California, July 2009

  I'm sure you have all been wondering where I have been in the blogging world the past week!!! Well, wait no more, I have returned! :)    

  Good 'ole Steve and Sally took Jordan and me on an amazing vacation to LA this past week!  We stayed at the coolest resort along the coast, about 20 miles from downtown- it just opened a month a half ago, so they got an awesome deal. Donald Trump's signature golf course was next door, so I kept looking around  the pool area for a big man with bad hair (which I saw plenty of), but none were him.  This is what we had to look at every day,  bless our hearts... :)

  We loved staying at the resort and just hanging out- how could you not?  But we also went into town a lot and checked out everything that LA has to offer!  We took a tour of the Warner Brother's Studio, which is actually a working set, and it was really neat.  They had several little villages within one area- a new york steet, an italian street, and street of brownstones, ect... where they film all the different tv shows and movies.   Here is a bit of trivia for ya... did you know that in Ocean's 11 (or 12, 0r 13), when they shot scenes in the Bellagio Hotel, that WB had to pay the hotel HOURLY for the amount of money they were losing each day while shooting?Our tour guide was full of lots of important information like that.

This was a super cool set to see...  "Central Perk"

OH,  and get this!  This is "Central Park"... in the Friend's episode where Rachel and Phoebe were running through the park!  Can you believe it?  It's really like a 20 foot sidewalk though a few trees!  We, the general public, are so easily deceived.

  And then, of course, we had to take a tour of the celebrity homes in LA!  That was a must on my list.  My mom was so embarrassed- it was hilarious!  Our tour guide had no shame either... when a Bentley would drive by us (which PLENTY did), he would say "Bentley ahead, dark windows, look really hard!", and everyone would stare.  Those are $400,000 cars- surely the people driving the are worth looking at (or at least they think they are)!  This tour guide also had a lot of great information, for example:  

  While perusing the streets of Beverly Hills, we pass by David Spade's house.  He was on SNL, dated Heather Locklear, ect... he really isn't that big of a star.  Anyway, he said that a few times the tour has been DRIVING by his house, and all of the sudden they start getting shot at with tennis balls!  David Spade throws tennis balls HARD at the people in the tour vans, and these are open topped!  He also said that one time they were passing by when he happened to be backing out of his driveway... he stepped on the gas and tried to sideswipe the van!  Seriously!  He definitely has some anger issues needless to say.

This is our favorite girl next door, Jennifer Anniston's, new casa- a mere 10,000 square feet!  

  And this is Michael Jackson's home, where he recently passed away!  It's so weird because its not secluded at all!  Probably the least of all the homes we saw. Usually you just saw driveways leading up to a huge estate, but his house is really just right behind those gates!  And its on the corner of something and Sunset... right in the middle of everything!  I don't know why they have Christmas wreathes up, strange?

And now, saving the best for last... I did run into ONE celebrity... well, a kind-of celeb, but good enough for me!  And believe me, I totally stalked her!  In fact, I yelled, "Hey Audrina!"- and she didn't even glance my way.  I was walking right beside her (and the paparazzi)!  She really was beautiful, but totally full of herself. Please, you dated Justin Bobby, more than once, enough said.  

All in all it was an amazing vacation that, thanks to my parents kindness and generosity, we were able to be part of!  What a blessing!!!

Now it's back to the real world of little people coming into my room during the middle of the night wanting water, ect... :):)  and I love that too! :)