This was a really fun day! Hatquarters planned a Hoot at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal City, and we decided to attend. It meant getting up early on a Saturday and driving to L.A., but it was worth it.
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| Arriving at Universal Studios |
The City Walk doesn't officially open until 11AM, so when we arrived around 8:30AM it was pretty much empty - you could actually walk around without feeling like a salmon swimming upstream.
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| Hard Rock Cafe, Universal City Walk |
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| Debbie, Carol and Annie at the Hard Rock entrance |
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| Photo Opp - Red Hat Hoot at the Hard Rock Cafe |
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| Exalted Queen Mother Sue Ellen Cooper and her court on the balcony |
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| Once inside, we were greeted with all kinds of Red Hat trinkets and doo-dads |
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| Annie, Carol and Debbie ready for breakfast |
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| The buffet was filled with lots of yummy goodies |
When we first arrived at the Hard Rock it was too early, so we decided to walk around and peek into store windows. Along the way we met Shirlena from "The Dazzling Dames". None of her chapter members had come, so we invited her to hang with us. Here we are at breakfast . . .
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| Shirlena, Debbie, Annie, Joy, Carol |
It was really fun to see other Red Hatters and talk to them about their chapters, see their hats and outfits, and exchange ideas. We got lots of compliments on our shirts too. That was fun.
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| The Hard Rock turned Red & Purple for the morning |
And once again we were able to take pictures with Exalted Queen Mother Sue Ellen Cooper and CEO/President Debra Granich. We met Sue Ellen a few years back when we joined in with lots of other Red Hatters on the Amtrak to Santa Barbara. And we met Debra back in January at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. She actually remembered that she walked with us to the parking lot that day. They are both so approachable, real and unaffected by all this glamour and publicity - just down to earth, real people. Fun!
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| Annie, Joy, Queen Sue Ellen, CEO Debra, Debbie, Carol |
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| And one last pic of us - Debbie, Annie, Carol, Joy |
After the breakfast was over, we decided to do some more walking and gawking along the City Walk . .
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| Universal City Walk |
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| We found this cute photo spot relating to the London Olympics, and had to take our places on the platform |
Somehow I stopped taking photos after this, but we continued strolling along the City Walk, going in and out of stores and checking everything out. Eventually we came to the Sketchers store . . . and that's where we really had some fun. In the window was a pair of shoes that totally had to be designed with the Red Hat Society in mind. In we went. The sales person wasn't exactly helpful, they didn't have the shoes in any of our sizes, and we left the store. But we really wanted those shoes! So after awhile we went back in, and a different sales person helped us. This time he was very very helpful, let us try on the shoes in other colors, and even ordered them for us. They are a little pricey to be sure at $87.00 a pair, but we plan to be wearing them for a long long time as we continue on doing our fun and adventurous Red Hat activities. Check them out . . . . won't they be perfect for the Susan G. Komen walk in October and for all the other places we go that require sturdy, comfy shoes? They come with Red shoe laces too! And they are light as a feather!
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| Red/Purple Walking Shoes - So Perfect! |
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Having blown our budgets, we headed for home. Thanks Queen Debbie for planning a really fun day!
