After 5 months in California we got our first visitors from home. Carl's mum and her friend joined us for a long weekend at our home in Burbank. We were glad to see some familiar faces and we were happy to finally have an excuse to get out and explore.
Carl took them on a tour of Hollywood Boulevard while I was at work on Friday. They enjoyed walking around, seeing the "Stars" on the sidewalk, and all the sites that Hollywood has to offer. In June of 2004, Carl and I visited CA (my first time, his third) and we took a bus from the WB Studio to Hollywood Blvd. Carl got his 'Ghostbusters' tattoo that night and then we waited for hours for a bus to take us back to our hotel...unfortunately when the bus finally did come it's last stop was miles from where our hotel was. After being forced to walk several blocks at midnight our Night in Shinning Armor pulled up in the form of a yellow taxi and kindly (not cheaply) gave us a ride the rest of the way. I have not been back to Hollywood Blvd. since then.
On Saturday we decided to do a little sight seeing starting with the famous Mulholland Drive. It is a very long and windy road that snakes through part of the Hollywood Hills. Thankfully, there were many designated overlooks to stop at where we were able to get pictures of the Hollywood sign, downtown LA, Universal and WB Studio, and the beautiful mountains. Next, we headed down to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. We walked around and 'window shopped' at all the designer stores like Gucci and Channel. We took a break for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious! Then we finished our day with a drive down to the Santa Monica Pier. It was very windy and a little chilly down by the shore, but we walked to the end of the Pier and enjoyed watching all the vendors and performers that line boardwalk. Carl and I took a walk through the sand and put our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was very cold, but well worth it. We left the Santa Monica via the Pacific Coast Highway and then took the scenic mountain view roads back home.
Sunday was a day for relaxing and we didn't go far from home. Carl took his mum and Linda for the WB Studio tour on Monday while I returned to work. Carl and I took that tour when we visited in 2004 but this time he opted for the VIP tour which offered a smaller group size and some other perks that we didn't get before.
It was a wonderful visit and inspired Carl and I to look into doing more day trips to explore the area around us. We are hoping to have a few long weekends together so we can experience what California has to offer this summer, after all we are 'Living and Loving in California'!
Wow...I love your banner photo...really refects your new "adventure" with you DH :D We are watching the "Bachelorette" and one of the dates was at the "Hollywood" sign and another was spent on Hollywood Boulevard walking along "the stars"...it was funny to watch cause I was telling Kevin...that's what Cortney and Carl just did with his mum...so cool! You need to add a bowling "widget" with your weekly bowling scores and the totals for your league progress! what ever you do here on YOUR blog...enjoy it all!
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