Family Vacation
Well, maybe this wasn't exactly a family vacation, but sometimes it feels like family around the ol' Ventana Photography Studio. We've all been working really hard over the past few months so we decided to pack up the station wagon and head to LA for a little rest and relaxation. Now, you're probably wondering why anyone would go to LA to relax, but Lauren and Jessie came up with some fun stuff to do, so we went for it.
Our first stop was at the Standard on the Sunset Strip. Here's the view from my room.
The hotel is actually not that glamorous, but it's fun because everybody is in "the biz." There's usually some minor star in the lobby hanging out so you never know who you're going to see. Here's Jen and Lauren hanging out in the downstairs restaurant.
The Standard is right across the street from Carney's, a classic old hot dog stand on the Strip. So of course we had to head over for a hot dog and beers.
Then it was off to the filming of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Since we're VIP's, we were invited into the Green Room. Now, the Jimmy Kimmel show Green Room is not your ordinary Green Room; it's set up like a club with pool tables and a bar. Unfortunately, the bar only serves beer and wine. It used to be a full bar, but things got too out of hand. Bummer.
To get in, you have to go through a parking lot and then down an alley into a dingy hallway. It's all very speak easy style to get in the door.
Cameras are forbidden in the Green Room, but I went for it anyhow. A security guy told me to stop shooting, but I said that I was just messing around. I pointed to my camera and said, "Besides, I don't even have a flash." So he was cool with that. What he didn't know was that I had my super-duper low-light special lens (that's the official technical term) so I still got the shot.
The show itself was great. I have to say it was really interesting watching the process of creating the show. Everyone has a job that is critical to its success. Any one person can totally screw it up - from the host to the person holding the cue cards to the warm up guy that gets the audience riled up. It was definitely a great observational learning experience in successful teamwork. And we got to see Howie Mandel (I've been waiting since 1988 to see him) and the hot blonde "it" girl of the moment (Stacy Keibler) from Dancing with the Stars. There was also the rap group Three Six Mafia that I kept calling 2 Live Crew since I didn't know who they were anyhow. (I'm not much of a rap fan.)
The studio was across the street from the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards will be held later this week. We went out and checked out the activity then strolled over to Grauman's Chinese Theater. I have to admit it was more fun than I thought it would be looking at all the hands and feet of famous and not so famous people.
Next it was off to AOC restaurant not too far from the Grove in Hollywood. What can I say? Amazing food - tapas style. The dates wrapped with bacon were truly amazing. Everything was sort of French/Mediteranean style. Excellent service too. I didn't bother to count all the wines that they had available by the glass, but there were a lot.
Here's the gang of three waiting for a cab: Jennifer, Jessie and Lauren.
Finally, we ended up the night at the Standard bar. Everyone was dancing and having a good ol' time celebrating Fat Tuesday. Lots of great people watching too.
The next day, we headed over to Universal Studios for the full tourist tour. We almost didn't get in since Jessie barely passed the height test.
And then there was the shark incident...
And the plane crash. (But we didn't let a little thing like a downed 747 get in our way.)
Finally, it was one last photo opp and then we headed on home.
John
Our first stop was at the Standard on the Sunset Strip. Here's the view from my room.
The hotel is actually not that glamorous, but it's fun because everybody is in "the biz." There's usually some minor star in the lobby hanging out so you never know who you're going to see. Here's Jen and Lauren hanging out in the downstairs restaurant.
The Standard is right across the street from Carney's, a classic old hot dog stand on the Strip. So of course we had to head over for a hot dog and beers.
Then it was off to the filming of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Since we're VIP's, we were invited into the Green Room. Now, the Jimmy Kimmel show Green Room is not your ordinary Green Room; it's set up like a club with pool tables and a bar. Unfortunately, the bar only serves beer and wine. It used to be a full bar, but things got too out of hand. Bummer.
To get in, you have to go through a parking lot and then down an alley into a dingy hallway. It's all very speak easy style to get in the door.
Cameras are forbidden in the Green Room, but I went for it anyhow. A security guy told me to stop shooting, but I said that I was just messing around. I pointed to my camera and said, "Besides, I don't even have a flash." So he was cool with that. What he didn't know was that I had my super-duper low-light special lens (that's the official technical term) so I still got the shot.
The show itself was great. I have to say it was really interesting watching the process of creating the show. Everyone has a job that is critical to its success. Any one person can totally screw it up - from the host to the person holding the cue cards to the warm up guy that gets the audience riled up. It was definitely a great observational learning experience in successful teamwork. And we got to see Howie Mandel (I've been waiting since 1988 to see him) and the hot blonde "it" girl of the moment (Stacy Keibler) from Dancing with the Stars. There was also the rap group Three Six Mafia that I kept calling 2 Live Crew since I didn't know who they were anyhow. (I'm not much of a rap fan.)
The studio was across the street from the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards will be held later this week. We went out and checked out the activity then strolled over to Grauman's Chinese Theater. I have to admit it was more fun than I thought it would be looking at all the hands and feet of famous and not so famous people.
Next it was off to AOC restaurant not too far from the Grove in Hollywood. What can I say? Amazing food - tapas style. The dates wrapped with bacon were truly amazing. Everything was sort of French/Mediteranean style. Excellent service too. I didn't bother to count all the wines that they had available by the glass, but there were a lot.
Here's the gang of three waiting for a cab: Jennifer, Jessie and Lauren.
Finally, we ended up the night at the Standard bar. Everyone was dancing and having a good ol' time celebrating Fat Tuesday. Lots of great people watching too.
The next day, we headed over to Universal Studios for the full tourist tour. We almost didn't get in since Jessie barely passed the height test.
And then there was the shark incident...
And the plane crash. (But we didn't let a little thing like a downed 747 get in our way.)
Finally, it was one last photo opp and then we headed on home.
John
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