Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Filming in Florida

Yesterday was my last day in Florida, and of course the most nerve-wracking day of all since it was the day of the actual filming.

At the appointed time (well, a bit early) I drove to the studio.


It didn't look like much on the outside (except for this HUGE antenna)...


...but inside was a veritable maze of rooms and studios...


I was escorted to the Green Room, a lovely place, to wait until the current guests were finished filming. I paced around nervously.


Then it was my turn. I shouldn't have fretted. The hosts -- Herman and Sharron -- were a kindly older couple who had been married 53 years. They were as nice as could be and immediately put me at my ease.


The studio was fascinating to see from the inside. The studio had a number of sets used for different shows. Ours was a "garden" set.


Other sets were dining rooms, a desk area, and even a full living room.


One of the cameras was on a boom, so it could be moved around from a higher angle.


The whole ordeal wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be, except for being painfully aware of my appearance. The reason is the lights shine so brightly I couldn't see the cameras, so they didn't freak me out too much. Instead I tried to concentrate on just chatting with the hosts.

Nonetheless, I was GLAD when it was over!

I happened to notice the temperature as I left the studio. Ug, sometimes it's better not to know.


After lunch, I immediately hit the road since it was a two-hour drive back to Orlando. I waved at the dinosaur as I passed.


While driving, something unusual happened at 1:52 local time. I was listening to a news station broadcasting out of Washington D.C. when all of a sudden the female host stopped, gasped, and said "Oh my God, we're having an earthquake!" She and the male host were being shaken in their studio, live during the broadcast. All the pre-recorded sound bites they had lined up for their news stories suddenly didn't work, but that was okay, they had lots of stuff to fill the air time ("breaking news," they called it). (Apparently the political Tweets were almost instantaneous. My favorite so far: Evidently the quake occurred on a little known fault line outside of DC called "Bush's Fault.")

When I got to the airport, it was insane. The security line was massive and very slow-moving. When I got to the fist checkpoint, I asked the TSA fellow if it was always this crowded. He said it was the busiest time of day for flying anyway, but because of the earthquake, there were massive flight delays. I was glad I got to the airport as early as I did.

And thankfully I didn't have to go through any TSA nonsense on this end either. Perhaps it was due to the huge crowds (which, I'll admit, were very cooperative and well-behaved as a whole), but I merely walked through a metal detector, re-gathered my belongings, and I was good to go. The flight the Denver wasn't delayed, nor was the second leg of the trip from Denver to Spokane.

Flying west, the sun was at an angle that photos didn't really come out. This is a color-enhanced shot as we were landing in Denver.


And of course, Denver has the funky roof of the terminal to amuse visitors.


The second half of the flight was entirely in the dark, so photos wouldn't have worked. But here is Spokane (or more specifically, Spokane Valley) just as we're approaching the airport.


My flight arrived on top at 11 pm and Don met me without any trouble. What a tiring day! I'm glad to be home and glad to have survived the experience.

7 comments:

  1. Phyllis (N/W Jersey)August 24, 2011 at 6:09 PM

    Welcome home, Patrice!

    Thanks for all the pics and commentary .....almost felt that I actually went along with 'ya!

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  2. I'm so glad it went well! I was praying for you! It looks so glamorous on the sets!
    About the earthquake, my oldest son works on Capitol Hill (home school graduate, too) and he called at 2:00ish and said they were all under their desks during the EQ. Everyone was getting out of Dodge at the same time and DC was gridlocked with 110 people ahead of him for the Metro which was going at only 15 mph. It took a long time to get out and only 1 lane on the freeway was open, too. (What if there was anarchy or a medical emergency!) I love your joke about it was 'Bush's Fault!'
    Glad you made it home safely!
    --K in OK <><

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  3. Save the Canning JarsAugust 24, 2011 at 6:50 PM

    Thanks for flying over "flyover country"! Hope you enjoyed the views. Florida's 98 degrees would be a welcome break because here in Okrahoma we were 109 degrees today! Glad you are home safe and sound. Hope Floridians are blessed by your interview.

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  4. What fun to see all the pictures and hear all the news. Those bright lights and big city can be exciting, but it's always good to get home. Thanks for the play by play.

    Florida is beautiful. I spent some time there years ago.

    Just Me

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  5. I posted this to Facebook yesterday. Everyone seems to enjoy it (even my liberal friends):

    President Obama has just confirmed that the DC earthquake occurred on a rare and obscure fault-line, known as "Bush's Fault". Obama also announced that the Secret Service and Maxine Waters will continue the investigation of the quake's suspicious ties to the Tea Party. Libertarians, however, have proven that the quake was caused by the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves. ;-)

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  6. Hey there Patrice,
    Glad you made it home safe! I tried to catch your "live feed" but, alas, it didn't come in as far away as Ft Laud. I hope your book sells off the charts:)It is still sitting on my desk and I read a couple of pages everyday-this morning I read #151. It was a perfect for today; since I've been working the past few days reclaiming extra space in case "Irene" should hit south Fl. We never know how many people we may have in emergencies and I found so much "stuff" that needed to either be taken to Good Will, re-located (where it really belongs!) or just thrown out! How much less stressful it is around here today, knowing if we hadn't dodged this particular "bullet", things (inside at least :) )would be calm and peaceful and not a chaotic mess of last minute grabbing and throwing stuff -who knows where- to make extra room. Enjoy being with your family, your green pastures:)and sounds of nature!
    Mary



    Mary
    ps for those who may be

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  7. I read a comment about the earthquake in D.C. saying that the epicenter was a graveyard in D.C. and that it had been confirmed that the cause was our founding fathers turning over in their graves.

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