Our flight out was on Wednesday morning. After a o-dark hundred departure from Newark we landed at LAX and picked up our rental car and headed the family off to Mindy's house in the hills. Up and up and around we went. The streets are relatively steep and narrow - Julie was very glad that I was driving.
We got to Mindy's house just time for lunch. The boys made short work of getting into the pool and basically being boys playing in a pool. Mindy has a great 4 story house cut right into the side of the mountain with lots of interesting neighbors!
We set out on a little sight seeing - I wanted to grab some pictures of the famous Hollywood sign and we also decided to hit Hollywood Blvd and walk along the stars. It took us two attempts to find Mulholland Drive, but we eventually found it and stopped along several spots to do the tourist thing.
First stop was an overlook of the San Fernando Valley, overlooking NBC studios.
Then we motored along Mulholland Drive some more until we came upon a good vantage point to see the Hollywood sign.
After snapping some pics we headed to Hollywood Blvd. The trick was, finding some parking first - as parking seems to be a contact sport. Eventually we found a spot and made our way out among the stars.
Julie insisted that I take a picture of Antonio's star.
Thursday we said our goodbyes to Mindy and family and once again loaded up the car and headed south to San Diego to visit Julie's cousin Amy. The drive to San Diego was easy (and mountainous) and we made it there in just about three hours. Of course we stopped at Burger King along the way - and to get to BK for a very brief time we cruised along the PCH. We made it to the Embassy Suites in La Jolla in no time, were Jan was waiting for us (actually she was shopping). Once again the boys wasted no time in finding and using the hotel pool. I don't think the boys care where we go, so long as there is a (heated) pool for them to play in. The pool was a huge fan favorite with the boys.
Amy met up with us at the hotel (and would end up spending a lot of her free time us being our tour guide - thanks Amy!) for happy hour. You gotta love a free happy hour. The boys loved it too, 'cause they got to pig out on snacks and sodas. After happy hour we loaded the whole lot into our rental minivan and headed to C-Level for dinner.
For Friday the plan was to go to Lego Land first thing in the morning.
Ryan was particularly excited about going to Lego Land - he knew about this part of the trip for weeks. I had no idea what to expect at Lego Land but it was actually very cool. There were giant Lego creations all over the place - some requiring hundreds of thousands of Lego's! There were rides and shows and all sorts of places for the kids to sit and play with Lego's too. We were there for the better part of 4 hours at least and we didn't even see a quarter of the place. After Lego Land we headed right next door to Sea Life.
Once again happy hour called - Amy and Jan joined us for happy hour and then we all went to Old Town for an authentic Mexican dinner. Tour guide Amy found us a great spot to eat - unfortunately for Jason - he had run out of steam and fell asleep before we got seated. Amy held him for most of the dinner - I think Jason has a new best friend!
Saturday morning we went to the San Diego Zoo.
I've heard all sorts of stories about the San Diego zoo in particular that it was a world class zoo and a must see. The zoo was pretty huge, and very hilly. All the travel and running around was taking it's toll on Jason, and he insisted that he was too tired to walk and had to be carried for most of the day. The zoo was fun, there sure was lots to see and we didn't even see half of it I'd guess. We took an aerial tram ride to the far end of the zoo and walked our way back. The highlights seemed to be the reptile house and the polar bears. Unfortunately the lions were not on display. Ryan also really wanted to see the pandas so - we waited on a very long line to see the pandas. Only one panda decided to come out and visit though, so we had a very brief visit with Suzi the panda.
After the zoo we headed to La Jolla Cove for lunch. Again, parking was at a premium and we were just about to give up when we finally found a spot. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - mostly because it was close and in betewen where we parked and where we wanted to go. The Cove was beautiful, the cliffs and the water were something to see. Our tour guide Amy told us the night before that there used to be lots of seals hanging out at the Cove, but recently they've been chased away from the area. We still did see a few, but not the numbers that they used to gather in.
Saturday evening Jan watched the boys at the hotel while Julie and I went to visit Amy at her apartment. Amy kept our thirst at bay with some cold beer - although next time Amy I could do without the exploding beer!
Sunday morning said goodbye to Jan as she made her way back to Ohio - by way of Atlanta. Amy joined us again and we all went to the Wild Animal Park.
The Wild Animal Park wasn't always open to the public - it started out as a breeding ground and feeder for the San Diego Zoo. Eventually they realized they were missing out on a great revenue stream and opened the park up to the public for tours. At least that's my version of the story. We took a bus ride around the park and took lots of pictures while the tour guide (not Amy this time!) gave us the rundown at what we were looking at. The Wild Animal Park was impressive, and if it wasn't so hot and the kids not so tired, I would have liked to have explored some more.
After the Wild Animal Park we all went to the beach near Amy's house in Pacific Beach.
The boys had fun playing in the surf and I finally got to swim a little in the Pacific. I had heard tales of the Pacific being very cold - I didn't find it any colder than the beaches in NJ. In fact, I thought it was probably warmer. There was lots of seaweed and kelp though and it wrapped itself all around you in the surf zone.
By the end of the day Sunday we were all pretty tired. Not too tired for a dip in the hotel pool of course. Personally, I soaked for a while in the hot tub.
Monday morning we had time for another dip in the hotel pool before we had to pack up and leave for San Diego airport. Our 3pm flight left more or less on time and we were home around 12:30am.
We had a great trip - many thanks to Amy our dedicated tour guide and to Jan for her great babysitting - especially in the mornings!
Next time we head out west I want to go to San Francisco and to the redwood forests. Time to start planning.
Click on the Hollywood picture below to view the complete photo album from the trip:
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| California Trip August 2008 |
1 comment:
yes we'd love for you guys to visit Sacramento on your way to San Fran....
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