On The Road Again

This past weekend we wen't down to LA for the first time in a while and Wow, what a company we have right now. I mean not only are they all talented, they are some of the most loving, caring and FUNNY people I have ever spent time with.

The current car ride down to LA is:
Katharine: Our super awesome apprentice who got her degree at Stanford in Physics!

Ro: A mid 30's Mexican who is the baby of 14 kids in his family, immigrated to America as a teenager, started dancing later in life, Has his masters from Cal State Long beach, teaches at St. Mary's College (and many many more things)

Andrew: Ro's partner in life, a yogi, super passionate about life and people, LOVES clothes and anything to do with clothes. (I mean, has a "costume trunk" in the trunk of his car for those "Just in case moments") and LOVES musical Theater! He also lived in Iowa for his Jr. High days and so we have a very special bond :)

And of course, me Katharine driving in traffic

The random traffic in the middle of the 5!

In the past 2 years I have experienced a number of different car rides to and from "LaLa Land" but this past weekend was for sure a highlight. Through beat up bodies, complete exhaustion, crazy random traffic and purely sitting in a car for 7 hours, I had a blast.

The beauty about Andrew on road trips is that he is always up for a creative fun game and with him, there is never a dull moment. Some highlighted games include:

• Catch Phrase- this takes me back to high school days as this use to be our go to game to play! We don't play teams or timed, just play. We all go about it much differently though so its hilarious! Andrew likes to give you the full picture, create images for you (that have nothing to do with the word and in fact usually take longer than it needs to). For instance, he once took our imaginations over to Britain and told to think about the way they speak and what they say...everyone was guessing phrases but nope, the word was "English." And nope, he couldn't just say "this is the language we speak." Ro on the other was born and partly raised in Mexico, he didn't learn English till he was a teenager and so there are plenty of American phrases that he just doesn't get, so he is really good about just breaking down words and getting you stay something like "Chicago White Sox" (they might be a sporting team? umm, you put these on your feet...they are not black but ...." oh its too funny and hours of entertainment!
• Famous Person- its like 20 questions where you only ask "yes" or "no" questions but again, we don't put a limit on number of questions you ask. This one is funny because almost always you will get "were they famous" and everyone will laugh at you since the name of the game is "famous person."
  
• What song is this word in- a brilliantly fun game for Andrew and me the musical theater lovers, but it isn't limited to Musical Theater. One person says a word and you have to come up with a song/ sing the song that that word is in! oh this starts to be the break out into many bad vocals by all parties.The best one this last trip was meek/ sophisticated Katharine (Who does not stay present with Pop culture things and has never even owned a TV) broke out into a punk rock song with the word "black" in it. We all couldn't contain ourselves when she "Sang/ Yelled" it!
• Say the same word- This is a challenge. Basically, how well do you know your friends/ loved ones/ co-workers etc. This is a game of total mind reading! When Andrew first explained it we all looked at him like he was insane. I'm pretty sure he simply said "Okay you think of a word and I think of the same word and we will say it at the same time." Umm...hmm...But I'm tell you, you start to really channel each other and you will in fact say the same word. The best is having Andrew on side (when its not his turn) saying "Oh I totally have it, come on guys you so have it." This game can really keep you occupied for hours as sometimes it takes a lot longer than you wish to guess the same word!

By the end of the trip, Andrew is playing DJ and we are all counting down the miles till we get home. When the 88 mile sign appears we all scream for joy! hurray! only 1.5 hours left! On the flip side, that time is usually the slowest as we all mentally check out and day dream of our beds, loved ones and sleep!

I can honestly say though (while exhausted from the trips) I am already ready for the next road trip adventure with these lovely people. They are really creating memories for me that I will never forget!