Hooray for Hollywood!

Wednesday began with a Starline tour of movie star homes. We saw the homes of people like Bob Barker, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. After the tour we walked along Hollywood Boulevard looking at all the stars on the Walk of Fame. Then we went to Madame Tussad's Wax Museum. It was so fun. It was very interactive and the wax people looked so real. Then we came back to the hotel and swam for a bit before going to the Hollywood Improv.There were several comics that we didn't recognize but there were 2 that have also had roles in movies...Owen Benjamin from House Bunny and Nick Kroll from Date Night. We had a great time.

Dolphins And More Dolphins

Tuesday we left Anaheim and drove to Dana Point for a 3 hour dolphin and whale watching cruise. We had a great time on the boat and saw tons and tons of dolphins. They were right beside the boat, splahing us with their spray and making noises. So cool! We saw one fin whale from a distance as well. There was another passenger and his family on the boat....it was the guy who held the assistant superintendent of human resources job in EISD just before Lester...Steve Ebell. How weird is that? Afterwards we drove part of Pacific Coast Highway up towards Hollywood. We stopped for lunch in Laguna Beach at Ruby's Diner. When we walked in, there sat Christy Cox, one of our 4th grade teachers and her daughter. What a small world! Arrived in Hollywood and checked in.

Disney Fun

Spent all day Monday at California Adventure Park and Disneyland. Ended the 4th of July watching The World Of Color water show at California Adventure Park. It was so cool! Got back to the hotel a little after midnight. My foot is killing me but had a great time!

California Here We Come!

Before leaving Vegas Lauren and I went down to the Mirage to see the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Siegfried and Roy have a dolphin research center and a lion habitat. Then we headed out for California. We stopped for lunch at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino on the Nevada California border. I wasn't hungry so I went and found a Wheel of Fortune game. The kids had each given me $15 dollars to try to win more for them. I won $95 for them to split. Then I won $100 more from my money! I love Wheel of Fortune! After arriving in Anaheim, we checked into our hotel which is within walking distance of Disneyland and then went to Bubba Gump's for dinner.

Vegas Style

After lunch, Lester, Lauren and I drove down the strip from the Stratosphere back to the Luxor. We passed several Vegas style wedding chapels including the Little White Wedding Chapel and it's tunnel of love. Lester refused to go there and renew our vows. I told him I guess that shows how much he loves me. Lauren and I gave him a hard time all afternoon about it. :) Then we saw a great show called "Nathan Burton's Comedy Magic." When we got back to the Luxor, Lauren and I went to see the "Bodies" exhibit and the "Titanic"exhibit. Both were very interesting but the Titanc was my favorite. There were several places that were created to give you the illusion of being on the ship including the Grand Staircase. You got a boarding card of a real person when you entered and at the end you could see if they survived or not. After dinner Lester and I walked to Mandaly Bay. I won $1300 playing Wheel of Fortune!

Vegas baby!

So we arrived in Vegas around 1:30 on Friday and went straight to In and Out Burger for lunch.  Yummy!   Then we checked into the Luxor or as Michael called it the "Suxor."  They do not have wifi only wired and it took an hour to figure it out. The room was HOT! and not cooling and the tv remote was not working.  We called guest services.  An hour later we called again since no one had come to help yet. They said we did not have to sit in the room and wait for them so Lester and I went downstairs to gamble. Two hours later (and $300 poorer) we returned to the room to find they still had not been there.  We took the kids and walked down the strip. I overdid it. I could barely make it back to our hotel.When we got back at 9:30 the staff still had not been there to solve the problems. Lester went downstairs to talk to them and came back telling us we were leaving.  Lauren and I thought he meant leaving the Suxor but it turned out they moved us to a suite with a hottub in it. Sat in the hottub for a long time soaking and then crawled into bed.  Yawn!

Our adventure thus far...

We arrived in Roswell on Wed. night and found the spaceship shaped McDonalds as well as the street lights which look like alien faces.  The   next morning we visited the International UFO museum. Then we began our drive to the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Winslow, AZ to take a picture of us "standing on the corner."  We arrived at Yavapai Lodge on the south rim around 10 pm. Got up this am in time to catch the 4:30 sunrise bus tour. Amazng!  Saw deer and elk.  Now headed to Vegas baby!  Pictures coming soon.