"It never rains in Southern California"

And so go the lyrics of a song made popular by Albert Hammond in the early 70's and during our move out here, at the beginning of our San Diego adventure in November 1972, we were singing along with this song as it blared on the radio of our brand new Olds Cutlass Supreme, as we envisioned a place where rain and cloudy skies were rare.

But the weather turned cool and rainy today and it actually felt good to put on sleeves and jackets as we headed out for awhile before the downpour.  Apparently the cooler temps and rain are only to last through midday tomorrow and, indeed, are still a big news item around here, as they were when we lived here.  This is the first measurable rainfall they've received since July 26!  Lots of advisories on local news about taking extra care in driving and stuff. 

We used the last few hours of the rental car time we had (from yesterday's LA trip) to go to a Barnes and Noble for what we thought would be a 'reading and coffee date'.  But it turned out to be just a reading date!!  What?!  No coffee shop in a bookstore?  What were they thinking?  But, as usual, we had a great and productive time anyway (oh, and we snagged a brownie and an oatmeal cookie at a bakery on the way back to car and brewed our own cup 'o joe once we got back 'home').

Discovered a new author I think I'm gonna love: Emily Freeman, author of A Million Little Ways.  Kim B. and Ronna E. you guys MUST check her out!  Soon!  Let me know what you think!  We also found Tom Rath's Eat, Move, Sleep and are looking forward to seeing what we can incorporate from this jewel into our lifestyle!

Well, our day trip up to Burbank yesterday was so fun and certainly met every expectation we had. 

Our admittance letter to the Jay Leno taping advised us to arrive by 2:30 for the 3:45 taping, but did not say how early we could be admitted.  It did indicate that even holding the letter did not guarantee admittance, so we  reasoned that 'the earlier the better' just might pay off in this case.  And we were right!

 

We got there at 11:45 a.m. and were the 9th and 10th in line.......a line that eventually, by 3 p.m., grew to exceed 350 people in length.  The NBC pages were personable, humorous and informative in their presentations......very clear about no drinks (even water), no gum, candy, cameras, you name it....nothing was gonna be happenin' once we were inside.  They were also very clear that if you were observed taking pictures, security would be called, and you'd be detained until all the pics were deleted from your camera (and we witnessed that very thing happening just three seats down the row from us after the taping).  Okay, so no funny business.

But there was plenty 'o funny business happening while we were in the audience waiting area prior to the taping, thanks to two characters: 82 year olds Dodger Dave and Peanut Ronald, peanut sellers (since 1959!) at Dodger's Stadium.

Talking a mile a minute, a wealth of baseball and Hollywood trivia, they've personally 'met' everybody who's anybody, Dave (on the right) will play in a ping pong tournie in Vegas in December (really?) and this was their 100th Leno taping.......I don't think any of us around them cared if half of what they said was true or false, they were just so darn cute and hilarious.....and the pages were going right along with them.  Definitely made the 3 1/2 hours we sat there in line pass quite quickly!

The only other bit of information we received during this time outside (under typical balmy conditions) was that the temperature inside the studio was kept between 60 and 65 degrees so if we 'had a jacket in the car, now would be a good time to go get it.'  Uh, no.  That wasn't going to be happening for me.....my closest jacket was in the condo which was a 2 hour drive south.  Lesson learned ;)

The excitement factor really ratcheted up when we were ushered into the studio and seated on the second row!  First row seats were 'taped off' for VIP's ~you had to know 'someone'.  (Now, please don't misunderstand: we know plenty of  'someones' and we wouldn't trade the 'someones' we know for any other 'someones'.  Our 'someones' just don't happen to be connected to NBC.....and perhaps,come to think of it, that may be one of the reasons that they're our 'someones.')

 

Jay came out before the show in his signature chambray shirt and jeans and interacted with the crowd and allowed three different guest groups to come up and have their pics taken with him.

 

So.....second row seats aren't bad at all and they secured us the privilege of being among those invited up to the stage for the "high 5'ing" portion of the intro.  

Yep, that's Rob/your dad on the far right (thank you, ally and tim for capturing this image for us!!)  We didn't get close enough for actual 'high 5 contact' but it was fun just to run forward and participate!  We're thankful for the opportunity as it played out!

 

There was, of course, the gregarious guy that came out to 'pump up' the crowd with jokes, applause practice, when to stand, when to sit, when to 'whoop' and holler, etc.  That was fun.  One thing that really blew us away, because on the regular show we see you don't get to hear the band that much, is how great they are and how much fun they seem to be having doing what they do.  That was really a highpoint.

 

During commercial breaks, when the cameras pulled back, there was a 'flank' of 6-8 security-type personnel standing, with their back to the stage, facing the audience, carefully scanning the crowd for cameras, water, gum~all those items we'd been warned about before coming in.  Periodically, you'd see one of them speak into the tiny microphone that looked amazingly like a shirt collar and a colleague in the audience would swoop down on a careless audience member and confiscate a water bottle, Milk Duds, or force the deletion of contraband pics from a phone.  Some people never learn, right?

 

Rob/your dad loved discovering the technical and logistical aspects of putting this show on, at least those that were apparent to us, as observers......even down to how we seem to have been carefuly 'placed' in the audience, not just 'filed' in as we were in the line out in the 'holding' area.  So it was great piece to add to our collection of experiences, one we'll always remember.

 

 

Afterwards, we headed to Arnie Morton's Steakhouse, a TripAdvisor favorite which was about a quarter mile walk from Studio 11, where we had reservations for dinner.  Although our reservations were for 5:45, we were seated promptly when we arrived at 5:00 and I recalled an episode of 'All In the Family' when Edith served Archie dinner at 6:30, to which he exclaimed, ruefully, "Ahh, we're eatin' at movie star time!"  This is definitely a place where movie star sightings might take place, but the early hour insured that wasn't going to happen.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, treating ourselves to petit filets, which we seldom do......these were perfect!  The sun had set when we left Morton's, and there was a chill in the air signaling the cool/rain front that was coming in as we were heading back to the underground parking garage where we'd left the car.

My hat's off to Rob/your dad for his navigational ability in unfamiliar surroundings (our kids definitely got that from him) and his driving ability on the highways and biways around the country in our travels.  We share the driving, but I know he ends up doing the 'lion's' share of it.  However, the intensity of the drive to and from Burbank yesterday just elevated the joy I experienced in seeing him enjoy the sights of the countryside, both on the train from Dallas to San Diego and on the Coaster back and forth between San Diego and Solana Beach.