Playing Tourist at Home - Atomic Ballroom

Being a tourist is awesome. Every day brings a new adventure. I love playing tourist so much I am committed to exploring Southern California, my off-again-on-again home, with a tourist's eye.

Tucked away in a nondescript office park in Irvine, it is easy to overlook Atomic Ballroom. I walked in and up to the front desk. The helpful woman sitting there asked me to sign in and mark which classes I wished to attend that evening. Then, she asked me to provide my name, email, and phone number on a form, and sign a waiver promising not to sue if I injured myself while in class. I visited on Wednesday evening, which is salsa night. I marked two beginner classes, a 7:00PM class taught by Corey and a 7:45PM class taught by Megan. Then, I walked to their little bar area to wait for class to begin. The bar area leads directly to the dance floor and had bar stools and a few tables with chairs. No one was serving at the bar, but there was a filtered water dispenser, M&Ms, and other candy free for the taking. The dance floor was large and lined with mirrors, like a dance studio. One corner had a DJ booth and there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling above the middle of the dance floor.

The first class, Corey's class, was three women and six men. I liked Cory's teaching style because he was funny, danced with each leader, and gave each leader constructive advice. He also only covered the basic step, side breaks, and the follower's right turn (outside turn), which seemed about right for a 45 minute beginner lesson. The second class, Megan's class, was five women and five men. Megan covered the basic step, the follower's right turn, the cross body lead, and the cross body lead combined with the follower's right turn. This was a lot of material and several people were confused by the end of her 45 minute lesson. Megan did not dance with the leaders, though doing so would have been useful.

Megan's class and Corey's intermediate level class finished at 8:30PM, and the dance floor opened up to a general admission salsa dance with music provided by the ballroom DJ. The dance is free with a paid lesson. Otherwise, it is $5. I stayed until 9:15PM, long enough for several dances. I noticed people who had not purchased a lesson starting to trickle in around 9:00PM. There were only about twenty people on the dance floor when I left. Perhaps more people show up later.

I had a great time taking two beginning lessons and staying for the dance. The dancers ranged in age from early 20's into the 70's. The atmosphere during the classes and the dances was relaxed, and everyone I talked to or danced with was friendly. I recommend the group lessons and dance at Atomic Ballroom as a fine way to pick up a new hobby, to meet people, to spend an evening, and as a great date idea.

Atomic ballroom has group classes every day of the week and private lessons by appointment. Group lessons are $15 per lesson if you drop in or $10 per lesson for 10 lessons if you buy their "virtual punch card." Visit the website at www.atomicballroom.com for class schedules. Atomic Ballroom is located at 17961 Sky Park Circle, Suite C, Irvine, California 92614. You can reach them via email at info@atomicballroom.com or via phone at 949-250-3332.

Night Hike Through Jungle and Afterwards - Monday 3-23-2009

By the time we finish booking, it’s almost time to leave for the tour. I head back to the hotel to grab my fleece. At 6:00PM the bus drops me, Ricardo, Fernando, and eight other tourists off at the Preserva Santa Elena, the Santa Elena Wildlife Preserve. Our guide, Christian, greets us, asks us to introduce ourselves, and then hands us flashlights. Besides me and my Portuguese friends, the group comprises a pair of Swiss girls, a pair of college kids from Detroit, an Israeli couple and two Englishmen. I snap pictures of the rainforest, dark green against a sky that moves quickly from blue to purple to grey. Moss covered trees tower above us as we follow a marked trail into the preserve. The forest is so thick that the trail becomes impassable without flashlights well before sunset. Christian points out animals as we come across them. Early, we see a rat-like creature the size of a small dog, a raccoon, a squirrel and white-faced monkeys stunned by the light we shine on them. The evening darkens and I point out the yellow glow of fireflies. Christian tells me that those are click beetles, flying beetles with a bioluminescence similar to that of fireflies. Click beetles glow for ten to fifteen seconds, whereas fireflies flash for a few seconds at a time. A click beetle lands on my sleeve. Christian pulls it off and gently places it on an open page of his guidebook. We gather around to see the two gently glowing yellow spots on the beetle’s body. The beetle then takes to the air with a loud “click,” disappearing into the night. We walk deeper into the preserve, and now the vast canopy of trees above is just abstract black shapes blocking out the grey, moonless sky. At ground level, the trail is clear but our flashlights barely pierce the thick forest surrounding the trail, our light blocked and diffused by countless leaves, branches, fallen logs, and massive trunks. Click beetles glowing yellow and fireflies flashing white flit across the trail ahead of us and then vanish into the woods. I marvel at how tree trunks can surpass several feet in diameter, and grow several hundred feet tall.

High in the trees, the wind alternately whispers and howls. Branches bend in the gusts, and then straighten in the stillness. Stars twinkle in and out of sight, hidden and then restored by the moving boughs. On the trail, the air is cool, damp and calm, moved only slightly by errant breezes. Crickets, cicadas, and the occasional songbird break the silence. Christian points our attention to a green viper high in the trees. Its venom liquefies the innards of the snake’s victims and can easily kill a man, he tells us. Further on, the trail opens into a clearing and I get my first good look of Monteverde’s sky. I openly remark to Ricardo at how many more stars I can see here than in Los Angeles. Stars I have never before seen lay scattered like diamonds on dark grey velvet. Even familiar stars glow white or red with unfamiliar intensity. Light grey clouds move quickly across the sky, carried by strong winds. With difficulty I locate Orion and the Big Dipper, hidden against a backdrop of stars I could never see in Los Angeles’ light polluted skies.

The night walk ends too quickly. The bus drops everyone off in Santa Elena. Ricardo, Fernando and I eat dinner at the Tree House Café, a second-story restaurant with a live tree growing through the floor to the second story. A live salsa band plays in the bar area. Taylor, an American girl from Georgia who is traveling with her friend and whom we met on the bus, walks over to say hello. The food is good – I have the Tree House Special which is pretty much Spanish paella – but expensive. ($5000 colones, or $10). After dinner, Ricardo, Fernando, and I find Taylor near the bar. We all sit order, drinks (my Corona was a needlessly pricey $5) and enjoy the night. We move to Bar Restaurante Amigos, half block away and 150 feet down a dirt road. The bar feels warehouse-sized, with a dance floor taking up roughly half the space. Strobe lights, and laser lights compliment the pounding hip-hop, reggaeton, and latin music. American college students on Spring Break and younger locals occupy half the tables, while the other half sit empty. Few people dance. We order another round of drinks (my Corona was $3.50 here, which still seems expensive since beer was $1 at the restaurant at Costa Rica Backpackers). I teach Taylor a few salsa moves and we all chat some more. About 11:45PM, I bid everyone good night and walk the one mile uphill to Manakin Lodge, enjoying the cool, dry night air the whole way.