Now that my episode has aired, I’ve had some time to reflect on my adventure over a month ago, and then relive it today, here are a few final thoughts (in random order) about this whole adventure.

First, a huge thank you to everyone who supported me leading up the to adventure, all the support and questions and interest during the “classified days”, and especially for all the love, support, interest, comments, likes, posts, that I got today. During the “classified days” it was fun to see how people split into two camps. The people who were 100% sure I got called down and the other part who were sure I didn’t get called down.

I’m amazed at the number of likes the various posts and pictures received today. A big thanks to MESSA for working with me to figure out how to watch the show in HD on bigger TVs. They helped run cable and allowed me to hook up my TiVo as the HD receiver! Who else can say they brought their TiVo to work! It was a fun ride and I’m glad I could take you along for the ride!

A few summary items. If you didn’t catch it in my other post – I did win $300 for getting to contestants’ row but not appearing on stage. I should be receiving that via a check in a week or two.  Yes, prizes are not awarded until after the air date, and if the show never airs, they do not have to award the prizes. I’m glad for mobile deposit, so I’ll be able to keep the check forever! Also, since I got to “Come on Down”, I’m officially a contestant on the Price is Right, which means I can’t be a contestant again for this show for 10 years.  Also, as one is on game shows, you need to keep track of record and air dates, as most (if not all) shows have various eligibility requirements around how many shows you have been on in different time frames.

The excitement you saw – was pure. My reaction when I got to come on down was not practiced, was not exaggerated – that was truly me – pure happy and excited me. I was in complete disbelief, never really thought it would happen – once in a lifetime experience. A few people asked me if I knew ahead of time that I might be picked. Not at all. The do the quick interviews and we all find out together by if we hear/see our name. A complete surprise!

Do I wish I could have gotten on stage and won some more prizes? The short answer is “Of course!”  However, I really don’t mind that I didn’t, while prizes are nice, nothing would be as rewarding and memorable as the experience itself. Plus I don’t have to worry about pesky taxes on expensive prizes or prizes that I would never use! I’m sure part of me thinking this is to make me feel better, but for the most part, it is completely true that I don’t mind not winning more. And there is always another game show out there somewhere for me….

Now a few pictures.  First, two of my keepsakes. My name tag, contestant number, souvenir photo, poster-board with my name and number of being called down (#8, although there was a 7 on it and then it was changed to 8), and my shirt I wore. Two pictures so you can see the front and back of the shirt.

And a couple of screen captures from the show:

A pic of me watching me on TV! (Thanks Teresa!)

And finally the “Rich Highlight Reel“.

Thanks again for going on this journey with me – worth every minute of it.

Hi everyone, time for one more blog post about my California Adventure, now that this information has been declassified. As I’m writing this, it is a week after my taping of The Price is Right, but when you get to read it, it will be after the episode aired. So as you read this, if you notice things that are different from what was on the air, that just goes to show what I’ll say at the end – it is and was all a blur in my mind when it was done.

When we last left our intrepid game show attendee, he was in his seat in the Bob Barker studio and the lights had come up and the music had started – the show was on its way.

After the intro (again, which you can hardly hear, since the audience is so loud), the 1st four contestants are called down. The names are held up on poster board so you can see your name in case you can’t hear it. The 1st four names are read and I’m not one of them. It doesn’t matter, there are still 5 more names and I’m having a great time! Drew comes out and the show starts.

I don’t remember what the first item up for bid was or who won, but the first game was Easy as 1-2-3. The contestant struggled a bit, but I was there right along with the rest of the audience shouting out our suggestions. We helped her win the prizes! And if you’ve ever been on a set, there are a lot of sounds that you hear in person that aren’t broadcast. Lots of clunks and stuff as the covers of the prices reveal, etc.

Then it was time for the next contestant to come on down, another name is called, and … not me. Again, I don’t remember the item up for bid or who won. If I remember correctly the name game was Squeeze Play for a bedroom set. Again with the audience help, they won the prize! Then it was time to stop tape for the commercial break and for them to reset the stage. When they are doing that they use curtains and dividers, etc. to hide anything, so no one in the audience can see. Another side note, prior to the show, I noticed a producer(?) talking to the stage/floor director? showing pictures of people that they planned to call on down, I think they were checking to see where they were in the audience. During the commercial breaks and resets Drew and George talked to the audience, answering questions, etc. Also, if they needed to reshoot something, they’d do it during this time as well.

Now it was back from the commercial break and time for another name and again time for me to not be called on down. As you have guessed the pattern, I don’t remember the prize up for bid or who won. Then they showed the prizes they’d be playing for, and based on them and that it had to be a car game (prior to the car being shown) I knew it was Rat Race, and why it had taken so long to set up. The contestant got 2 mice including the blue one (which of course is the color I told them to pick!) and if I remember correctly the blue mouse won, so they won the car.

Another commercial and then they spin the big wheel. I have no idea what they said while spinning the wheel because they have the audience cheer and applaud and so you can’t hear a thing. Thank goodness for microphones and good audio recording equipment and mixers so you can hear them at home!

Time to come back from the commercial and they call another contestant down, and it isn’t me. I’m starting to come to terms that I won’t be a contestant, but I don’t care since this is a wonderful experience just seeing the show being taped. Once again don’t remember the item or who won. The contestant played Balance Game but didn’t win despite the audience trying to help them all they could. I personally thought that was one of the easier times with Balance Game based on the options given.

Another commercial and reset. Then time for another contestant to come on down. Then I heard it – I heard them say Richard. I honestly don’t remember if I heard my last name, if I did – I don’t remember if they said it right. I barely remember checking the poster board held up to make sure it was me. My brain must have been sure enough that I started clambering over people (they don’t give you much room!) I’m sure I screamed, I remember putting my hands up over my mouth, I think I might have cried a little bit. I was in a state of shock. This is when my memory really starts going fuzzy. It was me – my name was called – yes – I was “The next contestant on The Price is Right“. I get to contestants row, take my spot, compose myself the best I can. I remember thinking “I really hope it was my name they called and not someone else”. They didn’t send me away, so I must have been right. The next item up for bid is shown, I try to take suggestions from the audience, but it is hard to hear them and to think quickly under pressure when your mind is racing from the excitement. I make a reasonable bid (at least in my mind in the state it was). The MSRP is revealed and I don’t win. I’m a good contestant and congratulate the winner on their way up. Their game was Lucky $even for a car. That can be a hard game to win and the contestant unfortunately proved it.

Time for another commercial. I think I chatted a little bit with the other contestants in contestants row. I also got whisked back up through the audience behind the curtain to get my mic on. They do it back there because they run the cord up your shirt, and depending on what you are wearing you might need privacy. Then it was back down to wait for the final item up for bid, the final pricing game, and thus my final chance to get on stage.

The show starts, the item is shown. This time I actually remember it was a ping-pong table. I have a price in my mind, adjust it a bit based on suggestions and using some strategy, put my bid in.  Unfortunately it was a lower end model and less expensive than we thought, so I didn’t make it to the stage. I honestly didn’t mind. I kept being supportive of the other contestants. The final one played Grand Game. They did OK but will now forever remember the price of gravy! Then another commercial, the big wheel (which is the Showcase Showdown, the final part is the Showcases, not the Showcase Showdown), and another commercial.

During one of those last two commercials Drew came down to talk to the three of us left in contestants’ row. Very pleasant and nice. He asked me if my shirt was just random 0’s and1’s or if it said something. When I responded that it said “The Price is Right”, I must have had a tone that made it sound like “Well, duh, of course that is what it says”, since he commented on that. I also showed him the back of my shirt. Then (not aired) George Gray said something like “Contestants not appearing on stage will each receive $300.” They used to air the announcement but the contestants got things like a blender, telephone, or whatever other promotional items they had. I hadn’t even thought about if I would get anything for just making it down to contestant’s row and not making it on stage. While $300 is nice, I was really hoping for a case of Turtle Wax, a year’s supply of Rice-A-Roni (the San Francisco Treat), and a copy of the home game!

Now, a brief note before moving on. When I was looking at the airdate of this show on the website prior to going to the taping, I noticed that this one was on February 25, while most of the others taped around my tape date were airing in March. I thought there might be some special tie in to something that needed the show to air on a particular date, but I couldn’t figuring anything out – and I didn’t do too much research.

We get to the showcases. The first one is presented and the contestant passes and they bid. Most of us think he bid a little high, but you never know. Then it is time for the second show case. George introduces the special guest to present the showcase – Jeff Probst! The tie in is with Survivor which has its season premiere the evening of the airdate – so I was right – there was a special tie in! The other contestant bids and we think she bid really well. Her friends she came with were right behind contestants row. During the commercial we chatted a bit, they received instructions on what to do if she wins, etc. Those of us in contestants’ row are told where to go after the show is done, etc. We come back from commercial for one last time and the winner is revealed and it is the girl from Minnesota with her friends behind us. They do the normal end excitement on stage, we applaud and cheer while the credits roll. The show is done.

A few notes before the rest of the story. Honestly this whole time was a big blur in my mind. My mind was racing non-stop. So you’ll understand if what I’ve stated here does not match with the show. I might have games out of order – might have completely wrong games. Prior to attending the taping I watched a lot of episodes, so some memories from that might have crept in. The time really flew by, especially after I was told to “Come on down!” I honestly didn’t mind that I didn’t make it on stage. I was truly happy and excited for the people who won. The midwest was well represented – the person from Minnesota who won, and the three left in contestants’ row were from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois(?).

After the show was done, all the winners go back to a little tiny area backstage to fill out prize forms, etc. They had to collect our SSNs (these prizes are taxable!), names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc. You sign several papers which explain all the rules about prizes, etc. They also collected our mics. We had a hard time because we all wanted to be excited and talk to each other, but we needed to be quiet because they needed to retape a few sections of the show that they must not have liked the first taping of. Also, they brought back our poster board with our names on them that we got to keep as a souvenir. I did sign a social media release form, so they may (or have) be tweeting my picture or posting it on Instagram! I was the 3rd person or so to complete my forms, which I was glad, because at this point my mind had started calming down and I was noting the time and knew I had to leave soon for Wheel, but I would wait as long as I needed to fill out the forms. Also, they reminded us back here that all we can say is that we attended a taping and when it aired. So as much as I would have loved to tell you all this a month ago, I legally couldn’t (I have a copy of the form to prove it!). They could take away the prizes or other legal action depending on how harmed they felt. So I started practicing my “I attended a taping of The Price is Right which will air on Wednesday, February 25, 2015; this is all I can legally tell you.” After my forms were filled out and a few more quick congratulations to the other winners, especially the big winner, I left the studio at a quick walk, picked up my picture (now really glad I bought it, since it was a much bigger experience to remember than just being in the audience), and headed to the parking structure. I ran into a few other contestants from the first show on my way out and chatted a little bit. I saw the friends of the big winner of the day and congratulated them again and told them to make sure the winner gives them a ride in her new car! It was then to my car and onto the rest of my day, which was never classified and you’ve already read about.

Throughout the rest of the day, I kept thinking back on my experience. I really couldn’t believe it happened, and even still as I write this – it feels like a dream. It’ll be interesting to see how I feel and react as I watch it. I hope that helps it sink in, that yes, both my dreams came true in California – I attended a taping of a game show (well, two — three if you count Whose Line) and I’ve now been a contestant on a game show!

And today is the day I knew would come, but wish it didn’t have to. The end of my adventure. I got up way too early – about 3:30, tried to leave the hotel at 4, but left closer to 4:15. I had everything packed and in my car and was on my way to return my rental car. As always, the return process was quick and painless – I love Enterprise! Got on the shuttle to the airport and and had no issues or problems getting my bag checked and going through security. Except that I always find the directions the security personnel are giving unclear. Never sure when I’m done or if they wanted me to go somewhere else, so I always hope I do everything right! I did find a small section of the airport that was The Farmers Market – it was a place promoting the place I was at the prior day – interesting how things tie together.

The flight from LAX to DTW and DTW to LAN were very uneventful, nothing really to report. I get to the Lansing airport and find my car right where I left it, and drove home, thus ending the adventure.

These were sure a fully packed 7 days of fun and excitement. Thank you for coming along on the journey with me. A huge thanks to Matt and Claudia for letting me hang with them for a few days, and for their friends (although getting to be my friends too) David and Brian for great times as well. This whole experience is still very surreal to me. Hard to believe that I really did attend tapings of The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and Whose Line is it Anyway? Hard to believe I drove 525 miles when I was there (well maybe not that hard to believe, I got very used to that car!) I saw things and had experiences I never had before. I am so blessed and happy for my life and that I’m willing to just go do things that I want to.

What will my next adventure be?  Who knows…….

Today (Sunday) was another day without the conference, so a true vacation day. When traveling different places, if I have free time on Sunday morning, I love finding a church in the area to attend. Since I didn’t have any concrete plans this morning, that is what I did. I had found the church a week or so ago from their website and looked like a perfect place for me. However, in the past few days, I determined it might be tricky to get to the church. Piecing together several parts of a puzzle, I discovered this was a running weekend at Disneyland, and a 1/2 marathon would be happening Sunday morning, closing roads all around my hotel. Also, these road closures created an island of the town completely surrounded by closed roads for the race. And yes, you guessed it, the church was on this island. I thought maybe some closed roads they’d still let you cross to get in, or something, but wasn’t sure what to expect.

So, I leave about a half hour before the 8:30 a.m. service starts (the traditional service). I drive looking to see if I could cross any of the closed roads, but there was not a chance. One place I wanted to go straight, but a police officer directed me to turn right, so I did. I then just found a place to park and decided to walk to the church, since they let walkers go across the closed roads. So I did that – trying to cross the race route as quick as possible and timing my crossing so as to not impact any runners. I ended up walking about 3/4 of a mile to the church. I get to St. Olaf Lutheran Church right about 8:30 and there was about 5 people there and the pastor wasn’t there yet. No one at the church had shared information or made plans to account for people not being able to get to church. Some were kind of annoyed that the race was on Sunday and made it almost impossible to get to the church. Disney, the city, and/or the police had shared with everyone in the area about the road closures, so they could have planned something.

Anyway, so the few of us that were there just stood around visiting while a few people trickled in. Finally the pastor arrived about 9, and we decided we’d have a shortened service with the people that made it. Their pianist/organist had been there and left I think because I had heard people talking about how the choir director had decided to cancel choir that morning – or maybe thinking they’d just cancel the whole service. So we had a short service and did one hymn acapella, but the others weren’t familiar enough to do without music. I stayed after the service for a little bit visiting and then walked back to my car and back to the hotel.

After touching base with my friend Matt, we decided to meet up at the Grove, which is an outdoor shopping mall where I actually had parked for the taping of The Price is Right. So I drive up there, Matt, Claudia, and I explore the Grove and the Farmer’s Market (which is not your rural type of farmer’s market, but one with permanent shops, selling all kinds of items and lots of places to eat). We walked around looking at things for awhile and then had lunch there. We then walked about a mile or so to see the La Brea Tar Pits, which is an area right there among all the big buildings, etc. Basically they are an artesian well for asphalt. The asphalt under the ground just keeps seeping up. Through history many animals get stuck in the asphalt, so they are huge dig sites for fossils, and they are actively doing digs to find more fossils. We then walked back to the Grove, did a little shopping (mainly so we could validate our parking), and then headed back to the house where Matt and Claudia are staying.

After we got there, Matt filled me in on all the sites I saw as I was driving there, including the part of Hollywood that everyone thinks of when they think of Hollywood and the WB studios. When figuring out what to do until it was time for dinner, Matt and I went to Fry’s, since I had never seen one.  Wow, that was really neat, tons of electronics, components, little do-dads, etc. Including the first time I’ve seen an UHD 4k TV in person.  I want one!!!

When Matt’s friend got back home, we went out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, and then went back and watched a few videos. Then it was time for me to head back to my hotel to get packed up and get a little sleep before my very early morning for day 7 of my adventure. It was a great day just hanging out with friends and doing whatever we felt like doing with no concrete plans.

Today started with the last sessions for our conference. The first one I attended covered some of the topics of the Affordable Care Act. Most of what they covered I knew, but still got some out of it. It is a complex subject, so always good to get to know more about it. The presenters could have been a bit more organized, they jumped around back and forth in their PowerPoint presentation at times. We then had a quick break with some chips and sandwiches to eat. My second session for the day was on defined benefit plans (aka pension plans). I really should have picked a different session, since everything that was covered I already knew. I guess I keep thinking I’ll get something new out of sessions that cover a topic I’m well versed in, but I guess not. I’ll have to remember that for next year. Also, the materials he handed out seemed like they were quite old and copied many times. He even used transparencies on an overhead for some of his presentation.

I relaxed in my room for a little bit after that session, which almost proved to be a bad idea, before heading to drive across town (and LA is a big town to drive across!) to go to Studio City.  I headed to CBS Studio Center for a taping of Whose Line Is It Anyway? The time on the ticket was for 6 p.m. and said to arrive by 4:30 p.m. I get there around 3:45 pm and get directed where to park. I park and go and get in line. There weren’t that many people there, so I think I’m all set. I get to the check in table and get line # 162 and was told at this point I’m on standby. Just like airlines, they over book their tickets so they can make sure they have enough people for a full audience. I was a little annoyed at this point since I had been there in plenty of time, got my ticket many weeks ago, etc. But I just went with it, since there was nothing else I could do. While waiting in line….

Quick side note – some quick tips for attending a TV show taping. 1) Arrive way early for popular shows to make sure you’ll get in. Mostly the time on the ticket is the show time, they’ll usually give you an arrival time, and then get there even earlier! 2) Bring a pen – just makes it easier if you have to fill out any forms, that way you don’t have to worry about finding one to borrow. 3) Be prepared to wait in line, and sometimes several lines. It isn’t always a quick process to get you into the studio!

Now, back to the line to get into Studio 22 at CBS Studio Center. While I was waiting I started talking to people around me, and one couple had been to Whose Line before and just missed getting into the studio – they would have been the next people in. If you don’t get in, you do get a pass that gives you priority the next time you come to a taping. They didn’t realize they had to call ahead though, so they couldn’t use it. We also kept hearing about a group for Danny – who had like 40 people there or something. We did find out the studio held 320, but with however many VIPs and/or priority people, who knew how far down in the numbers they’d get. We were all thinking back on our day and rethinking choices that we made that caused us to not get to the studio earlier – like me just relaxing in my hotel room.

They started letting some people move from this line to walk over to the studio, but we didn’t seem to be getting too much closer to the front. Then we were finally about 10 people back from the front, and the audience person said he’d be back if he found out they had more room.  He then comes and gets us and brings us closer to the studio, so that as he found room, he wouldn’t have to walk as far. A few more people go in. Then there are only 2 in front of me. Those two get to go, and then I get asked how many in my party, and since I was just 1, I got to go in as well! Finally, I knew for sure my evenings plans weren’t ruined. I know at least a few people after me got to go in as well.

We then got situated in the studio and some of the crew entertained us a bit while everyone got seated. Then the floor director (I think) talked to us a bit and introduced the producer who also talked to us. As a bonus, they were British – I forgot that the show originated in England, so makes sense that some British crew were there. They then introduced the cast and the show started.

Again, I can’t say exactly what happened, but here are some observations about a taping of Whose Line. We started right around 6 and went until 10:30, as the tickets said. There was very little down time during the taping – they tape a lot of material. For the main part of the taping, they started it as the show starts, and then just kept recording different game after game, as if it was just a really long show. They did stop one time to change tapes (I was surprised they actually still used tapes that needed to be changed!). Then towards the end of the taping time, they did a lot of re-tapes of things that didn’t come out quite right, or name brands were mentioned when they shouldn’t have been, etc. They also recorded a lot of different closings, openings, and transition bits. They’ll then piece all these together into some shows. Because of how they recorded it, I don’t know how many episodes they’ll get out of tonight’s taping session. I’m pretty sure I can tell you that the guest comic was Keegan-Michael Key and the guest star was Vernon Davis.

Ahh – to my title for the day. Although it was a long taping – at the studio for about 7 hours, and a 4.5 hour taping, it was well worth it. Very well worth it. Except for the last little bit when they were just recording transitions and other camera shots – it was almost non-stop laughing. And at times – very hard laughing. So I certainly worked my abs from laughing so hard! I had a great time. I can’t wait to see when the episodes air. They didn’t let us know anything, as they probably don’t know yet either.

Then it was another drive back to my hotel to wind down for the evening, get some rest, and get ready for Day 6 – whatever that may bring…