Star Wars, Nothing but Star Wars

Yesterday Kris and I took a trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  I’ve been wanting to go there for years, and with a Star Wars exhibit, we finally decided to go.  This was a U.S.S. Angeles https://ussangeles.org/ away mission (Star Fleet talk for field trip), so we met some of the Angeles members there as well.

The library itself was a lot bigger than I expected, but then Kris did remind me that it did house an Air Force One presidential plane.  We bought our tickets, took a family portrait, then proceeded to the exhibit.  It started with some behind-the-scenes film making equipment.  As you can read on the top, Lucas was big on investing in technology.

High-tech camera in those days.

They also had various props, like these blasters based on real guns on display.

The original lightsaber hilts were made from Graflex flash arms.  My dad, long before he met my mom, was into photography and his brother was a professional photographer.  I still have one of those Graflex flash arms, like the one in the middle.

A window into the next room proved that Kilroy was here.

Greetings From Tatooine!

By the way, this is Dave Mason from the U.S.S. Angeles, our photographer.  Without him Kris and I would never be in any shots together.

They had one of five land speeders made for the first movie – which was Episode 4 – it gets confusing if you’re not a fan.

On a screen, they even had, “Hardware Wars” playing on a loop.  It was a Star Wars spoof that came out shorty after the first movie.  If you have never seen it, you can watch it here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUDEUQMCyKE  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll kiss three bucks goodbye.

The Wookie Monster from “Hardware Wars”.

From there, the exhibit went into Reagan’s “Star Wars”.  It was actually called the Strategic Defense Initiative, but dubbed “Star Wars” by the press.  It included pictures, videos, models and letters to and from President Reagan.

My favorite part was the computer that monitored orbital activity and controlled the defense system.  You could stick all that in a laptop, now.

We then went through the President Reagan exhibit of the library.  This included many events like the cold war, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and his private life.  What was most impressive was the retired Air Force One plane.

This included a walkthrough.

This almost looks like the cockpit of the Space Shuttle.

There’s our photographer, Dave, again.

The Presidential Office.

I’m still wondering how they got the plane to land on those tine pedestals.

They also had the motorcade,

And Navy One there.

Ronald Reagan mosaic in jelly beans.

Among the statues on the grounds was one of Sally Ride.

And inside the commissary, they had one-sheets of some of Reagan’s movies.

The commissary was small, but they had the best selection of condiments I’ve ever seen – and great pizza!   

Overall, an inspiring afternoon.  I hope to come back again, especially in December when they have their Christmas display.

Dennis

212th blog completed.

First Steampunk novel:  76,542 words.  ß Past 76,000.  Goal:  80,000.

Second Steampunk novel: 783 words. 

Second Steampunk screenplay:  157 pages.

First Steampunk screenplay:  Need to update with notes from the novelization.

Third Steampunk screenplay:  38 pages.

I was told they had a stealth bomber here, but I don’t see it.