Goodbye, Joy Behar! (My Trip to The View)

I love The View! I have been watching it for years. 

I was there for the Star Jones wedding fiasco...

I was there for Rosie vs. Elisabeth...

I was there when Sheri thought the world was flat...
(Watch the video, you will cringe!)

I was there for all of Whoopi's ugly jumpers...

And when my gal Nancy was a guest co-host...

And I was there when Elisabeth left...

And now Joy Behar is leaving! Friday, August 9th, (tomorrow!!!) will be her last day.

Joy has always been my favorite on The View, probably because we share a lot of the same opinions and political views. And as much as I don't like Elisabeth, The View will just not be the same without her and Joy. I most likely will not be watching next season. Especially since Jenny McCarthy is a new co-host. I've seen her on The View before, and I'm not a fan.

So it looks like the good 'ol days of The View are gone. And with Barbara Walters retiring in a year, who knows what the fate of the show will be? That is why I feel extremely lucky that before this recent cast shake up occurred, I was able to sit in the studio audience at The View TWICE and was featured in a segment on the show. Calling this a "Bucket List" experience is an understatement!

This How It All Went Down...

A little over two years ago, I went online and signed up for tickets to see The View. The website warned there was a two year waiting list. When your tickets became available, they would let you know the date and you would RSVP. Hopefully the date would work out, but if not, you couldn't request another date. (This is usually how TV shows work. I once had to turn down Maury tickets because I was supposed to take my 2nd graders to The Nutcracker that day. I would never be able to explain away taking a personal day to see Maury on NUTCRACKER day.)

I forgot I even requested tickets until a little over two years later, when these came in the mail:

When I saw the envelop, I immediately remembered having requested tickets and started jumping up and down, squealing with joy. It scared the cats! (And Paul, to a certain extent...)

Luckily, there were no school field trips scheduled for the date, and my husband and I planned a one night mini trip to NYC to see a taping of The View!

My plan was to arrive as early as possible to The View studios because seating was on a first come, first serve basis. We showed up at 6am.  No lie. IT. WAS. SO. COLD. Unfortunately, with the wind chill factor, it felt like it 11 degrees. (Seriously, that is what the weather report said.) Now, I can RUN in 11 degrees, but I can't STAND in 11 degrees. We gave up around 6:50am and hightailed it to the closest McDonald's. We stayed there until 8:30am, then went back to the studio to get in line. There were already people there, but we ended up getting pretty good seats anyway!

Whoopi, Elisabeth, Joy, and Sheri were there that day. Barbara was still out recovering from the chicken pox. Brooke Burke was the guest co-host.

The studio is smaller than it looks. 

While we were waiting, we got juice and sweet potato chips to snack on.

What a dream come true! 

We were only allowed to take pictures during the commercial breaks.

It was a strictly enforced rule. 

Robin Roberts was the main guest.

I want to feed Brooke Burke. Seriously. I'm getting osteoporosis just from looking at her.

Sherri came out and took some questions from the crowd.

The co-hosts didn't talk much during commercial breaks. They were sort of serious.

Sherri was the only one having any sort of fun!

As a parting gift, we got Brooke Burke's ab DVD. Eh. But hey, I wasn't there for the swag!

Oh, Elisabeth, I love to HATE YOU!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Mario Cantone is as small and crazy in real life as he appears on TV.

Leaving the stage after the show. The co-hosts did not stick around. 

It looked like they wanted to get on with their day!

Getting to see The View in person was an EXTREMELY exciting experience for me. And I got to go BACK! I bet you are wondering how that happened, right?

How I got my 5 minutes of "Fame"

Well, before you are let into the studio, the entire audience has to wait in the lobby... for a long time. We waited about an hour and a half (standing, jam packed like sardines!) before they started shuttling us up the elevator and into the studio. While we were waiting, the audience coordinator would come out from time to time to give us some rules and such about the taping of the show. He ALSO announced that they were looking for people to be featured in an upcoming segment: "The Joy of Therapy", where audience members ask Joy relationship questions. If we had a question to ask Joy, we were to tell the producers.

When the producers came around, I pushed my way up to the front and asked my question. THEY LOVED IT! I was invited back to another taping of the show. After that live show, they would record the Joy of Therapy segment, which would be aired at a later date. I couldn't BELIEVE IT!!!

This time I made the trip to NYC alone. Paul already won the Best Husband Ever Award for coming the first time, so he had nothing left to prove. I rode the train, stayed in a cute, safe little hotel on the Upper West Side, and went on a GORGEOUS 10 mile run in Central Park the morning of the taping. The weather was MUCH warmer, this time.

I have to include some scenes from my Central Park run!

You might recognize this reservoir from Sex and the City.

Whenever they are running, this is where they do it!

My second trip to The View was pretty similar to the first- except I got to skip the outside line, and I got to be featured on the actual show! The co-hosts that day were Joy, Sherri, Elisabeth, and BARBARA!!! Back from the chicken pox! I am so glad I got to see Babs up close and personal! 

Augh! The anticipation!

Bill Geddy, THE Barbara Walters, and my gal, Joy.

Commercial break. Again, the only time we could take pics.

Joy came down and talked to use during breaks. All of the co-hosts

were a lot more spunky today and interacted with the audience

much more than they did on my first visit.

I love her cute little red shoes.

Martin Short was the main guest. He was HILARIOUS!

I was in the very back row this time, but right in the center.

Sherri came down to chat with us, too!

For the final segment, there was a doctor who told us how bad sugar is for you.

What a downer!

He was very high and mighty about the whole thing, too.

After the live show, they set up for the taping of our segment!

And here it is... it aired a few weeks later!

Those trips to The View will go down as one of the highlights of my life! I don't care if it sounds dorky. When you watch a show EVERY day for YEARS, it is like a dream come true to actually go there.

I'm sad about this new cast shake up. I don't think I will watch next season, but maybe I will. Who knows? I will certainly miss Joy!

GOODBYE, JOY! I'LL MISS YOUR SASS!!!!

Do you watch The View?

Who is your favorite co-host?

Are there any co-hosts you love to hate?