Visiting Grandpa in Movieland

I took the kids to visit my dad at Lucasfilm Ranch for the first time.  I have been there countless times throughout my life and even remember walking through the Main House while it was still being built and watching birds fly through the structure of the entry hall staircase.  It is a special place and not many people get to visit it as security is pretty tight.  My kids have absolutely no grasp on what my dad does for a living.  They know that he was the voice of Wall-E but other than that, they know him only as "Grampa-man" (the title he chose for himself) who plays drums at church and who loves to tickle them and stir up their silliness.  I know my dad loves them and loves being a grandfather.  It occurred to me that they seemed old enough to visit him at work and get to understand a little of what he does.  My dad and I are close but don't get to visit with him too much these days so it seemed like the perfect plan and we arranged it for the following week.
It ended up being a chilly but sunny autumn day as we drove the country roads to get there.  Coincidentally, Benny, who also works at the ranch, had invited my sisters Mary and Emma to meet him for lunch too.
First we met dad at his office.  This is a newer place that I had not yet been to. The room was huge and had a sort of living room area for guests and producers to come and watch and discuss the project he is working on.

 Here is dad's set up.  I can't show pictures of the screen but you can just see a corner of it.  This screen shows the picture and dad edits the film and then adds layers of sound and music to what's going on in the story.  This is a much smaller console than the ones he was working with on Star Wars etc.  Computers have made this process more and more streamlined over the years.

Judah is here holding a door creaking sound maker.   Behind him Darragh holds the whoopie cushion.  If you asked any of the three what their favorite part of the day was, it would without a doubt have been the whoopie cushion that they played with in the first 15 minutes.

Dad showed them how to adjust the volume of a specific sound effect as it was added to the mix.  Judah would listen for the command and when dad would say "now", Judah would bring up the volume of an airplane etc.  

 Behind the screen was a soundproof room to record dialogue and other sounds effects in.  Judah went in and made as much sound as possible with bells and shouting...though we could see him, we couldn't hear a sound!  Wish I had a room like this at my house!


All of the buildings are filled with art from movies throughout film history as well as dozens upon dozens of film memorabilia and models etc.  There are even original Norman Rockwell sketches and drawings.  I'm not sure what the kids thought about this place.   I tried to see things from their perspective and could only imagine that they see this place as a sort of "movieland" where all movies are made.

 Darragh and I as we walked to another building for lunch.

 There are bikes all over the property for people to get from one building to another.  I grabbed this one to ride up to the Main House on.

 Just a typical gorgeous fall day in Marin County.








Judah pretty much held Dad's hand the whole time.

My brother Ben in his office!  When we first arrived at the ranch he came down to greet us and the girls ran to him and he picked them both up in a double hug.  The girls were both wearing oshgoshes that used to belong to me...the image almost seemed like looking through a window into the past.  He looks so much like my dad back in the day with his mustache and the girls looked like Mary and I.  He is participating along with some friends in a fundraiser called Mustaches vs. Cancer.   

Posing with Uncle Benny.

I think he looks great!
We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to be together as a family.  Mom stayed home with Oliver and while she was missed, it was great that Mary got to have a few hours to hang out and lumber around in her about to burst 9 month baby belly.  Whenever we would pass one of Dad's coworkers he would introduce us...all his kids and almost all of his grandchildren.
It was a very pleasant afternoon and I told the kids in the van on the way home how proud I was of their behavior.  They were obedient and never fought or caused a scene.  They ate politely and conversed with anyone they met.  They listened as adults spoke and gave the appropriate social response (ie. laughing or oohing and awing etc)  They didn't touch or break anything.  They deserve my bragging about them.  I felt blessed to spend such a nice afternoon visiting with my family.  Thanks Dad and Benny for taking time to visit with us!