Well, we are home. We had a lovely two weeks in California visting my sister, my family and most importantlly my Uncle who may not be around for much longer. I can't tell you how much good this trip did me. I am finally at peace with so many things. My Uncle cried when he saw me, and kept saying over and over how happy he was that I was there. Visiting my dad's grave, was so incredibly moving. I left him a note on his grave and told him how much I missed him. I am so glad we went. These were the two most important and life changing events that happened to me during these two weeks.

But, one more thing has helped me move on in another area of my life:
One thing I did realize with my sister is: It isn't my fault. This was one thing I had to find out since our trip in Lake Tahoe. I really did blame myself partly for the unfortunate outcome. But now, I know, it isn't me. My sister is very closed to any relationships and has no clue what "giving" is in a relationship. No matter how bad I want it, I will never have a "sister" relationship with her. I am okay with this now. I am saddened that she has to be the way she is, but I now know that I have to move on..and concentrate elsewhere.. I will always love her, but can't change her or her thought processes. My dh said I did a wonderful job, and even he, being the most understanding and gentle man when it comes to other people..after the first week had had enough of her behavior and rudeness. He said that if he didn't see it for himself, he never would have believed. He now understands why I had such a hard time in Lake Tahoe.

My Uncle, who did not even know what was going on, took me outside one night and had a talk with me. He said, without NOTHING ever being told to him, that he had been watching me and my sister when we were together. He said "Kathy, I know how badly you want a relationship with your sister. I can see it in you. But I want you to know you will never have it with your sister. The bonding that is necessary just isn't there. He said that I should never blame myself for how I am treated by her, he said she is like that with the entire family and it is just the way she is. I can't believe that he knew what to say to me, that I needed to hear. It was like God was talking through him. I am truly at peace with it now.

Anyway, on another note.. we went to Hollywood for one of our weekends there. I, being one to create excitement no matter where I am at, did the great feat of falling off of the top of one of the Star tour vans, landing on the cement! lol
I broke my right heel and have leg and ankle trauma to my left leg. It was a fun trip to the Burbank ER... haha And this was in the middle of our trip out there! LOL!

Needless to say, I am glad we are home. It is nice to leave, but always nicer to come home.

I hope all of you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and New Years. I, for one, will cherish every bit of these last couple of weeks (except for the gimp that I am now..haha)

What a blessing for you that you had such a positive experience and that you now have clarity where your sister is concerned. I hope you heal quickly. Happy New Year!

__________________
Cecilia

"We must love them both--those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it."
Saint Thomas Aquinas

I am so glad your trip went well. It's nice to have healing and moving moments when we least expect them.

__________________
Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

welcome back! glad you had such a wonderful time

__________________
Proud mom to 4 great boys Anthony20,Nicholas16,Michael4,Sean2

Welcome back. Glad you had a good and insightful trip. Peace of mind is a great thing! Sorry about your mishap~~ouch! Heal quickly.

__________________
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I am so glad your trip went well and welcome back.

__________________
Brenda

GO #24 JEFF GORDON

Kathy I'm so happy you had a good time and jealous! I haven't been to Tahoe in years and years!

Sorry about your sister perhaps someday she will realize that closing herself off may be protecting her from some kinds of rejection, pain, everything that goes with a relationship she is also denying herself the joys that go with it!
Hopefully she will have en epiphany before it's too late. I hope your Uncle lives to see it.

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Kathy welcome back girlfriend we all missed ya soooooo much. So glad to hear you had a wonderful time. Peace and good health to you and yours in the New Year... Peace. Catherine

Thanks, Catherine! It is great to be back.

Anna, thanks for the encouraging words.. I hope for nothing but the best for my sister and for my Uncle (I hope he is around for a long time.. I love him!)

Here is a picture of him and I together. He was the second oldest (my dad was the oldest of the five brothers). Like I said, when my dad was killed, he stepped in and basically took me as his own. He is the most giving, wonderful human being next to my father.

We both have issues with keeping our eyes open for pictures..lol

I have to share more pictures now..LOL

This is me and my cousins (my Uncle's kids) whom I am VERY close to. We really should have been brothers/sisters! I am especially close to my cousin, Darla, who is pictured. We got in so much trouble together as kids and teens growing up.. when we saw each other it was like no time had passed. We laughed, joked and cried like babies when we saw each other. I love her sooo much! It had been almost 10 years since I had seen her and the rest of my family.. ahh what blessings!!!!

I love this picture of me and my sister in front of Marilyn Monroe's Star on the Hollywood walk of fame...This one is going in a frame. It was one of the only days that we had a nice time together.



By the way, I put my hands on Marilyn Monroes hands in the cement in front of the Chinese Theatre, and my hands are EXACTLY the same size as Marilyn Monroe's! The width, the length.. everything..

She must have had some pudgy fingers! haha!

Us (we took my nephew with us) in front of the shark at Universal...



Here we are at the famous Hollywood Restaurants Mel's Diner and the Pig N Whistle


My poor dh looks like the bar is going up his nose..lol!
Funny thing about this was we asked to sit outside. It was a lovely afternoon! The waitstaff came out and said "you all are tourists I take it?" I said, "OMG, it shows that bad?" He said, "No, if you were from here, you would be inside, because it is COLD to all of us here!" hahah

My son in front of Ozzy's Star...


He looks like such a rock star!

Here are some really cool pictures for those that are into the star stuff:

This is our view from our hotel. The church on the far right is the church that was in Sister Act with Whoopie Goldberg (sp?). Also the Hollywood sign in the back ground. Did you know that it doesn't light up at night anymore?? That was a bummer, cause I gave up a suite on the concierge floor just so I could have a view of the Hollywood sign at night..lol Imagine my surprise when I flew open all of the shades only to find darkness out the window! haha!


One block between Hollywood and Beverly Hills is where all of the horror movies were filmed (the homes). Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween. It was surreal! Could you just imagine trick or treating on that block?? creepy..LOL
What movie is this house from???


"At the Car Wash.....".(remember that movie???) This was right on Sunset in Hollywood, and still functional!



That little door is the infamous Hyde Lounge.. where Britney did her peek a boo act with her crotch! Can you believe how tiny the outside is??


Whiskey A Go Go


Tom Cruise's house is up the drive (you can see the roof) and those are his trash cans..LOL

This is the house in Beverly Hills that Gone With the Wind was filmed.

Out in the front lawn you can see the big huge playset and kids were running around playing. Yeah, I hate to admit, but the first word that came to my jealous head was "brats" LOL


The house the Beverly Hillbillies was filmed!


Umm.. Rodeo Drive.. and the street lamps are chandeliers!

We saw more Bentleys than I care to even remember on this stretch of road. LOL What cracked me up was while I am going nuts over the shops (Gucci, et al) and saying each one outloud with pure passion.. my dh was doing the same.. but with every single car that he saw "Ohhh Porsche 911 Carrera..." "Ohh now look at that Bentley!".. "Ohh that is a 59 Rolls" and then we had to hear how the engine is put together in each one and the approximate price of each one. I had to laugh.. Guess that is classic of the difference between men and women! But, yeah, the houses did nothing for my dh.. it was all the cars in the driveways..LOL


See that big house Waaay up there on the hill with the light shining on it? That is John Travolta's.


Jay Leno waved and honked at us.then stuck his very large arm out the window and waved goodbye to us.

Then, we were going by Peter Faulks house, and the driver was saying "Peter Faulk lives here with his wife...." and just at that moment she walked out of the back yard. So, of course, I had to talk to her from the back of the van.. LOL
Was a pleasant conversation! haha!!

We saw J Lo's house (down from Peter Faulks, same block) and I said, Hey.. we should stop, it's Jenny on the Block, she'd be cool with that, right???
They wouldn't stop.. lol

Anyway, I have so many stories I could tell... the houses we saw.. wow! Did you know that Bruce Willis lives RIGHT across the street from Demi and Ashton?? I mean, like their drive ways are directly across from each other.
Saw Elton John's house, Nancy Reagan (blew her a kiss), Kathy Bates, Bea Arthur's house..

It was truly wonderful..

And, for my grand finale, this is how I ended the star tour trip:



I put on my sad face for the camera...

Great trip and great Pics. What a great camera you must have.

I love the pics!

We went to Universal last year, and on the way I got a picture of the Hollywood sign from the freeway. It is so tiny that I actually had to get a silver marker out to point at what the picture is all about. I was amazed I even got the photo!

Sounds like you had a blast, less the ER trip.

__________________
"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

great pictures thanks

__________________
Brenda

GO #24 JEFF GORDON

Thanks so much for sharing all the great pics! They were awesome!

Hope you heal super fast!

__________________
Nicole

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your trip with everyone.

Now, the real truth..................did you fall off the bus because of all the beautiful shops~~imagine the shopping~~ or the prospect of seeing Tom Cruise or John Travolta?!!!

__________________
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Wow - I feel like I got the same tour as you - right from the comfort of my own computer chair (and no injuries - LOL!)

Thanks for sharing, O.G. Glad you're back.

__________________
"The errors of faith are better than the best thoughts of unbelief." - Thomas Russell

Thanks for posting the pictures, they are very interesting.

I hope you're feeling better.

I found the trash cans pic the most interesting. I'm weird, I never think of stars as having trash. And wow Tom sure has a lot of trash!

__________________
Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have!

If Vegetarians eat Vegetables. Do Humanitarians eat Humans?

'Vegetarian' is an old Native American word for bad hunter.

LOL at susie!!! You are funny.

Thanks for the photos. It is fun to live vicariously through others.

It's not that he has a lot of trash...they're various recycle bins.

I really enjoyed the pix and sorry to see/hear it ended on a sore note. What was the name of the tour co. you took ?

__________________
Live, Love, Laugh

I really liked your pictures also but for a different reason. I am a local and have been for my entire life. I just don't even think about Hollywoood being that exciting so it kinda of made me take a step back and look at what is right under my nose everyday!! And I hope you made it to the beach!!!

__________________
Mommy to three wonderful boys, Justin (11), Nicholas (9) and Scottie (8)

Great Pictures! Thanks for sharing and I feel your pain at the end. I really feel bad when I hear about you and your Sister but I always feel there might be a glimpse of hope. Great looking family feel better.

__________________

Without Health you have no Wealth!

What fun pics! Ashton K. grew up about 25 miles from here. Lots to see and do out there that's for sure. I've been there 3 or 4 times myself. That's so wonderful that God gave you healing through your dear uncle. Sorry to hear about your injury but it does make for some great pics and stories to tell! lol Thanks for posting all the pics-people that post on here really are real!!! lol

Thanks for sharing the pictures glad you are back and hope you heal up quickly.

Do you or anyone know anything about The Anaheim Area More Precisely the Hyatt Regency here : Disneyland Anaheim Hotels - Hyatt Regency Orange County - Anaheim Convention Center Hotel I am going there for a Conference/Training in March on Foster Care and it looks like Disney is a block or two away. Wanted to know what might be in walking or riding distance we could see or places to eat, we could use the concierge service but we're there on someone else dime and dont want to overextend ourselves.Wondering if I would be able to see the Hollywood sign from there or the drive from LAX?

Did you fly into or out of LAX? How bad is it these days I haven't been there since 1990 and it was nasty back then.

__________________
~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

Kathy again so glad your back and sincerely know you had a wonderful time and thanks sooooooooo much for sharing your family memories with these pictures for all of us to share thanks so much I enjoyed looking at them, you look so happy and joyous in all the photos cherish them forever peace catherine

Hi itscc2u!

We actually flew to Las Vegas and then drove to Southern Cali to my sis's house. The drive from Hemet (where she lives) to Hollywood took about maybe almost two hours, not that bad at all. It wasn't until we hit the Hollywood freeway (101) that we hit stand still traffic. But, we went on a weekend, and from what I hear it is a completely different animal on the weekends (not as much traffic, and downtown LA is dead on the weekends).
So, consequently, the rates were much cheaper at the hotels in downtown Hollywood that we were considering (The Roosevelt and The Renaissance). We ended up staying at the Renaissance because an acquaintance of mine who is a Playmate, said she would only stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel or Renaissance when I asked her advice on which one to stay at.
I got an executive suite for $199..which normally goes for $349+ a night. Plus my company gave me a $100 GC to the Renaissance..so I really only ended up paying $156 with taxes and valet parking. HOWEVER, on Saturday night, I went out for a walk on Hollywood Blvd when the guys all clonked out.. no one wanted to go and I was not done with Hollywood yet..lol I went to the Roosevelt and walked through it. This hotel is AMAZING!!!!! It is where the first Academy Awards took place way back in the day. Douglas Fairbanks was the announcer and it took all of 15 mins! Marilyn Monroe had a suite (room 1200) in the Roosevelt that she lived in for a while, and the room is said to be haunted by her spirit to this day. A mirror that was in the room when she stayed there shows her image sometimes in the mirror. They have tried debunking this by moving the mirror to the bar area, the managers office and other rooms, and she still appears.. freaky. This was THE place to stay at in the 20's, 30's, 40's.. the hey day of Hollywood.
Marilyn Monroes pool side photo shoot was taken at this hotel, and it still looks the same to this day. It is INCREDIBLE!!! Since it was at night when I walked out there to see it, there were palm trees everywhere lit up by the pool lights.. they had a Tropicana Bar at the pool and quaint tables all around the area with fire pits in the center. It was incredible.. just incredible! I so wish we would have stayed there. The haunts I felt in that hotel delighted me. I expected Douglas Fairbanks or Marilyn to come around the corner any minute.. wow.
You can get this hotel on priceline for around $140 a night. Otherwise, I heard them quoting a man $500 for that Saturday night when I was walking around. Just absolutely amazing. If you are really daring, you can rent out Marilyn's old suite for $1400 a night..lol No thanks.

Sorry, I got off on that, but I guess what I am saying is the best time to go is on the weekend. If you are flying out to LAX.. get your rental car and take some time when you fly in, or when you fly out to just drive the areas. Get a map online of the stars homes and take the driving tour.
What will amaze you the most is how close to the street all of the stars homes are. They are like. RIGHT there.. not many are set far back at all. Since property is so small, and the houses so big, they are literally feet from the street. I could see into many of the homes from the van when we were driving by. (Kathy Bates has an AWESOME chandelier in the foyer of her home.. jealous, jealous, jealous!!!).


MKJN: yes, we went to Malibu Beach and Santa Monica pier. We even ate at Bubba Gumps (AWESOME!!!) and watched the sun set at Santa Monica. We then headed off to the Santa Monica promenade.. which was something to see in itself! I had read about it online over and over and couldn't wait to see it. So glad we did. We did that on a weekday and even so, the traffic was a little worse than on the weekend going to Hollywood, but not that bad.

Cubmom: It was starline tours. Pretty cool!
I highly recommend the Red Line walking tour (next to the Hollywood Wax Museum) as well. This is incredibly informative and fun! Lasts about an hour and we learned way more than we did on any other tour we took. I also recommend getting the Hollywood City Pass ($49.95). This gives you admission to the Kodak Theatre or Hollywood Museum, Starline Tours, Red Line Walking tours and the Hollywood Wax Museum. I was lucky and got mine on ebay for $25 each, but they are hard to find on ebay.

We didn't get to see the Kodak Theatre (bummer!) because we missed the last tour by 20 mins. So we went to the Hollywood Museum instead. There, we ran into someone from our tiny little village here!!! It was HILARIOUS!! Their son goes to school with our son and is only a grade ahead of him. Their son was freaked out.. so were we! Small world!

1boymom, the best place to get a picture of the Hollywood sign, I think, is in the Highland Shopping Center. If you walk by where the elephant stautues are in the center court..walk up a few steps.. there is an amazing, close up view of the sign. Id did put my zoom on to take the picture, but you can see it is just as close as the following picture where we were up the hill by the sign!
Another one is from the Chinese Restaurant that is above the Magic Caste in Hollywood (just follow the small drive up the hill). As you come around the drive in the back of the Chinese restaurant, look to your left. You could almost reach out and touch it.. Another tid bit, as you come around the front of the Chinese restaurant, there are some great views of LA to your left. but as you round the corner to the side of the Restaurant, look up! Right in front of you will be Jon Bon Jovi's house!!!

Here are two pics.. first one is at the Highland Center, second one is from the back of the Chinese restaurant.







Okay, the following is the view from our Hotel again Our room was facing Franklin Street (that is the street the Methodist Church and Magic Castle is on). If I had a big arrow, I would point it to the left of the picture.. because this is where the entrance is to the Magic Caslte off of Franklin, which you take to the RIGHT once you get into the Magic Castle and that drive leads you all the way up to the Yamashiro Chinese Restaurant, which is on Sycamore street off of Franklin...
Anyway, that is where you really want to go to see the sights of the city. Absolutely amazing. Here is a shot from the Yamashiro Restaurnat Front lot..

Our hotel we stayed in is the big building on the right.

I also wanted to go visit some of the cemetery's out there, but since I got hurt the entire trip was ended at that moment. BUMMER! I have an entire file on the different cemetery's in the area and who is buried there. If anyone is ever interested, keep me in mind, I am happy to share! Next time I go back.. that is what I will make sure to do.

To end, here are some other cool pictures.. from Graums Chinese Theatre.
Elizabeth Taylor


Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn put a real rhinestone in for the dot above the "i" in her name, but someone stole it. There is now a piece of glass in its place.


and my favorite:
Roy Rogers and Trigger! He put not only his hands and boots in the cement, but also his gun and he even brought Trigger along and placed his feet in the cement as well!

One more tidbit, did you know that it costs a star $25,000 to have their star on the Hollywood walk of fame??? This comes out of their own pocket for upkeep of the star, and other costs. Also, they are REQUIRED to be there for the laying of their star (if they are alive). This was put in place by the Hollywood chamber of commerce ever since Barbara Streisand didn't show up for her star being placed. There is no cost to the stars for their hands and feet in the cement at Graum's Chinese Theatre.

Another tid bit: Alice Cooper saved the Hollywood sign by starting a campaign for donations to save the unsightly mess. Hugh Hefner organized and hosted a party at the Playboy Mansion at which letters for a new sign were sold at nearly $28,000 a pop. The adopt-a-letter campaign worked, and aided by Gene Autry (who bought an 'L') and rocker Alice Cooper ('O'), among others, Hefner ('Y') raised enough to prop those letters back up where they belonged.

Funny that Hugh Hefners would be the "Y".. lol

Thanks you!! That was great fun!

Great pics! Thanks for posting them so we could all enjoy.

Did you ever make it to the Mission Inn?

__________________
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near."

You had to put those three words in there didn't you ? Jon Bon Jovi ! Well looks as if I am going to see if they can extend my reservation a day or two and fly me home later and I will try to come up with the hotel room and search that out and other things.

Its a Conference so I am on their schedule and its in the middle of the week too boot, they are bringing us in from the east coast on Monday for the Conference to Start Wednesday. We leave here at 9 am our time and get there at 11:45 Cali time and coming home is no better 9 am Cali to leave and 5 pm our time home and of course they have to Fly us out of the Airport farthest from me Dulles instead of Reagan which means over an hour drive home in rush hour traffic on a Friday yuck. They offered to pay for my scooter check in too boot and renting a wheelchair lift enabled van to take me and the other 7 participants around in for the Conference and going out to dinner etc so I am seriously thinking about taking them up on this now that I see all the excitement and fun you had. I went in 1990 for Wrestlemania 7 and everything was in the Hotel and we did not wander far as we were broke and we are broke now too LOL. I can walk to a point before I get really tired not much but if we have a rental car I would be OK you know especially since I have a disabled placard to use.

Keep sharing the pictures and directions etc so we can all live vicariously through you !!

__________________
~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy