California: More Pics

Here are the last of the pics I'm posting. They are not up to my usual high standards of photography, but the people want to see pics! I like to give the people what they want.

I think I need to take another trip back out to CA just to make up for the lack of really great pictures. Do you think the company would fund it?

Our hotel:




The view from Ruth's balcony. She said the noise coming from the pool at 3am would wake her up. (Not guilty!)


My balcony. Not the view, just the balcony itself. Fascinating, right?


This was my view. The cab drivers waiting anxiously to overcharge the travelers. (One lady I spoke to didn't know she could book a shuttle from the airport for $20 ... she paid $150 for a cab ride.)


This is where we spent most of our downtime. Restaurants... shopping... need I say more?

Cheesy touristy pictures:



I'm really not a fan of the touristy pics, but sometimes you just have to do it (especially when your boss tells you to, right?).


The blur in the background ... that's downtown LA. Nothing wrong with the camera or photographer, the city just moves too fast.

California: Bus Tour Pics (Part 2)

I am finally home ... the weather's warm, the tap water's drinkable, and my sinus are in full effect. I finally have a minute to sit down and show you the rest of the pictures from the bus tour. I'm still bummed that I couldn't take pictures the rest of the week, but you know I'll never make the mistake of leaving my charger home again!

So, the other day I posted pictures from one of our stops on the bus tour - overlooking downtown LA, catching site of the Hollywood sign, and I didn't show you, but we were right below Ron Howard's house.

The next stop was Universal City Walk. It's a big open air touristy shopping mall.






Ruth as an LA Oakland Raider. (Obviously I'm clueless about sports. Thanks, Sean.) I think she could pull it off, don't you?


I took this picture for the benefit of my Star Wars obsessed boy.

After Universal City Walk, we hit Hollywood Boulevard.

Mann's Chinese Theater


Kodak Theater (or theatre, I'm pretty sure we can spell it either way, right?)


We didn't want to pay the fake celebrities for pictures, so I tried to snap them on the down-low.




Another picture for J.

Our final stop was Beverly Hills.





Beverly Wilshire Hotel - where they filmed Pretty Woman.

California: Bus Tour Pics (Part 1)

I don't have a lot of time to spare, but someone here at the convention was complaining that the only pics I'd posted so far were of the dessert I ate at PF Changs. (You know who you are.) Here are a few pics from the Hollywood/LA bus tour. More to come soon!







PS. Andrea, if you are reading this, we've all been talking about you. Wish you were here to hang out with us! (There's an extra bed in my room not being used if you change your mind. hehe.)

California: Bus Tour (Videos)

Here are a few videos I took on the bus tour:

In this video you'll see downtown Los Angeles. The Hollywood Bowl you can see at the beginning in the bottom of the screen, and at the end you can see the Hollywood sign (blurry, I know).



These two videos were at the Universal City Walk.

Can you see this one? On my computer it looked fine, but when I uploaded it, it looks darker.

California: Tuesday

Tuesday was a good day. We ate breakfast in the hotel, then went down to the Garden Walk again, wandering around the shops. There we bought tickets to a Hollywood/LA bus tour. We ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, then headed off to the one class we had for that day (boo! work!). After that we were on our way to Hollywood. I've got a few pictures, but it was very hard to take them - my point and shoot is not fabulous at night or in moving vehicles. But I'll post some of the clearer shots later. Bus tours are a great thing when you are visiting another city and you don't know where to start, or in our case most everything is either too far away or too expensive.

I have a few minutes to kill before I get ready for our full day of convention stuff, so I'll try to get some pictures up before I go.

California: Tuesday Morning

What do you do when your body is still 2 hours ahead of your local time zone? You wake up at 4:30am. At least that's what I did. That gives me 4 1/2 hours until breakfast time. I tried to busy myself so that I didn't spend the entire time laying in the bed watching tv, even though that bed is extremely comfortable. So I...

Went down to the 3rd floor vending machine (there isn't one on my floor yet due to renovations). Debated over whether to spend my $2.50 on a soda or water. (Note: California tap water is not tasty at all. You all should come to Memphis and drink our tap water, you'll wonder how you ever did without it.) I settled on Mountain Dew.

Came back to the room and did some yoga. (I haven't done yoga in ages, so don't think I'm some disciplined exercise nut that sticks to her routine even out of town. I'm just killing time here.)

Enjoyed my crisp Mountain Dew with a Kashi granola bar I brought along.

Stood out on the balcony - nice view, great weather. The high here today is mid-80s, the low is in the 60s. Note: I didn't even have to use the a/c last night in the hotel room. Can I take this weather home with me?

Watched various crime drama's on television (hey, you knew I'd have to give in at some point).

Plugged all my electronics into their chargers. Searched for my camera battery charger. Sadly, I discovered I left it at home.

Ate another granola bar.

Typed a thrilling blog detailing my morning in the hotel room.

And, I still have 2 hours until breakfast. Guess I could always read that USA Today they left on my doorstep. Nah... back to the crime dramas.

California: Monday Night

Our hotel is surrounded by more hotels, so we walked a 1/2 mile to dinner tonight. We ate at PF Changs (yummmmmm!). Afterwards, we tried their new mini-desserts. They were delicious and the perfect size after a ginormous meal. (I had tiramisu & Ruth had apple pie.)





Then we walked a 1/2 mile back to the hotel. By now the air has gotten chilly. Glad I packed sweaters/long sleeves for the night time. I love this weather.

J left notes in my suitcase - one for each day I'm gone. Today's note said "Draw something you ate today". I don't have a scanner to show you, but I drew my tiramisu.

California: Arrival

We've arrived in California, and I'm exhausted! A day of flying really takes it out of you. Our flight from Las Vegas to Anaheim wasn't long (30 min) but it was not fun. Very bumpy! Anywho, here is the tour of my hotel room. I'm going to pass out on the bed and then go eat some dinner.

California: En Route

Hey there, faithful readers. I'm currently in the Las Vegas airport recharging my laptop, refilling my belly, and waiting on my plane outta here.

Here are some pictures from my morning commute. If you can name those states you win a prize.*






*The prize is my shock and awe. Hope that's sufficient.