Partyin' Like a Rock Star

I had mentioned that we were to meet friends in L.A. on Hollywood Boulevard for dinner on Thursday evening and, in fact, we met Trish, a single mom, and her daughter Riley right after we finished our taping of "Ten Years Younger".



As a little background, Riley dances with my daughter, Libby, and has a passion for performing. Because Trish's job allows her to basically work from anywhere, they decided to spend about a month in L.A. so Riley could take classes and see what work she could get, even if it was only small parts in movies that wouldn't be seen by the general public.



Trish had told us that the movie premier for "Swing Vote" starring Kevin Costner was going to be held on Hollywood Boulevard at 6:00 p.m. right across from the mall where we were parked. We found some positions on the north side of Hollywood Boulevard across from the red carpet and waited for the stars to arrive. Surprisingly, there really aren't that many people (other than tourists like us) that show up for these premiers. It wasn't long before Kevin Costner showed up and Karen and Libby both got pictures of him.



Now the movie also stars Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, George Lopez and a few other not-so-recognizable stars. They were all there as well and we were able to get pictures of them as they talked to reporters along the red carpet. Being across a four lane roadway, sometimes it was difficult to tell who some people were. Spectators were sure they saw Zac Efron (it wasn't), Clay Aiken (it wasn't), Frankie Muniz (it wasn't), Abigail Breslin (it wasn't) and Jodie Sweetin (also known as Stephanie Tanner on the 80's show, Full House). Okay, actually it really was Jodie Sweetin!



After the stars had entered the theater to watch the movie, we decided to get some dinner at an Italian restaurant at the west end of Hollywood Boulevard. It was a nice meal and we decided to save some room for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery back at the mall where we were parked. We ordered our ice cream and proceeded to some outdoor seating to eat it and talk. As we were sitting around, we heard people cheering down on Hollywood Boulevard. Looking over a wall, we were surprised to see the people from the movie premier leaving the theater and crossing the street to our side to attend the premier after-party in one of the restaurants in the mall.



I think in an earlier post I had mentioned that I'm not necessarily awe-struck by famous people. We figured that there must have been a back entrance to the restaurant that the party people were using so we decided to call it a night and head back to our cars to head "home" for the evening.



As we rounded a corner in a somewhat remote hallway, we were asked to move over to the side by some fairly large men who were escorting a very petite lady. The lady was instantly recognized by us and Riley, who is very outgoing, asked if she could pose for a picture with her. The lady obliged and also posed for a picture with Libby.



Here's the picture - I think you'll recognize this person fairly quickly.

Yes, sure enough, that really is Paula Abdul! She was very gracious in letting us take the pictures of her with the girls and was very nice to them. Of course, Kyle and Brad couldn't even think about asking for a picture with her as they were busy trying to get their tongues back in their mouths.

Never in a million years did I really think that we'd see anyone famous in L.A., let alone get a picture.

Sometimes it's more important to be lucky instead of good.