Universal City Walk

Universal Studios has an outdoor mall with restaurants and different shops outside the entrance to their park.  We're really happy that they also have a movie theater there that offers discounted movie tickets at certain times.  Here's some pics of the area.

Michio Kaku Book Signing

Did you know we could all be living in the center of a giant black hole the size of the universe?  Or that the smartest robot in the world is about as smart as a "retarded cockroach?" Or that teleportation already exists? (Albeit only a photon at this point)  These are only some of the facts that got dumped into our brain when we went to a book signing/lecture by an author we both like, Dr. Michio Kaku. He is a professor of theoretical physics and he's hosted lots of shows on the The Discovery Channel and Science Channel.  He was there signing his book Physics of the Impossible, a book about how a lot of the science in science fiction is much more possible, and probable, than we would think.  We've both been really big fans of his for years.  He explains really complex science in a way that even we can understand.

First Celebrity Sighting

So on our first Saturday of being here we had our first Celebrity sighting.  Now don't get too excited because I doubt any of you know who he is.  We saw Craig Horner while eating lunch at the Hollywood & Highland Center (the outdoor mall next to the Mann's Chinese Theatre).  He's in a show that started airing this year called Legend of the Seeker (yes it's a fantasy TV show).  The show is adapted from the books written by Terry Goodkind.  Craig Horner plays the lead role.  It's funny because we've had a picture from the TV show as our background on our computer for some time now.  Of course we didn't go over and talk to him, it was all a little overwhelming.  I did attempt to take some pictures of him while he got up to walk away. 

Yep, that really dark figure standing up in the background is him.  I think I should win a photography award.

And another great shot, his back leaving the area.

And so here's a much clearer picture of him.  This is a picture from his TV show.  We're hoping the whole cast will be at Comic Con this year so we can see him again.  And hopefully get a better picture of him.

We Arrive in Hollywood

So we got to our new apartment on April 16th.  It's in North Hollywood and really cute.  The area is called NOHO Arts District.  There's lots of theatres in the area and a comedy club within walking distance.  The subway's pretty much right in front of our apartment so we've enjoyed that.  Universal Studios is one stop away and then two stops is the Chinese Theatre & the place where Jimmy Kimmel is filmed.  On Friday we drove around and found my hospital that I work at now and we drove through Hollywood.  We saw several comedy theaters, The Viper Room, Whiskey A Go Go, the Hollywood sign, the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Stars, and lots of really expensive houses.  There's a ton of stuff to see and do & we hope to get to try everything out.

Family Visit April 2009

On our way to Los Angeles we stopped at my parents' house for a couple of days & then flew back to Richmond, VA to visit with Ryan's family & then we headed to Washington, DC to see my brothers & nephew.

Ryan got to help my Dad fix his computer.

Loki made himself right at home.  One day we went up to Elephant Bute Lake and went fishing on my Dad's boat.  Unfortunately there was nothing biting that day.  

My grandparents came over for dinner & we got to see their new house.

We spent the first day in Richmond doing some shopping with Jeannie, Noah, & Anna.

Noah got tired on the way back from running errands and passed out.

The next day we took a trip down to our storage unit.  Oh the memories of all of our stuff.

The next night we went out with Dwayne & Norma to celebrate my birthday.

On Friday we took a ride through some civil war battlefields.  One of them was Fort Bradley. 

Here we found Bradley the frog.

Friday night we went to Jeannie's to have dinner with Jayson & Kristen & all the kids.

It was great to see all the kids again.  I can't believe how quickly they've grown up.  

Saturday we took the train up to DC to visit with John & Andrew & Jeff & Lucas.

Lucas was very fond of the Star Wars Legos.

John & Andrew made different pizzas from scratch.  They were very yummy.

On Sunday we walked through Georgetown.  It amazes me how cold it was when we were in DC and when we got to LA it reached 100 degrees within the first week we were here.

 

On Monday we went with Dwayne & Norma to look at some plantations.  I can't believe I lived in Richmond for 12 years and never visited any of them. 

Monday night we went out to dinner with Nana at Carini's (still the best lasagna anywhere).

Like I've said several times it really was great to see everyone and just sad that we didn't have more time to visit.  We hope we'll be able to visit again soon!

Los Angeles, CA

We're heading to Los Angeles, CA for our next assignment.  I'll be working at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.  We're very excited as I'll be working the day shift while we're here.  There will definately be more things to do than here in Tyler so we'll be updating the blog lots more often.  We're also excited because we'll be visiting with all of our family in between Tyler and Los Angeles.  Can't wait to see everyone!!!

Goodbye Tyler, TX

Well, our time here in Tyler, TX is about to end.  We have about two weeks left here.  As you can tell from the lack of pictures there's not much to do here in Tyler.  The biggest thing that happened was pretty traumatic for me.  We had to relocate Loki for three months due to a no pets policy at the apartment complex we stayed at.  Thankfully my parents agreed to keep Loki for us, only to have the complex change their policy three months later.  We were grateful to have him back and even happier that the ordeal didn't bother Loki at all.  I was more traumatized by the whole situation than I think he was.  He has gone right back to his laying around, shedding, and occasionally vomiting. 

Here are some pictures of when we picked up Loki from my parents' house.

And here's Loki back with us getting comfortable for a nap.