I want to one day be able to look back on this blog and remember all of the fun memories from this trip to California, so Im going to try and document everything that happened in these packed 3 days. What a great trip first of all- a chance to spend time with my immediate family, in a place I've never been to before, and see old friends, and new friends, plus, the icing on the cake, the National Championship. Just when we thought we had out done ourselves with great restaurants, sightseeing, and shopping, we remembered the reason that we were there- the Alabama game! What a great experience that I will never forget- thanks a million dad for taking us!!!
Day One- After a long morning of airline travel, starting at 4:45 AM, we arrived at LAX bleary eyed, but ready to hit the road. The nice thing about traveling west is that you gain time, so we arrived in LA at 10:45 with the whole day ahead of us.
After checking into our hotel we had 30 minutes to change clothes and make our lunch reservations at The Ivy restaurant. Very cute, girly, and fun, plus there is always the chance of a celeb sighting! No, we didn't see one, but saw plenty of bama fans eating lunch.
William and Patrick waited at the curb for Alex, our cab driver to come pick us up.
Next, we headed off to the WB studio tour, on the other side of the mountain. We got to drive through the gorgeous Laurel Canyon Road to get there and see all the cool houses tucked away in the "hills". So cool, although how they don't fall off or slide away is anyone's guess.
The cool thing about the WB tour is that you are on a smaller golf cart, and therefore have more freedom with your tour guide on what you want to spend the most time with. Unfortunately, we still shared the cart with another family, who did not understand the rule of No Cell Phones, and one member proceeded to answer hers and talk for about 5 minute while we waited "patiently" for her to finish so we could continue.
The tour starts with the NYC outdoor lot, which included the spot where Spiderman's famous kiss was shot, as well as Mason's episode of "Without a Trace."
The WB tower, above, and below, the location of Merlotte's on True Blood! Chase and WIlliam and I were a little star struck by this one.
Can you tell the resemblance?
The Friends set- another star struck moment!
The tour included a warehouse of cars used in the movies, Chase particularly liked this one- look familiar?
This is the car I wanted to see...
After the lot tour we were taken to the WB museum, where you weren't allowed to take pictures, but was the coolest part of the tour bc they displayed costumes and props from famous movies. The whole upstairs was devoted to Harry Potter- we saw the sorting hat, the Marauders Map, the goblet of fire used in the movie, as well as tons of costumes and other props and set pieces. So cool!
Following the tour, we headed straight for Mason's apt, where he had invited some of his friends over to visit with us and welcome us to LA. So nice! His apartment is so neat bc it is covered with his original artwork, which I am obsessed with. See his fb page for more pics of his artwork. Or his website!
After a drink at Mase's we headed for dinner at Jones Hollywood- pizza and beer- yum! Mason's friend Natalie works here.
The night ended at a bar called the Village Idiot. There were tons of AL people hanging out enjoying the scene. Chse and I peaced out shortly after arriving, in hopes of catching some much needed sleep after being awake for almost 24 hours. The boys and Mason went on to the saddle ranch where I believe some bull riding was taking place.
And finally home, with the help of Alex, our Russian cabbie, one last time. I don't think we called Alex again after that night, since dad insisted he had just put his kids through college, and he kept making one of us sit on the floor! He was a nice guy in spite of his insistence that he knew the best way to get everywhere, even when mason suggested a short cut. It was a full day, and fun, and we were ready to crash and get a good night's sleep.
