Getting To The 50th Anniversary Celebration

Carpe diem

Well-Known Member
A lot of you traveled great distances to come to this event. Please tell us a little bit about your journey. Anything you might like to add outside of the event; humorous, weird, exasperating, sad, awe inspiring, etc? What were some of the towns/cities, sites, happenings you saw along the way? For example newvillefan (yes, I'm picking on you), you were going to take in a Yankee game in NYC; how did you like it? Also, did you ever make it to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley? My wife and I landed in Long Beach from Sacramento Wednesday afternoon, got the rental car and waited in a continual traffic jam on the 405 fwy from LAX to the 101 (Ventura Fwy). At least 2 hrs! Once there, I didn't move the rental car from the Palm Gardens Hotel parking lot for the entire event. There were so many activities scheduled, that we didn't have time to stray...
 
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My trip over was relatively uneventful. We (my GF and I) drove over from Phoenix (we both love road-tripping), took about 7 hours. We did get "lost" once - made a wrong exit - and ended up in Pasadena :wink: What can one say about southern CA traffic that hasn't already been said...

On the way over we played a lot of Carpenters music, and I taught her many of the harmony parts to a number of songs. She was in the first half of reading Little Girl Blue and we discussed what she had read so far, as well. (As an aside, Kris (my GF) was a winner of one of the 6 prizes given away first, at the buffet/panel event) :)

On Saturday we discovered that the battery in the car had drained over night (our fault), so we had AAA come out and get us going on Sunday. The drive home was uneventful.
 
A lot of you traveled great distances to come to this event. Please tell us a little bit about your journey. Anything you might like to add outside of the event; humorous, weird, exasperating, sad, awe inspiring, etc? What were some of the towns/cities, sites, happenings you saw along the way? For example newvillefan (yes, I'm picking on you), you were going to take in a Yankee game in NYC; how did you like it? Also, did you ever make it to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley? My wife and I landed in Long Beach from Sacramento Wednesday afternoon, got the rental car and waited in a continual traffic jam on the 405 fwy from LAX to the 101 (Ventura Fwy). At least 2 hrs! Once there, I didn't move the rental car from the Palm Gardens Hotel parking lot for the entire event. There were so many activities scheduled, that we didn't have time to stray...

As a "local," I'll start it off with a boring experience. I drove myself to the hotel on Wednesday morning. My GPS on my phone told me it was a mere 111 miles from my front door to the Palm Gardens hotel. I gave myself two hours as I had an appointment to meet another conference participant. Unfortunately, of the 111 miles, a full 60 of them were spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic (Rancho Cucamonga to North Hollywood); regular rush-hour traffic plus several accidents ahead along the way. I was 40 minutes late! Did get to make a side-trip to the Institution Ale House Brewery and, of course, to the Yesterday Once More warehouse where we were able to peak inside the side door (others who got there before me...you know who you are...got to actually step inside!). Also took the opportunity to see Karen's final resting place ahead of the scheduled stop on the bus tour. Also got to eat at a couple fantastic breakfast restaurants and dinner one night at a pretty good BBQ place. All in all, not a bad experience.
 
My trip over was relatively uneventful. We (my GF and I) drove over from Phoenix (we both love road-tripping), took about 7 hours. We did get "lost" once - made a wrong exit - and ended up in Pasadena :wink: What can one say about southern CA traffic that hasn't already been said...

On the way over we played a lot of Carpenters music, and I taught her many of the harmony parts to a number of songs. She was in the first half of reading Little Girl Blue and we discussed what she had read so far, as well. (As an aside, Kris (my GF) was a winner of one of the 6 prizes given away first, at the buffet/panel event) :)

On Saturday we discovered that the battery in the car had drained over night (our fault), so we had AAA come out and get us going on Sunday. The drive home was uneventful.

I wish I would have known. I could have given you a jump. I keep jumper cables in my truck. You could've saved a AAA visit.
 
^^ If I have one regret, I wish I would've been more "assertive" about seeking out fellow A&M forum members at this event. I did meet Jim (Portlander) but I wish I could've talked to other members. There were just so many of us...maybe at the next get together...It was a blast!!
 
^^ If I have one regret, I wish I would've been more "assertive" about seeking out fellow A&M forum members at this event. I did meet Jim (Portlander) but I wish I could've talked to other members. There were just so many of us...maybe at the next get together...It was a blast!!

Everyone met Jim!! LOL! Good guy! We met, too, and talked briefly. I also met Someday. I was also trying to get others to join this forum. Waiting for Yvonne from Ireland to join. She said she would!
 
Hmmm...15 to the 210, to the 134 to the 101 and bumper to bumper traffic! How did you get from the 10 to the 210? You must have hit the 215, 15, or 57?

Nope! The 210 runs all the way down east through Redlands, then bends south and intersects the 10 just before the 215... drive it all the time and ever since they ran it down through IE, it saves a ton of time!
 
Oops that’s right. It used to end there, but now extended. The way I go to Palm Desert. Haven’t gone for awhile. Nice 4 hour drive. Thx for the correction.
 
Nope! The 210 runs all the way down east through Redlands, then bends south and intersects the 10 just before the 215... drive it all the time and ever since they ran it down through IE, it saves a ton of time!

Just went that way a month ago to find the Ritual Brewing Co. Totally forgot that it goes all the way to the 10. I hardly ever go much past Waterman Avenue!
 
Too funny Shannon, my bad. I waited until after 10 AM and didn't realize you had traffic issues. I did offer to take your friend (name escapes me) who was sitting in the lobby to the warehouse but he was very loyal to you and declined : ) I agree with Carpe diem, I met so many great individuals and regret not getting to know some of them even better. Arrived late Tuesday and met Nick and Millie in the lobby (they beat me to the hotel by 10 minutes) and we never separated during the entire event. Am looking forward to doing it again in the future!
 
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For example newvillefan (yes, I'm picking on you), you were going to take in a Yankee game in NYC; how did you like it? Also, did you ever make it to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley?

Apologies I forgot to reply to this sooner! I sat down yesterday and worked out how far I travelled from leaving London to landing back there two weeks later: 11,750 miles.

I started my holiday in NYC and took in that Yankees game which was amazing. I got in as soon as the stadium opened so had around two hours to see the teams practising on the field. The stadium is beyond huge, I was blown away by its size and the fans are something else. My seat had a bird’s eye view over the diamond and there was a guy a few seats away from me whose kids clearly either hadn’t been to a game before or didn’t know much about the rules (which I don’t really either). So I got a running commentary about what was happening and why for free :). I didn’t hang around too much after the game finished though, the Bronx after dark isn’t recommended :laugh:



Onwards to Dallas, where I visited Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, which were chilling to see in person and were on my bucket list for many years. I was really surprised by how lovely and accessible downtown Dallas is. Almost everything is within walking distance and there were lots of great restaurants and bars to choose from when eating out.



On Saturday morning of our four day event, I took off to the Reagan Presidential Museum which I’d promised myself as a treat and Shaun Callaghan, my bus buddy for our two days on the coaches said it was a must see. I wasn’t disappointed. They had Reagan’s Air Force One airplane inside the museum, with spectacular views over Simi Valley. I spent three hours there and could easily have spent at least another hour perusing the many different rooms. They have a piece of the Berlin Wall in there and several theatres showing video footage of his presidency as well as a superb exhibit of memorabilia documenting his relationship with UK Premier Margaret Thatcher, which was superbly done and interesting to me as a keen student of British political history.



The four day event in Thousand Oaks was something I had so looked forward to as a way of finishing off my holiday and as I’ve already said on here many times, it didn’t disappoint. Whilst I didn’t get a chance to meet absolutely everyone who was there, I made a few new friends and have stayed in touch. It was a truly amazing experience and the perfect way to finish off my holiday. And the story hasn’t yet finished, because I’m catching up with Randy when he visits the UK in June to promote the new book, so I’m really looking forward to getting the chance to talk to him a little more than I did in Thousand Oaks.

So @Carpe diem I digress but I hope that answered your question :laugh:
 
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