Thanksgiving with Rover and Cal

George and I spent this long Thanksgiving holiday weekend in Los Angeles. Our friends Rover and Cal invited us to their annual Thanksgiving potluck at their amazing home. We also stayed with them for the rest of the weekend. Please feel free to click on the following photos to see them enlarged.



We stopped in Victorville on our way to L.A. to gas up the car and enjoyed a little ice cream.


It was raining in Los Angeles just before we arrived. These are the leftover storm clouds over El Cajon Pass.

Invited guests brought an array of different foods, desserts and drinks for the Thanksgiving potluck. About 20 people sat around a beautiful appointed banquet table and feasted on delicious pumpkin soups, salads, turkey, dressing, casseroles and other delectable dishes. The list of a variety of foods went on and on. There was lots of laughter, singing and lively conversations. Rover and Cal’s friends are a very eclectic group of people, living a bohemian way of life. Since almost everyone is either an artist, performer or musician, this wonderfully intellectual group is full of live and knows how to celebrate.


Rover and little Connor provided the right beat and joined James on the piano for some sing-along.


James is giving little Connor some advice how to make some noise.


The kitchen always provides some conversation fodder.


Cal and Thomas are relaxing after an amazing Thanksgiving feast.


The following day started with a scrumptious breakfast, cooked by our most gracious host Rover. Around noon George and I were heading towards the Pacific to spend the afternoon in Santa Monica. The partly clouded sky casted a spectacular scenery over the ocean. What a dramatic background. Every once in a while the sun would peek through the clouds and dip the Palisades into this amazing light.



George always enjoys our walks along the Pacific Palisades in Santa Monica.


Along the Pacific Palisades.


And there was actually some sun as well. This is L.A. after all. Quick, get the camera. Smile and say Cheese!


After a nice and simple dinner at Coogies on Santa Monica Boulevard, we took our time driving through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood toward our final destination in downtown L.A., the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center to see this:



The Tony Award winning musical made a stop in L.A. on its national tour.


The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles with the Walt Disney Concert Hall, George with the Ahmanson Theatre in the background and the Dance Door bronze sculpture.


George and I at the Music Center Plaza.

We bought tickets a while ago to see the award-winning musical “Spring Awakening.” We always loved the songs, but to see the whole play unfold and perform live on stage was amazing. What a great cast. George and I are so glad we were able to see it.

Saturday turned out to be the most perfect day. Sunny, no clouds and with spring-like temperatures. We invited Rover and Cal to come with us and George’s brother Thomas to Six Flag’s Magic Mountain. Before we were all ready to head on over to ride some of the greatest and craziest roller coasters on this planet, Rover had to make a stop at the Pasadena High School Theater where he was preparing the sets for the upcoming performance of “The Crucible.” Since Rover comes from a theater background, he’s lending his expertise to build the stage props and will help the kids learn how to set up the stage and the lighting.


On stage with Rover and Cal, inspecting the progress of the set for the play at the high school theater.


Some of the old and newer rollercoasters at Six Flag's Magic Mountain.


Impressions of the "X-2" rollercoaster, the world's first 4th dimension thrill ride.


Cal, Thomas, Rover and George impatiently waiting in line to finally get on the "X-2" ride.


The "Viper" with multiple drops, twists, loops and corkscrews.


After hours of being twirled, swung and looped around on these crazy coasters at Magic Mountain, we decided to have a dinner at one of those last remaining old-fashioned hamburger stands in Pasadena, called “The Hat.” Junk food at its finest. The best Pastrami Burgers, grilled Cheeseburgers and Tuna Salad Sandwiches one can think of. With a mountain of Chili Cheese Fries, Onion Rings and Jalapeños. And of course buckets of sodas. We don’t eat like this very often, but when we do we really enjoy this. And boy...did it taste good.

Then we were off to Hollywood to see this:






The marquees of the historic El Capitan movie palace and the relatively new Disney's Soda Fountain & Studio Store.

We purchased tickets early on to see the newest Disney flick “Bolt” at one of our most favorite movie palaces of a by-gone era, the El Capitan. Before the movie, Disney had a little Broadway-esque Christmas show which was performed live on stage. As expected from Disney, it was corny and cheesy but very cute. The computer-animated feature “Bolt” was presented in digital 3-D, which made the film that more special. We all loved the film. It was very well executed, really funny and the Hamster character Rhino was just downright hilarious. We can highly recommend this film.

As all good things eventually come to an end, so did our little Thanksgiving excursion. Late Sunday morning we were on our way again back home to Las Vegas. What a great time we had. Even more so thanks to Rover and Cal.

We always do with these two.

Rover and Cal

Cal, myself and Rover in front of the entrance
to Cirque du Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

This past weekend brought our friends Rover and Cal from California and some of their friends to Las Vegas. They were in town to see the new Bette Middler show at Caesars Palace and Cirque du Soleil’s “Love” at the Mirage. Rover’s mother and sister, whom he hasn’t seen in three years, also flew in to join this eclectic group of fun and easy-spirited people.

Rover and Cal stayed at our home overnight, while the rest of the gang stayed at various hotels near the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the days were spent at some of the resorts along Strip. Not so much for gambling but for checking out some of the sights and spending a fun time together over good food and a few drinks. George and I joined them all on some occasion and together we all played tourists. Lots of fun was to be had by everyone.

We love Rover and Cal. They’re both the most fun guys to be with. Both are highly creative and very hands-on in everything they do. There’s never a dull moment in their lives, as they share the experiences of being an actor, writer, director, remodeling and restoring old buildings and cars, and event organizers. Oh, and did we mention theme park designer for Disneyland and Walt Disney World? If you’ve been on rides dealing with, let’s say, Indiana Jones, Roger Rabbit and the Muppets, you can thank Rover in part for that.

And despite their busy lives, they are the happiest, yet most grounded people we know. Rover and Cal are intelligent, intellectual and passionate and we had many profound conversations and discussions with them. And in the spur of the moment they both can kid around and just be plain silly and totally crack you up. The world needs more of them and it would be so much better for it.

George and I are looking forward to seeing them again real soon.

Dieses letzte Wochenende waren unsere guten Freunde Rover und Cal aus Kalifornien bei uns zu Besuch in Las Vegas und haben einige ihrer Freunde mitgebracht. Sie waren hier um auch die neue Show mit Bette Midler im Caesars Palace zu sehen, sowie auch “Love”, die neueste Inzinierung der berühmten Cirque du Soleil im Mirage. Rovers Mutter und seine Schwester, die er seit gut drei Jahren nicht mehr gesehen hatte, reisten ebenfalls an um an dieser lustigen und lebensfreudigen Gruppe teilzunehmen.

Rover und Cal übernachteten bei uns im Haus, während der Rest der Gruppe in verschiedenen Hotels nahe des berühmten Las Vegas Strip untergebracht waren. Tagsüber wurde meist in den großartigen Casinos entlang dieser Spielermeile verbracht. Nicht wegen der Versuchung des Glücksspiels, sondern vielmehr um sich die zahlreichen Attraktionen anzusehen und viel gutes Essen und ein paar Cocktails zu geniesen. Jeder war bei bester Laune und es wurde viel gelacht. Wir alle hatten einen Heidenspaß zusammen. George und ich verbrachten mit allen so viel Zeit wie möglich. Es war recht lustig wieder einmal Tourist zu spielen.

Wir lieben Rover und Cal und verbringen meist die beste Zeit mit ihnen. Beide sind höchst kreativ and sehr aktiv mit allem was sie anpacken. Es gibt nie einen langweiligen Moment in ihrem Leben, die beide mit allenmöglichen Berufen und Tätigkeiten ausgefüllt haben. Sei es als Schauspieler, Schriftsteller und Drehbuchautor, Regisseur, oder um alte Gebäude und Oldtimerautos zu renovieren und restaurieren. Und dann war da noch die Zeit als Rover jahrelang für Disneyland und Walt Disney World die verschiedensten Attraktionen gestaltet hat. Für diejenigen die die Disneyparks kennen, sage ich nur Indiana Jones, Roger Rabbit und die Muppets. Rover war, unter anderem, aber insbesondere für diese verantwortlich.

Trotz ihres hektischen Lebens, sind diese beiden die wohl glücklichsten und ausgewogensten Menschen die wir kennen. Rover und Cal sind ein sehr intelligentes, intellektuelles und leidenschaftliches Paar und wir hatten viele tiefgründige und lebhafte Diskussionen und Gespräche. Und dann, mit einem Schlag, können die beiden nur Unsinn im Kopf haben und jeden zum lachen bringen. Es sollte sehr viel mehr Leute wie Rover und Cal auf dieser Welt geben. Diese Welt wäre um so vieles besser.

George und ich freuen uns bereits riesig darauf, wenn wir sie wieder das nächste Mal sehen.