Monday, January 02, 2006

Gymnic and Equestric Marvels

"All your base are belong to us."

That's what I saw on the back window of a car as we headed toward San Antonio.

We went to the Witte Museum in San Antonio because they had a complete skeleton of a triceratops, and Eli 4.4, future paleontologist, was amped OFF THE CHARTS about seeing a full skeleton.

I'm not sure I'd ever seen a full dinosaur skeleton, or if I had, it's been a long time. So I walked into the museum, we literally ran to the exhibit because he was so excited--and we were totally, absolutely blown away.

Here's a picture: http://www.wittemuseum.org/exhibits/longtermexhibits.html. That picture, though, in no way conveys how massive this skeleton actually looked in person. It was almost twenty feet long and ten feet high. It was absolutely stunning to see that skeleton and imagine it walking the Earth.

Eli 4.4 just stood there. He was so blown away that he couldn't even talk for a few seconds.

They had a full jaw of a Tyrannosaurus Rex as well, which was also incredible.

I know where this is heading. By the time Eli is seven, we'll be taking summer vacations at The Smithsonian, and planning our trips around the best dinosaur museums.

Which is totally fine by me.

There was a temporary exhibit in the upstairs area titled "Art of the Circus," which was mostly a collection of circus posters. The language on the circus posters was so fantastic and extravagant that I wrote it all down. And here's a link to a few of the actual posters:
http://www.wittemuseum.org/exhibits/Art%20of%20Circus%202.html.

RINGLING BROS WORLD'S GREATEST SHOWS
The 9 Jordans
(A tremendous new aerial number
the dome of the vast canvas from end to end
alive
with gymnic marvels)
*
RINGLING BROS
WORLD'S GREATEST SHOWS
7 Beautifully sylph-like girls
gracefully ascending, descending,
performing on invisible apparatus high in the air
100 trained doves perching upon and flying among
these wonderful winged women of the air.
*
JOHN ROBINSON'S 10 BIG SHOWS COMBINED
Menagerie, Aquarium, Museum,
Egyptian Caravan, Aviary,
School of Trained Animals.
*
FOREPAUGH & SELLS BROTHERS ENORMOUS SHOWS UNITED
Royal Riding Shows of the World
Mammoth monopoly of the only genuine champion
bareback riders of both sexes.
Extraordinary equestric exposition,
greatest riding ever seen by the eyes of man.
*
RINGLING BROS
Parisian Novelty Company
French family of Bicyclist and roller skaters
performing most difficult equilibristic and gymnic feets on wheels
of every conceivable kind. Including a laughable comedy play on wheels,
seen now for the first time in America.
.
I'm sure I botched the formatting on that, but you get the idea. Here are also a few descriptions of specific acts taken from posters.
.
8 English Female Bicycle Riders
In startling feats double & single somersaults,
pyramids, military drills, races, etc.
.
8 Siberian Roller Skaters
In Brother acts
pyramids, high somersaults from shoulder to shoulder
Contortion act and startling plain and fancy skating
.
The Paldrens
Sensational Jumping, Balancing, and Pyramiding on Burning Lamps.
Their first appearance in America.
.
And now, for my next trick, it appears that I'll have to put a "." between every paragraph, because switching from left justify to center justify has blown Blogspot's mind. Actually, I have a better idea. I'll just put the rest of the trip in a separate post.

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