Picture Time: THANKSGIVING!

Let me give you what I have come up with as an (almost) fool-proof equation for a successful, happy and memorable Thanksgiving away from family.

1 part SLEEP IN + 2 parts OLD FRIENDS + 8 parts DELICIOUS FOOD + 1 part BEAUTIFUL WEATHER - 11 parts CURRENT COWORKERS = HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ME!

For my turkey day this year, I was invited to have dinner with my old friends, Karen and Patrick McDonough, who live in Long Beach, California. I met Karen at Marietta Memorial Hospital in Marietta, Ohio when I was a Mormon missionary in 1994. Each week, as missionaries, we did 8-12 hours of community service at hospital, and through our time there, we all became friends with Karen and some of the other staff. Karen's husband, Patrick, was president of Marietta College at the time...and in 1995, they left Marietta for Long Beach - as Patrick was hired into the Cal State System...and they have been here ever since. Probably because of our love of theater and probably because of our appreciation for good humor, Karen and I have kept in touch loosely over the years. And when I found out WILLY WONKA was playing the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, about 12 miles from their home, I had to invite them to the show! And they, in turn, invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them! We were joined by their son, Jeffrey, who lives in Hollywood and writes scores for movie and TV (who I could've talked to all night about his work!) and his girlfriend, Madeleine who is an actress who lives in Burbank (and had great stories about some commercial shoots she has been on recently!)

It was a very low key affair...and it was SO nice to see them again and talk to them about life and the past 11 years or so! Dinner was DELICIOUS...the Broncos lost but it was worth it to watch it on their beautiful HD TV...and we got to watch a cool short film Jeffrey recently scored. And to top it all off, the next night, Karen and Patrick came to see Willy Wonka with a couple of their friends....and I'm PRETTY sure at one point, I heard Karen clapping along and singing the Oompa Loompa songs with us!

A HUGE thanks to the McDonough's for including me in your Thanksgiving...and for staying in touch all these years! Old friends have been SUCH a huge blessing on this leg of the tour for me...and my day with you all was a HIGHLIGHT of those visits!

CIAO!
G

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! This is Karen and I testing my camera and the mantel and making sure we could get the picture we wanted before we called the others in. We both look slightly shocked and curious about if it was working. And it was!

Here is the whole Turkey Crew! L-R: Jeffrey, Madeleine, ME, Patrick and Karen!

Picture Time: PASADENA!

So I recovered from my party day at Disneyland...and I figured what BETTER WAY to kick off day 2 of freedom than to hop up and take another cast member to the airport! SO - on Tuesday at 8am or so, Steve and I loaded into the van for another fun run to LAX. Steve headed off to Las Vegas for a couple of days, and I headed back to the hotel to plan my next couple of days!

One of my friends from DC that lives out here now, Todd Cranney, had been in touch previously...and we had talked about doing something on this same day! But I was also trying to figure out how to get up to the Pasadena/Burbank area to see Sister Act the musical at Pasadena Playhouse AND hang out with my buddy, David Kopp. Well, LO AND BEHOLD, Todd calls and says he's driving up I-5 from San Diego on his way to Burbank for a meeting with his boss. Well, as fortune would have it, our hotel sat ON I-5, basically...and so Todd said he would stop and pick me up and I could ride up to Burbank with him so we could spend some time together catching up. The HORRIBLE part about the trip is that it was 2 days before Thanksgiving, and traffic was BRUTAL! I think it took Todd a total of 3+ hours to get to the meeting. The GREAT part about the trip is that the traffic was brutal! It gave us more time to shoot the bull and catch each other up on what is going on in life. Todd just finished working on Governor Schwarzenegger's campaign...and is trying to plot out the next step in his life. And for those of you who know Todd, let me just tell you that he is the EXACT same as he was when he was in DC with all of us. "Good hell......" is ALL Cranney - and I heard it more than once in our few hours hanging out. While Todd went to his meeting, I hung out at the Burbank shopping mall and then Todd and I went to Pasadena and had Jamba Juice and talked some more and then he dropped me at Dave's and he was gone! THANKS, Todd! It was great to see you!

As I was walking IN to Dave's house, he was walking OUT to a meeting in LA...but we were meeting back at his place after our plans...so no biggie. Dave lives about 4 blocks from the Pasadena Playhouse where I went to see SISTER ACT the musical. Here's what I have to say about the overall experience: You would THINK it was a good idea...and then somewhere in the middle of the 2 1/2 EXCRUCIATING hours, you realize EVERYONE was wrong about it being a good idea. It's painful...and of the entire show, I am going to be generous and say 20% of it was any kind of good with substance and possibility. The jokes were VERY sub-par-sit-com-ish, the music was for the most part unforgettable and EXTREMELY hokey. And half of the characters were really trying to be PEOPLE...while the other half were directed to be CARTOONS of what we think pimps and killers and nuns and priests are. It was all very strange...scoring a LOW 4 on the MASE....and I am SO happy I saw it! SERIOUSLY. I love live theater so much that seeing things on THIS level that are trainwrecks make it fun. And if it NEVER makes it to Broadway, I can always say, 'I saw it when.....'

The rest of my time in Pasadena was awesome. The next day Dave and I went to see the FIRST showing of 'For Your Consideration' at his local movie theater...and although it was my least favorite of the Christopher Guest mockumentary line of movies, I still enjoyed myself. Well worth the visit to the movie theater. At lunch, I met up with Jonathan Nessla - from the Barbie Live Tour last year. He lives in Burbank, and he came over to Pasadena to have lunch and catch up. He's doing well and said HELLO to anyone I should say HEY to.

Then instead of heading back down to my hotel, Dave and I hung around his place, watched funny videos on YouTube and then later that night, went to meet his sister, Carrie and a group of her friends at a dive bar in the Silver Lake area of LA called SMOG CUTTERS. No real way to accurately describe the bar. Um - it's tiny...and it's owned and run by these 2 ladies from Thailand. There is a pool table when you first walk in, and then straight behind it, the bar. And on the wall opposite the bar, there is a karaoke machine and TV - which is why we were here. But it's so WEIRD - because when it comes down to it, you spend your time doing karaoke to the wall! But no one seemed to mind...and I had a great time watching the local flair and talking to all of Carrie's friends. It was a lot of fun!

Pasadena ended with a bang...when Dave went COMPLETELY above and beyond his duties as a friend and drove me back down to Cerritos to the Holiday Inn Select. It was a FULL couple of days in the Pasadena area with Dave...and as always, it was a LOT of fun to hang out with him and laugh at all of the stupid things we found to laugh at.

I'll keep you posted on what I hear about the outcome of Sister Act. I'm sure you'll be waiting...wondering.....

G

So at one end of the bar at Smog Cutters, when we walked in, there was this dude passed OUT the entire time I was there. So of COURSE everyone started getting pictures with him. Top L: Me in the background with Carrie's friend, Elissa's arm pointing. Top R: Carrie on the Left, Elissa on the Right, Bar Dude in the middle. Bottom: Carrie's friend Hugh strikes a pose.

Later on, after Dave and I had left, Elissa got a picture with Bar Guy...awake.

Hugh and I deep in conversation about something pretty serious, probably.

Dave and Elissa rock it OUT, Thailand-style, to the karaoke HITS! The 2nd picture was taken with Elissa's camera...and it has SUCH a cool effect to it...so I included it here.

Dave, Carrie and I muggin' for the camera.

Again. But this time, a bit more perplexed, it seems. Again - taken with Elissa's camera.

Dave tries to re-create what he remembers of my Augustus Gloop dance, from when he saw the show in Thousand Oaks 3 weeks ago.

Picture Time: DISNEYLAND!

So our first FULL day in Cerritos was a mad-dash to freedom and fun for everyone. My mad dash started with a run to LAX for company member Katie...who was heading home to Iowa for a few days. We left the hotel at 4:15am. That's right. A.M. Don't be jealous. And then when I got back to the hotel, I COULDN'T SLEEP! Partly because I was awake...but also partly because in just a few short hours, I was taking the hotel shuttle straight down the I-5 to DISNEYLAND! And to make the trip even better, I was meeting up with one of my DEAREST friends from back in DC....Miss Darci Nelson! But wait - even better than spending the DAY at the Happiest Place On Earth with Darci is spending the day there with her family. And by saying FAMILY....please don't FOOL yourself into thinking a couple of siblings, some nieces and nephews and a parent or two. I'm saying START with Darci and her 8 siblings - mix in her 2 nephews - and her parents...and then start throwing in cousins, aunts, uncles, and a whole slew of other relative-types...and you end up with the 60+ that we had with our group that day! It was an IMPRESSIVE feat of coordination and planning....keeping everyone accounted for and in contact and fed and happy. An amazing job! And I think we only SERIOUSLY thought we lost someone like ONCE the whole day. Not too shabby....

Disneyland was BUSY and a blast. The holidays are in FULL swing all over the park - and the decorations are beautiful. All the CLASSIC rides were up and running except the Matterhorn...and due to the magic of Fast Pass, we had a SHORT wait on some rides with long lines! I did NOT get to go on the Peter Pan ride for little kids that I love....ran out of time...but did pretty much everything else I was hoping to do. I even saw the holiday parade through Main Street USA twice, somehow. And by the time the fireworks were done at 9:45pm, I was ready to head for the shuttle area and back to the hotel. Having been UP since 4am, I figured I earned it!

A HUGE thanks to the Nelson Clan for letting me invade the ranks and join their 'Nelson For A Day' program. I had a BALL!

Thanks for your patience in me getting caught up on these blog entries. I PROMISE we're almost there.

G

Darci and her sister, Katherine, as we were getting started in the morning.

L: Yo-ho-ho and a Boat Full of Nelsons on the Pirates of the Carribbean. R: This MIGHT be one of my most favorite pictures I snapped all day. This is on the Indiana Jones ride...and it is Darci's sister and her husband...and it is PURE candid reaction to the ride. Doesn't get ANY better than that, people.

I was standing between Disneyland and the California Adventure park and this family walked by with this little girl in her BEST Princess garb. So I KNEW it had to be color-accented.

Goofy gets the California Adventure sign decorated for the holidays.

More of California Adventure and it's holiday decorations.

A Case Of The Unfortunates that I saw wandering around California Adventure. I am getting QUICK on the draw with this camera!

A couple of shots from the AFTERNOON parade. And I'm here to tell you this...if I had had something LARGE and SOLID to THROW at Ariel, I would've. She is was the most ANNOYING thing in the parade. And she was HIGH up on that float...so knocking her off would've done some SERIOUS damage! There is a fine, fine line between 'cutsie' and 'annoying as hell'. She crossed it.

A look at Sleeping Beauty's castle as the sun sets over Disneyland.

The Matterhorn. Closed due to; Recent Rider Death. Ew.

Main Street Disney all decked out in it's holiday finest.

A closer look at some of the holiday decorations blanketing the park.

Darci and I camped on the side of the road, waiting for the NIGHT PARADE to kick off.

Some familiar, albeit BLURRY, faces from the Holiday Parade.

Darci and her nephews, Sam, basking in their post-parade-glow of excitement and wonder. Atleast Darci is.

L: Darci and I again...this time after the AMAZING fireworks display. R: Darci and some of her many siblings.

So for the holidays, they shoot of an amazing HOLIDAY fireworks display over both the Castle AND Small World. But the KEY is sitting by Small World...because at the end of the FIREWORKS, they turn on these machines that create SNOW. In all actuality, it's soapy-foamy-type-stuff....but look at it. For all intents and purposes, it's a full on SNOW STORM in California. And they are pumping out the Christmas music...and people were dancing in the street....OF COURSE it's the happiest place on earth. Because they do things like THIS! Oh yeah - and that picture on the LEFT is of Small World all lit up.

Darci's brother, Jack (LEFT) and his cousin or uncle or grandfather or something...with some of the "SNOW" piled up on their heads! The snow storm was a hit with everyone...young and old!

Picture Time: MAN OF LA MANCHA

So our show in Poway (San Diego) wrapped up and I'm happy to report that it was a REALLY great show. Everything just worked. And the audience loved the show. And when we were done, we were all staring at 5 1/2 days OFF for Thanksgiving! I think that energy had a LOT to do with the success of the show. But I may be way off base.

Anyway - we left Poway and headed to Cerritos...where we would spend the next week. It worked out as we were checking in to the Holiday Inn Select in Cerritos, the national touring company of Phoenix Entertainment's MAN OF LA MANCHA was checking out...and Eric, Roe and Rachel in our cast had friends in the LaMancha cast! They were heading over to the Cerritos Performing Arts Center where we would also be performing later in the week. Melanie, in the cast and friends of the our 3, got us some tickets to see their Sunday matinee, and so we headed over and saw the show.

I'll tell you right now that MoL is probably my MOST favorite stage show. Ever. So I'm always excited and a little bit worried to see a production of it. The Phoenix production has a VERY beautiful set and lighting and costumes...and the ensemble sounded and looked AMAZING. I was happy about it all. But the emotional core is Don Quixote...and the dude donning the armor in this production just didn't do it for me. PLUS - I'm being really honest here - his "Impossible Dream" was quite possibly one of the worst renditions of the song I've ever heard. Melanie played the Innkeepers Wife, Maria, and was a delight in the role. Eddie (another friend of the crew) was a Muleteer and VERY creepy and thuggish...in a way the role was meant to be played. And Roe's friend, Tess, was Aldonza/Dulcinea and sounded GREAT in the role - even though she had complained of not feeling well!

A HUGE thanks to Melanie for the tickets and to the REST of the cast of La Mancha for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon in Cerritos.

CIAO!

G

L: On the shuttle to the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, I caught Roe and Rachel doing their THING...and it made me laugh...so I captured it on film. R: Then I got them in a posed and fine looking picture.

Eric grins through the glare of the sun while we're on the shuttle.

Outside the Cerritos PAC, Roe, Rachel and Eric express their anger and dismay at the WONKA sign - since NONE of us are in the advertising pictures. (The original cast from the original Kennedy Center run is still in a lot of the advertising....)

Roe posses for her color accented CLOSE UP during intermission...with the flower she stole from the Sheraton Hotel. I mean BORROWED.

WONKA MEETS IN LA MANCHA! L: Eric, Melanie, Eddie, Roe and Rachel strike a pose outside TGIF. R: Tess, Roe and Melanie grab a quick picture before saying GOOD BYE!

Picture Time: SAN DIEGO

***Once again, the internet is conspiring against me. With the unforunate connection we have here in Stockton, it took me about 10 minutes PER PICTURE below to upload. This being the case, I was NOT able to get to Disneyland, Thanksgiving or the REST of Cerritos.

Between shows on Tuesday will hopefully allow me to do some more. ENJOY this....

So we're going back a week or so here. After Lancaster...which was a blink...we headed way South to do a show in Poway, CA. Poway is about 15 miles outside of San Diego...and although we only had about 36-40 hours on the schedule there, I intended to make the most of it all!

A good friend of mine from DC, Tom Benson, recently moved to the OC...and because he was going to be home the next weekend when we were in Cerritos, he decided to come down and party it UP in San Diego with me. It was great to hang out with Tom. We went to see 'The Wiz' at La Jolla Playhouse (which was a fun show...a little uneven in some categories...but ultimately pretty cool to see....), went to dinner with an old Boise roommate of mine, Gabe Beal and his friends (who all live in La Jolla now), spent all day Saturday kicking around San Diego and seeing the sights, Tom came to the show in Poway, and then we drove up to his place in Newport Beach and had dinner with another DC friend, Alyssa Whitby and her boyfriend, John.

It has been awhile since I've had a chance to hang out with Tom, and we had such a great time doing the San Diego scene. PLUS - Tom is one of my friends that enjoys food as much, if not more, than I do...so getting out and eating and eating WELL is always a good time with him. We FINALLY had a chance to get the fried macaroni and cheese at TGIF that we've been talking about since they came out, we found a bang-up place for breakfast called Harry's in La Jolla where Tom actually had....wait for it....bacon pancakes, with pieces of bacon IN the pancakes AND a side of pancakes (BRILLIANT!), we had Ghiradelli chocolate sundaes, we had amazing hamburgers with FRIED EGGS on them at Red Robin (complete with bottomless fries? Life is great....), and as a farewell to our weekend, we washed it all down with a Sunday Brunch at Pei Wei - which is the fast food outlet of PF Changs. So as you can all tell, FINE DINING is alive and well in the greater San Diego/Orange County area!

Thanks TOM...and San Diego.

Stay classy.

G

L: Gabe, Me, Tom and Gabe's peeps hanging at TGIF after The WIz. We eased on down the road...right to the magic of the fried mac-n-cheese. R: Tom, Me and Gabe strike a pose.

A moment of silence, as I remember my amazing breakfast (PECAN PANCAKES) at Harry's. Yeth Pleath....

WHAT kind of Mormon goes to San Diego and DOESN'T see the Mormon Batallion in Old Town San Diego? Not THIS KIND! Post Harry's, Tom and I beelined to Old Town to figure out just exactly WHAT the whole deal was with the Batallion. And if I told you here, you would't go find out for yourself. So I won't. Hate to spoil the surprise!

Um....here's the street fair that was going on. Not sure WHY I took the picture...and we bought nothing here. Although Tom did consider picking up a bonsai tree. BUT....he didn't....

Some various shots of the historic section of Old Town. Feels like you are right there, doesn't it?

I liked this line of palm trees downtown San Diego.

I dont' know WHY...but on this day, I TOTALLY dug the diagonal crossing idea we encountered in San Diego. So much so that I snapped a picture of it. I'm worried about me and what entertains me these days.

Spent some time shopping in this cool open-air mall in downtown, and while I was looking around, I noticed SOMETHING that didn't look right.....

and so I snapped a picture. I mean - STAY HOME and lay out by your pool. WHO goes to the mall to lay out by the Sharper Image? Weird.