Ok so... this is part 2 of our trip. There is just so much to talk about and I hate to leave bits and pieces out! We got our car from the service and found it and then made our way out of town. We stopped at Costco for some meds and some drinks from the food station and of course free samples. :) We then plugged my phone into the charger and realized that the outlet was broken on the car! Ekk!! So we ended up calling Roni to get directions and had to do so for a few times since my gps would go out after a short time. While we were driving Daniel started having a lot of questions about things we were seeing. He was just amazed at the difference in land in the desert, mountains. We started writing down all the questions so we could have them hopefully answered later that night. So on we go to CA. Like I said, Daniel was amazed at everything but my head was in my book for a good portion of the trip. I started reading this book while at the pool and it was so good I didn't want to put it down. In the past I have gotten car sick when reading in the car, but I guess I overcame that sometime in the recent past.
After a four hour drive in the car, we made it to CA! We were both tired and in need of a home cooked meal. Luckily we had a home cooked meal waiting for us!!! Roni made chicken and salad. I was so grateful for something healthier than what we had been eating. Everything was great. During the evening we were show around the house by Roni and Stephen. We also got our questions answered... well most of them. One in particular they did not know the answer to. We also got a little bit more information from our questions and talked about our Vegas trip. I ended up calling it an early night because I was so tired. I knew we had a busy day planned for the next day.
Friday we all got up and had to get ready to see Jay Leno. I was told the night before to wear something nicer because they tend to show the people who are dressed nicer. So I did some wash and wore my black knit dress and we were out the door for breakfast. But before breakfast we had to stop by to return the car. So we did that. At breakfast we learned a bit more about the town and the demographics of the area. We also had a little tour going into LA. We went to the hills and took pictures of different things. We also went and saw where Gene Simmons house is and the Play Boy mansion. We also found out where Elvis used to live. There were a few tourist walkers out looking at homes. We then stopped to get some snacks before the show at the gas station. We knew we wouldn't be hungry before the show since we had a late breakfast that was pretty big but knew we would be by the time we got into the show.
Tip.... If you ever go to a show in LA make sure you get there super early. Our show didn't start taping til 4 but we were told to be there by 245. Well... we got there at 145 and we still were #89 and 90 who got there! So people had shown up at about 12 for the show! We sat there for a good while and read and chatted and ate way too many chocolate covered almonds. They were amazing!!
When we got to go into the show area, we still had about 45 min before the show started so we sat again. This time though, our teeth were chattering. The show area was about 60 degrees! It was freezing! But I guess Jay gets hot with the lights on him and having to wear the suit. While at the show Daniel embarrassed me by screaming for a pic with Jay. He did not get it but Roni got a little gift bag from the show and gave it to me. (how sweet!)
After the show we scooted out of there and did some driving around. We were determined to find a place to eat dinner that was unique. Someone suggested places from Diners Drive ins and Dives. We found a place that was not too far away and headed there to eat. The place was called Nickel Street Diner. And boy was it DELISH! Everyone had amazing food. One thing that sticks out about this place was a man that was standing at the window looking in. The waiter said he did that every night at 6 and lives next door. Roni had to go out to get her camera from the car but was nervous due to the types of people hanging outside. I ended up going out there with her, no problem.
When we finished with our dinner, we drove around a bit more and went to the street that has everyones stars and hand prints on it. There were characters out there walking around looking for money. Roni got terrified by Edward Sizzerhands! He touched her neck and she screached! Hahahaha. The girls ended up splitting from the boys to go to Gap and do some shopping. I found a few things and tried them on. I ended up settling on a pair of white jeans that were entirely too long, but Daniel asked his mom if she would hem them for me. Roni said yes so they were sold! I couldnt believe I had purchased a pair of jeans on Hollywood blvd for 6 bucks! NICE. After leaving the store we tried to find the Hollywood sign but the lights were off. Who knows why but o well. We ended up heading home after that and calling it a night.
The following day we had big plans to go to Santa Monica and Malibu. So in the morning Daniel did some research about places to eat. He came up with a few so off we went. We drove into Santa Monica. Now this city was so pretty! We went to a carribean place that was so tasty. We ate outside because it was such a nice day. I sure was glad I bought the pants the day before because that is what I wore this day. The high was to be under 70. After finishing up lunch and stuffed to the brim we went walking on the beach. Daniel was debating going swimming in the ocean. It was so cold! After much debate, he did not. Instead we walked down to the pier and down the boardwalk. After getting on the boardwalk, Roni and Daniel discovered they had tar on their feet. Ick. That tar would not come off! Huge bummer for sure. We decided to go to the end of the pier and look at the fishermen to see what/if they caught anything. It was a quiet day.
After a while, we had enough and headed back to the car. Before we got to the car, Daniel decided to climb this rope thing in the park that was close to the ocean. There were so many people working out at this outdoor area. It was pretty neat.
So off to Malibu it was. We drove around and settled on this place to eat. Daniel thought it would be good and it was, but it was a little too uptight for any place I would normally go to. But we were in Malibu so I guess thats normal? Anyways, I was not impressed with Malibu by any means. I know a lot of rich/famous people live there but still. Not impressed.
After dinner, it was getting late so we headed back to the house and called it a night.
The following morning we all got up and had to pack up to leave. :( I was happy to see the cats but sad that vacation was over and I had to go back to work. It took a while to get everything just so for getting on the flight. Stephen arrived back from Church a little later and we got the car packed up and ready to go. Our thoughts were to stop at in and out burger or another place. We did not have enough time to go to this other place, so we arrived at in and out. Holy cow! IT was packed!!! I couldnt believe the amount of people that were working there/eating there. And the line for the drive through!! PLEASE! The food was good but the french fries got to me. I had had so many french fries over the week, I was not feeling it. So I got a milkshake. mmmm. We lost time a little bit and had to hurry to the airport. After circling around and trying to find our place of departure, we did. We had our goodbyes and were off to the east coast again. But this airport trip was much different from heading to the west coast. We had to get a wheelchair because Daniel managed to hurt his foot really bad and couldnt walk. With the wheelchair situation, we were able to cut the security line and head right to the flight. Our flight boarded on time and we were off to Atl. I thought I was going to be able to get some rest on the long flight back but this toddler in front of me had different ideas. Screamed the whole time pretty much and the person behind me kept moving my seat. Lets just say I was excited to get off that flight and onto another one. After a long day all around, we did finally arrive at RDU and Daniel's Grandma picked us up and then we headed home.
Overall, a great trip. I know I complained in my head a lot about the gloomy weather in Vegas but looking back, it was a blessing because we were not burning our brains out. We still got time at the pool and all around the strip. CA weather was perfect too.
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