Visiting the MASH Site and My Fantastic Four Thoughts

After the workout I came home for a half hour, showered, and ate before meeting up with some friends and heading out to Malibu Canyon Park to hike to the old MASH site. This started as a Dallas and Kenny hike like we did when we did the Hollywood Sign hike but since it was Dallas' birthday yesterday we opened it up to anyone who wanted to join us.  We had a good turnout.. joining us for the hike was birthday boy Dallas, Lydia, Jen, Hayley, Justin, Doug, Kevin, Robert, Cait and Aaron.

I did this hike back in 2009 with Harry so I was looking forward to a return visit as it has been a while I heard they made some changes. It was warm outside high 80's but we were all prepared and after a few wrong turns (thanks to Wazes) we all managed to find parking and each other and begin the hike. It's about an hour hike to the actual site, about half of the hike are large paths with some occasional trees but the last half of the hike is my favorite as you have to hike single file between a mountainside and a creek (dried up now), but it's a little winding trail that leads you to the entrance of the old MASH set.

To start off the only things that were at the site back in 2009 was a burnt out jeep and a rusted over ambulance. Now when you enter the area they have an actual MASH ambulance that you are able to get inside and take pictures. They have added stands with plaques explaining where all the tents were with diagrams. They also have stakes and ropes noting the location of each tent though most of these were either falling down or covered by over growth. There is a new picnic area with benches covered by some army netting. The burnt out jeep is still there along with the rusted ambulance. But I think the best part is the re-created Swamp sign post with all the cities and miles on it. The Helo pad is still up there with a bit of brush on it. Someone actually spelled out in rocks GoodBye which was pretty awesome.

Overall the improvements are pretty fantastic. And if you're a MASH fan this is definitely a trip you have to take. You can check out more of my MASH site pictures HERE.

After the hike a few of us (Dallas, Robert, Cait, Aaron, Hayley and I) headed to Sherman Oaks Arclight to watch Fantastic Four. I've heard all the negative comments about this film and very little positive but I wasn't going to let that affect my enjoyment of the movie. Here's a quick synopsis of the movie. Transported to an alternate universe, four young outsiders gain superhuman powers as they alter their physical form in shocking ways. Reed Richards becomes Mr. Fantastic, able to stretch and twist his body at will, while pal Ben Grimm gains immense strength as the Thing. Johnny Storm becomes the Human Torch, able to control and project fire, while his sister Sue becomes the Invisible Woman. Together, the team must harness their new abilities to prevent Doctor Doom from destroying the Earth.

Now for my thoughts... I enjoyed the movie overall. The acting was solid, the effects were amazing and the story was good. It's another origin story and I liked how it started with Reed as a kid and befriending Ben. It moves along at a rather slow pace until it gets to the halfway point when the accident happens and they get their powers. Then it's more of the slow pace building up to he big finale which happens within all of ten minutes. 

Though it's slow that doesn't necessarily make it bad. My issues is the build up to the actual superheros and we see them for a few minutes before the final battle which is over in a few minutes. I think this a great first act (stretched over 2/3's of the movie) and could have been a cool beginning to a great story... but atlas it was over just when it truly got started. 

Like I said.. I don't think it deserves all the hate and negativity, but to each their own... I give it a solid B-

After the movie I took Dallas out to dinner for his birthday, and those who watched the movie joined us. We hit up P.F. Changs for some tasty Chinese food. It was a nice dinner and everyone had a good time. 

Once we were done I dropped off Dallas and Aaron at his place and then went back to my apartment to crash.. I was exhausted and had several blisters on my feet that were gonna feel great for tomorrow NerdStrong workout... but it was totally worth it.. it was a great day.