Long Beach and Orange County - Summer 2016

Uncle Richard had half of the day off so we left Uncle Clint behind to work and hopped in the car to run some errands and get to an event that Madison picked. It was a meet and greet at a Barnes n' Noble for some YouTube stars that Madison follows. The gist we got before (and after) were these three did book review videos online. Geeks or nerds we decided, but then changed our minds after the event because they were getting teens and older to READ.

Richard had to make a stop in Long Beach to check on property that was over watering or some such errand. The house had recently been an interest for the location scout of the television series, The Fosters, much to our delight as we are viewers of the show. It was a on a beautiful strip of the water, and so while he was busy with work related stuff we played tourist.

Tom went down on to the beach to feel the water and survey the scene. The girls and I stayed above taking his pictures and waving. We have gotten the tourist thing down. He said the water was chilly, and at 64 degrees with a great wind we agreed it probably was cold. No one was really in the water just sunning on the beach.

I liked Long Beach. It was very quaint, quiet, and beachy. We had to drive around to locate another house where Richard had to drop off some gift to a friend so we saw quite a bit of the city. The area smelled like a beach side town, that smell you only get when vacationing near the ocean.

From there we headed into Orange county to the Barnes n' Noble. It was a two story bookstore, quite large, and they must not have expected a large crowd because there was minimal seating. Tom and Maddy snagged seats in the back while the rest of us wandered. Eventually we ended up behind the main table of the meet n' greet at the adjourning Starbucks. The three YouTubers, Poland Bananas Books (Christine), Jessie the Reader (Jessie), and Katytastic (Kat), arrived right after us dressed in costume from the book and TV show, The 100.

By the time the event started there was a huge overflow of people, many dressed in characters from their favorite books. The three YouTubers seemed very unsure of how to work the gig, but the audience was great and soon everyone was into the flow. Richard learned quite a lot about the YouTube world, fame, and VidCon, which was happening in Anaheim and from where these three had come from that day. He was mostly concerned about when they were going to grow up and get jobs, and was equally horrified to find out that this was their job and that it was profitable.

The three did a Q and A session, a trivia contest with prizes, a fashion show where everyone in costume walked, and a picture and autograph session. The one hour event lasted almost three hours. Barnes n' Noble gave away free books and everyone was kind, considerate, and very happy. We all agreed it had been a fun and educational experience.

We ended the night at a Laos restaurant that agreed to stay open just for us, and the couple who owned it were so sweet and kind. We chatted with them and ate from several different Laos dishes. Tom and Richard enjoyed it more than the rest of us, but we all found something we enjoyed, despite the hot and spiciness of the dishes. We headed back home where some of the family cleansed their palate with ice cream while the others went to bed.