Our California Adventure Part 4 {Los Angeles}

Okay, it’s for real this time. The conclusion to Our California Adventure. I’ve loved taking you all along with me as I’ve reminisced!

So, on our last day of the trip, my husband had to pretty much pry me and the kids away from the Disneyland Hotel after two fabulous nights there. And then we were off to L.A.

I had always heard about traffic being a problem around L.A., but now I can confirm it first-hand and for certain! Wow.

Granted, we did visit on a Saturday, but just traveling around town took a lot longer than we expected. We started the day on Hollywood Boulevard, spending a little time walking the Hollywood Walk of Fame which was full of characters impersonating characters.

We also spent a little time browsing through Madame Tussaud’s, saying hello to a few famous stars.

From there, we headed to the famous Pink’s for hot dogs. Years ago, I remember seeing Martha Stewart talk about her visit, and sure enough, they still have a dog named for her on the menu.

As expected, there was a line which-took about 30 minutes for us to get through. But that gave us plenty of time to decide what to eat.

I had read that it may be hard to find a parking spot around lunch time, but we had no trouble finding a meter very close by, and then when we walked up, we found out they actually have their own lot with a few spaces.

They also had several tables inside and even more outside under umbrellas. Fun place that we all enjoyed!

After lunch, we thought we’d drive to the Santa Monica Pier. And after getting through yet more traffic and driving around looking for a parking spot, this was as close as we got to it. If you are into huge crowds, this is the place for you. We were fine visiting from a distance and then heading back into town.

The great thing about this day was that my husband’s brother was able to drive over from Nevada to spend the day with us, so we ended up finding the perfect spot to just hang out in the city: The Grove and The Farmer’s Market.

We loved this area because the guys could sit and chat while the girls and I browsed the shops.

The Grove has big name stores like Crate and Barrel, American Girl, Anthropologie, and Dylan’s Candy Bar, just to name a few.

And the adjoining Farmer’s Market has everything from plants and produce to food and gifts.

And apparently, it may be a good place for spotting celebrities as Abby spotted Stephen Merchant from Tooth Fairy (and numerous other roles in TV and Film). He was very kind to stop and smile for a photo with the girls. Lola’s only regret was that she failed to show him that she had lost a tooth a couple days before.

By this time, it was getting close to time for us to head to the airport, so we took a quick spin down Rodeo Drive just to get a glimpse of it.

And then we headed to the airport for our red eye flight. As you can see, we were pretty well exhausted after 9 days of adventure and even though I didn’t feel like I got any sleep on the planes or on our layover, I guess this pic is proof that I did.

Thanks again for joining me on the recap! We loved our trip to California, but for now I’m back in my routine in Tennessee. More posts on recipes, crafts, DIY, and day-to-day chaos will now resume. See you soon!