This year, we chose to go to Los Angeles for spring break. This was the year we wanted to take the kids to the Disney parks in California. Plus LA is a huge, diverse city and we’d have fun exploring. Also, we figured the weather would be pretty and flights would be relatively inexpensive.
The famed Hollywood sign
Sean searched daily for flights for the week we wanted to be out there, but rarely came up with anything even remotely affordable. We hunted. We fussed about the cost. We tried to make several alternate spring break plans. Finally, after a TON of looking, he managed to catch a brief moment where a direct flight was offered for our return trip at an affordable rate. Hooray!
The catch was that we’d have to leave the Friday before spring break and return the Monday after spring break. I’m not crazy about taking the kids out of school for vacation, but the pandemic knocked loose a few of my firmer rules on that front. Then at some point, that lovely return trip got replaced with a trip that connected in Houston instead and arrived home much later. On a school night, no less. Our original flight still existed, though now it was on a smaller aircraft and only offered at a premium price. I won’t deny feeling a little bait-and-switched on this one. Thanks, United.
Our flight to Los Angeles was uneventful. We had a longish layover in El Paso, during which we had a bit of lunch and the kids played with their screens. I walked back and forth through the tiny airport, looking out the windows at the mountains and stretching my legs. The second leg to LA arrived on time around 2:50, but at that massively large airport, we did a lot of taxi-ing. It was around 3:11 when we were off the plane, then about 3:30 before luggage from our flight started popping out at the luggage return. We weren’t in our rental car and driving till around 4:30, right at rush hour. It was gray and rainy, but we did see a pretty owl perched in the parking lot, much to the kids’ delight.
Maya made an origami bird out of a napkin while waiting for her chicken dinner.
By the time we made it to our North Hollywood hotel, our time-zone-confused selves were ravenous, so we unloaded our stuff and headed out to a place called Humble Bird to have Nashville hot chicken. One of the co-owners, Brandon, let us know that there were many, many hot chicken joints in LA, but that he and his compatriots had made pilgrimages to actual Nashville. He was patient with our tired brains working through their very direct menu, and he was tolerant of our children’s shenanigans. The kids had a bucket of chicken nugs ordered at a mild level of spice, and the grownups sprung for the “sando” at a medium level of spice. While our wait was lengthy (we were warned up front), the food was delightful. Chicken was perfectly crispy and zingy (even after a night in the hotel fridge). The sauce, pickles, and slaw accompanied the heat nicely. And the kids were able to start their vacation with chicken nuggets, so they were happy.
Day 1 – WB Studio Tour, Hollywood Boulevard
I woke up first at 4:30 Pacific time. By 5:30, I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I got up to have a shower … where I discovered we had no water! Hotel staff offered to move us to a different room, but I tested it out – also no water! Morning bathroom visits were needed, and they advised us to come downstairs to use the downstairs one – no water! Yeah, they agreed, something was affecting the whole building.
Warner Brothers Studio Tour
After a hotel breakfast sans coffee (no water!), we headed out for our first big activity – a Warner Brothers Studio tour! They tell you to allow about three hours for the tour. One hour is a guided backlot tour; the rest is self-guided. We started our tour off in what WB calls their Storytellers Showcase. It’s kind of a lobby area and museum where you can occupy yourself until your scheduled tour time. The exhibits were interesting, if a little hard to absorb with our children bouncing about. Sean motioned me over to check out what became probably my favorite thing in the area – the Warners’ address book. The book was opened to a page that showed Dali, Salvador and DeMille, Cecil B, and Disney, Walt. Some contact list!
How’s that for a contact list
At our tour time, we were guided into a little theater to watch a short film giving a bit of history on Warner Brothers Studios. After that, we all boarded our little trams for the first portion of the tour. We were shown backlots – large exterior sets, streetscapes and storefronts and housefronts and sound stages – and also enclosed studios of varying sizes that contain ever changing sets with tighter control for sound and light than a backlot set would allow for. We saw the couch and fountain from the Friends intro (sadly, it was rainy and muddy, so we couldn’t go sit on said couch and take photos). We went past the facade for The Alibi from Shameless.
Couch and fountain from the intro to Friends
One of the things I found interesting is that for the set houses, they might have a different sort of facade on each side of the structure. The interior will be decorated and redecorated to suit whatever needs to be filmed.
The sound stages were neat too. We walked through stage 25, where Big Bang Theory was filmed. Stage 25 appears to be largely used for sitcoms, so there’s bright overhead lighting and bleachers for a live studio audience, separated from the filming area by “camera alley.”
We didn’t get to go into it, but one of my favorite factoids from the day revolved around Stage 16. Evidently, this stage started life at regular size but when something larger was required, its roof was raised in the air using hundreds of hand jacks positioned around the building. In the end, the building was augmented to be 98 feet tall and houses a 2 million gallon water tank. Scenes from “The Goonies” were filmed there. I wish we had been able to see inside.
I’m in Sheldon’s spot
After our backlot tour, we were dropped off at what I think is the “Stage 48: Script To Screen” part of the tour. Here we got to see some of the sets. We hung out at Central Perk, the coffee shop from Friends and we got to visit Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment from Big Bang Theory.
Dabbing with Dobby
We were able to play with motion capture technology that allowed the kids to see Dobby the house elf move as they moved. They seemed to get a huge kick out of making Dobby dab. We entered a scene that showed us the forced perspective setup that might have let Hagrid appear so much larger than the rest of the humans do in some of the Harry Potter sets.
Maya on a broomstick on the quidditch pitch
They also were able to experience green screen technology. Ian got to drive Batman’s motorcycle. The a big fan blew his hair and a director told him how to move and when. Maya flew a broomstick in front of a green screen, again following a director’s cues about when to wave her wand and in what direction. Later the detail was added in. We have both still images and videos of them on their broomstick and motorcycle.
The Lasso of Truth (it would light up if you grabbed it)
After this, we were shuttled back to the area we started in. Back in this area, we were able to see a set of exhibits called Action and Magic Made Here. In this area, we got to see tons and tons of movie costumes and props, especially from the DC comics movies. Maya and Ian tested out Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth. Ian posed with Aquaman’s trident. Sean and I wondered as we wandered – do the size of these costumes reflect the size of the actors who inhabited them? Another thing we were fascinated at were the differences between the actual costume colors and how they appeared in their film or television shows. One of Daenerys’s outfits from Game of Thrones looked vastly different in person than on video.
Maya’s being sorted (Ravenclaw)
Also in this area were lots of lots of exhibits revolving around Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Ian and Maya could learn proper dueling technique with their wands. They could try their hand and potions making. They could check out Harry’s cupboard under the stairs. It was a lot of fun. We ended our time there with an obligatory photo holding an Oscar award; we were all surprised at how heavy it was. Once we had finished seeing all the things, it was time to wander through the gift shop and then leave. The kids each elected to spend their saved allowance money on wands.
Bob’s Big Boy
Since it was in the Burbank area, we decided to have lunch at Bob’s Big Boy. After a relatively short 30 minute wait, we were seated and orders taken promptly. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun. Sean and I had burgers of course, Maya had fried shrimp, and Ian had (you’ll never guess) chicken fingers! The kids got ice cream for dessert, so they were thrilled.
After this, it was time to head into the belly of the beast – Hollywood Boulevard. Our driving in Los Angeles thus far had been … interesting. I can’t tell if they’re more aggressive or maybe a bit lackadaisical, but if they wanted to change lanes, it was happening whether you were leaving them room or not. At one point, I hear Sean mutter under his breath, “The balls on these people …” Jury’s out on whether he was expressing irritation or admiration.
We encountered an absolute ton of traffic and weirdly blocked roads as we approached Hollywood Blvd. We tried rerouting a little and finally Sean looked at me and said, “When are the Oscars?” Yeah, that would be the very next day. Part of Hollywood Blvd was completely blocked to accommodate the Oscars, which are held at the Dolby Theater. Whoops.
Inside at Amoeba
When we originally headed toward Hollywood Blvd, our intention was to try to buy tour tickets to see the inside of the TCL Chinese Theater. With our difficult driving conditions, we wound up not having enough time, so we decided to just see what we could see on our own instead. We started with a visit to Amoeba Music. This is a huge, warehouse-like record store that on our own, Sean and I might have spent more time at. With our kids in tow and with the massive crowds, it was more stressful than enjoyable and after browsing through records and books and posters galore, we decided to cut our visit a bit short and move on.
Inside the Funko store
To make up for the record store visit, we took the kids to the Funko Hollywood store. I personally give zero shits about Funko, but Sean and the kids love those things. The store itself was surprisingly fun – lots of large Funko-esque sculptures of unlikely characters inhabit the huge space. The kids were delighted. Sean was happy to add a Funko Oswald to his collection.
Inside the Funko store
After we were all Funko-ed out, we decided to brave a walk through the throngs to get a gander at the TCL Chinese Theater. They had a weird, circuitous detour tunnel for pedestrians so we could get from one side of Dolby to the other without seeing any of the Oscar brouhaha. We did manage to get a brief glimpse into an area adorned with large golden Oscar statues as we traversed our tunnel.
TCL Chinese Theatre
As we walked along Hollywood Blvd, it was fun to see the Walk of Fame stars. There are stars for all kinds of things: film, TV, music, stage. Some people will have multiple stars for these different areas. RuPaul’s star was decorated, of course.
Samuel L Jackson
TCL Chinese Theater was neat looking from the outside. It was fun to look through some of the imprints left by the stars over the decades. Everything was enormously crowded, and we were starting to feel the strain a bit, so we retreated to the Ghirardelli store for some hot chocolate for a little rest before heading to the car, snapping a few quick photos or the Capitol Records building and making our way back to the hotel.
Capitol Records building
Day 2 – Downtown Los Angeles
Today we had running water at our hotel – hooray! Man were we ready for some showers. We skipped hotel breakfast today in favor of heading to the Grand Central Market for Woods vacation doughnuts at The Donut Man. They specialize in doughnuts topped with strawberries or peaches as the season allowed, but unsurprisingly, I was the only one who wanted actual fruit content in my doughnut.
Donut Man breakfast at the LA Grand Central Market
We had intended to visit the Bradbury Building across the street, but it didn’t open till 10a, and we had places to be, so we decided to visit it a little later on. Back in February, I had reserved a timed entry to the Yayoi Kusama’s exhibit at The Broad, “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” which is housed in The Broad, a really spectacular contemporary art museum.
The Broad (left) and Walt Disney Concert Hall (right)
You’re allowed 60 seconds in this room with mirrored walls and floor and ceiling and thousands of lights. It’s dark, it’s quiet, and if you allow it, your mind can almost be fooled into believing you’re standing on a dark peninsula completely surrounded by lights and your own reflection. It’s oddly haunting, even with the nagging worry that our 8- and 10-year old wouldn’t follow the rules. I left the room with goosebumps lingering on the back of my neck.
One of Yayoi Kusama’s Infiniti Rooms – This one is called, “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away”
The rest of the museum was wonderful as well. The kids were able to do a scavenger hunt. Some of the items they had to find were “artwork from another country” and “artwork that you would make” and “artwork that makes you sad.” It was an interesting experience for them.
“Campbell’s Soup Can (Clam Chowder – Manhattan Style)” and “Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can,” both by Andy Warhol
Sean and I enjoyed it because there was such a lovely and intriguing variety of art. Unless you pay for a special exhibit, the cost to visit is zero. The cost to see The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away is zero (you just have to pay attention and reserve ahead). Because we went on a Sunday morning, street parking was readily available for free.
“Balloon Dog (Blue)” by Jeff Koons
While we were there, we also wandered by and took photos of The Broad’s neighbor, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It is another curved surface masterpiece from Frank Gehry, a neat augment to The Broad’s own interesting structure.
The Bradbury Building – scenes from Blade Runner were filmed here
After all this, we headed back to take a look at the Bradbury Building. It’s a really beautiful building in its own right, sporting some gorgeous intricate ironwork and a multistory sunlight-filled interior courtyard. We wanted to see it because it was a filming location for the original Blade Runner movie. The kids didn’t really understand and kind of shuffled about while Sean and I oooo-ed and aahh-ed at the pretty architecture.
LA’s Chinatown
Then we drove into the Chinatown area. As the day wore on, parking was becoming more and more difficult, so we wound up driving around a bit to find a place and then walking a bit to get where we wanted to go. Chinatown was kind of neat. Ian wound up buying a little $5 wooden samurai sword that he was absolutely delighted with but that didn’t even make it to the end of our vacation before it broke. There’s a really neat dragon gate as you enter Chinatown, but we only ever saw it briefly from the car, so we didn’t get a photo.
We were thinking we’d try a couple places for lunch and Sean and I would split entrees so we didn’t get overfull. We went to Phillipe The Original first because we figured the kids were more likely to find something they’d like there. Sean and I split a French Dip pastrami one-because yum and two-because they’re allegedly the creators of said sandwich. Ian wound up eating a deli ham sandwich and loving it. And Maya had a gigantic PB&J. Happy everyone!
Los Angeles City Hall
Then, after a little kerfuffle to find actual cash, we managed to work our way into the LAX-C area to try some delicious Tom Yum Goong and some delicious but maybe not my thing Taro Cake. Ian seemed to like the soup and Maya sort of liked the taro cake. All in all, I thought it was fun. After a jaunt through the neighboring asian grocery store just for fun, we again hopped in the car and drove by LA’s giant city hall. There’s an open yard area nearby, so we let the kids run out a bit of energy.
The famed book tunnel at The Last Bookstore
After this, we loaded up and drove to The Last Bookstore, which may be the most aesthetically interesting bookstore I’ve ever visited. I’m hoping to do this often enough that not only do our kids not find it weird that we visit bookstores and record stores when we go to new cities, I hope that it becomes one of their own vacation objectives as they grow up too.
Book art
This place was a brilliant mash-up of art, books, and sheer atmosphere. The kids were legit creepified by the horror section (because it was legit creepy). There was a book tunnel! The children’s section had a stuffed tiger (named Blake! maybe he was really a tyger) that would earn you a prize if you found it. And then your job was to hide it well for the next kid to find. There was book-art and art-art and even just books to look through! I will admit, I wasn’t in a rush to return to reality after we were through.
Sean swung by Ramirez Liquor and found a couple new rums to add to his collection. Then we drove over to Griffith Observatory to see if we could work that into day. The mists / fog had settled in around the mountains, the kids had fallen asleep in the car, and the observatory was bonkers crowded, so we decided instead of have an early dinner at Leo’s Taco Truck. SO GOOD. The kids loved their tacos de pollo. Sean and I were smitten with the asada and the al pastor. Their sauces were solid.
Leo’s Taco Truck
Maya had been haggling for churros all day long, so she was thrilled to spot a nearby truck selling those too. Plus we enjoyed our tacos so much, we ordered a second round (to be fair, they were small).
After all that, we made it back to the hotel in time for the kids to enjoy the heated pool (which closed at 8) for a little while. It was a cool night – I’m impressed that Ian could hang. He explained to another group of people who commented that the pool didn’t feel *that* heated that the trick was to get out of the pool and let the air make you really cold. Then when you got back in the pool, it would feel warm. They didn’t appear to buy it.
We did some laundry and watched a bit of the Oscars so the kids would have a tie in to yesterday’s visit to Hollywood Blvd and the heavy statues we held at Warner Brothers. And then we all got some rest before our next big vacation day.
Day 3 – Knott’s Berry Farm
The kids love, love, LOVE amusement parks by this point. And Sean, given his roller coaster love, has long wanted to visit Knott’s Berry Farm. From my reading, I learned that apparently this place started as a hope-and-dream berry farm that first grew into a restaurant and berry farm and just kept expanding and expanding from there. Berry farm, restaurant, and curiosities. Berry farm, restaurant, and old west town. Berry farm, restaurant, old west town, and … rides.
Knott’s Berry Farm
We were fortunate to be there during their annual Boysenberry Festival. We figured the kids would be picky about what they ate, so we only included the special Boysenberry food add-on in our adult tickets. This got us each three tastings of boysenberry items created for the festival. Let’s see if I can remember them all: Boysenberry Blondie, Sushi Burrito with Spicy Crab Surimi, Avocado, Lettuce, Crispy Onions, Sesame & Unagi Sauce and Boysenberry Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, Boysenberry BBQ Beef Tips over Parmesan Grits with Green Onions, Beef Barbacoa over Mac & Cheese with a Boysenberry Chipotle Crema, Boysenberry Sausage on a Hoagie with Boysenberry Mustard, and Boysenberry pie. We bought the kids some boysenberry dippin’ dots (which were really good) and later on some boysenberry desserts as well. Everything was really good, and I’m glad for the experience.
We got there right at opening (10a) and after cute photos on entering, we made the classic amusement park blunder of rushing right for the big, popular ride at the front of the park. I have been struggling with some lower back issues, so I was a little wary of roller coasters, but I was especially worried about the wooden ones, which can sometimes rather beat the hell out of their riders. Sean and the kids lined up for GhostRider. I hung out with them in line for probably 45 minutes. Then I went to wander around while they rode the actual ride.
Ghost Rider
Sean agreed to let the kids ride together, which may have been a mistake on the first ride of the day on a fairly aggressive coaster. Ian might have preferred parental support on the first go. After all, they hadn’t been on a coaster since the previous summer. The ride photos afterward tell the story. Sean’s half turned around, looking worried. Ian is head down, probably scared. Maya is riding along, happy as a clam.
Sean did tell me after they got off that it was probably the smoothest wooden coaster he’s ever been on, and that I’d probably have handled it fine. Apparently over the first 17 years of the coaster’s operation, it had gotten rougher and rougher. Then in 2015 they replaced and reprofiled the track, adding banked turns and air time hills. They also removed the mid-course break run and replaced the trains. All equating to fun wooden roller coaster thrills without the body torment that many of them inflict.
We did Coast Rider next – a wild mouse style roller coaster. We didn’t pay for fast pass at this park because it would have more than doubled our ticket price. Instead, we accepted that we’d have to wait in line. And that would have been fine, if the wait times had been at all accurate. Ghost Rider had been posted at 45 minutes; I think it was closer to an hour. Little Coast Rider had been posted at 30 minutes; we waited 45. With a park that would only be open from 10a-8p, we could feel our time for fun thrill rides slip-slip-slipping away.
Maya and Ian sharing some boysenberry Dippin’ Dots
We begrudgingly took the time to actually keep everyone fed. I know and even sort of accept that you get kind of gouged on food at amusement parks, but we paid literally $12 *per slice* of pizza for the kids for lunch. I couldn’t believe it.
After our little lunch, we got in line to ride Sidewinder. This would be a new one for us – the individual cars spin about as your train moves along the track. This one was the worst one for wait time of our whole day. Posted wait time was 60 minutes. Actual was more like 90 minutes. So frustrating! At least the ride itself was fun.
Ian and Mom on Pony Express
We hit a small stroke of luck after that. Ian wasn’t tall enough to ride Silver Bullet, so he and I got in line for the Pony Express – a launch coaster whose ride vehicle is shaped like a horse and you kind of ride it like a motorcycle (or horse). Sean and Maya hustled over to Silver Bullet to take advantage of a posted 5 minute wait. They managed to ride it twice while Ian and I waited (posted wait 45 minutes; actual 60 minutes).
Maya and Dad on Silver Bullet
Maya was so excited about Silver Bullet that she wanted to ride with me as well. Since its wait was still so short (like 15 minutes), Sean took Ian to get his face painted while Maya and I rode the coaster. It was awesome. It’s a dangling coaster, so you have the pleasure of zero pressure on your tired feet. Plus its ride dynamics were great. Such a fun ride. Maya will tell you it was her favorite in the park.
Ian got his face painted while Maya took me to ride Silver Bullet
After another snack / meal (the kids got chicken, which Knott’s Berry Farm has been known for since they were just a humble berry farm with a restaurant), we got in line for a fairly tame coaster called Jaguar. It’s posted time was 60 minutes, but it’s actual wait time was only 15 minutes – hooray!
I think Maya has a boysenberry blondie
Here’s where we had that one last boysenberry dessert while we waited in line to ride GhostRider again, so I could have a turn and because everyone seemed to love it so much. The line was long, no sense denying it. We met a nice family in line whose son and our kids chatted on and on about Pokemon and Minecraft. It was so nice to have some entertainment!
Sean, Maya, and Ian were absolutely correct – GhostRider is a wonderful ride. The neat structure and biiiiig hills were fun, and it was fairly smooth for a wooden coaster. Plus we got to ride it at night, which was a pretty fun experience. Honestly the wild mouse was rougher on me than this one was. Ian will tell you that GhostRider was his favorite.
Maya liked the Ghost Town sign
We stopped by the gift shop on the way out, where Ian acquired another plush snake for his collection – this one (we think) is a California rattlesnake who he has named Pearl. Pearl likes to curl *and* she rattles. Ian loves her.
Day 4 – Venice Beach, Getty Center, LACMA Lights
Today, we did our best to persevere despite the weather. Apparently the lower California area has been beset again and again by a weather pattern called an atmospheric river. According to the NOAA, an atmospheric river is “a flowing column of condensed water vapor in the atmosphere responsible for producing significant levels of rain and snow.” According to the local news, that’s the weather pattern we had to thank for the rain we enjoyed over portions of our visit to the area.
We attempted first take in the scenic Mulholland Drive loop, but found nothing but thick mist at our first stop at a scenic overlook. We hear we were looking out into a canyon, but we’d never have known it. We bailed.
Venice Beach in the rain
This was to be our Venice Beach and Santa Monica day. We looked to rearrange our days, but unless we gave up a Disney day (which we would never do), we were stuck rearranging outdoor activities into a variety of days where rain was predicted. So we stuck it out.
After a horrible search for parking at the Venice Beach area (apparently half the side street were street-sweepered on Tuesdays, and the other half were full of the people who presumably had moved their cars to avoid the street sweepers), we donned our ponchos and headed beach-ward.
The kids still tried to have fun, despite the weather
Venice Beach was almost completely devoid of people. The renowned skate park was empty. Muscle Beach was a ghost town. It turns out Venice Beach isn’t much fun without a swath of California society to watch. We did our best to wander through the rain and look around at the famed Venice Canals. It was neat to see, no doubt, and we saw a few ducks wandering around too, which bird-lover Maya enjoyed. Eventually we gave up and went for lunch.
Lunch from the Win-dow was delicious
We went to a place called The Win-dow for a meal of chicken sandwiches and smash burgers. Sean had placed the order from his phone and then I tromped through puddles to pick it up so we could eat it in our parked car (they had covered outdoor seating, but it all just seemed very wet). The food was excellent – would recommend.
View of Los Angeles from The Getty Center
We decided to book some quick timed entry tickets for The Getty Center. This is a sprawling art museum surrounded by lovely gardens from which you’re supposed to have lovely views of the surrounding area. Admission is free, but we had to pay handsomely to park. Once parked, we took a tram up the hillside to the actual museum. The ride was quite pretty, but I expect it would have been breathtaking without the thick coating of mist / fog.
It was raining pretty solidly by this time, so we didn’t even try to spend time outside in the gardens, choosing instead to examine the exhibits inside. Just like at The Broad, there was a sort of scavenger hunt offered for the kids at this museum as well, but we decided to just wander a bit instead, since we knew we weren’t going to cover all the interior exhibits and weren’t going outside really at all.
“Irises” by Vincent van Gogh
The Getty Center has an extensive collection and I feel confident we didn’t do it justice. We did get to see “Irises” by Vincent Van Gogh, which was neat. I thought the kids would recognize it, but they didn’t. They enjoyed the sculpture area more. Ian in particular seemed downright flummoxed at the sculptures of fauns we’d run into. They have horns! And tails! What are they? I reminded him that he was a gifted reader at this point and the way to learn more was to read the titles and commentary on the art they were seeing. I don’t think it worked though.
We also let them see all the nude sculptures. I think they mostly found it funny, but we did our best as engineer and software developer to explain why a naked body might be considered art.
Damon’s Steakhouse
The waterlogged Woodses decided to trek back to the hotel for some dry clothes and a little rest. We had thought to drive back to Santa Monica Pier toward evening so we could visit the boardwalk when the rides were all lit up, but the weather was relentless, so we gave up on that idea. Instead, we decided we’d just have a relaxed dinner at Damon’s Steak House.
Sean, rum aficionado that he is, loves tiki bars and tiki cocktails and tiki culture. We had made a list of old-school places to possibly visit while in Los Angeles (Tiki Ti, Tiki No, Tonga Hut, etc). But all those places seemed like just bars and we weren’t too sure our kids would be welcome there. Damon’s Steak House was also on that list and as they were a full-on restaurant, the whole family could comfortably go.
Steakhouse meets tiki bar
We loved it. The decor was very tiki centric – dark and kitschy without being creepy or cheap. The kids had fun watching the fish tank and seeing what all the light fixtures were decorated with. Our server was wonderful and very, very patient with our lunatic children. The drinks were really good (though we appear to have discovered that we don’t like Chi Chi cocktails in general). And the food was great. The salad, dressed table-side was a nice start. I have never had better garlic bread. Sean’s steak was on point and my fish and chips suited my craving for comfort and simplicity. The kids all found things to eat and they liked their mocktails. It was a pleasant respite in a day full of false starts and crummy weather.
Urban Lights at LACMA
After Damon’s, we drove over to the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) to take a few photos of the Urban Light sculpture outside. The sculpture, installed in 2008, makes use of 202 street lamps that would have been in use on Southern California in the 1920s and 1930s. The kids had fun bouncing around among the lights and taking photos.
Day 5 – Wayfarer’s Chapel, Aquarium of the Pacific
We had to check out of our North Hollywood hotel today. The night before, we had packed everything up, dirty clothes in one suitcase, clean in the other with plans to do another load of laundry that evening at the next hotel. We skipped hotel breakfast this morning in favor of hitting Steve’s Charburger in Torrance on our way toward Long Beach. We had heard that was the place to get California’s famed breakfast burritos.
Maya and Ian were able to get big plates of bacon and eggs, which is happy for them. Sean and I decided to split a breakfast burrito (those things are huge). Everything was good – really good. But I’m gonna be honest here – I think I personally prefer the breakfast tacos I get around here. Maybe it’s just what I’m used to. I did like the pickled pepper stuff that we got to dump liberally onto our burrito as we ate it. So much yum.
Wayfarer’s Chapel
From there, we drove on to Wayfarer’s Chapel. Again, I betcha that drive near the coast was gorgeous, but aside from an occasional hazy glimpse of some waves crashing amongst craggy rocks, we saw none of it for the seemingly ever-present mist. Wayfarer’s itself was a stunner too, though again, it would have been nicer to see without a shroud of mist. The chapel was designed by Lloyd Wright, who happens to be Frank Lloyd Wright’s son.
Wayfarer’s Chapel
Next we were bound for Aquarium of the Pacific. Bird flu closed some of the exhibits. The weather pushed us to opt out of a whale-watching cruise. But nonetheless, the aquarium was fun.
Touching jellyfish! Apparently their stings were too small to impact human skin
The kids (and maybe the grown ups as well) got to touch rays and horseshoe craps and jellyfish. We got to see puffins and sea lions and harbor seals. There was a giant Pacific octopus for Maya and lots of weird frogs for Ian. And there were so, so many colorful fish!
Giant Japanese Spider Crab
Our breakfast was wearing off, so we wandered over to a nearby taco truck – Pepe’s Red Tacos – to have birria tacos. Another solid taco truck experience!
So much color!
We had wanted to visit the Queen Mary as well while we were in Long Beach. Visitation had been shut down with the onset of COVID, and other than a small trial run, it seems to have not restarted yet when we were there (update: tours are now bookable – hooray for a future visit someday). Queen Mary started life in 1936 as a fancy ocean liner, carrying celebrities and notables. Then she was transformed into a trooper carrying vessel during World War II. After WWII, she was again transformed back into a passenger vessel till her docking in 1967. We drove around a bit and looked at the ship – it is immense – but since we couldn’t really visit, we packed it in and headed to Anaheim instead.
Lego sculptures seen on our walk to Trader Sam’s
The driving force behind our trip to LA was of course the two Disney parks located there. We started our Disney adventure a little bit on this first night. We had booked a reservation for that evening at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. They wound up being about a half hour late seating us (which was frustrating because 1 – we were hungry and 2 – we needed to get back to knock out some laundry before our upcoming big Disney days.
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
All was forgiven though once we were seated. The vibe was relaxed, fun, even borderline silly. The bar is based around The Jungle Cruise attraction. Its decor was as kooky tropical as you’d expect from a tiki bar. But Disney pushed it a little further. Depending on what drinks were ordered, different theatrics would occur in the bar. A volcano might erupt on the LED window. A storm may be brewing, complete with a dash of rain. An order for the Uh-Oa! gets some chanting. We weren’t at the bar, so we didn’t experience it firsthand, but Sean tells me that if you order the right drink, you’ll find your barstool lowering itself as you imbibe.
Tangaroa Cooler
The drinks were top notch. I had the Tangaroa Cooler – a gin based drink, and Sean had the HippopotoMai-Tai. The kids tried a couple of the “No-Booze Brews.” Between the two of them, we got to try all three of the nonalcoholic drinks: Skipper Sipper, Schweitzer Falls, and Polynesian Punch. The food was really good too. I had their Poke Bowl. Sean and Ian tried out the Tonkotsu Ramen. And Maya had …………. chicken fingers. Sean ended his evening with a Zambezi Sour, which was made with bourbon! We sprung for the souvenir mugs that our first two drinks came in. These are not cheap plastic junk – these are real mugs. So much fun!
HippopotoMai-Tai
We rolled back into the hotel later than intended, but I planned to power through it to get our laundry done. Alas, the hotel had other plans. Apparently laundry isn’t allowed after 10p, and just to make sure no one breaks any rules, they don’t allow access to the laundry room after 10 either. And that’s the story of how I was hand washing socks and underwear in a hotel sink. Wheeeee.
Day 6 – Disney California Adventure
Day 7 – Disneyland
Day 8 – Disney California Adventure, Huntington
After spending the morning at Disney California Adventure, we collected our car from the hotel parking lot and headed northward to Pasadena to visit The Huntington. This massive area encompasses sprawling botanical gardens, a huge library, and an art museum besides. After having spent the previous two days plus the entire morning visiting Disney, we our stamina was limited, but we intended to soldier on.
Rainbow tunnel at the Children’s Garden at the Huntington
We started out our visit letting the kids run a bit in the Children’s Garden. There were fun tunnels of vegetation to run through, and they played with misters and tried to “catch the water” from intermittently spurting fountains.
Cinderella’s carriage
After they had run their sillies out a bit, we wandered inside to see the special traveling exhibit, “Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts.” It was an oddly wide-ranging exhibit, difficult to summarize. I particularly enjoyed the portions of the exhibit focusing on bringing inanimate objects to life and giving them character. The candelabra, teapot, and tea cup from Beauty and the Beast are obvious examples. But also, the flying carpet from Aladdin, who didn’t speak and so had only gestures and actions to indicate mood and to communicate. I also liked that they spotlighted the emergence of some talented (and for the time “barrier-breaking”) female artists, Mary Blair (of It’s a Small World fame) prominent among them.
Giving personality to a flying carpet
Ever the Disney historian, Sean wound up purchasing a book, also titled, “Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts” that essentially catalogs all that the exhibit has to offer.
Moon gate
After all this art, the kids needed to be outside again. We explored the Chinese Garden next. Maya, who’s studying a bit of Mandarin language and Chinese culture as a standard part of 4th grade at her elementary school, gave us the low down on the animals at the entryway and on the moon gates that we encountered. The day was pretty and not hot, so it was lovely to be outside. The gardens, despite being busy, still managed to be serene from time to time.
So serene, even with the crowds
We next walked through the Japanese Garden where we got to see the cherry blossoms. Again, we managed to find tiny slices of serenity here and there. Koi and turtles near the bridge. Uniquely sculptured trees. Gentle herby scents. It was nice.
We were all feeling a little worn down, but we decided we needed to at least visit the library before leaving, and I’m so glad we did! I could have spent an hour wandering through and reading the information on the manuscripts on display.
Gutenberg Bible
There was a Gutenberg Bible! But what was better still is that it was shown in context to earlier hand-written and illuminated texts. The notion that moveable type and printing presses would make it such that books could be available to more than just the very rich was presented.
Cedar Waxwing – as prepared by John James Audubon
Maya, our bird lover, was delighted to discover a full-size Audubon’s Birds of America, turned to one of her favorites, a cedar waxwing. The book had to be so large because Audubon wanted to render each bird at its actual size.
Mazesoba before mixing
At long last, it was time to leave the Huntington and head out to find dinner. We already had a place in mind. Sean had been watching a few videos to suss out where we might try to eat while we were there. One “must-do” on our list was Menya Hanabi. This is a “dry ramen” meaning there is no broth. Instead a bowl of noodles arrives at your table decked out with piles of minced and very flavorful pork, green onions, ajitama eggs, and a raw egg yolk, among other things. Sean observed that at the other tables, the patrons were furiously mixing their noodles up with all the goods, so we did likewise (except I gave Ian my sheets of nori / dried seaweed since he’ll actually eat those).
Those noodles were incredible. We opted for the spicy version and while I was sniffling a bit through my dinner, I’m so glad we did. Delicious! The texture was pleasantly creamy, a lovely contrast to the bright green onions and piquant spice. We ate ourselves stupidly full. Then at the end they offered us some white rice to soak up the liquid that had settled to the bottom of the bowl. We sadly had to pass – neither of us could eat another ounce!
After this we headed all the way to our last hotel, which we strategically chose near the airport so we’d have an easy time of it on our travel day. Finally I had access to a washer and dryer! We could have some clean clothes for the next couple days. The funny bit to me was that if I wanted the clothes only medium dry, the cost was as posted at the door. If I wanted them extra dry, well, that cost an extra quarter.
Day 9 – Mulholland Drive, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Griffith Observatory
The weather was not especially in our favor again on our final full day in Los Angeles, but it was clearer than it had been the first time we took a crack at our scenic drive, so we gave it another shot – off to Mulholland Drive!
Hollywood Bowl in the foreground, Los Angeles in the background
I wrote down the names of the various overlooks (Stone Canyon, Barbara A Fine, and Nancy H Pohl were among them), and they were all lovely even with the overcast skies. But my favorite two were the Universal City Overlook (where you could see, among other things, the Hogwarts castle at Universal Studios) and the Jerome C. Daniel Overlook where you could really see the Los Angeles skyline with the Hollywood Bowl in the foreground.
Dino’s Famous Chicken
We dropped in at Dino’s Famous Chicken for lunch after our drive. Ian had dutifully tolerated a whole scenic drive with no access to a bathroom, knowing that he’d get one at our lunch place. And then when we got there – no bathroom! Oh well, at least the chicken was good and I loved the pickled chiles they served alongside.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Next, we went back to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to partake of a self-guided tour. I know, I know, a tour of a concert hall sounds incredibly dull (our kids wholeheartedly agree), but honestly it was pretty interesting, and it’s such a unique building, it’s hard not to want to know more about its structure and functionality.
At the Griffith Observatory
After our concert hall tour, we did something more to the kids’ liking – we went to the Griffith Observatory. Here, finally, we got a few decent photos of the famed Hollywood sign. The kids, once we arrived, were almost immediately engaged in watching a huge Foucault pendulum. The pendulum is meant to demonstrate the rotation of the earth – it swings in a constant direction while the earth rotates beneath it. This pendulum knocks a peg over about every 7 minutes, I think, and we watched until we got to see one fall.
Waiting … waiting … waiting … at the Foucault pendulum
As we were wandering over to check the schedule for when the Tesla Coil demonstrations were happening, we noticed one was about to start. We warned Maya (who is very noise sensitive) that it might be a little loud. We needn’t have worried though. Both kids handled it all very well, listening semi-patiently as its history and operation were explained to us and then watching as several times the observatory staff member created lightning for us.
Tesla coil
Next we bought tickets for the Signs of Life planetarium show. This is not the planetarium show of my youth. This was high-definition, intense, and immersive. We went to Mars, we traveled through space, we were there for the Big Bang. Honestly, this was rougher on Maya’s sensitive ears than the Tesla Coil. Ian, however, was completely entranced. We may have a little astronaut on our hands.
Ian at the Griffith Observatory
After the show, we wandered out into the jam-packed hallways and were sort of overwhelmed. We found a dark, quiet exhibit off to the side and tried to figure out what we’d like to do next. Luckily, a friendly observatory staff member saw us struggling and came to our assistance. After Ian told her how much he liked the planetarium show, she seemed to know just what to do with us. First, we needed to come with her to check something out.
Rainy at the Griffith Observatory
We followed her out of the building, through the rain and into another part of the building. There, from behind a desk was revealed three interesting objects. One of them was a meteorite – could we guess which one? The meteorite (which none of us thought to photo) was alarmingly heavy and weirdly smooth. Turns out, is was a piece of the meteorite that formed the Barringer Crater out in Arizona some 50,000 years ago.
You can almost imagine Iron Man chilling out in the doughnut hole
We finished our visit by scanning through various exhibits and checking how much we’d weigh on different planets. We didn’t stay long enough to get to use the public telescopes; I think everyone was pretty tired by then. We headed back down to our car and tried (and failed) to find food. In the end we spent a really long time in line to pick up some Randy’s Donuts before grabbing easy takeout on our way back to the hotel, where we proceeded to spend the rest of our short evening cleaning up and packing while the kids vegged out and watched TV.
Day 10 – Heading Home
I don’t remember the flight home the next day being particularly difficult or eventful. Of course spending the whole day traveling from two time zones away was a little confusing for bodies who had to go to school and work immediately the next day, but we powered through it.
Maya and Ian in Newt Scamander’s briefcase during our Warner Brothers Studio tour
I really enjoyed our Los Angeles trip. If I had had to drive (and park!) instead of Sean, I’m not sure I’d have had as good a time, but he handles that stuff like a pro. The weather wasn’t perfect and consequently, we couldn’t really squeeze in everything we wanted to do and see, but I’m thankful that we had really nice weather for all our amusement park days. We got to see where (and a little bit how) movies are made. Got to see stars on Hollywood Blvd and at the Griffith Observatory. We rode roller coasters and sang It’s a Small World After All. We saw sea creatures, and a giant boat, and artwork both old and new. There was interesting architecture all around us and plenty of delicious and varied food to eat. All in all, we had a nice spring break.
