Big Time Tour
This is a recounting of my mini-vacation with my buddy _kirbylicious_. I do this for my own memories, so that I can go back later and remember the awesomeness. Sarah and I have been friends for about two years but hadn't met in person, so that was exciting for us. We met through Big Time Rush, as it seems I've met the majority of my friends over the past two years, so of course it was a big time weekend as well. :)
It felt like our vacation would never arrive. The last week before we got to go was hell on both of us at work, it was almost like we had to earn the right to relax and enjoy ourselves. Finally it was here, though, and Thursday morning we woke up early. She was traveling on a plane, and I was going to meet her at the airport (which required me to travel for a few hours, too). I took two buses to the train station, making it with plenty of time to spare, and I was sitting on the train waiting for it to depart when I saw that I had a voicemail from Sarah. Turns out she missed her connecting flight (not her fault) and so wouldn't be in until seven P.M. instead of eleven A.M. Poor thing, she had such terrible luck with her flights. I hopped off the train and took the bus home again, waiting to hear what would happen at that point. She was able to get her flight switched to L.A.X. but had to come out here to Ontario Airport anyway for her hotel and luggage (which had mistakenly been sent to the original destination).
So we agreed to meet up at Ontario Airport, and almost seven hours after the time we were supposed to have been together, we finally met up! Luckily her luggage was where it should be, and from that point on it was smooth sailing. We found her hotel, went out for In n' Out Burger (because she'd never had it and acquired_minds said she needed to ), and spent a little time just relaxing in her room before the fatigue from the day's craziness set in. We agreed to call it an early night, so she drove me home and then we both tried for a good night's sleep because we knew Friday would be a long day.
Friday was amazing. I wish every day of my life could be like Friday. Our plans included a tour of the Paramount Studios lot at noon, followed by a walk down Hollywood Boulevard, and then topped off with a free concert by Katelyn Tarver and a movie. Seriously, why can't every day be like this?
We had to stop and pick up my paycheck and cash that, but then we were on our way. Traffic was absolutely horrible. We had an eleven-thirty check-in time for the tour and almost didn't make it; we were actually a few minutes late, but managed to get there in plenty of time and get checked in. Now I did this tour once before with kathrynew30, so I had a good idea what to expect. This time they told us to step outside and wait for someone to come get us and take us to the studio store, where the tour begins, but no one ever showed up. We were waiting with a family of four, and as the time passed I started to get concerned. We should've been taken to the store with at least fifteen minutes to look around it and use the restroom if we needed to (which I did). While we were standing there I did see Ciara Bravo ride by in a car with her mom, though! Or at least someone who looked exactly like her haha. Pretty sure it was her, going into the lot.
Finally it was after twelve and we were still waiting to be taken in and I was getting impatient. We knew the guys would have a short day of filming because we assumed they'd be leaving that night for the Chicago show, and I kept thinking “Come on, by the time we get in there filming will be done for the day!” Some lady came to get us at about five after twelve, and we were all led to our tour guide, who was named Taylor and was awesome. He asked what the hold-up had been, why we didn't come over sooner. I'm like “Nobody came to get us.” It took him asking where his group was for someone to realize we'd never been let in. I was irritated, because not only did I not get to pee but I was still fearful their shooting would be done for the day. What if they'd all left the lot already?
So we finally got started, Taylor asking where we were all from and the family was from San Diego, just visiting for the day. They had no real interest in any show in particular, so luckily Sarah and I were able to get the tour tailored to our BTR interests! He mentioned “Rizzoli & Isles” was filming that day and that if they were outdoors we could stop and watch for a bit. I said “If Big Time Rush is filming outdoors, can we watch that, too?” Because I knew they were from Glickman's, Erin's, and Logan's tweets. He said “We probably can.” And I promptly died haha.
The last time I toured the lot, we saw most of the exterior locations, which was awesome, but were only able to tour one set, the Palm Woods. What I hoped for most out of this trip was a chance to see the other stage, the Rocque Records and apartment 2J sets. What I actually expected to get was maybe one of those, as well as seeing the outdoor locations that I saw last time. Neither of us had any real hopes of seeing the guys, though of course that would've been amazing, right?
Taylor walked us over to our golf cart and started giving his speech about the history of Paramount, and it seemed to go on forever. I kept thinking “Can we move while you talk? The guys are going to leave, I just know it!” But he kept talking and talking and it was interesting, we participated in it somewhat, and then finally we got onto our cart. And then sat there while he talked and talked some more. I was ready to scream. Normally I'm not so impatient but I had this feeling, you know? I knew they were around somewhere and that the longer we waited, the less chances we'd have of catching them.
While we were sitting there Joe Menendez, their director, walked by. I was like “Wait, if he's here, that means they're not filming anything at this exact moment. Maybe a lunch break?” I didn't want them to be done for the day! And still we sat there forever. We did get to meet the little monkey from The Hangover, who is apparently named Krystal (no idea of the correct spelling). We got to high-five her, which was pretty cool.
Then Taylor finally got us moving, but in reverse! We were going in reverse and I was like “No no no no! The guys are the other way!” Of course you just sit there quietly and smile and listen, but he backed up the cart and stopped it again, and proceeded to talk some more. A few minutes into this Sarah elbowed me and gestured with her head to the right, and I looked over and there was Carlos, running right toward us. There was Carlos, running right toward us. All I could do was stare in shock, and then he was running past us on Sarah's side. She could've tripped him if she'd wanted to, he was that close. We watched him run behind us and go into the security office, and I was probably shaking slightly. Just like that, Carlos. Boom. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt (black, I want to say?) with a backwards hat on, and he looked incredible. I think I tweeted then because I was in such shock, and then of course because we didn't want to move, Taylor decided we needed to. The golf cart started moving away from the security office and we looked back but no Carlos. Still, what were the odds of that? If we had started the tour on time, we never would have seen Carlos. What is it I say all the time, even in my fics? Everything happens for a reason. It's true.
Taylor pointed out a large set that was empty but had been used to film the “Figure It Out” episodes. He said that the studio ordered way too much slime so in the end, they were sliming people like crazy to use it all up. Explains a lot about the episodes I've been seeing. Secret slime action is “open your mouth”? Haha. But that was cool.
So then we traveled up one side of the lot, and Taylor stopped the cart and talked some more. I kept thinking that if Carlos and Joe were walking around, that must mean filming was done for the day. Maybe it was just a lunch break, but with the tight schedule they're on I doubted that. We were still stopped, people walking by the cart continuously, and of course we checked out every single one. I noticed a girl coming toward us that looked like she could be Erin, and the closer she got the more I thought so, and then she was close enough and yes. It was Erin Sanders. She was walking with a woman and didn't look very happy. I nudged Sarah, and poor Taylor's giving his speech and I thought I probably should just let her walk by without saying anything but Taylor had seemed pretty cool about me being a fan and said that sometimes you see the stars and they stop and talk if they have time, so I went for it. I mean, it was Erin. I knew she would be sweet, I had absolutely no doubt. So when she walked by I leaned out a little and waved and said really fast “Hi, it's so nice to meet you!” and probably looked like a dork but come on, it's Erin! I love Erin! She looked surprised but stopped for a second and smiled and said “Oh, hi!” and we kind of reached out for each other and touched hands and then she kept going and when I turned back Taylor was like “Oh, okay, wow. There's a star.” The woman in front of us asked who she was and we explained Erin's on our show, and she thought that was cool that we got to see her.
We rode by the stage where “How to Rock” is filmed but didn't stop there, though Taylor was impressed (or maybe laughing at) my Nickelodeon knowledge. We got out of the cart and went over by where Mrs. Majakowski's front lawn is and Taylor took us to a famous tree where Greg Brady had his first puff on a cigarette way back in the day. He was telling us about the scene but we kept an eye on the street area where people kept walking by, and sure enough, James goes rolling by on his bike. Of course as soon as we were across the lawn and too far away to talk to him, James goes by. He was wearing my favorite jacket of his, the one he wears in the “Til I Forget About You” video, and we just watched him ride by slowly and I was definitely shaking then, amazed that we'd already seen both him and Carlos and we weren't even to where they were shooting yet. Just the night before I had said to my buddy Krystal “Imagine if I see James riding his bike on the lot or Logan skateboarding!” Well...boom. Got to see James riding his bike. No Fox, though, but I'm not complaining.
I barely remember what else Taylor said before we got back to the cart, I was just in awe. As we were approaching the cart Tanya Chisholm walked by. We didn't stop her, just watched her walk by and I was still in awe. Then we were almost at the cart and Katelyn Tarver walked by. Just boom, one after another, they kept coming. Katelyn didn't look too thrilled, so we let her go without saying a word. Though again, I think a lot of it was just shock so soon after James and Tanya.
We got on the cart and the mom from that family said something about how neat it was that we saw one of the celebrities we wanted to see (she only really knew about Erin) and I'm like “Yeah, this is crazy, we've already seen like four of them.” And Taylor goes, “That never happens, this is a really good tour! They must be done filming for the day.” Yeah, that sucked but we got to see a lot of people! While we were sitting there Tanya came out of a building with her dog this time (Ollie, right?) and walked past us again, and that seemed like confirmation that they were all done for the day.
So we went on and turned a corner and he stopped in front of the BTR soundstages. I was so excited, he said we could tour both! First we went into Rocque Records, the room with those white couches and that clear table. I kept looking around at everything, there was a big poster of the guys on the wall. I just couldn't believe we were standing there. Then we hear this big voice yell “Hey guys, what are you up to?” and we look over and Stephen Glickman is walking into the room. Like...Stephen Glickman. Right there talking to us. My mouth dropped and I just stared and he shook hands with the family even though they didn't really know who he was and Taylor pointed out that me and Sarah were big fans so he came over to us and shook Sarah's hand, then mine, and when I stepped back I asked if I could have a hug. Because like...Glickman! And he hugged me and was supersweet. Taylor explained to the family that he's the guys' record producer on the show and I said “Mostly he yells a lot” and Glickman agreed. He chatted with me and Sarah for a bit, he was so nice! He had a gym bag with him and definitely looked like he was done for the day. Finally he left and the tour continued. We saw everything in Rocque Records except the sound booth, and we walked down that hall with all the boyband posters. I looked for a Boyquake one for kathrynew30, but there wasn't one. Big posters of the boys all over the place, though.
Then Taylor took us into apartment 2J. Everything is so much smaller in person, it's weird. Taylor explained the premise of the show and why there was so much hockey stuff around, and I just looked around at everything. I saw the swirly slide and almost died. I got closer to check it out and noticed all the scuff marks inside it, but I was afraid to touch it. I should have. I did touch the orange couch, though, and kept having flashbacks to Kendall laying facedown on it moping over Jo, as well as Logan being buried in it when Gustavo sat on him. Oh, and we saw the shower! And the kitchen, of course. It was all just so cool!
We went from there to the Palm Woods set and got to walk around the pool area. Taylor said that this was the only show to ever have a working pool in the set and mentioned that he heard it would be taken out soon, though. To me, that can only mean one thing, and it breaks my heart but I've seen it coming for a while now. We didn't get to see too much of the lobby area because another group was in there, but we went over to the vending machine and got to look around the place.
Then we had to leave there and go back to the cart, and I knew the next stop would be the New York area and the financial district. This was where I knew they were filming, thanks to earlier tweets from the cast. We went around and were able to get out, and Taylor walked us around the block. We saw Funburger (which has a new name now but of course is the same on the inside) and went around a corner where the Rocque Records exterior building is. There was an entire crew set up in front of it, and I was pretty excited but we were almost certain filming was done for the day by that point. We didn't see any of the guys themselves, though I found Chris Fabregas, James' stand-in, right away. I watched him for a while, wondering if it meant anything that he was still here and actually wishing I could go talk to him because I follow that guy on Twitter and I like him a lot. Instead Taylor took us into another building across the street and told us about William Shatner saving people from a fire back in the day.
Once we left that building Taylor told us to stay there on the steps and he was going to go ask if we could watch BTR shooting for a bit. He joked around about me, because I was obviously the fangirl of the group (though Sarah is a huge fan as well, she isn't as excitable as me and hides it better), and said “You have to stay here and don't move, I'm trusting you.” And Sarah joked that she'd restrain me if she had to and then Taylor was gone. I watched Chris some more across the street and then BOOM. James rides by on his bike again. I couldn't believe it. This time I was close enough to get a couple pictures, and though the only good one I got is from the back, I'm still happy. I got a picture of James riding his bike. That was awesome.
So he stopped the bike and hopped off it, I imagine he'd been at wardrobe because he was wearing different clothes this time. He went to where the crew was, over by Chris, and I really wanted to go over there. Not that we were allowed to, but still. James was right there. We watched him for a while but then he disappeared somewhere, I think behind some bushes where we couldn't see him. Taylor came back and said we could go watch so we got closer, and still I couldn't find James. Instead I watched Chris. He was doing something with a sleeping bag, they still had all the tents set up from the camping episode. Right in front of Rocque Records, so no idea how that'll work into the show. But we watched them for quite a while, and still no sign of James but later when I looked at my pictures (oops, I had taken some while Taylor was gone without realizing I was taking pics of actual production-that's a no-no) I saw him standing next to Chris. On his phone, of course. Every time I see James in person he's caught up in his phone. I'm the same way, so I shouldn't talk.
Taylor finally said we should go and we did. The tour was almost done by that point, so we didn't expect to see anyone else and we didn't. We're pretty sure Logan and Kendall had left by the time we started our tour or pretty close to that, and Carlos left right after we saw him most likely. James obviously had some more shooting to do. We got to the front of the lot and went through the gates that the guys all posed by in the earliest photo shoot, with their hockey gear. Then we stopped and checked out the fountain where they all played in the water and acted so gay for each other. Taylor took us into the lobby of the Paramount Theater, where a lot of stuff was filmed (the prom, the movie theater lobby, Audition), but we didn't get to go in this time to the actual theater. After that we stood around and talked and he pointed out Palm Woods park for our benefit, said BTR uses that all the time. Yeah, we know haha.
Then we went to the studio store and I finally got to relieve my bladder and we looked around but there was no BTR merchandise. Sad. And that was it. We left the premises and it was a bummer but DAMN. What an incredible tour! Taylor mentioned a few times how great of a tour it was because we were so lucky to see so many of our stars and how cool that was. He also informed me I remind him a lot of his cousin, who he likes a lot. XD I told him that as much as I loved our last tour guide when I was there before, he was my favorite and made the tour especially awesome.
So wow. That was just amazing. We went from there to find food, and since we'd already made plans to walk Hollywood Boulevard we headed over there and parked. Ate at Chipotle and talked about the tour. Then we went down the street, taking pics of the stars for the original “Star Trek” cast members on the Walk of Fame; Sarah is a huge fan. I also took a pic of Ryan Seacrest's for my buddy Elyse and Johnny Depp's for my buddy Krystal. And I got my picture taken with Spongebob Squarepants! He was roaming the street, it was so cool. I feel about Spongebob the way Sarah feels about Star Trek.
At that point it was getting late so we drove to the Universal CityWalk, where Katelyn was doing a free show. To be honest, neither Sarah nor I are huge fans of Katelyn, but our BFF's are and so we wanted to go for them. Kathrynew30 gave me specific instructions of things I was supposed to say to Katelyn if we met her haha. It was supposed to start at seven, but apparently I don't understand how this free concert thing works because I expected the live music to start at seven.
We found the stage and I was happy to see the girls I'd met back in July at the BTR concert that took place there, Maral and Melissa. Kimi was missing, but I met Gina instead (who looked incredibly familiar so I'm thinking maybe I met her after the concert last time but only briefly). There was another girl with them but I never got her name. There weren't very many people there at all so we walked around the place, stopped at a big candy store where I bought some little things for my friend Ally. Then we went back toward the stage, stopping on the way to talk to Melissa, who was now eating dinner and said Katelyn had done a soundcheck earlier but had gone to eat.
So we returned to the stage and Maral and hung out there for a while, and then eventually Melissa and Gina joined us and a D.J. came out and started playing a bunch of music. This went on for over an hour and I was an idiot to think Katelyn would start right at seven, I didn't realize it was a whole party thing. The whole time I kept looking around for BTR people, because we figured the guys had already flown out (we were wrong, it turns out) but I knew at the very least Erin would be there to support Katelyn. I figured there would be more cast members but for sure Erin. Never saw anyone. Finally Katelyn went onstage and we didn't stay for more than a few songs because we'd already made plans for the movie. I got some pictures and video for kathrynew30, though, so that was something.
We went to see Rock of Ages and loved it immensely. It was the perfect movie for me, played all the songs I know and love and took me back to my days of going to see heavy metal bands in Hollywood every weekend. Plus there was an awesome scene between Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin that had me literally screaming and crying in the theater. Wow, that was so unexpected and wonderful. And Tom Cruise, holy cow! He was so sexy in that.
After the movie we went back to the car and charged our phones, which had died, and I saw that Erin had tweeted a pic of the crowd at Katelyn's performance from the backstage area. So she was there, but backstage. Also there had been a meet and greet thing afterward and Glickman was there, too, so we missed Erin, Katelyn, and Glickman. I was just grateful we'd seen them earlier in the day.
By that time it was almost midnight and we were exhausted. So we drove home and got ready for the next day, which was to be a beach day.
Saturday we got a very late start, but as we knew the guys were in Chicago we weren't worried about having to be in the L.A. area at any certain time. We slept in, had Chinese food for lunch, and then headed out to the beach. I had decided we should do Venice Beach, because it's apparently a really fun place and I'd never been. Sarah had wanted to visit a Lush store and we didn't even realize there was one at the CityWalk until we'd already left, so I discovered there was a Lush on the way to Venice Beach, a few miles away on the way there. We decided to stop there first.
We got out to Santa Monica in the afternoon and parked, then found the Lush store. That was a mistake, no one should ever let me near a store like that. Ally has been telling me forever I need to go there but luckily there aren't any around me so I was safe. Not anymore. That place is heaven. It smells so good in there! I ended up with a bath...thing? Something you melt in the water, I don't know. It smells amazing. And a sample of a face mask and a chunk of soap and I shouldn't have spent the money but damn, that stuff is awesome. I will regret going there, I'm sure, because it's expensive but probably addicting.
So after we left the store we were like “Why don't we just stay at this beach?” We were only a few blocks from it. And then I remembered that Santa Monica is a very gay-friendly area and that was enough for us. We were happy to stay. So we trekked over to the beach itself and walked along the shore for a while, getting wetter than we wanted to but it gave me the idea for us to come back the next day. We wanted to be in the L.A. area all day in case the boys tweeted anything about where they were, and we needed a place to just hang out, so why not the beach? It was perfect. Sarah agreed, so we made plans to spend the whole day out there Sunday. While we were there we saw dudes kissing a couple of different times and I wanted to cry, it was so beautiful. I loved that they could be free and just do it and nobody cared. I want to live on that beach.
We had dinner on the beach before heading back to my area, and then stopped to buy supplies for the beach. When we got back to the car there was a tweet showing the boys on an airplane and we got extremely excited because that meant they would be in town all of Sunday. We later realized it was Father's Day and knew then the chances of seeing them anywhere would be slim, but still. There was a chance! As long as they were in L.A. there was a chance.
And then Kendall and Carlos went crazy on Twitter and it was the best night, Kenlos everywhere and my heart was so happy. There was even a picture tweeted that showed James and Logan sitting next to each other on the plane and I did a little happy dance in my heart. The boys were so hilarious. Carlos even retweeted something with the word Kenlos in it! GAH. I WAS SO HAPPY.
We got a very early start Sunday, stopping for a quick breakfast before heading out to the beach. For the first time, traffic was beautiful. We parked and walked to the pier this time in search of souvenirs, and after a while we walked down the beach and found a spot to crash. It was so peaceful there, I never get tired of the beach. We went into the water and had a lot of fun with that, then dried off and went in search of lunch, eating at the same place as the day before.
We were finishing up lunch when I got an alert that Carlos had posted a new video, and my heart sank. I knew immediately what it was, as Elyse and I had suspected for a few weeks that Carlos and Sammy were over and Carlos had been tweeting in a way that morning that pointed to the same idea. Sarah pulled the video up on her phone and it was sad Carlos announcing the break-up to the world. I didn't hear or see it myself until later that night, but Sarah was able to hear that Carlos was planning to attend the 1D concert in Anaheim and Elyse texted me to say he was going to Venice.
We were less than three miles from Venice, and because that had been my original beach idea I had the address ready to go, so we hoofed it back to the car and drove to Venice Beach hoping to get lucky with Carlos. We knew Logan and James were a lost cause, as James was at home going through fanmail and Logan was having a barbecue. We parked at Venice after a horrific ride that should've taken five minutes but took almost thirty due to traffic, and we got out and walked around but no luck. We knew it was a long shot, but we tried.
We had discussed trying to meet him at the concert since Anaheim was on the way home, but I've been to the Honda Center loads of times for Mighty Ducks games and I knew that without a ticket, the chance of seeing him and Javi was almost impossible. As desperate as I was to give the guy a hug, there was just no way it would happen outside the Center. Even I can admit defeat.
We were still holding out hope for Kendall, though we were pretty sure he was at home with the family for Father's Day. We went to the Coral Tree Cafe, where Carlos says he goes a few times a week, and we tried the damn lemonade he gushed over. It really is as good as Carlos says. There were three locations to choose from and I narrowed it down to the Encino location but after watching Carlos' video again last night I know the one we went to isn't the one he visits. At least now I know if I try again, it's the Century City location. Or maybe not, it could be the Brentwood one. That actually makes sense.
While we were there Kevin Schmidt tweeted a pic of family dinner, so we knew Kendall was at home as we'd suspected.
We were trying to figure out if we should stay in the area or head home and we knew it was probably not going to happen at that point. We were also both very sunburned, and after a trip to a drugstore for medicine for that, we decided to head home. We were tired, burned, discouraged, and ready to be home. So that's where we went.
Neither of us slept well that night, due to sunburn and knowing Sarah was leaving the next morning. :( She picked me up and we had breakfast, then drove out to return her car and wait for her to board. We spent another hour talking and then it was time for her to go, so we gently hugged each other and then said goodbye. I cried a little, as I always do at goodbyes, and then took three buses to get back home.
Sarah is now home safe and I can relax, because I worry a lot about people flying. I'm tired and not ready to go back to work, but it was a fun weekend. We got to see half of the guys plus most of the remaining cast, and spent a weekend at the beach. Not too shabby! We missed out on Logan and Kendall, the two we wanted most to see, but I'm very happy with the experience. I got to hang out with one of my best friends and we made memories. Woohoo!
It felt like our vacation would never arrive. The last week before we got to go was hell on both of us at work, it was almost like we had to earn the right to relax and enjoy ourselves. Finally it was here, though, and Thursday morning we woke up early. She was traveling on a plane, and I was going to meet her at the airport (which required me to travel for a few hours, too). I took two buses to the train station, making it with plenty of time to spare, and I was sitting on the train waiting for it to depart when I saw that I had a voicemail from Sarah. Turns out she missed her connecting flight (not her fault) and so wouldn't be in until seven P.M. instead of eleven A.M. Poor thing, she had such terrible luck with her flights. I hopped off the train and took the bus home again, waiting to hear what would happen at that point. She was able to get her flight switched to L.A.X. but had to come out here to Ontario Airport anyway for her hotel and luggage (which had mistakenly been sent to the original destination).
So we agreed to meet up at Ontario Airport, and almost seven hours after the time we were supposed to have been together, we finally met up! Luckily her luggage was where it should be, and from that point on it was smooth sailing. We found her hotel, went out for In n' Out Burger (because she'd never had it and acquired_minds said she needed to ), and spent a little time just relaxing in her room before the fatigue from the day's craziness set in. We agreed to call it an early night, so she drove me home and then we both tried for a good night's sleep because we knew Friday would be a long day.
Friday was amazing. I wish every day of my life could be like Friday. Our plans included a tour of the Paramount Studios lot at noon, followed by a walk down Hollywood Boulevard, and then topped off with a free concert by Katelyn Tarver and a movie. Seriously, why can't every day be like this?
We had to stop and pick up my paycheck and cash that, but then we were on our way. Traffic was absolutely horrible. We had an eleven-thirty check-in time for the tour and almost didn't make it; we were actually a few minutes late, but managed to get there in plenty of time and get checked in. Now I did this tour once before with kathrynew30, so I had a good idea what to expect. This time they told us to step outside and wait for someone to come get us and take us to the studio store, where the tour begins, but no one ever showed up. We were waiting with a family of four, and as the time passed I started to get concerned. We should've been taken to the store with at least fifteen minutes to look around it and use the restroom if we needed to (which I did). While we were standing there I did see Ciara Bravo ride by in a car with her mom, though! Or at least someone who looked exactly like her haha. Pretty sure it was her, going into the lot.
Finally it was after twelve and we were still waiting to be taken in and I was getting impatient. We knew the guys would have a short day of filming because we assumed they'd be leaving that night for the Chicago show, and I kept thinking “Come on, by the time we get in there filming will be done for the day!” Some lady came to get us at about five after twelve, and we were all led to our tour guide, who was named Taylor and was awesome. He asked what the hold-up had been, why we didn't come over sooner. I'm like “Nobody came to get us.” It took him asking where his group was for someone to realize we'd never been let in. I was irritated, because not only did I not get to pee but I was still fearful their shooting would be done for the day. What if they'd all left the lot already?
So we finally got started, Taylor asking where we were all from and the family was from San Diego, just visiting for the day. They had no real interest in any show in particular, so luckily Sarah and I were able to get the tour tailored to our BTR interests! He mentioned “Rizzoli & Isles” was filming that day and that if they were outdoors we could stop and watch for a bit. I said “If Big Time Rush is filming outdoors, can we watch that, too?” Because I knew they were from Glickman's, Erin's, and Logan's tweets. He said “We probably can.” And I promptly died haha.
The last time I toured the lot, we saw most of the exterior locations, which was awesome, but were only able to tour one set, the Palm Woods. What I hoped for most out of this trip was a chance to see the other stage, the Rocque Records and apartment 2J sets. What I actually expected to get was maybe one of those, as well as seeing the outdoor locations that I saw last time. Neither of us had any real hopes of seeing the guys, though of course that would've been amazing, right?
Taylor walked us over to our golf cart and started giving his speech about the history of Paramount, and it seemed to go on forever. I kept thinking “Can we move while you talk? The guys are going to leave, I just know it!” But he kept talking and talking and it was interesting, we participated in it somewhat, and then finally we got onto our cart. And then sat there while he talked and talked some more. I was ready to scream. Normally I'm not so impatient but I had this feeling, you know? I knew they were around somewhere and that the longer we waited, the less chances we'd have of catching them.
While we were sitting there Joe Menendez, their director, walked by. I was like “Wait, if he's here, that means they're not filming anything at this exact moment. Maybe a lunch break?” I didn't want them to be done for the day! And still we sat there forever. We did get to meet the little monkey from The Hangover, who is apparently named Krystal (no idea of the correct spelling). We got to high-five her, which was pretty cool.
Then Taylor finally got us moving, but in reverse! We were going in reverse and I was like “No no no no! The guys are the other way!” Of course you just sit there quietly and smile and listen, but he backed up the cart and stopped it again, and proceeded to talk some more. A few minutes into this Sarah elbowed me and gestured with her head to the right, and I looked over and there was Carlos, running right toward us. There was Carlos, running right toward us. All I could do was stare in shock, and then he was running past us on Sarah's side. She could've tripped him if she'd wanted to, he was that close. We watched him run behind us and go into the security office, and I was probably shaking slightly. Just like that, Carlos. Boom. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt (black, I want to say?) with a backwards hat on, and he looked incredible. I think I tweeted then because I was in such shock, and then of course because we didn't want to move, Taylor decided we needed to. The golf cart started moving away from the security office and we looked back but no Carlos. Still, what were the odds of that? If we had started the tour on time, we never would have seen Carlos. What is it I say all the time, even in my fics? Everything happens for a reason. It's true.
Taylor pointed out a large set that was empty but had been used to film the “Figure It Out” episodes. He said that the studio ordered way too much slime so in the end, they were sliming people like crazy to use it all up. Explains a lot about the episodes I've been seeing. Secret slime action is “open your mouth”? Haha. But that was cool.
So then we traveled up one side of the lot, and Taylor stopped the cart and talked some more. I kept thinking that if Carlos and Joe were walking around, that must mean filming was done for the day. Maybe it was just a lunch break, but with the tight schedule they're on I doubted that. We were still stopped, people walking by the cart continuously, and of course we checked out every single one. I noticed a girl coming toward us that looked like she could be Erin, and the closer she got the more I thought so, and then she was close enough and yes. It was Erin Sanders. She was walking with a woman and didn't look very happy. I nudged Sarah, and poor Taylor's giving his speech and I thought I probably should just let her walk by without saying anything but Taylor had seemed pretty cool about me being a fan and said that sometimes you see the stars and they stop and talk if they have time, so I went for it. I mean, it was Erin. I knew she would be sweet, I had absolutely no doubt. So when she walked by I leaned out a little and waved and said really fast “Hi, it's so nice to meet you!” and probably looked like a dork but come on, it's Erin! I love Erin! She looked surprised but stopped for a second and smiled and said “Oh, hi!” and we kind of reached out for each other and touched hands and then she kept going and when I turned back Taylor was like “Oh, okay, wow. There's a star.” The woman in front of us asked who she was and we explained Erin's on our show, and she thought that was cool that we got to see her.
We rode by the stage where “How to Rock” is filmed but didn't stop there, though Taylor was impressed (or maybe laughing at) my Nickelodeon knowledge. We got out of the cart and went over by where Mrs. Majakowski's front lawn is and Taylor took us to a famous tree where Greg Brady had his first puff on a cigarette way back in the day. He was telling us about the scene but we kept an eye on the street area where people kept walking by, and sure enough, James goes rolling by on his bike. Of course as soon as we were across the lawn and too far away to talk to him, James goes by. He was wearing my favorite jacket of his, the one he wears in the “Til I Forget About You” video, and we just watched him ride by slowly and I was definitely shaking then, amazed that we'd already seen both him and Carlos and we weren't even to where they were shooting yet. Just the night before I had said to my buddy Krystal “Imagine if I see James riding his bike on the lot or Logan skateboarding!” Well...boom. Got to see James riding his bike. No Fox, though, but I'm not complaining.
I barely remember what else Taylor said before we got back to the cart, I was just in awe. As we were approaching the cart Tanya Chisholm walked by. We didn't stop her, just watched her walk by and I was still in awe. Then we were almost at the cart and Katelyn Tarver walked by. Just boom, one after another, they kept coming. Katelyn didn't look too thrilled, so we let her go without saying a word. Though again, I think a lot of it was just shock so soon after James and Tanya.
We got on the cart and the mom from that family said something about how neat it was that we saw one of the celebrities we wanted to see (she only really knew about Erin) and I'm like “Yeah, this is crazy, we've already seen like four of them.” And Taylor goes, “That never happens, this is a really good tour! They must be done filming for the day.” Yeah, that sucked but we got to see a lot of people! While we were sitting there Tanya came out of a building with her dog this time (Ollie, right?) and walked past us again, and that seemed like confirmation that they were all done for the day.
So we went on and turned a corner and he stopped in front of the BTR soundstages. I was so excited, he said we could tour both! First we went into Rocque Records, the room with those white couches and that clear table. I kept looking around at everything, there was a big poster of the guys on the wall. I just couldn't believe we were standing there. Then we hear this big voice yell “Hey guys, what are you up to?” and we look over and Stephen Glickman is walking into the room. Like...Stephen Glickman. Right there talking to us. My mouth dropped and I just stared and he shook hands with the family even though they didn't really know who he was and Taylor pointed out that me and Sarah were big fans so he came over to us and shook Sarah's hand, then mine, and when I stepped back I asked if I could have a hug. Because like...Glickman! And he hugged me and was supersweet. Taylor explained to the family that he's the guys' record producer on the show and I said “Mostly he yells a lot” and Glickman agreed. He chatted with me and Sarah for a bit, he was so nice! He had a gym bag with him and definitely looked like he was done for the day. Finally he left and the tour continued. We saw everything in Rocque Records except the sound booth, and we walked down that hall with all the boyband posters. I looked for a Boyquake one for kathrynew30, but there wasn't one. Big posters of the boys all over the place, though.
Then Taylor took us into apartment 2J. Everything is so much smaller in person, it's weird. Taylor explained the premise of the show and why there was so much hockey stuff around, and I just looked around at everything. I saw the swirly slide and almost died. I got closer to check it out and noticed all the scuff marks inside it, but I was afraid to touch it. I should have. I did touch the orange couch, though, and kept having flashbacks to Kendall laying facedown on it moping over Jo, as well as Logan being buried in it when Gustavo sat on him. Oh, and we saw the shower! And the kitchen, of course. It was all just so cool!
We went from there to the Palm Woods set and got to walk around the pool area. Taylor said that this was the only show to ever have a working pool in the set and mentioned that he heard it would be taken out soon, though. To me, that can only mean one thing, and it breaks my heart but I've seen it coming for a while now. We didn't get to see too much of the lobby area because another group was in there, but we went over to the vending machine and got to look around the place.
Then we had to leave there and go back to the cart, and I knew the next stop would be the New York area and the financial district. This was where I knew they were filming, thanks to earlier tweets from the cast. We went around and were able to get out, and Taylor walked us around the block. We saw Funburger (which has a new name now but of course is the same on the inside) and went around a corner where the Rocque Records exterior building is. There was an entire crew set up in front of it, and I was pretty excited but we were almost certain filming was done for the day by that point. We didn't see any of the guys themselves, though I found Chris Fabregas, James' stand-in, right away. I watched him for a while, wondering if it meant anything that he was still here and actually wishing I could go talk to him because I follow that guy on Twitter and I like him a lot. Instead Taylor took us into another building across the street and told us about William Shatner saving people from a fire back in the day.
Once we left that building Taylor told us to stay there on the steps and he was going to go ask if we could watch BTR shooting for a bit. He joked around about me, because I was obviously the fangirl of the group (though Sarah is a huge fan as well, she isn't as excitable as me and hides it better), and said “You have to stay here and don't move, I'm trusting you.” And Sarah joked that she'd restrain me if she had to and then Taylor was gone. I watched Chris some more across the street and then BOOM. James rides by on his bike again. I couldn't believe it. This time I was close enough to get a couple pictures, and though the only good one I got is from the back, I'm still happy. I got a picture of James riding his bike. That was awesome.
So he stopped the bike and hopped off it, I imagine he'd been at wardrobe because he was wearing different clothes this time. He went to where the crew was, over by Chris, and I really wanted to go over there. Not that we were allowed to, but still. James was right there. We watched him for a while but then he disappeared somewhere, I think behind some bushes where we couldn't see him. Taylor came back and said we could go watch so we got closer, and still I couldn't find James. Instead I watched Chris. He was doing something with a sleeping bag, they still had all the tents set up from the camping episode. Right in front of Rocque Records, so no idea how that'll work into the show. But we watched them for quite a while, and still no sign of James but later when I looked at my pictures (oops, I had taken some while Taylor was gone without realizing I was taking pics of actual production-that's a no-no) I saw him standing next to Chris. On his phone, of course. Every time I see James in person he's caught up in his phone. I'm the same way, so I shouldn't talk.
Taylor finally said we should go and we did. The tour was almost done by that point, so we didn't expect to see anyone else and we didn't. We're pretty sure Logan and Kendall had left by the time we started our tour or pretty close to that, and Carlos left right after we saw him most likely. James obviously had some more shooting to do. We got to the front of the lot and went through the gates that the guys all posed by in the earliest photo shoot, with their hockey gear. Then we stopped and checked out the fountain where they all played in the water and acted so gay for each other. Taylor took us into the lobby of the Paramount Theater, where a lot of stuff was filmed (the prom, the movie theater lobby, Audition), but we didn't get to go in this time to the actual theater. After that we stood around and talked and he pointed out Palm Woods park for our benefit, said BTR uses that all the time. Yeah, we know haha.
Then we went to the studio store and I finally got to relieve my bladder and we looked around but there was no BTR merchandise. Sad. And that was it. We left the premises and it was a bummer but DAMN. What an incredible tour! Taylor mentioned a few times how great of a tour it was because we were so lucky to see so many of our stars and how cool that was. He also informed me I remind him a lot of his cousin, who he likes a lot. XD I told him that as much as I loved our last tour guide when I was there before, he was my favorite and made the tour especially awesome.
So wow. That was just amazing. We went from there to find food, and since we'd already made plans to walk Hollywood Boulevard we headed over there and parked. Ate at Chipotle and talked about the tour. Then we went down the street, taking pics of the stars for the original “Star Trek” cast members on the Walk of Fame; Sarah is a huge fan. I also took a pic of Ryan Seacrest's for my buddy Elyse and Johnny Depp's for my buddy Krystal. And I got my picture taken with Spongebob Squarepants! He was roaming the street, it was so cool. I feel about Spongebob the way Sarah feels about Star Trek.
At that point it was getting late so we drove to the Universal CityWalk, where Katelyn was doing a free show. To be honest, neither Sarah nor I are huge fans of Katelyn, but our BFF's are and so we wanted to go for them. Kathrynew30 gave me specific instructions of things I was supposed to say to Katelyn if we met her haha. It was supposed to start at seven, but apparently I don't understand how this free concert thing works because I expected the live music to start at seven.
We found the stage and I was happy to see the girls I'd met back in July at the BTR concert that took place there, Maral and Melissa. Kimi was missing, but I met Gina instead (who looked incredibly familiar so I'm thinking maybe I met her after the concert last time but only briefly). There was another girl with them but I never got her name. There weren't very many people there at all so we walked around the place, stopped at a big candy store where I bought some little things for my friend Ally. Then we went back toward the stage, stopping on the way to talk to Melissa, who was now eating dinner and said Katelyn had done a soundcheck earlier but had gone to eat.
So we returned to the stage and Maral and hung out there for a while, and then eventually Melissa and Gina joined us and a D.J. came out and started playing a bunch of music. This went on for over an hour and I was an idiot to think Katelyn would start right at seven, I didn't realize it was a whole party thing. The whole time I kept looking around for BTR people, because we figured the guys had already flown out (we were wrong, it turns out) but I knew at the very least Erin would be there to support Katelyn. I figured there would be more cast members but for sure Erin. Never saw anyone. Finally Katelyn went onstage and we didn't stay for more than a few songs because we'd already made plans for the movie. I got some pictures and video for kathrynew30, though, so that was something.
We went to see Rock of Ages and loved it immensely. It was the perfect movie for me, played all the songs I know and love and took me back to my days of going to see heavy metal bands in Hollywood every weekend. Plus there was an awesome scene between Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin that had me literally screaming and crying in the theater. Wow, that was so unexpected and wonderful. And Tom Cruise, holy cow! He was so sexy in that.
After the movie we went back to the car and charged our phones, which had died, and I saw that Erin had tweeted a pic of the crowd at Katelyn's performance from the backstage area. So she was there, but backstage. Also there had been a meet and greet thing afterward and Glickman was there, too, so we missed Erin, Katelyn, and Glickman. I was just grateful we'd seen them earlier in the day.
By that time it was almost midnight and we were exhausted. So we drove home and got ready for the next day, which was to be a beach day.
Saturday we got a very late start, but as we knew the guys were in Chicago we weren't worried about having to be in the L.A. area at any certain time. We slept in, had Chinese food for lunch, and then headed out to the beach. I had decided we should do Venice Beach, because it's apparently a really fun place and I'd never been. Sarah had wanted to visit a Lush store and we didn't even realize there was one at the CityWalk until we'd already left, so I discovered there was a Lush on the way to Venice Beach, a few miles away on the way there. We decided to stop there first.
We got out to Santa Monica in the afternoon and parked, then found the Lush store. That was a mistake, no one should ever let me near a store like that. Ally has been telling me forever I need to go there but luckily there aren't any around me so I was safe. Not anymore. That place is heaven. It smells so good in there! I ended up with a bath...thing? Something you melt in the water, I don't know. It smells amazing. And a sample of a face mask and a chunk of soap and I shouldn't have spent the money but damn, that stuff is awesome. I will regret going there, I'm sure, because it's expensive but probably addicting.
So after we left the store we were like “Why don't we just stay at this beach?” We were only a few blocks from it. And then I remembered that Santa Monica is a very gay-friendly area and that was enough for us. We were happy to stay. So we trekked over to the beach itself and walked along the shore for a while, getting wetter than we wanted to but it gave me the idea for us to come back the next day. We wanted to be in the L.A. area all day in case the boys tweeted anything about where they were, and we needed a place to just hang out, so why not the beach? It was perfect. Sarah agreed, so we made plans to spend the whole day out there Sunday. While we were there we saw dudes kissing a couple of different times and I wanted to cry, it was so beautiful. I loved that they could be free and just do it and nobody cared. I want to live on that beach.
We had dinner on the beach before heading back to my area, and then stopped to buy supplies for the beach. When we got back to the car there was a tweet showing the boys on an airplane and we got extremely excited because that meant they would be in town all of Sunday. We later realized it was Father's Day and knew then the chances of seeing them anywhere would be slim, but still. There was a chance! As long as they were in L.A. there was a chance.
And then Kendall and Carlos went crazy on Twitter and it was the best night, Kenlos everywhere and my heart was so happy. There was even a picture tweeted that showed James and Logan sitting next to each other on the plane and I did a little happy dance in my heart. The boys were so hilarious. Carlos even retweeted something with the word Kenlos in it! GAH. I WAS SO HAPPY.
We got a very early start Sunday, stopping for a quick breakfast before heading out to the beach. For the first time, traffic was beautiful. We parked and walked to the pier this time in search of souvenirs, and after a while we walked down the beach and found a spot to crash. It was so peaceful there, I never get tired of the beach. We went into the water and had a lot of fun with that, then dried off and went in search of lunch, eating at the same place as the day before.
We were finishing up lunch when I got an alert that Carlos had posted a new video, and my heart sank. I knew immediately what it was, as Elyse and I had suspected for a few weeks that Carlos and Sammy were over and Carlos had been tweeting in a way that morning that pointed to the same idea. Sarah pulled the video up on her phone and it was sad Carlos announcing the break-up to the world. I didn't hear or see it myself until later that night, but Sarah was able to hear that Carlos was planning to attend the 1D concert in Anaheim and Elyse texted me to say he was going to Venice.
We were less than three miles from Venice, and because that had been my original beach idea I had the address ready to go, so we hoofed it back to the car and drove to Venice Beach hoping to get lucky with Carlos. We knew Logan and James were a lost cause, as James was at home going through fanmail and Logan was having a barbecue. We parked at Venice after a horrific ride that should've taken five minutes but took almost thirty due to traffic, and we got out and walked around but no luck. We knew it was a long shot, but we tried.
We had discussed trying to meet him at the concert since Anaheim was on the way home, but I've been to the Honda Center loads of times for Mighty Ducks games and I knew that without a ticket, the chance of seeing him and Javi was almost impossible. As desperate as I was to give the guy a hug, there was just no way it would happen outside the Center. Even I can admit defeat.
We were still holding out hope for Kendall, though we were pretty sure he was at home with the family for Father's Day. We went to the Coral Tree Cafe, where Carlos says he goes a few times a week, and we tried the damn lemonade he gushed over. It really is as good as Carlos says. There were three locations to choose from and I narrowed it down to the Encino location but after watching Carlos' video again last night I know the one we went to isn't the one he visits. At least now I know if I try again, it's the Century City location. Or maybe not, it could be the Brentwood one. That actually makes sense.
While we were there Kevin Schmidt tweeted a pic of family dinner, so we knew Kendall was at home as we'd suspected.
We were trying to figure out if we should stay in the area or head home and we knew it was probably not going to happen at that point. We were also both very sunburned, and after a trip to a drugstore for medicine for that, we decided to head home. We were tired, burned, discouraged, and ready to be home. So that's where we went.
Neither of us slept well that night, due to sunburn and knowing Sarah was leaving the next morning. :( She picked me up and we had breakfast, then drove out to return her car and wait for her to board. We spent another hour talking and then it was time for her to go, so we gently hugged each other and then said goodbye. I cried a little, as I always do at goodbyes, and then took three buses to get back home.
Sarah is now home safe and I can relax, because I worry a lot about people flying. I'm tired and not ready to go back to work, but it was a fun weekend. We got to see half of the guys plus most of the remaining cast, and spent a weekend at the beach. Not too shabby! We missed out on Logan and Kendall, the two we wanted most to see, but I'm very happy with the experience. I got to hang out with one of my best friends and we made memories. Woohoo!