Our journey to LA began with Val winning a preliminary radio contest in CT that led to her winning the grand prize of a trip for two to the awards show. This was an all inclusive trip sponsored by ABC and arranged by RPMC in CA.
We departed from Hartford, CT on 11/15 and had a connecting flight in Chicago. From there, we arrived at LAX that afternoon where we were met at the airport by this driver holding a sign with our names on it.
The ride from LAX led us to the heart of Hollywood where our room awaited us in the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. The hotel is very contemporary chic, well appointed with 20 stories not including the penthouse. We were met in the lobby by a rep from RPMC who gave us our tickets to the show (which were $400. tickets btw). He had apparently fibbed about our having our choice as to what celeb we wanted to sit near. He also told us that we would not be able to take photos at the show because they do not allow cameras in the Shrine Auditorium. The after party we'd be attending was also at the Shrine, so ergo no cameras in the Shrine, no photos at the after party. Again this was just the opposite of what we were told before we arrived. :( He told us not to chance sneaking a camera in because security would be tight and thorough. We could see the Hollywood sign from our window, access the internet through our TV, play video games on the playstation and help ourselves to the fully stocked wet bar.
Later that evening they had a reception for the 22 contest winners from across the country and their guests on a roof top terrace restaurant. Not long before we found the restaurant, we discovered that the hotel was connected to a really cool 3 story open air mall. Who says 'it never rains in Southern California'? They got plenty of rain before we arrived and it also started to rain during the reception so they had to move us inside. This was no problem until we left to go back to the hotel and had to walk through the mall to get there. The food and cocktails flowed for hours and we mingled with other contest winners.
We were up early the next morning and ready to hit the streets for some sight-seeing. We had to meet everyone in the lobby of the hotel at 3:00P to attend a pre-show party at the Shrine. Our first stop was at Mel's Drive-In Diner, made famous by the movie American Graffiti.
Nice levis! To the left of that billboard is where the reception was held. Then it was on to cruising Hollywood Blvd to check out the stars on the Walk of Fame and do some shopping.
Some hand and feet prints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater
This is actually where the WOF begins, we started at another end. The WOF is rather over done because we walked at least 3 miles up and down Hollywood Blvd and never saw all of the stars including a number of them that ran along Vine. We were told that anyone can have a star if you're willing to pay $7000. and a monthly maintenance fee...provided you want the city to maintain it. Hell, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and a number of other fictional characters have one. It kind of takes away from having a star being something special but it's cool.
We finally made it to the Capitol Records building where we found Garth's!
Okay, it's back to the hotel and then to the mall. Since we have quite a bit of time before we have to get ready for the show, we did some shopping there.
The very enormous archway connecting the mall with the hotel and a statue
The courtyard of the mall and of course the Hollywood sign
We got dressed for the show and when we walked off of the elevator into the lobby, one of the bellhops said...dammmmmn. I guess that was good!LOL In some circles making a comment like that or whistling is considered tacky but it sure makes a girl feel good. The concierge snapped this photo for us.
We were chauffeured to the Shrine where a line of people almost 2 blocks long waited to get in. We didn't have to wait. We walked in front of them as told and on to the red carpet where we stood and watched some of the celebs take their proverbial walk. We first spotted Kid Rock and Pam Anderson with her grapefruits. LOL Then we saw Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard and Dennis Franz. A glass of wine inside at the pre-party was $9.00. I know it's LA but that's crazy! Remember the promo/travel agent told us how tight security would be? They didn't check anyone or anything which was kind of scarey when you think about it. When we took our seats, we were center stage 18 rows from the stage. If you happened to have caught Ashanti's performance with the fire plumes, we could feel the heat each time they shot up.
It was cool watching the celebs take their seats and a little crazy at the same time. When Keith Urban began to walk down the aisle to his seat, Val and I were cheering. Keith turned and took a good look to see who it was and had a look on his face like what are you doing here! He then smiled and waved. Dick Clark, the producer, kept counting down to show time on the PA system asking everyone on the red carpet to take their seats inside. They really pushed it to the wire getting seated before the cameras began to roll. David Alan Grier from "In Living Color" and "Life With Bonnie" sat 2 rows behind us and did not seem happy. During commercial breaks, hordes of seat-fillers would jockey for seats. Only to have to go running back up the aisle out of view of the cameras once they started rolling again. This was so unlike the organized way seat-filling was conducted at the Country Flameworthy Video Awards. This is the program that was on each seat. It's actually a 75 page magazine.
The show was pretty good and funny at times when some ignored the teleprompter. It would have been a lot better if BlackHawk had been there and been nominated for Country Group of the Year.
The after party was fun! There were about 250 people at this one...mostly industry execs, a few celebs, a ton of food, several bars and a party band that rocked.
Everyone in attendance also received gift bags. All of the contest winners met at a certain time and were chauffeured back to the hotel. The next morning the limo took Val and I and a couple from NJ to LAX. When we boarded the plane, we saw Hal Holbrook, the actor, and Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis from the group The Fifth Dimension. We exchanged greetings and Marilyn and Billy ended up on our flight all the way to CT. She has aged really well and is still beautiful! This is where it all went sour and became the return trip from hell. From delayed flights, to Chicago O'Hare being shut down for a while, to missed flights back to CT, to feeling like we were on planes forever. It was even more horrible still when we finally arrived in CT and my suitcase did not arrive with me. All in all, it was a trip to LA we won't soon forget!!
Be still my heart!!!
These were actual photos I bought out there, not postcards...without copyright info. on them.
