Rachel Rosen....Come on Down!!!!!

Yes, it actually happened! Our wildest dreams come true!! Although I'm not good at making a long story short, I'll do my best. After arising at 4:30AM, we got to CBS Studios (see photo, still dark out when we got on line) only to be greeted by a long line of folks who had camped out all night to ensure their spots on the show (they distribute more tickets than there are seats, which are then assigned on a first-come, first-served basis). We were #'s 164 & 165, and told that anyone higher than 150 did not have a good chance of getting in. After many hours of nail-biting, at about 11AM we finally were given our name tags and assured of being in the studio audience. We were among the last 20 folks admitted. Whew!!

Thrilled to just be there, it was beyond our comprehension when Rachel was called down as one of the first 4 contestants. She won the 2nd round of bidding, and an electric guitar and amp, and played push-off, which, despite choosing the price overwhelmingly approved by the studio audience (including myself), she did not win. As great as that would have been, the prize was a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Being that we had just come from San Fran, and live in Phila, not winning that prize was not devastating.

The next heart-stopping moment was when she won a spot in the Showcase Showdown by getting .95 in 2 spins of the big wheel. In the Showdown, the first showcase was passed to her, a set of Viking kitchen appliances, that would have neither fit in my kitchen, nor matched, a set of THE ugliest dining room furniture that I have EVER seen, plus groceries for a year(the only part of the prize that was appealing). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), due to some very bad advice from OM screaming from audience, winning the showcase was not to be either. But, she got on the show, and got to the Showcase. Wow!!! What a day!

Look for the show to air on Thanksgiving, or the day before.

The Holy Grail of our journey

Tomorrow is the day. We made our t-shirts. We bought our little gift for Drew. We discussed our strategy. Now we just have to take a deep breath and hope to make it work, for tomorrow, at 5AM we head to CBS Studios for a taping of the Price is Right. As I can't imagine anyone not knowing, contestants are chosen from the studio audience. As with all TV shows, not to mention airlines, more tickets are supplied than there are seats available, so admittance is first-come, first-served. Just having a ticket does not ensure admittance. Order-of-admission numbers begin to be distributed at 6AM, so we plan to be there shortly after 5AM. The network representative I spoke to assured me that tomorrow, being a Monday, not to mention a holiday, is sure to be a very busy day. If we don't get in, we will be devastated. Although we dream, of course, of hearing one of our names being called to "come on down," just screaming in the audience will be a treat for both of us, for whom coming to be a live part of TPIR has been a dream for much of our lives. Wish us luck!

My apologies to YD

After spending a wonderful day/night in some place other than a hotel for the first time in almost 2 weeks, and armed with half a Weinberg cake (thanks again, Janice for the hospitality!!), we hit the road for LA. Although it is within a day's drive of Santa Clara, I really wanted to drive the Pacific Coast highway, which would take much longer than I-5 or even 101, so we decided to make it an overnight trip.

The road was all I hoped it would be. As had happened for just about every part of this excursion, I had gotten conflicting advice about making this drive. I can clearly tell the personalities of my friends/relatives based on whether or not they advised me to do the Pacific Coast drive. Some advised against it, saying it's too long and/or dangerous. Others said be sure not to miss it. I have to go with the latter camp. It was a dream come true for me. Not just the breath-taking scenery, which really has to be seen to be believed, but for the sheer fun of the drive.

Everyone recommended doing the 17-mile Pebble Beach drive. I had done this with Andy several years earlier and really didn't remember much about it, except a vague recollection of being somewhat bored. But, since YD had never done it, we paid our $9.25 and did the drive. This time, I was even more bored, and so was she. The part along the coast, is beautiful, but overall, it's a long and boring drive, whereas you can just drive Rte. 1 for free, for a much, much, much more impressive experience. So my advice to people in the future will be, screw Pebble Beach, find the time and just drive the Pacific Coast highway.

Route 1 was curvier, steeper and longer than either YD or I had expected. After getting into the groove, I was literally able to figure out the pattern of the road to a certain extent. The rise and fall, the turns and curves of the road are repetitive and somewhat predictable and if you can get the feel for it, you can just flow with the twists and turns. It was amazingly fun driving.

I had 3 regrets about today's drive: #1 having to concentrate so much on the road, I didn't get to concentrate as much as I would have liked to on the views. I'd love to do it again as a passenger. #2 I wasn't in my little top-down Audi #3 YD was not enjoying the ride, at all, to say the least, as the twists and turns were more than her motion-sickness tendency could handle.

We stopped at the first place we saw that looked like it might have a vacancy (there aren't many places once you get rte 1 until San Luis Obispo, about a 150+ mile drive, I believe), which was a group of motels near the Hearst Castle. The first 2 were full, at the 3rd, the Courtesy Inn, we got the very last room, (2 couples who were in line immediately after us were turned away), from where I am writing. Yes, it has free Wi-fi, an indoor pool/spa, supposedly a tennis court, and free breakfast, but the room smells so strongly of chlorine, you would think there was a pool in here. Hopefully that means it's clean, it does look that way, although the chain lock on the door is broken, as is the lock on the window, and the mattresses have seen better days. So, I'm not sure I would stop here again without having someone in the car who was on the verge of being ready to hurl.

The California Cafe at the little motel next door to this one, where we had a bite to eat, also provided some entertainment. Looking like nothing more than a little coffee shop, it presented an ambitious menu with entrees costing >$30. We were seated by a young man with a cropped white afro and no front teeth, and waited on by a middle-aged gentleman who appeared to have even fewer, if any, teeth. When I inquired about wine, he gave me quite a bit of information about those they had, and steered me toward a glass of a local 2006 Zinfandel that was really quite impressive. Just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by it's cover!

Old home week (days?) in San Fran

Time to reconnect 3,000 miles away from home. For our first night in SF, my amazing cousin Bob, (who will always be my baby cousin Bob to me after I spent the summer of 1971 as his mother's helper at the Pine Knoll bungalow colony in Monticello, NY), whom I haven't seen in I-don't-know-how-long, and his indescribably delicious son Jonah, drove down from his home in San Rafael and treated YD & I to dinner and tour of Fisherman's Wharf. I cannot even to begin to describe Bob's accomplishments in the field of computer programming. YD couldn't wait to meet this famous relative she had heard so much about, and I couldn't wait to see him after many years and especially to meet his son. The only regret of the evening was that we missed out on meeting his wife and younger son Archer, as Archer woke up with a fever that morning.

YD and I spent the next day doing a whirlwind tour of Nob Hill, Union Sq., the financial district, & Chinatown, before heading out for our next taste of home, which was an overnight in Santa Clara with Janice, a dear friend of YD's from middle/high school days, who moved to CA to start a new, exciting job at Adobe about 6 weeks ago.

Being exactly halfway through our trip, reconnecting with family and friends is just what we needed to get refueled and re-energized for our trip to The Price is Right!!

Best of both worlds

Now I know why both YD and I love Lake Tahoe so much. As I explained in an early post, we each have somewhat of a split personality. Split between wanting to commune with nature, and with Dolce and Gabbana. A need for REI and Saks. A love of hiking boots and Jimmy Choo's. This place allows people like us to indulge in both. Last night we found YD a pair of fabulous Hudson's for which she had been searching for years. This morning, we are hiking down to Emerald Bay. Here you don't have to be a tree-lover or a JAP. You can be both. A veritable dream come true.

Alas, tomorrow we do take our leave of this paradise. Although we will be sad to say goodbye to Tahoe, we know what is coming next is worth the departure. Next challenge, finding a place in San Francisco that can give a sleek, slick blow-dry to our Jew-fro's which got all out of control due to the hiking. Told you we're weird like that.

We have come to an obstacle

After traveling 1,800+ miles basically event-free (the flat tire hardly counts) on our journey, we have come to our first real problem that could derail the rest of our plans from here on out. We don't want to leave Lake Tahoe. This place is heaven on earth. We just want to stay here. Not to mention that YD found the Hudson's (jeans) that she has been looking for for 2+ years in a store in town here. This is our new favorite place.

If it's Tuesday it must be....

....Wyoming? Utah? Nevada? Is it 7AM, 8AM or 9AM? Mountain time or Pacific time? Is it Sept? We no longer have any idea what state we're in or what time it is. We gave up on keeping track of what day of the week it is a while ago. Now it seems we have also lost track of the month. Sounds like the perfect vacation to me!