Friday, November 26, 2004

cK & Shelley L.A. Tour - Part 1

NBC Studios, CBS Studios and Zany Bus Drivers...

It all started at 4:30am. Shelley and I got up crazy early to be on a 5:23am bus that would take us to our first destination - NBC Studios in Burbank. Shelley read online that we had to be there for 7am to guarantee getting tickets for the show.

So with limited sleep from the Thanksgiving bonanza the night before, we get on that bus. The cold morning air was mixed with a deep fog. We traveled the Los Angeles Metro bus, and then tranferred to the Red Line up to the Universal City stop. From there we got on a bus that dropped us off right at the doorstep of NBC Studios.

We arrived at the Guest Relations area at about 6:30am where there were a few people in front of us. While we stood in line, we saw that the doors to the lobby were not open until 8am. So we had to stand there.... and shiver. It was chilly, but the sun was slowly rising. The rays of light mildly warmed our faces, but our legs froze.

Around 8:07am, they open the doors and we get 2 tickets to the Tonight Show, but we are warned that having that ticket does not guarantee admission. We would have to return at 3pm to be in front of the line.

Shelley wanted to see if we could make it CBS Studios and get advanced tickets to the Price Is Right. I was a bit skeptical we would make it in time, but according to the directions that I got from online, it should only take 30 minutes. So as we were waiting for the bus in front of NBC, we met this really nice lady named Mary Grace. She actually got on the bus with us from the Universal City station. Mary got 2 tickets to the Tonight Show only because Chris Issacs was the musical guest, of whom she is a huge fan of. As Shelley and I talked to Mary, we discovered that she was a Los Angeles resident for more than 28 years. She moved to LA around the age of 5 from Chicago. She was a very nice lady who works in a law office doing word processing. We asked her how is it to live in Los Angeles. She responded that she loves it here and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I asked her about earthquakes and whats it like? She told us that they are scary, but they only last a few seconds. Some get violent, but mostof them are just wobbly ones. We told her if she makes it back in time and gets a good spot in the lineup for the Tonight Show, hold a place for us. We would do the same for her if we got a good spot.

A bus arrived we were folling the directions from the internet of hot to get to CBS Studios the fastest. The bus driver that we were talking to said not to follow those instructions, and that he would guide us to the fastest way there. He was a real nice guy, probably one of the coolest bus drivers I've ever met. He guided us to a bus stop and told us to cross the street, then wait for a particular bus and get on it. So we got off the bus and went to the intersection and was about to cross the street. That same bus driver was already passed the intersection stopped the bus and jumped out signalling and shouting at us to cross the OTHER way! We would have missed our bus if it wasn't for him. That was insanely nice of him to do that.

So, we eventually found our way to 7800 Beverly Blvd around 9am to where the studios are located. The security there told us that the ticket booth is closed today, and to return on Monday.

The next objective was to head to an appointment for 11:30am. We got there and then stopped to have something to eat at Boston Market outside the Westside Pavillion Mall. From there we went to Culver City so I could pick up a check. Then, we headed back to NBC Studios only to arrive too late. We arrived there around 4:30pm. So we walked up and saw the Warner Brothers lot beside it.

I was looking for the closest Bank of America to cash my check. I was directed by a gas station attendant that if I kept going up the street he pointed at, I'd find one at the end. So Shelley and I did. The walk seemed endless. The dusky sky became to night as we finally arrived at the bank. We were greeted by a nice security guard in the front as we walked into a very empty bank. This bank was huge, yet it seemed like there was only 3 people in there working. I realized that Shelley and I could possibly look like a Bonnie & Clyde upon our entrance. California IS the bank heist capital of the world. I only guessed that the rest of employees were off for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday weekend.

Tired and exhausted, we hopped on a bus and headed for home. The bus we got on took us right into downtown LA. Shelley and I wandered around LA looking for my Wilshire bus route. It was cold, and we didn't want to keep walking around too much. We stumbled across Pershing Square. While we walked in, we discovered that there was actually outdoor ice skating going on. ICE SKATING? In downtown Los Angeles? Yes..its true!

We were a little hungry and stopped in a Subway restaurant and got a bite to eat. Outside was our bus route and we found our way home.

Tonight Show Tickets	Tonight Show Sign	Friendly Bus Driver
cK and Shelley on Bus	Shelley at CBS Gate	Warner Bros. Gate
Universal City	Warner Bros Mural	Pershing Square