We had an exciting late last week. The Ronald McDonald House invited our family along with fellow Neuroblastoma warrior “Jaxon” and his family, to speak at the “Business Traveler” fundraiser in Los Angeles! The company paid for the entire trip of course, so since Dylan was well enough and did not have any scheduled hospital appointments we accepted the opportunity. At 5:30am Thursday morning we were picked up at the house, our families along with staff from the house made our way to JFK and took the 6 hour flight to LA. The weather was beautiful, blue skies and no coats needed! We were picked up and taken to “The Grove Drive” which was a cute little shopping strip, with a road tram running down the street. They fed us lunch at “The Cheesecake Factory” and we met with staff from the function that was to take place that evening. After lunch we headed to our Hotel and after a short break we then met for a rehearsal for the evenings events. We had about another half hour to relax then it was time to get all dressed up for the occasion. Dylan looked amazing in his cute little suit and he knew it. He posed for photos outside the hotel and had us in fits of laughter as he posed like a model. Cain did not want to come to LA because he didn’t want to miss school and he knew it was not going to be a trip of site seeing, so instead Cain stayed with a school friend. We all wished we had more time to see the sights, but we were so happy to be able to say we went to LA and stayed on the border of Beverly Hills! When the event started we were seated for dinner, and then the President of RMDH called us up to the stage. I have done many speeches for the RMDH, but all locally, so this was the first time I got to talk in a different state! I don’t get nervous about public speaking, I just get scared I will loose my train of thought and not get my words out right. I enjoy having the opportunity to share our experiences with others and being able to say how great the RMDH has been to our family and why people need to continue to support the house charities. Jaxon’s mom did really well, it was her first speech and she was really nervous but it all went perfectly. Dylan was suppose to talk too, and while we were on stage he whispered to me “I’m nervous” I told him he would be fine, but then he didn’t get to talk, I guess because the podium was too tall for Dylan and the microphone was too high. As we walked off stage I said to him, “Oh well you didn’t have to talk, so no nerves needed” he replied “I had something really good to say!” I just laughed, he was not really disappointed but he wanted me to think he was. After the event, one of the RMDH staff suggested we all jump in a cab and make the most of the short time we had left. We agreed and headed to Hollywood Boulevard to see the famous stars on the sidewalk. Dylan loved it, and was very happy when he found Nicole Kidman’s star. We hung around for almost an hour, took a short walk down the famous Sunset Boulevard and then walked back to the hotel, with Dylan on Tim’s shoulder’s feeling like a king! Back at the hotel we all passed out, then woke early to enjoy our last look at an almost summers day in LA, had breakfast then jumped back on the plane to return to New York by 10pm (LA is 3 hours behind). We can now say we have been to Beverly Hills (We did cross the street LOL) and Hollywood! Everyone was really nice to us during our trip and we met some wonderful people, thank you for making our stay a pleasant one and for your welcoming smiles. You can check out the photos HERE
Thank you to “Business Traveler” for a fabulous trip ad for all their support of Ronald McDonald House Charities and “Ronald McDonald House” for the opportunity to represent the House from a parents view.
