"Say Goodbye to Hollywood..."

"So many faces in and out of my life

Some will last

Some will be just now and then

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes

I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again"

 Well our time in LA has come to an end. I must admit, I didn't expect much out of this time here. I just figured we'd lay low for 6 months and just chill. I mean, that's the LA way, right? But surprisingly this town carved out a little special place in our heart. We know we will most likely never live here, but in our brief time here, we made some memories that we will never forget. LA, in it's own special way, has a way of igniting your soul. I'm not sure if it's the diversity, the excitement of the city, or if it's just the warmth. Whatever it was, I'm glad we got to try it out...if only for a brief moment in time. Thank You Los Angeles!!

BCS National Championship - January 6, 2014 - Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA

I know I have said it before, but sometimes the best moments in life are the ones you really never plan for. On the morning of the final BCS National Championship, I woke up and assumed it would be a normal day that would end with me on the couch watching the big game. That is NOT how the day went. After reading a story that morning about how tickets to the game were selling for less than the face value of $325, I decided to look and see what a pair of tickets might cost us. I was surprised to find out that for $550 I could get both Laura and I into the game. Now, I know that isn't exactly a "cheap" price, but considering that it was being played in our current home town, it seemed like a no-brainer. I mean it is the National Championship, right?

Well, it ended up being a magical night. Although the team we were cheering for ended up losing, it was one of the best football games I have ever seen. I don't think I have ever been in a stadium where there was so much energy from the fans. You could just feel it all around and since it came down to the very last play, the nervous energy just pulsated through the crowd. Wow! What a night!!

Take Two

The Scene

Touchdown!!

And That's It...

Final

Trophy Presentation

The Gator Chomp Makes An Appearance

First Great Memory of 2014!!

Holiday Bowl - San Diego, CA - 12.30.13

Listen to What the Man Said

It had only been a month since I saw Sir Paul in NYC but I was just as excited to see him again. This time, the scene shifted outside to Boston's Fenway Park. With Laura and our ties to the city, we were both looking forward to returning to the Back Bay and having another good time and rockin' out to some good tunes. But It didn't quite start off that way.

For the pre-show drinks, we headed to the Bleacher Bar; an awesome bar located underneath the outfield stands. Normally for baseball games, the door is open so we can see onto the field. But since this view would now be to the backstage area , it was covered with a tarp. Not cool. But luckily they had the garage-style door up so we could here the sound check, which may have been the best moment of the evening for me. Although it was a little difficult to hear Paul, I did make out a few songs that he didn't play in his regular set: Penny Lane, C Moon, Matchbox and Sing the Changes. Wow!!

At around 7:00 pm, we made our way into the stadium to get situated and find our seats. This is where things started to get bad. As you can see by the picture below, we had, not only an obstructed view, but it blocked the entire center stage where the band would be. Seriously? I wasn't going to stand for this. Nowhere on our ticket did it say 'obstructed view' and for $250 for a pair of tickets i expect better. So I made a b-line for customer service. Luckily, they encounter this issue often and had seats and new tickets ready for those who had been given these awful seats. We traded in our tickets and set off to find our new seats.

Can you say upgrade?!?! Wow, in a major way at that!! We were re-located to the field level and as you can see by the pictures below, pretty much center stage!! So awesome! I mean, how often do you get to stand on the field at Fenway Park right where Dustin Pedroia plays? Too cool!!

Paul delivered almost the exact same show I saw in NYC, which was okay for me as I can never get tired of hearing his tunes. You can reference my last McCartney post to see what songs he played if you are interested. The stadium setting provided a great atmosphere and luckily, the predicted rain storms stayed away. I leave you with some great images from what turned out to be an amazing night!!

Pyro

Sing-A-Long

I Saw Here Standing There

Record Crowd

Thank You Boston!!

Confetti Shower