Mullin Automotive Museum

Last weekend we went to the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard.  It's a private museum only open twice a month with reservations in advance.  I've been wanting to check it out for a while now but finding a day when its open that fits into our schedule hasn't been easy.
 

The museum collection contains French Art Deco cars and furniture.  The furniture was alright, interesting but not some of the classic American or English styles we like.  The cars on the other hand were pretty amazing. 

These are all French cars made in the late 1920s and 30s before WWII and back when French cars were highly desirable (who'd a guessed).  They are all made in the carriage tradition, were a customer would come in and buy the chassis and then work with a carriage builder to design the car and pick out the colors and interior.

We were lucky enough to take the first tour, which was led by the head museum curator, Andrew Reilly.  He was excellent and walked through everything from the point of view of the museum, why this collection and what he wanted to portray by setting things up the way he did.  The tour lasted 2 1/2 hrs and flew by.  The only reason we noticed it was getting late was because our stomachs started to get hungry.

We got to see a lot of the interiors and he did cover a lot of the different cars, the new technology being used and why they did certain things the way they did.  These cars were all for the 1% of society who could actually afford them and you can see the craftsmanship in each and every one.

This one however was quite unique.  This is a 1938 Bugatti Atlantic, 1 of 3 produced and is the most expensive car in the world.  It's on loan to the museum and was purchased at a closed auction for somewhere between 30 and 40 million dollars, yes that is million.

It was amazing!

The race cars were awesome too.  Down stairs were all the cars and on the second floor were all the race cars.

The collection was far beyond anything we had imagined and having a tour with the curator just made it all the more interesting.  One of the cars had just won at Pebble Beach and many of the other cars had won in past years.  It definitely gave us a new appreciation for Art Deco cars and the French tradition of building of them.

Chicago

A couple of weeks ago we flew out to Chicago for a long weekend.  We've always gone threw Chicago to fly into Manchester and always felt someday we should go and get out of the airport.  So with Jamie's award we booked it and got to explore the city.

The first day there we got up bright and early and walked over to the Field Museum.  We actually made good time and had to wait a little while for the museum to open.  So we took the time to figure out how to delay the camera shot so we could get a picture of the two of us.

The Field Museum had so many interesting sections and artifacts but the thing that stayed with us was the Pacific Northwest section.  We love the art and graphics and some of the totem poles were really amazing.

That afternoon it was off to a river cruise to see some of the city.  I was a little cold over there, it was the coldest it had been all summer, lucky us.  At least we did not get hot walking around the city.

So many skyscrapers, we loved all the architecture and history of the buildings.  We did two architecture walking tours that really explained the birth and history of the buildings and the city.  It was crazy to think how old some of the building were and how early they started building so high.

We did so much walking and eating on this trip.  We even had drinks on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building.  What an amazing view and coming from an earthquake area a little creepy to be so high up.

The green building to the left with the gold leaf at the top was one of our favorite buildings.  Its now the Hard Rock Hotel but was originally the Carbon and Carbide Building.  A gorgeous Art Deco Building, one like it was built in Los Angeles but was unfortunately torn down.  There are still two others in L.A. with the green coloring but from what we have heard none like the one that was demolished.

Another view of the skyline :)

On the architectural walking tour we got to go inside the buildings and see some of the original pieces.  Architecture back then was all about the details and tying everything together.  They don't make mail boxes like this anymore!

This is one of the stylized owls in the Trade building.  Its rare you see an owl instead of an eagle, I think its gorgeous.

Another amazing piece inside one of the buildings.  Can you tell we enjoyed all the Art Deco pieces?  We also fell in love with a bunch of vintage 20s and 30s posters.  We brought home 4 of them.  We had a great time and didn't get to see everything in just under 4 days.  So another trip out there is a definite must.

Tall Ship Festival

Labor Day weekend we decided to go down to San Diego and check out the Tall Ship Festival at the Maritime Museum.  We had never been before but figured it would be a great weekend to drive down and enjoy the museum.

We were surprised at how many ships were there and how many  you could board and take a look around.  They even had the ship used on Master and Commander with Russel Crowe.  The Star of India is always the main attraction and probably my favorite one but it was great to see so many different types of ships.

The weather was great, sunny with a slight breeze and I finally got to wear my hat I bought for our trip to Monterrey.

Here's a picture of the Star of India with full sails docked in the harbor.  They do take her out to see on special trips but mainly have exhibits on board.

We did get someone to take a picture of us together, a rare occurrence.

Mark and Theresa's 30th Wedding Anniversary

Labor Day Weekend we went out to celebrate my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary. We went to Scott's Seafood for dinner on Saturday and to Han's for ice cream afterwards.

 My parents were so happy to celebrate with us.

 and we were happy to be with them.

We had a great evening together.  The food was amazing and it was great just to sit and talk with each other.  I'm so happy for my parents, they're awesome and deserve all the happiness in the world :)

Mission Viejo Rodeo

This weekend was the rodeo at Mission Veijo Ranch in San Juan Capistrano.  It was a hot weekend, well into the 90s.  We had Steve and Jaime's engagement party on Saturday night, we had a great time with them and the family.  So we had  to go to the Rodeo on Sunday.

 Some of the bucking broncos with their calves that are in the bareback and bronco riding categories.

 Luckily we were in the shade, but hats and sunglasses were definitely needed.

 These guys are so tough and so much fun to watch!

We had pretty good seats and I got a few good pictures, but some of the events like calf roping and team roping were just too quick for me.  We didn't bring the nice camera, just our small point and shoot but the pics still came out pretty good.  We did regret not bringing the better camera.

This was the only picture I got for calf roping, just after he roped the calf and before he got off his horse to tie it up.

Again it was a great rodeo and we had a great time.  Hopefully next year we will be able to go on Saturday night.

Jamie's Birthday!

We went out on Saturday for dinner to celebrate Jamie's birthday with my parents.  Anthony and Laura were supposed to come as well but something came up and they couldn't make it.

After dinner we went back to the house for cake and ice cream...or rather ice cream cake.  I surprised Jamie with this totally awesome ice cream cake.  White cake with strawberry ice cream inside and topped with mini cones and actually ice cream on each cone. 

 He really liked it and we had a great evening celebrating.  He also got some pretty great gifts and some spending money :) 

Happy Birthday Mr. Griffin!



Anthony's Birthday

Anthony's Birthday was on July 24th but they celebrated a bit last this year. Sunday we all got together at their apartment complex in the clubhouse.

Of course we were early. 

We had a great time; carne asada potluck lunch, pool tables upstairs, and lots of conversations.  We were a little worried at first because it was raining when we got up that morning but it all burned off and it ended up being a beautiful day.



The newly engaged couple!  Getting married in January, now 1 of 4 weddings we have next year :)

My Aunt Nancy and Andy enjoying the sun.

Group picture, lol.  Jamie's Birthday is next weekend...pictures to come!

Wedding Anniversary

Celebrating Six Amazing Years of Marriage :-)

Central Coast - Morro Bay #2

Finally the last few pictures from our vacation in June, yes I realize it is now August and I haven't posted anything else. 

On the Friday, we spent the day is Paso Robles wine tasting.  It was beautiful and warm.  We tasted some amazing wines and brought home about 5 or 6 bottles between us all.  We wanted to the Firestone Brewery as well but they were remodeling their tasting room so we weren't able to do that.  I guess that will leave us something to do for next time.

We drove back to Morro Bay for dinner and sat right on the water at a little Italian restaurant. 

 

Of course after a day of drinking...we drank some more and had a great evening.

 

A few last minute pictures taken on our walk home after dinner.  A great vacation.  So where is our next adventure, Chicago in September :-)

Central Coast - Morro Bay

So now it is on to Morro Bay.  We were a few blocks away from the coast so it wasn't as close as the last place but definitely not that far.  Thursday morning we took a walk to Morro Rock.

One of our first views were these lovely little logs.  These otters were not far from the coast.  The one closest had a little baby on its belly and the one to the left is actually two playing around in the water.  It was so awesome to see these guys.  I had been hoping we would get to see some otters on our trip.

 

It the afternoon, Jamie and I did a hike near the estuary and my parents sat near this secluded cove and relaxed. 

Our hike took us near a rookery where we saw this guy on a log.

 

The sun finally decided to come out in the afternoon so Jamie and I rushed back to the house and changed so we could go kayaking near the estuary.  We had a great time on the water, it wasn't too windy and we got a great view of the coast.  It was a really nice afternoon and a pretty relaxing day :)