Today we had two very unique experiences - First we stepped back in time to that fateful maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, and then second, we got a real up-close and personal "inside look" at everything that encompasses the human body. These exhibits are located in what used to be the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park. Both exhibits were really interesting and by the time we left, our heads were filled with more facts than we can hope to remember. No photography was allowed in either exhibit so we can't show what we saw, but we can describe some of it.
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| Sign in the Parking Lot |
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Here we are, ready for our first adventure.
Carol N, Barbara, Leslie, Seema, Debbie, Dixie, Joy |
Titanic the Experience
Stepping inside the exhibit was like stepping onto the deck of the Titanic. As you enter, you are handed a Boarding Pass with the name and some information about one of the actual passengers, and stepping into the shoes of that person as you walk through the exhibit makes the experience that much more real and personal. Along the way there were actors dressed up as crew members, maids, etc., and they guide you through some of the areas and tell you little stories about how the ship was built, what it was like for the passengers and crew on board, and what happened on that fateful night. They are totally in character, with amazing accents and lots of information, making it really feel like you were there. We also had the audio tour which gave more information and told even more stories, bringing the whole experience to life. As you walk through the exhibit, you get to peek into the first, second and third class cabins, the dining areas, the engine room, and many other parts of the ship. Along the way you see displays of items and artifacts that have been recovered from the wreckage site. And at the end there is a passenger list where you can find out if your passenger lived or died. Fortunately, all of us "made it out alive" - because we were all first class passengers and women or children, and they used a "women and children first" philosophy when loading the lifeboats.
The most interesting part of the experience (for me at least) was learning what actually happened to cause this "unsinkable" ship to sink. There was a whole set of crazy circumstances that all contributed to the disaster. Throughout that day, April 14, 1912, there had been several warnings from other ships about icebergs in the area, but most of the warnings evidently were either lost or ignored. And, for an unexplained reason, the captain cancelled the lifeboat drill, meaning the crew was untrained when the real lifeboat evacuation commenced. At one point the ship's course was altered to avoid icebergs reported in one area, but the new course actually aimed the ship into the more dangerous iceberg zone. More warnings kept coming, but the captain was busy dining with the passengers, and his replacement was busy doing other things and ignored the warnings. And to make matters worse, the air temperature in the early evening hours had dropped to a freezing 32 degrees.
The night was moonless and windless, the sea was completely calm and flat. No wind meant no chance of seeing water breaking over the ice. And without the moonlight, there was no light reflection from the iceberg. The last warning message arrived when the Titanic was traveling at a high speed of 21.5 knots (24 mph) and was just 15 miles from the iceberg. Again, the message was ignored. The iceberg was only 1,000 yds away from the Titanic when it was finally was spotted. The engines were thrown into reverse and they tried to steer the ship away, but it was too late and the iceberg struck the starboard bow. This happened at 11:40 PM and within two hours and 40 minutes, at 2:20 AM the next morning, the ship had sunk. Of the 2,223 passengers on board, only 706 survived.
At the end of the experience, you get into a lifeboat and experience those last few moments of the Titanic. Very emotional to say the least!
Lunch Break
At this point we needed a break, so we made our way to Knott's Berry Farm for lunch at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.
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| Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant |
What can we say . . . except YUM! The chicken is always delish, and you absolutely cannot beat those biscuits and the boysenberry jam. Not to mention the boysenberry pie for dessert. Good stuff for sure!
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| Here we are with happy tummys. . . |
Bodies
We then went back to experience the Bodies Exhibit. My personal opinion - Everyone should make the time to experience this exhibit. The bodies are all Asian and have been preserved in some amazing way and are displayed to show all the different aspects of the body, and how the body is able to move in various ways. There are different rooms that you walk through, each room being dedicated to a different part of the body. You get to
see every single part of the human body from the outside in - every bone, every tendon, every ligament, every muscle, every organ, all the various systems that allow us to live - the circulatory system, the nervous system, the brain - it's all there.
And it's not gory, so don't let that thought deter you from seeing this. It's surprising and educational to see how all the various parts fit together - surprising because some of the parts are not where you think they should be, and educational because I guarantee you will learn stuff. For example - Did you know that every drop of blood in your body passes through the heart at least once per minute? Did you know that there are 100,000 miles of veins in your body? Or that if all the muscles in your body could be combined, you could lift 10 tons? It's like a crash course in human anatomy - it's not every day you get to look at the insides of a person! Or the amazing intricacy of God's handiwork!
There is also a lot of information about diseases like cancer and how the body is affected. And the last room shows embryos and fetuses in all the stages of pregnancy. The fetuses are not from abortions but from pregnancies that naturally ended. This was so interesting! And I think it should be mandatory for anyone who is even remotely considering abortion!!!
I think we all came away feeling a little in awe (maybe a lot in awe).
Here's a couple photos that were taken while we were there . . .
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| On the Grand Staircase of the Titanic |
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| And on the famous bow of the ship! |
One more fun day with F.R.I.E.N.D.S.!!!
