Spring Break in California!

After spending our first day of Spring Break in dreary, snowy Utah, we decided we had to get out of town on go on a vacation! We decided on a whim to head off to California, loaded up the car, packed all three kids across the same row of seats, and hopped on I-15 en route to Los Angeles. We had a fabulous time! Marc and Michelle were great hosts. They always make us feel so welcome no matter how much we overtake their apartment with our 3 kiddos and our piles of junk. Did I say we had a great time? It really was a much needed vacation from reality. And, a great way to spend time with our kids and their cousins.

Day 1: Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory

We piled into Marc & Michelle's van and drove over to Hollywood. We parked right near the Kodak Theatre, and focused our time in Hollywood right near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, and the stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame that were located in the same vicinity. It was obvious that if we travelled too far up or down the strip, we would get into sketchy territory. So, we stayed close to the Chinese Theatre. It was fun! It felt safe and clean. I've never seen this part of California, so it was fun to see where the celebrities come for red carpet movie premieres.

Hollywood was only a short stop for the day. We headed off to the Griffith Observatory. We ate lunch on the side walk in front (the lawn was a bit too damp). It was a bit cold up there! We explored the inside of the observatory. Pretty cool. Free admission was a plus! We especially enjoyed downstairs where we were able to view a scale model of the planets as well as a gigantic wall-to-wall picture of the stars in the universe. Pretty cool. Our kids were intrigued.

We spent lots of free moments and evenings outside Marc & Michelle's apartment on the playground. Susie learned to swing. Tyler re-learned to swing. Now he's a pro when we go to the park at home.

We went out to dinner on Day 1. It was $1 taco night at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Yummy! They were great tacos. I actually still crave them...

Day 2: Cabrillo Beach Aquarium

We had a fantastic time at this little aquarium! The staff was so helpful, informative, and friendly! The museum showcased an interesting assortment of marine life (a 60 year old lobster, a dead/preserved deep sea angler, gigantic star fish, sea horses, jelly fish and lots and lots of other animals). Out back was touch tanks. Susie was much more hesitant than Tyler to touch the sea creatures but was eventually brave enough to put her little fingers into the tank. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the children's section where they had a huge assortment of costumes to try on as well as a puppet theatre.

When we were done with the aquarium, we headed out toward the beach to find the tide pools. The first thing we noticed were the 10-15 dolphins swimming in the water in front of us. Very awesome! We got to the tide pools about an hour past low tide. Kevin had Amyah in his arms. Tyler and I were both wearing flip-flops (a bit unsteady on the rocky terrain). Susie had shoes that were a bit too small. I had cameras strapped around my neck. Michelle and her boys had on shoes that were much too nice for the beach. And, we really could have used Marc's help with the boys as well. Basically we were unprepared for the beachy/rocky terrain. We walked out on the rocks for a while. But, because were a little late and unprepared, it was not as interesting as it could have been. I'd really like to go back in better circumstances and with better shoes. It was a really cool beach! It would have been fun to find more marine life out there. But, we didn't. All we really saw was a crab and a bunch of muscles.

Poor, poor Bennett. He was so tired during our entire visit. We kept him from napping and kept him up late each night. He was so tired one day, he fell asleep on the way home. Michelle brought him into the house sleeping. Eventually they curled him up inside Big Beary and stacked other stuffed animals around him. So cute! I really felt bad for Bennett while we were there. I think he wanted us to leave so he could get some sleep!

Day 3 & 4: The Beach!

We really enjoyed our last two days. The weather was perfect! The kids had a blast jumping the waves and making sand castles. The only downside...Amyah. We could not let her play in the sand! She just shoveled it into her mouth and ate it! Yuck! Thankfully she took a nap both days at the beach (I think the ocean waves soothed her to sleep just like her white noise ocean waves in her room...). Oh, and me and Kevin were both sunburned badly. The kids had patches here and there that we missed with sunblock. Kevin and I weren't as careful.

Thanks Marc and Michelle! We had the best time!