Showing posts with label Wicked. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wicked. Show all posts
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Looking Back
As seems to be the case of late, I've had many adventures that are blogworthy, yet I lack time to document them. Here's an attempt to catch up a little.
This was my wife & my anniversary weekend trip. We did a long weekend last year, and now it seems to have become a tradition. This year we traveled up the coast a bit to Carpinteria.
We arrived before our check in time, so we continued North to Solvang. It's been years since we've been there, and it was pretty nice.
We liked the haircut on the bottom edges of these trees.
Aebleskivers is why we came!!! Of course, I forgot to take a picture until I was down to the last one.
Hans Christian Anderson park. I had no idea what he looked like.
Carpinteria is amazingly charming!!! This is the picturesque beach, and there is a picturesque downtown area. I'm thinking this is a cost effective alternative to going to Catalina!!!
Many many seagulls on the beach. Of course, this all occurred during the off season, so during Summer it would likely not be quite as awesome.
Nice scenery!!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Defying Gravity
A few of the MANY action shots I took today, all the ones I found with their feet off the ground!!!
*With the exception of the one where I caught a ball in flight!!!
*With the exception of the one where I caught a ball in flight!!!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
One of the Stupidest Things I've Seen
Oh, SO many things have happened!!! I've got four more cup pictures that I may or may not post, I've gassed up Baby again (who direly needs a bath, but small amounts of intermittent random rain have made that seem like a bad idea) and a lot more pictures I need to get off my cameras (video and still), but I'm going to share this one.
Weekend before last, my wife and I decided to see if we could possibly hit the Wicked lottery again, TWICE, and take both the boys. If not, we'd go on (just a ways up the tracks) to Universal Studios. We got there, and all put our names in. My wife told me later that when she saw our younger putting the first letter of his name on the slip, she knew he was going to get drawn. He did, and we bought two tickets on his draw, and waited to see if another name would come up. Another of the entrants had only wanted a single ticket, so at the end they were drawing for a solo seat. I think it was my wife's name that came up for that, and I was thinking of sending the other boy, but since the seats were split up, we decided not to. Besides, the older boy had already expressed interest in going to Universal instead. Momma and the younger stayed for the show, and we headed on. One of my friends from work also showed up with her girlfriend for the drawing.
Up the tracks we headed, and spent a fair amount of time at Universal. Being it was the first of November, a lot of the scary decorations were still up. Of course, I was prepared for the theatre, and didn't have my camera. It rained on us, we rode the Jurassic Park ride several times (in honor of Michael Criteon's impending death???) and the Mummy coaster more than a few, too. At the end of the day, we lined up for the Simpsons ride, which always has the largest line. Getting on, we were in the front of the car, and there was some commotion and confusion with the loading of the back seats. I thought nothing of it.
Very shortly after the attendant left the room, there's more commotion from the back seats. I look around, and one of the girls back there is all twisted with her leg wedged funny under the safety bar. The other girls back there are calling out for the attendant. We all start calling out, but no one is coming. I'd thought she'd gotten pinned under it wrong when it closed, but she was trying to get out from under the bar, and she did before the ride got underway!!!
We all told her just to hold on and stay down. She laid down across the back seats, and was that way throughout the ride. I have no idea what her deal was, if she was claustrophobic, foreign and didn't understand what was going on, or whacked out on goofballs, but it was about the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Probably made more so by the fact that it seems there is no monitoring of the ride while it is in progress.
Afterward, we viewed the on-ride photo previews (first time we've ever even looked at them, the kiosks are usually too crowded to bother with), and the girl who's lap she had her legs on joined us. I'd thought the whole back seat was together, but that was not the case. She said she was holding her hand and telling her "you're all right!!!" for the whole ride. Said her heart was going like crazy, and she didn't know if she was having a heart attack, but she was screaming and laughing the whole ride. Nice shot of the backs of our heads, huh??? The picture is at the very end of the ride, when it's pretty much stopped. They had an option to E-mail the picture for $5, and I figured since I'd spent $50 for a play already that day, and not a lot else (besides train fare) all day, I'd go for it.
I had to schedule my last vacation day, so I had chosen the following Monday, since the boys were off school that day, and we went back again. That's what most of the photos I've yet to take off my camera are of, but that will be at another time, if there's anything worth posting!!!
Weekend before last, my wife and I decided to see if we could possibly hit the Wicked lottery again, TWICE, and take both the boys. If not, we'd go on (just a ways up the tracks) to Universal Studios. We got there, and all put our names in. My wife told me later that when she saw our younger putting the first letter of his name on the slip, she knew he was going to get drawn. He did, and we bought two tickets on his draw, and waited to see if another name would come up. Another of the entrants had only wanted a single ticket, so at the end they were drawing for a solo seat. I think it was my wife's name that came up for that, and I was thinking of sending the other boy, but since the seats were split up, we decided not to. Besides, the older boy had already expressed interest in going to Universal instead. Momma and the younger stayed for the show, and we headed on. One of my friends from work also showed up with her girlfriend for the drawing.
Up the tracks we headed, and spent a fair amount of time at Universal. Being it was the first of November, a lot of the scary decorations were still up. Of course, I was prepared for the theatre, and didn't have my camera. It rained on us, we rode the Jurassic Park ride several times (in honor of Michael Criteon's impending death???) and the Mummy coaster more than a few, too. At the end of the day, we lined up for the Simpsons ride, which always has the largest line. Getting on, we were in the front of the car, and there was some commotion and confusion with the loading of the back seats. I thought nothing of it.
Very shortly after the attendant left the room, there's more commotion from the back seats. I look around, and one of the girls back there is all twisted with her leg wedged funny under the safety bar. The other girls back there are calling out for the attendant. We all start calling out, but no one is coming. I'd thought she'd gotten pinned under it wrong when it closed, but she was trying to get out from under the bar, and she did before the ride got underway!!!
We all told her just to hold on and stay down. She laid down across the back seats, and was that way throughout the ride. I have no idea what her deal was, if she was claustrophobic, foreign and didn't understand what was going on, or whacked out on goofballs, but it was about the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Probably made more so by the fact that it seems there is no monitoring of the ride while it is in progress.
Afterward, we viewed the on-ride photo previews (first time we've ever even looked at them, the kiosks are usually too crowded to bother with), and the girl who's lap she had her legs on joined us. I'd thought the whole back seat was together, but that was not the case. She said she was holding her hand and telling her "you're all right!!!" for the whole ride. Said her heart was going like crazy, and she didn't know if she was having a heart attack, but she was screaming and laughing the whole ride. Nice shot of the backs of our heads, huh??? The picture is at the very end of the ride, when it's pretty much stopped. They had an option to E-mail the picture for $5, and I figured since I'd spent $50 for a play already that day, and not a lot else (besides train fare) all day, I'd go for it.
I had to schedule my last vacation day, so I had chosen the following Monday, since the boys were off school that day, and we went back again. That's what most of the photos I've yet to take off my camera are of, but that will be at another time, if there's anything worth posting!!!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Return to Oz
Now this was cool!!!
Last time I went to see Wicked, I had a few things I would have liked to have done different. I would have liked to have taken the train there. I would have liked to have taken my wife there. I would have liked to be able to pick up some tickets to take her for her birthday and not have to take out a second mortgage.
Well, today we got a friend to watch the boys. We hopped the rail line to the Hollywood and Vine station. Riding the train is really a great way to get around, provided you can spare a little wait time. We put our names into the daily ticket lottery drawing.
The deal on the ticket lottery goes like this: Two and a half hours before showtime, they start taking names for the drawing. Two hours before, they draw names. If your name is drawn and you are present, you can purchase one or two front row tickets for $25 each. One of my co-workers told me about it, said it was the deal they do now instead of student passes. 26 seats, the whole front row.
Well, DING DING DING DING DING, WE GOT A WINNA WINNA WINNA!!! Appropriately enough, it was my wife's name that got drawn, it was in celebration of her birthday that we were there. Front row, almost dead center. We were able to chat a little bit with the conductor before the show, and make eye contact with the actors. The only downside is you aren't as readily able to take in all the action at once, you've got to look around more.
Of course, there was this matter of having two and a half hours of free time in Hollywood. More than that, actually, because what with the train we showed up early. Directly to the left of the Pantages is a tiny little cafe, and I bought her a really tasty rosemary chicken sandwich before the name depositing. Between the name deposit and the drawing, we just loitered in front of the theatre. After we got the tickets, we walked over a few blocks to Sunset so she could get a coffee from Starbucks, cashing in a gift card she got for her birthday. After that, we browsed in a store for a while. Everything was priced too high, and of course we would have had to cart it back to the theatre and on the train. A fun little wasting of time just under the Hollywood sign, in the shadow of the Capitol Records building.
She loved the show!!! I knew she would. Happy birthday!!!
Last time I went to see Wicked, I had a few things I would have liked to have done different. I would have liked to have taken the train there. I would have liked to have taken my wife there. I would have liked to be able to pick up some tickets to take her for her birthday and not have to take out a second mortgage.
Well, today we got a friend to watch the boys. We hopped the rail line to the Hollywood and Vine station. Riding the train is really a great way to get around, provided you can spare a little wait time. We put our names into the daily ticket lottery drawing.
The deal on the ticket lottery goes like this: Two and a half hours before showtime, they start taking names for the drawing. Two hours before, they draw names. If your name is drawn and you are present, you can purchase one or two front row tickets for $25 each. One of my co-workers told me about it, said it was the deal they do now instead of student passes. 26 seats, the whole front row.
Well, DING DING DING DING DING, WE GOT A WINNA WINNA WINNA!!! Appropriately enough, it was my wife's name that got drawn, it was in celebration of her birthday that we were there. Front row, almost dead center. We were able to chat a little bit with the conductor before the show, and make eye contact with the actors. The only downside is you aren't as readily able to take in all the action at once, you've got to look around more.
Of course, there was this matter of having two and a half hours of free time in Hollywood. More than that, actually, because what with the train we showed up early. Directly to the left of the Pantages is a tiny little cafe, and I bought her a really tasty rosemary chicken sandwich before the name depositing. Between the name deposit and the drawing, we just loitered in front of the theatre. After we got the tickets, we walked over a few blocks to Sunset so she could get a coffee from Starbucks, cashing in a gift card she got for her birthday. After that, we browsed in a store for a while. Everything was priced too high, and of course we would have had to cart it back to the theatre and on the train. A fun little wasting of time just under the Hollywood sign, in the shadow of the Capitol Records building.
She loved the show!!! I knew she would. Happy birthday!!!
Monday, April 30, 2007
My Wicked Weekend
(Image stolen from here, I could have used the poster artwork, but wanted something different, and this was)
My company has employee outings every year. I heard about a trip to Santa Anita horse races, and thought that would be interesting, as I've never been to the track. When sign ups came out, they had three choices: the aforementioned Santa Anita trip, a golf outing, or a brunch at Lawry's Prime Rib and matinee showing of Wicked. Even though I don't especially follow theatre, I was aware of the acclaim surrounding Wicked, and I've heard of Lawry's for years, and use their seasoning salt extensively in my culinary creations. I don't golf, and Santa Anita, while it sounded interesting, well, I'm not a big gambler or drinker (open bar is another of the perks sweetening that pot), so my choice was clear. Unfortunately, it is for employees exclusively, no dates or spouses allowed.
They have a charter bus from the company to the events, but from my location it made more sense to drive to both destinations. In fact, the Pantages Theatre is right across from the red line station we visited on our rail trip in times past. If there were an easy was to get from there to Lawry's public transportation would have been ideal!!!
Lawry's was good. The service was a bit slow in starting, but once it got rolling was good. Ironically, I got the salmon at a place renowned for their prime rib. Prime rib is OK, but I really like seafood, and since I had the choice, that is what I chose. Actually, while it was good, it wasn't up to the level of the hype I've heard. Oinkster may not have the ambiance or the Beverly Hills address, but I'd take their food over this any day!!! (Mental note: forward this URL to Lawry's and see if they want to comp me a meal to see if they can have a second chance to tempt my taste buds for a more favorable review, haha!!!)
Wicked, if you are not familiar (I wasn't real familiar before I signed up, other than knowing it was something of a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz") is a musical. Really, I am a straight male. Maybe that's what the accompanying picture is about, LOL. Prequel isn't really right, either, the play spans from well before the events of "The Wizard of Oz" to after the credits have rolled. It was PHENOMENAL!!! No spoilers here, but I will say these things I learned from it:
The origins of those creepy flying monkeys, the tin man, the scarecrow, and the cowardly lion
Why the Wicked Witch of the West wanted those shoes (I always thought it was some power or magic reason, but seems not)
Why she was all green like that
You don't get the full effect of The Wizard's facade in the movie
Where the Wicked Witch of the West got that hat from
I would guess disabled advocates and PETA groups applaud this production
Those witches have some pipes!!! I'm glad I saw this show, they didn't really showcase much of that other than Glenda's in the movie
Glenda is truly incredibly narcissistic!!!
Tickets to this show are near impossible to get!!! After I saw it, I thought it would make a great birthday present for my wife, but NOT easy to do!!! Actually, probably a great way to make money, reselling them on Ebay...
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