We got a late start since we were all exhausted from Disneyland but it was nice to sleep in a bit :) We had breakfast at the hotel and then got ready for our day. Before making our way into the city, we drove the short drive from Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach. My Dad lived in the South Bay area (Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan beaches just outside of LA) when I was growing up, which is one of the reasons that I wanted to stay in Manhattan Beach on this trip. I have great memories of walking and running down the strand that connects the beaches and of spending endless hours on the beach, swimming in the ocean near the pier, collecting shells, going boogie boarding and eating ice cream from this great little shop in Hermosa. So, to start our day we decided to get some ice cream from the shop that I had such fond memories of and to drive by my dad's old house. It was like going back in time nearly 20 years! While we were enjoying our ice cream a beach local came up and asked us who had served our ice cream (she was looking for the owner) ... this leathery tan bleach blond woman was wearing an itsy bitsy leopard bikini and roller skates, yes roller skates! While the woman was in decent shape, she definitely could have used more coverage, if you know what I mean. Now, despite her interesting attire, she was actually extremely nice and chatty. She asked about the boys and she accurately guessed their ages. She commented that Andrew was just about ready for his first skate board, which Doug thought was an interesting view into the differences between beach life and city life (we think he is ready for his first bike, she thought skate board). This eccentric woman has 7 children - 6 boys and 1 girl. Can you guess who the youngest is? You guessed correctly, the girl. All in all, meeting this local was an interesting start to our day!
With the trip down memory lane behind us, it was time to start the rest of our sightseeing. The first stop was the Farmer's Market and the Grove. Doug dropped us off and he went to the Petersen Automotive Museum. The boys slept in the stroller (yes, both of them at the same time!!!) while Kate and I did some shopping. They too were clearly tired from their big day at Disney! We shopped for about 2 hours before Doug picked us up to continue on with our sightseeing.
Next, we drove down Robertson to see the Ivy. It was much smaller than I imagined it would be, and alas, there were no paparazzi outside. The next stop was Rodeo drive. We didn't actually park and do any shopping but we drove up and back and I got out of the car to take a couple of photos.
All of the *really* fancy shops like Versace were on Via Rodeo
After Rodeo Drive it was off to the Sunset Strip. We saw Whiskey a Go Go (where to Doors met), the Viper Room (where River Phoenix died), Chateau Marmont (where John Belushi died), the Laugh Factory (where Kramer recently got into trouble for his racist tirade), the House of Blues (where Britney is supposedly going to start her come back) and the Beverly Hills Hotel. By this point, everyone was ready for a snack so we drove to Wilshire and Melrose to Pink's Hot Dog Stand - an LA institution apparently. Parking was a nightmare, but we finally found a spot courtesy of an old Mustang (coincidence? I think not!) and then we got in line (yes, there is actually a long line) to place our order. Note: When Andrew saw the car he said, "Mustang going" -- his Daddy is so proud!
Sunset Strip
Whiskey a Go Go
The Viper Room
The next two photos are the Chateau Marmont
Laugh Factory
House of Blues
The Beverly Hills Hotel
Pink's
In line at Pink's
After our afternoon snack it was off to find a good spot to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. Along the way we ran into the Celebrity Scientology Centre (the one I always see pictures of in the magazines) but TomKat was nowhere in sight. We finally got some photos of the Hollywood sign (which involved standing on top of our rental car) -- although all said and done, I think we could have found a better spot if we had more time. With that quest behind us, it was off to the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre. We got lucky again with the parking and easily found a spot a block away from the theatre. It was neat to see all of the stars on the sidewalk and to see the hand prints and footprints at the theatre, but once you have seen a couple the excitement wears off! :) My favorite star on the Walk of Fame ... why, Mickey Mouse, of course!
Scientology Center
Sign speaks for itself
Apparently, anyone with $15,000 can get a star on the walk of fame these days ...
We told Andrew that he was looking at Woody's hand prints (since Tom Hanks plays Woody in Toy Story), so he was quite excited to put his hands and feet in Woody's hand prints and footprints
Once we had taken a walk with the stars, it was off to Santa Monica for dinner on the Third Street Promenade with our friend JP. I went to high school with JP and he moved to LA 6 months or so ago for a short term gig, but he has decided to stay permanently. It was great to see JP and to hear about his life in LA. We had dinner at this little Greek Cafe where my poor mother-in-law embarrassed herself (her words not mine) by spilling her water all over the table and floor. She wanted me to make sure that the incident made the blog, so now it has. Although we all agreed that there was no reason to be embarassed :) Dinner was great and Andrew enjoyed flirting with one of the waitresses. So, what did he do when we finished dinner? He spilled Doug's tea all over the table and floor too! It was a complete accident, but we decided it was time to go!
JP in front of the above mentioned restaurant
We walked quite a ways to the Santa Monica pier, which is supposed to be a pretty happening spot, but everything was closed (even though the website said that they stayed open late). So, we walked to the end of the pier and saw this one man band performer before we decided it was time to call it a night. We parted ways with JP and went back to the hotel to start our packing ... well, almost.
The famous one man band
We were all too tired to pack, so it was off to bed. The packing would just have to wait for the morning!
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