Nancy:

My own report pales against what follows. I had a great time
at the event, and Garett was so *GORGEOUS*!! The man is much
more beautiful in person than any picture could *ever* convey!
I was thrilled to see he'd grown his hair out again, and that
he left it loose for us during the day (in the evening, he had
it tied back).

I, unfortunately, did not spend as much time in Garett's
presence as I would have liked. (What's *WRONG* with me, stupid,
stupid woman!!) I *did* enjoy the company of the other fans I
met, however, so that sort of makes up for it. And everyone's
reports help to fill in the gaps of what I missed.

Garett was friendly and kind, every bit the gentleman I had
expected him to be. To say I was in awe in his presence is an
understatement.

I was a bit disappointed with how the whole event was run,
however. One of the reasons I missed out on seeing as much of
Garett as I could have, was that I expected him to be on stage
for the auctions, along with the other celebrities. That didn't
happen. I think that was a mistake on the part of the people
running the event, as Garett could have easily helped sell the
auction items to his adoring fans, and everyone would have liked
to see more of him and the other celebrities at the event.

Likewise, there was little at the evening dinner that included
more than Marty Ingels and an auctioneer trying to sell things.
They *did* get Richard Karn on stage to help auction a couple
tool belts. They should have had Garett up there to help sell
the wolf pictures, and the other celebrities to help with other
items. Oh well...the organizers of the event admitted they had
been rushed and a bit harried. Perhaps they've learned and will
put on a more polished event next year.

I had a wonderful time. I hope that Garett will consider attending
if Moonridge *does* manage to pull this off again next year. If so,
I'm going to do my best to be there again.

Nancy
nat1228@home.com

-----------------------------------
Bonnie:

Hi!

First things first <G>: Garett’s grown his hair again!

I got back from Big Bear at about 10:15 PM Saturday, after a really nice
day. The weather was warm but breezy, I met some fans I’d previously only
known by name, and Garett was wonderful. He seemed really relaxed and
friendly, posing for lots of pictures and giving autographs.

I rode up with Dianne (Panthergde) and Kris Fawcett. We’d had tentative
plans to meet some others at a hotel in San Bernardino, but missed them, so
the three of us trucked on up. We ate lunch in Big Bear, then hung around
an hour waiting for the gate to open at 3 PM.

Inside, we went past a gift shop and down a slight incline to an area lined
with a few benches gathered around a platform with a microphone. Shirley
Jones and her husband (I think they’re still married), comedian Marty
Ingels, were greeting people. All around us were various cages and habitats
full of critters. :o)

Kris, Dianne and I watched for a bit, but I kept my eyes on the gate and
gift shop. Spotted GM immediately ‘cause of his long locks. <g> Dianne and
Kris also saw him about the same time. He moved on down the hill and past
us to his ‘station’ (the celebrities each were given a table and chair at
particular spots around the park.) Garett was stationed by the wolves--not
accidentally. Fans raised upwards of $3,000.00 to ‘adopt’ a wolf in his
name! (Thanks to Shar of The Unofficial GM Website, who, I believe,
organized it.) It had been discussed with park staff beforehand, so Garett
had come earlier and picked out ‘his’ wolf. I think he chose Lucky, who was
one of four timber wolves. (Someone else will correct me if I’m wrong. :o))

It was a nice shady spot next to the enclosure, with a bench along the
rail, so we plunked ourselves down, the first three there. <g> I think Kris
asked if he’d sign an autograph, and he said, “Not at all, that’s why I’m
here.” He asked if we’d brought anything to sign, so I pulled out my promo
picture that we’d been given at the Pasadena rally two years ago, picturing
all three guys. It already had BAY’s and RB’s signatures. (Turns out
several of us has the same thought of filling in the blank over GM’s
likeness. :o))

Garett said “Oh, Bruce and Richard signed! Where was I?”

I said “Australia, we heard. This was at the Pasadena event, at the start
of the last season.” Or words to that effect. He thought a moment and said,
“That’s right, I was.” Meanwhile he borrowed someone’s Sharpie and signed
the picture. The other fans had discovered him and were lining up now, so
we pulled back—staying along the rail and taking photos. He didn’t seem to
mind.

Eventually someone asked for a photo with him as well as an autograph, so
Dianne & I looked at each other in a  ‘well, duh!’ manner, and got back in
line. <g> He was really friendly and patient with everyone. Altogether
there seemed to be about 25 TS fans, who all seemed very polite and
patient. I think he was the celebrity with the single largest following,
there.

After a while, GM shared his table with Mike Inez, from the band Alice in
Chains. I don’t think I’ve heard their music, but I’ve heard of the band.
He and Garett chatted; MI also had long dark curly hair. Several of us
asked for his autograph too, and took pics of them together.

I have no idea how any of my 40 or so shots will come out. We were in the
shade, so the flash went off, but I’m a notoriously poor photographer. <g>
But I’m sure good ones will be showing up on the ‘net very soon, taken by
others.

At one point, Garett, Mike Inez and their intimates were given a private
tour. We wandered around, looking at the animals, getting other autographs.
I got astronaut Gordon Cooper’s, and Earl Holliman’s, who’s the
president(?) of Actors and Others for Animals. (Please don't say you never
heard of him, it makes me feel old. <g> He’s been around for years, but in
the 70s he played Angie Dickinson’s captain on ‘Police Woman’.)

While we were wandering, we ran into Becky & Robin, who I know by sight
from the Charity Horse Show. While we chatted by the bears, GM and gang
came by for their private tour behind the bear enclosure. When he returned,
he stopped by Earl Holliman and, I believe (we weren’t *that* close),
introduced himself and said that his father Brandon had acted with EH in
something. He stayed chatting quite a bit, and later on he posed for some
pics with EH, and then EH took a picture of GM with his brother. I tried to
get a photo of EH taking that photo, but I have no idea if I got everyone
in the scene; I was rather rushed. :o)

GM also posed with some of the staff members, who held various birds and
snakes, but I discovered that set-up a little late.

Also, GM’s group was let into the actual wolf enclosure. The wolves seemed
nervous, but curious, and were friendly with their keeper. There was quite
a bit of dominance displaying, too. One of the staffers said it even
happens between the humans and the wolves, and the humans have to watch out
for subtle signs, so they don’t end up being submissive in the wolves’
eyes. It was hard to get any pics from our vantage point: there was a small
shed behind them, so we couldn’t go there, and there just was no direct
line of sight, where they stood adjacent to us. Fencing and trees obscured
the view, too.

Near the end (that was about 6:30 for those of us who weren’t going to the
banquet with the celebrities at 8 pm), Becky & Robin posed with GM one last
time.  They asked if he’d mind posing for it in the sun, since the other
shots had mostly been in the shade by the wolves. I think I took one then,
too. They all looked like they were enjoying themselves. :o)

During all the time we were there, we could hear Marty Ingels auctioning
art and things, and telling bad jokes. <g> He really was a trooper; he gave
it his all for a good cause. Shirley Jones left rather early. There were a
few other celebrities there: an actress from ‘The Young & the Restless’,
and one who used to be on ‘Land of the Giants.’ ( She must have been a
little girl when she was on it!) A singer. There was supposed to be a
female boxer, but I don’t recall seeing her. Richard Karn from ‘Home
Improvement’ (he was the Tool Time sidekick, I was told).

Dianne and I had speculated earlier on how GM got to Big Bear. Kidding, we
wondered if they’d sent him a limo. As we pulled away from the zoo, we saw
him and his brother walking along the road, probably to a nearby motel. I
just thought it was, well, cute (I don’t know why) :o), and wanted a
picture. But by the time I dug my camera out, we were almost on them. I
tried to get off a shot from behind at the last moment, but didn’t want to
be intrusive; I don’t know how it’ll come out.

I think it was a successful day, both for the fans and Moonridge. GM was
very accessible and gracious, and there seemed to be quite few visitors to
the zoo. I hope they raised a lot of money for their ‘orphans’. :o)

Regards,
Bonnie
bonni317@ix.netcom.com

-----------------------------------
Becky:

Sandra Shoemake wrote:
> BTW did anyone think to ask what he is up to these days?
> If he is doing any acting or has any future projects in
> the works??

I overheard someone (don't know who, sorry!) ask him about that.
He said he didn't right now.  She added that she'd "talk him
up" at GateCon (the Stargate con next month, I believe) which
he thought was cool.  <g>

And also, he confirmed that the "Poltergeist: The Legacy" rumor
was just that, a rumor.  I was pretty sure it was, but just in 
case it's still floating around somewhere out there...

Robyn was going to write up and post a report last night, but
by time she got around to writing it, it was past midnight and
was exhausted.  I wrote myself a few paragraphs of what I 
remember, but it's all out of order and I'm probably forgetting
things.  And nowhere as near as polished or detailed as anything
Robyn would write.  <g>  Hopefully she's still planning to write
something...I'll bug her about it when she wakes up.

Becky ~yawn~ -- awake till 3 (not by choice) and woken up at 7...
bleh...
bbrewste@sprynet.com

-----------------------------------
Aly:

Zoe, GM is looking even more beautiful than ever. <G> He was tan,
slender, gorgeous, sweet, laughing, friendly, clearly pleased about the
turn-out, patient (even when I blinded him - don't ask) his hair is long
again, his eyes would melt you into a puddle, his voice, well, I could
listen to it forever - happily. 

How's that? <G>

The event was fun (but we all agreed they could use some professional
help next year <G>), Earl Holiman was there, Deana Lund (From Land of
the Giants) Marty Ingles and Shirley Jones were the hosts, two guys from
Tour of Duty were there, our GARETT and his brother who is also a
sweetheart, Gordon COOPER! Richard Karns (From Home Improvement) and
boy, is he friendly, a real sweetheart too. The guy who designs movie
cars (like the Batmobile) and a few others that I didn't know. :(

The banquet was - um, well, the announcement about Garett was STAGGERING
and WONDERFUL. All the fans were recognized for the wonderful donation
that came in at OVER FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!! And Garett was just
stunned but happy as a clam. They brought him up (which is when alyjude
blinded him - one might have thought it a ploy by which she could have
spirited him away with claims of being a cuddly Florence Nightengale,
but alas, all she could do was bury her head in shame and apologize when
he came back) and he thanked everyone and I personally drooled while
missing it because I was fiddling with my camera and too embarrased to
look up! <G>

A rumor got around that Candy was there and we were all searching, but
alas, no could find. That would have been almost as great as meeting
Garett! (no offense, Candy, but meeting you *would* come in second to
meeting Garett! LOL! But only second! <G>)

Other people will have more detailed reports as my arthritis kept me
seated much of the time but it's enough to know that Mr. Garett Maggart
is a gentleman, was so happy that we all turned out for him, has a laugh
that could turn us all to goo and a killer smile. <G>

But one of the best points of the entire day was meeting so many other
senfen. I drove myself, Lilguppee (Lisa, one of my betas), and the GREAT
SHAR, who masterfully arranged all of this and meeting those two alone
would have made my day. Lisa is a sweetie, a great navigator and a ball
to be with. Shar is funny, warm and wonderful and also very
self-deprecating. She did so much for all of us, but don't tell her
that! LOL!

But it didn't end with those two. We also arranged to meet up with
DebraC and OCONN (Sheryl) who caravaned up to Big Bear with us. Debra is
this petite little thing who is EXACTLY as she is on list. Funny, sweet
and wonderful. Sheryl got red-faced everytime she looked at Garett
(Don't kill me, Sheryl, you did. <G>) and has a wonderful sense of humor
and I know she can drive like a bat out of hell because she had to
follow me!!!

At the event, we met so many more senfen, including Michelle, who came
all the way from France!!!! I got to meet so many senfen that my head is
still swimming and excited. Meeting people you've only emailed is so
totally incredible!!!

aly,
who will let others give better details and yes, I did get pictures, but
darn, wait til you see Lisa's, Sheryl's, DebraC's and SHAR's!!!!
alyjude@webtv.net

Gersh asked me to clarify some points, so here goes <G>:

We raised 4,000 in his name for the wolf. I believe the event raised
about 25-30 thousand (that's just a guess based on amounts heard),
thanks to one woman who forked over about 15
thousand! <G> But our four was to adopt Nova, the wolf that Garett
picked out, and to adopt it in his name. <G>

Garett was wearing a blue plaid shirt (like the one he wore at the
Horseshow) and faded blue jeans. His hair was down during the day and he
had his silver wire glasses on. That night, he changed to a greenish (?)
shirt and tied his hair back.

And how did aly blind him? (This is so embarrasing) Well, see, they
asked him to come up the mike after announcing the 4000k and he was
right above us so I figured I could catch a picture as he came down the
stairs (behind us and to my left) so I raised the camera but he was
RIGHT NEXT to me and I was so shocked that he was so close, so fast,
that my finger jerked and I accidently snapped the photo and the flash
went off right in his eyes! I will be forever known as the IDIOT SENFEN
WHO FLASHED IN FRONT OF GARETT AND BLINDED HIM!!! Put that on my
tombstone, folks. Yes, I promise never to show myself again at any such
gathering. You have my solemn oath!!

aly,
now known as *dangerous with camera* alyjude

-----------------------------------
Robyn:

Okay, now that the whole list knows I slept in this morning... :-)

GM at Moonridge Animal Park: report
warning: this is really long!

First off, let me say that of all the TS actor thingies I've been to
(Vancouver set visit, the Rally, the Horseshow), this one was my
favorite!  GM was great (and very accessible), the fans were great (and
well-behaved), and I think everyone was able to get all the autographs
and pictures they wanted.

Becky and I arrived at Moonridge a little after 3pm and there was
already a long line of people waiting to get into the park.  The park is
a ways from Big Bear Lake and across the street from a ski resort.  GM
wasn't there yet, though we found his table in a shaded spot next to the
wolf enclosure.  We walked around the rather small zoo in about 15
minutes, then stood around listening to the auction dude who sounded
like Dom Deluise (Marty Ingels).  I'm glad Bonnie posted a report with
the other celebrity names, because I didn't really know who anyone else
was besides GM and Richard Karn from Home Improvement.

GM showed up about a half hour after we got there.  We knew when he
showed up because we saw a bunch of ladies walking purposefully toward
the wolf enclosure :-).  Garett was wearing a white-with-blue-stripes
plaid shirt, faded jeans, hiking boots, and these new cool silver-rimmed
glasses I hadn't seen before.  His hair was down and about the length it
was in Switchman.  He looked pretty much the same as he did on TS. 
Don't worry, we took pictures :-).  His brother Brandon came with him
and patiently stood on the sidelines as Garett met his fans.  There was
also a security guard assigned to GM -- I think he was hired by the park
or something because later he asked one of the fans who GM was and why
all these people were there to see him!  It was nice because the
security guard didn't have to do much except stand in the background
about 6 feet away from GM.  He didn't have to say anything to any of the
fans and no one felt like he was getting in the way.

I was impressed with how comfortable and relaxed Garett seemed the
entire time.  He seemed completely at ease with all the fans.  He
chatted, joked, and posed for photos, even asking fans if they wanted to
be in the picture with him. He willingly signed multiple pictures/items
for some people and thanked each person for coming.   Becky and I
brought our black-and-white promo pictures from the Pasadena fan rally
so GM could sign it (we already had RB and BAY's autographs on it from
the rally).  He joked about how the picture kept showing up with his
signature missing.  I think I was one of the first people who asked if I
could get a picture of him and he said "Sure!", then asked if we wanted
to be in it, too.  Duh, of course we did!

Becky and I stood around and watched GM sign autographs and pose for
pictures for the next couple hours or so.  Someone brought the Elvira
comic with Jim and Blair in it (anyone have a picture of this?).  He got
a total kick out of seeing himself in the comic book.  He called his
brother over to look at it -- "Hey look! I'm in a comic book!" and "What
am I going to do to Elvira?"  Some people brought homemade shirts for
him to sign, and he looked at them and grinned, saying "That's me!" 
There were about 30 TS fans there, probably the biggest single showing
for any of the actors present.  We got to meet several CT listsibs while
we were there -- Dianne Force, Bonnie317, Jamie Ritchey, and Auntie
Hill.  Everyone seemed nice.  

After Garett signed autographs and posed for pictures for everyone in
line, he took a break and walked around the zoo himself with his brother
and the security guard.  They also got a special tour of the zoo and got
to go in the bear enclosure, etc.  There were animal keepers walking
around with some of the birds of prey and snakes, and GM took some
pictures of himself and some of the animals with a disposable camera
he'd brought (as in held the camera out in front of him at arm's length
and took a picture of himself).  He also walked around and met some of
the other celebrities and asked them if he could get a picture with
them.  

During the whole time, they were holding auctions of donated things --
mostly paintings and services local businesses had donated.  Some of the
other celebrities got up to talk during the auction, but GM didn't. 
Becky and I couldn't help but think that if they had thought to auction
off something Sentinel-related, it would have gone for a lot of money.

A little later, GM got to go into the wolf enclosure with some of the
other celebrities and an animal keeper.  The animal keeper said he'd
been there earlier that morning to get his picture taken with his
adopted wolf (I thought they said it was Nova, but I could be wrong),
and he had a ponytail and sandals on -- apparently a bad idea when
you're in the wolf enclosure!  He didn't really pose with any of the
wolves while we were watching, just stood there and watched them and
took pictures himself.

Hmm, let's see -- other stuff I heard GM say:
*Someone asked about the rumor of him appearing on Poltergeist: The
Legacy.   He laughed and said it wasn't true, but he was getting asked
that a lot.  He said he'd love to do it if they asked him, though.
*Someone said they'd heard on the Moosebay list that he was going to be
in a play.  He said maybe, but nothing was definite yet.
*Someone told him he should guest star on Stargate: SG-1 and he said,
"I'd love to!"
*I asked him how he got involved in appearing at the animal park.  He
replied, "Debbie [one of the animal keepers, I think] called and asked
me, and I love animals.  Plus I had a free weekend."

Becky and I stayed at the park until past 7pm.  Towards the end, Garett
and his brother were just hanging around in the crowd of visitors around
the auction area, chatting with each other and some other celebrities
and people from the animal park.  I think the security guard had left by
that time -- I think he figured out that GM was going to be fine by
himself.  The entire time, no one ever mobbed him.  It really speaks to
how well the fans behaved, and the whole atmosphere was so casual -- you
could just walk up to him and talk to him if you wanted to, and he never
seemed to mind.  Most of the pictures I had taken so far were in the
shade next to the wolf enclosure, and I was hoping I could get one of
Garett more in the sun.  So I *finally* got up the courage to go over to
Garett and ask him if I could take a picture of him standing in the sun,
and he said "Sure!"  He stood over by the bathrooms and was pointing at
them to be funny :-).  Then he asked if we wanted to be in the picture
with him, so Becky and I stood next to him and he put his arms around
us.  Aww!  Okay, *then* I felt like we could leave :-).  Garett and his
brother also left about the same time we did -- maybe to take a break
before the banquet.  As we were driving away, we saw Garett and his
brother walking down the road (presumably towards the place where they
were staying or their car) and they waved at us as we drove by.  We
waved back!

We had a lot of fun seeing Garett, and I think the animal park raised a
lot of money.  Cheers to GM and all the fans for making it a great
experience!

Robyn
kimurob@mindspring.com

-----------------------------------
Lisa:

I was privileged to go with Alyjude and Shar to see Garett at Moonridge
Park. The difference here is that this is the
first-time-ever-event-in-anything I have ever attended.<g>  I have never
attended a con or anything for this fandom or any other, newbie was never a
more appropriate word!!!  (or more closely, totally naive and ignorant!)
So imagine my surprise to be picked up by Aly and then joined by Shar and
OCONN and DebraC!!  Well, words still don't quite come to mind!!!

It was a very fast trip up with Aly and Shar with OCONN and DebraC
following, lost them once, but with Aly's great skill we found them again
<whew!> (actually, I hope aly is looking aside here because it was OCONN
who found us again having stopped for some water.  It was very hot up
there!!)

Upon arriving we quickly dubbed OCONN as having Sentinel eyes!!  She saw 
Garett before any of the rest of us had our hats on and umbrellas out! (it 
was very sunny and warm)!  So from that time forward we looked to her to
tell us where we had to go!!  And it wasn't hard as she blushed a bright
red everytime she saw him!!  She claimed it was sunburn, but she was on off
red all day long that I assured her it was blushing!

Garett was wonderful.<g>  He was with his brother Spencer whom he referred
to as Brandon ( at one point commented his brother's *real* name was
Spencer)  He was warm and down to earth and incredibly patient and very
happy to see everyone.  Did I already say patient?  His brother was a hoot
and a half as well, as he was fascinated by the internet influence and
following that the Sentinel has!  Sad to say Garett didn't know that Scifi
had pulled Sentinel.  Had to find it out from his fans!!

All in all it was a very laid back affair with others like Richard Karn (a 
gentleman through and through) and Earl Holliman (obviously well
experienced as he was the only one who came with pictures.  But he was also
president of the Actors and Others for Animals for enough years to know how
to put on a good show!)  One of my favorites was the Astronaut Gordon
Cooper!!  From the Gemini and Mercury missions (I hope I got that right!)
I was really thrilled to meet him as was Garett who once he heard he was
just up the walkway went to meet him at his first opportunity.  From what
everyone around me was saying (having never been to any other) everyone
recognized that Garett was happy, relaxed and really enjoying the
afternoon. From what I have heard of other events this was a first.  So I
was glad to be apart of such a relaxed and enjoyable afternoon. 

I have to say the thing I was most impressed with was that when Shar
arrived at the Animal Park it was with a check for $3044.00.  By the time
the money was presented to the Banquet (which for outside reasons was
rather late!) the total was $4090.00!!!  Can you say WOW!!!  She worked her
little tail off all afternoon!!  I was so totally impressed!!  Garett
selected the wolf named Nova, declaring it the one with the *underbite*
(even Spencer went looking for that one!)  And I have to add that when the
zoo appearance was done they *walked* back to their hotel room.  Aly and
Shar were real eager to offer them a ride, but when all was said and done
(I yelled NO) they didn't do it! <g> (Aly explained later that she thought
they would fit rather well in the trunk and then something about the
*basement* and how they would love it>)

I think my most favorite time was at the banquet table when we all pulled
our lists of questions out for Aly!!  I also really enjoyed how many people
were so totally pleased to meet her!!  It was so much fun!!  And even with
a total of over 13 hours together it was not enough time!!!

So, would I do it again?  Probably not!  Garett was a perfect gentleman and
a down to earth honest person.  There were a number of people at the
banquet that weren't!!  (And Garett was not associating with them!)  But it
was WONDERFUL to get to meet all the wonderful ladies of the Senad list,
where I just know them from their names as I lurk!!

Those who live in the area didn't get home till the wee hours of the
morning and are still staggering, and the others are on planes as we
speak!!

Hope this answers some of those questions out there!!

Lisa
(who is off for a nap!)
Lilguppee@aol.com

-----------------------------------

Sally:

> Thanks to Bonnie, Becky and Robyn.
> Anyone on the list go to the banquet?

I was there, but I just got back from a long drive back to Sacramento and
I'm a little tired so I can't post too much.

The banquet wasn't as much fun for me as the zoo.  I was too noisy and too
crowded, but that's just me.  It was held at the ski resort across the
street from the zoo.  The caterers had the food set up on the patio
outside. I had just joined the food line when Garett and his brother walked
in.  He had tied his hair back and had changed into a long sleeved purple
shirt.  He got in line a little bit behind me.  I got my food and started
to go back to my table to eat, only to find out that the guy sitting at the
table next to me had collapsed from some kind of heart problem.  The tables
had been pushed back to make room for the paramedics so I wasn't able to
sit down and eat until they had taken the poor man out to the ambulance
about 15 minutes later.  By the time I got a chance to sit down to eat,
Garett had already finished his dinner and was up in the bar area having a
beer and watching football.

After dinner Marti Engel got up to the mike and announced to the room that
Garett's fans had raised over $4000 for the zoo and that got a big
applause. Garett went up to the mike and thanked everyone.  The fans pretty
much left Garett to himself during the banquet.  I don't remember anyone
bothering him at all.  He did say goodbye to me when he left though.  That
was because I was standing on the landing outside the back door of the bar
when he walked out.  It was about 10 pm and the noise and crowd was getting
to me and I needed some fresh air, so I went outside and was standing at
the railing doing some stargazing.  Garett patted me on the shoulder as he
went by and told me he was glad I came.  I asked him if he was leaving and
he said yes, they were going to take off.  I told him it was nice to have
met him, and I watched them walk back to their hotel.

Sally
sseym0ur@pacbell.net

-----------------------------------
debraC:

Hi all!  Well, I'm back and sorta rested.  Wanna
hear about my great weekend? <G>

First I'll go ahead and apologize for the pics. 
It seems I don't know what I'm doing and between
converting the images, resizing, etc.  I seem to
have lost something in the translation.  Not to
mention it takes a gazillion years to load.  So
you may want to click on the link and let it load
while you're being regaled with "debraC's Great
Moonridge Adventure". :-)

http://www.geocities.com/debrac_98/moonridge/moonridge.html

I wasn't really considering going, but OCONN
(Sheryl) asked if I would be interested in going
and splitting costs (hotel and car, we were
roomies at MW*C so she must have figured I wasn't
too dangerous!).  I'm SOOO glad I went!  Not only
did I have a wonderful time flying over
Arizona/California indulging in Little Pinky's
stories, but I met some fans I've longed to meet
for ages!

Sheryl and I both arrived Sat morn. at LAX within
an hour of each other and we rented a car (from
Alamo - they of the grumpy employees and
break-impaired cars).  We were to call Shar from
the airport so she could be ready for us to
arrive at her hotel, then we were going to meet
up with aly (aly) and Lil guppee (Lisa).  Shar
had warned me to watch out for her lethal
"twang"!  LOL!  I thought it was just as darling
as Shar!  What a wonderful lady.  I was really
nervous meeting all the royalty, but she was just
as sweet as can be.  And SO funny!  Here's a Shar
secret.... she paints her toenails and wears toe
rings.  Hee.  Too cute!  She put us right at
ease!  I have to add my heartfelt thanks, along
with the other fen, to Shar for making such a
wonderful weekend possible through her tireless
efforts!  I think you can power a small city on
her energy and enthusiasm!

Oh, I'm not describing OCONN!  I've met her a few
times already so I just figured you guys have
too!  LOL!  She's obviously very nice...she was
willing to put up with me over the weekend.  She
drove since I don't do mountain driving over 5
mph. <G>  She is a *very* good driver!  I was
impressed (well, there was that one red light she
ran because we were goggling at the gang who were
crossing the street, but never mind that).   BTW,
Sheryl may blush, but she has beautiful skin and
it looks cute on her, unlike me who just looks
like a tomato in distress.

So Shar, OCONN and I caravaned down to meet up
with aly and Lisa.  Natch, I was just a nervous
bundle to meet up the *THE* aly.  *ALY*! 
::thud::  So we finally found each other where we
arranged to meet and let me tell you, aly is a
jewel!  Wow.  I was so honoured and I got her
autograph, too!  I'm so proud of my Celebrities
and Wildlife t-shirt because I got some highly
coveted, much sought after autographs: aly, Lisa,
OCONN, Shar, Warrior Erinburg, and
Michele-from-*France*!  I'm framing that shirt! 
Oh, yeah, I did get GM's, too.  I'll get
there....

aly is delightful.  She is SO incredibly humble. 
Here I am trying to keep from kissing her feet
and she's just as humble and shy as you can get. 
Well, she's pretty shy about herself and her
writing, but she's outgoing when we start talking
about the guys.  Lisa had a list of questions for
aly, and OCONN and I both had one so we
interrogated poor aly.   She was so sweet and
patient.  Eventually, though, she broke down and
told us a secret about the basement... hmmmm...
well, maybe I better not tell that....

Lisa is very cute and so sharing!  I hadn't
thought to bring a jacket for later (hey, I came
in from Arizona!) and when we went to her house
to try and get directions to Moonridge she found
a sweater for me to borrow!  Thank goodness she
wasn't too much taller than I.  Among OCONN, Shar
and aly I was feeling a little (A LOT!) short! 
LOL!  Not that they are overly tall...nope, it's
me that's short.

After we met up with aly and Lisa, we decided to
caravan to Moonridge since OCONN and I weren't
going to be coming all the way back as far as the
others.

The drive up was okay.  No mishaps, and I only
gave in and gripped the door towards the end. 
<G>

I wondered if the Big Bear area was suffering a
drought or from an old fire.  The area was
terribly dry and the pines looked very bad. 
Sheryl and I had to drop out of the Caravan at
one point because by now it was, um, I think
around 2 - 2:30 and we hadn't eaten or had
anything to drink since early!  We were dying. 
So we stopped and bought reasonably priced
bottled water and a tube of gold plated
(apparently) sunscreen.

We got back on the road and passed the others who
had pulled into a little turnout - they had
discovered we'd gotten lost.  So then *we* pulled
out and when they passed we fell in behind them. 
Glad that semi had good breaks.  Ahem. ;-)

We both passed the Moonridge turnoff!  Hee.  But
we all knew it as it happened so we turned right
around and got on the right track.  We arrived at
Moonrigde and discovered that things were already
off schedule.  I think the Moonridge folks did a
wonderful job for their first effort, but it was
very clear they did not expect the turnout and
they were not prepared.  They had some really
neat t's made up that read: Celebrities &
Wildlife Event which have a nice big (kinda
stylized) graphic of a bear and bird by a stream
amid the pines with mountains in the background.

There was sporadic shade and, despite the fact I
looked dorky, I was glad to have my umbrella and
the sunscreen.  I don't do sun!

So we finally got through the gates and got our
tickets.  I think most of us had pre-paid and I
thought the will-call table went smoothly.  I
purchased a t- right away.  We sorta ambled
around a bit until they started up with the
auctions and introductions and such.  OCONN was
the first to spot GM.  That girl has got Sentinel
sight!  I swear she could see right into a
darkened room, upstairs and through a railing,
and tell us what he was doing.  I couldn't see
anything except a dark room and *maybe* a
silhouette!  I'm sorta gonna skip who was doing
what (in the way of celebrities) because I really
didn't know any of these people until they were
pointed out.  Once we found out where Garett was
posted for autographing we all headed (no, not
stampeded...) over there.  They had him set up in
front of the wolves enclosure at a table
underneath a pine.  He had a bodyguard with him
and his brother, whom I heard called by two
names: Spencer and Brandon, so I'm not sure what
his name is.  He is very good looking, too! 
Actually so is is bodyguard, though he never took
off his sunglasses.

A few of us were super nervous about going up to
him, and kept sorta arguing about who should go
next so this lady behind us asked, kinda
suspiciously, "What are you girls up to?"  I told
her nothing we were just embarrassed and she
looked a bit releaved and said, "oh, no, just go
on up!".  I think she though we'd rip our bras
off and toss them at his feet or something. 
Snerk.  I had brought a picture I won at auction
of Garett holding up a bottle of "Blair's after
death sauce" that a fan had made and asked GM to
sign that.  He asked me if that was a con pic and
I didn't know.  :-(  I could only say "Thanks"
and he said, "Oh, no, thank you".  But OCONN said
later she wish someone would as *him* if Blair
would become a cop and I really wish I had that
question to ask him when I went up to him!  I
just simply wasn't brave enough to ask him to let
me take my pic with him, but some of the other's
were.  OCONN finally got up the nerve to get back
in line and do that!  LOL!  Someone (I'm pretty
sure a Senfan) asked if she could have a kiss and
he replied, "Maybe later".  Snerk.  I think we
all behaved well.  No one accosted him after the
event as he was returning to his room, which was
within walking distance of the park.  We were
lucky enough to be in our car right behind aly,
Shar and Lisa who where in their's, as he was
walking up the road.  (We were driving the very
short distance to where the banquet was held -
the ski lodge).  I was a bit fearful aly would
try to run over him so she could give him
first-aid, but she refrained.  Actually I think
Lisa was screeching at her not to do anything
humiliating.  ;-)  aly was ready to put them in
the trunk.  <G>  OCONN was very put out with me
for refusing to get my camera out and take a butt
shot.  Sorry, Sheryl!  I just couldn't!! 
::BLUSH::

Garett *does* indeed giggle, ladies (and gents). 
He is SO much better looking in person.  I was
not overly anxious to meet him as I'm not really
into doing that (meeting celebs), but I'm very
glad I did get to see him after all.  His hair
was very nice and it looks really soft.  So glad
it was down for the daytime event!  He looked
much thinner to me, but nice; I decided Blair's
wardrobe makes him look a bit bulkier than he is.
 Also he could just be a little fitter right now.
 His skin is flawless.  Not just that, but it
looks very smooth and soft, yet masculine.  He
seemed pretty excited when he wasn't under the
spotlight (giving autographs or pics) but I
thought he seemed a bit strained when dealing
with the autograph sessions.  That was just my
impression but others who know him better thought
differently.  I didn't think it was because he
didn't want to, but just maybe shy or nervous
about the attention.  But when I watched him
looking at and touching the animals and talking
to those in his group he seemed extremely relaxed
and happy to be there.  

During this part of the event, I met several
other senfans.  Michele from France was a
delight!  Her attempts at English are very good! 
I think she might have felt a little unsure of
her ability, but she spoke better Am. English
than some native speakers!  She was very friendly
and seemed really glad to be there.  So glad she
could make it and that I got to meet her!  She
invited us out to France, an action she may
regret!  LOL!  I met Warrior Erinburg who was
wonderful enough to return to me my Sentinel
dogtag which and fallen off it's chain!  Wouldn't
want to lose that!  I saw the guy that acted in,
um, can't remember the show but on the show they
have a show called Tooltime and he's like the
side kick?  Anyway, someone pointed him out, and
although I didn't approach him, I noticed he was
very easy going and friendly.  Actually he did
come up and make some comments to us when we were
standing in the buffet line about his wife saving
his spot.  I found myself talking to the bass (?)
player from the group Alice in Chains.  I didn't
know who he was until later, though.  He has
beautiful long, black, curly hair and was
extremely friendly.  I was standing in the
bathroom line behind Erinburg and he was standing
there too waiting for the girl he was with to
come out.  He was saying something to Erinburg
about just saying she was his cousin and I hadn't
heard the rest of the conversation so I didn't
know what was up.  Since the conversation wasn't
private (he was two feet in front of me - there
wasn't much room the way the bathroom/outhouse
was set up) I spoke right up and laughed and
said, "How many "cousins" do you have?" something
like that.  And he laughed and said "A *lot*."  I
saw him several times throughout the day and that
guy is *way* laid back!  You talk about down to
earth!

I think that was about the extent of my celebrity
encounters.  I didn't make the effort to go see
any others since I didn't know any of them from
their shows or whatever.

After the day event we went over to the ski lodge
for the banquet.  Again, things were behind, but
we were having fun!  We sat and gabbed for awhile
and tried to GM spot.

The banquet line finally got underway.  We were
very faint at this point from lack of food.  <G> 
All the senfans sat together (in one area at
three big tables) and unfortunately when we all
drifted back in with our food we discovered a man
had collapsed and we were not able to sit down. 
I wasn't concerned about not getting to eat, but
I felt really bad for this poor fellow!  It was
pretty hot all day; I hope it as only that he was
dehydrated or something.  He was conscious but by
the time the paramedics came and were able to
transport him about 30 or 45 minutes had passed. 
But when we finally got to eat it was pretty
good!  Poor OCONN and just gone without too long
and had trouble getting anything to settle, but I
threatened to drive back and she straightened
right up! ;-)  Actually several of us were not
doing to well because of the lack of food.  We
had meant to have lunch but were late getting on
the road and skipped it.  So some of us were
getting a little concerned.  I was appalled by
the actions of some of the guests (not senfen)
who seemed *put out* by the situation!  Poor man
is lying there probably embarrassed and people
are acting like he was purposely putting them
out!

Anyway, because everything was set back so far
timewise, Debbie (from the zoo) agreed to make
sure the announcement about GM's donation from
the fans was made ASAP.  She was extremely
helpful in trying to work with us, understanding
that it was becoming a long day and many of us
had a ways to go to get back to our rooms. 
Unfortunately we lost a few fans before the
announcement.  Still, when it was announced we
all tried to raise the roof with our cheers! 
Garett came down and took the mike (though how he
could see to walk after aly tried to blind him is
a wonder.  Really, I think it was a plot to get
him to fall in her lap!  Poor aly, I know she was
mortified, but it wasn't as bad as we're making
it out to be!) and thanked the fans with a few
comments.  His voice was pretty soft and quiet so
someone yelled that they couldn't hear (not us,
we were right in front of him!) so he said,
"What?  You can't hear?  I was really funny!" 
(probably paraphrasing somewhat..)  Then he
returned the mike and ambled back to his table
touching some of the fans (damn OCONN for taking
the seat *I* should have had.  She'll probably
never wash that shirt she was wearing... <G>).  I
thought that was very brave of him to walk *back*
by our tables.  Hee. ;-)  It was very unfortunate
that the program had GM's name misspelled.  

We tried to stay a bit longer out of courtesy,
but really we were tired and, though we all
commented that we felt a little rude for leaving
after Garett's part, we really couldn't hang in
there any longer.  They had some wonderful items
they were auctioning including an x-files jacket
and I'm sure if they had of done that earlier
they would have had a better response.  But like
someone pointed out, maybe they were waiting for
the liqueur to loosen up the pursestrings!  LOL!

We (aly, Lisa, Shar, myself, OCONN, Michele, and
a few other senfan) talked a bit in the parking
lot saying goodbyes.  We were going to caravan
down the mountain together, but this would be the
end of our time together. :-(  We'd be breaking
up and going our own ways at the bottom.  The
ride down was great.  Talking about the day and
our impressions of the event.  I think OCONN and
I both pretty much agreed that we would go again,
but only if other fans would too.  Though it was
very nice to meet Garett, we wouldn't return just
for the celebrities.  Without "the group" neither
of us would have been brave enough to approach
him.

OCONN and I were staying in San Bernardino and we
were glad to still have our room even though we
checked in *way* late!  In the morning we were
kicking ourselves for not arranging to drive down
to the LA area and have breakfast with Lisa
and/or aly (Shar flew out very early).  Anyway,
we ended up at an IHOP very near our hotel.  In
the morning we were delighted to spot (again
Sheryl with the Sentinel eyes!) an article about
the fundraiser in the San Bernardino paper.  Then
we were dismayed to see there was no mention of
Garett.  :-(  Anyway, the hotel clerks let us
have a few of the papers for free.

Now comes the "Really Embarrassing Moment".  As
we walked back out to the car OCONN couldn't find
her sunglasses.  So we went back into the lobby. 
I was insisting all the way that I never saw that
she had them in the lobby.  So after the clerks
said they hadn't seem them, and I *again* said,
"Sheryl, I'm *sure* you didn't have them in the
lobby!", I decided to take *mine* off and
discovered that, yep, they were Sheryl's!  LOL! 
I was SOOOO embarrassed!  I teased Sheryl the
rest of the time about laying anything down
because it might become mine.  Sigh.

Sheryl had a 4:35PM flight Sun. and I had a
10:05PM flight so we decided to visit Sunset
Blvd. where the stars "Stars" ("Starwalk"?) are. 
We visited the Chinese Theatre which was very
cool!  Mostly we drove around and cursed Alamo
car rentals for the Satan's spawn they are. 
Their accursed map!  But we did find our way
through parts of Beverly hills and saw some neat
houses.  We would have liked to have seen the
Hollywood sign but neither of us had a clue where
to look and not enough time to bother to find
out.

Anyway, we got back to the airport with a bit of
time to spare and had a wonderful
last-part-of-our-visit discussing what I'd do
with my powerball winnings of nearly 400 million
dollars and talked about the Sentinel movie I'd
have filmed.  Actually I think we discussed that
on the way to the airport and talked about fanfic
and art at the airport.  Sheryl, who not only has
eyes as sharp as Jim's but who is also as smart
as Genius!Blair, suggested I try to get on
standby for an earlier flight.  And I got on a
flight that went out only 40 minutes after her's
- *FIVE* hours earlier than my original flight! 
Thank you Sheryl!

So, that was it!  debraC's Great Moonridge
Adventure!  A wonderful time and I was SO pleased
to get to meet everyone!

debraC
debrac_98@yahoo.com

-----------------------------------
Suze:

I haven't done a report.  So much to say!!!  He was truly fabulous.  All
that time just chatting with us.  I wanted to tell you all I told him about
the Senku going to that Bonnie person at SciFi.  He was talking about TS
being on SciFi then he suddenly remembered it was off for awhile.  He said
that the Senku was a really cool idea and hoped it would help bring TS back
on the air.  I did one off the top of my head and he laughed. <g>  I'm sure
it was bad.

And the way his eyes lit up when I asked him if he'd like to guest on 
Stargate.  He looked up (with those incredible blue eyes) and smiled and
said "I'd *love* to".  Must be a closet fan. <g>

Suze <-- just back from LA
Suze777@aol.com

I meant to share my favorite GM line.  We were talking about Cypher and 
Garett chimes in with "Oh, wait!  That was the one with Dennis Christopher, 
right?"  We nod.  He says "Now *that* was one scary dude."  LOL!!  Then he 
talked about DC being on The Pretender?  I forget that part.  I wish I had
a tape recorder with me.  I keep remembering different things we talked
about.

He actually made fun of my friend.  She's calling to him posing for a pic:  
Garett...  He turns around and mocks her accent.  "Gaaarettt...I haven't 
heard that in AGES!  East Coast, right?"  She says "yes, Philadelphia"  GM 
replies "My little Philly girl."  Too funny.  He was such a joy.

Suze <-- still floating

-----------------------------------
Hill:

Phew! Just got home this afternoon. Jamie and I---for some reason which now 
escapes me completely---thought it would be "fun" to drive to California
and back in two days. 48 hrs in California, 48 hrs in the car. Well, it was
kinda fun...we saw all sorts of interesting things, like, oh, the General
George Patton Museum. Wo-hoo. And let's not forget "The Thing!"

But it was a good time. We went to the Animal Park a day early and looked 
around. It was a good idea, b/c, obviously, who's going to notice
*ANYTHING* when Garett is around? He really, really is as good looking in
person as he is on TV. Very polite, seemed a little shy---or maybe
frightened?---but was great with everyone.

Richard Karns---"Al" from Home Improvement---was there, too. He was
extremely friendly and just walked right up to us and said "Hi." He was
there with his young son (maybe 10 or 11 yrs old). Very nice man. I watched
him trying to get to the bar at the banquet---which was terrible, btw---and
he must've been stopped about 4 times to take pictures. He never stopped
smiling. The banquet hall was just too darn crowded and hot; it required
major strategy just to get to the Ladies Room.

Garett was very quiet and seemed a little stunned about the turnout.He had
to "climb" through us---the banquet hall was PACKED---and Marty Engels made
some crack about him "making his way through dangerous territory", and
Garett just smiled. When Marty announced what a great amount GM's fans had
raised, we all whooped and hollered, and Marty said, "That's them. The shy,
retiring group in the corner." GM got up and said "Thanks. You've all done
great work." But that was pretty much it.

Then Marty offered to auction Garett off at $50 dollars a minute, so he 
quickly dashed off (re: fled for his life... )

So, I am very, very glad I went. Riding along with Jamie was fun; made the 
trip a lot more bearable. And BIg Bear was just LOVELY. Absolutely
beautiful 
up there.

Will get my pictures developed tomorrow. If any of them are decent, I'll
put them on disc and have someone put them on the files for me( I don't
have access). I only hope they turn out as good as Shar's!           
---Hill
Hillsvillet@cs.com

-----------------------------------
Michele:

Hello  I know i am in late to tell you my version of Garett  
appearance, but i had to go back to Paris.....    

Thanks to Terri, i was in the USA when Garett did his  
appearance. It was the very first time that i met a "celebrity".
I 've never been  a fan before TS and not someone who asked for 
autographs.  I don't speak well english or just a few sentences, 
so i  prepared my words to be ready in front of Garett. He was 
sitting at a table and wore a plaid shirt. I was one of the first 
who asked him to sign pics because Terri  puched me there...

First , i noticed that he was thinner that i supposed.  Then, i 
dwelled on his face, he has very delicat feature, he is really  
beautifull ! I am pleased that he kept long hair, i love him like 
that ....later  sitting near him, i noticed some white hairs in 
his side .... ...When i saw his eyes, i could not remember what i had  
prepared . I couldn't open my bag, i couldn't find the pictures, i 
couldn't find  the pen...i made a real mess on the table, in front 
him ... But he was  patient, so patient, trying to understand what 
i said , what i asked.  I asked him to sign some pics : he agreed 
before seeing  the number of them !  And he did great, signing all 
i carried with me . He was  very nice, always telling it was his 
pleasure....even if i really knew that i  made the most beautifull 
mess of the day ! 

A moment that i can't forget in my entire life is when  Terri told 
him that i am here for my wedding anniversary . He stopped signing,  
looked at me just a little in profile and said : " Hey; Happy 
Anniversary !"  At this moment, the time stopped for me ....I only 
see his  eyes....2 wonderfull bright blue pearls....No more body, 
no more people around,  just his eyes and his words detaching from 
the hubbub surrounding. I never felt  this sensation before. I really 
don't know how i could say thank you because my  brain was out of 
order !!!!! When he finished signing all my stuff , i went back and  
was really surprised to see all people behind me . I haven't heard 
them coming,  i haven't heard them speaking, i was on a cloud.... I 
really need to sit because i was shaking as you can't  imagine.   
When the line of fan was gone, i went back to see him  and asked if 
he could put the name of the french fan on the pics. He looked at  me 
and said : AH, Michele ! He remembered my name !!!!!!! sometimes a 
mess could be great .... I was on seventh heaven! My heart beated a 
record that  Guidness book couldn't accept because they would think 
that i am taking  stimulants. My mouth suddenly became dry as desert 
and i couldn't say anything  other than give him a stupid smile that 
i will regret all my life ! As thanks i offered him one of the t-shirts 
that the  french fan club have created for the event and leaved him , 
going back to my  extraterrestrial land of happiness.  

I followed him more or less during the afternoon,  admirring when he 
carried the snake, impressed when he went inside the cage  of the wolf, 
and charmed by his kindness with everyone he met .  Perhaps because i 
am a mother and a teacher, i am very  pleased to see how he goes to meet 
children, he actually goes up to them with  such a smile and a kind and 
open attitude that they are confortable to meet him  . He loves kids, i 
am sure of this .  He is a beautifull man , but he has a beauty  in his  
heart too, this is why i think he is unique.During the dinner, we talk 
to an old  lady who worked with the zoo. She said how he was nice and a 
regular guy . He  was the first of the celebrities to volunteer to help.

I really appreciated his  words after the dinner to thank us . They were 
simple but give us a lot of  emotion . He is natural, not as the other 
actress who are at the banquet too....  I really  could see the difference
!   
Part of my happiness with the day was also to meet other  fans.  I was 
surprised because fans didn't know each other.  As i 've readen a lot of 
messages about conventions, TS gatherings or  meetings , i thought that 
it will be a happy moment of reunion . Some little  groups are formed but 
there is a lot of fans alone.....  I am too much extrovert, i know that, 
but  i was there to meet fans ( and Garett too !) , to share my passion 
for the  show and for the actors. Perhaps , i have "shocked" a few by my 
thirst of  talking, i apologize for people that i could have bother by 
such an attitude, i  just want to discover how they fell the sentinel 
world ....  I appreciated this last moment , on the parking, when each  
one knew that they had to leave but couldn't go...We were together, giving 
our  first impressions, our best feelings of this day . 

I would like this while never  stopped but each of us had to go back, 
majority to take plane early on sunday  morning (sorry, Shar, you win 
the earliest fly !) ,so we dispersed with a lot of  nice pics in our 
eyes and in our hearts.  I think that Garett could be proud of his fans...
no  hysteria, no madness in our behavior....and the most important donation 
in his  name for the zoo !  

Michele ---
gimiba@club-internet.fr

-----------------------------------

Sabre:

Well, I'm back from LA. Actually it was San Bernardino, but to us Northern
Californians anything south of Bakersfield is Los Angeles. 

I thought I'd post my report in installments. Not only will it help to up
the volume of posts, but I can't write too much it one sitting. So here is
the first chapter of my report titled "Missed Opportunity". 

It was hot. Very hot. Very, very hot. Being from Northern Ca. I'm used to
the heat, but I bet a lot of the out-of-towner were suffering. I used to
live in LA and remember going to Big Bear to go skiing, but I don't
remember the roads being so winding. They wound so much that I sometimes
felt I was doing figure eights instead of actually going anywhere. You
couldn't take your eyes off the road or your hand off the wheel for a
second. 

At about 2:45 we finally made it up the long winding road to the Moonridge
Zoo. It's actually
more of a mini-zoo. All of the animals kept there are either sick or have
been injured and cannot be released into the wild. The zoo has lost the
land they are currently on and need to make enough money to pay for a move
to a new location. It's going to cost them several million dollars. If they
can't afford to move the animals they will have to be destroyed. 

The zoo office was still open, so I went inside to pick up my tickets. As
other people started to arrive, the office got too crowded, so the staff
decided to have people pick up their tickets inside the gate instead and
began shooing people out. Since the person working behind the counter was
already looking for my ticket, she told me I could stay. While I was
waiting, the staff had closed the door and was standing around talking
about how they were going to gather the celebs together in the office
before the event started and who was going to do what. No one had asked me
to leave, but since I wasn't a celeb and wasn't likely to convince anyone
that I was, I quietly slipped out the door and joined the crowd at the gate
waiting in the hot sun. Did I mention it was hot? There were probably about
15 Sentinel fans waiting with me. Some I recognized from other events, but
couldn't remember most of the names. A couple of minutes later I saw a
familiar figure pass by me on my left. It was none other than our very own
Garett Maggart. He walked past us and into the zoo office thru the door
that I had just walked out of. It was then that I realized that if I had
lingered just a few minutes longer in the office, I could have walked out
the same time he walked in. Of course we would have collided with each
other, and me being the clumsy oaf that I am, would have fallen down in the
dirt. And Garett, being the gentlemen that he is, would have picked me up
and dusted me off. But I digress. For those of you who are enterested, he
was wearing a blue and white plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair
of well worn jeans and had his hair down. His hair was just past his
shoulders. He looked pretty much like he did on the show. There are a few
pictures from the the zoo posted at http://www.garettmaggart.net/ 

So we continued to wait in the hot sun while Garett waited in the not so
hot office. At 3 pm the gates open and they let the people in. We walked
down a short slope to a grassy area where a PA system was set up and some
benches. The first thing I did was get some water and find a
shady spot to sit down. Did I mention it was hot? Marty Engels began the
introduction. Telling us about the zoo and introducing Shirley Jones and a
couple of celeb I didn't know. Then he started talking about some of the
things being auctioned off. I listened for awhile then took a walk around.
They had the autograph tables set up at certain areas along the zoo paths,
which was really cool. Garett's table was set up outside the wolf encloser.
In a nice shady area too. 

I walked back up to where the PA system was and listened to Marty some
more. I noticed a TS fan across the way pointing to something behind me, so
I turned around and Garett was walking down the hill to his table, and had
his brother with him. 

Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode "Who is
that Man?" 

Part 2:

After Garett passed by me, I stood there for a moment watching him get
settled at the table, then made my way down the path. I spent some time
just watching him signing autographs and having his picture taken with the
fans. Since it wasn't like a con where there are hundreds of people in an
autograph line, he pretty much let everyone get as many autographs and
pictures as they wanted. He was very friendly with everyone, talking and
joking around with us and apparantly having a good time. He occasionally
would come out from behind to the table to pose for pictures with fans. 

After awhile he told everyone that he had to go to the 'green room'. None
of us new what he meant, so we watched him walk up the path and disappear
into the bathroom. Then we realized that he called it the 'green room'
because the inside was painted green. So we all stood around watching the
wolves and waiting for Garett to get back. It was amazing how the wolves
can camouflage themselves. I was told there were four wolves in the
enclosure, but I could only spot two, no matter how hard I looked for the
others. There was also a golden eagle on the other side of the path that
kept cackling at us like we were the funniest thing he'd ever seen. 

Eventually, Garett came strolling back and resumed his seat. I decided it
was time to take my turn, so I stepped up to the table. I introduced myself
and he shook my hand and said it was nice to meet me. Now I'm not an
autograph collector myself, but I usually have them sign something,
because it seems rude to tell them I'm not enterested in an autograph.
However I'd stupidly left the picture at home that I was going to have him
sign, so I pulled out my zoo pass and had him sign the back of it. Then he
posed with me for a picture that another fan was kind enough to take. 

After getting my autograph and picture, I walked back across the path to
where the eagle was and continued watching. A couple of ladies came up to
me and asked me who Garett was. I told them about The Sentinel, and they
said they'd heard of it and asked me if it was still on. Garett's brother
happened to be standing next to us and had heard the question. He turned to
her and said that the show was on SciFi now. I had an urge to yell "No it's
not!", but I managed to hold my tongue. As frustrated as I am with SciFi,
it wouldn't be nice to take it out on Garett's brother. 

Eventually a very good looking man with hair about twice as long as
Garett's came up and joined him behind the table. He started signing
autographs too and posing for pictures with Garett. Now, not being a hip
young person, I had no idea who this guy was. I asked the ladies who had
asked about Garett if they knew him. They said no, but then they weren't
hip young persons either. Since Garett's brother was still standing beside
me and *was* a hip young person, I turned to him and asked him who the guy
was that was sitting with Garett. He told me it was Mike Inez from Alice in
Chains. I'd heard of the group, but didn't know what they looked like. I
may pay more attention to them now <g>. 

After everyone had gotten all the pictures and autographs that they needed,
Garett sat and chatted with us for a while. Sad to say, he still has not
gotten any work, although there is a possibility he may be doing a play
that Bruce Young is producing, but he wasn't sure and couldn't tell us much
about it. Someone asked about the Poltergeist rumor, and apparently that's
what it was, just a rumor. He said he didn't know anything about it and had
never read for it. He did say he'd love to do it though. He seem to be
amused about the whole thing. 

I soon had to visit the 'green room' myself so I left the group and walked
up the hill to the bathrooms. The door to the bathroom was right next to
the one for the reptile room. If you weren't careful it was very easy to
confuse the two ... open the door expecting to see a toilet and sink and
instead ending up among five tarantulas and several assorted snakes. When I
returned, Garett and his brother had left to go wander around and look at
the animals. Since Garett was gone, some of the fans started talking about
fanfiction, but since they seemed to be fans of writers that I didn't
care for, I left the area to wander around the park a bit. 

Stay tuned for the next episode titled "Oh, Deer me!" 

Part 3:

I wandered around a bit looking at the animals, I passed by the souvenier
table and bought a T-shirt. I should have done that earlier then I would
have had something for Garett to sign. Oh, well. I passed by Richard Karn's
table. He's the actor who used to play Al on Home Improvement. He's a
really sweet guy. A little ways past his table was a deer enclosure. I
found Garett and his brother standing there with Mike Inez and a young lady
who was either Mike's wife or girlfriend. Garett had his hand stuck through
the fence and a deer was licking his fingers. He seemed to be getting a big
kick out of it. Now all day I'd been seeing fans with their fancy digital
cameras and their zoom lenses and I'd been feeling so inadequate with my
little $13 throwaway camera. However I didn't feel so bad when I noticed
that Garett had one too and was having his brother take pictures of him
with the animals. 

I stood and watched for a while until Garett and his friends continued on
the way. No longer having any fingers to lick, the deer started licking the
metal fence posts. There was a sign posted on the fence saying the deer in
this enclosure were being treated for some kind of medical conditions. I
wondered if this had anything to do with it wanting to lick everything. I
let the deer lick my fingers for a while, then moved on. 

A little ways further the path dead-ended at the grizzly bear enclosure.
There was a table set up there for actor Earl Holliman. Most boomers will
remember him from "Police Woman" and some other shows. Garett was standing
there talking to him. I found out later from another fan that Earl had once
made a movie with Garett's father. I wanted to get Earl's autograph and say
hello, so I stood nearby and watched the bears. While I was waiting, a
staff member came out thru a gate behind the bear enclosure and invited the
celebs to come back for a special tour of the area behind the bears. I
don't know what was back there, but they all left through the gate. To be
fair to Earl, he didn't snub me. There was no one else at the table besides
Garett. If I had stood behind Garett and waited, I'm sure Earl would have
stayed to say hello, but I was on the other side of the path watching the
bears and he obviously didn't realize I was waiting. 

Since I'd seen pretty much everything there was to see, I wandered back to
the wolf pen and found a staff member sitting at Garett's table, apparently
taking a break. I sat down on a nearby bench and talked to her for awhile.
I was surprised that noone had swiped Garett's water bottle, which was
still sitting there and he hadn't been finished. 

About 15 minutes later a staff member entered the eagle cage and started
trying to catch one of the birds. It was the same one that had been
cackling at us all day. The bird didn't seem happy about it and kept
getting away from her. Meanwhile Garett and the people in his group had
returned from whereever they had gone and were standing there watching her.
Eventually she managed to catch the eagle and another staff member helped
her tether it to her arm. She brought the eagle out and let everyone take
pictures. Garett was talked into posing with the eagle, although he looked
and sounded a little nervous walking up to it. 

Stay tuned for the next episode "Dances With Wolves." 

Part 4:

After GM was done posing for pictures, his tour guide led the rest of the
group over to the wolf pen. Garett didn't notice them leaving and was still
standing there talking to the woman with the eagle. As I was walking over
there myself, Garett ran past me, jokingly complaining that they were
leaving him behind. There was a small fenced in area in front of the wolf
pen that I assumed was a kind of buffer area for the staff to use when
feeding or otherwise dealing with the wolves. Garett and the others were
led into this area and told by their guide that they would be let in three
at a time, so the wolves wouldn't get too distressed. She then gave them a
short lecture about the behavior of wolves, about how they could detect
submissiveness, about not turning your back on them and how they like to
attack from behind and rip your hair out by the roots. We were all
standing outside watching, and when Garett heard this he turned around,
grabbed the fence and cried "I don't wanna go!". We all laughed and teased
him about maybe this would be the last time we saw him <g>. Someone asked
him which wolf he had picked to sponsor, and he replied that it was the one
with the 'underbite'. They all looked the same to me, except for one which
was darker than the the rest. Garett, Mike and someone else whom I didn't
know entered the pen, and the wolves got excited and started running around
in circles and sometimes fighting with each other. The zoo guide was trying
to get one to come over to her, but they just kept running around. She
managed to get one to stand still long enough to pet it for few seconds.
They actually weren't dangerous, they were just agitated by seeing
strangers standing around in the pen taking pictures. 

A few minutes later the guide gave us all a demonstration on how good the
wolves' sense of smell is. She had Garett walk over to a large tree that
was in the middle of the enclosure and rub his back against it. When he
walked away, all of the wolves ran over to the tree and began sniffing all
around it because it was a scent they didn't recognize. So there really is
a 'Blair scent', but only the wolves at Moonridge know what it smells like
<g>. 

After the the wolf demonstration we were told that the park would be
closing soon, so we all just milled around for a while. Garett and the
other celebs made themselves available for more pictures and just walked
around and talked to people. I saw him exchange phone numbers with Mike
Inez, so they had apparently hit if off and wanted to get together again.
Eventually everyone started to trickle out and either went home or across
the street to the ski area where the dinner was being held. 

Stay tuned for the next episode, "It's a good thing we're not in Cascade." 

BTW, there are new pictures of Garett posted to his website at
http://www.garettmaggart.net/. Some of them are of the scenes I've
described here. 

Part 5:

We walked into the dining room, found a table and chatted for awhile.
Garett's name was misspelled on the program (AARRGH!). There was a short
flight of steps leading up to the bar area and a stairwell in the middle of
the room that led down to where the bathrooms and the ski lockers were.
When more people began to show up, it started getting crowded and noisy.
The room wasn't very large and the tables were close together so you had to
do a lot of squeezing past people to get anywhere. I walked up to the bar,
got a beer and walked around to look at the auction items that were on
display. When I got back to the table, the caterers had started serving
dinner. The dining room doors opened onto a patio, and that was where the
food was set up. It was a situation where you waited in line to get served.
I had just taken my place at the end of the line when I saw Garett and his
brother walk by. He had tied his hair back and had changed into a long
sleeved purple shirt. He was still wearing jeans but I don't know if they
were the same ones. Probably not, since it had been very dusty and dirty at
the zoo. They joined the food line behind me. 

While I was waiting I heard someone say that a man in the dining room had
collapsed and the paramedics had been called. Sure enough, once I got my
food and went back inside, the tables had been pushed back and some poor
man was lying on the floor. Since I couldn't sit at the table, I set my
food down and waited. It was getting a bit crowded around me and I was
getting a little claustrophobic, so I left the area and walked over and
stood by the stairwell. I saw Garett and his brother walk in and take a
seat at a table in the corner. I'm not sure if they realized anything was
going on. 

Eventually the paramedics arrived and started working on the guy. They
probably worked on him for about 15 or 20 minutes without once declaring
him dead. During this time, Garett and his brother had finished their
dinner and walked up into the bar area. I didn't see him again until he
came out to go down to the bathroom. When he came back up he stopped for a
few seconds to watch what was going on then went back into the bar. The man
who had collapsed was finally put on a gurney and taken out to an
ambulance. Someone told me later that he had some kind of heart condition
and had been advised not to come to the dinner, but he wanted to support
the zoo. I felt sorry for the man and really hope he was okay. We moved the
tables back and sat down to finally eat. I didn't think the food was
especially good. Some chicken over rice dish. Of course the fact that it
was now cold didn't help any. 

When we were finished, Marty Ingels went up to the microphone and announced
to the room that Garett's fans had raised over $4000 for the zoo. Everyone
cheered and Garett's was asked to say a few words. It was hard for him to
squeeze through all the people sitting at the tables, and Marty made a joke
about him having to make his way through dangerous territory. Garett didn't
say too much. Just thanked us and told us that we'd done a great job. As he
was walking away, Marty joked that they were going to auction him off for
$50 an hour. Sounds like a deal to me <g>. 


Stay tuned for the next and final episode "Sweet Sorrow." 

Part 6:

After Garett left, the auction began. The PA system was really loud and
eventually I had to take a break from the noise and the people, some of
whom were starting to display the effects of too much alcohol. There was a
rear exit at the back of the bar. It led to a small landing and a set of
stairs that went down to the parking lot. I decided to go out there for a
few minutes to get away from it all. When I walked through the bar I
noticed Garett sitting at a table drinking a beer and watching a football
game on TV. He had a couple of people sitting with him that I didn't know. 

My timing couldn't have been better. It was a beautiful clear night and I
was leaning against the railing just enjoying the night air, when I felt a
hand on my shoulder. I turned around and was surprised to see Garett
standing there. He told me he was glad that I was able to come. I asked
him if he was leaving and he said yes, they had to go. I told him it had
been nice meeting him and he replied in kind, then he and his brother
walked down the stairs to the parking lot. I watched them walk past the
cars and expected them to get into one, but they just kept walking until
they reached the road and then started walking down the road. I fought off
the urge to jump in my car and ask them if they needed a ride. They
eventually turned onto the grounds of a hotel and disappeared from sight.
They must have gotten a room for the night. A short time later we headed
out ourselves for the long winding trip down the mountain. 

I hope you enjoyed the report. I really have to mention how great the TS
fans were. I recall past events where I was embarrassed by the behavior of
some fans, and I was afraid of something like that happening here. But as
far as I know, all of the fans were very considerate and respectful of
Garett. He was never mobbed, pestered or asked inappropriate questions, and
I'm sure he appreciated it. 

I don't know whether this event will be held again next year, but if it is
I hope Garett gets invited back. It would be even better if they could get
RB there too. Being an environmentalist, I'm sure it would be something
he'd go for. 

Since Garett's fans raised over $4000 in his name, the new wolf enclosure
will have a plaque with his name and picture on it. I really hope I get a
chance to go back and see it when it gets put up. 

sabre50

-----------------------------------

CJ:

I flew down with Marilyn (Peanut).  When we arrived, they had closed and
evacuated our arrival terminal at Ontario International Airport, because
there was some unclaimed baggage and I guess they were afraid that it was a
bomb or something.  So we first had to just sit and wait on the plane for a
while, as they decided what to do, then we had to exit the rear of the plane
on a long, steep flight of stairs instead of a jetway.  We had to walk
across the tarmac and then wait again for a while, at least in the shade of
the building.  Shade was good, since it was probably in the 90's.  They
finally told us that we'd have to go to terminal 4 (we arrived at 2), saying
that it was only about 2 blocks.

After we got to the front of the building, we could see terminal 4 in the
distance.  The "two blocks" was more like 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile.  We walked a
short distance before we could catch a shuttle the rest of the way.  Once we
got there, we actually did get our baggage and catch up with our third,
Nancy, who was lucky enough to arrive at terminal 4 anyway.  We picked up
our rental car and headed out.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Big Bear Chateau - I highly recommend it.  It
was on Moonridge Road, only a few miles from the Park.  We paid a little
extra for a nicer room, since three of us were sharing, so we had a jacuzzi
tub, a fireplace, and a VCR.  Nice!  We relaxed with TS videos to round out
the evening on Friday.

The three of us went to the park Saturday morning, deciding that we wanted
to check it out before the crowds arrived.  It was a good idea, as we found
out that the gift shop wouldn't be open during the event.  We scoped out the
gift shop and bought a few things, and were able to get the official event
t-shirts early.  I took in the print that I was donating for the auction,
which was gratefully accepted.  The volunteers and ladies from Friends of
the Zoo were terrific.  We took some photos of the animals, then left for
lunch and a little cool off in our air conditioned room.

When we returned to the park just before three, there was quite a line (of
mostly TS fans) already there.  I recognized several, but decided to remain
incognito because it was hot and I wanted a really low-key day.  (But those
who were there might have seen me - short white hair, glasses/sunglasses,
dark print shirt and jeans).  Garett came in shortly afterward, and it was
great to see that he had let his hair grow again.  He was wearing the same
clothes (or almost exactly the same) that he wore to the Celebrity Horse
Show - jeans, brown shoes, white with blue windowpane plaid shirt worn out
(but without the blue t-shirt that he had underneath at the Horse Show).

Unfortunately, the event wasn't really well organized.  There wasn't a
program, so no-one knew what was happening when.  Marty Ingels was the
master of ceremonies, more or less.  He's the actor/comedian who is also
Shirley Jones' husband.  They have a home nearby.  Shirley was there for a
while, chatting and taking photos with fans and signing autographs, but then
she had to go because she was performing at the Hollywood Bowl.

They had a number of tables with items for silent auction on them.  Lots of
those items were merchandise or services from local business, but some were
of nice art pieces.  They had planned to have an area where they would have
celebrities take turns getting their pictures taken with fans, and the park
would take them with a digital camera and have your picture for you before
you left.  Unfortunately, one of the volunteers told me that they were
having problems with the camera, so that didn't happen (sigh).

Marty Ingels announced the celebrities attending.  The celebs were spread
around the park, signing autographs.  Garett was at a table by the wolves,
accompanied by his brother Brandon, a security guard, and another woman from
the park that were apparently there for his security.  Brandon looked a lot
like Garett, except with shaved head and more muscular.  There were always
quite a few fans around him, thank goodness they were well-behaved, at least
while I was around.  Later, he got to go into the wolf enclosure with zoo
staff for a while.  I couldn't get any pictures of that because of all of
the other people, the fences, and the shade.  He also got to get around the
park later and also behind the scenes of some of the enclosures.

Garett was very gracious and accommodating.  People asked him to sign
photos, shirts, zines, all kinds of things, and his answer was always
"absolutely" or "certainly".  He shook hands and would stand and lean over
the table to people could get their pictures taken with him.  The only time
I heard him say no was when someone asked if she could get a kiss, and even
then he was very nice about turning her down.

He was pretty funny once while I was there, a boy came up to the table and
put a t-shirt up on the table for Garett to sign.  Garett asked his name and
asked how he was doing, and the boy answered, "I've been better."  Garett
did a double-take and replied, "I've been better?  I've been better?  What's
wrong?"  I didn't hear the boy's reply, but Garett was laughing and trying
to cheer him up.  I imagined that the boy probably was only there because of
his mom or older sister, or something, obviously it wasn't his idea.

Garett was there for most of the afternoon.  He spent some time chatting
with Earl Holliman and seemed quite a fan of his, and was beaming when he
got his picture taken with Earl.  He also spent some time chatting and
hanging with a couple of musicians from Alice in Chains (sorry, don't know
their names, I'm not a fan) and they were exchanging phone numbers and it
sounded like they were making plans to do something together later.

He was very nice and chatted for a few minutes with Marilyn and I, away from
the table, and let his security guard take a picture of the three of us
(Garett put his arms around our backs and pulled us closer for the picture
<<sigh>>), I hope it turns out.  He told us that he doesn't have any firm
plans to do the Dungeon Master thing with Bruce Young, definitely not the
dates that were posted because he and some friends are planning a little
vacation over the Labor Day weekend.  He said that if he does do it, he will
be sure to let Bruce know so he can post it on the Moosebay list for his
fans.  He said that he doesn't have anything in the works right now.  He
thanked us again for coming and asked if we would be going to the banquet
later, and when we said yes, he said that he would see us there.

More about the afternoon:

There was a short auction of a few items, including the print that I
donated.  Marty Ingels tried very hard to get and keep people interested and
participating, but since there wasn't a program, just an announcement of a
"schedule" that wasn't followed at all, there wasn't much participation.
Marilyn bid on and won a very nice coat donated by a local shop, and Marty
had her come up on the stage and model it for other potential bidders.  He
had me come up and describe the print that I donated for bidders, I think it
got $90 from one of the volunteers.

There was an "auction" of some of the animals, to get money for their
feeding and upkeep.  Again, it was not very well organized, but they did get
one woman to donate $4000.  I donated the money (not anything close to 4K)
to feed one of the animals for a year, a red-tailed hawk named "Q".  I got
my picture taken with the hawk, that will be posted at the hawk's enclosure
for the next year.  They were still having problems with the camera, so I
hope it comes out; I'm supposed to get a certificate and a copy of the
photo.  Marty Ingels gave me a hug that almost pulled me off my feet, I
think that Marilyn got a photo of it.

After another break to cool off and change clothes, we went to the banquet.
It was at the ski lodge across the street from the park, was very crowded
and again wasn't as organized as it could have been.  You had to stand in a
very long line to get food, it wasn't very good, and they ran out of food
before they ran out of people and some people had to wait quite a while as
they cooked some more.

I ended up standing behind two flight attendants, one of whom grudgingly
admitted that she only became a Sentinel fan within the last year and reads
fanfic on the web.  Behind me was a very nice gentleman who was involved
with the park in some way and we chatted about it and their plans for it.
Garett was about 5 or 10 people ahead of me, he had changed shirts and tied
his hair back for the evening.

While I was waiting in line outside an older gentleman collapsed inside and
paramedics were called.  It took quite a while to get him stabilized for
transport.  I recognized him as the man who got to the banquet the same time
as we did.  One of the volunteers told me that he'd had several heart
attacks and heart surgeries, and had been told by his doctor not to attend,
but that he really wanted to go to support the park and ignored his doctor's
warnings.  I sure hope that he is okay.

Marilyn and I were sitting at a kind of bar, since the only tables with
available seats were way in the back of the place, and we took turns getting
in line for food so one of us could save our seats.  Marty Ingels arrived
after we did and walked over and chatted with me for a few minutes before
heading up to the stage to resume his master of ceremonies bit.

They announced that Garett's fans had raised $4000 for the park, which got a
round of applause, as well as whoops from the fans sitting together, and
Garett was asked to come down and say a few words.  He was hanging out in
the bar with his brother and did make his way through the crowd to the
stage.  I didn't hear the first things he said, it was really noisy, then
someone handed him a microphone and told him that folks probably didn't hear
him.  Garett's reply was, "But I was hilarious!"  He said something like,
"Thanks, you've done great work" but that was it.  Marty Ingels made some
comments about Garett having to make his way through dangerous territory,
and about auctioning him off at $50 per minute, and Garett didn't slow down
as he headed back to the bar.

A lot of things were auctioned off, most for only a percentage of their
value, and there were a number of additional silent auction items.  It was
pretty noisy and a lot of people weren't paying a bit of attention.  Richard
Karns (Home Improvement) chatted with us for a few minutes, Earl Holliman
almost spilled his wine on me as he edged by, and this incredibly drunk
actress (used to be on General Hospital) was sitting behind me and hugging
me like I was her long-lost best friend.  All I did was offer her my piece
of cake!  It was very embarrassing.  She and her friends were very loud, so
I had a hard time hearing what was happening on stage.  One of the people
hanging with her was Marty Ingels' and Shirley Jones' representative
(assistant? manager?), who turned to chat with me for a few minutes, calling
me "the hawk lady" and thanking me for donating the print and the money for
the hawk.  At least he seemed sober.  The evening ended a little after 11.

It was quite an experience!  They are planning to make it an annual event,
and everyone said that it would be much more organized next time.  They
probably raised somewhere around $15,000 - $20,000 all together for the day.
If any of my photos come out (I was having camera troubles) I'll post a URL
so folks can see them.

That's all, folks.

CJ
(aka Alberte)
cajole@olypen.com

-----------------------------------

wod (who wasn't there, but wrote this haiku):

GM in Moonridge Park

Soul-deep eyes
Draw all, near and far
A wolf howls

wod
wod@squidge.org

-----------------------------------