What an adventure we had in California for our spring break this year! We started with a super late flight from MEM to LAX arriving around 11:30 pm Pacific time (1:30 am CT). The kids did get a good nap on the plane but we were all pretty tired upon arrival. And to top it off, Emery was running a fever and had a nasty head cold. But we medicated her up and she was feeling much better the next day.
Our first day in Cali started with a hike in Griffith Park to see the Hollywood Sign.
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| Going all the way up Mt. Hollywood for a good view! |
After our Hollywood sign hike, we headed to Malibu for lunch, a trip to Malibu Lagoon and Pepperdine.
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| Got to see a Josh Leow, a friend of ours from Memphis/Highland. It was the highlight of day one! |
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| Ended the day in Burbank with the most delicious Mexican food we've ever had! Yum! |
Day 2: Universal Studios Hollywood
Due to daylight savings, our early park entry and unusually cool SoCal weather, we had the place practically to ourselves in the morning. It was awesome!
All of our Harry Potter dreams come true!!
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| Case took an online quiz that proclaimed he belongs to house Ravenclaw. Shocker! :) |
The tour of the real Universal Studios lot was super cool. I hated that it was a Sunday, so there wasn't any activity on the lot but the sets were something to see. If we go back, I want to go back during the week with the hopes of seeing someone famous. We saw Jennifer Lopez's parking spot but no J. Lo.
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| Plane crash movie set |
Water World stunt show. This was one of our favorite things. At one point, an airplane crashed through the fence and into the water. Like a real prop plane. It was crazy! I wish I had it on video.
The sun came out that afternoon and warmed things up a bit and it brought the crowds with it! We were thankful for our express passes. Worth every penny!
After all that fun in Los Angeles, it was time to hit the road up the PCH (Hwy 1). It was a beautiful drive to get there from Camarillo.
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| A yummy lunch in San Luis Obispo on our way to see the Elephant Seals near San Simeon |
Our first real Big Sur attraction: Elephant Seal Rookery
It was super interesting. The mommas were all gone, leaving just the dads and the pups. Lots of pups. They stay there until they learn to swim. Just chilling.
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| This is an older male ... when the males get older, they start to develop an elephant-like trunk. So strange ... |
Ended the day with our toes in the sand at Morro Strand Beach on our way back to San Luis Obispo for the night.
The next morning, we were off again up Highway 1. This day was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. We drove the full duration of the Big Sur area stopping for many unique adventures along the way. The photos from Big Sur just don't do the place justice. It was absolutely breathtaking! And we got so lucky with the weather. A bit cool with the wind, but sunny skies every single day.
One of our hikes in Limekiln was maybe our most memorable experience of the trip. They had had so much rain the weeks before our trip, that the waterfall had more water than ever coming off of it. Apparently a sight not to be missed. The only catch ... with all that water meant crossing the creek multiple times, in knee-deep water. I didn't bring any appropriate water shoes so we hiked it barefooted. Yes we did. And we made it! And it was worth it!
A few random spots along the road provided good photo opps.
Then we did a short hike to Partington Cove, which included a walk through an old tunnel.
More beautiful sights on our drive.
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| McWay Falls ... the most beautiful sight I ever did see ... |
Ended the day at Pfeiffer Beach, which was difficult to find but worth the effort! What a stunningly beautiful and unique place. We could have stayed longer but the sun was setting and it was starting to get chilly!
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| Quick stop at Bixby bridge to snap a pic while there was still a bit of daylight |
A few hikes in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
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| There were some fairly large Redwoods here. |
Then we hit Point Lobos for one last Big Sur afternoon.
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| Seals |
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| You can't tell it in this pic, but there was a momma otter and her baby out in the water that we watched for awhile |
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| You can just barely see the otters in this one ... |
These kids loved running from the waves and ultimately getting soaking wet. They spent hours doing this everywhere we went.
Stopped in Carmel by the Sea for a sweet treat and some souvenirs before heading on to Santa Cruz.
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| Ended the day with a sunset in Santa Cruz |
The next morning the kids got to get a quick swim in before we headed out for the day's adventures.
We saw so many seals or sea lions at the Fern Grotto beach at Wilder State Park. They would get super close to coming up on the shore too. I think they were curious about us.
We got to San Francisco just in time to see a few things before dark. First stop: Trolly ride!
Then to see Lombard Street (the crookedest street on the earth).
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| Dim Sum dinner in Chinatown |
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| Followed by dessert in Little Italy |
We started our last day (and most beautiful day) at the Golden Gate Bridge. We had the most stunning views of the bridge. Not an ounce of fog. It was pristine!
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| Picnic lunch in Golden Gate Park |
We truly couldn't have had a better trip. The weather was fantastic, we didn't experience a lot of crowds, we had the most delicious food (so thankful for Yelp!) and made many many memories that I hope will last a lifetime.
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