There's no place

like home.

~ Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz

We are home, it always feels so good to open the door to your own place and rest your head. It was a hectic week at the shore, full of fun and wonder. I can't wait to share some of the photos and stories of our trip....

The more one does and sees and feels,

the more one is able to do,

and the more genuine may be one’s

appreciation of fundamental things

like home, and love,

and understanding companionship.
~ Amelia Earhart

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To myself I am only a child

playing on the beach,

while vast oceans of truth

lie undiscovered before me.

~ Isaac Newton

Just some Island humor,

we are all sunburned and happy no crabby moods for us.

Everyone and Everything is fishing!

You can see why we love the shore, we are the only car on the beach this morning.....

The waves of the sea,

help me get back to me.

~ Jill Davis

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The Sea,

once it casts its spell,

holds one in its

net of wonder

forever.

~ Jacques Cousteau

We are all settled in and the weather is perfect every day. We have to amuse ourselves Via the children and put them through endless Adventures. Last night after dark it was the traditional Crab hunt with flashlights. A few of us sat back at the Cottage to watch the Lights running everywhere, and of course to listen to the screams.

M brought his old Metal detector and we set up a large field of (Treasures) on the beach. If it wasn’t metal (Sharks Teeth etc.) then it was buried with a coin so that things could be more fun. We talked Grandpa into the hard work of running the machine while M & I joined the others to watch and laugh as sand flew at every beep and the kids had their booty.

They are still carrying their little baggies today and won’t let their treasures out of sight.

Our treasures are in our minds and the photos.

A vacation is like love,

anticipated with pleasure,

experienced with discomfort,

and remembered

with nostalgia.

~Author Unknown

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Don't grow up too quickly,

lest you forget how much

you love the beach.

~ Michelle Held

We are all settled in at the beach house. As one of the adult children said “It feels like we all came home” what a wonderful comment. Maybe as parents we really did do a good job of raising our kids to be healthy, happy adults….. It’s so fun seeing everyone’s grandchildren enjoying all the simple pleasures of the beach. Well I think this photo says it all……life is great!

At the beach, life is different.

Time doesn't move hour to hour

but mood to moment.

We live by the currents,

plan by the tides

and follow the sun.

~ Unknown

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To my mind,

the greatest reward and luxury of travel
is to be able to experience
everyday things as if for the first time,
to be in a position in which
almost nothing is so familiar

it is taken for granted.
~ Bill Bryson

This is just the first glimpse of the shore as we drive down to our cottage in Hatteras.

We are waiting for everyone to arrive..... I'm so excited. I hope you get the joy of spending time this summer with the ones you love.

Happy Fathers Day!

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We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly,
but let us never lose sight

of the reason for the journey,
or miss a chance

to see a rainbow on the way.
~ Gloria Gaither

M & I are on the road again, off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's a very special place for us and we are going to share it with all our family for a week at the beach reunion.....

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Clouds come floating into my life,

no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

but to add color to my sunset sky.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

I love the magic hour before sunset, the light is so perfect. The reflection from the water and the warm colors of the sun just makes everything more intense. It feels good to be home and with the craziness of Hollywood slowed down it's time to relax. Summer is almost officially here and I'm ready to spend time with my friends and family. Enjoy the golden light of your evening!

Those who bring sunshine

to the lives of others

cannot keep it from themselves.

~ J. Barrie

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Each day

comes bearing its own gifts.

Untie the ribbons.

~Ruth Ann Schabacker

I know my blog kind of veered off track in the last few days. M&I are back home after having been flown to Hollywood to shoot part of a commercial for American Express. We walked into the life of about a hundred people who live , breath, and sleep Media production, acting and the fast track of Hollywood. It's almost impossible to express what we saw, what we learned, and most importantly the interactions we had with these people from so far away.

The thing that really got to us was that everyone from the sound people to the paid actors wanted to know " How did you get this job?" Well,,,,, we weren't sure how to explain to them that for us it wasn't a job. We have a job. We own a small business in Pennsylvania, and we actually like it and are happy. It just happened to be the type of small business that American Express wanted to showcase in one of their ads. On our first day there, we were driven by Limo into the middle of a working set and had to get out of the car (Like,,,, Um,,, Ummm Hello folks?") In the real world of Hollywood, we got to walk in as Rock-Stars and do our thing, and then go back to our normal life. Who gets to do that???,,, We are still swirling in a cloud of surreal and as the retired LA Police officer on the set said we will be talking about this for the rest of our lives.

We learned so much about their world, but went away with a feeling of loss for a few of them that we got closer to because we won't have the opportunity to show them our world. You see,,, N, the wardrobe boss lady really needs to be in my kayak with a glass of a nice Pinot. She could glide along beside me and M when he hooks up a huge Bass and gets all excited. She was one of the only California natives that we encountered. N has just worked too hard for too long and needs to find the thing that recharges her batteries. Most of the people that you encounter in California still feel that they are from somewhere else?

Nothing relaxes the soul and can feel like home, except home itself.

The Big Boss director can actually play the piano and zoned out at one of the very tense moments of the shoot and lost himself in some songs. He needs a few buddies who would jam with him on a week-end and everyone could let it all go. The other Director at M's suggestion got a new Harmonica from some of the crew members because they heard him and M talking. He (The Director) had mentioned that he regretted that his parents had not made him keep playing an Instrument when he was a kid. M instantly suggested the harmonica because he could begin to play again while driving to all of his jobs. During the lunch break, some of the crew went to a music store and bought him a sweet new harmonica because they saw the glow in his eyes. It was a nice moment and we knew then that we were just in a different place with some really nice people. One of our Limo drivers really should own another motorcycle. He got sparkles in his eyes when he talked about the older days of riding. If we had been there much longer,,,, M would have him riding again. All of the people in the amazing Hollywood glamor jobs were working such long hours that they were missing the small dreams that one actually lives for.

Life becomes more narrow as you age. It's so important to find and do the things that you love.

When we got home, our sweet neighbors had made (sidewalk chalk versions) of the Hollywood walk of fame. Our front door was spangled and there were impromptu trophy plaques in our honor. We were back to a world that we could not really explain to the folks in California. The bay was calm and the sun set as we told stories and laughed with our friends.

Would we go again,,, Yep in a minute,,,,

but,,,,, Ohh,,, there's no place like home....there's no place like home.

Good friends are like stars....

You don't always see them,

but you know they are always there.

~ unknown

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Becoming a star

may not be your destiny,

but being the best

that you can be

is a goal that you

can set for yourselves.

~ Bryan Lindsay

M & I live really well but are simple people. Suddenly we were thrust into this other world of Hollywood. A car was waiting for us at 7AM and took us to the middle of the set. The focus of all of the production people when they arrive is breakfast. There are huge catering set-ups and it’s in the workers contracts to be fed. We didn’t really understand this until later. A lot of these people are the Gaffers and Sound people who do all of the hard work and technical stuff. The standard dress for them was tee-shirt,shorts,boots, or Tennis shoes. It seems like everyone has something hanging from them weather that was tools, tape, microphones. There are tons of Bluetooth headsets and walkie-talkies.. Very politely we were rounded up and shown our trailer room. Now we were dying,,,our own trailer in Hollywood to wait and change clothes etc. They got us to do all of the paperwork to be in the Actors Union and all of the releases and w2’s and all of that. Off I went to Make-up.

The make-up trailer was wild and with every kind of make-up and brush you could dream of.

They were working fast and the girl was nice but it was all business. I wanted to look around and take it all in but had to keep my chin up high and let them do their job.

They soon sent the new me on my way back to the trailer to wait. They forgot the shoes in wardrobe that they wanted M to wear and this turned into a huge deal. He stuffed his feet into a pair a size and a half too small to relieve the wardrobe girl and keep things moving.

Finally,,,around 9 o’clock, they came and got all of us. Everyone that was and actor was lined up for a photo and then as a group we went into the location that had been prepared to look like our business. It was crazy to be In L.A. looking at our business name on a building.

Without too much detail,,,,over the next five hours, we filmed several scenes most of which were shot at least twenty to thirty times in a row. The other actors and extras were shocked that we had major roles without auditioning etc. At certain times there were 30-50 crew people looking in as the shot was being taken. When you have to do the same thing, motion, works, and expressions thirty times in a row over the course of hours, it’s a different kind of tired. By the time we broke for lunch at 2PM, everyone was ready. They made us change clothes for lunch taking no chance that one would spill something. We were hurried back to a make-up and clothing check then right back on the set. Another hour of shooting the same scenes and we were done. Big handshakes and hugs. You do feel like you’ve been through something with the other people and it becomes easy too see why these crews become so tight with one another.

Back to our room for drinks and room service. Our Hollywood careers are over. It was all surreal. Who gets to jump into a different life at the top of the pecking order?

Well,,,,flash it’s over. We fly back today to our other amazing life.

Twenty years from now,

you will be more disappointed

by the things you didn't do,

than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbour.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

~ Mark Twain

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Life is uncharted territory.

It reveals its story

one moment at a time.

~ L. Buscaglia

Safe and sound in LA. Got really lucky with good flights and a bump to a bulkhead isle on the long flight. They had a limo waiting for us at LAX. Took us directly to the set where they were shooting today.

Amazing amount of peoples and process. We did our paperwork to be in the SAG (screen actors guild) union then off to wardrobe. The director wanted to see each of us in four entirely different outfits. There is one girl hemming your pants while the other is handing your clothes or taking them from you,,,,,no room/time for modesty here! They had actually just sent a shopper to buy clothes in our sizes,,,,so there are racks of things down too and including brand new shoes. An example for M was a rack of suitcoats/blazers,,,,,They tried one on and never went back to them.

Well,,,,the process is this,,,,right outside of us they are shooting film,,,,the wardrobe girl gets her 4 sets of shots (different clothing) then goes and bugs the producer to look at them and choose.

She got back from the producer looking flustered, and said,,,,he liked this on her but we have more work to do. M said,,,,I can take it like a man,,,,what did he call me???,,,,she said he did not like the colors and he looked stiff but he could not say what to do. M suggested she try with his jeans and shirt from home,,,cuffs rolled halfway up and shirt unbuttoned,,,,we took pictures,,,,she took them back to the producer and we got a thumbs up!,,,,M repeats,,,,,,,I am what I am!

They chose for me a mix of my own clothes with some new stuff. Then,,,,,they fed us lunch. Lunch on the set is two huge catering trucks one of which was a smoker cooking ribs,chicken, and brisket. You get a huge plate and tell them what hot food you want,,,meats,,,mac & cheese,,,,rice,,,,,you get it. Then You walk through the salad and desert buffet and top your plate off. Also,,,in the middle of the set there is a micro-store with anything you want/need,,,,,no money changing hands here,,,,all included.

Took a nice walk up sunset strip and bought some cupcakes and wine. Waiting to see what time the shoot is tomorrow. Almost forgot,,,they gave us scripts this morning,,,,The commercial is called "reveille",,,,,we can’t reveal much else, but if you see a musical American Express commercial,,,,there we are.,