Amber Miller - Journals - Dr. Quinn 10th Anniversary Reunion Week Report

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Arrival | Beach Party | P-Ranch Tour | Malibu Creek Tour

Dinner | High Tea

Sunday

I last left off with the official closure of the events at the Hollywood Roosevelt Tea followed by dinner at the Hamburger Hamlet and some fun and laughter and photo sharing in Paula's room at the GNI. Sure enough, at 4am, the wake-up call came into the room, and Robin arose to gather her last-minute necessities together so she could meet her ride at 4:30 to go to the airport. The other three of us were awake, so we said our goodbyes and were looking forward to seeing her photos when she got them developed. After a round of hugs and the promise to keep in touch, Robin took her bags out and left. Now, there were 3, and since we were oddly awake, we decided to try to find a place that would be open for 1-hour developing of our film. After a futile attempt, since most photo developing locations only had limited hours on Sunday, we caught a few more hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 7:30.

After getting up and getting ready, we gathered our items for the day, Janine packing up her luggage and other last-minute necessities, and planned to head out to begin our day. We really didn't have any plans, but after some discussion and planning for when we had to get Janine to the airport, we decided to drop off Janine's film for developing, then head back to Albertson's for some lunch paks to have a picnic lunch in the meadow at the P-Ranch.

This turned out to be a very enjoyable mid-day break, and we even had the opportunity to see some filming taking place. It was a small production company who was filming a short film by Stephen King. I don't know much about it, and we didn't really stop to ask, but Dr. Mike's clinic had been altered into a bedroom, the saloon was a living room, and the barber shop was a mercantile. It was a mixture of sadness and delight at seeing the P-Ranch being used. We were able to take a look inside the buildings and snap some photos from the interiors, but at the same time, it was difficult seeing other set-ups inside our favorite town spots. At least the town still stood, and we were happy to see it getting used, even if it wasn't Dr. Quinn.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, we were walking around town, taking some pictures. We were joined during our lunch by Stefanie and Jillian, the two ladies from Germany who were obviously still around the area. We didn't really chat much, but we did exchange greetings before cleaning up our lunch and heading across the meadow in a quest to find the area where Sully had come out during the episode For Better or Worse when Michaela ran to him across the meadow. After walking along the tree line and looking back across the meadow to get our bearings, we found a break in the trees and a small footpath, part of which led further into the woods and another part which led towards the creek. We realized that this was where Sully had come out, but to the left of the entrance and set a little ways back, there was a tree that we recognized as being the tree where Matthew and Ingrid practiced scenes from Romeo and Juliet in What is Love? as well as where Hank had been standing when Michaela approached him to ask if he would ride Flash in The Race.

After some more pictures and more walking around town, we realized we needed to head out to pick up Janine's film and get her to the airport. Carefully avoiding the wires and cables and film equipment, we step down off the porch to the saloon and head back over the bridge to the car. Our anticipation as well as a little bit of dread is acutely felt as we drive towards the photo place. Janine actually had six rolls of film to develop, but they were only able to get 3 done in the time we had. Without labels, she had no way of knowing which film had what on it. She hoped she had submitted the right ones, so that we could get our much coveted pictures from the dinner back before she had to leave. If any of us were into biting fingernails, this would have been the time you would have seen us doing that.

We waited at the counter with baited breath, anxiously opening the envelopes as soon as they were given to us, and exclaiming in quiet delight when we realized she had selected the right ones! And they were really great! Some pictures just screamed for a caption, and I look forward to adding those captions to her photos, as well as others I have on the tributes. The best part, of course, was the fact that she had ordered double prints, so Brandy and I divided the ones we wanted between us, and all promised to exchange and trade when we had all of our rolls developed. Finally, pictures put back together and placed in the envelopes, we headed back to the car to take the drive to LAX.

Thankfully, traffic wasn't as bad as it had been on some days (of course, we also had the luxury of the carpool lane!), and we made it to the terminal with about 90 minutes to spare before her flight. Happy but tearful goodbyes were exchanged, and we unloaded her luggage onto the curb for her, then promised to keep in touch, exclaiming how much fun we had and how glad she had been to be able to join us. Hopping back into the car, there are now only two. After an exchange of sighs, Brandy and I realized that life was actually going to slow down for us for the rest of the week -- or so we thought.

We had to make a stop at the rental car agency to take care of some additional paperwork, but we discovered the agent wasn't there that we needed, so we drove a little ways up the coast to the famous Santa Monica Pier (although why it's so famous I'll never know; wasn't much in my opinion) and walked down the path to the pier and back to the car. It really wasn't what I thought it would be after the reports I'd heard, but that's probably because I'm not a beach person. Perhaps there were other attractions that don't interest me that cause the area to be so popular. I'd actually seen much more elaborate piers on the Jersey shore and around Delaware beaches, which is a shock considering we're in Santa Monica. Oh well. We reached our car and had to make a good number of U-TURNS before finally finding our way out to the main road which led back to the Santa Monica Freeway and 405, then to the airport area, where our rental car company was. Taking care of that business, we hit the 405 again and headed back to the GNI. The evening was spent relaxing and finding a movie on TV to watch as well as spending a little bit of time on a very slow laptop computer Brandy had brought with her, but we also made another trip to Albertson's for some necessary groceries for the week (as well as a deck of cards and some wine -- can't be in CA without getting some of that!). We intended to take advantage of having a refrigerator and microwave in our room, as it would save us considerable money in not having to eat out for every meal.

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Monday

The next morning, we laid around and caught up on some much-needed sleep. I believe lazy bones Brandy roused sometime around 9:30 or 10am, and I was already awake, my internal alarm clock waking me at around 8am. Good thing it had adjusted to PST, or I would have been up at 4am! As it was, I ended up getting an extra hour more than I normally do. Once Brandy was awake, we decided to make some calls to find the best place to drop off our film. Since we weren't in any real hurry to get it back, we could leave it for a couple of days and get matte finish to avoid the fingerprint markings. While Brandy was on the phone with several photo developing locations, I used my cell to place a call about my business meetings. The results were about 50-50. I set up two successful meetings, and two others were going to get back to me.

With that all done, Brandy and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat, then head up to Thousand Oaks, which was where the Best Buy was (the lowest for film developing). As it turned out, it was also where Wear Me Out Kids™ was located, the clothing store that is owned and operated by Tami and Steve Calabrese, the parents of the triplets who played Katie. This was the first meeting I had set up, although not technically business-related. (grins) After heading north on 101 towards Thousand Oaks, our first stop was to see Tami, and we had to wait for a customer when we first arrived, so Brandy and I just walked through the store and perused the merchandise, remarking over the beautiful array of stuffed animals, Beanie Babies™ and Beanie Buddies™, books, toys, and just about all kinds of clothing you could imagine. Tami and Steve obviously select their lines of clothing with great care, and because they're the only store that carries those lines, they can afford the personal touch which only adds to the overall ambiance of the place.

After about twenty minutes, the customer left, and Tami approached us to chat. We talked for almost two hours about everything from the show, to the events, to the girls, and the store. Just as we were about to leave, Steve pulled up and Stephen came into the store with Lexi. He smiled and Lexi looked at me with a funny grin, pointed at me, then went to hide behind some clothing racks. I knew she recognized me, but she was playing bashful. Tami asked where her sisters were, and they said out in the van, so without any customers in the store, we all headed outside to take a peek into the van to talk to Megan and McKenzie and Steve. At first, those two girls were playing games, too, pretending that they didn't know me and had never seen me before, but then Megan blurted out, "You're Penny!" and laughed, obviously very amused at herself for her joke. Penny was a lady they had met that night at the dinner, and obviously had made quite and impression on them.

Tami pointed out that they knew who I was, that they had seen me at the big dinner on Friday, and I was all dressed up. McKenzie peeked her head around one of the seats and smiled, but it was Megan who said, "Yes, we know you. You're Fiffany!" That's really what she said, too, and I just reached in to tickle her, telling her I'd stop when she said my name right. In a fit of giggles, she finally did, and that was when all three of the girls noticed Brandy. So, I introduced her as my friend, and Lexi said, "You have a girlfriend?" followed by laughter from all three of them. I just smiled and asked them if their sisters were their friends, and they chorused, "Yes," so I told them they all had girlfriends, too. They all paused for a moment and looked at me then at each other, then collapsed in giggles again.

This led to a conversation about girlfriends and boyfriends, and Megan told me how their Mom and Dad were friends, then McKenzie added that they that hugged and kissed all the time. I hoped that they wouldn't pursue that subject any further, and thankfully, they didn't. I'm sure Steve and Tami appreciated that their girls didn't embarrass them in any way, but it was really cute. The three of them are obviously a handful, but Tami and Steve do a wonderful job with them. Stephen helps a lot, too, and it's obvious he loves his sisters a lot, and they love him. I can only imagine what those girls will be like when they're older. Look out world and look out guys!

We said goodbye to the girls and Steve, then Tami and Lexi and Stephen, and Tami asked is Thursday night would be a good night to get together again. I said it was, and she gave us directions to the Chuck-E-Cheese down the road. Brandy and I left to head to Best Buy, which turned out to be about a half-mile from the Chuck-E-Cheese. After we dropped off our film, we explored the area a little, making a lot of turns and U-TURNS in our search for the place, but never did find it. Instead, we made a quick stop into Office Depot to get some mailing tubes, then agreed to head back to the GNI to get something to drink and eat, deciding we would look up the exact address in the phone book. If all else failed, we could always call Tami again.

As we hit 101 and headed south towards Calabasas, Brandy mentioned her thirst for a frozen coke, so we stopped in at Burger King to ordered 2 of them. They turned out to be coke floats in a way, with slushed coke on top of vanilla ice cream. Very delicious, and just perfect to soothe our parched throats as well as cool us from the heat. It actually was very nice weather, but getting in and out of the car and driving around had made us a little bit hot. Satisfied with our drinks, we headed down the rest of the way on 101 to Lost Hills Road and back to the GNI. As soon as arrived, we realized that Brandy had some postcards to mail, so we walked to the Mail Boxes, Etc. and dropped them off, but also checked on Internet usage and what it would cost. There was only one computer there, and it was a tad bit expensive, so we headed back to the GNI and took advantage of the laptop. Only tonight, it decided it wasn't going to cooperate, so we gave up on it.

The rest of this evening was again spent relaxing, but tonight was extra special. Tonight we had the fortune of seeing Dr. Quinn together for the first time, both at 8 AND 11pm on Hallmark. This was an added treat for me, since I don't get Hallmark here at home. Tonight's episodes were The Operation at 8pm and Baby Outlaws at 11pm. Watching The Operation was so interesting after seeing Shawn Toovey the way we did on Friday night! Shawn's taller than Joe, now, and seeing Brian being carried by Sully and Loren was just too funny! No wonder Joe and Shawn clowned around at the dinner and Joe picked up Shawn to show that he still could!

Now, the second one is certainly one of the worst ones, but watching it with someone else seemed to lessen my dislike of it (just a smidgeon). There are two aspects of this one that I like. The first is to see the spontaneous invitation to dance that Sully initiates when Belle began playing Brian's harmonica. It was just so sweet to see Mike and Sully dancing, looking so much in love and happy with each other. The second is seeing Belle really stick it to "Miss Priss" Colleen. I have made no attempt to hide my dislike of Jessica's portrayal of Colleen (although she had one or two good moments), and I got a distinct pleasure in seeing Belle tease her for being such a little snit. If that had been Erika, I have no doubt, Colleen would have really given Belle a piece of her mind! I just don't see Erika's portrayal as being so "wimpy," but that's just MHO. I know there are those who like Jessica's portrayal, and I respect you for that, but I just don't agree.

With a sigh after the second showing was over, we turned off the TV and chatted for a bit, then decided to hit the hay. We didn't really have much planned for tomorrow, but it was nice to just simply relax and not have to worry about schedules, especially after the hectic beginning to our week. I don't envy those of you who had to return to work this week and jump right back into your "normal" lives.

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Tuesday

Another morning of lounging around, but once we were up and ready, I made some more phone calls, still hoping to set up some meetings, then we stopped by Mail Boxes, Etc. to mail my postcards and our tubes of the Homestead Plans we had purchased from Diane (easier than trying to fit them in our luggage). From there, it was back to the P-Ranch to take some more pictures. This time, there was no one around, and it was eerily peaceful. When we first entered the town, Brandy walked off in one direction, and I in another. When I tried to find her, I didn't hear her anywhere, but I did hear some thumping and a wooden door creaking from the direction of the cafi, so I went to investigate. It was very strange to hear those sounds and not see another soul anywhere to be found. Finally, I walked back between the clinic and gazette buildings and saw Brandy approaching from the direction of the mercantile. From there, we spent a lot of time just slowly walking around the town, peering into the buildings where we could see through the boards over the windows and just soaking up the soothing atmosphere of the town. I knew it was really a unique experience for Brandy, since it was her first time. I'm sorry she wasn't able to see any of DQ filming, but we did catch some filming on Sunday, so at least it was a small taste of what the town looked like with cameras and equipment all over the place.

After about an hour, we left to go to the Calabasas Library and spend some time on the Internet. We knew there were some Internet Cafés in LA, but that was too far of a drive for us at this point. When we first found the library, we drove around and went into the parking lot, experiencing quite a bumpy jolt as we entered due to a dip at the entrance to the lot. There wasn't any sign posted on the building to announce that it was the library other than the letter of the building, which matched the address we had. So, we went inside and found a glass door to the left which led to the library. The first thing we did was walk over to the children's book section to see if they had copies of Jane's "This One & That One" books, but they didn't. I took a look at some other books and even found a "western cowboy" version of "Cinderella." It was quite interesting, but funny considering the time we'd spent at the P-Ranch in the past week.

Brandy had walked away and returned a moment later to tell me she had signed us up for 30 minutes on the computers, so we headed to the room and eagerly logged onto our various sites and message boards and e-mail to check what was out there. I was a little surprised to find that not much had been posted yet about the reunion, but I figured most were still trying to recover. The one thing that made me a little bit uncomfortable was seeing that I was the topic of discussion on Jane's message board. There were some comments and questions and replies about the reunion, but it was also mentioned and confirmed that I had attended but had extended my stay for an extra week to spend some time seeing some sites and visiting with friends. It was a little bit disconcerting to find my whereabouts being discussed, but then I realized that we do that all the time with Jane and Joe and the other actors, so I got a very brief glimpse into what it must be like for them. (grins) I honestly don't know how they deal with it.

Around 1pm, our time was up, so we left and headed back to the GNI. When we found out that the maid had not cleaned our room yet, we tried to come up with something to do, and we settled on a movie. I called the local theatre and got a listing, and we headed out to find it. It said it was on Agoura Road, so we just drove towards the P-Ranch, watching the numbers on the buildings and little strip malls as we passed. Once we crossed Kanan Road and began heading into a very corporate area, we realized we must have passed it, so we made a U-TURN and headed back in the direction we came. Crossing Kanan Road again, we passed the Hamburger Hamlet on the right, then I decided to turn left into the next little plaza. As it turned out, it was the movie theatre complex, so we parked and went inside to see The Sweetest Thing. Not bad, but I wouldn't go see it again, and no DQ connections, so I'll just continue with my report.

When we returned to the GNI this time, our room had been cleaned, and it wasn't long before Dr. Quinn would be on again. We grabbed a bite to eat from our food, and Brandy tried once again to get her laptop to work and cooperate. I just randomly flipped through channels (I'm not much of a TV watcher), trying to pass the time until DQ. Finally, 8pm rolled around, and it was The Secret, an excellent one for Hank-Michaela interaction, and after seeing Jane and William at the dinner.....well.....let's just say their interaction was much more rewarding! (grins) Of course, the cutest part was the opening when Sully is criticizing Mike's way of driving the wagon. I guess men do that all the time, whether it's a car, a horse, or a wagon! That conversation also had a nice little repartee between them, talking about how Sully knew Mike was a woman who didn't like to be told what to do, with references to how their friendship had developed in the few months they'd known each other.

I don't remember what we did in between DQ episodes, but I do know we played some card games, and Brandy continued to do battle with the laptop. We might have had the Hallmark movie on, but neither one of us really paid it much attention. Finally, 11pm rolled around, and it was Bone of Contention. I believe Brandy received a call from her fiance during this one, which was a good time for him to call (although it was after 1am for him!). This episode ranks right up there with Baby Outlaws. In my opinion, the only redeeming part was the end, when Loren and Sully are standing by the wagon load of bones and other items from the excavation, holding a stick of dynamite and lit cigars, threatening to blow up the paleontologist's findings if he didn't return the Cheyenne bones he had stolen from the burial grounds in exchange for the remains of Maude Bray, which the Dog Soldiers had taken in retaliation. I just have to laugh at this next to final scene.

Once again, we shut off the TV and turned out the lights to get some sleep. We knew we had to meet Lee Smith for lunch tomorrow, so we wanted to make certain we were up and ready in time to get there. Little did we know what would happen later that night!

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Wednesday

It's Wednesday morning, and I had a hard time getting Brandy awake, so I just got myself ready and flipped on the TV. We had planned to get into LA early and check out the Internet Café a couple of blocks from the Hollywood Roosevelt, but that idea was soon squelched when we realized the time and only had about 45 minutes to get into LA and meet Lee. Oh well, we both agreed that we didn't really need to be around a computer, since we spend so much time on them back home. It was much more fun to get out and explore the sights.

Anyway, we're finally ready, so we hit the road. After about 35 minutes, we get off onto Hollywood Boulevard from the Hollywood Freeway (101) and drive towards the Roosevelt. Lee had told us to meet her at Mel's Drive-In, a diner that had only been there for a few months. Well, as we continued to drive, I realized that I had no idea what the name of the place was or where it was. I had written down the information in my daytimer, but guess what? I didn't have it with me. As it turned out, two blocks of the boulevard just before reaching the Roosevelt were blocked off with a detour around it, so we turned left onto of the side streets. Brandy remarked that she thought the place began with an "M" but neither one of us could remember. As it turned out, our detour was very fortuitous, since it led us turning right after about two blocks, then right again onto Highland Avenue. As we did, we saw the sign for Mel's and knew that was it. So, we pulled into the parking lot and the parking attendant nodded that he had seen us enter. After parking and taking our ticket from him, we walked around front to go inside.

I scanned the diner and it only took me a moment to spot Lee sitting at a round booth, so I smiled and waved and told the waitress that we were there to meet someone. Amidst smiles and hugs, we greeted each other and then took our seats, sharing with Lee our "adventure" in getting there. At least we didn't have to make another U-TURN! (grins) Well, once we had been brought some drinks and had placed our orders, conversation just took off from there. We talked about so many different things, and Lee regaled us with some more delightful stories from the set and just before our meals arrived, presented us both with a hand-made medicine pouch, intricately beaded and individually unique. We actually chose from a selection of four, but they were just beautiful. The funny thing was that Brandy and I both selected ones that matched what we were wearing that day, and we didn't even think about it. We just chose the one we liked best.

After that, our food was delivered, and we eagerly began eating, conversation floating between the three of us as we ate. The hours just flew by, and before we knew it, it was after 4pm! We had been there since 11:30am, but it hardly seemed possible. It's true how they old saying goes: "Time flies when you're having fun!" This couldn't be more true than it was for us that day. It was amusing how our first waiter's shift had ended, so we ended up with a different one. This one had the most amazing blue eyes (don't hardly compare to Joe's, but amazing just the same), and Lee decided to flirt a little. So, she remarked on his eyes, and told him to just give her a smoldering look, then a sexy look and of course, he obliged, grinning at all three of us. Very cute! Also, a nice end to our absolutely wonderful lunch and time together.

Regretfully, we said goodbye, hugged and promised to keep in touch, then headed out to the car. After showing our validated ticket to and paying the attendant, we got in the car and left the parking lot, waving one final time to Lee as we left. I turned out of the lot and drove around to Highland again, then up to Hollywood Boulevard. Since we were in LA and Brandy had wanted to visit the Peterson's Car Museum, I suggested we do that. She pulled out the map and directed me on how to get back to Beverly Hills from where we were, and after about 25 minutes, we were there. We opted to park along the side of the road instead of in the Museum garage and ended up saving ourselves $5, which was nice. We also were given a discount on the admission because we only had an hour before the museum closed.

Here is where Brandy is more in her element than I am, although I am fascinated by the older cars and the sleeker, more expensive ones, even if I can't afford one. Upon entering, we discovered that there was some special convention or meeting of some sort of some Alligator club or something, but we never did find out what it was. We were just part of the "general public" and blended into the woodwork, so to speak. We even came upon some TV crews and news reporters, so we steered clear of them, since we weren't part of the club that was there.

As we walked through the various rooms, and even ventured upstairs, I have to admit that for a car museum, it wasn't all that extensive. Just 2 floors contained showrooms, and there were many cars that I didn't even see. I suppose if it had been Chicago or Detroit, the museum would have been much larger. The best part for Brandy was seeing the focus car at the entrance. It was the exact same year and model of the T-bird she had at home, only a different color. So, she snapped a few pictures of it from all angles, and then we meandered into the gift shop. I was looking for a Ford Galaxy matchbox car or model for my dad, but I never found one. I also wanted to see if I could find an '84 Silver Vette (because of my other love of the TV show Scarecrow & Mrs. King), but also came up empty. At least Brandy had found a t-shirt for her fiance, so the visit to the gift shop wasn't a complete waste.

However, the best part was when my cell phone rang and I took a call asking me if I was free to meet about Jane's web site that evening. I said I had no plans, explained that I was in LA at the time and could be there in about a half hour. Sounded good to us both, so after receiving directions, I found Brandy, she paid for her shirt, and we left.

As we headed back onto the road, I had Brandy again navigate, and we both realized that getting to the Santa Monica Freeway (10) and taking it to PCH (1) was the best and most direct route. There simply wasn't anything else from LA out to PCH, and since it was 5:30pm, we had run smack into rush hour traffic. With no other recourse, we simply waded through it, and thankfully, it was after we were already in Santa Monica, so the wait wasn't too long. As soon as we hit PCH, I called to let them know we had run into traffic but would be there as soon as we could.

About thirty minutes later, we pulled up to the gate and went down the drive. The business meeting and discussions went very well. I'm excited about what's going to be happening very soon with the site. Afterward, we were invited to stay for dinner and remained for several hours, spending the evening with Jane and her family. Once everything was over, we headed back out and drove down PCH toward Kanan Road, for old time's sake. (grins)

Once we were back at our room, we were not even settled when there was a knock at our door, and Mary Ann appeared to chat. She and Pam Hunter had returned from their visiting and touring other areas and were spending one final night at the GNI. We caught up on what we all had been doing in the past few days, then Mary Ann asked if we would be able to take them to drop off their rental car the next day and mentioned a possible get-together for a final meal before they headed out at 5:30 to the airport. I said that was fine, that we only had one thing to do tomorrow before the evening when we would meet with Tami and her children, so it shouldn't be a problem. As it was getting late, Mary Ann said goodnight, and we told her we'd call her in the morning.

We had missed Portraits at 8pm, and that would have been a great one to watch with another DQ fan, but at 11pm, we turned on Hallmark to watch Permanence of Change, then shut everything off to get some sleep.

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Thursday

The next morning, we woke up when we wanted, grabbed a bite to eat, then decided to head into Burbank to find the house that had been used for Amanda King's house on the TV show I mentioned above, SMK. The address I had didn't explain how difficult it was to get to this house, so after driving around for about 20 minutes, and making quite a number of U-TURNS, I decided to follow my instincts and turn onto a residential drive. It led me to the right area, and after driving a couple of blocks, we found the house. Just like visiting the set of DQ, the house looked so much smaller in person than on TV. Ahhh, the wonders of the wide-angle lens!

We snapped a handful of pictures, and I even posed in front of the tree in front of the house, then we got back in the car and left Burbank, knowing it was already after noon, and we still had to meet Pam and Mary Ann to bring them back after dropping off their rental car. Once we were back at the room, I picked up the phone to call their room, but they had stepped out, so I left a message. It was a good thing I had called the front desk, though, as I found out our room had only been booked for 8 nights instead of 9. Yikes! Thankfully, it was only Thursday and not Friday, and there was another room across the courtyard for us for the final night. Of course, that meant packing everything up and moving all of our things over to another room, something we had hoped to avoid until later that night. The worst part was that we didn't have a refrigerator and microwave in this room, so we had to eat our last two frozen dinners (with a side of McDonald's french fries we had picked up on the way in!), then get to packing our things.

It didn't take us long to get to our new room, and I left the door open to watch for Mary Ann and Pam, since they wouldn't know where we had gone. We flipped on the TV but weren't really paying much attention, and after about an hour, I saw Mary Ann near the pool, so I called her over. Pam joined her not long after, and we sat together in the room to talk. They had their room until 4pm, so it was agreed that they could stash their things in our room and we would drop them back off after returning their rental car to wait for the shuttle. No sense making them homeless for 90 minutes. (grins)

The funny part about returning the rental car was that it was literally right across the street from the Chuck-E-Cheese, where we would be meeting Tami in a couple of hours. It was a good thing we came, though, since we had managed to find it, whereas on our other visit we hadn't. The other good thing about location was it was about a quarter-mile from Best Buy, so we stopped there to get our film first, sat in the car and breathed a sigh of relief when our photos all turned out really nice, then headed over to pick up Pam and Mary Ann.

Once we returned to the GNI, we said goodbye to them, hugged and told them to have a safe trip home, then said we'd see them on-line. After that, we didn't waste any time hitting the road again to meet Tami and the triplets, along with Stephen. We arrived a couple of minutes late, but all worked out well. When we got inside, the girls pointed at us and waved and told us where Tami was, so we went to the booth and sat down, chatting for a few minutes and watching the triplets come running up to Tami for more tokens to insert in some of the games. Finally, she suggested that Stephen take them to get some ice cream, and they all disappeared.

After about 15 minutes, Tami started to get concerned, as a mother usually does, and we decided to take a walk around the place to find them. What we learned was that they had eaten their snack and headed back the games again, only this time they were on the other side. Well, this was where the Skee-Ball was, and as a favorite pastime of mine as well as Brandy's, we split $10 and began racking up the points. The girls all came over and saw how many tickets we were getting and were immediately enthralled. First, Megan asked if she could have my tickets, so I told her she could. Then, Lexi wanted some, followed by McKenzie, so I told them to take turns and each game, I let them take the tickets from the dispenser.

About halfway through my tokens, I tried to encourage them to play, but Lexi took my hand and helped me put in the token for another game and said, "You play!" Megan followed that with, "You get more tickets than us!" Well, who was going to argue with THREE 6-year-olds? :-) So, I continued to play. Brandy did as well, until we were finally out of tokens. That was when the girls tried to give us theirs, but we insisted they earn their own tickets. When all was said and done, we had given them close to 200 tickets each. Not bad for neither one of us having played Skee-Ball in a number of years!

They immediately rushed to the counter to trade in their tickets for Chuck-E-Cheese balls made of rubber, and after bouncing them between us for a minute or two, I made the mistake of suggesting that the girls and Stephen engage with us in a game of hide-and-seek. They eagerly agreed, saying they would go first and we had to count to 100 before finding them. We did, but we did it by 10's and immediately set off after them into the maze of tubes and tunnels. I'll tell you one thing, doing something like that certainly lets you know that you're not a kid anymore! I knew my knees and my body would feel this tomorrow and Saturday! Phew! It was a lot of fun, though, and if given the chance, I'd do it again. The girls and Stephen really enjoyed it, and by the end of the time there, they didn't want to say goodbye. Lexi even asked if I could come home with them, which was very cute. I wish I lived closer, so I *could* see them more often. (sigh)

Brandy and I walked out with them to their van, taking some pictures outside as they played with their balls, then Tami loaded them in the van, saying she needed to get dinner for everyone and that Steve was waiting at home. So, after a round of hugs from the girls and a high-five from Stephen, as well as a hug from Tami, Brandy and I waved goodbye and headed back to the car. As we hit 101 again and drove south, a slight feeling of melancholy came over us as we realized we would be leaving tomorrow. We enjoyed ourselves so much, neither one of us really wanted to go home. We even joked about searching for real estate around that area or even a little further north and going in together on it (once I find my "Sully" that is!).

We had to get back and make sure everything was in order for our departure the next morning, and once we got back to the room, we eagerly spread out our pictures and began sorting through them. I found a goodbye note from Mary Ann, and once again hoped they would have safe travels, then settled in to take a look at photos. We paused at 8pm to tune in The Race on Hallmark, going back to the photos during commercial breaks, but we didn't actually get to swapping and trading until after DQ was over and the Hallmark movie was on. As it turned out, that one wasn't all that good, so I flipped some channels until I found Empire Strikes Back on TV. That was enough for Brandy and me, so we grabbed some snacks and settled back to enjoy the rest of the movie.

By the time 11pm rolled around, melancholy had really set in, and it wasn't helped by knowing tonight's episode was the first part of Washita, but we faithfully watched it, sighing and discreetly wiping a tear at the end. No matter how often you watch some things, there's something about them that gets you every time. Even humor when it's included is funnier each time you watch it. After it ended, and knowing we had to be up somewhat early the next morning, we hit the hay.

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Friday and Final Day

The last day was one of sadness mixed with the knowledge that we had a wonderful time out here. We were up around 8 and made sure everything was packed and put away, securely fastened and closed, and thankfully, neither one of us had to sit on any of our luggage to get it closed! (grins) Around 10am, we loaded up the car, and I drove down to check out, turned in my keys, took the receipt and headed back for the car. After taking a couple of pictures, we hit the road.

Our final ride on 101 to 405, and Jamie O'Neil's music provided a wonderful background to the drive. Thankfully, we didn't run into traffic all that much, which surprised me, considering it was Friday, and we made it to the rental car location a few minutes before 11am with a full tank of gas. On that last ride down, the "engine" light had come on, but it was their problem now. Serves them right for trying to short-change me at the start with a compact to replace the intermediate they didn't have!

Returning the car was quick and easy, and we waited for the airport shuttle, which arrived 5 minutes later. After loading our luggage, we pulled out and picked up 3 other passengers on our way to the terminal. My gate at Southwest was first, so the shuttle stopped and the driver set my luggage on the curb. I hugged Brandy and said I'd see her online that night, then we thanked each other for the great week and the company. I stepped off the shuttle and got in line for curbside check-in. Thankfully, it went very smoothly, then I moved to the security line. Again, no problems at all, and I was inside and to the gate within 30 minutes.

I stopped to grab a small bite to eat, not knowing what I would be provided on the plane, and when I came back, a few people were in line for check-in, so I stood in line. About 20 minutes later, check-in began, and 10 minutes after that, I had my boarding pass and was seated. Just 10 more minutes, and they began boarding. I luckily secured a window seat, as the flight was completely booked, and we took off on-time at 1pm. My connection was in Phoenix, which again went smoothly, and I had next no wait before boarding once more to head home to BWI.

As we took off and gained some altitude, I took advantage of the window seat and clear skies to snap a photo or two of the Rockies as we flew over them, finishing off my roll of film, then settled into my seat and opened my book to read. I only had one seat companion on the aisle, but he wasn't all too talkative, so I relaxed for the 5 hour flight home. As we neared BWI, the captain came on the intercom to let us know we had made great time and were about an hour early, so I couldn't wait to land to call my brother to let him know.

Thankfully, my mother had been tracking my flight and knew it was going to be early, so she had called my brother to tell him, and he was waiting at the airport for me, once I had collected my luggage and met him outside. It was about an hour drive back home, and everyone was asleep when I arrived, so I remained quiet and dumped my things in my room, then turned on the computer. What? Don't tell me you expected me to actually go to sleep first? (grins) After all, it was only 9pm PST, so I wasn't at all tired! Besides, I knew I would have loads of e-mail, and I might as well sort through as much as I could that night before exhaustion hit me!

Brandy was online a few minutes after I signed on, so we chatted about our flights, saying how much we both missed LA already, especially the mountains. As time passed, neither one of us wanted to say goodbye to all of the fun we had, but it was nearing 3am (EST) and I knew I should get some sleep. I'd feel it tomorrow, for certain! A few minutes later, we said goodnight and I shut down my computer. As I turned to face my bed, I sighed. It wasn't easy coming back to reality, but the knowledge of the memories I had made and the friends who had shared those special times with me made it all worthwhile. I knew I'd continue to hear from everyone, and I also knew I'd be very busy writing my report and catching up on e-mail and work that had piled up while I was away.

This time spent in LA was definitely one of the best vacations of my life, and I wouldn't change a thing. It was made so much better by the friends (both new and old) who also attended. The events provided a wonderful variety of ways for us to make some very special memories, and this is one experience that will never be forgotten.

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