Filoli Mansion and Gardens, located in Woodside, California, is 30 miles south of San Francisco along scenic Interstate 280. Filoli is about to unveil Holiday Traditions, a fun filled seasonal event and fundraiser that begins the day after Thanksgiving and lasts for 9 exciting days.

What is Filoli?

Filoli is a 654-acre private estate that includes a 36,000 square-foot mansion furnished with elegant antiques and decorative art. The property also has 16 acres of European-inspired gardens that showcase dramatic seasonal horticultural exhibits.

Filoli is recognized as one of the finest remaining American country estates of the early 20th century. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

Today, Filoli is owned by a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote cultural and horticultural activities. The knowledgeable staff – with the help of hundreds of active volunteers – raises money to sustain Filoli by staging colorful family events with enormous appeal.

Winter Wonderland at Filoli

This year’s event theme is Winter Wonderland. Six hundred and fifty Filoli volunteers are transforming the mansion into a spectacular floral display and storehouse of exciting gifts. Filoli will sparkle and glisten with stunning decorations, live music, merriment  – and dancing in the ballroom at the Gala Dinner Party. 

You and your family can be part of the holiday cheer – but buy your tickets early

SHOP

Come and shop the Holiday Boutique with its wide range of exceptional merchandise. Browse while holiday performers sing and play seasonal favorites. Bring your holiday shopping list.  As the photos attest, there are thousands of desirable gifts for all ages.

Dine

Relax amid glorious winter flowers and glistening decorations while enjoying a tasty lunch or dinner.

Socialize

Celebrate the season by attending The Gala Dinner Party on November 28 – a grand occasion featuring fine food, live music and dancing in the famed Filoli ballroom. Get your tickets early. This event is a certain sell-out.

Bring the kids

Be sure to take the young ones to the popular Children’s Party on December 5.

Everyone that visits Filoli during this festive season will experience the magic and wonder of winter in beautiful Woodside, California.

Support the cause. This is one fundraiser where all benefactors are sure to walk away with a pocket full of holiday smiles, and a bag full of special gifts.

General information is available online by clicking Filoli. For tickets and reservations click on Holiday Traditions.

See you there, and Happy Holidays!

Interested in learning more about Filoli? Click on the titles below:

Movies made at Filoli

Dynasty’s TV mansion

Filoli Spring Fling

© Travels with Wayne and Judy (syndicated)

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to ride one of those strange looking two wheel electric Segway contraptions? It is a peculiar machine that some people look upon as they do the mechanical riding bull in Gilley’s Bar in the movie Urban Cowboy. We recently took on the challenge of a first Segway ride, and we are here to tell you – it’s not like a bull – it’s more like an escalator. 

Get out and try one

Our adventure started in Pacifica, California, just 15 miles south of San Francisco on scenic Highway 1. We dropped in on Silicon Segway, and talked with owners Joe Trimble and Jim Heldberg about how the Segway transporter works.

 It didn’t take long and we were involved in a brief training session, watched a how-to video, and selected safety helmets. Before we knew it, we were rolling Segways out the storefront door and preparing to take on the byways of beautiful Pacifica.

 The Silicon Segway shop is located in a great spot for training and tours. Just a few yards from the front door, is a piece of property that is ideal for basic field training. It’s a brick surface with a convenient sloping driveway and round cement barriers that make an excellent obstacle course during practice drills. 

Jim Heldberg was our tour guide, and he quickly had us up on our machines practicing all the basic maneuvers. Within minutes, we were sufficiently confident in our ability to ride a Segway that we moved off the practice pad and took off along an Oceanside trail.

The Segway is an amazing machine 

When you turn on the power, the Segway lets you know when it’s time to climb aboard. You step up, one foot at a time, and the machine automatically balances itself for your weight and proportions. You lean forward to move forward and backward to move backward. It should be more complicated than that, but it isn’t. 

You turn the stick right and you go right. Turn it far right and you will spin around in a perfect circle. Lean forward a little and you will spin faster, lean backward and you will start to spin backward. That’s all there is to it. 

After a very short while, the electric scooter feels like an extension of your body. You learn to adjust your speed by leaning forward and backward in a matter of minutes, and then away you go. Your forward top speed is 12 miles per hour, and the machine will gently pull back if the limit is exceeded. 

Jim took us for a tour of an old rock quarry, and up a sizeable hill with twelve switchbacks – and a spectacular view of the ocean. By the time we reached the hilltop, we were all confident in our ability as novice Segwayers. 

 If you decide to try a Segway 

Silicon Segway provides tours and salesof Segway transporters. Check herefor tour schedules. Joe told us, “Jim and I recently initiated a new Segway tour of Treasure Island, and it has fabulous views of San Francisco.”  We cannot wait to take it. 

After riding a Segway, you may want one for Christmas. New machine prices start at $5K+, and used machines are available. 

The Segway range is about 24 miles per charge, and it costs about ten-cents worth of electricity for a full charge – very GREEN. 

A Segway tour is great family fun, but check with the owners for age and size restrictions. We know there is no top age limit because Jim said, “So far our oldest tour participant was 92.” 

© Travels with Wayne and Judy (syndicated)

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff  

Catalina Island is a little bit of paradise located 22 miles off the coast of southern California. Like most vacation destinations, the island has a golf course and country club. The difference here is that this country club has no initiation fee, no monthly dues – and no members.

A home for the Chicago Cubs

The hacienda style building is situated on a hill, and boasts a sweeping view of Avalon and the blue Pacific beyond. It was originally constructed in 1921 by William Wrigley as a clubhouse for his baseball team, the Chicago Cubs. It must have been tough duty for the Cubbies, but Catalina was the site of their spring training for 30 years, except for the WWII years, when the military ran the island.

What is a home without a golf course?

During their off hours, the ball players often enjoyed a round of golf with Hollywood celebrities, dignitaries, and other guests invited by Mr. Wrigley.

The golf coursedates back to 1892, and therefore pre-dates the clubhouse that now adjoins it. The links are reputed to be the oldest in California, and perhaps the entire west.

The course has nine holes with two sets of tees for 18 hole play. Five par four and four par three holes make up the 2,100-yard course that meanders through a verdant canyon. The small greens and narrow fairways provide an ample challenge for players at all skill levels.

Golf clubs and carts are both available for rent from the well-stocked Pro Shop. Only soft-spiked shoes are allowed on the course.

Today, the only lingering memories of the Chicago Cubs use of the golf course and the beautiful Spanish Colonial club house are the pictures that decorate the walls, and the sports memorabilia.

A country club that really is not

It was an unfortunate decision to rename the old Cubs Clubhouse the Catalina Country Club. The name “country club” usually conjures up word images like “expensive, exclusive, and private”. None of those words applies here. The Catalina Country Club is open to the public, reasonably priced, and well worth the short five-minute walk from town.

Climb the front brick stairs and enter through the graceful arched portico to arrive at a sunny brick patio frequently used for receptions and weddings.

Relax under a mantle of market umbrellas in the outdoor fountain terrace – enjoy the mid-day Mediterranean like sun, or savor a delicious dinner and cocktails under a cavalcade of evening stars. This is truly the good life.

A dining experience to remember

The Spanish mission style dining room with its arched windows and hill views provides an exquisite setting for a relaxing dinner. Wrought-iron chandeliers hang from a wood- beamed ceiling and cast soft light and gentle shadows throughout the room. A decorative fireplace adds to the warmth of a classical setting enriched by mahogany doors and plush upholstered chairs.

You will likely be seduced by the surroundings, but even greater pleasures await you on the menu. The Catalina Country Club restaurant is Avalon’s premier dining facility. Featuring organically grown produce, local seasonal delicacies, and seafood from environmentally sustainable fisheries – the food is as unique as it is delicious.

The deep wine list includes American and old-world offerings. Several wines on the menu are pressed from organically grown grapes, and some are from vineyards that practice biodynamic farming.

When you visit Catalina, be sure to dine at the Catalina Country Club. You are sure to add the experience to your list of unforgettable culinary events.

The “Front of Line” ticket option at Universal Studios works a lot like the car pool lanes that speed you past other vehicles on the Freeway.

This priority pass allows the buyer to enter all attractions and shows through a special portal. The “A-Gate” inconspicuously permits VIPs to enter the front of every line, and puts them in reserved seating at all shows.

What is the Front of Line premium?

At the time of our visit a general admission ticket to Universal Studios was $69, and a Front of Line Pass was $129. Check for special on-line discounts here.

Is the Front of the Line Pass worth the extra money?

That depends on a number of things. Are you local or just visiting the area? If you are a visitor, this may be your only opportunity to see Universal Studios. How many days do you have available to visit the Studios? How many attractions and shows do you want to see? What is your tolerance for waiting in lines? How much do you value your discretionary time?

Here’s how we made our decision

This was our first visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. We were out-of-towners, and could only spend one day at the Studios.

We arrived at the parking garage at 11:30am on a Friday in September, and wanted to see and experience everything before the park closed at 5pm. See all park hours here.

Robert at the front gate told us, “The crowd is a moderate size today.” That translated into a busy day, but not “crowded” and most line waits would be less than 20 minutes.

Based on the enormity of the park, and the number of attractions we wanted to see, we opted for the Front of Line tickets. It was a good decision – and worth every penny.

Follow the Studio recommendations

We read the brochure/map provided at the front gate and took the park’s advice to take the motorized Studio Tour first thing.

There were about 100 people waiting in line to board the trams when we arrived at the gate. Our Front of Line passes allowed us to assemble in a special area, and provided us with preferred seating on the tram.

The tour was fascinating, and covered famous sets used in Classic films like Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jaws, King Kong, and Psycho.

The set for the Desperate Housewives television series was a big surprise. The entire “Wisteria Lane” is literally constructed right there on the Studio lot.

Zipping through the park

The priority pass worked the same way at each exhibit we visited. There was a special entrance for VIP ticket holders, and the studio staff was careful to make sure Front of Line guests entered first, and were offered the best seats and views.

We walked quickly, and saw all the attractions and shows – in just over five hours. We even managed to find time for a tasty cheeseburger lunch. It would not have been possible without the Front of Line option.

On some future visit to Los Angeles, we will know exactly which shows and attractions we want to see at Universal Studios. At that time, we may opt for the less expensive general admission tickets, – but it was sure nice to go first class this time around.

A trip to Universal Studios is a fun way to spend a day. Take the entire family, there’s plenty of great entertainment for kids of all ages. 

If you go

Universal Studios Hollywood is just off California Highway 101 in Universal City, California. Exit at Universal Studios Boulevard, make a right and follow the signs.

Happy travels!

© Travels with Wayne and Judy (syndicated)
Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff

After publishing an article about movies made at the Filoli Mansion in Woodside, California, we received several emails asking for additional information about the film site. It appears at least some of our readers are interested in movie and television places and personalities, so when we ran across another location where many Hollywood luminaries have worked, we decided to write about it. 

The place is the 932-acre Vasquez Rocks Park, located in Los Angeles County, California. This park and its unusual rock formations may be the one spot listed on the National Register of Historic Places where more Stars have clocked in for work than any other single location outside a major studio. 

The photos of the landscape should be familiar. Throughout the years, the “Rocks” have appeared in films when rough, desolate, and foreboding terrain is required as a backdrop.

 The park’s TV credits are impressive. Here are just some of the Who’s Who of westerns and adventure series that have filmed episodes there. 

CSI, The Medium, Monk, 24, NCIS, Numb3rs, Alias, Saving Grace, Twilight Zone, Buffy, The Lone Ranger, Wild Wild West, Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Man from Uncle, Maverick, The Rifleman, Mission Impossible, Bonanza, Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Alias Smith and Jones, Hunter, MacGyver, Rat Patrol, Charmed, Friends, Fear Factor, Lassie, Las Vegas, Logan’s Run, Zorro, Voyagers, Daniel Boone, Alien Nation, Rin Tin Tin, The Big Valley, The Cisco Kid, High Chaparral, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Battle Star Galactica, Street Hawk, and of course – Star Trek. 

How’s that for a walk down TV’s memory lane!  

We did some research to try to find when the first movie was filmed at the Rocks. We read several articles asserting that a silent action movie starring Rudolph Valentino was filmed there in 1905. Unfortunately, the reports are highly suspect since Valentino was born in 1895. 

We do know that the classic 1931 Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, was made in part at the Rocks, and was followed by dozens of other notable movie productions such as, Apache, Hondo, Cheyenne, Laramie, Laredo, and Blazing Saddles. As well as Werewolf of London, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Austin Powers IMM, The Flintstones, and Short Circuit. 

Music producers also find Vasquez Rocks a worthy setting. Michael Jackson did a famous dance sequence with American Indians at the Rocks for the hit music video Black or White, in 1991. Click here to see the video. 

The park’s ominous looking 45-degree toothy rock outcroppings are siblings to the San Andreas Fault. They were formed by a series of violent earthquakes over many millions of years. The jagged peaks rise 150 feet above the surrounding sandy desert floor. 

Vasquez Rocks Park is off the beaten path, but its raw beauty is worth planning a day trip to visit when you are in the Los Angeles area. 

The park is open to the public year round. There are several hiking trails, and the cliffs are accessible to climbers. 

A few words of caution: There are scant facilities in Vasquez Rocks, and no drinking water. The weather is subject to rapid change, so be prepared. Take great care if you plan to wander beyond the parking lot – there’s a lot of desert out there. 

If you like to walk where Hollywood Celebs have walked, the Rocks are the perfect place. Park your car in the lot and take a short hike. Enjoy the desert beauty that has inspired the Stars.  

If you go, the park is located just north of Los Angeles, at 10700 Escondido Canyon Road in Agua Dulce, California, Take the Hwy 14 exit from Interstate 5, and drive about 20 miles east. 

Happy travels! 

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff 

Image via Wikipedia

The first step though is to purchase your tickets, and preferably in advance.  No sense wasting time standing in the ticket line if you don’t have to!  Also be sure to arrive early, at least an hour early as parks often open ahead of time and allow early parking.

Once you get inside, Epcot is divided into two main sections.  World Showcase and Future World.  Depending on your tastes, you can travel around the world inside the World Showcase.  Dine in Italy, drink in France, and shop in Morocco all in the space of an hour or two!  You might also consider getting the Fastpass to save you some time in lines once you start hitting the attractions.

If that doesn’t appeal just yet, you can start your day by taking a hand glider flight over sunny California.  One of Epcot’s most popular rides, you can fly down to Hollywood, California from San Francisco, and experience a little exhilarating wind in your hair.

Next you might like to mosey on over to the Future World park area.  It offers an interactive space travel ride called Mission Space that you can hop on if you are a thrill seeker.  It also offers two different versions, so if one is too intense for you there is a second less intense one for you to enjoy.

While you are there you might also hit some of the other Future World attractions as well.  Journey Into Imagination With Figment and Bodywars is a good choice, and whatever other attractions might strike your fancy.

Another not to miss feature of Epcot is the 3-D special effects movie, ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Audience’ which is based on the hit movie ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Kids’.  It is great fun for the whole family, so you won’t want to miss out on that.

Afterwards, browse around the Innoventions Pavilion, where you can play with all the futuristic tools that might be around some day, and grab some lunch to refuel for the rest of your day.  While digesting lunch, you can take a nice relaxing boat ride through Living With The Land, and have some great photo opportunities of some beautiful scenery.

Once you hop off the boat, you can check out the Sea’s With Nemo And Friends, and ride the ‘clam mobile’ to journey under the sea and Find Ne mo!  On the way you can stop and let the kiddies have a talk with the Turtle Crush at the Crush show, and find out all kinds of Turtle Trivia.

Top off your day by having dinner in the Coral Reef restaurant, where you can dine with a view of the beautiful fish tank and enjoy exquisite steak and sea food.  The perfect way to finish a perfect day at Disney’s Epcot center wouldn’t you say?

Image via Wikipedia

The first step though is to purchase your tickets, and preferably in advance.  No sense wasting time standing in the ticket line if you don’t have to!  Also be sure to arrive early, at least an hour early as parks often open ahead of time and allow early parking.

Once you get inside, Epcot is divided into two main sections.  World Showcase and Future World.  Depending on your tastes, you can travel around the world inside the World Showcase.  Dine in Italy, drink in France, and shop in Morocco all in the space of an hour or two!  You might also consider getting the Fastpass to save you some time in lines once you start hitting the attractions.

If that doesn’t appeal just yet, you can start your day by taking a hand glider flight over sunny California.  One of Epcot’s most popular rides, you can fly down to Hollywood, California from San Francisco, and experience a little exhilarating wind in your hair.

Next you might like to mosey on over to the Future World park area.  It offers an interactive space travel ride called Mission Space that you can hop on if you are a thrill seeker.  It also offers two different versions, so if one is too intense for you there is a second less intense one for you to enjoy.

While you are there you might also hit some of the other Future World attractions as well.  Journey Into Imagination With Figment and Bodywars is a good choice, and whatever other attractions might strike your fancy.

Another not to miss feature of Epcot is the 3-D special effects movie, ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Audience’ which is based on the hit movie ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Kids’.  It is great fun for the whole family, so you won’t want to miss out on that.

Afterwards, browse around the Innoventions Pavilion, where you can play with all the futuristic tools that might be around some day, and grab some lunch to refuel for the rest of your day.  While digesting lunch, you can take a nice relaxing boat ride through Living With The Land, and have some great photo opportunities of some beautiful scenery.

Once you hop off the boat, you can check out the Sea’s With Nemo And Friends, and ride the ‘clam mobile’ to journey under the sea and Find Ne mo!  On the way you can stop and let the kiddies have a talk with the Turtle Crush at the Crush show, and find out all kinds of Turtle Trivia.

Top off your day by having dinner in the Coral Reef restaurant, where you can dine with a view of the beautiful fish tank and enjoy exquisite steak and sea food.  The perfect way to finish a perfect day at Disney’s Epcot center wouldn’t you say?

Image via Wikipedia

Starting your day at Disney’s Hollywood Studio’s when you first enter the park will put you directly on Hollywood Boulevard.  Mickey’s giant sorcerer’s hat will be a prominent view for you as you decide on your next direction.

Mickey’s sorcerer’s hat is the perfect place for photo op’s in the morning as it is the place Disney characters tend to congregate early in the morning when the day is fresh, usually around 9 AM or so.  On your way to the hat, you can do some light browsing in some of the many shops along the way.

While you are there, just behind Mickey’s hat is The Great Movie ride, which will take you through some great movie history of major American movies like Tarzan and The Wizard Of OZ.  Afterwards, you can mosey off to the right onto Sunset Blvd and check out two the the major MGM attractions there, which are geared to the thrill seekers. 

First up, the not to be missed Tower of Terror, which is one of the major feature attractions of MGM studios.  Experience a scary thrill dropping 13 flights in an elevator, and then go back and do it again!  After that you can hop on the Rockin’ Roller Coaster and rock out to Aerosmith while barreling along the track going from 0-60 mph in no time flat.

If you have kiddies along with you, you can check out the Beauty And The Beast- Live On Stage, and then head on over to Rosie’s All American Cafe for a quick lunch time snack.  If that doesn’t appeal, there are several other restaurants all near by with varied cuisine.

After lunch, head on over to the Animation Courtyard.  There you can hop on the Star Tour’s simulator for a fun excursion into all the characters of Star Wars.  After that, ramp up the excitement with the Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, a live stage show sure to entertain both you and the little one’s.  If you arrive early you can even get the chance to volunteer as extra during the show!

Once done there, you can head over to The Streets Of America, where you will find 3 more of Hollywood Studio’s most popular attractions.  Muppet Vision 3-D, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids Movie Set Adventure, and The Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show.  At Muppet Vision 3-D, you get to watch those adorable muppets literally pop out of the screen at you, and enjoy a bit of cool relief while you get a stitch in your side from laughter.

The stunt show is pretty incredible as well as you get to see first hand how Hollywood movie car stunts are done.  On the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Move Set Adventure, you can let your kids loose in the huge playground and let them get an idea of what it REALLY means to be one of the ‘little people’.  This is a great spot to grab some hilarious photo’s as well, so make sure to have the camera ready!

Top it all off with some pizza from the Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade, and then head over to the night time show Fantasmic.  Here you will watch Mickey battle some familiar villains with pretty lasers, see dancing fountains, and other cool effects that will be the perfect ending to your Hollywood Studio’s day.  Just remember to get there a bit early or you might not get a seat!

Awarded platinum level LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Academy also holds the designation of the largest building in the world to receive this level of certification and the world’s greenest museum.

As much as the museum’s redesign reflects society’s current views on the environment and sustainability, it was in fact the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which set actions in motion, no pun intended.  The magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Northern California severely damaged the Academy’s buildings and forcing closure of an entire hall.  Seismic damage was of special concern in the Steinhart Aquarium where hundreds of live aquatic species existed in dozens of glass and water enclosures. 

The Academy opened its doors in 1874, in what is now Chinatown, in downtown San Francisco.  As its popularity and discoveries grew the need for space became dire and in 1891 they moved to a new location.  Unfortunately their time there ended sooner than expected.  The great quake of 1906 not only made their new location uninhabitable but the damage from the quake and fires managed to destroy a multitude of specimens on display as well as in the Academy library.  It would be another decade before the Academy would reopen its doors in the famed Golden Gate Park, and remain there for the next 89 years.

Situated amongst good company, the newly designed Academy rests across the Music Concourse from the equally renowned M.H. de Young Museum and around the corner from the popular Japanese Tea Garden.  Much like its prior construct; the Academy rises three stories into the air, but now sports a 2.5 acre living roof, among other green design elements.

As a child and young adult, the California Academy of Sciences was a place of wonder and education.  With each visit I found something new about the place that I had not noticed on prior trips.  There were always new animals being brought in to view and rotating exhibits specific to what was going on in the world at the time.  However, there were also some tried and true displays that never changed and were always a welcome site.  No matter how many times you have been to the Academy you cannot help but go pay a visit to the alligator enclosure.  They rarely move, and the turtles occupying the shared area always seem to be piled up on the same log or rock, but it is still a must-see component.

A trip was also never complete without waiting patiently along the rail of the Foucault pendulum.  Crowds would descend on the hanging weight as it swayed inches and inches closer to its goal, a small cylindrical pin.  Ooos and Ahhhs would stumble across lips in heated anticipation for the clinking sound of the fallen pin, each swing nearing closer and closer to contact.  When finally it did connect what followed was cheering and clapping and then observers making their way about the rest of their visit; feeling accomplished at being there for the pendulum’s crowning moment.  A display of great importance and history, the Foucault pendulum has been integrated into the design and layout of the new Academy.

Of course, one cannot have a state of the art facility without doing away with some of the old to bring in the new.  Sitting in one of the two spheres anchoring the East and West wings of the Academy is the new and improved planetarium.  Completely digital, the new system is state of the art and situated in an IMAX configuration with innovative shows and images to entice a 21st century astronomer and the amateur alike, garnering it the title of largest digital planetarium in the world.  In the new Academy it is integrated into the surroundings and sits as a giant orb over several portions of the aquarium including one of the world’s largest coral reef exhibits.

I for one, while always eager to see every square inch of the museum, could push all exhibits to the side save the Morrison Planetarium.  With its gentle domed ceiling and San Francisco skyline silhouette encircling the room, the planetarium was a place of other worldly wonder.  Cradling you at a gentle angle the chairs gave you the feeling of lying back on a cushioned hillock watching the stars come into view in the night sky.  All the while an amazing piece of technology sat center stage as if a futuristic creation projecting images of the universe and outer space phenomena.  The original planetarium has been removed for newer technology and the skyline is a memory but the same awe and allure remain.

Located on the subterranean level, rising up to the mezzanine, is one of the Academy’s pride and joy.  Set amongst displays, both aquatic and amphibious, is a two story Philippine coral reef.  At 25 feet deep and containing over 200,000 gallons of water this exhibit is one of the most diverse reef systems in the world.  The tank boasts thousands of tropical fish, soft and hard corals and native mangroves.  But what sets this aquarium apart from all others is the water, piped directly from the Pacific Ocean itself.  Sporting additional elements of cutting edge technology, projected along the walls of the main hub of the aquarium, are images of the sea and informational videos on the delicate nature of the Earth’s oceans and the life they hold.

Another profound exhibit of the newly designed California Academy of Science is the four story sphere housing displays as well as plant and animal life of the Amazon Rain Forest.  Sporting dozens of avian and lepidoptera species the curving pathway of the Academy’s second sphere takes you from forest floor to the top of the canopy.  While also providing you views of the Amazon River below, an underwater tunnel incorporates the rain forest and the aquarium exhibits.

Not wanting to ruin all of the surprise let’s get down to the green components of this museum and the facts that help it stand out from other facilities of its kind. 

For starters, though new and cutting edge, this reconstruction is a lot of what you’ve seen before.  That is because the designers and construction teams integrated into the development over 90% of the original museum’s building materials.  As mentioned earlier, the museum sports over two acres of living roof, landscaped on one of the most challenging sets of hills and grades to date for a design of its kind.  Home to almost 2 million plants native to California, the roof was designed with seven mounds intended to mimic the seven hills of San Francisco.  Surrounding this horticulture wonder and encircling the entire building, on the roof level, is an eave holding over 60,000 photovoltaic cells providing 5% of the Academy’s power.

A lot more went into the verdant bones of this ecological marvel.  Nestled in the middle of a city known for its cold summers and cooler winters you would think that heating would be an issue, as would cooling if you factor that over one million guests visited within the first five months of reopening.  Coastal air and body heat aside the Academy keeps temperate thanks to water heated radiant floors and automated louvers that allow fresh air to cycle through the spaces.  These components in conjunction with the natural denim fiber insulation make for a chemical free, HVAC free and eco-friendly atmosphere.

No stone was left unturned.  No new concept not considered.  The Academy was not the first of Architect Renzo Piano’s achievements, or the last, but it is one in an impressive portfolio of work created by this award winning Italian designer.  As of late a large number of Piano’s designs embody architecture as air and light.  The Academy is no exception with its sky lit piazza and floor to ceiling walls of glass.  From almost anywhere in the museum you can look out the clear walls to the surrounding park environment.  It is in this natural lit café that we see another green component taking foothold.  In the piazza you can sit and watch the passerby patrons, look into the other exhibits surrounding and should the mood strike you, enjoy a bite to eat.  Once finished with your dining experience you are expected to dispose of your refuse, but not before deciding if it should go in the bin marked recycling, compost or landfill.  Just another friendly reminder about what your waste becomes.  And should a piece of fruit or sandwich not fill your need you can always make your way down to a crowning jewel of the culinary world, the Moss Room.

Sustainably designed and boasting a two story living wall, large pond and some of the Academy’s own Asian river fish is the Moss Room.  A melding of two culinary greats, Charles Phan of Slanted Door acclaim and Loretta Keller of COCO500 notoriety, their new restaurant is homage to things fresh, natural and sustainable.  The ingredients are carefully chosen for their organic composition, growing and harvesting practices as well as local proximity.  I had the pleasure of dining there for my birthday a few months after it opened.  We started the meal out as every good meal should begin, with a disgusting amount of fresh pacific oysters.  We then followed that with everything under the sun… shredded Brussels sprouts with lemon and pine nuts, chickpea and squid salad, Spanish mackerel in a tomato mint coulis, wild mushroom risotto and to top it off an impressive and sustainably grown and harvested Cabernet.  It was a delightful treat and a remarkable environment to be enjoying it in.  I suggest that when making your sojourn to the Academy that you incorporate at least one Moss Room meal into your itinerary.

There is much more I could divulge but really, you have to see this space for yourself.  Plan to spend a whole day, a weekend if you can spare it.  The California Academy of Science is a San Francisco institution and a marvel to the eyes, the spirit, the environment and the curious child in all of us.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

After 15 years in the heart of Century City, you can’t blame a guy for wanting a little beach time.

Not to worry, he brought all the wine—Jean-Francois Meteigner’s La Cachette Bistro soft-opens Saturday in Santa Monica.

You know the original La Cachette well—it’s the acclaimed, and authentic, French legend you’d bring someone to celebrate a special occasion. Probably someone with some gray hair. But its replacement is a lighter, brighter, California version several miles west that’ll still accommodate your refined foodie grandma, but also your sun-kissed date. You can’t quite see the beach, but you can smell it wafting up in the breeze.

The inside’s split into a formal dining room on the left and a large bar area on the right, but you’ll probably want to stick to the glassed-in patio in the front. You can start with a Manhattan Sake (it’s sake, vermouth and whiskey), and she’ll have a Rhubarb Bellini. Then comes classics like Coq Au Vin, modern options like an Organ-ix Burger With Fig Chutney, and Buffalo Short ribs With Coffee Rub.

And afterward, the sand’s just a few steps away.

You hear she likes long walks.