The Official Epic Story of Us-California Adventure Part 3
Welcome back to the third and final installment of the epic tale of our most adventurous family vacation to date! So far we’ve covered flying to California, our time in San Fran, Monterey, whale watching, finally stepping foot on a Pacific beach, dinner with friends, and our arrival in Hollywood. If you missed out on the first two episodes, you can check them out here and here.
We pick up the story with our first full day in LA…
Day 6: Monday – Los Angeles
Monday started with a tour of the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank -it was one of the few things we booked ahead of our trip. We weren’t sure what to expect for our studio tour with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike on going. We did see some folks picketing on our way to the studio, and there was obviously no filming happening, but the studio was busy nonetheless. The tour was awesome! Our guide, Laithe, was obviously a huge movie and tv buff and made it a great experience. We got to see all sorts of fun places from two of our favorites: Gilmore Girls and Friends, as well as the sound stage with the world’s largest water feature (over two million gallons!), and lots of other iconic spots.
The thing about the studio and Hollywood in general – they aren’t glitzy or glamourous. To quote Brian, “Hollywood is a sh*t hole”. The glitz and glamour you see are definitely part of “Hollywood magic”. Warner Bros was actually built to be nondescript so they could easily change it depending on what is being filmed (its been around since well before tv). We all loved the tour! It is definitely on our list of “must do things” in California.
Here are some highlights of our tour starting at the top and working left to right: Zara with Wonder Woman at the entrance, the Wiker fam on our golf cart cruising around the studio, the location where the deer hit Rory (iconic Gilmore Girls moment), the Friends stage, the entrance for Abbott Elementary, Central Perk, the famed Friends Fountain, Harry Potter’s room under the stairs, and the girls with real Oscars! Neither of them thought to look at what the Oscar was actually for or who it belonged to, but was still a pretty cool opportunity!
After the tour, we headed back to the hotel and out onto Hollywood Blvd to check out the Walk of Fame. While it was cool to see – it was also hard to see. There are shops and people everywhere and it was hard to actually stop to see any of the stars because you would get run over by the people behind you. Many of the stars were worn out and cracked – but they go on for several blocks in a few directions. We didn’t see all of them, nor did we even see some that we wanted to see (like the stars of the Friends’ cast). We decided a couple blocks of stars was enough for all of us. We found the Harry Styles sign Zoe was hoping to see (Treat People with Kindness), found another Zara store, and then decided to check out the city from one of the many double decker buses we kept seeing.
California has a $25 hotel fee/night. I’m not 100% clear on what the fee is for, but the higher end hotels offer perks to help offset the charge. One of the perks Loew’s offers is a free ride (for one person) on a double decker tour bus around LA. We’ve never done one of these buses, always thinking they were too touristy and a waste of money, but we all loved it. We saw several iconic spots around LA, but our favorite was Rodeo Drive. It was my true Pretty Woman/Beverly Hills 90210 moment! We window shopped and wandered around for a little over an hour before hopping back on the bus and finishing out the tour. It was a fun, relaxing way to see the city!
There was a mall connected to our hotel, we checked out a few of the stores before grabbing dinner at the Cabo Wabo Cantina. The food was edible, the drinks were ok, but the place was in need of a serious cleaning and some TLC. Sammy Hagar needs to step it up – the bathroom was so gross, the girls wouldn’t use it. Do NOT recommend. **EDITED to add a Google search verified this location is now permanently closed!** We checked out a few more stores in the mall after dinner. Even found a pair of “fancy” Nikes for Zara for $50! And she did a cartwheel in the center court of the mall which totally made her night. The whole area felt a little sketchy after dark, so we headed back to our room for more Friends and a good night’s sleep.
Day 7: Tuesday – Runyon Canyon and Santa Monica
Tuesday morning we decided to check out Runyon Canyon Park – its an area known for great hiking and celebrity sightings. For anyone that knows me well, I typically work out 4-6 times/week. I typically don’t work out on vacation – this vacation, though, I was starting to go a little crazy, my body was itching for exercise. This hike came at the perfect time! The Hollywood Hills are no joke! I absolutely LOVED this hike. The trail we chose (which was really a fire road) was wide and clear, and while it was steep, it wasn’t a difficult hike up despite the bitching and moaning that spewed forth from my very athletic and physically fit children. You would have thought we were torturing them! The views, however, were spectacular! We got an up-close look at some of the amazing homes of the Hollywood Hills as well as fantastic views of the city!
Besides the radiant kindness of everyone we encountered from everyone in California – our second favorite thing were the dogs! Its no secret we are dog people – it seems like almost everyone in California has at least one dog. All of them far better behaved than either of ours. On this hike we encountered no less than three dozen dogs – most of which were not on leashes – and they all stayed with their owners. I have never seen anything like it in my life!
As for celebs – we saw a few people that looked “familiar” but none of us could specifically identify any of them. We passed two men that were literally covered from head to toe – hats, face coverings, dark sunglasses – clearly people that didn’t want to be recognized. The downhill side of the trail was much more trail than fire road and it was a little tougher than the hike up. The total hike was about two miles. My one regret was once we returned to the car – a guy came walking down the street by where we parked, completely covered head to toe – this guy was even wearing gloves! As he passed our car – (we were parked on a residential street and no one else was around) – he took the right glove off and rubbed his face under the covering that was hanging from it. We couldn’t see anything other than the hand of a white guy, but that was enough for Zoe to decide it was Harry Styles. I mean, I can’t say for sure one way or another, but the build and the walk did fit as possibly Harry AND Harry does famously only have tattoos on his left hand – hence the gloves and specifically taking the right one off. Who knows – we didn’t take a picture and he never uncovered his face. We did Google search to see if he had been spotted in LA and he hadn’t been to that point, but that doesn’t matter – Zoe decided it was 100% most definitely Harry.
After the hike, we headed to Santa Monica to check out the world famous pier and beach. The trip took an hour despite only being about 10 miles away. LA traffic is bonkers. Santa Monica was amazing. The town is so laid back and beautiful. It was one of the few areas in California where I could see myself living. From where we parked to the pier was about a mile walk, but there is a well-tended walking path next to the bike/skate path. We enjoyed lunch on the pier at The Albright, then walked out to the end of the pier to enjoy the view.
On the walk back we passed Muscle Beach – according to the sign “known as the birthplace of the physical fitness boom of the 20th century”. Zara spotted a rope and decided she had to climb it. There were two guys – probably in their twenties, already there and about to climb. We stood aside to wait Zara’s turn. The first guy struggled a bit, but eventually made it up the rope. The second struggled from the get-go and only made it about a quarter of the way. They stepped aside to give Zara her chance and she shot straight to the top. The second guy started yelling “NO!”, then cracked up laughing at himself when he realized he was yelling at a kid! They were great sports, cheering her on, and high-fiving her when she was done. It was one of the funniest moments of the whole trip!
We spent the afternoon enjoying the Santa Monica beach – after splurging on the crappiest, most expensive beach towels we’ve ever bought! The towels did make the trip home and are great spares for the pool! The girls played in the sand, splashed around in the cold Pacific (cold in comparison to the Atlantic!), and soaked in the California sunshine. The trek back to our hotel was another hour plus venture in LA traffic.
Taylor Swift was in town with her Eras Tour during our visit – Zoe was determined we were going to see the show for a third time. During our ride back from Santa Monica, I was watching ticket prices on StubHub. We couldn’t even snag nose bleeds for less than $2000 per ticket! Despite repeatedly telling her we would not be attending The Eras Tour again – Zoe was still super disappointed we actually weren’t going.
As a consolation – we let her pick dinner for our last night in LA. All she had requested for the entire trip was sushi at some point. She picked a restaurant, said it was four tenths of a mile away, and made a reservation. We all showered, got dressed up, and headed out to eat. Sure the restaurant was close – straight up the side of a Hollywood Hill! And there was no sidewalk. The kid who whined and complained about our hike earlier that day – while dressed for hiking – marched right up that hill in her Skims dress and platform sandals like it was nothing – while the rest of us whined and complained that it was steep, scary, and hot. HOWEVER, once we finally got to the restaurant, the views were spectacular and the restaurant, Yamashiro, was phenomenal. The food, the vibe, the service, all of it was amazing! It felt like a fancy night out in LA – because, well, it was a fancy night out in LA. Apparently the restaurant is frequented by A-listers – not surprising given its location. We all quickly forgave Zo for the nightmare walk AND we took an Uber back to the hotel. Brian splurged for an Uber Black to give us that celebrity feel – a blacked out Escalade was a fun, albeit very short-lived, treat. The ride was about 4 minutes down the hill and around the corner to our hotel. I realized the next morning, as I looked out our 12th story hotel window, that the cool Asian-style building I’d been admiring all week, was in fact the Mountain Palace where we had dinner the night before.
Day 8: Wednesday – San Diego
Wednesday morning we packed up and hit the road for San Diego. Once we escaped the Los Angeles traffic, the ride was beautiful – the scenery in California is just unbelievable! I love how the mountains bump right up against the ocean and the roads just meander between the two. Our destination for Wednesday was the San Diego Zoo. Zoe has apparently had it bookmarked on her school computer since fourth grade (she’s now in eleventh). The girls both begged to make our one day in San Diego scheduled around a visit to the zoo and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! It is the most beautiful, well-maintained zoo I have ever visited. We all loved everything the zoo had to offer. While the admission fee certainly is a little steep, it is well worth every penny! You don’t have to walk far to see where the money goes! The staff was great and the animals all look happy and healthy.
After several hours at the zoo, we made our way to our last hotel in California. We picked a location on the water, close to the airport. The staff at the Hilton San Diego Airport/Harbor Island were fantastic! Honestly, I can’t say it enough, the people in California are just so nice! After checking in, we decided to explore a little and try to see a California sunset. We hit up the Oceanside Pier – while the area is super cool with tons of restaurants and bars, it was cloudy and we were only able to catch a snippet of light as the sun set. At that point we were all tired and hungry, but no one had patience to wait at a sit-down restaurant.
The one West Coast staple we hadn’t tried was Del Taco which proved to be an interesting experience. Brian decided he didn’t want to try to eat a taco while driving in an unknown area – so we went inside to eat. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the homeless situation in California is overwhelming – its not limited to one area of the state, we saw it everywhere we went. As we entered Del Taco, we noticed a homeless man sitting in a booth enjoying his dinner. He was the only person sitting in the restaurant. We placed our order and the girls asked for a key to the restroom. The cashier came out to unlock a door for them, which again, isn’t unusual in California. Zoe came out quickly, but Zara remained in the bathroom. I went to stand outside the door to wait for her – she’s 10 – and we couldn’t see the bathroom from our seat. While I was standing there, the manager came out and was about to knock on the other bathroom door when it popped open and a woman started to exit while pulling a shopping cart full of her belongings. He held open the door for her and stated her food had been ready for awhile – as she is pointing out all of the areas of the bathroom that now need cleaned. I couldn’t see in the bathroom, but I can only imagine how terrible it was from how the woman was describing it. The manager, never seemed riled or annoyed, he just told her he would get it taken care of when she left. He helped her outside with her belongings, which included a small dog on a bed on the bottom of the cart. Then he met her at the door with her food. I’ve mentioned many times how polite everyone was in California, but this was beyond just basic kindness. This man treated this homeless woman with respect and kindness that exceeded anything any of us has ever seen before.
We’ve shared this story with many people since we returned and several have looked at us with disgust stating this is enabling homelessness. Trust me when I tell you, it was not. Its hard to put into words to anyone who wasn’t there – this man clearly recognizes there is nothing he can do to change someone’s homeless situation – but he obviously also knows kindness matters. I am certain no one was happy about the bathroom cleaning assignment, but being angry isn’t going to help anything either. It just makes it worse. Kindness begets kindness. Honestly, what we saw that evening changed my perspective. My heart has always broken for anyone who is unhoused, though we all know there are some that choose that life, for many others they have no way out. That doesn’t make them any less of a person, being angry and hateful helps no one. Moral of the story, be kind – it costs you nothing and EVERYONE is fighting some battle you know nothing about. We returned to our hotel, bellies full, hearts warmed, and packed our bags to head home.
Day 9: Thursday – Time to Fly Home!
The hotel staff warned us the rental car return and shuttle to the airport could take some time. We left the hotel at 6, were to the rental car return by 6:15 and were in the airport by 6:30. Bag check took awhile – and we were overweight on two bags. We were too tired to rearrange things because it was all so crammed in – we clearly bought too many souvenirs – so we paid the overage charge and headed for security. We were through shortly after 7. The airport is under construction, it is WAY too small for the number of people passing through its halls. The line for breakfast was longer than anything else. We grabbed extra snacks knowing it would be a long time before we ate real food again since we had a direct flight back to BWI.
Our flight boarded on time and we were well on our way to take off when Zoe looked up and said “that guy just had a seizure”. I looked up to see flight attendants, as well as a couple passengers, surrounding a man about 8 rows in front of us. The plane screeched to a halt at the side of the runway and we returned to the gate. It took a while to convince the man – who stated he had a seizure condition, but could provide no medical proof – to exit the plane. The crew had to go through the whole pre-flight check, safety overview, etc. -shout out to the Southwest team for taking such great care of the man and all the rest of us! We were over an hour late taking off again, but we were all grateful the man was ok, and that his medical emergency happened on the ground and not somewhere over the middle of the country! The rest of the flight was uneventful, and we landed in Baltimore just a little over an hour later than scheduled.
This was the trip of a lifetime for me! It has been a dream of mine to visit California ever since I was a teen watching 90210, Pretty Woman, and America’s Most Wanted Live from Alcatraz. There is so much more to see, but we crammed a lot into seven days! It was a great mixture of adventure, relaxation, and fun! I would do it again in a heartbeat with only a few modifications! California is beautiful, diverse, and above and beyond anything else, it was kind! We could all try a little bit harder to be kinder to one another.
And still to come – a full listing of all the pertinent links and everything that went into planning this trip!
