Seat with a View at Cirque Du Soleil Ovo

While I normally wouldn't post about my attendance at a Cirque show (I've been to a dozen over the past decade), this experience was special. I was invited to the dress rehearsal last night--as a photographer! Now this is a rare experience as usually no photography is permitted under the Big Top. I had a front row center seat and got some amazing photos! Although my face was behind my camera nearly the entire time, I saw enough to be wowed! I was then invited to be a panelist in a roundtable interview with the creator of Ovo, Deborah Colker. While I couldn't make the roundtable, I did interview her, exclusively, one on one. So exciting!

(You can read my interview here: http://bit.ly/xSlwXt)

Meeting best-selling author Patricia Schultz

I brought my friend Amy and her boyfriend, Michael along with me to the 7^th Annual Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show. This show, billed as "the ticket to discover authentic travel experiences, snap up the deals, win trips and giveaways, and be entertained and delighted" was a bit of a letdown.

I was hoping to connect with tourism board reps and agency reps but it seems that everyone working the booths were "volunteers" who were simply "collecting business cards"....oh well. (If I get one FAM out of it--so worth it!)

I did have an opportunity to meet and chat one-on-one with Patricia Schultz, best-selling author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die.” I promised her that whatever page I opened to in her book, that is where I’d go! And she wants to hear about it.
Oh, and I even got a great workout in a giant hamster ball as I “walked on water.”

(Shout out to Amy for snapping my pic!)