. It’s the second time I’ve tried to do this and after this second fail we hightailed it back to I-35.

A Detour for the Love of Dr. Pepper

I had a wish list for Waco which included the Lee Lockwood Library, but they’re closed on Tuesdays, so we went to the Dr. Pepper Museum. This pilgrimage had been lurking for a while on my “to do” list, but the other times I’d tried to drop by failed for one reason or another.

I'm a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too? — I’m a Pepper. Are you a Pepper, too?

Now, if there ever was a Pepper, it’s me, so I was looking forward to the museum big time, but erase all thoughts of the CocaCola Museum in Atlanta out of your mind. Dr. Pepper doesn’t even come in a close second. Even a Pepper like me has to admit it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Just pare down your expectations a bit.

The building housing the museum is where the beverage was originally served and then bottled. Since we were there on a mid-week afternoon in early December, we didn’t exactly have to fight any crowds. We paid our $8 per person (choke choke) admission and started poking around the place.

Long before Dr. Pepper was a soda fountain drink, Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store was well known as the largest drug store in Texas. Cowpokes and railroad tracks converged in Waco creating a clientele for emporium’s soda fountain, but old Morrison, didn’t create Dr Pepper. One of his employees did. For a while, even though the drink was popular at the soda fountain, no one thought of bottling it. For one thing, soda fountains were all the rage and for another, bottling was an expensive process.

A la Madame Tussard’s, a wax replica of the man that did invent Dr Pepper greeted you in the original soda fountain area. He told you the history of Morrison’s Drug Store and that odd little beverage invented there. He also explained why the artisan wells in Waco made the bottling of Dr Pepper a possibility.

The reason I choked on the price of admission is because the majority of the museum is just a warehouse for Dr. Pepper ad media. Strolling through the first two floors is, for the most part, a review of the Dr Pepper marketing campaigns. Yes, there’s the original soda fountain and a room set up like the original bottling facility, but that’s pretty much all there is that has historical meaning for anyone except an ad executive. The third floor is devoted to Foots Clements. He’s a one time delivery truck driver who made his way through the ranks and then led the company for many years.

Remember this campaign? Have you ever actually drank it hot?

Several displays reminded me that 7Up is part of the Dr Pepper family, but what I found odd was that almost half of one floor was devoted to root beer. Root beer? I could never find the link between root beer and my favorite soda, but I did learn a few things about the whole frosty mug thing.

There’s a gift shop full of Dr Pepper t-shirts and commemorative bottles and then there’s a snack bar, where you can get a free sample of Dr Pepper products mixed the old soda fountain way. I’d have preferred a can. The sample didn’t taste quite right – but I bet when they started bottling Dr Pepper most people said they preferred what they were used to at the soda fountain.

Should you go to the Dr Pepper Museum? Well, that depends. Are you a Pepper? If you’re a devoted drinker of the brand, then you will enjoy it. Are you a Baby Boomer? Then you’d probably enjoy the walk down the advertising memory lane. Are you majoring in marketing at one of our American universities or colleges. Then maybe you’d learn a few things. Otherwise, like my husband, you’d probably prefer to spend your time elsewhere.

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this: