#30 See Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

It is no secret that I love Abraham Lincoln.  He is kind of my hero and the more I learn about him the more I love him.  Whether it is a documentary, a biography, or a book about him fighting vampires I really can't get enough.  So it is weird that I have never been to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.  I guess I never really felt like dragging anyone there to see a robotic Lincoln talk.  Two summers ago I when visited Walt Disney World I was able to go to the Hall of Presidents and lets just say this history nerd got a little tear eyed.  It was fabulous!!  I knew that I HAD to see Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.

Last Monday I didn't have school because of the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah.  A coworker was talking about how she wanted to go to Disneyland but didn't have anyone to go with.  I, being one never to turn down an opportunity to visit the happiest place on earth, said I would go if we could visit Great Moments.  She was totally in!

We got to the park when it opened and rode some rides and then when it started to get pretty hot we decided it was time to visit Mr. Lincoln.  When we got there the Liberty Singers were outside in fabulous costumes singing some patriotic songs.  We went inside and the singers did a performance before the doors to the theater opened.  I knew it was going to be great because the singers gave me chills while singing more songs and quoting the Declaration and Constitution.  Disney really knows how to put on a GREAT show!!

Once the theater doors opened we went inside and the show started.  There was a great video package with quotes from some of Lincoln's famous speeches while images of America and the Civil War transported us to that time.  Then the curtains opened and there was Lincoln (in robot form of course)!  It is truly amazing what technology can do!  He moved like any person would do.  Even when he sat at the end of his speech and God Bless America came on his fingers were tapping to the music! 

It was such a great part of the park and I don't think I will be able to visit Disneyland again and not see the show!

#29 Visit the Leonis Adobe Museum

I moved to Calabasas 6 years ago.  Every day since then I have driven pass the Leonis Adobe Museum and wondered about what in the world the Adobe was.  I am fascinated about local history; it's one reason that I became a history teacher.  Not growing up in Calabasas I knew little about the Leonis Adobe or the story behind it.  For 6 years I have said that one day I would go and visit and see what it was all about.

This past weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday.  She said for her birthday that she either wanted to go to the Camarillo Ranch House or the Adobe.  I emailed the Ranch House and they were having a private event on Saturday so with a stroke of luck we were going to Leonis Adobe.  My aunt and uncle joined us for lunch and then we made our way to the Adobe.

Happy Birthday Mama

When we got there it was 97* and surprisingly we weren't the only ones there.  Our tour started with a 10 minute video about Miguel Leonis (The King of Calabasas) and the history of the house.  It is really hard to picture Calabasas as part of the wild west but after the movie and stepping on to the ranch it was a bit easier to picture.  The Adobe grounds featured Leonis' authentic adobe home, ranch yard and corral with livestock, out buildings, wagons and crops. 

We spent about an hour there but had to leave because the temperature had risen to 109* and we just couldn't take any more.  My mom and I are planning on going back because we missed going to the Calabasas Creek Park and seeing the Chumash village and the hanging tree.  

I love my family

Excited for our visit

Underneath the Nancy Tree

#5 Read a Classic

Okay so technically this item was completed in June but I thought that I wanted to do something different so I was waiting to blog about it. 

I read a lot.  Not as much as some of my friends but I really love getting lost in a good story.  Although I read a lot I don't read a lot of classics.  Sure there are the ones that I read like ALL the time (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby) but I don't find myself picking up a classic that is new to me when in need of a new book.  Since May I have been trying to read Pride and Prejudice.  I watched the movie with my friends the Bennings and fell in love with it but to be honest I wasn't liking the book.  I found myself having to reread paragraphs because I was letting my mind wander and not get into the story.

*Side note* My friend and former roomie Jennie is always asking for books to read.  And every time she asks for suggestions she always laughs that I recommend young adult/children books.


When I started this blog I didn't want to change who I am but just do new things.  So while I was trying to read P & P I decided to stick to what I know and what I always suggest to Jennie...I was going to read a classic that fits me.  I picked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  Hard to believe but no I have never read it before.  I know the story.  In fact I LOVE the story!!!  I just never read the original story.  I have seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland.  I fell in love with SyFy's mini series Alice and one of my favorite book series is The Looking Glass Wars.  So why is it that I have never read Carroll's Alice?  No idea but I found myself loving it just as much as all of the variations.  Yes it was very weird and different, but I like to think of myself like that.   

I'm still going to try to finish P & P; I heard it gets better.  But for now I'm happy with saying this item is complete with the reading of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.