we'll never let go, jack

continuing our quest to experience all the novelties that are currently in town, we met up with some friends on the west side with tickets in hand for this:

when we checked in, we each received a card that told us about a passenger who was on the ship for that fateful trip.  at the end of the tour, we would find out whether our person lived or died.  does that sound depressing as hell?  well, yeah - but it's a titanic experience, so it's not like you don't know what to expect.

i was a third-class passenger traveling with her husband, with no assigned cabin.  i wasn't very optimistic at all.

of course, there was a cheesy green screen photo op that we definitely stopped for, even though we almost definitely knew we wouldn't buy the photo at the end.

there were lots of artifacts that had been recovered not only from the titanic, but from other white star line ships that had also met similar endings.  not so shockingly, the white star line only existed for about fifteen years (although the current day cunard line is the last remaining piece and still uses the term "white star service" to describe their highest level of customer care).

there were lots of informational posters about the ship and the people who created it and were onboard.

of course, there were photo ops sprinkled throughout.

and they'd done a nice recreation of one of the first class parlor suites.

more artifacts recovered from the wreckage.

the recreation of the grand staircase was pretty cool, although unlike the photos they use to advertise this thing, you don't actually get to stand on it.

they also showed us what a third class stateroom would have looked like.  

"outside" on deck:

the unavoidable ending:

as predicted, my passenger had indeed perished along with her husband.

the aftermath:

i suppose you can't do a titanic exhibit without including some stuff from the movie.

in the gift shop, where we also predictably passed on purchasing our souvenir photo, you could snag a "heart of the ocean" necklace of your very own for the low, low price of $20 (we also did not buy this).

before hopping on the freeway to battle the traffic home, we made one more stop in k-town at the historic chapman plaza to grab some boba.  it was a really cute little spot that originally opened in the 20s and was one of the first markets in the country designed for those who were out on a drive in their newfangled automobiles.  i didn't take any pictures of the plaza, but my drink was really tasty.

and when we got home...the teenagers decided to share another new experience:  watching the 3-hour long movie for the first time.  

amusingly, it lit a fire under at least one of them that has resulted in a jack dawson obsession.  not the bean, thankfully.  no, the bean continues to save their adoration for the seven members of BTS.  and it was also extra amusing to see their reactions to how leo looks now as compared to his days as good ol' jack.

anyway, it was a good day.