Danny had to travel to LA in back-to-back weeks, so we headed out west in early August to meet him out there!
We had a late-night direct flight to LAX on Wednesday around 11pm EST...
It made for a late night to our east coast bodies, but the time change was in our favor. We got to the hotel around 1am local time and we got to sleep in while Danny had his meetings on Thursday morning.
While he was in meetings, we took a walk around the area, which we learned was a 10-minute walk to Disneyland. We knew we were close, but dang! Most of the people in our hotel were probably visiting Disney. The palm trees were unreal.
After Danny was done for the day, we grabbed lunch at a local joint and headed to Huntington Beach.
They were having a real, live surfing contest!
The water was pretty chilly - but that didn't stop the kids!
We passed a pizza place on the way in - it was perfect for dinner when we were still kind of sandy from the beach.
We went back out to the pier to catch the sunset!
The next day we headed to Runyon Canyon Park to hike and catch a glimpse of the Hollywood sign.
Don't let those smiles fool you - the hike was HARD! I think we all fell at one point or another. It was really steep/slick in spots with loose rock or gravel. I think Colin was trying to impress us and didn't complain much. Cadence and I on the other hand...
There she is!
I mean, we did see some pretty cool stuff. The mountains and the cool houses were neat from so high up.
And yes, there are rattlesnakes! We didn't personally see one, but a woman started screaming because one of the dogs she was walking went after one!
Chilling while Danny took a work call after our hike.
After that, we took a drive through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive. I think we got In-N-Out for lunch that day.
We spent the afternoon in Santa Monica
We rode the roller coaster and Ferris wheel. Cadence was not a fan of the roller coaster. Colin was not a fan of the Ferris wheel. But both kids were brave!
Everyone, but me, got in the water that day. I just really don't like the chilly water.
Good job, Cadence!
That night we drove to Culver City and grabbed dinner there and took a little stroll around the area. It reminded us a bit of Easton.
The next day we packed up and started our trip up PCH! First stop was Malibu. The buildings in the hills are part of Pepperdine University. Danny discovered this little spot while driving one day when he was there for work. There were a couple baseball fields right on the ocean!
Goober
Next stop was Santa Barbara. It was mine and Danny's favorite. We took a stroll around the area and down the pier.
We had lunch at a neat spot and got to eat on the patio.
Next up, Solvang! A baseball family friend recommended we stop here. It was neat as well!
We had to check out one of the bakeries.
Pretty cool view on our drive.
We wanted to stop at Big Sur for the sunset, but we had to take a detour due to a landslide. We arrived in San Francisco late that night (a little before midnight) after a stop at Chick-fil-a for dinner. The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at Boudin!
After, we did some sight-seeing...
...swung by to visit the sea lions (we did this each of the 3 mornings we were there - it was one of the kids' favorite things to do)...
...we also rode the trolley!
I'm glad everyone enjoyed it, because, boy, the wait was long and there was some drama with another family waiting in line. It definitely will be something we laugh about for years to come!
Later that day we rented go carts and rode around!
Cadence insisted on taking pictures with allllll of the painted sea lions
The next day, we hit up the trolley for another ride!
...and rented bikes to cross the Golden Gate Bridge!
The kids did great, but it was so windy that day. We also took a wrong turn and ended up doing a lot of the biking in a pretty sandy area. It was a good workout!
Taking a break and enjoying the views in Sausalito.
We had a really good lunch at Napa Valley Burger Company and this sign was posted in the bathroom - I was amused.
We rode the ferry back and had a great time.
The fog was rolling in over the hills.
Cadence got this cool pic while on the water.
I loved taking pictures of all the cool flowers.
Ice cream for dessert at Ghirardelli. It was so expensive, but so good.
Danny and I had to be sure to stop at Mama's for breakfast before we left!
...and we made another stop at Boudins!
This place had SO MUCH CANDY.
We found the house from Mrs. Doubtfire!
And the house from Full House!
We stopped by the park near the Painted Ladies.
Before heading to the airport, we stopped by the San Francisco Giant's stadium to take a peek...
...and grabbed dinner at In-N-Out!
I think we all had a great time. While it's been tough with Danny traveling so much, this was a nice treat. I'm thankful we could pull it off and Danny scheduled all our fun!
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