Brad Pitt. Jennifer Aniston. Halle Berry. Jimmy Smits. Heather Locklear. Courtney Cox. David Arquette. Dennis Miller. Calista Flockhart. David Schwimmer. Ted Dansen. I saw them all, from mere yards away, as they arrived at the Emmys. John and I stood across the street from where the limos pulled up at the Shrine Auditorium and watched the stars emerge. It was fun, and not particularly crowded, and we had a half hour of star-struck fun. I've always complained about not seeing any famous people in Los Angeles. Now I've seen dozens for what that's worth. I thought it was kind of cool.
Our trip went as planned, although I abandoned my excursion to the Getty. It was an absolutely stunning weekend: clear, warm, sunny, blue skies, nice breeze, no smog to speak of, and we could see all the way to the ocean from the Griffith Observatory. I couldn't spend my day indoors with such great weather. Instead, we drove all over L.A., took photographs, had several excellent meals, and walked by the shops in Beverly Hills. I didn't buy anything, by the way. I can't really get into shopping with John along. I'll have to come back and do a girlfriend expedition.
My dinner party went extremely well. I figured we'd make a good mix, just based on our web writing and countless e-mail conversations. I honestly didn't choose the group based on most of us being in a web ring together. I'm simply a huge fan of Steve's and Chuck's and Diane's writing, and I wanted to spend time with them in person. The food was delicious, the company was vastly entertaining, and my photos are proof positive that I have a long way to go as a photographer. You know you want to see them anyway:
Steve and Viv Amaya
Chuck and Beth Atkins
Diane Patterson and Darin Adler
Don't you just love it when you meet people you admire and they turn out to be just as great as you thought? I came away planning my next trip to L.A. so I can spend time with everyone again.
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