day two's journey...

Well, our first day in LA was really full and fun... but it didn't have ANYTHING on day two!!! Tuesday was our Ellen day! :-)

Here's how it went...

First, Alicia was the responsible party that the Ellen show had listed - so we took her to the line, which we thought would already be pretty competitive, around 4:30 a.m. We were all pretty pumped about the start of this day... and knowing that our bodies really thought it was 7:30 a.m. did make it a little easier. :0) Thanks Alicia!!!

She waited in line - and I'm sure you can check her blog at some point for how that journey went.

Here's us dropping her off...

Afterward, Kristin and I drove around for a little bit waiting to see if we were going to hear from Alicia that we should go wait with her, or that she might need something, etc... we saw a couple other studios up the street and had our eyes peeled for a 24-hour Starbucks. We didn't find one, so we just went back to the hotel to figure out what to do next. To help with the time issue of when Alicia would return/we'd need to get ready to eat lunch and do some time-passing things in Burbank, Kristin and I decided that we'd just go on and get ready for the day. Afterward, we walked to the hotel next to ours to grab a quick bite to eat. Yummy veggie omlets...

Back at the hotel, we kept checking back in with Alicia, via cell, and she was doing fine... the line was growing tremendously... so we're thankful that she did end up being 5th in line! When we got the call to pick her up - we were so excited!!! So was she... to finally be out of the cold! :-)

WE WERE NUMBERS 8, 9, and 10!!! WOOO!!

Basically, what this meant was that after we get checked in at the show and wait to be formed into the line that leads you into the actual set of the show, we were going to be 8-10 in the line. So, we were sat 8th, 9th, 10th... get it? :-) They kept us all three together, thankfully.... AND, we were 2nd row! If you are familiar with the show, think of how Ellen see the audience. We were over to her far left - 2nd row up from where they usually seat guests in wheelchairs. This also meant that when she comes dancing thru the audience, she would COME RIGHT TO US!!!! I'm going to work on a little video of our appearance on the show... yes, we showed up. Several times, actually... So when I get that ready, I'll post it! (I'm sorry that some of you missed it... we were so happy to get back to Raleigh and hear from friends and family that they had seen us!!) FUN!

So, we got Alicia back to the hotel so she could warm up and get ready for the rest of the day. Next, we went to In & Out Burger, a California favorite.

It was starting to rain then, so we decided to take our chances and try to find a parking spot by the studio and wait the extra 30 minutes or so that we had instead of leaving the car at the hotel and walking (like we had originally planned to do). Thankfully, there is a hospital right across the street from NBC, so we were able to park in the lane that connects the two buildings. It's right beside Bob Hope Park. I got my x-ray glasses on (not really) and used my 21x zoom on my camera... because we saw someone in the park filming something on the bridge... see what you think. hehe. The man on the left is the one on camera. The guy on the far right is the one with the camera. I think he was just messing with something on the camera at this moment. The rest of the time we saw them, he had it up on his shoulder. Ah, the mysteries of actors and film...

Anyway, so - you can't take your camera into the show, so we ran over to the fence, took some shots, then took our cameras back to the car to wait for a little while longer.

Next was the show.

It was really super fun - probably rivals most any fun thing I've ever done! They are really well organized and always kept you informed of what was happening, etc. It helps control freaks like me fight anxiousness! The studio is a lot smaller than you'd expect, but still very exciting. We were so happy to sit where we did and had cameras near us much of the time.

The guests on the show were Barbara Walters, Serena Williams and The Gym Class Heroes (yeah, I hadn't heard of them either). It was fun and I'd really like to go again another season. (you can only go once per season). The audience also got to play "Oscar Charades" with Ellen (she was the guesser). So, she gave us all Lord of The Rings: Return of the King and a box of popcorn. We also all got the Gym Class Heroes.

Afterward we decided to go on back to the hotel and freshen up to drive down to Santa Monica to go to the pier. I would love to go back during the day and when it's warmer. It was gorgeous, and you can tell there's so much to do!!! You could almost go here for a long weekend and not have a car, even! http://www.santamonicapier.org/Check it out.

While we were there, walking around - we figured out that all these people and their equipment meant that something was being filmed! So, we asked a guy if he could tell us what it was... He said it was a Sony picture coming out next year with Paris Hilton called Hottie and the Nottie. We stayed on the set a little and watched them film one TINY scene about 15 times. Poor guy. When you see the part in the movie when a guy runs up the stairs - looks left and right (as if he's looking for someone) and then runs right - you'll know we were there then. HA! What a cheesy plot: A girl refuses to marry her longtime boyfriend until he can find the perfect match for her ugly best friend...

We stuck around and decide to eat at Bubba Gump's - there are several across the nation, but I've never eaten there. Our waiter was an "aspiring" as we called them... sometimes music, sometimes acting. He was fun and really nice to us. He even lit a gas heater for my cold companions. :-)

I didn't write that on the table, by the way...

Next time, we'd like to get there before sunset and take a ride down the Pacific Coast Highway... that would be amazing!

We went on back to Burbank to try to get in bed early. It was around 10, I think - we were out of our room by 4:30 and headed on the journey home.

And now...

I'd like to thank Jared for getting up super early and taking us to the airport. Also, to Dan and Casey for coming to pick us up. We couldn't have done it without you three. To my family and friends who texted me and wished us good hope in meeting superstars: "You're the Best!"

Finally, to the people. You are the reason we do this... stay tuned!

~Nicole