Leaving the Photographic Museum, we wandered
down to near the middle of the park's formal 
structures
to see the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. This amphitheater is home to the world's
largest outdoor pipe organ. Donated to the City of San Diego by John D. and
Adolph Spreckels and dedicated on December 31, 1914, it was the premiere
attraction at the Panama-California Exposition. Each Sunday, invited masters
are offered a rare opportunity to deliver a concert on this marvelous instrument
which is made of 73 ranks containing over 4500 pipes ranging in length from 32
feet 
to "about the size of a pencil". Sitting on the rounded steps
listening to all that sound was an experience I will remember for some
time. We drifted along the rounded walkways arm in arm, just feeling the
warmth of the sun and enjoying each other's company. It was a very romantic place. Our
next stop was at the Museum of Man. Here we found no overall theme, but instead
a cross-section of seemingly unrelated subjects. From the Mayan Empire we
found three wonderful Stelas. A Stela is a tall shaft of carved stone.
Among the Mayans, a stela might incorporate a lengthy calendar date, a sculptured
portrait of the ruler or perhaps a hieroglyphic text recounting a historic
myth or legend or an astronomical event. It was often found
in open places such as plazas.
The particular Stela that we saw told of the ruler, K'ak-Tiliw,
who
dedicated this Stela in ritual ceremony on December 29, 775 AD, he added a
unique contribution to his ambitious building program. The hieroglyphic
text on the east side of the Stela contains the most extensive account of the
Creation myth of the universe, written during the Classic Mayan Period. The
hieroglyphic text begins with the date for the Creation of this fourth cycle of
time on August 13, 3114 BC, using the Mayan units for past calendar
time expressed in five glyph blocks. Needless to say, its not exactly easy
reading. Years of work have gone into the translations. Another
section covered 
the
Egyptian periods of the time of the great pyramids. It even had a tomb room
complete with a sarcophagus and its mummy. The artifacts tactfully spread about
the room gave an appearance of a very old place which had been visited by
ancient tomb raiders. Even the dust and cobwebs seemed to be real,
however, there was a marked absence of pesky spiders. Although small and compact,
this area made me feel like I was really inside a great pyramid. One
section that fascinated me was an Egyptian Cartouche. This is an oblong figure containing the name of a ruler. In
a nearby vending machine for a paltry few quarters I was able to carefully
craft a Cartouche with Laura's name in the middle of it on a piece of imitation
papyrus. In a nearby area a good portion of the floor space was dedicated to Mexican folk art. We
passed down row after row of beautifully handmade
and painted artifacts.
Some were of stone, others of straw. Many were of the traditional brightly
colored ceramics. Some were on the bizarre side.
Laura took particular delight in a representation of the Devil's Mariachi
Band. A delightful exhibition of the marvelous humor that was present in
many of the displays. There was a balcony around the large center room which opened
out over the many displays below. A series of large cross beams connected
the sides. As the evening wore down we were on the move again. We found ourselves entering
an area known
as the House of Pacific Relations. This is a manicured area with
intersecting sidewalks that lead to some 17 small cottages. Crammed into
the cottages are citizens and friends of some 28 different nations. Each
offered a native snack as well as some small trinkets and a display of at least one item of special
interest to that country. Occupied
by residents from the different nations, many with such a heavy accent that at
times it was difficult to understand them. We took an hour to pop in and
out of the various building and chat with the locals. I found myself
discussing the Palestinians with the Israelis, Belfast with the British and then
again with those recently arriving from Ireland. China and Japan were
there as well as Mexico and several South American countries. It was great
fun, and made the world seem a lot smaller. Politicians squabble and
fight over just about everything, but the common people all seem to have similar
ideas and principles. In reflection of our day at Balboa park I would have
to say that even though this has been one of the longest articles I have
written, it doesn't even touch the material available to the visiting tourist.
This is right up there at the top of my "Must See" list.
*** THE END ***
