Who knew?

I've recently traveled across the world to historical sites, archeological digs, and ancient wonders of the world. And I loved every minute of this amazing trip back in time to sites that have existed for centuries. I think of all the people who have lived there through time, the people for whom these breathtaking sites were home, and even the battles for power in each location. Visiting these ancient sites changed my life, as travel often does.

Yet, I come home and find that there is a theater just up the road from me, a not-for-profit theater group with only their 2nd production, and guest starring two of the the Wowettes! Patt and Karen created Sentimental Journey (www.sentimentaljourneyLA.com)a few years ago after meeting at a karaoke club nearby. One of Karen's parents was in a nursing home and, after visiting and seeing a guy entertaining the residents with CDS on his boombox, she offered to sing for them with Patt. When Patt left town to care for an ailing sister, Karen asked Jocelyn to take her place. Then, Patt returned and they formed a trio, and the ladies have been singing to parties and birthdays and other celebrations ever since.

So the ladies are now being featured in a local theater presentation of "Ain't No Spring Chickens and a Coupla Hot Chicks" (A Rock and Roll review). Having only heard the ladies sing casually at clubs, I was delighted to be able to hear them sing professionally, so I invited a few other Wowettes and we set out last night with great anticipation. You certainly could have missed the theater in this block of what looked like horse ranches, but I had good directions and parked two doors away, at a park nestled in the mountains only a few minutes from my own little tract house.

So the show? I don't have the words. Breathtaking, fun, delightful, amazing. A large group of very talented dancers and singers presented songs from the 40s and 50s, all dressed in period costumes and all seeming to have the time of their lives. Picture big wigs, poodle skirts, and even the tranvestite scene from a cult film. Very clever and lots of fun, it was just impossible not to clap and sing along. I had a smile on my face the whole time, when I wasn't laughing out loud.

And the trio? They sing 3-part harmony that is heavenly. I heard their first note and closed my eyes so I could fully hear their voices without the distraction of their beautiful faces. The songs they chose are delightful, and their lilting harmonies are still with me, even two days later.

So the message? There are treasures near and far. Seeing wonders of the world is memorable and life-changing. Finding surprise treasures right in my own neighborhood and being blessed with such gifted friends is priceless. Want to experience this for yourself? There are a few more weekends left in the show, but it's a very small theater, so call (818) 998-0185 now for reservations and tell them Ellen sent you!

These are my options?

I'm thinking of dating again. Could happen. So a friend posts a personal ad, gets lots of responses, so I put one up myself. Thought I'd share some of the responses with you. I know there's lots of crazies out there, but there could just be one great guy made for me. Never know.

First, one that my Jewish friend got: The guy writes all about himself, and everything about him sounds perfect. Then, he adds, "Just gotta say that I hate Latinos and Jews." To which she writes back, "Shalom. Adios." Ah, if only I were that clever.

So I write the ad, staing a few requirements, like he needs to live not far from me, not be married or attached, be politically liberal, etc, and post the above picture from the cruise. These are the responses, just as written:

In the "duh" category:
Sure it sounds OK to me...
But who is the woman in post photo?

In the "I don't date children, but gee, thanks" category:
hello I am 20 years old and I think that you a gorgeous. I would love to get together sometime and just have fun. I love older woman and think you are beautiful.

Hello there sexy my names is Q and I am really interested in your add and what you have to say. I am really atracted to older women, I am 31 years old and full of energy I would like to talk if we can hear is one of my pics..

In the "I don't date children, but sometimes I wish I did" category:
what a sexy sweet woman...would you have any interest in a younger man 34, who is clean healthy hot nice unbelievably romantic and so so much attracted to a real woman, a mature woman, I dont know why but I am so attracted to more mature womenlove red wine kissing talking, being together.......oh how I wish you could be with me and you would not think of me as a young boy or young...age is only a number,as cheesy as that sounds still its so trueyou just look so feminin and soft and sweet,so sexy to me...well,if you dont meet anyone nice and who thinks of you as hot as I do,then am yours...I will just worship you till you have had enough and then will go on my adventure to finding a jobtake a chance darling life is more fun if you listen to honestyand ok you just turn me on so much

In the "Seriously geographically undesirable" or "You live WHERE?" category:
Read your post and it caught my interest; romantic, adventurious, joie de vivre. I think this is someone I would like to be acquainted with. However, at this moment, I'm sitting on a hilltop in Citta` della Pieve, Umbria, Italy renovating a three story stone farmhouse. You won't be able to enter my name in your date book for this evening.

In the "Whaaaattttt?" category:
This is not my Cup of Tea !!!! Please if you will call me,It is cool if you block your # *67 .I Can hear that you are a real Lady, and I will tell you were you can find pics of me

RU real? I answered yes and then he wrote back: unfear but it is okey

In the "Did you think I'm selling something?" category:
35 IN 818 WITH $$

In the "Gee, this is good for my ego" category:
Wish I fit all those catagories you look VERy yummy

OK, still looking. Could still happen. Think I'll go read a good book.

Traveling to foreign lands at home.

Yes, I'll put up more pix of the cruise, I promise. Just thought I'd share some of my local travels since I've been home. I had sent out an email to the Party List, saying I'm up for visiting any local clubs they may have stumbled upon and I got, from a list of over 700 people, two suggestions. Two. Not so much night life in Los Angeles, apparently.

One of the suggestioned places was described by my Party List Guy as "They have country bands, Friday and Saturday no cover. It is a very fun place." It's been a tough week for me, kinda going through a post-vacation-real-life-sucks mood, so I was happy to visit a new fun place. I downloaded the directions from Yahoo maps and my scout and I set out for an adventure.

We get off the freeway, turn left, and we're in the mountains. It's dark, it's really dark, and we can barely see, much less read, a street sign. We pass a sign welcoming us to a forest, and we're thinking we're lost. Up and up the mountain road we go, way past civilization, trees and hills on either side of us when, finally, I spot the sign of the club on my right. We screech to a stop, not worrying about other cars since we hadn't seen one in quite a while, turn around and head back to the driveway, which we can't see from the road. But we finally see it, notice a total lack of cars in what seems to be a parking lot, and a very short and wide guy pacing around in a black shirt with "Security" on the back.

OK, we've put on make-up, done our hair, found the place, and we're going in. We hear music, a good sign, and open the door and see a bar, five people sitting on bar stools, and one bartender. We make our way over the the other side of the bar, passing the room with the band, and settle on a few seats near the pool tables. We order our drinks, noting that they don't take credit cards, and survey our surroundings. The band stops for a break and the musicians, tall, skinny, tattooed, and with long hair, pass us and go out a door a few feet away. Turns out the men's bathroom is outside in the patio with all the cactus. We're trying hard to be polite, but we can't help cracking up at this place. Not 5-star, for sure, but a down-home country bar with happy people and live music.

So the band starts another set and we decide to take our drinks to the chairs on the dance floor. There's a family in the other chairs, mom and dad and grown kids and their friends, all six of them having a good time, tapping their feet and clapping along with the music. And the music? Nice sounding country band for sure with a decidedly eclectic play list. Picture a Johnny Cash song, then "Come Together" by the Beatles, then a song about a guy picking up his girl and a bottle of wine and candles and them settling down on the couch and saying, "Don't touch my willie, I don't know you that well. Don't touch my willie, and we'll get along just fine." What? OK, then "Pretty Woman" and then "Achy-Breaky Heart" and then "Knights in White Satin" and then another country tune with the lyrics, "Beer, bait, and apples, and everything in-between." And then the band announces another break, saying "Don't forget, the more you drink, the better we sound."

Did I mention the decorations? A head of a deer on the wall above us, right across from a TV on the ceiling above the band, antlers and beer signs all over the walls, and unmatching chairs and tables everywhere. An ATM machine near the bar and a trash can next to it. And, I can't forget a small, colorful disco ball rotating on the floor in front of the band, right next to the "Tip" bucket, yes bucket.

But did we have fun? Yep. We enjoyed the music, every song. Even the couple on the dance floor, holding each other to a slow song, the guy kinda bent over at the waist toward the woman, with his butt about two feet from us, him leaning in every few seconds to kiss or bite the neck of his partner who was doing some sort of dance step while he swayed. I said to my friend "I feel like I'm intruding," and she started cracking up and I started cracking up and then she started snorting and I couldn't stop laughing and, thankfully, the dancing couple was oblivious to our bad behavior, enjoying themselves like we weren't there.

So definitely a dive, but we had a great time. Would I go there again? If I wanted to listen to some cool music without a crowd, yes. See, there's fun places to visit right here at home!

Come with me to Capri.

Travel is life-changing, seeing foreign lands, meeting new people, seeing different cultures. Our first stop was in Capri, Italy, this beautiful beachside town. Being in each port for only part of one day didn't allow us to see inland sights, but here's what we saw of what we could walk to on this lovely island on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in southern Italy. It has a long history you can read about at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capri,_Italy.

A sea of gorgeous men.

I post this for all of you who are, or will be, asking "Did you meet any men on your cruise?" Yes, there they are, fun and funny and smart and great company, all on my cruise, at my dinner table, kidding me at the cruise bars, and joining me on shore excursions. And yes, that's me and Bev in the midst of them. I think I fell in love with each and every one.

George and Ken live in Florida. Ken does philanthropic work and his partner George is a non-dispensing pharmacist for a major drugstore who manages meds for AIDS patients. George is the expert cook and Ken makes sure he has the best cooking equipment and together they have a beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Emilio and Scott live together in Hollywood, Florida and own a B&B and multiple rental properties. They've traveled extensively and told stories about people they've met all over the world. Emilio is thoughtful and a good listener; Scott is more lighthearted and silly. Emilio's god-son Eric works for the cruise line and was on a working vacation on the cruise; Emilio and Scott clearly enjoyed his company and extended the end of their vacation to spend a few days in Rome with him. Stephen lives in Toluca Lake and his friend Bob lives in West Hollywood; they met while working at one of the major TV studios. Stephen is now in the travel business and Bob is retired, enjoying TV now as a watcher only. Randy is the organizer of the Seminar at Sea and invited Bev and the other travel agents to participate in this cruise. After law school and passing the bar, he chose the travel business because he loved it and it shows.

I can't remember having this much fun with this many men ever. They were charming and delightful and welcomed us into their circle with open arms. I promise to write all about the trip to Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt in the coming days and put up pix, I do. As much as I enjoyed visiting these amazing sites, one of the best parts of the trip was meeting and enjoying the company of these terrific men. Now if I can only find a straight guy that's nearly as fine!