My trip to Hollywood!

Last week my friend's sister who is visiting from New Mexico got group tickets to the taping of "So You Think You Can Dance?" I woke up at 4am on Thursday after getting to sleep around 12:30am and I picked up the group at 5:45am so we could make the 2 1/2 hour drive up to Hollywood and be there by 8:30. We arrived in pretty good time considering L.A. traffic is insane, much worse than San Diego's. We met up with my friend's sister and her daughter and we walked on to the CBS Television City lot. We made our way to one of the studios, where they took our phones and cameras so we were unable to take any pics inside the studio. There were three of us pulling up the rear as we walked in and right when we walked onto the set, one of the audience coordinators looked at the three of us and said "you three come with me." He then led us up to the balcony overlooking the stage, and might I add, the balconies get a lot of on screen time!!! After they had organized the audience how they wanted, they brought out the top 20 dancers, 10 guys and 10 girls. They were dressed in black and white, looked a little mod and the girls had short black wigs on. The choreographers were on stage, helping them remember some steps, making sure their placement on the stage was correct, etc. The director was sitting in the judges seats and she was calling out commands, making sure the lights were just right, giving direction to the camera and getting everyone ready for the filming to begin. We as the audience were told to have lots of energy, to dance and look excited to be there. They started the music which was a song by Busta Rhymes called "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" and it had a really good beat. The dancers began and it was AMAZING!!! The dance was incredible and I was completely glued to what was going on. Obviously I wasn't the only one because after the first run through, the director and the audience coordinators instructed the audience to be more energetic even though we are transfixed on what's going on. Those of us up in the balconies were specifically instructed to have a lot of energy because we will be seen a lot on camera. My friend Jayson is a really good dancer and he was dancing, getting into the music and after that first run through, the director pointed out Jayson and told everyone to dance and be more into it like him! It was so cool! I think they ran through the dance 6 times or so, doing wig and make up touch ups in between takes. After the final cut, we were instructed to exit the studio. When we walked out, the guy who took our tickets when we first came in was telling the crowd that if they had an internet printed ticket, then they could come back for the rest of the show at 3pm. Unfortunately, we did not have one of those tickets so we were unable to see the rest of the show. Even though we were only there for a small portion of the show, it was an amazing experience that I will remember forever! My friend's sister got more tickets, so hopefully we will be going back up this Thursday to see the taping of the entire show. I will keep you posted!

After the taping of the group dance, we decided to walk around "The Grove." I have never in my life parked in a mall parking structure where they have a lobby area in the garage, valet service and a bell hop that will take your shopping bags for you! It was a very high end mall, they have a Michael Kors store, a 3 story Abercrombie and Fitch, a huge 2 story Gap, a 3 story Barnes and Noble and many more huge stores! We took tons of pictures, many showing off our "goofy" side! After we left the mall, we drove to LaBrea and Beverly because I wanted to eat at Pink's Famous Hot Dogs. I don't know if you have ever heard of Pink's, but I first saw them on the Food Network channel. Bobby Flay did a hot dog throw down with Pink's. Apparently, Pink's is a huge hot spot for all the Hollywood actors! After making a wrong turn and calling 411, we made our way to Pink's just to find a long line winding around the building. I was so bummed because I wanted to eat one of these famous hot dogs, but I wasn't wanting to wait in a huge line and either did the rest of the group. So, we ended up eating at IN-N-Out on Sunset Blvd. After a quick detour to see the Kodak theatre where they film the American Idol finale, we made our way back onto the freeway and began our journey home.

Taking a road trip with a group of friends has got to be the best way to spend the day! I had so much fun and even though I was doing all of the driving, being with friends was a good way to pass the time! We played road games, listened to music and took tons of pictures!