Gateway Science Museum Opening!

Don't miss the GRAND OPENING of the Gateway Science Museum!  Opening ceremony starts at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 27, at 625 Esplanade here in Chico, CA.  The museum will be open that day from 10:30 to 5 p.m.  Admission:  $5 for adults, $3 for children.  Featuring "The World of Insects" and a hands-on "discovery room" for the kidlets.  Right next to Bidwell Mansion.  It's a Chico Happening!

(Note:  parking may be limited at the museum and Mansion; you may want to walk or bike to the museum, or park downtown and walk over...maybe hit the Farmer's Market before or after the opening!)

Haunting of Bidwell Mansion*

It's surprising how many people have lived in Chico for years (or their entire lives) without taking the tour of Bidwell Mansion.  On a recent flight from San Francisco to Chico, my mom befriended a young woman from China.  It was Song Shuai's first visit to our fair city, so we decided to give her the "Chico Tour."  Now, a proper Chico tour must include Bidwell Mansion, the magnificent, romantic 10,000 s.f., three-story Italianate style home built by Chico founder John Bidwell in 1868 at a cost of $56,600.

Some of the more interesting artifacts in the mansion are the framed "hair wreaths" displayed in the parlor. "Hairwork" was a popular craft during the Victorian era, using human hair (usually from family members) to create jewelry and other objects.  Wreaths were often made as memorials to deceased relatives (known as "Mourning Wreaths") and were usually mounted on silk and framed behind glass in shadow boxes.  (We have a brooch in our family supposedly made from the hair of my great-great grandmother.  When I first saw it, I was surprised to see it was nearly an exact match of my hair color!)

*The "Haunting of" blog title was inspired by a photo I took during our tour inside the mansion. Click here to view the Flickr photo album and see whether you can find the "ghost."

If you've never taken the tour (or even if you have), I highly recommend it.  It takes less than an hour and only costs a few bucks.  The Visitor Center also has actual letters, photos and journals on display.  I've taken the tour at least six times and learn new things about the Bidwells and Chico every time I go.


Trivia note:  Some of the interior scenes from The Thin Man were shot inside the mansion.

Piano Fun in Hawaii

Imagine my delight when I found out my long-time Chico friends, Pam and Robert Laughlin, would be holding one of their PianoFun workshops in Waikiki during the time my mom and I would be there!  They had just completed workshops in Mexico (click here to read a fun blog about that), and this trip was taking them to Kona, Hilo, Honolulu and Kaneohe.

We had the pleasure of joining Pam and Robert to listen in ona gig they were invited to play with a local Gypsy jazz band at a little place called Cafe Che Pasta on Bishop St. in Honolulu. The food was wonderful, the service excellent, and the music was even better. (That's Pam on clairnet in the photo--a stellar performance!)  Afterward we were treated to a personal tour of some nearby historical buildings by a local attorney friend of Pam and Robert's, Michael Wong.  His family goes back many generations in the islands, and he shared some really interesting history.

My mom took Robert's one-day piano workshop and thoroughly enjoyed it.  She's been practicing every day since. Here is the schedule of upcoming classes, if you're interested (or know of someone who may be).  Or perhaps you'd like to plan your next vacation to coincide with a PianoFun workshop!

To view photos of our time in Hawaii, visit my Facebook photo album.  Or click on the arrow below to view a short video of the Gypsy Jazz gig.  Aloha!