- Next stop, Hollywood. Ok, so you can see Hollywood in 45 minutes. Kodak Theatre, Graumann’s Chinese Theatre, Walk of Fame, Hollywood sign. See them and leave. I was disappointed with Hollywood. It’s a dump. It really makes you feel how superficial the idea of Hollywood is. The cameras do not give you a feel for the real Hollywood. Two other highlights here:
1. I got totally ripped off by a woman dressed as a pirate and a dude with a Yoda mask. I’m embarrassed. I’ll blame it on the jet lag.
2. Bubba saw a sign for a museum. It was partially blocked by a palm tree. But his exact comment was “That’s weird that they would have a ‘Wood Museum’ here.” If you aren’t laughing yet, then just think about it a littler harder.

- Santa Monica Pier & 3rd Street Promenade. So you can’t be that close to the ocean and not say you saw it. We saw it. The Promenade was great. Tons of shops and restaurants. Our restaurant served a 24oz hamburger. Two words: Jamba Juice. Everyday in Cali I got my Jamba fix.

- On Sunday we also visited Mosaic (Erwin McManus’ church). Maybe a separate post on this later. I left feeling about as creative as a rock. There are a lot of really talented people in his church.

- We rounded off the trip with a day at Universal Studios. The best ride there is the Simpson’s Ride. It was crazy fun and it lasted for like 5 minutes.

You can checkout more pictures here.

Catalyst conference is the largest gathering of young leaders in the country, but it pains us to call it just a conference. Catalyst is more than just a three-day event – it’s a movement, a convergence, an experience where you find yourself fully immersed in learning, worship, and creativity. Catalyst brings people together – the influencers, the do-ers, the cultural architects, and the change agents who will reclaim our communities and culture for good.

The conference lasted 3 days, with 2 days of main sessions and a day of labs with a variety of different leaders. It was by far the greatest multi-day event I’ve ever attended. The list of speakers was arguably the most complete list of top church leaders you could pack into 3 days (though it certainly wasn’t exhaustive). Here’s an partial list of speakers and their topics:

Andy Stanley – Uncertainty
Ravi Zacharias – Pillars of Apologetics
Brian Houston – The Church as God Sees It
Erwin McManus – Helping Others Find and Fulfill Their Dreams
Craig Groeschel – I Was Taught and So I Thought
Rick Warren – Interview by Andy Stanley
Perry Noble – You Can Do This

I’ve been sharing nuggets randomly on Twitter (follow me here) this week and will continue for the rest of the week. There were so many takeaways and nuggets; it’s hard for me to pick any one thing as the most impacting. If I had to pick, the most inspiring speaker had to be Nick Vujicic. Nick was born without any limbs (arms or legs). The theme of his message was “you can do anything”. Chew on that for a bit. It blew my freakin mind.

Every trip, I try to pick a Kodak moment. Sometimes it’s an event, a conversation, a site etc. This time, my Kodak moment was meeting Erwin McManus. I admire him so much. His books have challenged me to live my most heroic life by helping others live their dreams.

This post could go on forever. I felt like dry cracked soil that was saturated beyond capacity by the end of each day. I’m still digesting things.

Special thanks to Mariners Church in Irvine, CA for hosting the event and to all the speakers who see the benefit of developing others and who took the time to speak into my life.

Here’s a quick, not detailed rundown on the weekend after we arrived:

Friday:
Upon arrival Dave and I high-tailed it down to Colorado Springs to visit theMILL (the 20-something ministry at New Life church). It was awesome. I was a sponge absorbing the full scope of the ministry they have. Pastor Aaron Stern was great. We missed worship (thanks United) but caught his message (the last in a series called Man in the Middle). You can learn more about theMILL by clicking here.

Saturday:
So one of the reasons for the trip was that Dave was turning 30 and his wife Amanda was planning a surprise trip. So after breakfast and some shopping, I was designated as the distraction for Dave so that the party planning committee could get to work. Amanda bought us tickets to see the new Warren Miller film, “Children of Winter”. If you’re a fan of winter mountain sports you probably already know Warren Miller. If not, you gotta check him out. The movie was awesome.

After the movie, Dave was lured to the site of the surprise party. Too much to cover here, but maybe Amanda will give the scoop.

Sunday:
So Sunday was one of those days where you can’t really summarize the experience in words. Dave borrowed one of his client’s airplanes (a Piper Mirage). We had planned to fly to Steamboat or Vail/Eagle in the mountains but our hosts were concerned about Lish and the altitude. So instead, we charted a course for below sea level in Page, Arizona. Page is home to Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam. And really, that’s about all Page is home to. We did have a nice lunch. And really the trip wasn’t about Page, it was about seeing some beautiful scenery from 18,000 feet during the 2 hour flight. It was a long day and we wrapped up with some Chinese at about 10PM.

Monday:
This was departure day. But Amanda and Dave planned one last activity for our visit. Amanda took Lish to the Aveda spa in Castle Rock for a pregnancy massage. I don’t know what that means, but apparently it was something every pregnant lady should experience. After that, it was off to the airport.

There’s just too much to cover. The Purvis’ are great friends (if you’re reading this we love you!). It’s always so good to catch up with them. I’m so proud of them and the huge risk they’ve taken with starting their own company. Danica and Tre had a blast and even today Danica woke up saying “wanna see Tre!”. Danica was an amazing traveller. She apparenly loves flying. To the point where, during our Az trip, we hit some turbulence entering the Rockies. Tre was upset and Lish puked, but Danica had her hands up in the air saying “WEE!!!”. All she wanted to do (besides see Tre) was fly.

Thanks again to the Purvis family. They are awesome hosts and great friends. Can’t wait to go back.

I’ve posted pictures at the Faction Galleries. Check them out (there’s 3 pages worth). There’s a picture of Lish with her puke bag in case you don’t believe me.

Friday:
- Arrived at the Venetian and scoped out the hotel & pool. One word – opulent.
- High temp = 102 degrees F
- We walked to a neighboring casino and one of Las Vegas’ newest residents – The Wynn for dinner. On the way, we visited a Lamborghini dealership (inside the Palazzo casino). The Wynn has one of the best buffets in Vegas (so they say) and we wanted to experience it for ourselves. Here’s a picture of my first plate from the buffet (shamefully, I admit, I had 2 more plates throughout the evening just like this one).

- We finished off the evening by scouting out a few of the nearby hotels. We were pretty tired though from travelling and didn’t have a lot of energy to explore (if you’ve never been, Las Vegas Blvd – aka The Strip, is several miles long).

Saturday:
- Anniversary day! 5 years!
- We woke up early and took the 30 mile drive down to Hoover Dam. Trivia time. Does anyone know the original name for the project that would become known as the Hoover Dam?

- High temp = 102 degrees F
- When we got back to the hotel we spent some more time at the pool and rested up for dinner. We had reservation as Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill inside of Caesars Palace. I had high expectations. Bobby Flay is my FoodNetwork man crush. It was amazing. For starters we had Yucatan Chicken Tacos. We each selected different entrees. Lish chose the New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin and I had the 22oz Chipotle Glazed Bone-in Ribeye. both were so good. Of course, pictures of each dish can be found at The Faction Galleries.

- After dinner, we explored more casinos and saw the sights. There is really great people watching in Vegas. Alicia was particularly intrigued with some folks whose job was to attract you to their ‘club’.

Sunday:
- We woke up and went our seperate ways on Sunday morning. Lish hit the spa and I hit the sportsbook looking for a place to watch the Steelers game. The sportsbook was a zoo since it was opening weekend for the NFL and tons of people were in line to place their bets. All I wanted was a spot near a TV to watch the game but that wasn’t happening so I went for a walk to watch the craps tables. I watched a guy who was down $6000 come the whole way back and then end up walking away. His hand were trembling with each bet. The hotel gave us $15 in gambling credits when we checked in. Free money? I’m in. I ‘invested’ all $15 in a slot machine that didn’t produce any earnings. I don’t know how people sit there all day and do that. After $15, I was completely spent on sitting at a machine.

- Tonight we hit the south end of The Strip. We had dinner reservations at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House. Again, really great food. Unfortunately, I had eaten half of my dish before I remembered to take a photo or note the name of it.
- We finished off the rest of the day by exploring the remainder of the hotels that we hadn’t been to yet. I think my favorite is Mandalay Bay, but the MGM is cool too. There’s a live lion exhibit there. It doesn’t seem right that I’ve been to Africa twice and never seen a lion, but yet I can go to Vegas and get 3 feet from one.

Monday:
- Back to Pittsburgh to get D. We missed her a lot.

We had a great time. Vegas is neat. I left with a lot of deeper thoughts, but I’ll save them for some other time.

1. Lish will be given 1 turn per day to try and solve the puzzle.
2. During her turn, she will be allowed to guess 1 consonant from the puzzle below
3. If she guesses correctly, she can guess another consonant or choose to buy vowel
4. The price for a vowel, is the end of her guesses for the day
5. Her turn for the day is over after purchasing a vowel or an incorrect consonant guess
6. Her daily turn will conclude with one chance to solve the puzzle
7. Her guesses and results will be posted each morning.
8. The game begins now!
9. The answer to the puzzle will be provided on Wednesday evening at 9:00 PM (so be sure to check back)
10. The category for the puzzle is: ‘Place’

So here’s the rules for The Faction live studio audience. Guess away. Leave Alicia your comments about what consonants to pick or vowels to buy each day. Think you can solve the puzzle? Go ahead, but may I suggest that you try and get something out of her in return for your guess. (Seriously, you have no clue how much this is bothering her.) Those who already know the answer are not eligible to participate as part of the live studio audience (you know who you are).

Enjoy!