November Road Trip Part 2: LaLaLand

We had a day where we were switching hotels and we decided to make the most of it by walking around part of Hollywood and then going to the beach. 

 

The TCL Chinese Theater was about 1/2 mile from our hotel, so we walked over first thing in the morning.  These pictures only show the touristy spots we visited, but walking down Sunset Boulevard on a Tuesday morning was a whole education in itself.  There were many homeless people, the streets were filthy (like disgustingly so,) and some people obviously under the influence of drugs along our walk. The line outside the public library had me both feeling thankful for public libraries, and thankful that I don't work at a public library.

 

Anyway, back at the touristy stuff, we saw the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sissy had us laughing when she asked for a picture with Snoop Dogg's star... I realized later she thought it was Snoopy!

 

Cha-Cha thinks P!nk is pretty cool.

 

 And even Dad got in on the fun when he saw Keanu Reeve's star.

(We also saw a certain notorious person's star who is currently undergoing impeachment, and it was covered in urine and spilled coffee.  Lovely.)

 

Our next stop was the shopping center at Hollywood and Highland, because I read that you could see the Hollywood sign from here, and it had so far been illuding us. It has some crazy architecture and was apparently built with views of the sign in mind.

 

It was in the distance, but we did finally see it.

 

We then stopped by the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held, and let all of the kids give their best paparazzi pose on the stairs.

 

Then we walked back to the hotel and hopped in the car to go to the beach!

 

We chose Huntington Beach because it was supposed to be pretty, was not too far out of our way, and didn't seem as touristy as Venice Beach or the Santa Monica Pier.  It was fantastic!  We watched a few surfers, but hardly any other people were around. The sand was soft, and the day was sunny and warm.

 

The water was very cold, but the kiddos didn't mind. I packed a cooler along with snacks and drinks, so we didn't mind the lack of restaurants.

 

Our sand crab was in her happy place for sure.

 

Many seashells were collected. 

And our need for sun, sand, and surf was fulfilled.

 

We stayed for as long as we could, and then had dinner at Cafe Rio, a favorite of ours, on the way to our next hotel.

 

We checked in at the Residence Inn in Anaheim, very close to Disneyland, and it was a really nice hotel.

 

With the pull-out sofa bed, and kitchenette, we had plenty of room for the six of us.  (We just wish hotel rooms with space for six had an extra half bath.)

Before going to bed, the kiddos still had energy to hit the pool and hot tub too. I didn't take my phone out there, but found this photo online.  Perched on top of the parking deck, it was a really lovely spot in the evening to see the city lights.