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West Coast

We are off on a cross country journey to California, Nevada and Arizona. The last three driving states in our 50. We will finish with Hawaii and Alaska. Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 12, 2019
    Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Troy, michigan

    April 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    This week has been a crazy one as we head into our next road trip adventure. My dad has been in and out of the hospital and is currently in. We don’t know what is wrong exactly. Ben has had his drivers test (he is an official driver now). Well, he still has to go to the Secretary of State but we don’t have time now. The other two have had drama and baseball after school. Ben has had some AP History test practices in the evenings. I am trying to wrap my mind around this trip and packing. Months ago, I booked all of our hotels being that it is spring break for many. I booked some of our activities like Alcatraz, Warner Brothers and the Pink Jeep tours. We have a house rented near the Grand Canyon. We have made plans to visit my sister,, Heather in San Francisco, The McCormicks in Santa Cruz, The Lanstras in Pasadena, Paul’s brother Dave in Las Vegas, and our niece Emily at Mizzou in Columbia. Now I have to pack up the car before Friday. There is a HUGE weather system going through the entire center of the country right now dumping snow and causing storms but it looks like it will be past by the time we leave. That added a little worry as well. We are all excited. Everyone really enjoys the trips. We learn a lot about our country and each other. In 24 hours, we hit the road. Thanks Jen, again, for watching our pups.Read more

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    Omaha nebraska

    April 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Weather: Sunny and 30s
    States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska
    Miles: 747
    Hours: 10 hours and 22 minutes
    Capitals: Drove through Lansing
    University Campus:Creighton University Omaha
    Restaurant: Cottage Inn Pizza
    Hotel/Home: Springhill Suites Marriot
    Movies:
    Audible: A Phone call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

    Paul and I began the last hour before our departure with the usual scramble of gathering, shoving, remembering forgotten things, consoling shaking dogs that think we are abandoning them and cleaning up the house. Kind of like when you are moving to a new house. Except, our new (but temporary) home has four wheels, captain chairs with Sparty printed on the headrests and a 26 inch tv. We raced to grab a pizza (cheese pizza of course-Lent) on the way to pick the kids up at school. I had them pack the night before. Don’t forget your toothbrush, socks, and bathing suit. Did you put all your shoes in the car? After all that.... Oh crap!! I am the one who forgot my toothbrush and pillow and for 5 minutes I thought I forgot my purse. The kids found it amusing that I forgot my things. I shot back with, “I’ll just borrow Matthew’s toothbrush since he never uses it.”

    After worrying about the weather that passed along our path 24 hours before, we have been driving straight into the sunset. Blue skies and open road. We ate in the car. Paul was still hungry so I offered up some corned beef Rueben’s in the cooler. “It’s Lent,” he said with a glare. We stopped later at a gas station. I saw a rib restaurant. “Ribs?” “It..is...Lent.” Oops. Why can’t I remember? While we were in the gas station...”Honey, do you want a hotdog?” Oooo if looks could kill. Me, “What??” Paul says, “It is already hard enough to not eat meat during Lent, but when someone keeps offering every kind of meat that I love...” Small evil smirk. He always says these things make me cute. So, I told the lady if we can’t eat meat then 12 bags of chips, Dove chocolate and coffee will have to do.

    We are now in Iowa. The sun burned itself out on the horizon. Clear skies, clear roads and sleep in an Iowa Marriott. We are aiming for De Moine by11:00 PM but we might go further. We want to knock off as much pavement as we can. Imagine the Pioneers traveling horseback and wagons for weeks with hopes for fortunes and new beginnings. We are just hoping to see a movie star or two. Not really (well a little) but we love the adventure, the learning and the fun together.

    Well, we kept going and made it to Omaha at 1 AM. We were feeling good and ticked off another couple of hours. We are staying at a Fairfield. Our trusty Marriott Bonvoy. We are now Platinum Elite now (Ghilani’s). I tell you, we have stayed in every level of Marriott and they do not disappoint. So Dad, we just did your Omaha drive that you told me today you used to do when you lived here. Thinking about you. I hope they figure out what is going on. Get Better. Hugs.    Read more

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    Salt Lake City, utah

    April 13, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Weather: Sunny and 40s
    States: Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah
    Miles: 935
    Hours: 13 hrs and 25 min
    Capitals:
    Restaurant: Coyote Creek
    Hotel/Home: Residence Inn SLC
    Movies:
    Audible: A Phone call from Heaven by Mitch Albom (finally over)

    We began the day with our daily Marriott breakfast bar. Pretty much what we do on our road trips. Big money saver to get a free breakfast at Fairfield’s, Springhill Suites and Residence Inns. At breakfast, we met a nice family from South Dakota. After Paul chatted and kept running into the man, Randy, they decided to exchange cards. Fate was telling them to connect. Then we hit the road.

    We are now headed on the long road to Salt Lake City. We have been there already and really enjoyed our stay. We swam in the Great Salt Lake, went to Snowbird, visited the site of the Winter Olympics, and hiked Ensign Park. (Visit our trip to the Northwest on this blog.) Nebraska is really cornfield America. We have a 13 hour drive ahead of us but this will be our longest day. It is really not that bad. It is an adventure and a practice of patience in a world of instant gratification. Our kids keep asking us how long the drive will be. The longer the better. Weird. They like the long ones. I’m not sure why.

    We purchased a discounted year subscription to Audible which allows us to redeem 12 books anytime. If you pay for a monthly subscription, you get one credit each month (and have to purchase books after that). We rented Mitch Albums book The First Phone Call from Heaven. It is ok. We don’t love it. It is a little slow. Or his reading is.

    Oh my gosh! We stopped for gas and bathroom stop in the middle of Nebraska. I just freaked myself out. I walked out of the building and stopped in my tracks in a slight panic. The gas pumps were gone. I was all alone. I slowly walked along the building hoping I would find my family and the car around the corner. Whew! I had walked out of the opposite side of the building. I wasn’t alone. Listen, when your mind thinks you should be in one place and then you aren’t....twilight zone. Especially in the cornfields of Nebraska. Makes me cute?

    As we drove further into Nebraska, we can see signs of Spring storm Wes. The roads were dry and clear. We saw more and more snow toward the middle of the state but thawing quickly sat 41 degrees. I am just glad the roads are clear, the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

    We hit some weather in Wyoming. Just some snow squalls through the mountains but quick, thank goodness. Most of the way through Wyoming has been clear roads, partly cloudy and chilly but we are in the car so we don’t care. It is crazy how much the landscape changes.The rock formations that look like they have been intentionally carved to look alike but impossible to duplicate. It is truly awe inspiring. Now we are going to stop in a small town Rock Springs for dinner. Looong day.

    We ate at a restaurant in an old part of Rock Springs called Coyote Creek. It was actually a pretty nice restaurant. If it weren’t for being in Wyoming, I’d say we were underdressed. Aint nobody dress up in these parts. We had a nice meal and headed to Salt Lake City for the night. 2 1/2 hour drive. We have been graced with a gorgeous sunset over the bluffs. Now we just need to stay awake for a couple more hours. Unless something else comes up before we get to SLC, I’m out. See you tomorrow.
    See more pix below.    Read more

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    Bonnevillle salt flats

    April 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Instagram: @vangogh50states

    Weather: Sunny and 60s
    States: Utah and Nevada
    Miles: 519
    Hours: 6 hrs and 56 min
    Capitals:
    Restaurant:
    Hotel/Home: Residence Inn Reno Sparks
    Movies: Devil Wears Prada
    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    We opened the shades this morning to a panorama of beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding Salt Lake City. We did not appreciate this beauty last night as we came in at dark unaware of them except for the declining switchback roads leading us into the city. The guide rails keep you from running into the mountain sides or off of their steep cliffs. Night makes this a little less unnerving to drive.

    We woke up, had breakfast and hit the road to Reno, Nevada. Our first plan was to drive through Yosemite on the way to San Francisco but the west gate road isn’t open until Late May or early June. Bummer. So, we are detouring through Reno and on to San Francisco (“that’s fun to say, Fran-cis-co. Frann-ciss-co.”).

    When you drive out of Salt Lake City, you drive on a split highway that runs right though the Great Salt Lake. The water surrounds the road but doesn’t quite look like water because it is so saturated with salt that it is crystallizing on the surface. We were driving along admiring the waters and mountains and the changing landscape when we were taken by complete surprise by a lake of water, still as can be, reflecting the mountains in the background. So startlingly beautiful that everyone jumped up and started taking pictures. Paul swerved in a parking lot for viewing. It was so beautiful. We weren’t the only ones feeling lucky to fall upon this sight. It is the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was like standing on the edge of heaven. See the picture of Ben looking out. We stayed and took pictures. Paul and the boys played ball for a few minutes with an incomparable background. Of course, the ball went astray and rolled into the water. Before I knew it, Paul and the boys were creating a body chain to reclaim the ball from the salt flats. I videoed in hopes of a wet mishap. They managed to retrieve the ball. Off we went. To Reno.

    We are now listening to Escape From Alcatraz. We are going to visit Alcatraz in San Fran so we thought this would be interesting. Electronics put away and we are all listening. Right when we think they aren’t listening, they give a shout that they can’t hear it or when are we turning it back on. Happy sigh.    Read more

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    Reno nevada

    April 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    OMG! If you are learning now, when I start with OMG, I’ve got a story to tell. I took the wheel for half of the way to Reno. Elizabeth, my co-pilot. “I got the wheels rolliin’, radio scrollin’...” then, just as we are singing through the mountain ranges, the dreaded light comes on...OMG, OOG! Out of Gas. 40 miles till empty in the middle of flippin’ no where. In a bit of panic, “Um, Biddy, we might be running out of gas. Please ask Siri for the nearest gas station.” Nothing, nothing, nothing for 80 miles. We don’t have enough gas to get there. “Wait! Flying J’s and Terribles Casino and Truck stop...39miles.“ Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. We have 40 miles left and it is 39 to the gas station. Paul has his headphones on and may be asleep. “Paauuulll, we might run out of gas.” As always he is calm as a J-bird. Yes, Paul. He can get wound up about some things but these things, the ones that have me crying or angry or (like now) sweating, heart beating out of my chest, my hands sweating on the wheel, well, yup, calm as a J-Bird. Elizabeth and I were freaking out. We were watching the gas tank tick down as the miles to the gas station ticked in unison with only a mile to a mile and a half difference. I’ve never prayed so hard on a Palm Sunday as I did today. Paul was having fun saying, “+1 difference in milles,+1.2, +1.5,+1.” Then it got down to only a 1/2 mile difference in miles. Elizabeth just got her permit and was learning a hard lesson in keeping your taking full in BFE. Would this lowly gas station even be there? Maybe J is dead now. Maybe they aren’t open on Sunday. Please God don’t make Paul walk down the highway amongst the tumbleweed and, eek, the murdering like man all in black we just saw walking down the highway. Thoughts of Paul coming upon him makes me shudder. The man coming upon our van on this remote highway, shudder. Well,, we literally made it to the gas station pump at 0. I was shaking. My adrenaline was through the roof. We made it. OMG! “Can I get a hallelujah? Can I get an amen?”(Maren Morris Song-My Church- we were just listening to it.) Another story to tell.

    We are now in Reno heading to another Residence Inn Marriott and then check out Reno.

    We had dinner at this Italian restaurant..The. Olive. Garden. It was by our hotel. Now the boys are playing basketball and Biddy and I are watching Devil Wears Prada. We love that movie. We are settling in for the night to move on to San Fran tomorrow. Good Eve.    Read more

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    Reno

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Weather: Partly sunny, cloudy, sprinkles and 60s

    States: Nevada and California

    Miles: 218

    Hours: 3 hrs and 26 min

    Restaurant: Pompei’s Grotto

    Hotel/Home: Courtyard Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf

    Movies:

    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    After a nice sleep, we woke early to get head start to San Fran since Reno itself is a bit of an armpit. Sorry. Where we stayed, in Sparks, is nice. It is about 10 minutes from downtown Reno. On our way out, we stopped in downtown Reno to see what it was about. Pretty much a seedy pit of druggies and down and outs. We had the kids step over a couple of syringes to get a picture of the Reno Arch. Ben says sarcastically, “Now I can tell my kids about the time I was in Reno.” Similar to the trip Paul’s dad took to Mexico the family while they were in California. Paul’s mom suggested visiting Mexico while they were so close to the border. His dad unenthusiastically obliged. He drove across the border of Tijiuana, turned around in a parking lot and drove back across. Mexico.    Read more

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    Golden gate bridge

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We are now driving through the snowy mountains of California. Roads are clear and it is 45 degrees at 9 AM. We are driving to the north of the Golden Gate Bridge from Reno so we can cross it. As the Golden Gate Bridge revealed itself over the trees, the kids gasped in awe. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them excitedly ask if we were crossing it though I told them multiple times that we were. Teenagers. We stopped at a park near the bridge. Everyone loved it. These trips take a lot of planning but I pretty much know exactly where goIng with little effort.Read more

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    Lombard street

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    I hiked them all up a steep street to the bottom of Lombard street. That sounds like an oxymoron. Hike up to the bottom. We hiked up to the top of the street. The kids liked this iconic street. We hiked down, down, down toward another steep street to our hotel with a stop at a Starbucks. It was chilly and there was a slight sprinkle so a coffee sounded good. Weirdos all got iced coffees. It is in the 60s but breezy and damp. If the sun were out, it would be warmer.Read more

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    Fisherman’s wharf

    April 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We have had a great first day in San Francisco. After the bridge, we found our way to our Courtyard by Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf, unloaded and took our van to the lot a block away. We can’t park in the hotel’s lot because of our size. The lot is in the heart of the Wharf so we started exploring. We had lunch in Japanese restaurant at Pier 39 overlooking the bay, the bridge and Alcatraz. We had some good sushi and sashimis. We appeased Elizabeth with a few gift shops.

    We got to our hotel when Paul announced that we were going to the Spy Store across the street to shoot guns. Yay (sarcasm). Cool store of spy stuff. Elizabeth played a virtual game and the boys shot air soft guns or whatever they are. Now we are back at the hotel waiting for my sister to come in from Oakland. Yay. Can’t wait to see her. It has been way too long. We are going out to dinner now.

    We had dinner at Pompei’s Grotto in Fisherman’s Wharf. It was good food and we had a lot of laughs with Heather. We closed the restaurant. Heather and i sat and talked at the hotel until late. It’s great to catch up. Tomorrow morning, Heather is going with us to Alcatraz. Now, I am going to bed. Busy day.    Read more

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    Alcatraz

    April 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Weather: sunny and 60s

    States: California

    Cities: San Francisco and Santa Cruz

    Miles: 70 miles

    Hours: 2 hrs and10 min

    Restaurant: Hula’s Island restaurant

    Hotel/Home: Movies:

    Audible: Escape From Alcatraz

    Today, we voluntarily went to prison. We walked where the infamous criminals walked. We met my sister, Heather down at Pier 33 to take a boat to the iconic Alcatraz. The skies, as blue as they could be. Weather in the 60 with a warm sun. We caught the 910 boat on the same waters of San Francisco Bay as those whose fate was sealed by their own felonious actions. It was a 20 minute boat ride to the island which is really a panoramic site to see from the Bridges to the city skyline to the island itself which was not as ominous as you’d expect. We took a headphone guided tour which was very interesting. Really cool to see the inside of the jail. It was nesting season for all of the island birds and the spring flowers were in bloom. I think this might be the best time to come because it seems summer crowds would be overwhelming in Alcatraz as well as, in Fisherman’s Wharf. Everyone enjoyed the tour.    Read more

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    Pier 39

    April 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    When we got back to Fisherman’s Wharf, Paul had his heart set on eating at one of the outdoor seafood vendors for lunch. So we did. We ordered one of everything; lobster, big shrimp, little shrimp,fried shrimp, seafood salad, you name it. Perfect lunch on Pier 39.

    We dropped my sister at the Bart, the transportation back to Oakland and we are on highway 1 to Santa Cruz to see our friend, Paul Frat brother, Mark and his family. The drive so far on highway 1 is amazingly beautiful    Read more

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    Santa Cruz

    April 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    If you ever get the chance to drive highway 1, it is well worth the spectacular views. It winds along the coast revealing a coastline only seen in movies. Gasps at every turn. And this was only from San Fran to Santa Cruz. Along the way, we stopped at one pull off of cliff like rocks. While photographing the crashing waters below, Matthew appears in my viewfinder down below as he had made his way down the rock cliffs...ok, rocky...whatever unsafe, slip to your death or bloody end rock sides they are. “Matthew!” Next thing I know, Elizabeth is giggling and following him to their death. Literally, they are climbing rocks out to the crashing ocean where I can hear Elizabeth shrieking with joy at finding a crab in the tide pools (big enough to drown in). Ben tries to find a path down without dirtying his white/gray pants. Paul, so responsibly, leads him down another less steep path. Now my whole family has left me up here with a murderous man in a less luxurious van as ours who is sure to throw me in with his dog and I become a statistic. Didn’t happen. But, now my family is going to all die down there and I don’t even have keys to the van. Didn’t happen. It was so beautiful that I just took a bunch of pictures and tried to capture it into my memory. Everyone clambered their way back up and off we went to Santa Cruz. We were meeting Corn (Mark) and family around 6.

    We found our way to Fairfield Inn after some significant traffic in Santa Cruz. California sure has an abundance of cars and people and people in cars. We settled into the hotel and got ready for dinner. After the traffic, we decided an Uber was a better bet. We met Corn, Jennie and their kids, Presley, Sawyer and Colt at Hula’s for dinner. We had the best time. Our big kids entertained the littles. Our kids are so good with little kids. Their kids were so sweet. We got to have some great adult time with our friends. They are pretty “RAD” 😂. Yes they still say RAD here. Great dinner and drinks. After dinner, we made our way to an ice cream shop, where we spent more time catching up. We closed the place down. Since Santa Cruz isn’t a big town, we could find an Uber XL home so we had to take two home. I grabbed the two boys for safety. We all made it back. What a great night. Off to LA tomorrow down Highway 1 again. More to see. Good night for now    Read more

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    Monterrey, CA

    April 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Weather: sunny and 50s/60s/70s/80s

    States: California

    Cities: Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Pebble Beach, Carmel, LA

    Miles: 323 miles

    Hours: 5 hrs and 21 min

    Restaurant:

    Hotel/Home: Springhill Suites LA/Burbank

    Movies:

    Audible:

    So long Santa Cruz and hello highway 1. Well, it’s reputation certainly Ives up to itself. It is one of the most beautiful drives that we have ever done. It helps that we had a perfect day of blue skies,, 50s and 60s and the bluest waters you’ve ever seen We highly recommend the drive. You have every shad of blue on your right and every shade of green in the rolling hills and mountains to your left. There are some breathtaking hairpin curves where, at one second you have a lush barrier or guard rail and the next second it flattens out to a sheer cliff sending your mind to sure death. Gasp. Paul doesn’t like my gasps. We have passed through Monterrey, Carmel, Pebble beach and Big Sur. In Monterrey, we saw some sea lions basking on the beach. So cool. We stopped in Carmel for a sandwich.    Read more

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    Big Sur

    April 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We passed through Big Sur which was beautiful. More winding roads and campgrounds and beautiful views. We needed gas. No, we weren’t on empty. We stopped for gas that was more than $6.00 a gallon. WTFuel?! Needless to say, we only purchased 3 gallons.

    There is a good chance that we are going to cut in to an inland freeway to pick up time and have a little more relaxed drive. It is tiring driving these winding roads. Paul was trying to throw rocks over a cliff with Elizabeth and Matthew. He was terrified they were going to fall off. “Matthew!” “What?” “Do you have to grab a rock off the side of the cliff?” Grrrr. On we go.

    WE CAN’T GET OFF HIGHWAY 1. HELP! It is exhausting driving the turns and it takes forever. It is beautiful but a long way. We found a route inland. Just before the turnoff was another pull-off with tons of people. We glance at the beach and there are hundreds of Sea Lions or Sea Elephants or whatever. They look like rocks on the beach. I told the kids to get out of the car, they have never seen anything like it. Both Matt and Biddy thought they were rocks. Ben was sleeping. Maybe a quarter of a mile of these beasts. So cool. That made the last part of highway 1 worth it before we got off.

    We started out around 9:30 and we don’t expect to get into LA until 7:30. It has been a nice day, but when you’ve had enough, you’ve had enough. I was getting car sick too. We are meeting Cody, my nephew in LA tonight. He is coming up from San Diego and spending a couple of days with us. Yay. Two nights in LA will be nice. We don’t have to pack up    Read more

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    Warner Brothers

    April 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Weather: sunny and 80s and gorgeous

    States: California

    Cities: LA (Burbank, Pasadena, Beverly Hills

    Miles: 20 miles

    Hours: 1hr

    Restaurant: Lanstra’s Bistro, In and Out Burger

    Hotel/Home: Springhill Suites LA/Burbank

    Movies:

    Audible

    What a great day! It was an all around great day. The weather was sunny and warm. We started out at Warner Brothers. What a great tour. Thank you Wendy and Kevin for telling us to do it. We really liked it. Now, we are all movie and theater people so we really enjoyed seeing where movies we love are made, costumes, sets and the hope of seeing someone famous. Which we didn’t. It is a tour on trams but we also got off and went into prop buildings and costume displays. Super cool. We saw movie and tv sets that would blow you mind to think they were filmed there. I am so glad we did this tour. The boys got their super hero stuff and Biddy and I got our Friends and Ellen. We finished with a coffee at Central Perk.    Read more

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    In and out burger burbank

    April 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    For lunch, we HAD to stop at In and Out Burger. I tell you, the driving and parking here is nuts. People do whatever they want. They will legit cut across lanes of traffic to turn and double park you to get a burger. Paul did a terrible parking job at In and Out only because he saw a people double parking people in the lot. He stuck our monster van way out so no one could park us in. We saw driving and parking like this all day. Craze.Read more

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    Beverly Hills

    April 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After lunch, we did a little sight seeing and star searching in Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive Baby. No stars. We passed a couple of restaurants from some of the shows I watch. Tom Tom and Pump. Pretty cool. Paul somehow remember the address of his uncle who lived in the hills of Beverly Hills so we drove up the winding roads to find it. We found it but it didn’t look the same as he remembered. Still fun to explore. After some exploring, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner at our friends house, in Pasadena.Read more

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    Pasedena

    April 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After a quick stop at the hotel, we braved traffic to head to Pasadena to our friends, the Lanstra’s, house, Al and Emilie. They live in a cool neighborhood in a cool house. They have movies filmed in their neighborhood all the time. The house across the street was a set to Cruel Intentions and a couple other movies and in the other direction, the show, Benson. They have movies filmed so often that the studios pay them just to park in front of their house. Emilie said it gets a little annoying. We had an awesome dinner with their family.. The kids swam a little and we caught up. Great time.

    Ben drove us home. EEEk. Still not used to that. We don’t like to drive even with one glass of wine. He did great. I have to try not to be a back street driver. I cant help it. I am the momma. I worry. Cody is still with us until tomorrow.. It’s been great seeing him. I will have to hold the hug a second longer when I say goodbye. I hope to see him sooner than later. Now we are off to bed for our next adventure in LA and then to Vegas tomorrow.    Read more

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    Hollywood Sign

    April 19, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Weather: sunny and 80s and 90s and gorgeous

    States: California, Nevada

    Cities: LA (Burbank), Las Vegas

    Miles: 269 miles

    Hours: 4 hrs 22 min

    Sites: Hollywood sign

    Restaurant: Other Mama

    Hotel/Home: Fairfield

    Movies:

    Audible: Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly

    Our alarm went off at 6:45. I wanted to forget the alarm and go back to sleep but not as much as i wanted to go on the hike. Our plan was to eat a meatless breakfast for Good Friday and hike to the Hollywood sign. I researched how and where to access the trailhead for the hike but I was nervous that it wouldn’t be that easy. It actually was easy.We arrived around 8:30 AM. Blue skies and 60s increasing by the minute which is why we started early. We parked and started up the dirt trail. It was a bit challenging. We try to hike on every trip. Every hike is very different. The first part of this hike is fairly steep but then levels out a bit midway. We had a few drinks last night and i didn’t hydrate as well as I should have. I did fine. Cody and Ben hiked ahead, Paul and I in the middle and our two little skinnies in the back doing a little complaining. Then, Elizabeth got Jessie on face time and it was like she was on the trip with us. Though, she was in a mud mask and less out of breath than we were. Thanks Jessie for distracting Elizabeth up the hill or mountain. It was a nice hike up to the iconic Hollywood sign. We hiked up to the first good viewpoint of the sign, about an hour/hour and half up. You can go all the way up to view the sign from behind but no one seemed too interested and we wanted to get on the road to Vegas. Al told us that traffic would get bad on a friday out of LA to Vegas. Funny though, there was more complaining going down than up. We figured they were too out of breath going up to complain.
    We finished our hike which everyone enjoyed and said our goodbyes to Cody and got on the road to Vegas. Traffic was minimal until we got outside of city limits where there was an accident that set us back 45 minutes. Ugh. It was pretty bad. One car up on the side of the hill and one upside down in a ditch. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

    We checked in to our hotel and headed to Uncle Stone’s condo. He lives near old Vegas. He took us to a cool, off the strip restaurant called Other Mama. Delicious food.We ordered a bunch of small plates and big and shared. The kids are adventurous eaters. We went back to Uncle Stones to hang a bit. I was so tired from waking up so early and the hike and the drive. To bed early for a long day of exploring the strip. Good night.    Read more

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    Pubic Us restaurant

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Weather: sunny and 88 and gorgeous

    States: Nevada

    Cities: New York New York

    Miles: 0 miles

    Hours: 24/7

    Sites: Fremont Street, The Strip, Shark Reef

    Restaurant: Public Us, Excalibur, Mercato Della Pescheria

    Hotel/Home: Fairfield

    Movies:

    Audible:

    Rested and ready to...Vegas Baby. At least a kid friendly version. We met up with Stone (Paul’s brother) for breakfast. He took us to Public Us restaurant. It was sooo good. Stone always has good restaurants. It was a cool little local restaurant with yummy food. I had the best homemade gluten free bread with an avocado spread, tomatoes and smoked salmon. The boys got some beautiful french toast and waffles. Elizabeth got some kind of breakfast burrito. Paul got a lovely oatmeal with fruit and nuts. He loves his oatmeal. Stone got some delicious looking egg skillet. It was all good and the atmosphere was nice.    Read more

  • Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Fremont Street

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After breakfast, we took the kids to “seedy” Fremont Street. I think they were hoping this wasn’t the “real Vegas” after seeing two 90 year old men wearing nothing but a fig leaf. Eww. A sight to never unsee. Oh and a 250 pound, leg less “retired stripper down on her luck” (that’s what her sign said) wearing a full mask and pasties. Hmmm. Sight to never unsee. Why do these people humiliate themselves? It gets worse at night so we will be avoiding later today. It really is pretty tame in the AM. Family friendly? We were in and out like the burger joint.

    We dropped Stone off at home because he has a dog, Jack, now that needs attention and Stone hurt his ankle a week ago and can’t walk as far as we can. We are going to tackle the strip. We stayed at a Fairfield Inn just off the strip because it was three times as much money and not enough room for all of us to stay on the strip. We are only here for one full day and two nights and it didn’t make sense with the way we are traveling. We are planning to be out of the room most of the time anyway. We have a suite and a shuttle to the strip so it works great. We also have a place to park our van which tends to be a problem at bigger hotels.    Read more

  • Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Mandalay Bay

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We hopped the shuttle to Mandalay Bay. We took the kids to see the shark encounter which they enjoyed. We worked our way from one casino to the next. The kids liked it here better. Much cleaner and more kid friendly. We had lunch in Excalibur which we expected to be a greaseball lunch but it ended up being really good. The hardest thing about these trips, and I say it every time, is the food and eating out. We start to feel unhealthy even though we try to eat at decent restaurants.Read more

  • Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Las Vegas Strip

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After lunch, we went to New York New York so Paul and Ben could ride the rollercoaster. Paul said it took some time off his life. It was a little rough and jerky. But fun. We worked our way through Park MGM to Aria to catch a shuttle back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.Read more

  • Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Venetian Hotel

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We shuttled back to Aria and Ubered to the other end of the strip to the Venetian to meet Stone for dinner. I love the Venetian. Why? Because I love Italy. My homeland. Not really but I pretend. I love the Piazza in the middle with shops and restaurants and a sky that looks like you are outside.. We had dinner there at Mercato Della Pescheria. We had a delicious meal. We filled the table, again, with crispy calamari in Calabrian chili aioli, sautéed mussels in white wine pomodoro sauce, Italian meatballs, Tuscany board of meats and cheeses, Fettuccine Bolonese, a Mediterranean Seabass and a Mediterranean Seafood Risotto. We all shared everything. I also got my favorite, an Aeperol Spritz. Delicious meal, great ambiance and family time. Great to spend time with Uncle Stone, too. Stone had to get back to his dog and rest his foot.Read more

  • Mommy Traveling PantsWest CoastTraveler

    Vegas strip

    April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    We set off to explore some more places. The kids liked the Bellagio Fountains. Everyone was exhausted and had enough of the late night crowds. Now we are all in bed. Easter mass in the AM. This will be the second Easter mass Paul and I have done here in Vegas. The first one was terrible. It was the dullest priest. We are going to a different church, I think. Then we are having brunch with Stone again at one of his recommended restaurants. Such a great day.

    goodnight.    Read more

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