 Chris and Jen ***** Philly Cheese Steaks Chris and Jen’s Excellent Adventure aka Days FanFest Weekend 2004, began with Jen’s arrival Friday morning to beautiful sunny yet smoggy Southern California. A baggage claim and car rental later, she was on her way to my place, up the wonderful 405 freeway aka the “Parking Lot”. Now, Jen did have my address beforehand and I HAD given her directions before, but as she was driving, she called me right after she got off the freeway…and I “rode” with her the rest of the way to my place. One thing to note, when I give directions, I usually “reference” certain people and characters…turn onto Chandler…as in Chandler Bing…then onto Ethel…as in Ethel Mertz. Also, I sometimes won’t know the name of the street, but I can tell you there was a big red building on the corner across from the 7-11. Just a forewarning… I came outside as she was pulling out-still on my cellphone. Chris: I see you! Jen: I see you! Of course, we’re still on our phones as she’s parking and getting out. Jen arrived at my place at about noon. After a little visit-catching up from the last time we talked-the day before (hey, a lot can happen in 24 hours), we were off to get lunch-Philly Cheese steaks. It was back to my place to watch Days at one. It was fun to watch the show together and yell at the screen at all the right moments. We made a few calls to the gang and spent the rest of the day hanging out and waiting to get ready for the first event-the Wesleys’ “Night of the Living Dead” Variety Show! Wesleys’ Night of the Living Dead So a little after three, Jen left to check in and get ready, while I did the same. I made my way over to the Sportsman Lodge (SML) around five. Jen wasn't ready. (Typical woman--makes you wait). Headed over to the high school around 5:30--shortcuts and back streets. No traffic. What a blessing it is to have a local with you, huh, Jen? Jen said that we were standing in the same spot as our gang had been last year--good sign? Hoping. Anyhoo, we waited and waited until they opened the doors at 6:30. (Dix, lesson #3 from your year 2002 still applies) We made a few phone calls while we were waiting in line, but just got a lot of voicemails. Steph was only one around, so we relayed to her the current update. Back to the line. Doors opened and we mooseyed our butts in. Very small crowd, though I can't compare to previous years since this was my first time at the Wesleys' Variety Show. The show kicked off with a cute number taking off a Patsy Cline song--basic theme of the song was the Wesley's are alive/they're not dead/they're in NYC, etc. etc. Kevin and Patrika came out, did a little bit, and then introduced Susan Seaforth Hayes. She actually introduced the next guest (hold on a sec) and it was sweet when she talked about him--his birthday tomorrow and his four children and twelve grandchildren. She even mentioned that the last time she had been at the high school was when her granddaughter graduated and there was a streaker in the crowd, but she reassured us that the next performer would be keeping his clothes on and he did. Bill Hayes came out and did several numbers from 1950 groups (pre-rock 'n roll era). For the life of me, I can't remember any of them, except for "Young at Heart" (though I'm partial to Durante's version). He then talked about buying a record in 1952--Bill Haley and the Comets--and when he took it to his record label, he told them that's the kind of music he wanted to record. The label told him it was just a fad and would die out--stick with the ballads. So he entertained us with a little medley of "Rock around the Clock", "At the Hop", "Tutti-Frutti", and "Blue Suede Shoes". Then Patrika, Kevin, and Susan came out and the crowd serenaded Bill with "Happy Birthday". Next was our favorite guy--Steve Blackwood aka Bart. He did a few numbers off his CD. Then a friend of Patrika's came out and did a number. Noreen Reardon. She actually does voice-over work/ADR for the show. I'm not sure, but I think Patrika mentioned that Noreen had played the nun when Jennifer was in Ireland. Then they brought out someone from Louisiana who played a few numbers on guitar. Apparently, he's a friend of theirs. Lorna Scott (Cecilia Marin) did a number with Patrika--"Bosom Buddies". Then Nadia showed up. She came on stage, did a little wave, and went back stage. An announcement was made that Frank Parker was on his way. Jillian Claire did two numbers. One of them a Phil Collins song, the other from “Brother Bear”. In between all this, Kevin and Patrika were doing songs, etc. Kevin was doing quite a few from his play “The Boy from Oz”, though he's the understudy for Hugh Jackman and hasn't had a chance to perform in the role yet. Tonight was an avenue for him to do just that. Another announcement was made about Frank--still wasn't there, so they were going to go ahead with the dance number. Given that this was a "Night of the Living Dead" theme, the song played was "Thriller". Jacee Jule was one of the dancers and Heather Lindell was the other. (Of course, it was about 3/4 of the way through the song when the light bulb went off above Jen's head and she realized it was Jan up on the stage. She says she didn't recognize her without the cage). Later Heather came out and did a solo. My. God. Incredible voice. The show pretty much started to wrap up at that point. Kevin and Patrika did another duet and then brought the rest of the cast out for the obligatory signature song, "There's no Fans Like Days Fans". Then began the raffle. Jillian was pulling numbers and finally--FINALLY--the last one she calls is for Jen. She won a DVD of a Hallmark miniseries--Dreamcatcher, I think is the name. But it is for "Your Emmy Consideration", though considering Jen's not a member of the Academy, she really can't vote. They then started the autograph and pictures. We decided to say hi to Steve. Jen mentioned the "Fever" number he had done last year and he remembered Steph. And he wanted to know where she was. We let him know she was at a wedding this weekend and that’s why she wasn’t with us. We each bought his new CD and he asked if we would be at other events. We said we'd be at the breakfast on Sunday, but not the wake. He said there would be lots of singing at the wake--Irish songs (original for a wake, huh?), but he said he would sing our table a number at the breakfast. Next on our stop was Jillian. She is a sweetheart and a half. She says she wants to stay on Days forever. We started talking about how Abby caught onto Patrick rather quickly and how Jennifer hasn't. She asked Jen her name for the autograph and she deadpanned. "Oh, like my brain-dead mother.", which she does say to Missy’s face, as she informed us. Then we started talking about how Shawn knew about Marlena before anyone else and she thinks they should get rid of the adults and have the kids run Salem. I have to agree with her on that one. Next was Heather and she's such a nice person. Jen mentioned about not recognizing her right away and she seemed please about it--no one knows who she is yet. We asked what the chances were of getting a pair of scissors in the cage and she said that she's seen a lot of that. She doesn't have a say in that matter and from the way she talked, Jen and I concluded that the hair was still a raggedy moptop. (I mentioned to Steph earlier that it reminded me of Uncle Jesse from Full House circa first season). Perhaps, we'll have better luck at the dinner, but don't hold your breath. Then some cranky lady started yelling at us that it was time to leave. Of course that fell on death ears and people continued clicking the cameras and the actors kept scribbling with the Sharpies. Jen got the signatures from Patrika, Kevin, and Nadia, while I played Ansel Adams. We recommended to Nadia that she crash a few events this week. She was disappointed that she hadn't been invited to anything. Jen commented to Nadia when they went to take their picture together how last year was the long hair shot and this year was the short hair shot. At the point, Nadia remembered Jen from last year. Jen had told her about her cousin who had breast cancer and how she was cutting off her Chloe length for Locks of Love. This year it’s Kate length. They started to flip the lights and the cranky lady started yelling again and this time she was banging on the table. Even Heather was commenting on how rude the woman was. I can only conclude that she needed to get home in time to watch a rerun of “Vegas” because she has a thing for Josh Duhmmel. I'm only guessing here. Then we left and it was back to the SML. Ali’s Book Signing Day two of our adventure began with a trip to the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square where Ali was having her book signing. Jen had bought the book for her flight out and had just finished it the night before. I bought it at the mall. But before I could buy the book, Jen and I walked all the way to the end of the mall only to learn the bookstore-Brentano’s-had moved. Guess where they moved to? Right where Jen and I started, so it was turn around and walk all the way back. We got the book and learned the actual signing was going to take place in the food court which translated into more walking. Side Note: At some Days Events, be prepared for walking, lots of walking. It’s like waiting. The signing was suppose to start at 11 am and we were there at about 10:30. No line, so we caught breakfast and waited. Eleven o’clock rolled around and mind you they had the table and chairs set up….but no books or Ali. 11:05-no Ali and no books 11:10-still no Ali and no books By now Jen and I figured that Ali was just waiting in the store somewhere. There were a few people in line already (three actually) which made Jen and me, 4th and 5th in line. 11:20-Ali arrives, but no books. She did not look happy. She walked outside and we thought-“That’s it. No books. She’s leaving.” Rest assured, she walked back in a few minutes later along with the books. They had arrived! We waited our turn and had our time with Ali. We chatted with her for a spell, and then we mentioned the war with Kyle and what she and Kirsten and Farah did to his car. Next thing you know, she whips out her camera phone-all excited, mind you-and shows us “exclusive” pictures. It was great. After that, we did a little shopping and some sightseeing around LA and then back to the hotel to get ready for Dinner with the Brady Boys. Dinner with the Brady Boys The dinner was Irish themed--lots of shamrocks and everything. Apparently, given that last year everyone had to “sing for their supper” (love songs, I hear), Peter said the tradition would continue….only this time…drinking songs. Jen turned to me--why, I don’t know. The pressure to come up with something on the spot and I was just drawing blanks on the words. Knew the songs, but couldn’t for the life of Reilly, remember the words. We ended up singing “Friends in Low Places”, thanks to Jen. Oh, and our table--#11--in the back…and a hop, skip and a jump next to the bar. Guess who was in her own personal haven? Miguel and I became good friends. In fact, when I asked about the bar stock, he didn’t have any Irish whiskey there, but he went and got a bottle of Jamieson…just for me. So between knocking back the Malibu and Diet Cokes, sipping Jamieson on the rocks (at one point I was double fisting), and then doing a shot of Baileys and whiskey, I was a happy girl and Jen was just shaking her head. Oh, the dinner…Peter and Jason entertained us with trivia and Q&A. Let me just say that Jason’s head is so deep in the gutter, it’s going to be a long time digging him out. The theme of the night seemed to be “Shawn ain’t gettin’ any”. Jason went off on that for about three hours. Peter admonished him that Shawn and Belle haven’t done the deed yet-you’re not my son. Jason countered back with you gave me the leather jacket and the motorcycle-they’re not working. Started talking about the handcuffs and how they don’t have the “release” button on them, etc. (Now HOW does he know about the release button on a set of handcuffs?) Then someone brought up the whole country line dance dream sequence of Bonnie’s and that took him off on another tangent. One of the trivia questions were-what is Shawn’s favorite food? Someone answered chocolate covered cherries and with the innuendo behind it, that opened another door for him that night. At one point, Jason asked the crowd how they felt about a Jan-Shawn pairing? Everyone booed. A Belle-Jan pairing? Everyone started cheering until they realized what he said. He got a kick out of that. So then they start pulling the raffle tickets and this little girl (about 11 or 12) wins and Jason realizes that he’s been performing an R rated stand-up routine with kids in the audience. He gives the little girl her prize and says “Word of the day: Abstinence”. The girl asked what it was and Jason told her to ask her mother. “Mommy, what’s abstinence?” The little girl won a second prize later and back she went. Jason asked her what the word to remember was and she was so adorable, just shrugging, not knowing, etc. By the way, Jen won the first raffle prize. A pillow…with the Irish Blessing on one side…and the other… An iron on picture of Peter Reckell, which he autographed when she got up there. She gets to sleep with Peter! Now, let’s not ALL hate her. Peter’s wife, Kelly Moneymaker came out and sang a few songs, including the Bo and Hope song. It was great! After that, the dinner coordinators announced they would be having each table come up, one at a time for time with Peter and Jason. Just our luck, we were at the last table, which meant we had to wait for everyone else to go ahead for pictures and autographs. Jen and I talked to Peter first. Of course, Jen pushes me forward with a nice little announcement of my current condition-“The drunk can go first.” (Thanks, Jen) I asked Peter why at an Irish themed dinner they didn’t have any Guinness. He said to take it up with the hotel and I told him I already had. He asked if I was Irish. Um, hell yeah! Next up was Jen and she said that her favorite Bope moment was “Holding Out for a Hero” and how she remembered watching him ride up on the motorcycle with that playing. Peter said that Kelly wanted to do a remake of the song, but Corday won’t let her do covers. Jen’s response was “She doesn’t work for the studio. Do it!” Then we got to meet Jason. I like to be a little different and use black and white film, which you’ll see when I post the pictures later this week. He was wearing a white baseball jersey some fans had given him earlier in the evening and given my past experience with black and white film, I was concerned the shirt would wash him out. I asked him to do me a little favor and take off the shirt and the coordinator, Judith, was like, no, no, no pulling a Reilly. Jen explained about the film and I just said I wanted a picture of him in his blue White Castle tee shirt that he had arrived in. So he obliges me and takes off the jersey. Kicker of the moment was Jen’s remark. “Gee, Chris, you got farther with him than Belle ever did.” Jason and Judith were totally amused by that remark and shook their heads in agreement. Earlier in the night, Jason mentioned he had been rooting for the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs. That’s all Jen needed to hear. She made it her mission to rib him about her Flyers getting further in the playoffs than his Senators and they had a few minutes talking about hockey. He asked Jen if she knew who won the game and she didn’t know, but he mentioned the game had gone into double overtime. Jen and Jason then bonded over being for Calgary and hating Tampa with a passion. That was it for the dinner, so Jen and the drunk (me) headed out to go to O’Briens, a local Irish pub, but we had to make a pit stop first to Walgreen’s for some cherries-chocolate covered to be exact. Then it was onto O’Briens where Jen met Colin Farrell’s younger brother (actually a bartender who looks a lot like Colin). Darren. Darren. Darren. His name is Darren, in case you couldn’t figure it out. And guess who thinks he’s hot? So, I do my obligatory carbomb of the evening and the guy next to us had never heard of them. Explained the process behind the carbomb and he bought me one, too. He couldn’t do it, but I did mine, on my way to doing five in total, while Jen was preoccupied ogling Darren all night. Now take those five carbombs, the four chasers I had, along with the shot of Baileys and whiskey, the Jamieson, and the six Malibu and diet cokes from the dinner…you do the math… According to Jen, I also scared the guy away with my extreme passion about the Red Sox and my rant about a game that took place 25 years ago. We learned he was a production assistant for “Fear Factor” and mentioned that Ali needed oxygen after the bug scene. We closed our tab and back to the hotel. I crashed at Jen’s place and we were up early the next morning to make a special journey before the breakfast. Dinner with the Brady Boys Trivia Great News! We found the trivia questions from the Brady Boys Dinner-thought we had lost the questions, so without further ado, here they are… 1. Bo Brady’s birth date? The final answer is 11/9/63. The audience got the month and year, but kept dancing around the day. At one point, someone said 11/8/65 (the first Days airdate), but at last the crowd narrowed it down to the ninth, after MANY guesses. 2. Shawn Douglas Brady birth date? An easy one for most-4/6/87. Jason commented that he was now old enough to legally drink on the show via the SORAS, yet Peter replied--he’s only seventeen! 3. What kind of medal does Bo wear around his neck? A throw away question to any true Bo fan--St. Christopher’s medal. 4. Shawn Douglas’ baseball team? The Moose was the official answer, but it set off a debate. For some reason, Jason and Peter thought the Salem High mascot was the Eagle, but of course we all know the high school mascot was the Panthers. 5. Bo hates what condiment? We pretty sure he commented ketchup. We were just a teensy bit giggly in the back and Peter stopped everything and asked what was funny to which we answered “Nothing”. (And to tell the truth, who the hell knows what we were laughing about) 6. Shawn D loves what food? Someone shouted out pizza and then chocolate covered cherries was mentioned and we all know where that went... 7. Peter drives what kind of car? Easy one--electric. And he started talking with a fan near the front about having the same car--a Toyota Matrix-which he loves. 8. What was Jason’s first start in show business prior to acting? Playing piano at weddings 9. Peter attended what university? He received a degree in what? Someone credited him with a Julliard education and that stopped him cold in his tracks. His was impressed with himself for going to Julliard. But the real answer is Boston Conservatory where he earned his degree in fine arts. 10. What was Jason’s first professional acting gig? This one stumped the crowd, so Jason had to help out with the answer--Disney Channel’s “Project Time”. 11. When did Peter & Kelly Moneymaker get married? Peter said six years ago (4/18/98), but then turned around towards the stage where Kelly was setting up to perform and ask--is that right? 12. Jason was born in what state? Throw away--New Jersey. 13. Peter has how many siblings? Where is he in the order? It took a couple of seconds for the crowd to answer--5--and then Peter said he was the second and said how many of each he had--three boys, three girls, but it’s not the Brady Bunch 14. Jason has how many siblings? What are their names? The crowd answered 3 and mentioned his younger sister Janean who sang with him a couple of years ago and then he had an older brother and older sister. He never did say their names, but they are Michael and Michelle. 15. Peter got his start on what soap? Another throwaway--As The World Turns 16. Jason received what award in 2001? Everyone got this right away--SOD Best Younger Actor-to which Jason replied--Of course it would be the one year it’s not televised. Hurry up, let’s give it to Jason. 17. What year did Peter begin the role of Bo Brady? 1983 18. What year did Jason begin the role of Shawn Douglas Brady? 1999 19. What is Peter’s middle name? Paul 20. What is Jason’s middle name? John After saying both Peter and Jason’s middle names back to back, Peter started joking about having the Apostles’ names. He mentioned recently being on a trip and when people were saying their names, they were the Apostles names--gotta be a safe flight. BONUS: 1. What is the address to the Brady Pub? There were two answers-and note, they were hard. No one really knew these. The two addys were 12 Front St. and 48 Water St.--one for the Pub and one for the home upstairs is what we’re guessing. 2. What is the area code in Salem? Someone thought it was zip code by mistake and rattled off 06643-004. No one knew the area code and Jason finally said it was 636. Then he joked--if you call 636-555-1212, you can ask for anyone’s phone number in Salem. Then he added if you knew the answers to these last two questions--GET A LIFE!!!!! After the trivia wrapped out, they did the raffle and then Peter sang a song Kelly had written for him. He hasn’t recorded it and he said he would be in the studio in the next month to record it. He also let the audience know it would be available on ITunes (Kelly had to explain ITunes to him-he’s computer illiterate) for anyone to download. Then he gave Jason a hard time about not singing. Jason’s response-he sang about as good as Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer. He then proved it with a short diddy from a cheesy song, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Kelly did her numbers and Peter’s biggest compliment to his wife was--do you see why I don’t follow her. Brunch with the Men of Days Now, Jen couldn’t believe that after all the drinking I did (seventeen drinks), I didn’t have a hangover. I’m Irish, can you expect anything less? Our special journey was to Van Nuys to purchase two dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for Kyle Brandt. A while back, Kyle did a journal entry on his website about the “Low Carb” Diet Craze sweeping the nation and how upset he was over Krispy Kreme wanting to introduce low-carb donuts. He called them “God’s little rings of joy” and shouldn’t be touched. We couldn’t disappointed our new favorite guy and just had to bring him some little rings of joy. Got to the breakfast and we were in the back, same table as the night before. And the bar was open, but I was good. Jen made me. Debbie O’Connor began the introductions of the guys: Kyle Brandt, the host for the morning, Kyle Lowder, Brody Hutzler, Rhassan Orange, Eric Winter, Bryan Dattilo, and Steve Blackwood. Jason was late…wonder why… Each table had a list of trivia questions to ask the actor about their character. Guess who we got…hee, hee. So the trivia began and guess who knew the least about his character…I’ll just give you a run down of the questions and his answers. “What was the song he sang after he lost playing poker to Gran?” A shrug of the shoulders and “I don’t know.” “Who taught him and his father sign language?” “My character knows sign language?” “Who was his first on-screen kiss and where?” “Belle?” (by the way, wrong answer) “What did he give Belle for Christmas 2003?” “Something he built from twigs.” (he got this one AFTER a lot of help and being reminded of what his character wasn’t getting any of…remember the theme of the dinner?) Last question: “How many blood relatives has he lost with all the killings?” “Grandma Caroline, Grandpa Doug, Aunt Maggie-by the way, is she really my aunt by blood? (someone answered everyone in Salem is related by blood), Gran, Grandpa Victor…” Then the crowd had to help out. “Cassie? I’m related to Cassie?” Long pause. “Oh, yeah, and Roman.” That’s our Jason, can’t love him anymore… In the end, Steve/Bart won knowing all the answers to questions about his character. As he said, you only work once a year, it ain’t hard. By the way, Bryan does a kick-a$$ impression of Stefano and told us how he would behave if he were TEK and then showed us. After the trivia, there was a Q&A. Someone asked Brody who his character is working for and he honestly has no idea. Someone asked Kyle B about the medals he wears and he went off on a tangent about the uniform and how heavy it is, made of wool and hot under the lights and difficult to move and how he has to act like Batman and when Kirsten hugs him, her face is always smashed into his medals. Group question: If you could be any other character on the show, who would it be? Bryan: Tek (see a couple of paragraphs above) Jason: We’ll return to in a moment Steve: Anybody with a storyline Kyle B: Said he was going old school--Patch Johnson Kyle L: Lucas, so he could get some Sami lovin’ Eric: Anybody with money Rhassan: John Black (and that set off a few Drake impressions by Rhassan and both Kyles) Brody: Baby Theo, so Celeste would hold him all day and he could hang out with Lexie. Guess where the guys’ heads were going… Back to Jason: Anybody with money, so he could take Belle out to dinner instead of having her cook. Let’s just say Jason was in rare form this morning. It was like a continuation of the night before… “Shawn ain’t gettin’ any and he’s broke, too” “Belle, can you make dinner tonight? I have peanut butter and jelly.” “Oh, Philip just bought you a diamond. Here’s something I made in the second grade.” “Oh, Philip just bought you a house. Here’s something I made out of twigs.” “Oh, Phillip just bought you a car…” And on and on and on… Another group question was “Who would you like your character to sleep with whom they’re not currently paired with and who would they like to slap?” Bryan: Would like to slap his mother and sleep with Lexie. Jason: we’ll come back to Steve: sleep with Hattie and slap Stefano Kyle B: sleep with Belle And off he went… “You’re such a GOOD FRIEND, Philip.” “It’s nice to have a FRIEND like you, Philip.” “I love you like a FRIEND, Philip.” And on and on and on… And he wants to slap Sami, which is understandable given the board wars between Ali and Kyle. Kyle L: After some prodding from the audience, he said he wants to sleep with Crystal and slap Nicole. Eric: Sleep with Lexie and slap Sami, too. Rhaassan: Sleep with Kate and slap John because of all the chokeholds he puts him, making him look weak in scenes. Brody: Someone said Jennifer, but because she’s pregnant it would be too weird, so he decided on Hope and he wants to slap Julie. Jason--the one you’ve been waiting for… First the slap portion of the question: He said he’d say Jan, but she might enjoy it too much “Oh, more, Shawn, more.” And he wanted to sleep with Belle and since she’s currently paired with Philip, he can say that. He also picked Lexie. Lexie’s gonna be a busy women between being the only doctor in Salem and all the lovin’ she’ll be gettin’. Then the guys came out into the crowd for pics and autographs. Steve came to our table first, selling his CDs, but we had gotten ours at the variety show. Then came Jason and he and Jen talked about Tampa Bay winning the night before. While Jen was upset, Jason was excited. When Jen asked why? he excitedly replied, “Now I can watch Game 7!”. Then Jason started talking about Calgary’s road record and Jen replied they have a better road than home record. Can you imagine his reaction to a girl knowing and understanding hockey? He mentioned his roommate is from Calgary and that’s why he’s rooting for the Flames. Now, as every woman knows there are two ways to a guy’s heart and for those of you who don’t know…pay attention. Sports and Food 101 We’ve covered sports with Jason. Now onto food… Jen and I gave him the little gift bag and when he opened it…a smirk, a smile, and chuckle. He loved the box of chocolate covered cherries we had bought the night before. He’s determined to get this in Shawn’s room on the set, so keep an eye out for a small gold box. I even got a picture of Jason holding the box, thumbs up, with his arm around Jen. It brought the biggest smile to his face. And that concludes our lesson for today in Sports and Food 101. Then we met Eric, Rhassan, Brody, and Bryan--all of them sweet as can be. Kyle B--wearing a Kerry Woods baseball jersey--was a diligent little worker bee making his way from table to table until he finally got close to ours, but not quite, so we took the initiative and went to him. We had perishable food, after all. We finally got face to face with THE MAN and Jen told him this was in appreciation for throwing the Mens’ event this year. She told him this had to do with a journal entry from a month ago. Side note: For those of you who haven’t read his journal entries, you don’t know what you’re missing. His eyes started to light up like a kid’s on Christmas morning as he smelt the gift bag (Piston colors, by the way) and asked if we had baked for him. Jen says think “God’s Little Rings of Joy” and with that, he tore open that bag and started exclaiming this was the best gift he had ever gotten. He opened the box and started hamming it up for the camera and going on and on about how good it was as he ate it. Jen wanted one and he said, “You bought ‘em. Have one.” I got a great picture of them, arms around each other, eating donuts. He loved the donuts so much, he was content to stand there the rest of day. But alas, there was an important event that still had to occur… Even though, she’s no longer with us, in true SBFC tradition, Jen was winning raffles right and left. Kristy, you would be proud! She won at the variety show, Peter and Jason's dinner (no, she didn't win either of them), and at the Breakfast. And if all that winning wasn't enough, she won THE PRIZE! The prize you would all be TOTALLY jealous over. She was the high bidder on one of the silent auctions at the breakfast this morning. Oh, you want to know what she won? Really? You really wanna know? Ok, I'll tell you. She was the lucky fan who got to have her picture taken with ALLLLLLLLL (well, almost all) the Men of Salem!!! YES! The Haven's Jen!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, here was Jen, sandwiched amongst, Kyle Brandt, Kyle Lowder, Bryan Dattilo, Rhassan Orange, Steve Blackwood, Eric Winter, Brody Hutzler and Jason Cook! Now, normally, in years past, if you've since this picture in the magazines where the lucky fan gets their picture taken with the guys, it's just everyone arm in arm. Nope, not this time! ;) Bryan was to Jen's left and started it all--the ham that he is. He insisted on having both arms around her and started going, "She's mine!" Then one of the guys on her right said, "NO! She's mine!" It was an all out debate as arms just kept flying all around her! "She's mine!" "No, she's mine!" "Mine!" "No! Mine!" And on and on and on… Someone, I don't remember who, actually had his hand on her thigh!!!!!!!!!!! I swear it was like she was being molested by the Men of Days! I'm SO jealous! The coordinators of the event have said they are going to send her the best of the 8x10's that the official photographers took. She promised to share it with you all when she gets them. By the way, "stalker camera" made another appearance at Fan Fest this year. ;) She said when she gets her film developed she'll put them in an online photo album for you all to enjoy. Also, she says, you are all welcome to download the pics and use the photos for banners, sig arts, or whatever else your little heart desires.... Isn't she the bomb?! So after I had to pull Jen down from Cloud Nine, Ten, and Eleven (though she still thinks Darren is hot), it was back to the room to change and then off to the basketball game. Brunch with the Men of Days Trivia Questions Side note: I’m putting down the real answers, NOT what the actors necessarily said. Brody What is Patrick’s father’s name? David How many episodes were you in before you got to wear a shirt? He was wearing a shirt in his first scene How did Patrick say he knew Jack? NASCAR race What was the first lie Patrick told Jennifer? He didn’t have a wallet or insurance How many times has Patrick been injured since he has been on the show? 3 The father’s name and shirt question did stump him a little. Rhassan Who did Tek replace? OPS What does ISA stand for? International Security Alliance What did Tek teach Theo to throw? Football When Marlena was arrested what did TEK bring to the hospital? Sodium Pentothal What was the first scene that TEK went shirtless? In the sauna with John. The ISA one had almost EVERYONE stumped…except the fans, of course. There was also a question about what kind of Chinese food he was eating while on a stakeout with John. I think this was part of his 5 questions during the Trivia and one of the questions above was asked during the Q&A period. Some people had submitted more trivia for the Q&A portion instead of asking guys questions. Eric Grandpa Shawn once told you the type of business he owned prior to "Brady Pub", what business was it? Fish Market What did Rex give Mimi just before they made love for the first time? A rough diamond Rex and Cassie broke into a home and a restaurant in their first few weeks at Salem. Whose home and what restaurant? The Brady Pub and Wesleys What was spilled on Rex’s shirt that caused him to take it off in front of Mimi for the first time? Cough Syrup Can’t recall the fifth one for Eric, but he did fairly well answering. Kyle L What is Brady's middle name? Victor After years of animosity between Marlena and Brady, Marlena gives him an action figure? A Grey Hulk What songs did Brady sing with Chloe in the park? Sixteen Going On Seventeen and These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things What do you Brady to free Belle from the train tracks? A track lever greased up with oil Brady runs naked down the stairs to get a towel when Chloe and Belle spot a very much-exposed Brady. What does Brady first grab to cover himself with? A plant The last question—about the plant—set off a mini debate over whether it was a plant or a flower pot. But as Kyle said—it was big. Kyle B Who gave birth to Phillip? Vivian How many brothers and sisters does Phillip have? Name them. Bo, Austin, Billie, Lucas, Rex, Cassie, and Isabella. What kind of car does Phillip drive and what color? A purple/silver PT Cruiser. At a party at the Kiriakis mansion, Belle was with Phillip and she had to take off her dress. Why? Because her dress got caught in the air ducts of the mansion It took him a while to go through the siblings and he referred to Bo as “some old guy” and he almost forgot Isabella. Bryan What was the name of Lucas’s high school girlfriend? Andrea Where did Sami and Lucas make love for the first time? Titan photo lab What was Sami’s nickname for Lucas when they first met? The General Who was Lucas in bed with during his first scene? Cherish, the rockstar What kind of gun did Lucas shoot Abe with, a pistol or revolver? Revolver and commented how a Pistol made a wimpy sound. He had little trouble answering his questions. Steve What is Bart’s last name? Spell Bart’s last name. Biddereck What did Stefano always call Bart? You idiot! (Bryan does a great impression) What were Bart’s nicknames for Stefano, Dr. Rolf, and Tony? The Stefster, Dr. Rolfski, Count D While making preparations to transfer Gina's memories to Hope, Bart admitted to Rolf that he wanted to be transformed into someone. Who was it? Frank Sinatra What female character in a bikini could he not stop staring at? Cassie Steve was the winner getting all five of his questions right. As he said—you only work once a year, it ain’t hard. Jason’s were easy--duh--because we were at the table asking them. James Reynold’s Charity Basketball Game Teams were divided into gold and teal. Gold Team: Captain Josh Taylor, Brody, Ali, Bryan, Heather Lindell, and Rhassan. Teal Team: Captain James Reynolds, his wife Lissa, Jillian (more on her in a second), Kyle, Kyle (that’s Brandt and Lowder, not Lowder and Brandt), Jason, and Eric. The game was intense and though the Gold Team seemed to dominate, the Teal team did make many valiant efforts, but their free throw shooting was killing them. Final score was 38-37, Gold Team. Jillian--like I said before at the Variety show, she’s a sweetheart and a half. Absolutely precious. She was “covering” Brody, who is about 6’2” at the least and the tallest guy on the team. Why no one picked her up and just had her keep making baskets over and over is beyond me. The ref was a laugh riot and “helped” her (translation: he cheated for her) One more thing from the game. Almost forget about Josh Taylor ribbing Kyle B about his Ivy League education. When Kyle was at the free throw line, we heard Josh heckling him "Hey, Princeton!". Josh also fouled Kyle a lot during the game and acted indignent when he was called on it. After the game was over, the crowd was allowed onto the floor for pictures and autographs. Since we had missed Lowder at the breakfast, we tried to catch him after the game, but he left immediately after the final buzzer. Ari was performing in a play in South Pasadena that afternoon and that’s why she wasn’t there. Maybe next year. We went to see Jason one last time for an autograph I missed that morning and I asked if he was a Yankee fan, since it had been mentioned once in a magazine that he had attended a game at Yankee Stadium. If he answered yes, then it was all over for me and the board. I would have resigned my post immediately. But, lucky for you, he said he’s not a Yankee fan and in fact, he’s not even a fan of baseball. Breathe easy now. Then THE BOY had the audacity to ask me, who by the way is dressed in Red Sox tee shirt and ball cap, if I was a YANKEE FAN. ME?!?!?! Is he crazy?! Has he been in the cage too long or what? Then he quickly realize his faux paux as I gave him a LOOK (you know the kind). Jen told him not to take it personally-that I had scared a guy in the bar the night before about my love for the Red Sox. He took it in good humor. We waited a little bit for James Reynolds, but given the crowd around him was bigger than that around Kyle B, we made a quick detour. Jen had a water bottle with her and back to the Low Carb journal entry it was. Jen wrote on the label “Low Carb” above the words drinking water and I suggested she have Kyle sign it, hence why we were in his line. Side note: If you didn’t read the journal entry, he made a comment that someone would market “Low Carb Drinking Water” and people would buy it. (There are no carbs in water, duh.) Anyway, we were next in line and the first thing out of his mouth--what, no donuts? Jen responded-nope, fresh out. He signed the water bottle, which he got a big kick out of. We took a couple more pictures with him and he reminded Jen that she has to send pictures to his website--especially the Krispy Kreme ones. Back over to James and the crowd was starting to diminish a bit. While we were waiting our turn, someone had made a comment about the Emmys and how sorry they were he had lost. James made a comment about disappointment and then noticed my Red Sox shirt. He said I was used to disappointment and then he saw Jen in her Phillies tee shirt and added that Jen was used to disappointment as well. We got in there for pictures and autographs and he was just as sweet as can be. President Ronald Reagan Memorial Well, after a fun filled weekend, today was the least “excellent” day as we paid our respects to the 40th President. Because of the large crowds expected, we had to go to Moorpark College where buses would be shuttling everyone up to the library. We arrived close to eleven in the morning and after a thirty minute crawl to the parking lot, we were walking towards the line for the buses. We were told that cameras were not allowed and had to be left in the car. However, Jen did take some pictures of the memorials and the people. We got in line a little after noon and were on the bus by 1:30. All together the trip up to the library and back took about an hour. We met this wonderful couple from Oxnard in line with us and we had a lovely chat with them while we waited. On the way up to the library, we got our first glimpse of the freeway and the traffic was backed up for miles. Amazing how all these people were on their way to pay their respects. When we arrived at the library, the line just moved forward… solemn… somber… reflective. The power of emotions flowing through the people was just amazing. Americans from all walks of life walked past the flag draped coffin. What struck me personally the most was all the young children who were there--children who weren’t even born when he was President--because their parents wanted them to know and remember who Reagan was. Today was a day to teach about preserving the past. By now, everyone has seen the images on TV of the coffin and the honor guarding standing watch, but walking past all those young men in uniform, standing rigidly, honoring their duty to their Commander-in-Chief, is just so overwhelming. One woman in line behind us said a quiet “thank you for your service” to the serviceman at the entrance. To that, he gave a small smile. When we stepped outside, a library representative gave each person a memorial card-very basic yet elegant with a simple message of gratitude. As we walked back to the buses to return us to Moorpark College, Jen and I were both pulled from the line for interviews with local radio stations. Jen and I just relayed our thoughts about the day, the people, and of course, President Reagan. When the bus dropped us off at the college, we saw that line was nearly ten times longer, but the crowd was the same--people waiting to pay their respects. We signed the condolence book and Jen got her camera from the car to take a few more pictures of the crowd to document the day. As we were driving away from Moorpark and pulling onto the freeway, we saw on the other side the line of cars just waiting to get off the exit ramp. It went on for a good five miles and we both agree that it could get longer as the day progresses. Now, remember the radio interviews we did? Well, we’re in the car, listening to the news on KNX 1070 and top of the hour, they do a recap of the morning’s service and the public’s out pouring of sympathy. Next thing we hear is “And one person from Jacksonville, Florida took a day out of her vacation to come and pay her respects.” And then they played a clip of Jen’s interview. Let’s just say she was a little speechless. That was today. Dinner at the Saddleback Ranch Later that night, we decided to try Universal City Walk for dinner. Ended up at the Saddle Back Ranch and I was in rare form-again. The Host: How many in your party? Jen: Two Chris: Yeah, I’m mean, do you see a third person? And he shows us to our table… The Host: By the way, my name’s Scott Chris: Good thing you know your own name. And Jen is shaking her head and rolling her eyes, as usual. Our waiter, Brendan, comes and takes our order and Jen concludes that to work at Saddle Back Ranch, you have to be good-looking and be able to wear a baseball cap. Of course, none of them were as hot as Darren. Our food comes and if anyone has eaten there, you’ll know how big the plates are-more than 18 inches across. I did a 180 with my plate--nope, still the same size. Both of us barely made a dent, but the chef came out and wanted to buy dessert for us. Two heads shaking no. A shot of something? One head shaking no. The other seriously contemplating. I suggest an Irish carbomb and he calls his bartender, Joe, over to take my order. Joe comes back with a FULL pint of Guinness and a double shot of Baileys and whiskey. Side note: For those who don’t know, a carbomb is done with a half pint of Guinness and a single shot of Baileys and whiskey, which you don’t sip--you chug it. But being the Irish girl that I am, I stepped up to the plate and chugged it down. Jen said that the chef was impressed and she even impressed herself when she explained to Brendan what a carbomb was. We also told Joe that they were going to have to rename that from an Irish carbomb to an I.R.A bomb. After that, we headed for home sweet home. The NBC Studio Tour So, we’ve just returned from the obligatory FanFest Weekend wrap up tour of the NBC Studios where they tape… The one and only… Access Hollywood! Yes, everyone’s favorite show... The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! The always entertaining... Telemundo! And some other little show called Days of Our Lives…or something like that. Seriously about 80% of the tour is geared towards Days. You begin the tour by meeting your NBC page. Ours was named Lenny--a great guy (but not as hot at Darren). He takes you through the first highlight--security check! Then it’s onto watch a five minute video about the history of NBC Studios. Side note: There’s a quick Days clip with Jack and Jenn (Valley and Cameron) The video ends and Lenny returns, setting himself up by asking if there are any Days fans. DUH! Two excited hands shot up at that. A roll of the eyes by the men in the group and Lenny continues the tour. First stop is the Days sets. They film on two stages--Studio 2 and 4. We could only take a peek at #2. (Filming in 4). Now, for what we saw… Alice’s aka Tuscany was dressed up in country western motif with gold & silver balloons. There were both interior and exteriors. We saw a sign that said “Horton Foundation Hoedown”…looks like there might be an “event” coming up… One thing you’d be amazed at is that they are able to fit up to eight sets on the stage. Lenny also gave us a run down of the day at Days. Director arrives at 4:30 in the MORNING. 6:30 am is the earliest the actors can be called in and they can tape until midnight or later if it’s a big event. Now, remember they do this every day, too. As we walking, we saw a few pieces from the different Days sets, including the Kiriakis front door, Jen’s front door, Marlena’s Penthouse, Brady Pub, Wesley’s porch (which is in shambles), plants from the island, the nurses station, and knick knacks from Mickey’s house. Oh, and guess who we saw walking down the hall--Debby O’Connor. For those of you who don’t know who she is, she is the Coordinator for most of the weekend events. It seemed to scare Lenny a little bit that we knew her. We saw Telemundo next. Telemundo is NBC’s Spanish speaking network. There was a school there learning about the weather and were playing in front of the green screen. Now, on the tour, no photography is allowed inside the studio. In fact Lenny stressed that if we take pictures, he gets fired. However, the anchor at Telemundo said we could. After clearing it with the Telemundo producer, we got a few shots. We’ll have those up later. By the way, we learned that the cameras used no longer need cameramen as they are basically robots operated from the booth. After that it was down past Access Hollywood. We weren’t able to see in there at the time because they were filming, but we did learn that this was the studio Johnny Carson used to tape The Tonight Show when he was the host. Then Lenny asked us if we knew what the hallway to our left was, and we all recognized it as The Tonight Show hallway. And just as he’s pointing that out, John Menendez walks by with a plate of barbeque. He’s Leno’s new announcer. Then it was time for the outside part of the tour, where we saw Leno’s yellow Corvette that he drove in today as well as the NBC Commissary, or as Johnny Carson used to call it “Commi-scary.” Also in the parking lot, was a lunch for employees under tents to celebrate the NBC-Universal merger. We went back inside and Lenny took us inside The Tonight Show set. If you’ve seen it on tv, you’d be amazed at how small it actually is in person. Piece of advice, if you are ever lucky enough to go to a taping of TTS, bring a sweater because the turn the air on full blast. This is because of all the lighting heating up the studio. Back to looking at more props. We saw one of Marlena’s wigs from the Possession storyline and Sami’s “Marilyn Monroe”-esque dress from when she sang Happy Birthday to Franco. In the wardrobe room, we saw a Lobster costume hanging from one of the Days racks (don’t know where this will be used), as well as a rack of clothes labeled “The Women’s Loft.” We think this was referring to Belle and Mimi. In the area where the actors go for fittings, Lenny told us the blue screen covering the majority of the window was to prevent the public from looking in. Reporters from SOD & SOW would report on who was getting smaller, getting bigger, or pregnant and report it in the magazines. Also, they no longer mark the actor’s names on the mannequins for the same reason. They just number them now. Next we got to see some of the Days flooring, including the floors from Alice’s kitchen, John Black’s office, Marlena’s penthouse, and Hope’s kitchen. This area looked like a carpet store, with rolls and rolls of carpet and flooring. They keep all flooring, no matter how old, in case they have to do a flashback scene. He said Days fans were intense, to say the least, and if the show messed up on one small detail, the fans write in letters telling them about it. After that, we went into the sound effects area where he told us the father of sound effects was Jack Foley. So if you see this crew member in credits on a movie or tv show, they handle the special effects. We also learned that the notes for the NBC chimes was G - E - C. Ironic since that is the initials of their parent company--General Electric Company. The tour ended at Salem Place. We exited through the Jewelry store doors (next to Java Café). The tour was over and it was just a little past one, so of course we made the wise decision to hang out in the Salem Place Cinema (aka NBC guest relations) to watch Days. Side Note: Seeing Jan in the nurses uniform reminded us of a comment Jason made at the dinner Saturday night. No, Jan! No! But, you’re looking really good in that nurses uniform. After the show (and bonding with other Days fans waiting to go on the tour), we headed on over to Salem Place to take some pictures. Jen tried to do some shopping at Ballistix, but alas, they were closed. She did check the phones used in the Salem Place on the island, and memo to the 10 hostages-- THEY WORK!!!!!! USE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!! We thought we could get something to drink at Java Café, I mean, with an espresso only costing $1.50, who can pass up that? But they were closed too. Darn. However, we did see some island plants in the windows. ;) Also, what was the Salem Bank last year (something rarely seen on screen), has transformed into the front doors of “University Hospital Trauma Center”. We tried to get in to look for some cute doctors, but apparently, the hospital must be underfunded, because they closed down too! That was our day in Salem and just our luck, it only lasted as long as an episode. Baseball Time! So off we were to the ball game! Jen was wearing Phillies…I was wearing Red Sox. Sure Anaheim and Milwaukee were going to be grateful for our support, huh? On the way down, I teased Jen that given her run of luck these past few days it wouldn’t be a shocker for her to catch a foul ball. It would just be fitting. As we were driving, I pointed out a few places off the freeway--Arcadia, San Dimas, Yorba Linda--and was helping Jen with her pronunciation of some of the cities and streets. We stopped at Downtown Disney first and did a little shopping. Mostly Jen who was buying for family and friends back home. Then it over to Angels Stadium. We bought out tickets and had pretty good seats in right field. We had missed the first two innings due to traffic. By the way, Jen loves the carpool lanes in California But the Angels and Brewers were more than willing to make up for what we missed. A scoreless game and nine innings flew by in two hours. Time for extra innings… Brewer player: Strikeout Brewer player: Strikeout Brewer player: Strikeout Oh, other team’s up Angel player: Strikeout Angel player: Strikeout Angel player: Strikeout And on and on and on… For another eight innings. It got to a point that it didn’t matter who was at the plate-just as long as someone scored and ended this agony. I kept switching sides each time the teams were at bat. “Let’s go, Brewers! Let’s Go!” “Let’s go, Angels! Let’s Go!” “Let’s go, Brewers! Let’s Go!” “Let’s go, Angels! Let’s Go!” And on and on and on… We finally gave up and left at the end of the twelfth. But kudos to those players-Angels and Brewers-four hours and forty five minutes-seventeen innings. We listened to the rest of the game driving back towards Los Angeles. Jen had driven a full circle around all of Southern California. See, stick with me and you’ll see all of LA. We stopped at one of my favorite pubs for a couple of drinks where they have karaoke on Tuesdays. Frank Parker aka Grandpa Shawn is known to stop in from time to time and sing a number or two. Also it’s geared towards Philly fans, so I knew it would be right up Jen’s alley. Frank wasn’t there, but the owners did let us know that he had been in on Thursday with good news--he had resigned for another three years. I sang a few songs and we met a fellow Red Sox fan (we’re everywhere, folks). In the end, it was a lot of fun to be had by all. The Museum of Television & Radio And just when you thought it was over, we’ve got more… Since Jen’s leaving tonight…on a jet plane, don’t know when she’ll be back again…we decided to take it easy today, so we did this: Went to the Museum of Television and Radio and saw the first episode of Days of our Lives. They actually offer a few other episodes, including the following… Patch and Kayla’s wedding (07/25/88) Marlena and Roman’s renewal of wedding vows (08/22/86) Eugene & Calliope’s wedding (1985) The 11/12/65 episode (the first Friday/weekend cliffhanger) Steve is in critical condition (10/1990) Bo and Billie attempt to get married (1/1995) Marlena leaves Roman (1994) Isabella gives birth at her wedding (1992) Tom Horton dies (1994) Marlena’s exorcism (6/1995) Stella is hit by a car/Marlena trapped in the warehouse (1992) Carly’s buried alive (7/1993) Tony asks Laura to dinner (1966) Susan married David (1966) Trent comes to take Max away (7/26/88) Jack returns to Salem/Marlena’s possession (2/1995) Possessed Marlena attends Bo and Billie’s wedding (3/1995) Kayla goes into labor on witness stand (1990) Victor’s party for Nicholas (1992) Larry Atwood’s murder (3/15/78) Steve is caught in an explosion (10/1990) We were surprised there wasn’t any Bo and Hope classics on the list. But watching the first episode was a lot of fun. And in keeping with the tradition of 10 Observations, here are observations of the first episode: Note: There are only five since the first episode was only thirty minutes long. 11/8/1965 1. Salem PD in 1965: Same as it is in 2004. Some things never change I guess, huh? 2. Even on the first day, people were keeping secrets from each other. Tom kept Julie’s shoplifting a secret from Alice. 3. Tony Merritt: He puts Bo Brady and John Black to shame. Such a romantic, but he’s not as hot as Darren. And he gets line of the day… “You wonton hussy” to Marie Horton. 4. John Clarke…you hear the voice and can’t believe how young he once was. And finally… 5. It wasn’t Susan Seaforth as Julie in the first episode, but even in those days the recasting of characters was right on the nose. And in just thirty minutes, it’s confirmed that Julie was the original Sami. After the museum, we made a trip to Farmer’s Market and then the Santa Monica Pier. Then it was back to the Valley for Jen to get ready for her flight home. Jen had a blast driving the hills and curves of LA. She was in her element taking the curves. It was kind of amusing, but what can you expect from someone who drives around on flat straight roads all the time. Jen and I both had an amazing week and we’re glad you enjoyed reading about it. And with that, concludes Chris & Jen’s Excellent Adventure. See ya next year!  The 2004 SBFC FanFest Crew | |
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