Los Angeles 2004

Pre-trip anxieties: November - February
As a new Lord of the Rings fan, I was amazed to get a ticket to the TORn (theonering.net) Oscar Party, Return of the One Party, which sold out in 15 minutes. Considering the past two years have taken weeks to sell out, I feel very fortunate. Then, after inquiries among the Boston TORn group, I shortly realize that no one I've met appears to have gotten a ticket, so I won't know anyone there. Lovely moment, I can assure you. However, this is the first time I will be in L. A. for almost 2 years, so it's a chance to touch base with Anthony. Then, I realize I will feel incredibly selfish if I don't give his fans the opportunity to meet him too, so I decide to organize a small dinner while I'm there. During the next few months, I try to find a roommate as well as other LOTR events being organized, so I can justify 4 days off work for the trip. I've only been working at Harvard a few months, so major justification is needed to assuage any guilt about using all my vacation days in one shot.

Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Anthony can't make dinner on Saturday. Feeling just a wee bit anxious as I send out emails asking everyone if they can do something Sunday morning or afternoon, instead. After all, four of us are flying in from the East coast, so we aren't going to cancel our trips at this late hour. Then, as I say to myself, this day could only get worse if I was hit by a bus, I am almost run over by a taxi crossing JFK. Won't be using that phrase again for a long while. Now, I don't have a cell phone, so communication is going to get dicey if I don't hear from Anthony before I leave Thursday morning. However, I still need to find some last minute things for the Oscar Party (ah, borrowed formal dress), so I don't have much time to worry. At least I found shoes over the weekend.

Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Still shopping. Finding what I need takes me an hour longer than I thought, since they don't have the right style of Chantelle. I also have to pack my shoes without ever breaking them in. Talk about anticipating foot agony. I call Kitsa, my roommate for the trip, who is also going United. Not only do we arrive within a half hour of each other, our flights also leave within a half hour of each other Tuesday morning. Better yet, I discover she's a Tolkien fan. Wonderful! I won't bore her to tears talking about Lord of the Rings.

Thursday, February 26, 2004
Ah, the 4am alarm clock. I am a morning person, but not *that* much of a morning person. However, with an 8:30am flight, I needed to be at Logan airport by 6:30am. If you are familiar with Boston, you know that meant catching a 5am bus to get to the Red Line, transferring to the Green line at Park Street Station, hopping one stop to Government Center to catch the Blue Line (I warn you now- the blue and red lines DO NOT cross each other at any point. Please remember this if you ever visit...say, for the LOTR exhibit at the Museum of Science this Fall.) Then to the airport stop to catch MassPort's free shuttle to the actual airport.

Ah, United Airlines. Check-in is swift, as I have only have one carry-on bag, but I now have two hours to kill. I finish my "airline" book before I board the plane. This is going to be a long flight. Still, I have fun things to look forward to. Thankfully, it turns out I have not seen the in flight movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. (Yes, I am aware Billy Boyd (Pippin, LOTR) was in it and I think he's an excellent actor. Really, I meant to go earlier, I just never got around to it, ok?) I enjoy the film, although I'm still not quite sure what the heck each crew member does. This means I will have to get my bum down to the library and read the rest of Patrick O' Brian's novels. This is not a hardship. I put myself through both high school and Boston University working at bookstores. Books and I are very good friends, and there is no shortage of libraries or bookstores in Boston. :)

Finally, I reach Los Angeles. Have I mentioned that I have never met Kitsa, nor have I seen a picture of her? I know she is blond and wearing dark glasses. Upon arrival at the airport, I remember how many women in L. A. are blond and wear dark glasses. I figure my picture is on this website and she'll hopefully recognize me. She's not at baggage claim. Hmmmmmm. As it turns out, one of my Harvard co-workers was on the same flight. I use his cell phone to call her (getting her vmail) and chat with him until his luggage arrives. Humorously, he is out to visit some alums at Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. As I'm set to visit Universal Studios the next day, it's a "small world" moment. Kitsa and I finally find each other and then make our way to the taxi stand and talk all the way to the hotel. It turns out she's been even more involved with fandoms and conventions then I ever have been. Plus, she's a costumer. She's game for the Universal Studios VIP tour and seeing the Oscar costumes at the FIDM on Saturday morning with some of the LOTR fans.

We try to call Wormie, but Akarabid is arriving late, so we won't be able to meet that night (They are staying at a different hotel in Redondo Beach, while we are in Hollywood). We go down to see all the hoopla on Hollywood Blvd. as they prepare for the Academy Awards and visit the Hollywood & Highland complex. I couldn't afford to stay at the Renaissance this time (it's my favorite hotel in L. A. and is connected to the complex, which contains the Kodak Theatre, as well as being close to the LOTR party), but what can you do? We manage to confirm our reservations for the VIP tour, eat some dinner at a Thai restaurant called Pink something-or-other, find a cybercafe and get to bed.

Friday, February 27, 2004
7am alarm so I can shower before we head to the train to get to Universal Studios. The hotel manager says it will only take 15 minutes by train, so we grab our free breakfast and check in at the cybercafe again, to see if Anthony has replied yet. Nothing, but there are some updates for the party to read. Then, off to the Metro. We arrive at Universal Studios exactly at 10am, so they hold the tour a few minutes. I would like to add that a couple arrived right behind us, so we weren't the last! :) I was hoping to meet with "Sammy", a LOTR fan. We do find her. OK, so it wasn't tough in a group of only 15-20 people, but still. With my luck? I'll just count my lucky stars where I can. The tour itself is a lot of fun- I even found a $15 off coupon, so it only cost $20 or so more than the "front of the line" passes.. Trust me. It's worth every extra penny. We did manage to lose our bus driver......a fact which I am still pondering, but it was ok. Doesn't everyone get to wait by the giant water tank, while stranded outside the old west eyeing a guy in a kilt and t-shirt moving some kind of equipment, with nothing else Scottish in sight?

Anyway, I had a great time. I love stomach-wrenching, twisting, turning, heart thumping rides. I'm also the only one in my family who does, so it was nice to be able to just head for anything without worrying that the person riding shotgun would throw up on me. At least my sister turns green as a warning. As you might guess, I don't get to do that type of thing very often and I hate going by myself when I can look like an idiot with a friend. :) Might I add that Kitsa has no depth perception, so I applaud her bravery for even stepping foot on any of these things with me? *clap*clap* clap*

All day, we're waiting to hear from the other group and Kitsa's phone never goes off. Yet, she keeps finding voicemails. When do we finally hear it? During the Terminator VR ride. It goes off full blast, of course. Just a tad bit startling. The day was windy and a bit chilly, so we decide to meet up at the Thai restaurant near the hotel. At least we have dinner plans for that night and we know they have several vegetarian options I haven't tried yet.

Saturday, February 28, 2004
Kitsa and I decide to skip the free breakfast at the hotel and go to Mel's Diner at 8am to meet the rest of the group touring the FIDM, organized by Deana. I can finally protein-load on a mushroom omelet and hot tea (my day just doesn't seem to begin without hot tea). It's almost always a joy to meet the people I've only conversed with on-line and this was no exception. I even met Kim, who is a friend of Ria- my partner in crime from the LOTR: Return of the King Boston TORn Line Party.

The subway is easy to navigate going toward Union Station. When I lived in San Diego, I used to take Amtrak up to Union Station and out to the Hollywood & Highland stop. We get there with no problems. The exhibit is very nice. 3-4 rooms of costumes that I'm drooling over. They even had a miniature of the HMS Dauntless, from Pirates of the Caribbean in the rotunda. Deana and Gollum wandered around getting photos of our schizophrenic action figure friend in all sorts of weird places (I can't wait to see the pictures Deana!). Deana,Kim and Shannon convince us we should attend the Hall of Fire Moot being held that night at the Hollywood Athletic Club, now that we didn't have dinner plans with Anthony. Kitsa was smart enough not to unpack her dress, but I didn't bother to pack more than one dress after Anthony's cancellation. Of course, the event was semi-formal. I needed to do some serious shopping. So, off to the cybercafe to see what shops were in the area (Next time, I'm bringing a guidebook.) I won't even tell you where we found my outfit, but I did manage to find clothes that looked good and we got ourselves ready and out the door in time. After all, we still had to buy tickets at the door, since this was a last-minute decision.

Waiting on Sunset Boulevard for the doors to open, we admire the costumes of other attendees. Very impressive! Eventually, they let us in and we head inside to get warm. Now expecting the chilly nights, I've brought my wool coat along and I'm glad I did. We find seats on a couch, where we can listen to the musicians and bard performances. I go barefoot after the first hour and curl up under my coat when the air conditioning gets to be too much. Lovely thing about a movie with Hobbits- no one comments when you ditch your dress shoes. More parties should embrace this behavior. We stay until the event closes at 1am and grab a taxi ride with someone headed in our general direction. When we get to the hotel, there's a message from Anthony. He's free to join us for lunch on Sunday, I just need to call him with the details.

Sunday, February 29, 2004

Sleep in, shower and head to the cybercafe yet again (this place is becoming a home away from home) to find a restaurant. So many places are closed on Sunday or because of the Oscars. However, I find a place on Hollywood Boulevard that doesn't seem too far and call everyone with the address. We decide to leave early, which is good because it turns out to be much further than I thought. The day before, we saw signs that the Metro would be closed. We not sure if that was just the Hollywood & Highland station or the whole line, so we wound up walking the entire way. Glad I wore comfortable shoes. Kitsa and I get there before Anthony, but he arrives before Wormie, Akarabid and Susan. We have a good time catching up on what is going on in our lives, as well as his (His She Spies episode aired the week before) and also exchanging news on his Witchblade co-stars. This is the first time Kitsa has met Anthony, and she had lost 90% of her voice, but the rest of us had no problems carrying on a conversation. We enjoy our lunch, get some photos, pass on hugs from everyone who couldn't make it, have him sign some prizes for the website, and are soon on our way. Wormie has prepared some material for the website on cd for me, so we all pile into her car and head back to the hotel. We talk until 3, when I need to start getting ready. Hugs all around. Most of us have met before, but it's really the first opportunity we've all had to sit and talk. Around 4, I head off to the LOTR event, which is a blast.

Monday, March 1, 2004

This was supposed to our lazy day, just doing touristy stuff like seeing a movie at Mann's Chinese theatre or the museums. While we indeed go see a movie there, we were distracted by the big poster across the street at the El Capitan Theatre screaming "World Premiere of Hidalgo tonight." In addition to Viggo, we're hoping to see Peter Mensah (Witchblade), who has a role in the film. Kitsa and I decide we'll come down and take a look at the red carpet that night to get some pictures. The only problem is that no event time is posted and no one we speak to seems to know when things begin. So, we have a leisurely lunch at Hollywood & Highland's Trastavere Italian restaurant and then head back to the hotel to get some of our packing done, watch tv and generally relax until 6:45. It was already raining by the time we left, so I add my blue fleece hat to the long wool coat ensemble. I still can't believe I am getting so much use out of it, since I figured my light jacket would be ok until the return trip to Boston.

We're outside the theatre by 7, but nothing seems to be happening. People are still being turned back by security to go get their tickets at a check-in booth down the street, so we figure it can't be too late. When nothing happens for 10 minutes, we go across the street so we can see under the tents more easily. As we reach the other side, we see a horse coming toward us from the red carpet. Kitsa tries to get a photo. We make our way to the security guard, who tells us that people were supposed to arrive at 6pm for the red carpet, but are still arriving at 7:15. Realizing we've probably missed any photo opportunities, we decide to shortcut into the Hollywood & Highland complex. We see Elijah Wood stopped by a group of tourists/fans. We debate about asking for a photo, but decide to just snap a photo and not ask for one together after seeing how extremely stressed his two security guards look. Men possibly carrying weapons should not be stressed further and Elijah really is very late! We watch him get rushed across the street and then we return to the Kodak entrance. A couple who went to the FIDM with us our exiting and we stop to chat. We show them the digital EW photos and then Kitsa calls her friend Jennie (of Wee scarvies fame) to send her the photos of EW and tell her what happened. While I'm chatting with them, Dominic Monaghan comes rushing down the stairs. Seeing as he is even later than Elijah, there's no thought of asking him to stop. Just a quick "Hi, Dom!" and a wave.

Well, after that, we decide to go grab a Chai Tea at Starbucks and relax at the complex. We walk around the shops for awhile, but nothing we're interested in is open, so we eventually sit down and watch the cranes dismantle the Academy Awards decorations. It was nice to just unwind. We go downstairs and see a crowd has gathered outside the El Capitan, so we go to see what's happening. Two of the women from the FIDM group are there, so we ask them what's going on. Everyone is waiting for the stars to exit. We've got early flights the next day though, so we say goodnight and head back to the hotel. Again, not as easy as earlier, because the Hidalgo security has closed off our regular street access. So, we walk the longer way back. We ask the hotel manager to give us a 6am wake-up call and a taxi for 6:30.

Tuesday, March 2, 2004

I get most of my things packed, but realize my LOTR prizes won't fit. I'll have to check my suitcase in and carry Kitsa's totebag with me on the plane. I still don't have my contacts in when the taxi arrives at 6:15. Who ever heard of a taxi being early?!? I throw everything into my purse and off we go.

LAX's security is even more strict than Boston's. Not as polite either. Still, my bag is checked-in and Kitsa and I can finally grab some breakfast. She waits with me, since her flight will be an additional half hour and down another terminal wing. Finally, we say goodbye, with promises from her to come to Boston for the LOTR Museum exhibit this fall. We get onboard and I grab my window seat. There is someone in the aisle seat, so I can't stretch out, but after watching her put her shoe-clad feet up on the seat later, I don't particularly want to either. (Who doesn't take their germy shoes off, before tucking their feet up? Besides being discourteous, it's gross. Just...Ew.) Instead of Intolerable Cruelty, the expected movie, we get Master & Commander again. I watch it again. We get into Boston, I get my luggage and do the reverse trip home.

Afterwards

I'm tired by the time I reach home, but it's not until the next day that I realize I picked up some bug on the flight home. I work Wednesday and Thursday, but I'm too sick Friday to go into work. Or write my journal of this trip, which is usually the first thing I do upon returning, so it's fresh in my mind. So please forgive me if the details are a bit fuzzy. I may have missed some things.

In a nutshell, the trip was wonderful. I got to see Anthony, get some prizes for the website, catch up with old friends, make new ones and fit in some celebrity sightings. What more could you expect from Los Angeles?