Small Town Life In Big L.A.

Goodbye Wisteria Lane

 Does this house look familiar? To those that grew up in my generation it's the house where Wally and Beaver grew up in "Leave It To Beaver". For those that are fans of the recent show "Desperate Housewives" it was part of the neighborhood on Wisteria Lane.

We never watched D.H. but enjoyed our tour of the homes of Wisteria Lane while visiting the lot at Universal Studios. It was especially fun taking the tour while they were filming. Here are the rest of the homes on the street....

 

 This is also the "Harvey" house where Jimmy Stewart starred in the movie by the same name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It looks like the "perfect neighborhood" doesn't it?

P.S. We had the pleasure of meeting Jerry Matthers, "Beaver", several years ago. We ran into him at Disneyland and had a nice conversation. Also ran into "Wally" on Ventura Blvd.

 

 

Fun at the L.A. KING'S Hockey Game

The STAPLE'S CENTER, in the heart of downtown L.A. is home to the L.A. Kings games.

We had the pleasure of being treated to this game and enjoying a private box with our friends. What a view!

Our box had 2 rows of cushy "movie" seating, a table with stools where you could eat and watch the game, and a living room area. What a treat!

Upon entering we were greeted with an array of food...cookies & brownies...

Chips, veggies, and dips....

Buffalo wings & potstickers...

And my fave, a good 'ole dog with all the fixins.

It was exciting as loud dance music filled the house when the teams came out to skate for us.

It was a fast moving game and we enjoyed the theatrics and music. It was especially fun when the Kings would make a goal and everyone got up and danced. What a good time we had!

Merry Grinchmas From Universal Studios

We have thoroughly enjoyed our passes to Universal this year. Where else can you meet the Grinch and feel like you are a part of Whoville? This giant tree changed colors before our eyes while all the Who characters serenaded us.

The latest in Grinch fashion. I would definitely wear this.

And there he is! The Grinch himself! His little dog was AMAZING!

Isn't this a beautiful scene!

Newscaster Fritz Coleman getting ready to go on the air.

You never know who you might run into at Universal!

Knock! Knock!

I LOVE Universal Studios!!!

Opening Day at the LA County Fair...2011

On Labor Day we piled in the van, got a Mc Donald's breakfast and headed for the fair. There are so many colorful food booths there selling eveything from fried twinkies to chicken sandwiches on Krispy Kreme donuts instead of rolls.

Our first stop was the shopping halls. My sister and I love to watch the demos. We fell for this one.

There's nothing like a good sit down cookware demo...especially when you get to sample the food.

Good looking turkey legs.

Here's the daytime view from the sky tram.

It's always fun to see who gets the ribbons.

Glad we were able to split this huge Blooming Onion four ways.

Sky tram view at dusk...

The Dinasour Pavillion was cool and well done.

Taking Time to Smell The Roses at the Huntington Gardens

Los Angeles is blessed with some beautiful gardens. The Huntington Gardens are in San Marino, about 30 minutes from Chatsworth. I love the columns and architecture here. Ana, Sylvia, and I had a great day!

And so did the guys! Here they are posing!

The famous fountain...

A feast for the eyes!

With so much going on in world news and our personal lives it was most enjoyable to "step away" and take some time to smell the roses. It is good for the soul.

We had a delicious lunch with a view on the patio of the Chinese garden. The ice cold Jasmine Tea refreshed us.

We all enjoyed each others company and left thankful to God for the beauty of His creation.

A Day At Universal Studios

Last Monday was the perfect day to go to Universal. It was sunny, on the cool side, and no lines. I went with out of town friends recently but didn't get to see all of the attractions. It was my husbands first time in 20 years. We had a fantastic day! We enjoyed seeing all of the costumed characters that showed up throughout the day.

Universal is on top of a mountain. There is an upper lot and a lower lot each with their own attractions. To get to the lower lot you need to ride a series of very steep escalators. While you are riding you get to listen to the music from their movies and take in a spectacular view.

Here's a view of the escalators from the bottom.

This was our first time on the Jurassic Park ride. It is an indoor/ outdoor roller coaster and you will get splashed. Very fun!

Now for The Mummy ride... if you dare. If you are wearing a hat you might want to take it off because you may lose it. The ride starts out entering the dark mummy cave very slowly. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN it turns into a whiplashing high speed roller coaster. You scream as you go up, down, sideways and then SUDDENLY STOP. There's a 2 second pause and then its BACKWARD, high speed, to the entrance. WHEW!...Yes, I would do it again.

We encountered this fellow on the way out.

These two were walking around just outside the ride. They were fascinating, especially their eyes. The guy had fun playing with my hair while the pics were taken.

I love the view of the studios from up here. Wonder how many stars are down there right now and what they are filming.

The Waterworld Show was amazing!!!

Man's best friend.

Ran into Dracula outside The House Of Horrors. Glad I was wearing a scarf!

How cute!

It's SHREK!

Our last ride of the day turned out to be one of the best. The Simpson ride was part roller coaster, part floating in space in the Simpson world. I don't know how they do it. But as Arnie, in the Terminator says, "I'll be back!"

The Ronald Reagan Library at Christmas

We are so fortunate to live near the Reagan Library. Simi Valley is next door to our home town of Chatsworth. Here is the view as you ride up the mountain to the library.

All along the way up there are banners of the former presidents.

The vistas from the library are spectacular!

A gingerbread White House.

You can actually get on Air Force One.

Just like old friends.

Here's the view from one of the restaurants.

There were dozens of trees decorated for various time periods.

This was my personal favorite.

This White House replica was awesome!

A piece of the Berlin Wall.

What an enjoyable visit this was!

The "Happiest Place On Earth" At "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

The Castle

The Monday before Christmas we did something we have not done in the last 10 years, or more...We went to DISNEYLAND for Christmas. Since we opened our store in 2000 we have just not been able to go as Christmas is such a busy season for us. This year the Lord has provided such good help for us. We had the day off, we had the energy, and so we went!

New Orleans Dancers Right In Front Of Us

It was an overcast day and the park was packed. We had a great time nonetheless. The music and costumes were amazing!

Santa In The Christmas Parade

We arrived just in time for the Christmas Parade. It was spectacular. We saw it a second time at night.

The Princess Float

One of my favorite floats had Cinderella & the prince, beauty & the beast, etc.

Mickey Gingerbread

Anyone who knows me, knows I love food pics and Disneyland did not disappoint!

We couldn't get a seat for dinner at The Blue Bayou, our favorite, so we had dinner outside the Park. When we got back the crowds had thinned out a bit so we got on some rides. The Haunted House was our fave, just like being in the Tim Burton cartoon.

Then we came upon Splash Mountain. I was seated in the very front, Dale behind me. We both got TOTALLY DRENCHED!!! Ugh! Thus ended a memorable & fun Christmas escape.