We LOVE LA!

We had SUCH a great time on our trip to LA! I can't wait to go back! There are very few trips I say that about. Usually I am happy that we went somewhere, but I feel like I've seen it, and don't need to see it again. This time, I really do want to go back!

We left early Friday morning, about 7:20am. Our goal was 7:00, so not too late! The C. family got to our house on time, but I was adjusting DVD players and taking out trash, etc. so I made us a little behind. Anyway--we made good time, and only had to stop for one potty break. There was traffic in LA, of course, but not too bad. We got to the park about 20 minutes after they opened.
It was the PERFECT day to be there. The weather was great. It was sunny, but it never got HOT. Warm, but not hot. There were some people there, but we never had to stand still in line. Some of the rides had lines, but they kept moving, and you pretty much just walked right on up to the ride. I think the longest we waited was for 10 minutes at the mummy ride. The kids got their pictures taken with all the latest and greatest characters, and they didn't have to stand in line for that either!

Donkey talks at certain times of day, and when we were there, not that many people had walked up yet. We talked to him for a long time. N. told him we were there to celebrate his birthday so donkey said "I better sing you the birthday song. It goes like this "IT'S THE BIRTHDAY SONG!! IT'S NOT VERY LONG!!!" It was funny! I was trying to take this picture, but J. was a little nervous. You know we all call him by his name twice, so I was saying "J. J., go stand by N. I was saying their full names, but Donkey thought I was calling him JJ. He said "Don't you worry JJ--I'm gonna buy you a vowel!" Of course, L. and I cracked up, but we didn't try to explain the Wheel of Fortune connection--he IS just a donkey you know!!Since it was a week day, they didn't have all the people out selling the stuffed animals, necklaces, etc. on the walkways, plus there were fewer people, so there was a lot of room to manuever the strollers and keep all the kids together. By about 4pm, we had done all but 3 of the rides. We decided not to push our luck, since the kids had been so good all day, so we headed to the hotel to get checked in. We ordered pizza for an early dinner, and we were all in bed by 8:30.

We got up early the next morning, and my kids and I were in the dining room at 6:58 waiting on the breakfast to start at 7am! I know you can't believe it of me, but I was actually up and at 'em that early in the morning--and there wasn't even a flea market involved!! We had a good breakfast--the kids really ate well (I know it is silly for me to comment on that, but sometimes I get so frustrated with them not eating--this trip was really great--even their eating habits were amazing!!)

So--after breakfast we went to Hollywood Blvd. We went to Grauman's Chinese theater and saw the handprints. It was really odd for me to look at them and think of the stories from school that I had heard that went along with all of the early people making their prints.

{Sidenote to friends from Germany: I was taken back to vacations in Europe when L's daughter was trying to take a picture of Judy Garland's prints. She was suddenly engulfed by a swarm of people who took no notice of her and refused to acknowledge standing in a line. Before they opened their mouths I knew they were European. The tour guided started talking and I had to walk away to keep from yelling or laughing at them!!)

We walked down the Walk of Fame for a while and saw a few names we recognized. I think it is funny that our kids don't really understand why the TV stars names have "boxes with little lines sticking out of them" under their names--they don't know what antennaes are!! We saw Bob Hope and Big Bird and Tim McGraw and Marilyn Monroe. We also saw tons of people that we didn't recognize, which makes me wonder if it devalues the star a little. There were also some stars with no names on them. Some of them are cracked already. Wouldn't that suck if you were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and you got one that was already damaged??

I took a picture of Fred Thomson's star, just in case he gets elected President. There was also a special place in my heart for Vanna White's star!!!

Then we started looking for stars with parts of our names in them. We covered up the other part of the name and took our pictures on them. Silly--yes, but fun--you bet!!!

Most of the people we've met who've lived in Southern California their whole lives have never been to Hollywood Blvd. I know it is a cheesy tourist spot, but things become tourist spots for a reason. I think the Army has given me the gift of being very aware of the specialness of my surroundings. I don't get the luxury of saying "it will always be there." Because it won't. One year from now I will live on the other side of the country--or in a different one, and I won't have the chance to go to Hollywood Blvd. if I want to. My mission is to see and do as much as I can in every place we go. I want to know and appreciate as much of my country as I can. I love being able to say "Oh yeah--I've been there. I've seen that. It's great."

So--back to the trip. We ate lunch at Burger King one block off of Hollywood Blvd. It was FULL of crazy homeless people. Truly. It was frightening and dirty. That was not very fun. We left quickly.

We went from there back to Universal Studios. This time, it was in full holiday weekend mode. There were mobs of people and lines everywhere. But, since we only had a few things we wanted to do, we didn't have that sense of rush or urgency--so we were still able to have a good time. We went to the Waterworld show and the Studio Tour, which were the only things we hadn't done the day before. N. wanted to go to the House of Horrors, but we didn't have time. It turns out that it was OK, because L and her girls went after we left and they left halfway through because it was too scary!

I actually got teary eyed during the backlot tour. I couldn't believe it. I would never have expected it!! I didn't realize that I missed TV/movie production at all, but I saw that first set and it hit me. I wanted to jump out of that tram and take off running. I would love to spend days just wandering around. I would LOVE to work in the prop department of a big movie studio. A person can always dream, right?

The set of Desperate Housewives was really cool. The set of War of the Worlds was very disturbing. The set of Psycho is still there. Still creepy. Even in the daylight.

So, after that we headed home. There was a lot of traffic, so it took about 3 1/2 hours to go 150 miles, but it was an uneventful, relatively pleasant drive. The kids were exhausted and slept all but the last 15 minutes. I had packed food for them, so they ate dinner when they woke up, got out of the car and played with the neighbors, and then fell into bed.

All in all, a great time!!!