So Much Fun!!!

It's official, I'm a tourist. Yesterday was the BEST day ever of this vacation. We returned to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar for the guided tour of the building across the street. Basement level: cars. First floor showroom of cars was made to look like a true dealership from the early 1900's. Green marble on the floors from Vermont. Black marble on the floors from Italy. Pink marble on the columns from Africa. Just amazingly glorious. Second floor was antique furniture, more hood ornaments, etc. Third floor was functional musical instruments which they played for us as we toured a glass cabinet filled with the most incredible doll collection, and they were made completely from paper yet looked like porcelain; a gold egg from Mr. N to Mrs N for their 50th anniversary, and so much more. I'm telling you, this tour is a MUST if you ever come to LA.
Next we were off to Hollywood and the Walk of Fame. Yes, I was tickled to see the handprints & footprints and all the stars on the sidewalks. And I'm pleased to tell you I wasn't the only person walking around with my head down reading them as I stepped over them all. Like a kid in a candy store.
Then we were off to Long Beach, which was beautiful. I could see myself retiring there if I won the lottery. Just loved the tour and yes, the Queen Mary was one of our stops. I'm telling you, I was a true tourist.

Today we awoke to our first day of rain. Little excited kids downstairs in the hotel at the breakfast buffet with moms fretting about the weather. And then we were off on foot in the rain to the Anaheim Convention Center to start setting up the booth. I'd love to tell you it's all done and ready, but of course there's still so much to be done. The carpet's down. One of the displays is assembled but pieces were missing from the second. They were to be delivered to the hotel by 5pm today, so wish us luck for tomorrow's assembly of our mural of bangles.
Tomorrow my day begins with a 2-hour class with my buddy Tim Holtz. We passed him on the sidewalk tonight after dinner; he'd just left the convention center and we'd already eaten! And then it's back to the DIY Bangles booth to complete the displays and set up for the show.
The 2009 Winter CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) Show begins on Sunday morning. I'm not sure how much fun I'll be having. I'm scheduled to lead make & takes of bangles, beads, and wooden shapes at 10am, noon, and 2pm for an hour each. Then from 4-5 I'll be doing demos on all of the above at the Indie Craft booth. Do the math...it doesn't leave a lot of time each day for walking the show and seeing all the new goodies. But trust me; I'll find the time and cover as much ground as possible each day.
The show ends on Wednesday and we'll spend the balance of the day taking down the displays and booth. Thursday I'm back to being a tourist again before flying home to NC on Friday.
Last night we played a few games of Gin Rummy. I won handily the first round (565 to 315) before losing the second time around by 70 points. We played til 2am so I slept til 8:30 this morning. All fun and games for me. As it should be. This is a vacation after all, even if its now become a working vacation.