The Bonnie Hunt Show Trip !

We flew into Los Angeles and picked up the rental car and checked into the Sheraton by the airport. I had purchased a package deal with round trip flight, rental car and hotel all together. Sometimes, because they are packaged together you can get a very good deal! The hotel was nice...not anything fancy but it was clean and the staff was accommodating. The hotel choice was for convenience sake more than anything as it was near the airport and the studio. We were only staying two nights...so we didn't want to spend a long time driving places! My pet-peeve is paying for parking as

the Hubby had me point out in this picture. Just about everywhere you go these days they charge you for parking but I just think it's wrong! The flights were on US Air and they were fine but this charging for bags is silly...we got all of our stuff into one bag which for me was a miracle as I am insane about bringing too many clothes! But, we were charged $15 per bag per flight... I watched all these people try to bring bags on the plane to avoid the fee and then there were too many bags and they had to check them at the last minute! It causes too long of a delay in boarding the plane...they should just do away with this fee! They also charge for every drink on the plane including water!!! But, all of our flights were on time and everyone was very professional.





We arrived early, about two hours too early, for the sign in time...Here I am by myself with no lines and no waiting! ...So, we took the camera back to the car, as cameras are not allowed in the studio and had breakfast. When we came back there, there were about twenty women in line...I did something so out of character, my Hubby shook his hand in amazement...I line butted!!!
Then, I started talking and laughing at everything everyone said...like the desperate girl in High School! The women were very sweet about it, I became #2 and The Hubby became #3 and the sweet women that I line butted in front of actually told the audience warm -up guy that we flew in from Tampa just for the show and the guy gave me a Bonnie Hunt Sweat Shirt! The staff for the show is kind and thoughtful and they even fed us a lunch of Hot-dogs and root-beer while dressed in Cub gear from head to toe! The shows were fun and interesting as we have never seen a taped show before...I am a Bonnie Hunt fan so it was quite thrilling to watch her in person! I was surprised that My Hubby had such a good time and I caught him laughing out loud at Bonnie! While in line he struck up a conversation with the security guard and discovered that this studio isn't as popular as it once was now that the Big Sony Studios is in full swing. The Culver City Studio just has The Bonnie Hunt Show and Deal or No Deal at their studio...I hope the show does well, not just for Bonnie's sake but for all the nice people who work at the Studio! Everyone was very nice and it was a lot of fun and the people who work there are doing a great job and they make it fun for the audience members! This was just a fun, no expectations kind of a trip and we were not disappointed!


This is Culver City Studio where The Bonnie Hunt Show is filmed along with Deal or No Deal! Also, Scenes from Gone with the wind were filmed on this Lot! It's a lovely little town and after the last taping...we walked outside and the street was lit with twinkling lights...very pretty! I wanted to stop and eat but The Hubby had other plans...we or should I say he ate at In n Out Burger and we watched the planes land at LAX as they are RIGHT above your head!!! Very romantic!
After we got home...we had a meeting the very next day with a group of people and I was mentioning our trip and someone mentioned they could get me tickets to the Ellen Show...that sounds like fun!!
I'll close with one last clip of the Hubby and I in the audience...look fast or you will miss us!!!
The Bonnie Hunt Show Clip

The Winner!!!

Please congratulate Karla at Zander and Me on winning the contest entitled The Most Memorable Vacation...she certainly did not have the Florida Vacation she deserves...Karla anytime you want to visit Tampa...my spare bedroom is all yours!
Karla will be receiving a Thanksgiving Coffee Basket!
I want to thank you all for your very creative and in some cases painful stories and your willingness to share them. It means a great deal to me!
I am off to see The Bonnie Hunt Show in Los Angeles, California and hopefully when I return...I will have a lot of great pictures and a story to go with them!
Again, Congratulations, Karla!

Most Memorable Vacation Contest

Most gentle readers, er, ladies and gentleman...uh... Hey you guys!
Please start reading the contestant entries...we will close the contest on September 10th and stop counting votes at 5pm on the 16th of September! I will announce the winner September 17th. Have fun!
jill jill bo bill Then There's That
See Kori Rant Flashback Family Vacation
Candid Carrie Let The Healing Magic Begin
Zander and Me I am Not a Creampuff
Lori 's Blog Vacation from Hell

You may vote as many times as you would like up until September 16th at 5:00pm ! I will announce the winner on September 17th before I fly off to The Bonnie Hunt Show and the winner will receive a Thanksgiving Coffee Basket...I hear it is yummy!!

You Call this a Vacation?

By far, my worst vacation was in February 1979, visiting New York. My husband and I had not been married long, maybe about a year and half and we had recently relocated from Florida to Virginia. I am a Floridian and the cold weather wasn't something I was use to nor had I acquired the right clothes for. I have since learned that clothes do make the difference in the comfort department when experiencing extreme weather conditions!

While living in Virginia we were invited to visit our friend we knew from High School "Bubba" who was an inmate or rather a cadet at West Point. This would be a long weekend visit as it was Washington's Birthday which now is just lumped in with all the other Presidents but back then he still had his own special day!

We drove form Harrsionburg, Virginia to New York and we were very excited to see our friend and spend time with him.
I really started to feel the cold there... it is quite a forbidding place...grey stone walls...very beautiful but still not a warm and fuzzy place. This was the first year women were accepted but not very many were visible to me ...just a dark grey ocean of men. The first day we had Breakfast with Bubba and all the other cadets...I thought I was nervous because I really didn't feel well, but even through my queasiness I could see how polite all the men were. I really was very proud of Bubba!
After Bubba got final word he could leave with strict instructions to be back at 6pm on Sunday...we left for New York City! I had never been there and was looking forward to it but I just couldn't get warm...I needed a hat, gloves and a scarf but I didn't have them and I guess I was too cool to stop and get them. But because of that...all I remember of that trip was that I was cold and sick to my stomach! We went to Charley's Steak House and I saw Greg Brady from the Brady Bunch studying over a script but I was too sick to even think about asking for an autograph. I couldn't eat and I was such a party "pooper" and I felt guilty because I was ruining the trip as I didn't want to see anything! I knew I was ruining it for my Hubby and our friend but I really felt awful. We went back to our room early because of my complaining...I had only a momentary feeling of regret until my head hit the pillow and then just grateful relief that the dreadful day was over! My last conscious thought was that I hoped it was just a 24 hour bug of some kind and that I would wake up well and in a much better mood. I am sure the guys felt the same way...as I was a real kill joy!
Next morning not only did I not feel well but we woke up to snow and more snow falling, a lot of it . Roads...major and otherwise were closed! This was understandable to my employer and my Hubby's but Bubba's employer did not care...Bubba needed to get back up that mountain to West Point even if he had to crawl up it!
I was still fighting nausea but Hubby and Bubba put chains on the tires and after some really scary moments we got him back to West Point, said our goodbyes...and headed back to Virginia...which was a huge mistake.
The weather was getting really bad and they were closing all major highways and because it was Washington's birthday they were not clearing the roads. We didn't know whether to keep going or stop. I was still sick and was not a lot of help to the Hubby...I was seriously just wishing he throw me out of the car and leave me to die! He decided to try to get us to Maryland where his brother lived, it was weird driving on these major highways with only one lane cleared and sometimes not even that. We would drive about 5 miles an hour, we finally got to his brother's home and stayed the night. We left about 12 hours later after the roads were cleared...we both had to call our jobs and let them know we would miss Tuesday because of the storm. At the end of the next week, with me still feeling badly...I made an appointment with my Doctor as I had started to think I might know why I wasn't feeling well and sure enough...I was told I was expecting our first child, a boy who more than made up for the awful vacation! Someday...I hope to see New York, really see it this time!