Art (#71), Puppets (#62), & A Castle (#8)
It's been crazy busy and crazy fun around here ever since San Diego Comic Con. August was filled with out of town guests and September with travel. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
One of the best things about out of town guests is getting to do all the touristy type stuff you never do in your own city. For me, this included finally visiting the Getty (#71 on my 101 list). Really gorgeous gardens and of course, amazing collections of art. Even the architecture of the facility is fascinating not to mention the incredible views! Highly worth the trip if you're in the Los Angeles area.
Next stop on the 101 list was Hearst Castle (#8). I had been once before, but took a different tour this time and feel like I saw a lot more of what the property has to offer. The Neptune Pool was still my favorite, but the 
ornate entryway was amazing as were the dozens of ancient artifacts highlighted in the garden. We stayed to watch the IMAX film which illustrates how the property came to be and a little bit about who the man Randolph Hearst was. If you're going to bother driving the windy coastal road to visit this historic point of interest, you might as well stay for the movie!
To wind up the crazy busy Summer, George and I drove cross country to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. I affectionately call this trip the September Trip of Awesome! This was our third cross country jaunt together and as always, it was great. We made it to Atlanta in two days and stayed with our awesome new friends John and Brandon who were most excellent hosts!
Dragon Con itself was super fun and insane! Some of the many highlights included the Comics & Pop Art Reception/toy release where we were able to meet and hang out with several October Toys forum members, dinner with friends (hi Roger & Tom!), excessive people/costume watching, and the Mad Scientist's Ball with giant Tesla coils playing music like the Mario Bros. theme and Airwolf. Best of all, we were able to relax and enjoy the company of artists and friends in a very laid back environment. A much more intimate experience than other conventions I've attended.
Finally, before leaving Atlanta, we had to sneak in a visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts (#62). I'm thrilled that we did because although the museum is small in size, the treasures inside were grand! Two rooms of Jim Henson's work included, among other things, Big Bird, a few Fraggles and Doozers, Emmet Otter, Sir Didymus, The Four Guards, one of the door knockers from Labyrinth, Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Rowlf, Ernie, and more.
The regular section of the museum had everything from creepy marionettes to more Henson creations like a full size Skeksis and two Pigs in Space! It was an informative and fun stop filled with interesting visuals and warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside. (I type that with wide, innocent eyes and a small smile.)
After the con, we drove up to New Jersey because...er...we wanted to! First stop was the infamous Dr. Kent's house. After a rather fruitful trip to the local toy shop, House of Fun, we filmed a Toy Break in his awesome toy cave. You think you have an amazing toy collection? You should see his handy work! Oh wait, you can at ToyBreak.com! Big huge thanks to John for taking a Toy Break with us!
Most of the rest of our time in the garden state was spent with our good friends Eric and Laura, talking toy talk and enjoying rice pudding. We also snuck in a visit with Kev and OG from Big Kev's Geek Stuff which included us getting to sit in on episode 162 and being introduced to Rita's Ice Custard Happiness - tasty!
The trek back home was filled with interesting stops including kick ass grilled cheese sandwiches with our friend Chris, a family visit followed by a trip to Toy2R US headquarters, and finally a stop at one of our favorite toy couples Slick & Mrs. McFavorite's house. It was such an amazing trip and our friends are so awesome that I considered just never coming home! I already miss the rainy Fall weather back east and very much look forward to my next visit!
