Kayaking with Trot and Cap'n Bill

As most Oz fans know, L. Frank Baum had a close connection to San Diego from 1903 until his death in 1919. He vacationed at the lovely Hotel Del Coronado for many years, he boated in the area, and he used the greater San Diego area in some of his best children's books—ever more wonderfully than when he made La Jolla the home of Trot and Cap'n Bill.

They live on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and it is in one of the La Jolla sea caves that Trot and Cap'n Bill encounter the mermaids in The Sea Fairies (1911) and off the La Jolla coast that the twosome start their journey to Oz in The Scarecrow of Oz (1915).

La Jolla Sea Caves as Baum would have seen them circa 1905.

So what could be more fun than to relive Trot and Cap'n Bill's experiences and take a kayak tour of the very sea caves they explored a hundred years ago?

Now - I'm guessing that most of your reactions are kinda like mine was when my partner Eric Shanower suggested that we do this very thing about a year ago. I thought "Cool! Neato!" followed by "Uhm ... me? In a kayak? On the ocean? Eric, I think I might be allergic to kayaks."

But it looked like fun, and I didn't want to seem too wimpy, so I did it. I'm forever glad I did, too, and I've now gone back and done it a second time. It was so easy and so much fun that I decided to offer it as an "optional" activity at the 50th annual Winkie Con in August 2014.

So I want to show you all the fun you can have and to alleviate any fears or concerns. First off, most anyone can do it. I've seen kids on the tour as well as elderly and somewhat chubby grandmas. So let's take a virtual kayak trip! Come on, it's gonna be great!

Me - Ready to go!

After you check in at La Jolla Kayak you can change into clothes you won't mind getting wet - shorts and a lightweight shirt. Also take the time to put on a good sun screen. There are lockers to stow your clothes, valuables, and shoes. You'll choose a life vest and safety helmet, and then it's a three-minute walk to the beach with the helpful tour guide.

Most people choose to row in a double, so there are two people in each kayak. The kayaks are hollow, molded plastic. I don't think you could make one sink if you wanted to! Once at the beach you'll get a quick and easy lesson in how to maneuver your kayak.

One of the ever-so-helpful Tour Guides!

And we're off! Eric brought along some sunglasses. If you wear glasses you should bring along a cord so there's no danger of them falling off. You can also bring along a water-proof camera!

Eric and David head out! If they can do it, so can you!

In general the water is incredibly smooth. Often it's really clear, too, enabling you to see a lot of incredible wildlife, including this large orange fish. Queen Aquareine and the mermaids generally try to stay out of sight. But on really clear summer days you can sometimes catch a glimpse!

There are also many birds: brown pelicans, seagulls, and cormorants, though I have yet to spot any Orks on this tour. But there are always a lot of sea lions! Seeing them in the wild sure beats seeing them at the zoo!

A nice selection of Sea Lions napping on the rocks.

There are seven main sea caves. One of them, the Sunny Jim Cave, was (according to local legend) named by L. Frank Baum! I'll post another blog soon on all that!

Almost always you'll be able to row into one of the sea caves and really see where Trot and Cap'n Bill found their way to Oz! No sign of a gateway to Oz, but the cave does smell a bit like Ork!

Watch our for Orks when you go inside the cave!

And then it's time to row back to the shore! The whole tour takes about ninety minutes to two hours. It's lots of fun - and despite my initial worries about kayaking, it was fun and easy - and most importantly we had an Ozsome time!

So come on and sign up for the kayak tour! It's loads of Ozzy fun!

 Click here to register for Winkie Con 50

and to buy a ticket for Trot and Cap'n Bill's Sea Cave Tour!

The kayak tour will be led by La Jolla Kayak, but tickets must be purchased through the Winkie Con either online or by post. The tour will take place on Friday morning (probably around 9:00AM) and will run about ninety minutes. We will probably carpool to get to LaJolla from the convention hotel. Specifics will be sent to the attendees as we get closer to the convention.

Munchkins by Marriage

What do you think the chances are that David Maxine and Eric Shanower are both related to a Munchkin actor from the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz? If you answered 100%, then you're right. Click here to read the full story of this surprising and heretofore unknown relationship:

The Over-the-Rainbow Connection

Robin Brown - the Original "Brony"

I must admit that I had heard of "Bronys," the male fans of My Little Pony. But, that said, I must now admit that I had no real conception of the expanse of Bronydom. Before we proceed further, and I somehow tie this into Oz, here's a look at the trailer for a new documentary called Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony.

Gosh! Who knew? Now clearly we kid's book collectors, Judy fans, and Friends of Dorothy, are in no position to make fun of the boys in the next corral. So perhaps we should look for some common ground? The best way I can think is to for us Oz folk to embrace our inner-pony and let young Robin Brown, from Merry Go Round in Oz, come out as the one of the very first Bronys.

In celebration of this Brony/Oz connection I'm happy to announce that Merry Go Round herself will be making a special guest appearance to the Winkie Con this summer! Why not canter out west and join us for the Ozziest weekend of the year - June 21-23, 2013 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California.

You may download the WINKIE CON Registration and Info Packet Here

http://hungrytigerpress.com/winkiecon_registration_2013.pdf

If by chance you think the Robin Brown/Brony connection is a stretch you can at least be grateful I decided against tying it all into Equus.

Another Hungry Tiger in Oz

Oz and Beyond by Michael O. Riley, 1997.

How are Oz and The Prince of Tides connected? No, this isn't another game of Oz Connection--I'm going to tell you the answer. Although, if you read this online article about Carol Conroy, sister of The Prince of Tides author, you might be able to figure it out.

If you zeroed in on the names Pamami Press and Mike Riley in that article, you're on the right track. Of course, in Oz circles Michael O. Riley is known primarily for two things--as the author of Oz and Beyond, a seminal study of Baum's fantasies, and as the face of specialty publisher Pamami Press, which issues high-quality art editions of short works by L. Frank Baum.

In addition to works by Baum, Pamami Press also published the first book collection of Carol Conroy's poetry, The Jewish Furrier. Carol's brother Pat Conroy, the novelist, based the character of Savannah Wingo in his 1986 best-selling novel The Prince of Tides on Carol. Pat planned to include Carol's poem "The Jewish Furrier" in the book, but Carol objected, so Pat wrote a new version for The Prince of Tides.

Michael O. Riley of Pamami Press.

Meanwhile, Pamami Press is still producing new publications for Oz and Baum fans everywhere. The most recent book publication was L. Frank Baum's essay Fairy Tales on the Stage. And in its series of exclusive keepsakes for Winkie Con attendees, Pamami Press issued a booklet of Baum's "The Rainbow's Daughter" at the 2012 Winkie Con

Here's another article about Michael Riley and Pamami Press, which goes into detail about the painstaking process each publication takes. And if you ever wondered how to pronounce Pamami, it's like your parents--"Pa" and "Mommy." Put 'em together and you've got it!

Drink Your Juice!

Happy February! We have an especially attractive TIGER TALE this month over on the main website - it's  Duffy's Apple Juice Imp, by W. W. Denslow - a rollicking poem with a half dozen fine drawings by Denslow in color! Come check it out!

I also wanted to share the news that the incredible and extremely over-sized edition of Eric Shanower's Forgotten Forest of Oz is now out of print. We shared the news on our Facebook page last week and every copy we had left sold in a couple hours.  We do still have copies of the two Little Adventures in Oz Volumes though - and Forgotten Forest is available in Volume two. Click here to order a copy

Lastly, I know a good many of you are still planning on coming to this summer's Winkie Convention and I urge you to get your registrations in as soon as possible - especially if you want to stay on-grounds at Asilomar. We have a lot of new people coming this year and we have a limited opportunity to request more rooms for Winkies. You can learn more about this year's con from our WINKIE page and you can download info and registrations forms via the link below.

Click here for downloadable registration forms.

Homes of the Royal Historians

Eric and I were in the Pacific Northwest a few weeks ago and we spent a day or so of that time in Portland, Oregon. One thing I wanted to do was drive by the former home of Royal Historian, Eloise Jarvis McGraw (author of Merry Go Round in Oz, The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, and The Rundelstone of Oz.).

I had stayed in that house for several days when I visited Eloise back in the mid-1980s. You can read the blog about that visit, including several photos of the interior of the house, by clicking here. And even though Eloise is now gone I wanted to see the house again.

Home of Eloise Jarvis McGraw

The house, located at 1970 Indian Trail in Lake Oswego (a suburb of Portland) was much like I remembered it - though there did seem to be a few more neighbors. As I recall, Eloise and her husband William Corbin had designed and built the house in the late 1960s.

My return to Lake Oswego.

It was really nice seeing it again but it also made me a bit melancholy, remembering that wonderful visit, sad that Eloise is no longer with us.

Click here to read more about my visit to the house in the mid-1980s.

Finishing the Hat

It's always nice when something new gets to be hung on the walls of the Tiger Den - and this lovely drawing by John R. Neill is the newest arrival to the aforesaid walls.

Click to enlarge

In actuality Eric and I have owned the piece for several years but only recently got around to having it framed. It measures about 12" x 15". John R. Neill drew the illustration for a short story in the February 1926 issue of Pictorial Review called "An Actor's Love Story" by Richard Connell. Soon after we got the original drawing I tracked down a copy of the magazine in which it was printed.

In the magazine the illustration is reproduced less than 6" across - a little over a third the size of the original. It's kind of amazing how large Neill worked, given the size of reproduction. As you can see, there is another Neill illustration on this page, the one at lower left, similar in technique to the one we own. The little square vignette at the top is signed "W" and seems not to be Neill's work.

There is another lovely Neill drawing reproduced on the first page of the story (see below).

Click to enlarge.

I really like it and would love to have it as a companion piece to the one we have. Alas, I've no certain knowledge the original survives. John R. Neill sure does draw handsome young men really well, doesn't he? That's it for today!