And so it goes.

Well, its over. For me, anyway, since I'm not staying to watch episodes with Harriet tomorrow afternoon.

Tonight was fun... some really cool items got auctioned off to benefit charity... including props and costume items from the show (A copy of Deep Six, A Caf-Pow and a Frank N Baby with a red splat on its forehead a la Red Cell, a personalized director's chair, a set visit... etc...).

Deep Six package







Caf Pow/Frank N Baby package




Liza Lapira made an appearance... she is an absolute sweetheart! Liza, Jen-with-one-n is absolutely thrilled to have met you, and I thank you for joining us.










I also got to meet Charles Floyd Johnson, who was very gracious to, and appreciative of, all of us there.







And last, but certainly not least, though she couldn't make it we got to talk to Pauley Perrette via speakerphone... and a couple of the more Scuito-centric attendees got to speak with her one on one.... The one question everyone had? What was the birthday gift that she got from Gibbs?? She says... its the gold at the end of the Gibbs rainbow!







All in all, its been a very fun weekend. I'm already hatching plans for next year!

Set visit.

Today's set visit was, without a doubt, the highlight of my trip so far! It was really quite thrilling to be able to wander through and see where the magic happens. I so wish we could have taken pictures, but understandably that wasn't allowed, so I'll try to list the places we saw from memory... (as close to in order as possible)

Abby's lab

Interrogation/Observation rooms

Gibbs' basement

The parking lot... where the Chargers, Medical Examiner Van, and Mobile Crime Scene unit were parked.

Wardrobe... Abby's bowling outfit and Marilyn costume were on display... and not surprisingly, her "closet space" is by FAR the largest...

A ship set that was recently used

The Director's office & reception area

Several swing sets, some that had been recently filmed in and others that will be used for filming in the near future.

The set building area and property storage.

The cast trailers... including Mark Harmon's Airstream! (Just from the outside, of course)

The back lot

MTAC

Autopsy

The squad room

and last, but not least...

We ate lunch in the evidence garage!


After a lovely lunch, Executive Producer Charles Floyd Johnson and Producer Avery Drewe welcomed us, & played some DVD's for us... one of the DVD's was of several cast members saying hello, another was several scenes from the first several episodes of season 5 (Yes, I know spoilers.... no, I'm not gunna tell!), a gag reel, and then we were allowed to see the first act of the season premiere!! What a tease!

After the dvd's were played, we got to speak to several crew members about what their jobs entail, and see several very cool props. Then, we all headed to the back lot to have a group photo taken, received gift bags from the production (including a NCIS Season 4 baseball cap, a Season 5 Cast & Crew placard, and a very nice 2008 NCIS pocket calender.

Then, back on the buses to head to the hotel. Now its time to get a little nap in before we gather again at 630. Looking forward to Liza Lapira's appearance, & whatever other surprises lie in store for us!

Friday evening

Last night was fun, kind of laid back... There were booths for each of the main characters, giving away goodies and selling tickets for various character-specific raffles. I bought a few tickets for the Abby and McGee raffles, and got a bunch from Operation Gratitude for their raffle, for donating several used cell phones. I do have a few pictures that I will post later today.

We got word of confirmation that executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson and actress Liza Lapira (Agent Lee) will be joining us tonight... other appearances may occur, but they will be a surprise if so.

Right now, I'm off to go get ready for today's big activity... the set visit!!! Whee!

Guest starring...

This afternoon, we got to have a Q & A session with some real NCIS agents, which was very interesting. Unfortunately, because of the nature of their work and security precautions, they asked that no photos be taken.

Our other guest this afternoon was Craig Harvey, of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office (as he puts it, "Coroner to the Stars!", and a Technical Advisor for NCIS, who talked to us about the nature of his work as a coroner as well as some of the ways he assists the production. He also brought liver probes for us to look at!

Coroner Craig Harvey shows off some liver probes.

This is as up close and personal as I plan to get to a coroner for a very long time, thankyouverymuch! :)

A couple more

These pictures got emailed to me last night by another attendee...

A gaggle of Abbys

(PS... the one on the right is a guy!)

The top of the cake... a picture of the cast cutting their own 100 episode cake!

Costume party pictures!

First, get into costume...

Mustn't forget to have fabulous shoes!

Find a table...

....and get into character!

Harriet Margulies, NCIS audience liaison, cuts the cake in celebration of 100 episodes!

"Elf Lord"... the single McGee entry.

Director Shepherds

Zivas

Tonys

Gibbseses

Jimmy Palmers

Various recurring characters...

Kate Todd (pre-mortem), Agent Lee, Kate (in McGee's fantasy),

Dr. Jeanne Benoit, and Mrs. Mallard

Duckies!

One particularly good Ducky... complete with the autopsy monkey.

Abbys

Me with Harriet Margulies, NCIS Audience Liasion

& actress in NCIS episodes "Forced Entry" and "Escaped".

Kicking it on the California King...

Aah, naptime! I'm checked in and kicked back on my king size bed in the hotel room, taking a little nap before I have to get ready for the costume party tonight... getting up at 4 in the morning doesn't work well for me it seems. Go figure.

The flight was actually pretty good - hands down, first class is the way to go! Crossing my fingers that I get to upgrade again on my way back!!

The weather here is sunny and breezy, just beautiful. The hotel is right next to the Van Nuys airport, but the planes there are small, so the sound is actually kind of soothing rather than disturbing... kinda reminds me of college, when I lived next to McChord Air Force Base... except the flyboys and their toys at McChord are way louder.

Anyway, time to catch few Zzzzzzz's... next up... my adventures as a goth forensic scientist!

In the event of an emergency landing...

Well, the time is nigh... I'm sipping my venti soy no water chai in the comfort of the, uh, airport right now, waiting for boarding time to arrive. I hate flying... being herded around both the airport and the aircraft. Have to undress and unpack my bags to get through security. Okay, it was just taking off my shoes, taking off the sweater I had tied around my waist, taking my laptop out of its case and the toiletries out of my carry on. But still... annoying. On the upside though, I was able to upgrade to first class for cheap. Hmm, that doesn't look right. On the upside, though, I was able to upgrade to First Class for cheap. Ooh, yeah, thats better! Haha... Its already had its benefits, I was able to zoom through the express line at security, whee! Throw in the extra seat space, and I think a girl could definitely get used to this.

It occurred to me last night as I was packing The Big Suitcase that its probably going to get rifledd through by the TSA too. Not only do I have various accoutrements for my Abby costume (chains, dog collars, etc), but I also have several used cell phones I'm taking to donate to Operation Gratitude http://www.operationgratitude.com . Yeah, cuz that doesn't look suspicious. Oh well, they'll just be sorely disappointed. Well, by everything except maybe the dog collar. ;)

Anyhow, time to run away from the nice corner at the Starbucks (with the power outlet, no less) that I am hiding in and go hang out at the gate!

Preparations

Just over 24 hours before I leave, and I am so unprepared. I am on my way in a moment to go pick up "the big suitcase" from my parents house (my own luggage is sadly lacking in the size department), so I can start getting all packed and ready to go. I discovered that the pants I plan to wear as part of my "Abby" costume have a hole in them... a small one, but its right in the front at the bottom of the fly... that could be embarassing! Its on the seam though, so its a quick fix... but something else to add to my list of things to do.

I found out tonight that I probably won't get to see the old friend that I recently discovered has moved to LA while I'm down there. The schedules just don't jive... I'm very bummed, because he was someone who meant a great deal to me during a very rough time in my life, and I would love to reconnect. At the same time, its one less thing to cram into my schedule while I'm down there. Ups and downs, I guess.

I thought about trying to go to The Price Is Right the first day I'm in town, since I arrive in the morning and can't check in until late afternoon... but although the first show of the day doesn't tape until 1300, and it appears that tickets are still available, it says on the website that they open the waiting area at 0600. Erm... yeah, not spending my entire vacation waiting in line... even if its to "Come on down!" Still on the list of things to do before I die... but I'm not planning on dying anytime soon, so I think that one can wait for the next trip I take down there.

Anyway... off to grab the fabled big suitcase... Laters!

Counting down...

Its getting close! You can bet I'm counting the minutes till I get on that plane! I figured I'd kick off the blog with an approximate schedule for the weekend.



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

06:55-09:14 Fly the friendly skies to LA!

09:14-18:00 Relax and lounge by the hotel pool... the perfect way to start a vacation!

18:00-21:00 Costume Party



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

13:00-15:30 Seminar with local NCIS Special Agents

15:45-17:00 Seminar with Craig Harvey, NCIS Technical Consultant,
Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office

18:30-23:00 NCIS Fan Fest 2007 officially opens
Fan club/groups booths and raffles
Guest appearances
Operation Support Team: Donations/letters for troops
Silent Charity Auction


SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

10:00-16:00 Visit to NCIS set

18:30-23:30 – NCIS Fan Fest continues
Fan club/groups booths and raffles
Guest appearances
Operation Support Team: Donations/letters for troops
Silent Charity Auction
Live Charity Auction


SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

06:15-08:28 Fly the slightly less friendly skies back to reality.