Anniversary Date Extrordinaire!

Daniel and my 3rd anniversary was this past week, on the 23rd. We had a fine day, but it wasn't spectacular like other anniversary's that we've had. We did a puzzle. Doesn't that make us sound like an old married couple?

Anyway, Daniel took me on a spectacular anniversary date on Friday. He took me to the Magic Castle in LA, an exclusive club held in this old and totally awesome mansion. You can only get in if you are a magician connected with the club or a member, or if you know someone who is a member. Fortunately, Daniel has all sorts of connections with his firm. One of the clients that he's worked on is a member ... or a magician. I can't remember which. 

We had a dinner reservation at 6pm, so we got there a little bit before. Fun detail: after checking in at the lobby desk, you have to say the "magic words" to an owl statue in order to get in. "OPEN SESAME!" So fun!

The Old Mansion

Dinner was delicious. And expensive. The building is so hard to explain, but it looks like it could be a haunted house, were it not for all the living people that roam around. Just imagine the decor of a haunted house. That's pretty  much what it's like. 

After dinner, we went to a bunch of different shows. There are several show rooms, and you wait in line until you get into one. They also had a bunch of magicians just walking the halls, sitting at the bars and doing tricks, which was fun to see as you walk around. 

The shows were magical! Seriously. I have no idea how they did most of those tricks. It was amazing. At one of the shows, there was a ventriloquist, who was spectacular! We really enjoyed watching his act.

The Parlour of Prestidigitation

Daniel and I were fortunate enough to be participants in a couple of the shows. We always seemed to be near the front, so we were called on. Daniel was called up on stage to "learn how to be a magician". The Magician told him to pick a card and keep it to himself. Then, having Daniel employ some ridiculous methods, he taught Dan how to magically let the audience know what his card was. You would have had to be there, but it was hilarious! Daniel was so cute, even though he was doing ridiculous things on stage. And in the end, it was fun to watch him be the only one stumped in the entire audience!

We had a wonderful time. One of the more memorable dates, I think. I would definitely go again!

PS: sorry that was such a long, wordy post. I had to tell you how amazing it was.

Outside of the mansion. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside. Sorry, terrible pic of me.  This is the first restaurant we've been to that had a jacket and tie requirement for the men and a dress or pantsuit requirement for the ladies.  We felt all high-class.

The outside of the building. It was bigger than it appears in this picture. Very fun!