2015 October LA, MSPA Conferences and Skyler Visit

The MSPA Conference this year was in LA area, as well as the Shoppers Conference.  An opportunity for nicer weather, relaxation, fun in the sun and a chance to see Skyler, our 8 year old grandson.   

We flew into Burbank on Sunday, Oct 11th, and drove to our hotel in Sherman Oaks where we were staying for a couple days before checking in for the conference in Universal City.  After checking in at the Hampton Inn, we drove to Santa Clarita to go to the Saugus Café, which was where Doug’s grandmother had worked for many years.  It has a lot of history in the area.  It originally opened in 1897 and is still in business today.  We had a great lunch, and it was fun to look at the old pictures on the wall and read about the history of the café.   After lunch we took a drive and stopped at Glen Haven Cemetery where Doug’s mom was buried.  We also saw other family headstones while we were there.  It was very hot (102) so the drive was nice, but walking around was a little uncomfortable.

This year The MSPA Conference this year was in LA area, as well as the Shoppers Conference.  An opportunity for nicer weather, relaxation, fun in the sun and a chance to see Skyler, our 8 year old grandson. On Monday we headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  We both enjoyed spending time reading the history of Reagan’s presidency, and his personal life.  He is buried on the grounds also, just a few yards outside the building.  The Republican Debates had been held there the previous month so it was interesting to see and hear how they set that up on the upper level of the Library.    

Monday evening we went to Bob’s Big Boy, always a must when we are in town. 

Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel and headed to Universal City where the first conference was to be held.  We checked into the Universal Hilton.  Doug had a meeting early afternoon so I had time to myself.   Of course I headed to the pool.   Later, I went over to the Universal CityWalk to check it out.   It is located next to Universal Studios, and has shops and restaurants, live entertainment, etc.   It's a fun place to check out.

On Wednesday I took a drive to Hollywood and walked around the Walk of Fame and the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.  There was an IMAX showing the movie “The Wire” in 3d so I stayed for that.  I loved the film, and seeing it in 3D was awesome.    That evening Doug and I went back to Universal CityWalk for dinner at Tony Roma's (another fav which is no longer in Washington).

Thursday I drove up to Griffith Park Observatory.  It is located in Griffith Park, on beautiful grounds, with beautiful views of  a hills all around.  You can see the famed "Hollywood" sign while there. The only thing making it better would be to come in the evening or during a special astronomical event.  That evening the conference social event was a Universal Backstage tour with dinner. They took us on the tram around the lot and through several of the special effects areas including  "Fast and Furious Super Charged" and "Jurassic Park".  Then we ended up at one of the private party rooms on the site for a catered dinner and their annual awards ceremony.

Friday morning we checked out of the hotel and started our drive to Anaheim for the second conference.  We met up with Bev Thornton at a Denny’s for breakfast that was along the way.  We checked into the Embassy Suites in Anaheim and I left to go pick up Skyler at his house in Trabuco Canyon.  Once we got back to the hotel Skyler and I went swimming, rested a little, then we went to Downtown Disney.  There were a lot of people, but it was fun to walk through the area. Skyler made his own remote control race car at Ridemakerz , then we ate dinner at the Rain Forest Café which Skyler had never been to.  We had a lot of fun and both were tired once we made it back to the hotel.  

Saturday Skyler and I went to the Discovery Cube ScienceCenter.  What a great place for an 8 year old!  There were lots of interactive things to do, including the dinosaur fossil find area, a wind tunnel, the Nascar race car section, and because it was close to Halloween there was a spook house.

That evening the conference social event was Pirate's DinnerAdventure.  We had a lot of fun watching the interactive show which included dinner.  

Sunday was time to go home.   After checking out we took Skyler to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, then headed to the airport.  We met up with Heather at a Starbucks close to the airport, and were able to meet Patrick for the first time.    Hugs and kisses goodbye, and we were on our way home. 

Nashville- Wedding, family and fun September 30 - October 4, 2015

Brittany and Isaac are getting married! This is a great opportunity to see family and also make a trip back to Nashville. Doug had never been, and ever since my "Traveling Sisters" adventure in 2013 I vowed I would take him there.

 

We arrived in Nashville on Wednesday September 30th around 4pm.  We were staying in Smyrna at the Hampton Inn, so we headed to check in.   Carol and Mike were on our same flight, however they were staying in Franklin at a VRBO so we parted at the airport with plans to hook up in the morning.  Ruth and Earl were busy helping with wedding plans so we checked in quickly, but didn't plan to get together with them until Thursday.

After checking in we headed to downtown Nashville to get some dinner and see some of the Honky Tonks.  The weather was colder than expected and actually a little rainy (thanks Joaquin!).  We found a place to park and started walking down the Honky Tonk strip.  We should have done our homework, because we ended up at Tequila Cowboy which was not that good.  I guess we liked the name.  They did have a live band and it was better than the food.  We also stopped in a couple shops and other Honky Tonks on our way back to our car.

Thursday we met up with Carol and Mike on a walking tour which Carol and I had been on previously and enjoyed immensely.  Although we had experienced it before, we really wanted the guys to also so they could get some of the rich history of Nashville. The weather held out and we enjoyed the tour, even the second time around.  I highly recommend it to anyone coming to Nashville. Bill DeMain's Walkin' Nashville is very informative, and is he is happy to answer questions.  He will also send an email later with all the things referred to (and more!) on the tour. After the tour we met up with our cousin Karen and hubby Ron at Arnold's Country Kitchen which Carol had found online.  It was down home country cooking, was very busy and the food was great! It was fun to catch up with Karen, which was a pleasant surprise.  She had seen a Facebook post from the night before and IM,d that she was in town too so we arranged to meet.

Thursday evening was the wedding rehearsal which we didn't go to, but we were invited to meet up with the wedding party and family for dinner at one of the churches in the area. 
   They served chili and cornbread, baked potato bar and salad and few different desserts. It was fun to see all of Ruth's family who had come to their youngest sibling' wedding.

Friday we stayed around the hotel as it was raining hard, and Doug had work to do. I went up to the local mall area to look around, went swimming for awhile.  That evening we headed to World Outreach Church where the wedding was to be. Although originally the wedding was outdoors, they had changed that and had the ceremony in the courtyard, and the reception inside.  The wedding was great, bride and groom and the whole party looked amazing! Beautiful.  A fun touch were the tennis shoes, then sunglasses that the whole party wore.  

The reception was fun with all the kids getting into the dancing and just having fun, and the buffet style dinner.  Jon, Joyce and all their family were there also.  They drove up from Augusta and were planning to leave in the morning. The boys and kids decided to stay when they realized there was to be a family party Saturday night at the house that Ruth and family had rented for the weekend. Jon and Joyce had a previous commitment and couldn't stay.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to the Pancake Pantry for breakfast with Mike and Carol and Ruth and Earl.  Family owned, it has a rich history and is a must for anyone visiting the area. Typically there is a line but we were able to get there early enough that we didn't have to wait too long. Afterward we drove to the Opryland Hotel and walked around the atrium area which is huge with several different wings, each with stores and restaurants. We met up with Carol and Phil at the Grand Ole Opry for a concert with the Oakridge Boys. Their concert was wonderful, and their rendition of the gospel song "l love to tell the story" was very touching.

Saturday evening was the family party at the house Ruth and family rented.  The house was the perfect setup for gatherings, with a big kitchen, dining area and huge game room / gym on the second level. Additionally there were several bedrooms on both floors.  A pool outside would have been inviting had it not been so stormy. 

Sunday morning we went for a drive and had breakfast at the Loveless Cafe, which is an iconic place. We waited quite awhile for breakfast, but it was worth the wait.  Later we met up with Ruth and Earl in Franklin for a Civil War tour. There are several choices, but because we had limited time we went on the Carter House tour which was where the bloodiest Civil War battle started. It was solemn being on those grounds, and all the history that it held.  Afterward we went for coffee and visited for awhile before we left for the airport.

Short trip, rainy weather, family, and lots of fun!  Will come back someday after we retire and time permits.