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File this under “better late than never.” In fact, with Comic-Con looming on the horizon there was every reason to pound out this Mysterium 2007 trip report right now. I do this under sleepy conditions, and in addition to this I really have no memory of who I was with at a given time — sorry! Now no two Mysterium experiences were the same, but I’m sure that all of them were memorable and enjoyable. Here is mine:

Day 1: Friday
Slowly we filed into the Comfort Inn, unsure at first, but soon assuaged by the camaraderie only Mysterium can provide. Once the group stopped growing, we set out to the coast (with me leading the way in my “snap orange” VW Beetle). We walked across the beach to the Santa Monica Pier, where we spent some time observing marine life and avoiding seagull poop. We found some neat hand prints on a large cylindrical sculpture — I hope somebody took pictures. We then walked from the pier to the Third Street Promenade where we stopped by Puzzle Zoo for a look at their games and collectables. After that we returned to the motel, and all decided that it was time for lunch. I got my first taste of Carl’s Jr. that day (and it wasn’t so bad, really). After a food break, the group traveled to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. What is that, you ask? Besides being an inherent contradiction (“Jurassic Technology, really?”), it’s terribly difficult to accurately describe this place. Without giving too much away – its mystery provides its thrills – it might be described as a conceptual art piece that dreams it’s a museum (I swear the place keeps getting bigger every time I see it, though). It was getting late by the time we got back to the Comfort Inn, but we allowed the disorientation from the Jurassic museum to wear off before continuing to the final location of the evening: The Getty! The first place we explored in this massive art musuem were the gardens, which were suitably Myst-like. After having dinner at the museum cafeteria, we split off to view the various exhibits at our leisure. The highlight was the “Oudry’s Painted Menagerie show, the subject of many of the pieces being a rhinoceros named Clara. When the museum closed, the group disbanded for the night.

Day 2: Saturday
I got a late start in joining some of the Mysterium crew at Universal Studios Hollywood (my brother came too, to my delight). The first thing I did was use the Single Riders line on the Mummy coaster to skip most of the queue. Ha! After that I “rode” Backdraft for my own amusement. The last order of business was to take the famous studio tram tour. By the time that ended, it was quite late and the group had to depart to a party at Shoom’lah’s later that night. Regrettably, my brother and I had other arrangements that night (although I don’t think seeing Daft Punk is much of a regret). I plan to return to Universal Studios again to ride Back to the Future, since it is being removed in early September for a future Simpsons attraction.

Day 3: Sunday
The last day! Mysterium found themselves downtown in the Chinatown district. A meal of dim sum was had by all, which was a nice change of pace from burgers. We all walked to historic Olvera Street afterwards, where we saw one of the oldest structures in Los Angeles (“as old as Tomahna itself,” I remarked). Then we drove to the famous Bradbury building, the site of the climatic sequence from Blade Runner! My brother suggested that we should check out Clifton’s Cafeteria, since it was walking distance from us. By now the size of the group had dwindled, but those who remained decided to check out the La Brea Tar Pits. After a tar-riffic time, the skeleton Mysterium crew headed to Hollywood! We did our tourist-y bit by checking out the Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese. To top the whole thing off, we enjoyed fast food at the local In-N-Out Burger: the perfect ending to an amazing get-together. I hope to see more Mysteriums in my lifetime, and then some!