#I got this at Dylan’s candy bar at the grove

[azurascottage]

[clubdolan]

Don’t Forget - Grayson

He hadn’t seen her in almost two months.

It’s the longest time he had been apart from her in the past year. While they dated he would go on tour with her, she would come back to LA as much as possible, they practically lived at her apartment, and if they weren’t together they were texting all day and face timing at night.

Comments always flooding their instagrams, “GOALS!” “Mom & Dad” “I love you two!” & “Perfect for each other!” They were right. Grayson and Josie were a perfect fit. Everyone knew it from the moment they met. Everything clicked, they finished each others sentences, she got along with Ethan and he got along with her best friend/roommate Andrea.

But three tours in one year; along with promotional tours, guests spots on tours, traveling to record and write had Josie gone a lot. When she was home Grayson was on tour, or traveling to film, or busy with meetings. As much as they were meant for each other, the world was slowly pulling them apart.

Two months later and her heart was still shattered, his brain was still confused, and they both wondered why they called it quits in her driveway one night after a small fight about him picking her up from the airport.

Ethan tried to make him feel better, scheduling double dates, taking him to play paintball, racing 4 wheelers, even flying back to Jersey to try and take his mind off of it.

It’s hard to do that when she was still his phone background. He “kept forgetting to change it” he said, every time Ethan asked. Till one day Ethan took his phone, changed it from the picture of Josie, bare faced, hair in a ponytail, sitting across from him on their balcony, smiling up at the sky, laughing at something Grayson had said.... to a picture of his own butt.

She had drafts she had planned to text him. She had a bag of clothes she wanted to take to him. She had spent countless nights with Andrea, crying over him but also convincing herself it was ‘for the best’ and ‘she doesn’t need him right now’.

But now. At the opening of the new re-model of Dylan’s Candy Bar at The Grove, he was about to see her.

Cameron followed them around, they were invited to the opening as long as they vlogged and posted the video. Ethan talked into the camera as Grayson looked around, searching the crowd. “Dude, she’s not out here yet, she’s going to perform, she’s probably inside.”

“I’m not looking for her.” He shook his head and motioned for Cameron to cut. “I just.. I-

“It’s going to be weird, I know.” Ethan said, “But we’re happy to be here, you don’t have to speak to her, we watch her sing, then we go get candy, then we leave, okay?”

Grayson nodded, checking his phone. His replies on twitter were full of people wondering if he would see Josie today; “I hope @/graysondolan sees @/josiejosie today and they start dating again :(” “I just want a picture of @/graysondolan and @/josiejosie today, it’s been too long.”

The crowd started moving to the stage as Dylan herself stepped out with a microphone, throwing gift cards into the crowd of fans that had gathered. Cameron grabbed Ethan and Grayson and led them to the VIP area in the front side of the stage where they recognized other influencers and friends.

Ethan spotted Josie side stage, looking just as always. Casual chic, a bit of rock inspiration, her hair chopped off since the break up, and her usual leather jacked on.

When her named was announced Grayson seemed to awake from the bubble he was in as the crowd screamed, “Josie Mae!” Dylan screamed, hugging Josie as she reached the end of the stage.

“Not only will Josie be performing but she’s going to be playing her brand new single, that I get to announce right now, Don’t Forget!” The crowd screamed, ready for Josie’s new music. “So without any further wait, give it up for Josie!” Dylan clapped, leaving Josie and her band on stage.

She started with her first single, the one that got her where she is. Second was another single that was newer, she got to play guitar and sing.

“This next song is a bit slow, but it’s my new single, so I hope you all enjoy it.” She grinned, sticking the mic back on the stand and taking a deep breath.

Ethan noticed Grayson’s stiff composure, arm’s crossed, arms tense, eyes focused right on Josie who hadn’t made eye contact with him yet. “Relax bro.” Ethan laughed, nudging Grayson’s shoulder; to receive a death glare back.

Soft guitar started playing as Josie began singing,

Did you forget

That I was even alive

Did you forget

Everything we ever had

Did you forget

Did you forget

About me

Josie looked down before looking up and locking eyes with Grayson.

Did you regret

Ever standing by my side

Did you forget

What we were feeling inside

Now I’m left

To forget

About us

She kept eye contact with him before looking back down and keeping her eyes on the ground or closed.

She had made it obvious. Everyone was noticing. Grayson was frozen, Ethan didn’t know what to do.

After two more songs she thanked everyone and left the stage, running straight into her best friends arms, “He was out there, he was out there.” She held in crying, she felt like a bubble was forming in her chest as Andrea hugged her.

“Did he look at you? Was he --

“He just.. stood there.” She mumbled, Andrea shoving through the crowd to get her to the green room hidden in the back. She shut the door behind them, handing Josie a water and her phone. “Just give me a few minutes.”

Andrea nodded, sitting down on the couch next to her as they kicked off their shoes and scrolled social media.

@/graysondolan: I didn’t forget.

At the same time the girls sat up, they both knew they were reading the same thing.

@/graysondolan: I don’t regret it. I only regret not going after you.

“Jos....” Andrea mumbled, watching Josie go back and forth between the tweets. “I didn’t think he would tweet it either, that’s not very Grayson. Kind of a shady thing to do, assume the song is about him. I mean it is. But--

“Andrea, I miss him.”

“Do you want me to...” She pointed to the door, “I can text him or Eth--” She paused as her phone vibrated.

Cameron Dolan: Is Josie okay? I saw her hug you after she got off stage! Sorry Grayson was being a literal statue in front of her. He’s being an idiot.

Andrea: I’ll be honest, she’s not. She just confessed (finally) that she missed him.

Cameron Dolan: I wish I could come see you! I think we’re leaving in a second, once Grayson moves from the pit area..

Andrea: I’ll come see you! One second.

Andrea made up an excuse that she had to use the restroom and practically ran out of the room. She made her way past security and found them in the VIP area, surrounded by security holding back girls. “Cam!” She screamed, attacking her from behind. “So good to see you!”

Andrea pulled back and took off her All Access pass from around her neck, “She’s in the green room.” She said to Grayson, handing it to him. “Follow the signs once you get backstage.”

“Does she want me to go--

“No, but she needs you.”

He paused a second before making the walk back, as slow as he could. He finally reached the door. No music playing loud, no crew going in or out, just a door separated him and Josie.

He knocked lightly, hearing her tell him to come in, but he froze. “Come in!” She yelled louder, the door stayed closed.

“I said you can--” She paused as she pulled the door open, “--come... in.” She mumbled, looking up at Grayson.

“Andrea gave me the pass.” He said, his voice close to shaking. Josie stepped back and let him come in, closing the door behind him. “I missed watching you perform.” He said before she could turn around, “I miss... I miss you.”

Josie turned around, without thinking her hands snuck around his sides and she dug her face into his chest. He hugged her back, slowly squeezing her. “I’ll never forget you Jo.”

Her heart fluttered at the nickname only he called her, “Jo”.

“I regret letting you leave that night, I regret not calling you that night, or the next day. I regret not going to your apartment. I regret not even trying to get you back.”

Josie didn’t even have a reply, she just squeezed her eyes close so tears couldn’t fall. But they did.

“Hey” He pushed her back and used his thumb to wipe under her eye. “Don’t do that here, we can go back--

“So you’ll come to my place?” She whispered, her teary eyes looking up at him. “I want to just.. be with you.” She bit her lip, embarrassed that she had just said that. “I mean, I just. I miss you too.”

“I miss being around you, I miss seeing you in the morning, I miss your laugh, I miss your smile, your real smile you do when your eyes get squinty.” Grayson admitted, grabbing her hands.

“It’s such an ugly smile.” She played with the ring on his thumb, “Sorry for throwing the song out there like that. I wanted to keep it for the album but my team thought it would be good publ--”

“It’s fine. No explanation needed.” He assured her.

Slowly but surely, their relationship built back up. It took them a few months to go out in public together, it took even longer for one of them to admit they were dating someone, it took almost 6 months for Josie to post a picture on her instagram with the most simple caption to solidify their relationship to the world.

@/josiejosie: So happy to have him back. ♥

[suzie81blog]

Note: all of the images featured in this post are my own and are set as galleries – click on the images to see the full size.

The Bloke and I have just been to NYC for a week. We have visited once before on our honeymoon in November last year, but as we were there for just over four days we wanted to go back and attempt to see as much as possible that we had missed last time. We chose to go at the beginning of September – arriving on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend – with the hope that the city would be slightly quieter and the following week was back to school. 

We wanted to experience both the tourist and non-tourist places, so I spent several weeks before reading blogs and watching vlogs about everything to see and do, mapping out our activities according to each day. This wasn’t set in stone and would allow us to change each daily plan around according to the weather. 

We stayed at the Wyndham New Yorker and for the first time ever we received an upgrade to a room on the 40th floor, without even asking. The views were amazing – I didn’t mind the construction work going on as it was fascinating to watch the building development at such a height – and the sunsets were fabulous!

The New Yorker

The view from the side window

The view from the main window

Day One

(Note: this was really day 2 as we arrived at 5.00pm the day before but were so tired we went for a meal and had a short wander around before going to sleep).

Pancakes for breakfast with bacon and maple syrup from the Tik Tock Diner next to the hotel.

Subway pass – 7-Day Metro card for $32. This is perfect for a longer stay as it allows for unlimited subway and bus travel until midnight each day. 

Dana’s apartment used in the first Ghostbusters film.

Natural History Museum – dinosaurs, great exhibitions and The Bloke met Dum Dum.

Lunch at Uno Pizzeria and Grill on Columbus Avenue (at the back of the museum). Our server, Parrish, heard our accents and immediately put the football on the TV – I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wasn’t really a football fan but we had a lovely chat with him. Great food, great service, definitely worth a visit.

Central Park – I had a Bach Partita performed for me by a cellist from Belgium, saw an erhu being played, we walked down to Bow Bridge and Bethesda Terrace and I was delighted to see that the Acapella Soul singers were performing. I first saw these guys in Washington Square in 2010 and have followed their YouTube videos ever since. They’re still amazing. We walked past the Bandshell and down The Mall to the Plaza and the Plaza food court. I ate a beautiful macaron from here. 

6 1/2 Avenue – a ‘secret’ street used by locals to cut through the city.

Dana’s apartment

Natural History Museum

Grr. Arg.

The Bloke met Dum Dum

Bow Bridge

On Bow Bridge

Bethesda Terrace

The Bandshell

6 1/2 Avenue

Day Two

Roosevelt Island as the weather was glorious. We got the Roosevelt Island Tramway (which the subway pass can be used on) next to the Queensboro Bridge, which took just a few minutes (there is a subway and bus option too). It was a great decision – there was almost nobody around and we took our time, taking in the amazing views of Manhattan. We walked down to Southport Park where we saw the ruins of the former Smallpox Hospital, and then to the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. Stunning. 

Serendipity 3 cafe. I ate an amazing buttermilk chicken sandwich and drank an enormous pink lemonade, but they are more famous for their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and desserts. 

Dylan’s Candy Bar. I bought a marshmallow treat, just because.

Roosevelt Island Tramway

Roosevelt Island Tramway

View of Manhattan

Roosevelt Island

Smallpox Hospital

Smallpox Hospital

Buttermilk chicken from Serendipity 3

Pink lemonade from Serendipity 3

Day Three

The Met Museum. I was a little disappointed at the rooftop bar was closed, but we saw incredible art works that had been on my Bucket List for a long time. 

The Guggenheim. More art, and although I generally prefer modern art over most periods, I found some of it to be a little too much. In one section a video was featured that consisted of a man rolling around on the floor. I’m sure that it means something significant to others, but I didn’t get it. 

Paley Park – a small hidden park with a waterfall.

The Met

The Met

The Met

The Guggenheim

The Guggengeim

Paley Park waterfall

Day Four

The Dominique Ansel Bakery for a Cronut. I’ve been wanting to try one of these for a while, and from the reviews I had read I was expecting a massive queue. We were lucky though – it was almost empty, and I managed to eat my Cronut next to their garden.

Washington Square – a beautiful spot to sit and people watch, with the famous arch and a large fountain.

The Stonewall Monument.

Brunch at Buvette, a small French bistro on Grove Street. I ate waffles with gouda, bacon and syrup and drank freshly squeezed orange juice. I was unsure whether that sort of combination would work, but it totally did. 

An ‘American Glob’ ice-cream from the Big Gay Ice-Cream Shop, also on Grove Street. I almost had a ‘Salty Pimp’ instead, which isn’t a sentence that I’m used to writing. 

Friends Building, also on Grove Street.

Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment in Sex and the City, on Perry Street. 

After returning to the hotel for an afternoon siesta, we went up to Mood Fabrics (featured in Project Runway). I met Swatch, the store mascot. Swatch had obviously had enough of life that day. 

Bill’s Bar and Burgers next to the Rockefeller Centre. 

The Lego Store. The Bloke was in his own personal heaven.

A cronut!!

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Washington Square

Stonewall Monument

Buvette

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

Carrie Bradshaw’s House on Perry Street

Shadows on the street

Bill’s Bar and Burger

Day Five

Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Park. It was a sweltering 30+ degrees, so The Bloke and I tried to shelter in the shade as much as we possibly could while taking in the breathtaking views. The Bloke found the classic shot of the groynes and so spent some time taking his own shots, while I took the opportunity to sit in the breeze.

Walked across Brooklyn Bridge. It was far busier than the last time we did this in November the year before, but it was rather amusing to watch the insane poses being carried out by the Instagrammers.

Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

The groynes

Lego Bloke had a wonderful time

Walking Brooklyn Bridge

The Bridge

Day Six

Water Taxi down the Hudson. It was much cooler and we got to see the architecture of the lower west side of Manhattan. We exited at Battery Park.

From there we walked to Bowling Green Park, the Charging Bull and Fearless Girl Statues and then to Wall Street.

Ghostbusters Firehouse – we took a short subway ride up to see the iconic building as the last time we visited it was undergoing renovations and almost completely hidden by scaffolding. As I was stood opposite a tourist couple walked down the street and the man suddenly recognised what it was – he obviously didn’t realise it was there at first and I laughed at the sheer expression of awe on his face. I think his bubble was somewhat burst when he had to explain the significance of it to his girlfriend, but still…

Titanic Memorial – a small lighthouse and plaque down by the Southstreet Seaport piers.

Water Taxi from South Pier. It stopped at Brooklyn Bridge and then took a leisurely pace over to the Statue of Liberty. However, as we were traveling back up the Hudson towards Midtown it turned into a speedboat, and i laughed myself silly as The Bloke and I had to desperately cling on to the chairs and our cameras.

Kinky Boots on Broadway. Absolutely incredible – we’re a huge fan of the film and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen, to the point where I had to try and calm myself down and stop crying as I found myself becoming completely overwhelmed during the final song. Amazing.

The Water Taxi

The Charging Bull

Ahem…

Fearless Girl Statue

Stock Exchange

Ghostbusters Firehouse

Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

Statue of Liberty

Kinky Boots on Broadway

Day Seven

Sephora, just because. I have make-up, but that’s not the point.

Lincoln Center, where we saw totally naked people being made into art works with body paint. 

The Juilliard School – when I was training as a violinist it was one of my personal dreams to go here, and I finally did. Ok, maybe not as a student, but I made a point of taking a picture just so I could send it to my mother and say ‘I went to the Juilliard, Mum!’

For the final part, we walked over to W 58th Street 6th Avenue to find the corner crossing from Midnight Cowboy. Dustin Hoffman almost gets hit by a taxi and yells ‘Hey! I’m walking here!’ This was an unscripted scene that happened because the studio couldn’t get permission to close down the street for filming, and so had to film via a hidden camera in a van driving up and down the street. The taxi that almost hit him was a real one that had run a red light, and Hoffman improvised the now iconic line that was kept in the final cut.

Lincoln Center

The Juilliard

Hey! I’m walking here!

What an incredible week… and there’s still so much more that we could have seen!

How to Spend 4 1/2 Days in New York

The Honeymoon: NYC 2017

  What about you guys? What are your favourite places in NYC?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog and you can also find me on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

A Week in New York Note: all of the images featured in this post are my own and are set as galleries - click on the images to see the full size.

[lipwak]

VHS #315

(T 160)

Connecticut and the Sea, MTV Real World - New Orleans, POV - KPFA, 2 Streetcar Named Desire excerpts, Dolly Curtis (local cable show) - The Merritt Parkway, Denis Elsas at FUV on Gotham TV, Fairport Convention - Beyond the Ledge (Cropody, 1998), Television: The first 50 years, CMT The Bluegrass Sound, Tom Jones - For One Night Only.

***

Connecticut and the Sea 1 & 1/2 hrs Narrated by Walter Cronkite CPTV

Read the whole transcript here: http://www.simonpure.com/sea.htm See an excerpt here: https://youtu.be/2rh0qgKCqB0

Native Americans and the Sea, wampum, Caribbean trade, rum trade, Coit house, New London, shipbuilding, clipper ship era lasted 10 years, privateers, Coast Guard Academy, War of 1812, Battle of Stonington, the Monitor and other ironclad naval vessels, Bushnell, the Turtle, submarines, the Nautilus, rope walk in New London, guano trade, kidnapped Chinese used, seal trade lasted about 10 years, whaling, elephant sealing, Inuits, footage of crew on square rigger, menhaden (porgy, bunker) fishing, Moodus twine, quarrying, brownstone in NYC from Portland, Noank lobstering, Portuguese tradition, (Forebiter song), Terry Backer Soundkeeper, Gov Rowland, oysters, Norwalk, Tallmadge Brothers, ports - lumber, oil and bananas!, pleasure boating, steamboats, Goodspeed Opera House, Bridgeport ferry, catamarans, Mystic Seaport, Aquarium, Forebiter - Strike the Bell.

***

MTV Real World - New Orleans 1 hr (some nice shots of city)

Maple Leaf Bar, Carrolton by the Camilla Grill, Hummingbird Lounge, house residents meet on the streetcar they have all to themselves, stay at Belfort on St Charles, Prodigy internet, Bourbon St, Roman Candy cart, “trolley”, they blur the gay guy’s lover, guy hooks up with a Tulane girl.

Dinner at Anne Rice’s house (https://youtu.be/ioRuohRiobA) (Not in this episode)

*** POV - KPFA PBS, 2000 1 hr, m Narrated by Alice Walker

http://www.pbs.org/pov/kpfaontheair/

Bernie Sanders, guards at the station, at was with Pacifica Foundation, Folio, founded for peace, conscientious objector camp, Lewis Hill, hated commercial radio, Kenneth Rexroth Libertarian Circle, had to settle for FM, Langston Hughes, had to give away radios with subscriptions, Dylan Thomas, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edward Teller, Linus Pauling, McCarthy, hard to find good strong conservative voices, Alan Watts, wins Peabody Award, KPFK and WBAI added, Casper Weinberger, John Birch Society, student demonstrators, JFK Cuba crisis, Dick Gregory, civil rights in the South, gay rights, Elsa Knight Thompson, Mario Savio, Dale Minor in Danang Viet Nam, Huey Newton, community radio, 1974 strike, Patty Hearst, 3 Mile Island, Oliver North, Larry Bensky, Charles Amirkhanian, Lou Harrison.

***

Streetcar Named Desire excerpts:

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers https://youtu.be/l4V8OHy0su0

Stella! (I only caught the very last one and my version doesn’t have them walking off, it just ends with Kim Hunter running up the stairs.) https://youtu.be/2MVzv9_2vIM

***

Dolly Curtis interviews  - The Merritt Parkway at 50: Protected or Threatened ~ 10 min in 1991

I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music - Roy Eldridge playing as we watch scenes from the parkway.

interview with Charles Granquist on a bridge over the parkway, Save The Merritt Parkway t-shirts, some nice closeups of bridge details,

***

Denis Elsas at FUV on Gotham TV 2001

John Lennon with him on NEW, Southside Johnny in FUV studio,

See the whole thing here: https://youtu.be/SIrDeFEbLMM

***

Fairport Convention - Beyond the Ledge Cropody, 1998 1 hr, s

See most of it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVKWs-SD70831iR2kEGF7cX2cIhhrvZ3f Not sure the order I have them in.

Programme Start : Meet On The Ledge, Ric Sanders Close To You Cosmic Intermezzo - awful. ? Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Featuring – Chris While ? ? Matty Groves/The Rutland Reel/Sack The Juggler Meet On The Ledge

Songs played that might be some of the unknowns above:

The Lark In The Morning Life's A Long Song Woodworm Swing Crazy Man Michael Dangerous The Flow The Naked Highwayman The Hiring Fair Jewel In The Crown The Bowman's Retreat Come Haste Spanish Main John Gaudie

***

Television: The first 50 years 1:39, s, 1999 some good ftg but mostly second-rate

Tony Randall, Johnny Carson, Rod Steiger, Charlton Heston, KTLA, Bob Hope, Billy Barty, Bob Keeshan, Howdy Doody, Milton Berle, George Burns - I was bad from 8 to 27, Bob Cummings, Mr Rogers - was ready to go to seminary and then he got into tv, wrestling, Jack Benny, Television City in Hollywood (CBS), Arthur Godfrey, Mike Wallace Golden Fluffo ad (https://youtu.be/On7OFQTp4lM) This clip, I Love Lucy, radio show, Desi Arnaz Jr, Dragnet, used teleprompter so never had to learn their lines, Harry Morgan, Edward R Murrow (https://youtu.be/vEvEmkMNYHY) This clip, Howard K Smith, Jerry Lewis, Colgate Comedy Hour, Ed Sullivan, Shecky Greene, Jerry Stiller, Steve Rossi (Allen & Rossi), Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine, Frank Fontaine, Red Skelton, The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Dennis Weaver, James Arness, Bonanza, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Wyatt Earp, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, 1951 Shelvador refrigerator ad, What’s My Line?, Steve Allen, Wally Cox, Marty, soap operas, Ozzie & Harriet, Father Knows Best, Dobie Gillis, Dwayne Hickman, Danny Thomas Show, My Favorite Martian, Ray Walston, Leave It To Beaver, Disney, two Mousekateers, Art Linkletter's House Party, Lucille Ball Desilu Workshop (https://youtu.be/5oiTqsKxFuA) This clip, The Untouchables, Robert Stack, 77 Sunset Strip, Mr Ed, Alan Young, (the horse died in 1973), Sgt Bilko, Gilligan’s Island, Ed McMahon, Dr Joyce Brothers, Doc Severinsen, Batman, Superman, Lou Ferrigno, The Fugitive, The Avengers, Patrick Macnee, The Man From Uncle, Mission Impossible, Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Lupus, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, Jonathan Harris, Lost In Space, The Andy Griffith Show, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Bewitched, Laugh In, All In The Family, Norman Lear, Bob Newhart Show, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Norman Fell, WKRP, Dallas,

Blurb - Film Clips *The Steve Allen Show *Milton Berle *Red Skelton *I Love Lucy *Your Show of Shows *Art Linkletter *Gunsmoke *Colgate Comedy Hour *Jack Benny *Mickey Mouse Club *Jackie Gleason *Howdy Doody *The Ed Sullivan *The Cisco Kid *One Step Beyond *Untouchables *WKRP in Cincinnati *Saturday Night Live *Burns and Allen *Donna Reed *Leave It to Beaver *Voyage to Bottom of the Sea *You Asked For It *Dobie Gillis *Dallas *Bob Hope *Dragnet *Shindig *Batman *Star Trek *Hee Haw *BayWatch *Laugh-In And Many More!

Interviews *Tony Randall *Tom Hanks *Walter Cronkite *Art Linkletter *Rod Steiger *Carol Burnett *Victoria Principle *David Duchovny *Robert Stack *Jay Leno *Jerry Stiller *Tom Selleck *Monty Hall *Hugh O'Brien *Dick Van Patten *Alan Young *Dale Evans *Lea Thompson *Tom Arnold *Charlton Heston *Johnathon Harris *David Hasselhoff *Peter Graves *Jerry Springer *George Burns *Robert Fuller *Harry Morgan *Shecky Greene *James Arness *Maury Povich *Anne Francis *Henry Winkler *Ron Howard *Robert Vaughn *Norman Fell *Carroll O'Connor *Larry Hagman *Joyce DeWitt *Doc Severinsen *Linda Gray *Edd Byrnes *Larry Storch *Ernest Borgnine *Adrienne Barbeau *Ed Asner *Joan Collins *Carl Reiner *Jamie Farr *Ted Knight *Angie Dickinson *Isabel Sanford *Bernie Kopel *Lou Ferrigno *Gale Storm *Dennis Weaver *Steve Allen And Many More!

***

CMT The Bluegrass Sound 1:02, with commercials, 2002 various performances mostly at the Opry

mandolin, resonator guitar, banjo, fiddle, bluegrass sound, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless on ACL - Pretty Little Miss (Shady Grove) (https://youtu.be/Nj67hHp5GQ0) This clip, Chris Thile, Nickel Creek - Reasons Why (https://youtu.be/ognZEcWzdEA) Not this clip, Islip mandolin maker John Monteleone, NYC bluegrass scene with Grisman, Eric Weissberg, others, Ricky Skaggs - Uncle Pen (https://youtu.be/kv_KgdIEswI) Not this clip, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss - Catfish John, Ralph Stanley - Man of Constant Sorrow, Union Station w/ jerry Douglas and Sam Bush  (https://youtu.be/ALcdFAAojt4) Not this clip, Ricky Skaggs and Ralph Stanley - Nobody’s Love’s Like Mine, The Whites - Keep On The Sunny Side. John Hartford 1977, NC fiddle makers, Alison Krauss - Foolish Heart (https://youtu.be/kfmdQfkDE8I) Not this clip, Gillian Welch with Emmylou Harris - Rock of Ages (https://youtu.be/mnDEvU4Llvg) Not this clip, Earl Scruggs Marty Stuart  - Foggy Mountain Breakdown (https://youtu.be/d4O73LQPHyg) Not this clip, Del McCoury on ACL - All Aboard (https://youtu.be/NgLIo0eTc8Q) This clip, Bela Fleck and Friends - Major Honker.

***

Tom Jones - For One Night Only w/ Mark Knopfler, Toni Braxton, Bryn Terfel

It’s Not Unusual (https://youtu.be/1ZXEYSEgoo4) This clip. Delilah (https://youtu.be/0FwiK_os6AM) Not this clip. w/ Toni Braxton - Knock On Wood (https://youtu.be/Av4-HUrkHco) This clip. Thunderball (https://youtu.be/h-uFNGk5K7Y) Not this clip. What’s New Pussycat (https://youtu.be/FXrT8tz5nCc) Not this clip. He Stopped Loving Her Today (https://youtu.be/N-IVU1745E4) This clip. w/ Bryn Terfel - Green Green Grass of Home (https://youtu.be/SjOL_MdEcXo) Not this clip. I Want You Back w/ Mark Knopfler - I Feel Like Going Home (https://youtu.be/O2irh-WT-cY) This clip. Kiss (https://youtu.be/5uZQFOfMSfY) Not this clip.

(Bravo shows the movie Tom Jones after this.)

[lu-shh]

My first full day in Los Angeles had me busing around Hollywood and Beverly Hills with stop-offs at cool places like the LACMA and The Grove and we also caught our first glimpse of a Hollywood celeb or two!

The Bus

Waking up bright and early after a good sleep, my anticipation rose as me and my Aussie mate discussed our plans for our first full day in LA (the first of just two). Carless, (neither of us were game enough to brave driving the LA roads,) we opted to scope out the area by bus. One of the main stops for the Starline Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus was just a ten minute walk up Hollywood Boulevard from our hostel (Banana Bungalows Hollywood), and after a quick stop in Starbucks for a much needed coffee and bite to eat, we crossed the road to the Pantages Theatre to hop on the bus.

There are multiple ticket options for the Hop On Hop Off bus which are valid within different time slots; 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. There are also 6 different routes around LA that you can take, each with on-going commentary in a handful of languages that fill in you in with interesting facts and information about notable places you drive past and stops for you to hop off at. We initially bought the 48 hour pass which we then decided to extend to 72 hours, on our last day (I may write a pros and cons blog post about taking the sightseeing bus on a later date).  For our first day we wanted to travel on the Red Route (approx. 2 hours), which included stops at the Dolby Theatre, Chateau Marmont, Santa Monica Blvd, Rodeo Drive, The Grove and the LACMA.

The first stop was the Dolby Theatre, which just happened to be holding a very special ceremony for a very special someone – LL Cool J ring any bells?! Yup, our first day out in LA and we spotted LL Cool J getting his hand print down on the Walk of Fame and also saw none other than Queen Latifah getting chased down Hollywood Boulevard by a pack of hungry paparazzo. For a girl from little ‘ol New Zealand, this was pretty surreal! (Check out my upcoming vlog to see the blurry footage haha).

Millions of Milkshakes

Our first hop off was to visit Millions of Milkshakes to grab just that, a milkshake. Endorsed over the years by a stream of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan and Pamela Andersen, it’s a create-your-own milkshake heaven, which is now unfortunately no more! After being open since 2008, the store closed it’s doors at the end of last year. So unfortunately you won’t be able to pop in for a milkshake anymore. Sad face. Plus side? They were pretty pricey!

The LACMA

It was then back on the bus for us, with milkshake in hand as we cruised through the streets of Beverly Hills and dreamily peering through shop windows of all the beautiful stores on Rodeo Drive, housed with items we could never afford. We hopped off at the the Farmers Market but after a quick look around decided we wanted to see the lamp post art installation at the LACMA (Los Angeles Country Museum of Art) (hello, every romantic film based in LA). So we trudged back the museum to have a squiz and take a few photos.

A big regret of mine was not actually going inside LACMA to have a look at the art. I love museums and art galleries and I know that many friends get frustrated at me because I spend too much time looking at everything, it’s one of my favourite things to do while travelling (just try stop me every time I go to Paris, you can’t). I’m not too sure my travel buddy was too keen to go in though, and at the time it was getting late and we wanted to see The Grove before it got too dark. So after a few snaps we walked back to The Grove to check out the shopping area I had heard so much about and seen many a vlog of.

The Grove

We made it to The Grove in the late afternoon, where a cool January breeze had picked up – a relief after a fairly warm day. We wandered through all the shops (Topshop was a must for me,) including my first peek at an American Girl Store and I’m not going to lie, I was a little creeped out, but that’s just me. We satisfied our sweet tooth with a trip to Dylan’s Candy Bar and then headed over to the Farmer’s Market to fill our tummies. I grabbed an impressive looking and great tasting hot dog from the food marketplace area.

We finished eating, headed over to Trader Joe’s to buy snacks for the following day and then waited for the next bus to take us home-bound. We drove down Melrose Ave by night and decided to get off the bus by the Chinese Theatre to check out the atmosphere at night. We also checked out Ghirardelli’s for some chocolate and browsed some of the stores for late night shopping.

With hungry tummies we headed back down Hollywood Boulevard towards our hostel, stopping in a cute little Japanese restaurant for dinner (and trying to figure out the whole tipping business). It was on our way home from dinner that we spotted our next celebrity. None other than Aussie guy, Luke Hemmings from the band 5 Seconds of Summer, who was paying a visit to the famous Fonda Theatre, just up the road from our hostel.

🎈🎉

A photo posted by Luke Hemmings (@lukehemmings) on Nov 16, 2016 at 11:03am PST

Yeah. That guy. Haha.

Feeling exhausted from our big day out we headed back to our room to rest up for another early start the following day!

READ: My flight from Auckland to LA 

WATCH: My flight from Auckland to LA

Los Angeles by bus: Hollywood and Beverly Hills My first full day in Los Angeles had me busing around Hollywood and Beverly Hills with stop-offs at cool places like the LACMA and The Grove and we also caught our first glimpse of a Hollywood celeb or two!