You can catch up with our California trip here: Carlsbad | San Diego Zoo | USS Midway Museum | Hollywood + San Clemente | Disneyland, but keep reading for details on our very last day in Los Angeles!
Our final day in LA wasn’t the most climactic as far as sightseeing goes, but it was one of those days where we followed the girls’ lead and they had the best time. Looking back through the photos seems so lackluster, but I remember thinking it was a perfect day it was when we fell into bed that night. We had a few things left to tick off of our list, so we decided to spend the day walking and driving around LA. It started off cool and dreary, but by mid-morning we were shedding layers and enjoying the beautiful day.
We walked around the corner to Starbucks first thing and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I wish I could say we visited a great brunch spot, but we needed something quick and within walking distance. This Starbucks visit will likely stand out in my mind for some time, because both girls ate things for breakfast that, prior to this trip, would have garnered eyerolls and complaints. It’s so silly, but Ella had a bagel with cream cheese (her new favorite thing) and Sophie had a buttered croissant. They were both happy and looking forward to a day of walking.
We headed down to a shopping area right behind the Dolby Theatre and got a few great pictures of the view. Any time the Hollywood sign was visible, we were required by the girls to stop and take notice. We spent some time in the Oakley store because Josh decided he needed new sunglasses and then we randomly wandered into a sock store, which garnered everyone a pretty cool souvenir. Ella found pointe shoe knee socks, Sophie got a unicorn version, Josh picked up some Stark socks (hey, GoT fans) and I got a pair that said “Happy Camper.”
While we had been walking on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for days, we hadn’t spent any significant amount of time looking for people the girls would recognize. We took the first few hours of this day to see all of the handprints at the Chinese Theater and then walk the entire length of the Walk of Fame.
I took so many pictures during our walk, but I’m guessing you don’t need to see a mention of every celebrity star we encountered. Right? Instead, let’s hit the high notes!
The Beatles were a must for me! I don’t think I took a picture with another star all day.
Harry Potter was a huge deal for Ella, so I pointed this one out on our walk.
And Mickey, of course! We had seen the Disneyland star, as well as Mickey and Donald several times during our week — especially since they were all near the Disney Store where we enjoyed our nightly ice cream treat.
I don’t think Sophie is a big fan of the Muppets — I’m not even sure she’s seen a single movie — but she insisted on kneeling here for a photo op. Both girls, however, are HUGE fans of Wheel of Fortune and watch almost every night with my dad after dinner. She had to take a quick picture posing like Vanna to show off to my dad!
Apparently, I had a camera card malfunction at some point, because there were ten or twelve black squares right about here. At least one of those were of a construction crew laying a brand new star on the sidewalk! They hadn’t inserted the name yet, so I have no idea who it belonged to, but it was still pretty cool to see the process.
One of the dumbest things we did all week was to visit a wax museum. Josh & I voted for the Hollywood Museum (which we still didn’t want to see, but the girls insisted on a museum at that exact moment), but we got outvoted. Errr, I guess we actually tied, but we let the girls win. We opted for the one with Taylor Swift and ignored the fact that our kids didn’t know 97% of the people in this museum. We spent $75 to get in and were there approximately 17 minutes. Actually, that’s probably a very generous estimate.
Driving back from Disneyland the night before, we spotted a Shake Shack at the end of our street. I know it’s just glorified fast food, but it is one of my favorite burger joints ever. Since we’ve only been to NY a handful of times, I don’t get to eat it nearly as often as I’d like. We insisted that the girls try it for a late lunch and exactly zero people were disappointed with that meal. Sophie stepped right up to the counter and said, “I’d like a burger — ketchup only — on a gluten free bun, please.” Shake sauce and cheese fries are like manna from heaven.
After an afternoon nap, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory for an afternoon show. We were hoping to see it both during daylight hours and again around sunset, but the cloud coverage made for a lackluster sunset. The girls did love exploring the grounds and the indoor exhibits and we managed to catch a super inexpensive planetarium show later in the afternoon. We did laugh when the narrator mentioned not being able to see a star filled sky like she was demonstrating except in a handful of places. We all wanted to jump up and say, “That’s what our sky looks like!” There are certain benefits to living in wide open, rural spaces.
We had a 5 a.m. flight the next day and a rental car to return, so the 2:30 a.m. wake up call was lurking overhead. We made the drive back to Hollywood, had ice cream for dinner (again) and went to bed a soon as possible. Our travel day on Thursday was looooooong and eventful (I’m looking at you, loud flight attendants), but we made it safely back and crashed.
We learned so much from our first cross-country trip with kiddos and would do it again in a heartbeat. They were such troopers and were willing to try and eat almost anything we suggested. Eight days away is a long time for children, but after a weekend of laziness, they were able to shed jet lag much quicker than their adult counterparts. We aren’t planning any airborne trips with kids until next fall, but I’m glad to know they enjoy the travel just as much as we do!
Next up: Colorado in August with Josh and DisneyWorld in September of 2018!
