California, Here We Come! DLR, Hollywood, and San Diego *OCTOBER 15-23, 2011*

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Looks like they had a blast at the pool, thanks for sharing the pictures of HoJo's.

You are very welcome! They had so much fun getting a chance to just play. It was a great way to wind down after a very long day.

Love the update!!

Thanks!! The girls sure had a good time that night.

 

[tessieg]

Love your trip report! Cant wait to read the rest. We are heading for a two week trip next summer to CA with our 3 daughters. Also already have reservations for kid suite at HOJO.
Looks like you had a great start!
Tessie

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Love your trip report! Cant wait to read the rest. We are heading for a two week trip next summer to CA with our 3 daughters. Also already have reservations for kid suite at HOJO.
Looks like you had a great start!
Tessie

Thanks for joining in! I am jealous that you are going to CA for two weeks. There is just so much fun stuff to see and do! That is great that you already have your reservation. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Sunday morning began bright and early for our crew. Due to the time difference the girls were up shortly after 5:00 am. I was really hoping that they would sleep later, but I also knew that the chances were not very good. Since we were all up we decided we might as well get started with our day. After cleaning up we decided to start with breakfast at Millie's. Stu was all concerned that it would be busy with people having a big meal before starting their day, but when we arrived at 7 we were the only ones there and it stayed that way until we left shortly before 8.

We headed to the car and started on our way to Hollywood! I was so nervous about traffic, but this is what we found on I-5 at 8 on a Sunday morning.

It was smooth sailing all the way and we reached the parking garage at Hollywood and Highland at 8:45. We made our way to the Babylon Courtyard to catch our first glimpse of the Hollywood sign!

Just behind the courtyard there are viewing bridges that also give you a great view.

In the next picture you can see the Hollywood Methodist Church. It has a red ribbon painted on the tower. This was the church that people took refuge in the movie War of the Worlds.

They had a really neat path to follow in the sidewalk that would lead you to the Hollywood sign.

After admiring the sign for a while we decided to head on down to Hollywood Blvd. When we arrived at the street level the girls immediately spotted the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store.

We walked past and got a look at the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held.

Just across Hollywood Blvd. is where the Jimmy Kimmel Live show is taped.

The next thing we knew we had arrived at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We had a lot of fun looking at the handprints and footprints. We did have a strange moment here. There were a lot of tourist groups in this area and many of the people started taking pictures of Ava. All of a sudden a woman from one of the groups walks up to her, takes her by the hand, and starts walking away with her! Ava freaked out and we were asking her what she thought she was doing. She kept say, "take picture, take picture." Needless to say we decided it was time to move along.

Ava fit perfectly in Shirley Temple's handprints.

The Harry Potter stars.

I love Judy Garland

and Natalie Wood.

Sandy was excited to find Al Pacino.

I made Stu take a picture with Tom Cruise's prints. I used to love him in the Top Gun days.

Continued in the next post.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Along the way we had to take a few pictures of some of our favorite stars.

We crossed to the other side of Hollywood Blvd to get a different perspective on Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Kodak Theatre.

At this point the girls were ready to check out the Disney Studio Store. Next door is the El Capitan Theatre.

We had to grab a couple of pictures with our pal Mickey before heading inside.

It was pretty quiet inside.

Leave it to Ava to find the pressed penny machine.

We decided we better have one last look at the Hollywood sign before moving on. We took the staircase back to the courtyard and made our way to one of the viewing bridges.

The courtyard was pretty amazing. The elephant statues that were up above were huge.

By this time it was getting much busier and I was glad that we had gotten our early start. It was time to move on to our next adventure.

Up next: What is that smell?

 

[SnowWhite09]

Once we are fed we plan on heading to Hollywood. I printed a driving tour of L.A and it has us beginning in the Hollywood and Highland area. We plan on looking around the forecourt at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We will also walk over to the Kodak Theatre. They suggest heading to the Babylon Courtyard for a look at the Hollywood Sign. When we finish up here we will drive towards Hollywood and Vine to take in some of the surroundings.

Once we finish up there we plan on checking out the La Brea Tar Pits and then heading over to the Farmer's Market for some lunch. When we are filled up we plan on heading to Beverly Hills to see the shops on Rodeo Drive.

Are you able to post the link to the driving tour of LA you used?

TIA!

 

[SnowWhite09]

I'm really enjoying your trip report - sounds like you had a great time and I can't wait to read more!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love the Hollywood Pictures!!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Are you able to post the link to the driving tour of LA you used?

TIA!

Here you go:

golosangeles.about.com/od/itineraries/ss/1DayLATour.htm

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I'm really enjoying your trip report - sounds like you had a great time and I can't wait to read more!

Thanks for joining in! My mother-in-law and I were talking again today about how much fun we had.

Love the Hollywood Pictures!!

Thanks! I took so many pictures in Hollywood! I would have needed at least three more posts if I had shared them all!

 

[SnowWhite09]

Here you go:

golosangeles.about.com/od/itineraries/ss/1DayLATour.htm

Great, thanks so much!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Great, thanks so much!

You are welcome!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

We made our way back to the car and started on our way to the La Brea Tar Pits. We were able to find a metered spot to park and found that we did not have to pay since it was Sunday. I had no expectations when it came to the tar pits, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was fun to see so much green space. Once we got past the girls asking "What is that smell?" a half a dozen times, we were ready to explore.

There was a gentleman that was playing guitar and singing in front of the Page Museum. He took a request from Sandy and when he was finished he came over to visit with us.

About this time everyone was starting to get hungry, so we decided to make our way to the Farmer's Market. They were having a Fall Festival and there wasn't any parking available. We made our way to The Grove parking ramp and we were able to easily find a spot. Walking through The Grove the girls spied the American Girl store. We told them we would stop by on our way out because they really needed to eat.

If you are not familiar with the Farmer's Market, it is a permanent building with tons of different food vendors. If you can't find something you want to eat here it is your own fault! It was a really fun atmosphere and I am glad we decided to stop here.

After our meal we headed back through The Grove and it was hoppin'.

Of course we had to make the promised stop at American Girl. Erin is currently saving her money to buy an American Girl doll, so she needed to remind us which one she wanted! Sandy had never been in an American Girl store before and she was amazed by it.

After we tore the girls away we headed back to retrieve our car. There was a pretty neat view from the parking ramp.

Up next: Beach babes

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love the update!!

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

Hi there!

Am loving the report so far and looking forward to the next update. We spent a month in the USA last December and we also got into LA for the day so I loved your pics as we only got very limited time! Basically enough time to slip into the Disney Soda Fountain store ( and we found the pressed penny machine too some how!!! ) and we got to take a few pics of the stars on the walk of fame.

I didn't even realise there was a Hollywood sign viewing area, so will checking that out on the next trip!

Take care

 

[reyasmommy]

Love your trip report. Thanks for sharing your photos of hollywood. We'll be visiting this week and it's nice to see what we're in for. Keep up the great work.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Love the update!!

Thanks!!

Hi there!

Am loving the report so far and looking forward to the next update. We spent a month in the USA last December and we also got into LA for the day so I loved your pics as we only got very limited time! Basically enough time to slip into the Disney Soda Fountain store ( and we found the pressed penny machine too some how!!! ) and we got to take a few pics of the stars on the walk of fame.

I didn't even realise there was a Hollywood sign viewing area, so will checking that out on the next trip!

Take care

Thanks for joining in! That's a bummer that you didn't realize that there was a viewing area across the street. That gives you a good excuse to go back! Ava really had a knack for finding the pressed penny machines and she wanted to do one at every machine she found. I will have to be better about bringing along quarters and pennies next time.

Love your trip report. Thanks for sharing your photos of hollywood. We'll be visiting this week and it's nice to see what we're in for. Keep up the great work.

Thank you! I hope you have a great time!

 

[tessieg]

Love the pics of Hollywood. I have the same things on my list for next year: Grauman's, Kodak theater, stars/handprints, La Brea tar pits. Cant wait to read the beach portion!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I've missed some of your report but went back to get all caught up. Hollywood looks really neat! The girls look like they are having such a good time.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Love the pics of Hollywood. I have the same things on my list for next year: Grauman's, Kodak theater, stars/handprints, La Brea tar pits. Cant wait to read the beach portion!

Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for us to get from place to place. I am sure it was because it was a Sunday, but I was prepared for the worst when it came to traffic. Thankfully we had nothing to worry about.

I've missed some of your report but went back to get all caught up. Hollywood looks really neat! The girls look like they are having such a good time.

Hollywood was very cool. I am glad that we took the time to drive up there. The girls (including Grandma Sandy) had a blast!