space shuttle

Griffith Observatory

Cool place with great views. It was super windy when we went up and Colette is pretty sure she almost blew away. We had a picnic on the lawn, enjoyed the sunshine, views, and were mesmerized by the Foucault Pendulum which we watched until we saw a peg knocked over.

Glasses and Earrings at Fashion Mall

We had a little snafu which left Colette with broken glasses. The great thing is we weren’t in Joshua Tree or somewhere remote, we were in LA. (at least the LA area) It was a blessing in disguise as her prescription had changed. We ended up with same day glasses and she loves them! Killing two birds with one stone is our style so while getting the glasses we stopped by Claires and Sienna had her ears pierced. We told her she could get them when she turned 8 so she was pretty excited. After the first hole, she almost forfeited the second but she was a trooper and the earrings look beautiful on our not so little, little girl.

Crystal Cove State Park

Crystal Cove is a beautiful place which has been preserved from the housing takeover along the oceanside in this area of California. What an amazing place to protect, its natural beauty is spectacular. It is a little hike down to the ocean from the parking lot and the ranger told us a rattler snake lives along the way. This was true excitement for the kids even though we didn’t end up seeing it which I was pretty happy about. The ocean is always a peaceful place for Matt and I and a place of discovery for the kids. Sienna and Lennox especially love finding creatures among the rocks. Their little eyes seem to be able to spot even the most disguised creatures which is amazing, ocean time is always our favorite.

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Sienna’s Birthday Bash!!! – Knottsberry Farm

Sienna’s birthday was April 17th and we knew we were going to be in Yosemite. We told the kids this year for their birthday they can choose a big day of their choosing. Sienna had lots of options, Disney, 6 Flags, Universal Studios, but she landed on Knottsberry Farm. The day we went it was 85 degrees and I won’t say the park was empty but there were virtually no waits which pretty much never happens nowadays. The park turned out to be the perfect mix for our family, lots of fun rides for smaller kids along with some giant rollercoasters for the more adventurous. I think the overall favorite was Camp Snoopy. I ventured on the Silver Bullet with Colette, the only kid who was tall enough to ride, she almost backed out at the top, which I was encouraging her to do, but we went through with the dangle feet style, multi-loop winding coaster. It was super crazy and fun but I also was so dizzy after I’m not sure I’ll be able to go on many more of those. Matt went solo and we enjoyed watching him on the crazy ride doing loop-de-doos. Sienna enjoyed her special birthday at Knottsberry Farm and there was more celebrating to come at dinner.

Closing out Sienna’s Birthday Bash at Medieval Times

I remember going here as a kid and I thought it was the coolest place ever. Eating with your hands while watching Medieval Knights battle! My dad ended up being called from the audience to play horseshoes with a toilet seat so that in itself was pretty spectacular. While driving to Knottsberry Farm we happened to pass by the castle and quickly decided to see if we could spend Sienna’s birthday dinner here. It all worked out and I don’t think we could’ve found a more perfect place for our 8-year-old horse lover’s birthday. There were beautiful horses, knights jousting, a queen and messing eating which is Sienna’s forte. It was a great end to a fantastic day.

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Santa Monica to Redondo Beach – the only place it takes 1.5 hours to go 16 miles!!!

Santa Monica, the pier, the beach, the people…. quintessential “California,” so we joined the tourist crowd for the experience. The kids ate ice cream as we walked the pier and they tried to talk us into the boardwalk games but we passed. We took advantage of a quick trip to the REI store to replace Sienna’s backpack which had been eaten by a squirrel! haha… This is a totally different world from our camping stop a few weeks ago in Joshua Tree that’s for sure. The best part of the day was meeting up with our cousins Hannah and Michael for a wonderful dinner. We saw a “quieter” side of the LA area and enjoyed seeing family we don’t get a chance to spend time with very often.

The Hollywood Stars

The Hollywood stars! When in LA you must see the stars so we did. It is cool to walk down the street and read all the names, Sienna wanted lots of photos and was willing to lay down on for them. Colette was after the Harry Potter crew and Lennox found Star Wars. Following this we also experienced the full effect of LA traffic which is completely insane, I’m lucky Matt drove or I’m pretty sure I would’ve given up on getting back to our house. While driving in LA style we saw all lanes of the opposing traffic stopped, and an animal catcher chasing a small dog around in the middle of the highway, Crazy in California!

The Magic Castle

Entering The Magic Castle takes some magic in and of itself and we were lucky enough to have luck on our side and STB (soon to be) Aunt Taylor who hooked us up with a magician wielding tickets! This is a club for magicians and requires a magician’s invite to enter. We attended the brunch which is a bit more casual than typical suit coat attire. I won’t say too much but the experience was indeed magical. I have no clue how magicians practice their trade but I tell the kids I guarantee they spend most of their lives practicing to be that good. The slight of hand is the most amazing to me and we really enjoyed the shows and atmosphere. Thanks, Taylor for that special treat!

California Science Center

The California Science Center is an amazing place and entry is free which makes it even better. We only scratched the surface here but did see the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the King Tut exhibits which were phenomenal. We also timed the blossoming to the rose garden perfectly as you can see from the beautiful pictures taken in the park.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

We have officially seen the three remaining space shuttles on our trip! All three were displayed in their unique way, and all were spectacular. We love space exploration and teaching the kids about the history of space travel, very inspirational. At the California Science Center, they have the solid rocket booster which is absolutely enormous. A really cool site to see and not easy to get a picture of since it is so large.

King Tut – Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh

We were lucky to visit the California Science Center while they have the exhibit on King Tut. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen objects this old and the intricate beauty and details of each piece are awe-inspiring. 100 years ago they discovered King Tuts tomb and the history they uncovered at this time is amazing. It is hard to believe he was only 18 when he died in 1323bc and had ruled since the age of 9.

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Non-stop Amusement

So now we are to visit a set of parks I’ve never been to, Universal. We also get to celebrate a special day as my oldest is shedding her single digit age becoming a tenner! We booked a cool hotel that had a 50’s vibe called Cabana Bay. Katie loved the retro vibe. We had three days to explore all the cool experiences Universal had to offer. The most anticipated for us was the Harry Potter worlds of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

Universal has two theme parks, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure. Both offer some awesome roller coasters, cool 3d rides and awesome theme areas like Dr. Seuss, The Simpsons and of course Harry Potter. Since we are on the road and space is a serious premium we decided to forgo any major physical birthday gifts. Instead, we promised the kids experiences for their birthdays. Colette’s choice was Harry Potter and she couldn’t have been more excited. In truth, I think we were all pretty excited for the experience. Harry Potter has two major areas, one in each park. Each of the areas is immaculately true to form in recreating the feeling of being in the wizarding world. The rides are exhilarating and feature all your favorite characters. The shops a fun and whimsical and all the workers (or cast members) stay in character as you interact with them. It’s a super fun experience that we highly recommend to any fan of the books. Of course, while we were there Colette and Sienna had to get wands at Ollivander’s. After watching a cool live performance of a young girl from the crowd getting a new wand from the man himself we moved into the store to pick our own. I won’t lie, the place was shoulder to shoulder packed so if you have a fear of tight spaces maybe nominate someone else to brave the crowd. Colette and Sienna got special wands that let them cast spells at locations throughout the two areas. There may have been a third wand purchased for a much older child in our group, but that will remain a mystery. Colette also got to get a robe and scarf to complete her birthday experience. She was in heaven! We cast spells, drank Butter Beer, and ate at the leaky cauldron smiles plastered to our faces.

More Harry Potter Memories

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The rest of the Story

There are a ton of cool rides at Universal and we got to ride some great ones. Two standouts for me and the girls were the roller coasters, The Incredible Hulk and Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. The Hollywood coaster was my favorite because it starts by slowly taking you up vertically to the first drop and goes nuts from there on out. There’s a lot of 3D rides and tons of characters walking around the parks. We ate, rode and got pics with some of our favorites. We really liked Universal and we plan to go back someday.

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The Great Space Coast

After all the parks and on the way to our next destination we decided to take a detour to the Kennedy Space Center. Being a bit of a space nerd I was really excited about this stop and it didn’t’ disappoint. One note here, it is pretty expensive to take the whole family to this experience. I had a bit of sticker shock but the exhibits more than made up for that. The day was spent learning about the great men and women who pioneered our journey to space. We got to get up close and personal with the old rockets and even got to see a full-scale replica of the solid rocket boosters that launched the shuttle fleet. The highlight of the visit is seeing the space shuttle Atlantis, which is one of only three left and our second we’ve seen on this adventure. There was a full schedule of rockets preparing for liftoff, including the Space X Falcon Heavy. Unfortunately, our plans didn’t line up with them but it was great to see that our mission to explore space is alive and well.

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A Great Ending

To end our marathon run in Florida we spent a week with my parents who get a place in Stuart. It was so very nice to spend a week relaxing, walking on the beach, swimming and laughing. Pete and Judy are a great couple and we enjoy having one on one time with them and the kids. We’ve been coming down to see them for a number of years and plan to continue as long as they have a place. We also made our yearly pilgrimage to Benihana. Always a great treat with food sizzling and flying through the sky. After a great week, we packed up the car to hit the road again. We were heading to the Alabama coast and uncharted territory, it was as exciting to get back on the road as it was to leave the first time. Great adventures await.