SCENE OUT
BY KIM RESCATE AND ANA PINES
Walking down the street we noticed everyone had brought out his or her coats, hats, boots and shorts? Oh yes, it’s finally winter in San Diego. It’s that magical time where Californians can choose surfboard or snowboard or both in the same day.
There’s also a unique opportunity to experience what it would be like to live in your freezer this season, which we were really excited to check out. The Ice Kingdom at Chill in Long Beach presented by the Queen Mary. It’s the only event of its kind on the West Coast.
Upon entering you’re provided a long blue parka with a hoodie to keep you warm as temperatures drop to 9 degrees inside. Two million pounds of ice were used to create a magical 13,000 square feet of ice sculptures including a castle, ice
cave, Santa’s Toyland, penguins, a Nativity scene and the Queen Mary ship which contains a small slide. The details that went into each sculpture will be sure to delight you.
You may want to bring a pair of gloves with you because the parkas don’t contain pockets. We also recommend bringing a small tissue in your gloves so that you can wipe your iPhones and camera lenses due to the condensation that will occur from going from a cold environment to a warm environment.
Afterward we had a quick thrill ice tubing. The 100-foot slide brought us back to childhood when speed was queen! We then headed to the Holiday Village where you can buy unique decorations, reindeer ears and take your photo with Santa. He assured us that we’re not on the naughty list.
It doesn’t end there, there’s also a 6,500 square foot ice rink and a small food court where you can grab a quick bite in between. It’s truly a magical way to celebrate the holidays with the whole family and will be open until Jan. 6, 2013.
As an extra bonus every ticket bought that day allowed us to board The Queen Mary too. In its time The Queen Mary was considered one of the most luxurious and technologically advanced ocean liners. It was also used as a World War II transport ship.
If you’ve never been on a cruise this is a great way to explore. You can also book a room for the night but you might not want to after reading about its paranormal history.
Voted one of the top ten “Most Haunted Places in America” by Time magazine we couldn’t leave without taking the Ghosts and Legends tour. We went to the “first class” pool where wet footprints were often found even though the pool had been drained for years and no leaks had been found. They are believed to belong to a young girl who wanders around looking for her mommy. Engine room 13 is said to have a sailor hanging around who was crushed to death. It’s also said that pounding can be heard on the side of the ship by men begging to be brought on board the Queen Mary after the liner split their boats in half trying to avoid enemy ships.
Back in San Diego, we took a moment to laugh at the slapstick trio from Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged). They tested the waters of religion and the commercialism of Christmas.
In Hillcrest, a much naughtier play Scrouge in Rouge also brought out the laughs with a cross-dressing version of the Dickens holiday classic, where three actors play 23 roles.
For music lovers, you’ll want to check out the San Diego Symphony.
We had the opportunity to see L’Obsession Fantastique. There was a little unexpected twist in the format of the show that we thought was a great idea for newbies. They had an actor come out and go through each chapter of the story. He added humor to the set, which many people seemed to enjoy. Once he exited the stage you were free to close your eyes and let the music take you away.
