"We presented the Paramount gate attendant our IDs and he handed us our passes. Our names were indeed on “the list!” We parked the car, and with map in hand, we navigated our way to Stage 7 where Monk is filmed. I insisted on doing the “navigating” because, after all, it was my job. Weaving our way through the streets and alleys, we passed lots of people. For most of them, it was just another day at work. For me, it was better than Disneyland.

"Suddenly, the HUGE sliding door next to the “regular” door opened slightly to reveal what was on the other side. I saw the directors’ chairs with the Monk logo on the back, the production monitors, and the crew hustling about.

"The big sliding door closed. People continued to go in and out the “regular” door. We didn’t. We weren’t sure if David was going to come out to get us or we should just go in, so we waited.

"Suddenly I had a horrible thought . . . we would stand out there all day waiting and never see anything. Been there, done that (at least for me)! No way this time. We decided the next time the light stopped flashing, we would go in behind everyone else. And we did. We slipped in the door and stood off to the side, trying to keep out of the way. As my eyes adjusted to the low light level, I noticed a huge room-length, room-high backdrop of the San Francisco skyline. Slightly rolled up above it was a Victorian neighborhood backdrop that I assumed was used outside the windows of Natalie’s house.

"I looked around trying to see if I recognized anyone. And I did. There was Tony Shalhoub. Mr. Monk. Adrian. This time I’m positive . . . my heart DID skip a beat.

"He was facing us, talking to a couple people, when suddenly he tilted his head to peer between them and looked our way. Then he smiled and waved. I immediately thought he was waving at someone behind us, but there was no one there. He WAS waving at us! I rudely did not wave back because I suddenly forgot how to wave.

"He quickly finished his conversation and came over to greet us. “OMG, he’s coming our way,” I thought. He warmly welcomed Teresa back to the set and shook her hand."

Then he looked over to me.

Okay, this is going to sound really silly, but I had thought about how I would react the moment I met him.

Meeting Tony wasn’t at all like I expected. I anticipated extreme nervousness and clumsiness on my part. But it was almost like meeting a dear old friend after a very long separation.

He is so genuinely friendly and welcoming. Later I would tell Teresa that I didn’t want to wash the hand that he shook until I absolutely had to. Tony has very nice hands BTW.

I know Tony hates it when people say, “You look so much better in person,” BUT he really does! I attribute it to the fact that as a movie/television star, most of us have only seen him in 2-D. Tony cannot be fully appreciated until you see him in 3-D!

Tony was called back to the set to film a scene. We continued to look for familiar faces and admired the set and props. I am particularly fascinated with the sets. They were putting the final touches on another set on the opposite side of the building.

I mentioned to Teresa that the building smelled just like Home Depot with all the lumber and building supplies in the room. Then I saw a box in the corner that was labeled just that. Now I know where they shop.

We spotted the director, David Breckman, our host. He was busy preparing for the next scene. He appeared to be in complete control and very comfortable in his role as director. Teresa had previously mentioned how handsome he was. She was right.

Jason Gray-Stanford walked by and onto the set. Suddenly, “Quiet on the set” was announced very loudly, the bells rang, and, I assume, that red light outside the door flashed.

Everyone stopped what they were doing . . . even chewing. I think I stopped breathing. There was complete silence. The actors played out the scene. Then the director said “Cut” and everyone went back to doing their thing. Carpenters hammered nails, people chewed . . . oh yeah, and I started breathing again.

Exciting stuff! It never got old. With each “Quiet on the set” I held my breath and relaxed when they finally said “Cut.”

I thought how terrible it would be to sneeze or cough or have your cell phone go off. “OMG!! I did turn my cell phone off, didn’t I?!” I thought to myself. Yeah, I did.

Tony had a free moment while the crew began to rearrange the set and he came over to us again. He asked us to follow him so he could show us the inside of the set. From where we had been standing, we could only see the back side - the framing of the walls. We now could see the inside – an apartment – nice enough to live in. Tony explained what the scene was about and what the crew was about to do with the set.

The crew was preparing to shoot from the opposite side of the apartment. They would be putting a wall on the open side we had just peeked into and removing a wall on the opposite side. I was fascinated. Home improvement is one of my hobbies but I’ve never moved walls around . . . at least not that easily.

Tony then took us to the set on the other side of the building. He had a little trouble finding it and the entrance. He should have asked me for help, after all, I am the “navigator.”

He led us into the set which was a bedroom. The attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship was amazing. I am really fascinated by the sets. Did I already say that?

Tony explained a little about the set itself and the episode they were filming which was "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies." The following week they would be on location at a house in which they would do some more filming. He was then called back to the first set to do another scene. We happily followed him. Along the way, we stopped at the catering cart and he told us to help ourselves to something to eat or drink. I couldn’t eat a thing since I was so excited, but now I wish I took something as a souvenir.

Teresa and I went back to our previous positions, trying to stay out of the way of the busy crew. Shortly thereafter, Tony walked past us with a soda and something else in his hand which he placed on the back wall of the set before he entered to do his scene.

Again we heard “Quiet on the set,” and instantly, it was. Then “Action” and the actors began speaking.

Unexpectedly, there was a loud vibrating sound from a cell phone and everyone looked around for the culprit. It vibrated again loudly and Doug Nabors jumped up to grab it from the wall. It was Tony’s phone.

David shouted “Cut” and Tony learned that it was his phone that interrupted the scene. He “scolded” himself and everyone had a little chuckle. I was just so thankful it wasn’t my phone.

Jason zipped by quickly and disappeared around the corner. He did that a lot. David checked on us to make sure we were okay.

Tony came back over and offered us each a director’s chair to get a better view of the monitors. We no sooner sat down and got all comfy, when someone came by and wanted to move the chairs and we had to get up. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

I think it may have been shortly thereafter that the mailman arrived. Here's how gullible I am: I thought he was actually there to deliver mail. He was that convincing. It was only after people started shaking his hand and welcoming him to the set that it dawned on me he was an actor. I should have figured it out sooner. He was much better looking than the average postal worker. I was keeping an eye on the new arrival when Kim leaned over and whispered, "Should we ask him if he always rings twice?"

Sorry, Kim. Was that one of the things you characterized as goofy? Because I thought it was pretty darned funny.

We didn't see him get to do a scene, so it's hard to say just how good a mailman he'll be.

I also want to add that it's really no wonder that they get such great guest stars: they seem to treat all the guest actors like gold, even the not so famous ones.

The cast and crew moved to the second set. A man with two young girls and a woman came into the building. They went over to the second set to watch what was going on. Teresa and I did the same. We stood off to the side and watched a little bit as the scene was rehearsed.

Even when they are rehearsing, they want quiet on the set. Someone was even scolded for chewing. We could hear every “crunch.”

We discovered who would be wearing the wig we had previously seen (and it wasn’t Randy).

A member of the crew kicked a nail out of the way towards someone and he kicked it towards me. There it was on the floor, right in front of me. Later, I wished I had picked it up as a souvenir.

During the rehearsal, Tony stopped the scene and consulted some of the crew about a prop. We witnessed first-hand his meticulous attention to detail. Something was not “right” and he wanted to make it so. A few people scratched their heads and tried to come up with a remedy.

They took a break from rehearsing the scene and Teresa and I went back to the first set. It was then that David came over to whisk us away. He emphasized that TPTB wanted the next filming session to be a secret (although we probably already saw it.) See, we can keep a secret!

We exited Stage 7 and Teresa asked him if it was possible for us to see the standing sets – Monk’s house, Natalie’s house, the precinct, etc.

David graciously and speedily took us next door to Stage 5 where the standing sets were housed. The building was fairly dark inside. We passed by the exterior of a set with vertical blinds and a stuffed duck inside. It was the captain’s office. There we met up with Stacey and David asked if she could stay with us while we looked around. David had to get back to the set.

We very hastily said our “thank yous” and “good byes” as we handed him the gifts we had brought along with us - a director’s megaphone we had purchased for him the day before and multiple copies of the updated, new and improved, bigger and better, Monk Goes to South Park collage, which was now officially a “poster” with more of Liv’s terrific characters. David appreciatively accepted them. And then he was gone.

Stacey patiently led us through the various sets. Teresa pulled out the bobblehead and we asked if we could take pictures. She gave us the “okay” and we snapped away.

Many things were covered with tarps to keep them clean when the set was not in use. The lighting was poor for photography purposes but we could see the sets just fine. They were VERY cool. I am really fascinated with the sets. Oh yeah, I already said that.

We showed the bobblehead the captain’s desk, Randy’s desk, Monk’s kitchen/living room/dining room/ bedroom/bathroom, and Natalie’s living room/kitchen.

We tried to not overstay our welcome since we knew Stacy did have a “regular” job, other than accompanying two crazy fans on a tour. I resisted my urge to swipe a souvenir from one of the rooms, although, we did make one prop “adjustment” – Monk’s coffee table was not crooked. We fixed it. We let Stacy get back to work and we headed to the Paramount store. I was sure I’d get a souvenir there. We had a latte and relaxed as we reminisced about our fabulous visit on the set.