i'd tried in vain to talk the hub into going to vegas a couple of months ago so i could check out a pop-up sponsored by at&t where someone had recreated the "central perk" set using legos. you know how much i love a good novelty outing. but it was a tough sell, and i promptly forgot about it until i saw a post somewhere that said that the pop-up was going to be moved to santa monica. tickets were free, but you had to sign up on their website for the limited run.
on the day that the tickets were supposed to be available online, i hopped onto the website and clicked on the button as soon as the clock struck 9 (or whatever time it was supposed to open up). nothing happened. i waited a minute and clicked again, and still nothing. i continued to refresh every ten seconds or so, and nothing was happening. a peek at their instagram account told me that a bunch of others were seeing the same thing, and so i just kind of sat back and waited patiently. while the website never did open up while i was checking, someone else came into the post and gave a website that took me straight to the ticketing page, and so i was finally able to secure those tickets.
i somehow managed to talk the hub into coming with us, since we hadn't been out to santa monica in a long time and the pop-up was at third street promenade. he was down to go, and so we all piled into his truck and headed down to the beach. it was a cool cloudy day, just the way we like it.
we had timed tickets, and when we got to the promenade we were about an hour early. but this is not a place where killing time would be an issue, and we had fun browsing through the shops as we made our way towards the pop-up. and when we got there, the line that i'd anticipated was pretty much non-existent.
turned out that they were taking walk-up visitors, and so we headed on over to check in and have our tickets scanned. the process was a little weird - because we had timed tickets that weren't for another half hour, they had us stand to the side while they checked in people who were walk-ins. but whatever. they eventually scanned the ticket code on my phone and gave us wristbands to enter.
the first photo op was right inside the door - that famous orange couch with the "reserved" table in front.
and then the replica of monica's door. in my head i kept hearing courtney cox's voice shrieking "apartment 20!" from the episode called "the one with monica's thunder."
the space was pretty tiny, but they managed to cram a bunch of stuff in there along with fun facts on the walls.
it was like sitting in the "central perk" lego set we'd assembled a few weeks ago.
there was a touchscreen monitor where you could learn more about the show.
and look! i got to hug "pat the dog."
there was a small merchandise shop in the back, of course. i was good and didn't let myself get suckered into any of it.
a familiar sight:
tucked into the corner was a recording booth where you could belt out your own version of phoebe's "smelly cat.' the bean tried to get me to do it, but nobody needs to hear me sing (except my family when i'm trying to torture them).
as we made our way back towards the front, we stopped to check out the life-size "central perk" lego set. it was really cool, and super detailed.
there were some other games to play, which i would have liked to linger over if i hadn't spied the hub already waiting outside and more people streaming into the small space. i know he wouldn't have cared if we'd stayed a little longer in there, but it was also getting stuffy and that sweater i was wearing was VERY warm.
we walked the length of the promenade and then checked out some of the shops in santa monica place across the street. purchases were made, lunch was had and then we headed on outta there. lots of fun, and it was like old times when we would head out there on a whim to find something to do.
what "friends" related thing will i find to do next? i don't have anything just yet, but you know i'll find something. heh.
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