Days 3, 4 and 5

Hey all!

Wow-what an amazing trip we are having...

Sunday:

Sunday, we got up late after being up until about 4:00 am the night before. By the time we were up, showered and ready to go, it was about noon. We decided to go to Venice Beach, which, by bus, ended up taking 2 hours! When we got there, the bus dropped us off, but we couldn't figure out where the beach actually was. We went the wrong way at first, but then chose a different direction, and when we saw sand on the sidewalk, we knew we were coming up on the beach...

Venice Beach is amazing. Vendors and performers line the entire boardwalk. You can buy anything from tons of different types of food, to shoes, handbags, T-Shirts, souvenirs, african art and clothes, paintings, photographs, sculptures, henna tattoos, pot paraphernalia (lol), massages, etc. We did lots of shopping and took lots of pictures. We did go into the salty Pacific Ocean even thought it was a bit cooler out. It was nice to feel (and taste!) the "other" ocean!

We saw the most honest beggars ever. From the guy holding the sign that said: "need money for beer", to the lady with the sign that said: "help me pay for my porshe", to the older fella in the loud outfit and glasses singing to the Jingle Bell Rock tune: "Jingle bell, Jingle bell, Help me get drunk..." !

We both got henna tattoos. Jolene got the hindu tattoo on her right hand and we both got "Friendship" in chinese, mine on my shoulder and hers on her ankle.

On the 2 hour bus ride back, we played "I spy", Jolene sang "The Wheels On The Bus" and we went into a round of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall", and "There's a Hole In The Bottom of The Sea". lol Who cares! No one knows us here!!!!

Once back at the hotel, we took out our gear for the movie thing, worked on putting on our patches and pompoms on our jeans, and prepared what we were going to wear. In my bag, I noticed a 70's scarf my grandmother had given me, that I had brought along, without really knowing why. I put it on my head and Jolene said it looked amazing, and that I should use it the next day.

We went to bed late, but accomplished...

Monday:

We had signed up to be movie extras in a Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, and Andre (3000) Benjamin movie. I woke up at 5:00am and started getting ready. Then I woke up Jolene at 5:30am and we got ready for the day. They had previously e-mailed us and informed us that it would take place in the 70s, so we dressed appropriately, and actually went on the L.A. Metro looking the way we did...boy did we ever get strange looks.

We arrived at Dodger stadium, where we registered and boarded a bus that took us to the shoot's secret location nearby. We were selected to receive a special yellow card that enabled us to be in priority seating in the stands (we were the audience in the movie). The lady who gave us the yellow card comented on my grandmother's scarf! That's how we ended up with the yellow card!!! For the morning we were placed in the 3rd row. We were so excited because we were really close to these superstars. They interacted with us, smiled at us, joked around and hung out. In the afternoon, we were selected (literally handpicked) to be in the 1st row behind the players bench!!!!! 1ST ROW!!!! When Will and Woody were on break, they would sit right in front of us, and chat with each other. There were no seats in the house any closer to them than ours!!!! We were, literally, 3 feet away!!!

We had an exhausting day. But we had a wonderful time. We would so do it again!

Anyway, at one point we were within inches of Andre, while he was getting his wig glued, and both Will and Woody were within 3 feet of us. We were on set from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. What a long day, but truly a memorable one.

Tuesday:

Our Hollywood Day!!! I went out for breakfast with a friend in the morning, who took me to Burbank for a delicious mexican breakfast. I had huevos a la mexicana, which were scrambled eggs with pico de gallo, refried beans and mexican rice. He works for Technicolor and so he was able to show me all of the good places to hang out with Jolene. I came back to the hotel and Jolene and I left, setting out for Warner Brothers and NBC. We decided not to do the tours but at least we saw where everything is. I called mon oncle Lionel from the NBC studios. He thought that was so cool...

On the way, we ran into some visitors from NewYork, Rachelle and Gil. We exchanged information, and after waiting for a bus for about 45 minutes with them, we all agreed that we had a place to stay if we visited the other's area. So now we have a place to stay in New York, and we may end up with cool house guests!!!

After Warner Brothers and NBC, we took a cab to Hollywood and Highland. I hadn't told Jolene what was there, so as soon as we got out of the cab, I grabbed her hand and started running. As we giggled and ran, she kept asking "What? What? What's up here???". And then we arrived... The Hollywood Walk of Fame... OMG there are so many stars, we didn't even finish seeing them! I think we'll go back on Thursday...

Then we went to the Hollywod Improv again, to see the Ivy League show. Johnny Walker was on, and he was really funny! (Thanks to Luc for introducing me to his comedy!) That show was at 8:00pm. Then we rushed to the World Famous Laugh Factory, for the show Nick Thune talked to us about attending. We were supposed to be on a comp list, but there was some kind of glitch, and we weren't. Nick actually took money out of his own pocket to pay for the tickets. He is an absolute sweetheart and a real class act. Not to mention really funny!!!!

Today:

Today is a bit of a lazy day for me. I'm catching up on some sleep and went for a couple of walks around the hotel while Jolene went to Disneyland. I miss her. We have done absolutely everything together in the past week. I find it hard to not have her right here with me. This has truly been a wonderful vacation together. We have had some (very few) rough patches, but we have realized that we travel really well together. I can't believe the week is almost over.....

WHile I was in the lobby today, I met the parents of an actor. His name is Tom Parker. He is currently in a show called "What About Brian" and has been in shows like Without a Trace and CSI! His parents are staying at the same hotel as us.

That's it for now!!!!